10 Supervillain Teams Only Hardcore Marvel Fans Will Remember

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Some of Marvel‘s villain team are known by every superhero fan – from Spider-Man villains the Sinister Six, Magneto’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, and the maniacal soldiers of Hydra. However, others are far more underrated, often missing out on big-screen exposure despite having some great stories.

Here are the 10 underrated villain teams that hardcore fans love and newbies should know about, from significant Avengers enemies and Spider-Man foes to the group who stopped the X-Men in their tracks.

10

The Zodiac Cartel

First Appearance In 1969’s Avengers #72 by Roy Thomas and Sal Buscema

The Zodiac, also known as the Zodiac Cartel, are a group of criminals who pattern themselves after the signs of the zodiac. The original Zodiac team was formed by Cornelius Van Lunt, with the goal of achieving world domination. Each member is the leader of a different city’s criminal underground, creating a country-wide criminal network. There have been multiple versions of the team, but each of the twelve members of the Zodiac Cartel has been born under the sign they represent, using specialized tech to give them powers. Members include:

Daniel Radford’s Leo, whose battlesuit included deadly claws and teeth.

Zachary Drebb’s Aquarius, who fought using water-based weapons.

Joshua Link’s Gemini, who could add his twin brother’s strength to his own.

Typically going up against the Avengers, the Zodiac also tried to assassinate Nick Fury, with the villain member Scorpio actually being the hero’s brother. The team – and especially Scorpio – are often shown to covet the Zodiac Key, which is capable of sophisticated matter transmutation.

9

The Death-Throws

First Appearance In 1986’s Captain America #317’s Mark Gruenwald and Paul Neary

Marvel heroes like Captain America and Hawkeye are all about skill, and the Death Throws work by the same logic – however, in their case, that skill is the deadly art of juggling. Notable members include:

Elton Healey’s Oddball – The gang’s founder, who uses custom-designed balls that can emit gas and acid

Charles Last’s Ringleader – a bank robber who throws razor-sharp rings

Wendy Conrad’s Bombshell – an explosives expert who makes and throws bombs

The Death-Throws may seem like a joke, but their weaponry is often deadly, and their sheer numbers can be a problem. The team have been at their most effective when working as back-up to the deadly assassin Crossfire, who uses their grenade skills to complement his work as a sniper.

First Appearance In 1974’s Defenders #21 by Steve Gerber and Sal Buscema

The Headmen are a group of villains who all have something unusual about their heads… yes, really. The villains are also all genius scientists (apart from the bodiless mystic Chondu), finding commonality in both their villainous ambitions and their ostracization by society. Notable members include:

Arthur Nagan’s Gorilla-Man – a genius surgeon with the body of a gorilla.

Thursday Rubinstein’s Ruby Thursday – a larcenous criminal with a shapeshifting ball for a head

Lester Verde’s Doctor Bong – a mad geneticist who is an expert in sonic weaponry (often utilizing his bell-like helmet)

The Headmen mostly fought the Defenders, and they shouldn’t be underestimated. While they don’t look like much, they’re one of the smartest assortment of villains in Marvel lore, with expertise across different disciplines of science and magic.

7

The Menagerie

First Appearance In 2014’s Amazing Spider-Man Volume 3 #1 by Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos

Over the years, Spider-Man has accrued a lot of animal-themed villains. Some, like the Scorpion, the Vulture and the Rhino, are content to work alone, but others need force of numbers if they’re ever going to succeed. So was born the Menagerie, as the gangster White Rabbit gathered a team including Hippo, Panda-Mania, Skein, Squid, Swarm, Armadillo, Man-Bull, and the Enforcers’ Ox. While some of their members have impressive powers (Hippo and Armadillio are genuine powerhouses), their real strength tends to lie in numbers.

6

The Circus of Crime

First Appearance In 1962’s Incredible Hulk #3, Created by Joe Simon, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee and Dick Ayers

Created by Maynard Tiboldt, also known as Ringmaster, the Circus of Crime has members including Bruto the Strongman, the Great Gambonnos, Human Cannonball, Princess Python and her gigantic snake, Precious. The team are relatively low-powered, using their circus skills to fight and pull off robberies, although Ringmaster has impressive hypnotic powers thanks to both his natural abilities and tech hidden in his hat.

While not seen as a serious threat today, the Circus of Crime were originally a problem for the Hulk, seeking to make money by displaying him as a circus animal. Ringmaster’s merciless exploitation of others makes him a particularly despicable villain, and even his allies in the Circus have turned against him in the past.

