The Good, The Bad, And The Moral Gray Areas Of Marvel’s Antiheroes
Marvel comics have shown there is a very thin line between being the hero of the story and being the villain. That gray area is where the antihero comes into play, the person who will stop at nothing to get justice and vengeance, even if that means taking someone out.
From Moon Knight and Morbius to Silver Sable and Elektra, here are the biggest antiheroes in the Marvel universe.
Black Cat
Felicia Hardy took after her father, becoming a cat burglar in New York City. She trained herself in numerous fighting styles and is a master acrobat who manipulates her adversaries byways of probability, giving them "bad luck" and getting what she wants.
After a while, she winds up falling in love with Spiderman. But due to her manipulative ways, she is hard for Spidey to fully trust as a partner.
Elektra
A highly trained assassin, Elektra's violent nature and willingness to do whatever it takes to secure a target makes her one of the best antiheroes in Marvel. Known for her ties to Daredevil, Elektra's mercenary lifestyle is often a point of contention between her and the hero.
She's more of a hit first, ask questions later type of person, something that doesn't bode well with superheroes in her town.
Venom
An alien symbiote who latched onto Eddie Brock, Venom is one of Marvel's more popular antiheroes. After binding to Brock, Venom unleashed his particular form of "heroism" onto the people of New York, usually by eating people's heads.
With his violent nature, Venom becomes one of Spiderman's adversaries, even though he only eats the heads of people who "deserve it."
Deadpool
One antihero who definitely toes the line between good and evil is Wade Wilson, aka Deadpool.
Known for his sense of humor and flippant attitude, Deadpool attempts to do the right thing, even if that means taking out his enemies with his swords and then shrugging his shoulders at the mess he's made.
Black Widow
Starting her career as a child assassin and working her way up to becoming a super-spy for the KGB, Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, doesn't tend to see things in black and white but more of a gray area.
This allows her to take out her targets without thinking twice. Of course, she teams up with the Avengers, in the end, cleaning up her act to become one of Earth's mightiest heroes.
Cable
Nathan Summers, aka Cable, is a mutant who begins fighting his own personal war, having no care in the world about the body count he racks up in the process.
Taking the new mutants while they are still young, Cable trains them to become hardened soldiers, forming the original X-Force.
The Guardians Of The Galaxy
Star-Lord, Rocket, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, and Groot, have no issues toeing the line when it comes to being heroes. They're a bunch of outlaws who tend to steal and kill without hesitating.
Of course, when it comes down to saving a planet, The Guardians suit up and leave their outlaw ways behind them (in their own way).
Silver Sable
Leader of the Wild Pack and a mercenary, Silver Sable spends her time hunting down war criminals for money.
While she isn't technically a villain in the typical sense, taking out bad bad for crimes they committed against their country, her line of work has brought her into the crosshairs of several superheroes, including Spiderman.
Gambit
Abandoned at birth, Gambit eventually turns to a life of petty crime on the streets of New Orleans, thanks to his telekinetic abilities. He eventually becomes a member of the Thieves Guild, which instills vengeance and hatred into his character.
Even so, Gambit has been known to help the X-Men a time or two.
Cloak & Dagger
Teenage runaways Ty and Tandy got their powers from an evil drug lord experimenting with synthetic products. Once they obtained their powers, the two teenagers became the vigilante duo Cloak & Dagger, vowing revenge on the man who experimented on them, Simon Marshall.
Even though they have a tendency to take things too far with their vengeful natures, Cloak and Dagger have been known to team up with heroes such as Captain American and Spiderman.
Namor The Submariner
Namor The Submariner is a complicated character, as he will team up with some of the world's greatest villains and has the noble intention to do what is right.
While he is good-natured, Namor has a short fuse when it comes to those he believes destroyed his home, namely humans.
Moon Knight
After being left for dead in front of a statue of the Egyptian moon god Khonshu, Marc Spector awakens and becomes Moon Knight. Once a mercenary, Moon Knight trades in his violent ways to protect the innocent.
Of course, "trading in his violent ways" doesn't account for the illegality of his actions and his vengeful nature.
Punisher
Frank Castle became the Punisher after the death of his family. His entire philosophy is to take out as many bad people as possible, fighting a never-ending war on New York's criminal underground.
Due to his shoot first philosophy, the Punisher has run into trouble with Spiderman on more than one occasion, even though the hero understands where the Punisher is coming from with his vengeance.
Winter Soldier
Bucky Barnes had a tough go, becoming brainwashed by HYDRA and being a highly-skilled black ops assassin known as the Winter Soldier. He would be sent behind enemy lines, taking the opponent out before they even knew what hit them.
After some time, Barnes gets help, reprogramming his brain to get rid of the brainwashing he'd endured for years.
Hulk
While the Bruce Banner, aka the Hulk, is part of the Avengers, it is hard to overlook his destructive nature which does put him in the category of one of Marvel's antiheroes.
Yes, he does a load of good, but in-between those spouts of heroism, the Banner levels buildings, unable to control the beast within.
Wolverine
Arguably one of the strongest mutants in Marvel, Wolverine has a habit of leaving bodies wherever he goes.
While he has teamed up with the X-Men, X-Force, and even the Avengers, Wolverine has a violent nature that leaves his partners wondering if they made the right choice teaming up with such a destructive "animal."
Morbius
After a failed biochemical experiment, Dr. Michael Morbius gains superhuman abilities and a thirst for human blood. His vampire-like abilities lead him to a life of vigilantism, often killing people because of his condition.
The thing is, Morbius doesn't want to be a vampire and spends his time looking for a cure.
Loki
The Asgardian God of Mischief, Loki, is typically portrayed as a villain or an antihero, depending on his mood.
While he enjoys starting trouble and siding with those he believes will win, no matter if they're pure evil, Loki does love his brother Thor and has a tendency to help him (when it's in his favor, of course).
Blade
A skilled vampire hunter, Blade is known to kill without mercy and have fun while doing it. Ironically, he is depicted as being a dampire, a half-vampire half-human being, thanks to a vampire biting his mother.
Because of this, Blade dedicates his life to eradicating the supernatural by any means necessary.
Ghost Rider
With a deal with the devil, a flaming skull for a head, a chain as a weapon, and a cool motorcycle, Ghost Rider is arguably one of Marvel fans' favorite antiheroes. His whole gig is taking vengeance on those who have harmed the innocent.
While this sounds good in the long run, Ghost Rider typically deals out his vengeance with a whole lot of violence.
