Marvel has been an industry juggernaut for over eighty years. One of the most prominent creators of superhero comic books in the world, Marvel has defined entire generations with its vast universe of exciting characters and impactful stories. With the recent rise of the MCU, the company has arguably never been more relevant than it is in the modern age.

While predominately, the heroes are the creations that take the spotlight, equal attention should be given to the villains of the Marvel comic book universe, specifically the femme Fatales. There are dozens of amazing and sinister female Marvel villains that make being evil look awesome. From heads of terrorist organizations to cosmic entities, here are some of the best female villains in Marvel Comics.

Updated on November 16, by C.M Edwards, 2023: There are hundreds of characters that populate the Marvel universe both in its movies and in its comics. Dozens of heroes shine as they save the day by spoiling a world-ending plot or saving a cat out of a tree. However, Marvel's universe is home to just as many villains as there are heroes, and they are easily just as memorable as the latter. Specifically, the femme fatales of the Marvel universe are some of the most dangerous and iconic in comic book history who have nearly placed the entire world at their feet. Queens, national terrorists, and even descendants of crime families make up some of the best crooks in the business. Here are some of the most iconic female villains in Marvel comics.

17 Death

Personification Of Death And Love Interest To Thanos And Deadpool

Death is one of the most powerful forces throughout the entire Marvel Comics universe and is centered around some of the most catastrophic events since her debut. As the cosmic personification of the end of all things, Death spends most of her time in the shadows of Marvel Comics, revealing herself to a minuscule few.

Deadpool and Thanos are the major characters who have interacted with her. Death has an infatuation with Deadpool and wishes for them to be together. Unfortunately, Deadpool's immortality makes it impossible. On the other side, Thanos is obsessed with death and seeks to win her favor, which is what drove him to obtain the infinity gauntlet in the first place.

16 Scream

One Of The First Symbiote Offspring Of Venom

Scream is the product of the offspring of symbiotes from the host subject, Venom. She was pushed into existence along with several other symbiotes whom she killed. Scream became a deadly adversary for both Spider-Man and Venom and possessed the same amount of strength and agility.

Due to the volatile means of bonding with a subject, Scream's personality is cruel and sadistic, making her a threat to any who cross her path.

15 Black Cat

Master Thief

Black Cat has been a long-standing member of Spider-Man's rogues gallery and, from time to time, a love interest. Starting out as a high-class society socialite, Felicia Hardy fell into the criminal element after a tragic encounter and found out that her father had been the previous black cat.

Once Felicia donned the costume and took the moniker for herself, she began a string of robberies that left even the web-head puzzled. Thanks to her power to instill bad luck in those around her, Felica can stay one step ahead of those chasing her tail.

14 Madam Masque

Master Manipulator, Former Flame Of Tony Stark

Madam Masque was borne into a lifetime of villainy even though she tries to fight it at every turn. As the daughter of Count Nefarias, one of the Avengers' greatest arch-enemies, Madam Masque hides her face from the world in order to run from her lineage.

However, as much as she ran from her family line she found her way into a life of crime and even became a high-ranking member of the superpowered mafia. Madam Masque has been behind numerous plots that have left Earth's mightiest heroes in shambles.

13 Emma Frost

Second Most Powerful Telepath On The Planet And Former Leader Of The Hellfire Club

Emma Frost has been one of the longest-standing and most popular characters in the X-Men mythos since her debut in the early eighties. Emma Frost is a powerful mutant with mental powers widely compared to those of Charles Xavier, and the ability to turn her body into solid diamond.

In terms of her allegiance, Emma Frost plays the game better than most and switches sides often. Starting out as the White Queen of the Hellfire Club, she later joined the X-Men, where she became close with the leader of the X-Men, Scott Summers, after the death of Jean Gray.