5

Hordeculture

First Appearance In 2019’s X-Men Volume 5 #3 by Jonathan Hickman and Leinil Francis Yu

Hordeculture are a plant-obsessed team that has the aim of reducing the population of Earth. More concerned with plant life and nature than humanity, Hordeculture’s goals have put them at odds with the X-Men multiple times. While they may not be household names, Hordeculture have easily held their own against extremely powerful mutants like Cyclops and Sebastian Shaw. The team are lifelong experts in plantlife, including some flora not known to humanity, and carry a range of weapons that can dehydrate, render unconscious, and solidify on contact.

An important note to add is that the Hordeculture team is composed of scientists who span the ages of 64 to 81, bickering like a genocidal version of the Golden Girls. Unlike some of the other groups on this list, Hordeculture are genuinely terrifying in their potential – a group of geniuses who are quietly working on global extermination, rarely drawing attention to their efforts. Hordeculture are connected to the Harrower​​​​​​​ – a supervillain who almost destroyed the Earth and is the grand-niece of member Augusta Bromes.

4

The Cabal

First Appearance In 2009’s Secret Invasion #8 by Brian Michael Bendis and Leinil Francis Yu

Following the Secret Invasion of Earth, Norman Osborn used a swell of public support to replace Nick Fury as the top cop of world security. This began the ‘Dark Reign’ era of Marvel Comics, where the former Green Goblin allied with the world’s villains to crush their shared enemies. Osborn ran the world in alliance with the Cabal – a group of supervillains who aligned interests. Members included Loki, Namor, Doctor Doom, the Hood and Emma Frost.

The Cabal helped Osborn stay in power, with members helping to assassinate each other’s enemies and hide their various criminal enterprises. Being villains, the group eventually ended up betraying each other, but they were followed up by subsequent versions, including Thanos’ world-destroying group and a group of street heroes run by the Hood.

3

The Wild Pack

First Appearance In 1985’s Amazing Spider-Man #265, Created by Gregory Wright, Steve Butler and Jim Sanders

Founded by her father, Silver Sable took leadership of the mercenary Wild Pack when he was presumed dead. Originally an organization founded to hunt down war criminals, Silver Sable’s Wild Pack funded their core purpose by taking more lucrative, less morally defensible opportunities. At times working with Spider-Man and at other times working against him, Silver Sable and the Wild Pack have recruited multiple Spider-Man foes including former member Sandman and current member Scream.

Much like Silver Sable herself, the Wild Pack team alternates between doing good and serving their own mercenary interests, willing to kill those that they have been contracted against. Not as evil of a group as the Cabal or even the Headmen, the Wild Pack are ruthlessly competent and often end up on the wrong side because the money is better.

2

The Goblin Nation

First Appearance In 2013’s Superior Spider-Man #10 by Dan Slott and Ryan Stegman

This is yet another villain team that Norman Osborn set up, this time as the Green Goblin. An organized crime group, all the team members were goblin-themed, with Norman acting as their Goblin King. Osborn built a deadly gang out of criminals targeted by the Superior Spider-Man (Doc Ock in Peter Parker’s body), forging them into an army. Notable members include:

Phil Urich’s Goblin Knight – Osborn’s sword-wielding enforcer, later taking his title as Goblin King

Lily Hollister’s Menace – A demonic villain driven to crime by the Goblin Serum

Various Vulture-Goblins – Child criminals given flying suits by the Vulture and later recruited by Green Goblin

The Goblin Naiton were so insidious because their membership was secretive, with advanced tech in their masks hiding them from surveillance and giving Osborn unexpected access to New York’s infrastructure.

1

H.A.M.M.E.R

First Appearance In 2009’s Secret Invasion #8 by Brian Michael Bendis and Leinil Francis Yu

Osborn’s final team on this list, HAMMER replaced SHIELD during the Dark Reign, with Osborn wanting to flush out any Nick Fury loyalists. HAMMER agents were equipped with advanced tech of Osborn’s design, including versions of his Goblin Glider, which they used to hunt down Osborn’s heroic enemies. While HAMMER were later disbanded, their operatives haven’t gone away, working with both the supervillain Superia and a deposed Osborn. Notable members include:

Victoria Hand – Osborn’s gun-toting second in command who believed that superhumans were a threat to world security

The Dark Avengers – A team in their own right, the Dark Avengers were formed under Osborn’s authority as leader of HAMMER.

Carolina Washington – A turncoat SHIELD agent who stole biological samples from the Avengers, allowing HAMMER to give its agents superpowers.

These 10 underrated villain teams don’t get the same love that’s lavished on big-name bad guys, but they’ve done plenty of damage in the past – and in Marvel Comics, they’re only ever a single issue away from a grand return.

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