Top 10 Super Villain Teams

Even the toughest of supervillains occasionally need to team up. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we're counting down our picks for the Top 10 Supervillain Teams.

For this list, we're ranking the most infamously memorable groups of supervillains who have combined forces in the name of evil, crime or world domination. We will not be taking into account terrorist or political organizations, however, which means that both Marvel's Hydra and the DC Universe's League of Shadows will need to be featured on a list of their own.

The Avengers always seem to have their hands full whenever this supervillain team is around. The Cabal enjoy super secretive status as the opposing faction to their superhero counterparts The Illuminati. They utilize their immense power and brilliance from the shadows; behind the scenes via political intrigue and subterfuge. Many supervillains and antiheroes have spent time leading and working within The Cabal's ranks, including Red Skull, Loki, Norman Osborn and Doctor Doom, while Namor, The Sub-Mariner has proven to be a double agent of sorts, spending time within both The Illuminati and Cabal.

There have been three different incarnations of the group known as the Secret Six over the years, with the team's third incarnation existing as a powerful group of dangerous DC villains. One aspect of the Secret Six which remains constant throughout the team's almost fifty year history, however, if the fact that each version of the Six are led by a mysterious individual known as Mockingbird, whose identity is unknown even to the other members. The group is often hired to perform violent mercenary tasks, and as such see a fairly high turnover rate within its ranks, with Secret Six members over the years including Bane, Deadshot and even The Joker, who appears within the Tangent Comics alternate universe.

This next supervillain team proves that it's never too late to turn over a new leaf. Or rather, they TRY to. Led by hero Luke Cage, The Thunderbolts are a team consisting primarily of reformed supervillains. Many villains have formed different versions of the Thunderbolts over the years, including Norman Osborn and The Taskmaster, with the team often serving as enforcers against superheroes who had avoided the "Superhuman Registration Act" during Marvel's "Civil War" story arc, ensuring their compliance or arrest via any means necessary. Other notable members include Moonstone, Bullseye and even Venom.

The DC Universe is known for its use of parallel universes, in which many alternate versions of its characters exist. The Crime Syndicate of America inhabit one such parallel universe, serving as the darker shadow of DC's heroic Justice League of America. The CSA, as they are sometimes known, have undergone re-imaginings over the years, but are often portrayed as stylistic counterparts to their corresponding JLA members, with Ultraman mirroring Superman, Owlman for Batman, Superwoman vs Wonder Woman and so on. It's a bizarro theme for a bizarro team; one who continue to make trouble for the Justice League to this very day.

Formed from the ashes of a similarly themed team by the name of the Serpent Squad, this collection of serpentine supervilains serve as the resident snakes in the grass for the Marvel Universe. Members of the Serpent Society all share snake-themed traits within their appearance and super powers, with its roster including such notable Captain America villains as Diamondback, Cottonmouth and Death Adder. The team has worked alongside super villain orginzations like HYDRA and A.I.M., and bumps heads almost exclusively with the Avengers, although individual members can pop up almost anywhere.

There are few Marvel supervillain teams as formidable or legendary as the Masters of Evil, with fewer still possessing as many different villains running the show. Many comic fans point to the team's incarnations under the Nazi scientist Zemo as favorites, however, with both Baron Heinrich Zemo and his son Helmut serving as the leaders for the Masters of Evil. Still further versions of the team were spearheaded by such other notable characters as Ultron, Doctor Octopus and Egghead. The ever shifting lineup never prevented them from being a formidable force against The Avengers, however, cementing their reputation as one of Marvel's most enduring supervillain teams.

There have been a number of supervillain teams who have adopted the title of Injustice League, but one commonality with all of them is their existence as an opposing force to the DC universe's Justice League of America. No surprises there. The original Injustice League were a product of criminal mastermind Lex Luthor and the space conqueror known as Agamemno, who brought together such major DC players as The Joker, Deathstroke, Sinestro and The Penguin. Luthor himself was the sole recruiting force for the New 52 version of the Injustice League, however, bringing together such other high profile villains as Captain Cold, Black Manta and Catwoman.

Whether it's acting as a terrorist organization or a force for mutant mastery over the human race, the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants have remained an ever-present threat to the Marvel Universe, in particular the Uncanny X-Men. Under the leadership of Magneto, the original Brotherhood members were future Avengers members Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. The team served as an extreme and fanatical version of the X-Men, and sought to achieve Magneto's goal of mutant superiority. Future incarnations of the team didn't always utilize the word "evil" in the name, and the villain Mystique often replaced Magneto as the team’s leader. This Brotherhood still remained a viable threat against not only the X-Men, but the entire human race, making them one of Marvel's most dangerous supervillain teams.

Put a group of death row bound supervillains together, send them out on highly dangerous, violent missions with the high probability of failure and what do you get? The Suicide Squad. This highly popular group of minor DC villains and fan favorites has gained some serious steam in recent years, thanks to the series' action packed storylines and revolving lineup of characters. The Suicide Squad has become so popular, in fact, that a high profile film adaptation starring Will Smith as the assassin Deadshot and Jared Leto as The Joker was put in development, with a theatrical release due in 2016.


Before we reveal our top supervillain team, here are a few dishonorable mentions!

Sinestro Corps

Dark Avengers

Hellfire Club (Inner Circle)

Secret Society of Supervillains

The Marvel Universe has seen its fair share of influential supervillain teams, but the Sinister Six serve as one of the most iconic and infamous. This team collects some of The Amazing Spider-Man's most fearsome foes, among them being Vulture, Sandman, Kraven the Hunter, Electro, and Mysterio, all under the brilliant, but devious leadership of Doctor Octopus. The Sinister Six never fail to push the web-slinging wonder to his crime-fighting limits, whether through physical battles or via kidnapping plots for Spidey's close friends and family, making them a consistent and viable threat to anyone who gets in their way.


Do you agree with our list? Which supervillain teams do you love to fear? For more powerful top 10 lists, published every day, please subscribe to WatchMojo.com!