Obviously, we know The Avengers as famous heroes. And not just any heroes: they are Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. They serve as an inspiration for all of us who want to be more than what we already are, showing us the brilliance of Iron Man, the nobility of Captain America, and the ingenuity of Black Widow.
Part of the difficulty for every Avengers writer, then, is finding a villain who is worth our heroes’ time. Many of the villains who would headline a single movie (such as The Vulture) would be child’s play for our assembled heroes to fight. But what if it weren’t so easy?
For years, comics and movie fans have enjoyed stories of what happens when our good guys go bad. What happens when your strongest and smartest heroes end up becoming the strongest and smartest villains? At that point, the world they once saved will start to tremble.
If the movies and comics won’t make these villainous switches, the fans will! Fans love to redesign heroes into the scariest villains you’ve ever seen.
If you’re ready to never look at these heroes the same again, keep reading to check out 15 Amazing Avengers Redesigned As Villains.
Captain America
Sometimes, fan artists have an interesting challenge: when they set out to give us a villainous version of a hero, they must also contend with the official designs that have come before. For instance, we already saw Marvel’s take on an evil-looking Captain America back during Secret Empire. Frankly, we’re much more impressed by this one!
Here, artist theDURRRRIAN gives us a medieval Cap that looks downright sinister.
His face is partially obscured, leaving us with a glimpse of narrowed, seemingly glowing eyes.
His armor is also dark and gloomy: instead of being a bright and symbolic character, he looks like a mysterious dark knight that someone like Sir Gawain would encounter in battle. In short: we’d take our chances with Marvel’s Hydra version of Captain America over this scary guy any day of the week!
Blackest Widow
When you get right down to it, the Marvel Cinematic Universe presents Black Widow in a surprisingly cheery light. After all, she is a master assassin with a history of violent attacks, but most fans know her as the quippy redhead (and occasional blonde) who kicks butt. That’s why this artist decided to give us something much scarier!
Artist ArtsGFX99 shows us a Black Widow that looks downright sinister. She’s rocking red eyes in a pale face, all topped off with dark hair.
What really pulls the image together is the mysterious red glow of her belt, serving as a symbol of all of the extra red she is about to add to her ledger.
We’re pretty sure this Black Widow won’t be cracking jokes anytime soon!
Hydra Iron Man
We usually imagine Iron Man as strictly in opposition to the evil organization Hydra. Despite his quirks, Tony Stark fights for a world of order and justice; meanwhile, Hydra seeks to remake the world in their own terrible image. However, this image imagines what it would be like if Iron Man were to join the dark side.
Here, we see artist KT4MODDING showing us how clean and simple a Hydra Iron Man design can be. Most of the basic design is the same, but he’s traded in his red and gold suit for a green and gold one instead. To top it off, he now has the Hydra icon over his Arc reactor, making his evil allegiance completely clear to the whole world!
Spider-Venom
Part of what makes Venom such a scary character (give or take a completely goofy movie trailer) is that he represents the dark reflection of Spider-Man. Due to the history of the symbiote suit, he represents the kind of evil path that Spider-Man could have gone down. In this image, we see what that path less taken might have looked like.
Here, artist nataku27 shows us an image of Spider-Man actually transforming into his worst nemesis.
Rather than being in balance between good and evil, one look at this image shows us how evil is winning.
I f we’re being completely honest, this picture already looks way scarier than anything in that Venom trailer. And unlike that movie, this image actually has Spider-Man in it!
Zombie Hulk
In any given appearance, Hulk is already pretty scary. After all, he is an unstoppable rage monster. However, the various comic and CGI artists bringing the Hulk to life usually make him look more human than monster. Here, though, is an image that changes everything!
In this frightening image, artist Crotale shows us just how monstrous Hulk can really look. Instead of smooth green skin and bright yellow pants, this Hulk has blistered skin and dark clothing.
Nothing can top his face: Hulk has his mouth opened in a villainous roar, complete with what appear to be fangs ready to bite his foe!
If the MCU ever gets another Hulk redesign and pits him against our heroes, this is the design we’d like to see.
Carnage Daredevil
Because of the nature of the symbiote suits in Marvel, fans always love to speculate what it might be like if other characters were to get possessed. In some cases, it’s enough to make a character that already looks scary into something downright hideous. That’s exactly what’s going on here with Daredevil.
Daredevil already dresses like Satan. What could make him even nastier? Here, artist junkome imagines what it would be like if the Carnage symbiote bonded to our Man Without Fear.
The final result is something that is truly nightmare-inducing.
We’re pretty sure any criminals that this Daredevil fights are going to win themselves a quick ticket to the grave! At any rate, we’re pretty sure this might be the one thing that would get some fans to watch another Defenders season.
Darkeye
Hawkeye is a character who doesn’t get that much fan love. As he himself likes to point out, it’s tough to stand out on a team surrounded by gods, monsters, and world-class geniuses. Thus, any villainous redesign of Hawkeye would have to give him something truly distinctive. We’re pretty sure this qualifies!
Artist theDURRRRIAN initially set out to create his version of The Avengers in a more medieval style. However, he ended up creating some truly frightening Avengers, including Hawkeye.
Instead of looking like an everyday Joe archer, theDURRRRIAN created something more evocative of the Grim Reaper instead.