12 Lady Bullseye

Currently One Of The Top Assassins For The Hand

Lady Bullseye's history is not as extensive as her male counterpart, but she has a deep connection to the Hand and the assassin Elektra. Lady Bullseye was the captive of a yakuza trafficking ring until she was freed when the criminal, Bullseye, slaughtered all the guards and disappeared.

Touched by the carnage that Bullseye left behind, Lady Bullseye learned that if she wanted to stay free, she would have to use violence. Quickly her name caught the eye of the leader of the Hand, and she was brought in as a full member, choosing her current moniker. Hopefully, she makes an appearance in the upcoming Daredevil: Born Again series.

11 Scarlet Witch

Has Rewritten The Marvel Universe Multiple Times

Scarlet Witch has a complicated history, while starting off as a member of the Brotherhood serving her father, Magneto, Wanda Maximoff has never been one for fighting or causing chaos. Unfortunately, that is the core of Wanda's power, being one of the most dangerous mutants on Earth.

The Scarlet Witch is able to completely rewrite realities to her desire, and paired with her mental imbalances, she is often the cause of cataclysmic levels events similar to Charles Xavier's son, Legion. While Wanda has never thought of herself as a villain, she is feared and hated among many circles in the Marvel Universe but is nearly unstoppable when fully immersed in her power. On multiple occasions, it took the combined efforts of the Avengers and the X-Men to take down the Queen of Chaos.

10 Moonstone

Founding Member Of The Thunderboltz

Moonstone has had a very interesting history in the Marvel universe, to say the least. Starting out as a therapist with narcissistic tendencies, she devolved into a supervillain as she began to involve herself with career criminals like Dr. Faustus. After betraying her mentor, Moonstone gained her special powers after absorbing a magical stone through trickery and sabotage.

Gifted with several powerful abilities like flight, gravity manipulation, and energy manipulation, Moonstone quickly went on to establish herself as one of the best female Marvel villains. She has been a menace right across the Marvel Comics universe ever since, being a founding member of the Thunderbolts, a former member of the masters of evil, and even serving as the surrogate Ms. Marvel in Norman Osbourne's Dark Avengers.

9 Lady Deathstrike

Gilted Lover Of Wolverine And Leader Of The Reavers

Yuniko Oyama is a long-lost love of James Howlet, otherwise known as Wolverine. She is also the daughter of Kenji Oyama, who is responsible for the process of bonding adamantium to the bone. While Yuniko’s father descended into criminal activity, it inevitably led to his death, thrusting Yuniko down a dark path of violence and vengeance.

She remained a constant threat to Wolverine as she blamed him for her father's death, as well as profiting off of his research by having an adamantium skeleton. Yuniko was physically altered into a cyborg, which enhanced her skill in combat immensely and fitted her with razor-sharp adamantium claws.

8 Deathbird

Once Queen Of The Shi'Ar Empire

Deathbird is a Shi’ar princess who was prophesied to accomplish unspeakably evil acts and has accomplished many since. From a young age, Deathbird craved power, and, in an attempt to take control of the Shi’ar Empire, she murdered her sister and mother in a violent coupe.

Deathbird is a ruthless tactician who respects only strength and power, knowing no equal until she meets Vulcan, the lost brother of Alex and Scott Summers. Prior to her engagement with him, she had waged a civil war to claim the throne of the Shi’ar twice and also escaped to Earth, where she was a prominent threat to both the X-Men and Captain Marvel.

7 Enchantress

Most Powerful Sorceress In Asgard

Amora the Enchantress is a dubious menace within the kingdom of Asgard. She has plagued the minds of some of the mightiest warriors, including Odin himself, Loki, Thor, and even the Incredible Hulk. The Enchantress began as an apprentice to Balder’s mother, Kamilla, but because of her aggressive nature, she was banished.

However, the Enchantress continued her training on her own, becoming one of the most powerful Goddesses in Asgard and constantly wreaking havoc on the kingdom out of spite. The Enchantress is an ever-present threat that can not be extinguished because of her tactical intellect and immense magical power. While Thor is a romantic interest to her, she has nearly killed the God of Thunder on multiple occasions.

