Marvel Legends
Forgotten Avengers Villains
I mean, we kind of had to do this list, too, right?
It just would not have felt right doing a Top Five of forgotten Avengers we need for Marvel Legends and not included guys for them to fight. I mean, superhero comics would be a lot less interesting if we just followed them around while they washed their spandex costumes that they really don’t have to wear because there are no super villainous threats, right? Plus, it seems like when you start thinking about top five lists, your brain starts cooking and others come along, so I might get a bit list-happy over the next few weeks.
Anyway, while it might seem like over half the heroic side of the Marvel Universe has spent time on the Avengers roster at some point, it is the same on the bad guys side. I mean, the Avengers have fought just about everyone at this point, so this list was going to be pretty fluid in terms of requirements from the offset. That said, I have tried to focus on characters who are primarily Avengers villains, or at least known to be a key foe of a key Avenger. Still though, I can promise you that at least a couple of they people on this list could be mentioned as a “villain to some other team guy, more than an Avengers baddie.” That is fine, I am not treating this with Price-Waterhouse level of rigor.
This time though, my list will be limited to characters who have NEVER had an ML figure in any form. So this top five will not include re-dos (but read to the end), and I am sure your list will look different.
So, here we go…
ATTUMA
I have been harping about getting an Attuma figure since the Toy Biz days. Yeah, I get it, you think Namor when you think of Attuma, but he is also an Avengers team baddie, too, in my opinion, and he has a damned awesome look. I mean, Attuma made more overall Marvel Top Ten pick for this year, so he would be here by default anyway. That said, he doesn’t need that boost because he is rad and we need a figure!
COUNT NEFARIA
Um, this dude is one of the longest-standing Avengers villains, having made his debut in 1960s. Plus, since we just got Living Laser, we get that whole character association thing via the Lethal Legion, amirite? Plus, when he got his powers, he bit off of Laser, Whirwind, and Power Man, so he is certainly an Avengers level threat. I like his super villain look more than the old count suit, and really, he could be made up of a lot of ML part reuse.
SUPER ADAPTOID
I mean, on concept alone, SA is pretty much the perfect Avengers villain, right? For powers, take all of the abilities of the Avengers and combine them, and you got it. For looks, put all of those Avengers costumes in a blender with pea soup, and you got that, too. ML has done a pretty darned good job of getting us some of the oddball villains, and Super Adaptoid would fit that mold wonderfully.
ARAMADILLO
I know it is shallow to say, but I would buy an ML Armadillo on looks alone. Sure, he is a longstanding Avengers foe thanks mostly to his association with Captain America, but look at this magnificent bastard. He is a humanoid armadillo and he is GLORIOUS. Villains generally benefit from the build-a-figure slot in a wave more often than heroes, so Armadillo would be just about perfect there, and all of our collections would be much better for it. Speaking of BAFs…
MISTER HYDE
Hey, it is cool to build up more Avengers villains, and when you can also increase your Masters of Evil ranks at the same time, it is a smart idea to do so. Mister Hyde is one of those guys who seems to always float around the Marvel Top Ten BAF winner slot, but has not gotten his chance to quite break through. That is okay, because he needs to be a BAF anyway, and he would make a cool one indeed. He is a giant dude in a gaudy green suit, and he almost killed Hercules that one time, so your new Herc figure will have someone to fight.
Oh, and since I focused solely on characters who have not had any Marvel Legends figure whatsoever, I did want to include an “honorable mention” list of Avengers villains who, while already have an ML figure in some form, are long past due to for redo. So for that, I am including Baron Von Strucker, Kang, and Mandarin. Plus, I would love newer, but more classic versions of Blastaar and Dormammu.
Well, that is my list, I am not sweating it too much because Marvel Legends is on such a roll right now, but I still want to see these guys sooner than later.
