Top 10 Times Superheroes Worked with Villains
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Top 10 Moments Where Superheroes Worked with Villains
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We all know how exciting it can be to see the villains team up with the heroes once in a while. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today, we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 moments where superheroes worked with villains.
For this list, we’ll be looking at comics that saw the hero pair up with an evildoer for the greater good. These are moments from comic books only, so you won’t see any MCU or cartoon appearances here.
#10: Captain America & Red Skull
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Sometimes, a bigger threat appears, and two enemies are forced to team up to face it. That’s exactly the case when a recently-rebirthed Red Skull teams up with a depowered Captain America to stop the Nazis from reviving Hitler and starting World War III. Their alliance doesn’t last long, as they’re able to secure the Cosmic Cube without a whole lot of trouble, but it’s an entertaining few issues nonetheless. By the end of the series, it’s revealed that the entire thing has been a ruse by the Skull and that Hitler was never actually in play. Because, of course, it was all an evil plot.
#9: Flash & Captain Boomerang
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Silver Age comic book team-ups have that old-fashioned charm that’s hard to replicate in modern times. Take this classic team-up, for instance. When an alien invasion interrupts the battle between Captain Boomerang against Flash and the Elongated Man, the three of them quickly decide to take out the aliens together. Just at the end of repelling the invasion, Captain Boomerang, of course, turned on his new allies.
#8: Aquaman & Ocean Master
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Another Silver Age team-up, this once again saw two mortal enemies come together to stop a mutual threat, a new villain named the Scavenger who threatens the ocean itself. Together, Aquaman and his half-brother Orm AKA Ocean Master faced off against the Scavenger: a criminal who used technology that was tainting the sea. If there’s one thing that these two Atlantean foes could always agree on, it’s protecting the ocean. But, in the end, Ocean Master’s plan to take down the Scavenger would have killed Mera and Aquaman’s son, and he was promptly taken out.
#7: Spider-Man & Venom
Considering the close bond these two have shared through the symbiote, it’s no surprise that they’ve teamed up over the years, especially as Venom has become more of an anti-hero than an outright villain. But the first time these two joined forces remains the most memorable, as it was triggered by the introduction of Carnage. Peter Parker and Eddie Brock were forced to put their differences aside and teamed up to fight the murderous Cletus Cassidy when the Carnage symbiote first took him as a host.
#6: Hal Jordan & Sinestro
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When the New 52 debuted back in 2011 not everything was well-received, but the short-lived partnership between Hal Jordan and a newly-reinstated Green Lantern Sinestro certainly was. The story arc saw Sinestro renounce his dastardly ways for a time, and work together with Hal Jordan to defeat Sinestro’s former allies in the Sinestro Corps. This alliance wouldn’t last long, as Sinestro would eventually go back to his namesake team, bond with Parallax, and kill most of the Guardians. Talk about a messy break-up.
#5: Reed Richards & Doctor Doom
After the tragic death of Johnny Storm, Reed Richards rebrands the Fantastic Four as the Future Foundation or FF. This new lineup includes Reed, Sue Storm, Ben Grimm, Spider-Man and none other than Doctor Doom, Reed’s greatest enemy, at the behest of Reed and Sue’s daughter Valeria. Doom was suffering from a brain disease that Valeria promised to fix, and in return, Doom would have to use his intellect to help society as a member of the new FF. The arrangement worked for a time before Doom found himself trapped on the wrong side of a dimensional portal. Thankfully, the Doctor eventually found his way back home.
#4: Adam Warlock & Thanos
One of the Marvel universe’s most notorious villains hasn’t always been quite so villainous. For a time, Thanos served as a major ally to the Avengers, most notably in the original “The Infinity War” series. The sequel to “Infinity Gauntlet” saw Thanos team up with Adam Warlock and the Avengers to stop Magus, an evil version of Warlock from an alternate future who has plans on getting ahold of the Infinity Gauntlet. Thanos and Warlock eventually succeed in defeating Magus, and the gauntlet and gems are all returned to their protectors. As far as hero-villain team-ups go, this one ended much better than most others have, with everyone going their separate ways.
#3: Thor & Loki
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Walt Simonson’s classic run on “Thor” is one of the most well-remembered takes on Marvel’s Norse God in the character’s long history. Among the highlights of Simonson’s run was the 1985 story arc that saw Surtur lay siege to Asgard during Ragnarok, forcing Loki to team up with Thor and their father Odin to repel the demon. This team-up between the God of Thunder and his trickster brother remains high on our list of villain and hero comic book collaborations.
#2: Batman & Joker
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Though it’s not the first time these two arch enemies have teamed up, this is without a doubt the most interesting. “Batman: Europa” saw the Dark Knight on the same side as the Joker when the Clown Prince of Crime is framed for a murder he didn’t commit and both he and Batman are infected with a strange virus. The mystery takes the two on a whirlwind trip through Europe, with their tensions, egos, and history causing some expected friction between the two that culminates in a fight against Bane. After the two are cured, things go back to their old status quo as enemies, cursed to fight forever.
#1: The X-Men & Magneto
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Before Magneto became the begrudging grandfather of the X-Men that he is today, he was always a straight-up, stone-cold villain for the team. This first began to change in the now-classic storyline “God Loves, Man Kills.” The graphic novel saw the rise of Reverend William Stryker, the leader of a cult bent on destroying mutant-kind. After Stryker kidnaps Professor Xavier, Magneto and the mutants work together to save him and bring Stryker’s brutality into the public eye. Their mission is a success, and Magneto goes his own way, but the seed was planted for the longtime villain to slowly change many of his ways over time.