6 Titania

Main Rival Of She-Hulk

Mary McPhreran was a two-bit nobody until she was granted superpowers by Doctor Doom. For most of her life, she was picked on and bullied for her fragile health and small stature, which caused her great stress and turned her into a bitter individual. Eventually, something within her snapped.

When the Beyonder enacted the Battle World between Earth's mightiest heroes and villains, Mary and her friend Marsha were caught in the chaos that put them in front of Doctor Doom. Doctor Doom offered them power in exchange for fighting in his army. Fearing for their lives, they accepted, and Mary became Titania.

5 Nebula

Daughter Of Thanos, Former Wielder Of The Infinity Gauntlet

Nebula has had a long history in Marvel Comics but has most recently seen a surge of popularity due to the Marvel Cinematic Universe Guardians of the Galaxy films. While both the MCU Nebula and the comic book Nebula are quite similar, their stories have several important dissimilarities.

In the comics, Nebula served as a space pirate who claimed to be the granddaughter of Thanos but shared no relation. Upon defying the mad titan, Thanos used the infinity gauntlet to turn her into a half-corpse monstrosity which fueled her mission of revenge against him. Nebula's cunning allowed her to betray Thanos and steal the Infinity Gauntlet from him, undoing all his work with a single snap.

4 Hela

Ruler Of Hel, Daughter Of Loki

While there are several all-powerful beings in Asgard, like Odin the Allfather and Thor the god of thunder, there is no such being as feared and respected as Hela. Hela's original lineage made her the daughter of Loki and a frost giant named Angrboda.

She was given dominion as a goddess and rules Hel and Niffleheim. Hela is predominately a villain to Asgard and constantly seeks to expand her power and territory to Valhala and gain complete control over life and death. She has made several attempts to snuff out Thor and has even faced Odin himself on equal ground.

3 Dark Phoenix

Most Powerful Force In The Universe

The Dark Phoenix is the combination of the cosmic entity called The Phoenix inhabiting the body of Jean Grey, one of the strongest psychic mutants in the world. Together, the pair become the strongest force in the universe that threatens to burn everything to ash through sheer malice.

While being inhabited by the phoenix force, Jean's psychic powers are multiplied ten-fold, allowing her new abilities such as flight, astral projection, and affecting things on a molecular level. It takes the combined efforts of multiple parties, such as the Avengers and the X-Men, to take on the dark phoenix, and at best, she is only ever defeated, never destroyed.

2 Mystique

One Of The Deadliest Mutants In The World

Mystique has sown chaos throughout the entire Marvel universe since she was introduced in Ms. Marvel #16 in 1978. Mystique was created by Chris Claremont, Jim Mooney, and Dave Cockrum and has become one of the most recognizable villains in Marvel history. She is the shapeshifting saboteur originally seen serving Magneto as a member of the Brotherhood of Mutants.

Mystique has an extensive history as her origins are shrouded in mystery, but she is suspected to be just as old as Wolverine and Sabertooth. Mystique is a brilliant manipulator and expert tactician, always able to orchestrate events that land in her favor. Rarely does Mystique not have the upper hand, even when dealing with powerful overlords such as Apocalypse.

1 Madam Hydra

Former Leader Of Hydra

Madam Hydra, also known as Viper, is one of the most dangerous and influential female villains in the Marvel Comics universe. As the former head of Hydra, she has gone toe to toe with almost every Hero team at least twice, yet has somehow lived to tell the tale.

Viper was recruited by Hydra early on in her life after the death of her parents. She excelled and quickly rose to power, becoming a major threat to S.H.I.E.L.D and the Avengers thanks to her cunning, cruelty, and tactical prowess. Viper also has a deep-rooted history with Captain America, and Spider-Woman, and is the former bride of Wolverine.

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