The Avengers are Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, and they represent something special about the Marvel Universe. They are the group that everyone knows they can rely on to save the day, be it otherworldly beings who seek to destroy the multiverse or common criminals who get far too big for their britches. The Avengers patrol the entire world, and they’ve brought hope to worlds far beyond Earth, deep in the stars. They inspire people to be better, to fight for their homes and make them better. Sometimes, they are so effective at their jobs that they even convince their villains to strive to be better.
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The Avegners battle a constant array of villains that seek to do everything from destroying them to conquering the world. Yet, the endless selfless heroism of the Avengers can pierce even the darkest hearts and set these lawbreakers on the path to being more than they ever thought they could be. Today, we’re taking a look at five times these villains turned over a new leaf and fought for redemption, and examining why these new directions worked so well. Without further ado, let’s audit these Avengers’ character arcs.
5) Loki
Loki is one of Marvel’s oldest villains. Heck, they were the threat that inspired the Avengers to join forces in the first place. They spent untold centuries trying to kill Thor and claim the throne of Asgard for themself, giving no quarter to their enemies and manipulating everyone they could sink their claws into. Eventually, however, Loki grew tired of their role as the villain, and sought to become something more. When they died at the Void’s hands, they made sure to trick Hela into removing their name from the Book of Hel, allowing them to be reborn, free of their past. This new version of Loki chose to become a hero, even if it was in their own dubious way.
Loki works as a hero because they spent years fighting for every scrap of morality they have. Even after over a decade and a half of trying to be better, Loki is still manipulative and untrustworthy, even though they fight for the greater good. They’re more akin to an anti-hero, laying plans to save the day in ways that the other heroes would never approve of. Heck, Loki killed Thor to cast a spell that would one day save reality, in their own words. They are a complicated, nuanced character who will never do what you expect, but who has fought for what they believe is right, no matter what.
4) Swordsman
The Swordsman was the first villain to join the Avengers, operating as a double-agent meant to lead them into a trap by the Mandarin. However, he had a change of heart at the last moment and saved them, though he fled in shame. He spent years going through the motions, wanting to make up for his mistakes but not knowing how. Mantis found him and convinced him to become something better, and thus the Swordsman fully committed himself to becoming a hero. He won legitimate entry into the Avengers, becoming a valued teammate until his untimely demise, when he sacrificed himself to save Mantis’s life.
The Swordsman’s journey from villain to hero worked because it seems realistic. He was a selfish man who found a sense of community and a purpose greater than himself, but his mistakes caught up with him. His years spent lost and bemoaning his situation is exactly what someone who got himself into that position would do. That made his eventual rise feel so earned, which is very rare, even in long-running <a href="https://comicvibe.com/jean-grey-burns-brighter-than-ever-in-new-solo-comic-book-series-360-magazine-green-design-pop/” title=”JEAN GREY BURNS BRIGHTER THAN EVER IN NEW SOLO COMIC BOOK SERIES – 360 MAGAZINE – GREEN | DESIGN | POP”>comic books like this. The Swordsman felt like a real man who learned his lesson, which is fantastic to see in action.
3) Ultron
Ultron has stood as one of the Avengers’ deadliest villains for decades. He was created in the depths of Hank Pym’s psychosis, embodying all the hatred and vileness that lives in his heart on his worst days. Ultron was born from that hate and magnified it in every way, seeing humanity as a blight that needed to be exterminated, and the Avengers as the only thing standing in his way. He’s tried countless times to wipe all organic life off planet Earth, but was stopped each time. Eventually, he tried dividing himself into a seemingly endless number of copies, each being a different method he could use to attain his goal.
One of those Ultrons became a hero who joined the West Coast Avengers, fighting to save the world from his evil counterparts. Ultron has always been a pure evil villain powered by pure rage, so seeing him develop morality and a heroic perspective is genuinely interesting. He was given the chance to be something more than he was, and isn’t that what heroes strive to give everyone? Ultron showed us that anyone could be a hero if given the right opportunity and encouragement, even the most vile of robot despots.
2) Kang the Conqueror
Kang is a man from the 30th Century who has always had his eyes on conquest. First he traveled to the distant past, then to the future where people had forgotten much of what he knew, but always had his eyes set on the Era of Heroes, who had always gotten in his way and resisted him. Kang is a ruthless, horrifying man who will rewrite reality in any way he needs to achieve glory. There’s no atrocity he won’t justify to achieve his goals, which is exactly what traumatized his younger self when he met this incarnation of himself. Seeing the monster he would become, the boy chose to be a hero by the name of Iron Lad.
Kang has never been a black slate character, given how much personality he has, but he has always been versatile. He can fit any time period or story with little difficulty, but he’d never been a truly selfless hero like this before. This was a new take on the character, adding the immediate mystery of how a younger Kang could truly be a hero when he was destined to become a monster, while also exploring the question of if someone like Kang could be redeemed. It was a great examination of character and theme in every regard.
1) Black Widow
Black Widow started out as one of the world’s deadliest assassins. She was trained to be a warrior and asset for her government, including battling heroes such as the Avengers themselves. However, once their brainwashing began to wear off, Natasha began to realize that she didn’t want to be a villain. She wanted to be a hero. She managed to break free of her conditioning and set about proving that she could be just as much of a hero as everyone else.
Natasha was a typical femme fatale as a villain, but as a hero, she became so much more. It allowed her to really dig into the reality of her situation, confronting her past trauma and dissecting every action she’d taken up to that point. All too often, characters like Black Widow get very short, tragic endings, but she was allowed to keep charging forward, eventually becoming a symbol of that perseverance. As a hero who has so fully turned her life around, the Black Widow is a sign that anyone can become better and heal, even if they don’t think they can themselves. Those people can even make the best heroes.
The Avengers are just as much inspirations as they are heroes. Which of their villains would you want to see be inspired to become a hero next?
5 Avengers Who Have Been Villains (And Why They Worked)
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