Top 10 Alien Races In Comics

Starting off our list is the ever so beautiful race of humanoid aliens with a propensity to name themselves after spices. A people ruled by their emotions, it only makes sense that their powers stem from those emotions as well. Boundless confidence and joy grants them super human strength and flight. The most famous Tamaranian is of course Koriand’r, AKA Starfire, a resident Teen Titans, an on again off again romance of Dick Grayson. Generally pretty mellow and cheerful, Tamaraneans can still get just as angry and wrathful as any of the franchise’s villains.

More commonly known as the Guardians of the Universe, these guys may not look that intimidating, but they’re one of the most ancient species in all of creation. Located at the centre of the universe on the planet Oa, they’re the ones behind the formation of the Green Lantern Corps, using them as their shining sword to battle the forces of darkness throughout the cosmos. Obscenely intelligent, their struggle to maintain order often leads them to branch out into questionable moral territory.

If you’re a Spider-Man fan, then you’re no doubt familiar with Venom and Carnage, the alien monstrosities who don’t exactly like to play nice. Symbiotes would much rather use their great power for destruction rather than responsibility, so it’s no surprise that they are an arch nemesis of Spider-Man. Believe it not, the beings that created these alien horrors were actually a peace-loving race known as the Klyntar, but due to the corruption in their hosts, the symbiotes were twisted into something evil. While charcaters like Agent Venom, and even Spider-Man himself have used the aliens for good, the horrifying Carnage embodies the worst aspects of both alien and human nature.

Thanks to the masterful writing of ‘Saga’ series creator Brian K. Vaughan, we’re given a fantastical space opera with some literal out of this world characters. Of the many warring alien races, we had to side with the inhabitants of Landfall’s moon, the Wreathers. A humanoid race with horns, these people may not be able to fly, but their ability to use magic makes them our favourite race in Vaughan’s universe. Wreathers like Marko gave us a great blend of swashbuckling adventure with a deep sense of pacifism, while The Will showed us just how awesome magic is. Yeah, we’re definitely siding with the Moonies.

While there may not be life on Mars in the real world, DC comics gave us the green men we would have loved to meet. In the DC Universe’s interpretation, the red planet is home to two different types of Martians, one green and one white. While their paler counterparts are savage in nature, the green Martians are much more benevolent and one of them is a key member of the Justice League. J’onn Jonzz, aka The Martian Manhunter, is often regarded as the soul of the group, giving council and wisdom when no one else can.

Whatever you do, don’t mistake these winged creatures for angels, although we wouldn’t blame you for confusing them with Ancient Egyptian Deities. Once a submissive race that worshipped demonic creatures known as the Great Old Ones, they eventually advanced to the point where they could traverse solar systems and reach different worlds thanks to a powerful substance known as Nth Metal. Notable Thanagarians are Hawkman and Hawkgirl, who, in various mediums have always been strong, brave and confident.

No matter how colourful or exciting the universe seems to be, there’s never a shortage of sinister insectoid aliens ready to rip a heroe’s face off. Say hello to the Brood. These swarms of giant flesh-eating bugs are similar to the creatures in the ‘Alien’ film franchise, save for their superior intelligence and the ease in which they traverse the stars. They’ve made enemies out of Ms Marvel and the X-Men, and brought down empires by means of infestation, ruthlessness and superior numbers. You may want to stock up on insect repellent, a lot of it.

For all intents and purposes, the Kryptonian race are almost identical to humans in terms of appearance and biology. Oh sure they may have space travel and a deeper understanding of the universe than we do, but we’re basically galactic cousins. That is until you expose a Kryptonian to a Yellow Sun, then they basically become the most powerful beings in the universe. With the majority of the Kryptonian race lost when their planet was destroyed, two Kryptonian, Jor-El and Lara had their act together enough to send their son to Earth, thus ensuring the survival of the species.

Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe got their first look at this intergalactic civilisation in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Often depicted as Blue-skinned and militaristic, notable Kree include Mar-Vell, who was the first Captain Marvel and Ronan the Accuser, who made one hell of an impact on the silver screen. The wars between the Kree empire and the other galactic empires like the Shi’ar are the centrepieces of many major events in the Marvel Comic Universe. Their constant tampering with genetic modification eventually created the Inhumans, and their propensity to annex neutral worlds has lead them to trade blows with The Avengers on more than one occasion.

Before we reveal our number one pick here are a few honourable mentions.

Celestials
Sakaarans
Eternals
Shi’ar

If you live in the Marvel Universe, chances are they’ve probably taken the form of someone you know and are planning to replace you with one of their own any day now. First appearing as enemies of the Fantastic Four, this race of shape shifting warriors have battled the galaxy’s greatest empires and even infiltrated Earth’s Mightiest Heroes on several occasions. Despite losing much of their population during landmark comic events like Annihilation and Secret Invasion, they remain a deadly threat to everyone in the galaxy. One look at a Super Skrull will show you that.

Do you agree with our list? What’s your favourite alien race in comic books? With new top tens published every day be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com!