In fact, we’d wager that this version of Hawkeye always shoots to end, and we’d hate to see what happens to anyone who gets between him and his prey.
Black Widow
Some would argue that Black Widow doesn’t need much help looking scary. As a black-clad assassin with a past soaked in violence, she already looks like mortality personified in the form of deceptive beauty. In this next redesign, though, we see just how scary she can get.
In this redesign, artist Daniel Kamarudin decided to explore what the Avengers would look like if they were characters in a dark fantasy setting. Black Widow sports an eerie expression, including pale skin and piercing eyes.
She already looks a bit like a banshee, and she’s also covered in sinister armor and bearing sharp blades with which to destroy her enemies.
The “normal” Black Widow might be content to simply eliminate her target, but no one quite knows how far this version will go!
Evil Scarlet Witch
For the more pedantic fans out there, we’ve already seen an “evil” Scarlet Witch. In the MCU, as in the comics before it, she is introduced as a villain before actually joining the Avengers. However, she remains a source of immense and frightening power, and this image helps remind us of that!
In this image, artist KoweRallen reminds us that Scarlet Witch is bristling with chaos magic that is powerful enough to change the world.
Her eyes and hand glow with the power she contains, and judging from the look on her face, someone is about to have a very, very bad day.
As scary as this whole thing is, we’re hoping to one day see the MCU Scarlet Witch channel this level of epic power!
Nick Fury
To some fans, Nick Fury already seems pretty villainous. In all black, wearing an eyepatch, and monitoring the entire world, he has often seemed as much of a James Bond style villain as he is a hero. However, this next redesign takes those villainous implications in his regular design and basically dials them up to eleven.
This is another entry from theDURRRRIAN medieval Avengers redesigns. Interestingly, he has chosen to portray Nick Fury as a kind of ominous wizard who holds special powers and abilities that the rest of the world can’t understand.
Not only is this a fun and ambitious redesign of an iconic character, but it serves as a perfect metaphor for how much of the world must see spymasters like Fury, who often literally hold the fate of the world in their hands.
Savage Wolverine
That’s right—Wolverine! Casual fans may be confused to see him on this list, but in the comics, he’s been a card-carrying Avenger for a long time now. Like some other characters on this list, he and his “berserker rage” look pretty scary even on a good day. What can you do to make him look even more villainous? Artist DonMonroeArtStudio shows us how it’s done.
The ultra-realistic portrayal of the all-white eyes makes Wolverine look very otherworldly, while his fangs and claws are on full display to intimidate his enemies.
To top it all off, Wolverine and the background is soaked with the suffering of his enemies. Whoever it is that’s getting sliced and diced, Wolverine is making it look like we’re next!
Thor
On one hand, Thor seems like he could be pretty scary: he’s a god with elemental powers and an unstoppable hammer. However, since he’s portrayed onscreen by a hunk like Chris Hemsworth, it can be a little difficult to take his potential menace seriously. However, images like this certainly help.
Here, artist Daniel Kamarudin shows us how downright scary this thunder god can be. Thor is crackling with lightning, and his eyes are filled with that same elemental power.
His face looks stern and unforgiving, and his hammer is clearly ready to strike down at a moment’s notice.
Bottom line? We wouldn’t want to get in his way anytime soon, but we’d love to see this version of Thor get a rematch against the Hulk to see what happens.
Iron Patriot
If you’re mostly a casual fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you might be wondering what’s going on here. Isn’t the “Iron Patriot” Iron Man’s old buddy War Machine with a new paint job? Yes and no. Iron Man 3 played off a plot in the comics in which Spider-Man’s enemy Norman Osborn (the Green Goblin) took control of S.H.I.E.L.D. and gave himself a superhero outfit.
That’s what artist DesmondKing has brought to really creepy life.
To make it extra-frightening, the artist based his Osborn on the original Spider-Man movies, giving the whole thing the unsettling realism of the uncanny valley.
It also serves as a powerful reminder that bad guys don’t change their stripes, even when they are wrapped up in the red, white, and blue!
Winter Widow
Sometimes, the best comic book redesigns come from a clever play on names. That’s the case here, as artist Jinmachan gives us a Winter Soldier with an emphasis on “winter.” The final result is something that would make both Captain America and Thor quake in their boots!
Still don’t get it? This is our familiar Black Widow mixed with a Winter Soldier and a Jotun, one of the Frost Giants that we see Thor dealing with in his very first movie. Their specific realm is called Jotunheim, and “Jotun” is the more proper term for these fearsome Frost Giants.
Overall, this artist strikes a nice balance of menace and pathos: part of what seems to drive this character is their inability to fully integrate into anyone else’s society or even world!
The Vision
Normally, Vision is a pretty friendly character. While he’s rocking a lot of power, he’s also soft-spoken and very gentle. It’s tough to see someone as a threat when they are voiced by Paul Bettany. However, artist Daniel Kamarudin has found a way to make this gentle character a hell of a lot scarier.
He accentuates Vision’s robotic nature in this image, showing us a face that is cold, dead, and impersonal.
He’s also more directly menacing: while we’d love to hug the real Vision, this one has an outfit that looks like it would hurt to touch. Finally, this version is more directly menacing, with a hand that is glowing with barely-controlled power that he’s looking to unleash! Watch your back, Scarlet Witch— this one looks dangerous.
Which Avenger would you most like to see as a villain? Let us know in the comments!
