10 Marvel Villains Who Eventually Transformed into Heroes

It’s not uncommon for villains to turn into heroes, but it’s not common for them to stay that way. But there are few Marvel characters who have done precisely that. However, what causes a villain to become a hero? It doesn’t always happen in a day or two. Sometimes it’s a slow burn until you’re possessed, which, as you’ll see, happens a lot in the world of comic book superhero movies and TV shows.

The true test of a comic book villain’s villainy is whether or not their publisher enables them to continue being bad and forces them to become a good hero. Hitting the reset button takes the sting out of any evil deed, and eliminates all of the drama that having a good guy turn bad is supposed to elicit.

However, there are rare exceptions to the rule, as some super-villains have turned to the light and remained heroes. In Addition, if you want to see which villain has started doing good deeds then you will have to Watch MCU movies in order. However, some have become even more well-known as heroes than as villains. 

Take a look at ten such examples from the Marvel Cinematic Universe below:

1. Wonder Man

Simon Williams was a villainous villain in the Marvel comics, having been recruited by Baron Zemo and his Masters of Evil to help bring down Tony Stark. He was originally an industrialist who had been forced out of business by Stark and embezzled to avoid bankruptcy.

2. Hawkeye

Clint Barton/Hawkeye first appeared as a villain in Tales of Suspense #57. Hawkeye was framed for thievery and attacked by the man who inspired him to become an Avenger.

3. Scarlet Witch

Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff first appeared as a member of Magneto’s Brotherhood of Mutants in X-Men #4. Wanda joined the Avengers when Magneto was kidnapped by the cosmic entity the Stranger. She was a recurrent antagonist of the titular mutant heroes and Jean Grey’s rival.

4. Quicksilver

Pietro Maximoff first appeared as Magneto’s underling in X-Men, but followed his sister Wanda into the Avengers. Pietro has been an Avenger less frequently than his sister. He married Crystal of the Inhuman Royal Family after falling in love with her.

5. The Vision

The Vision was first appearing in Avengers #57. The android was built by an Ultron to draw the band to their doom but soon turned on his creator. He became an enduring member of the Avengers and married Scarlet Witch, another villain-turned-Avenger.

6. Black Widow

She first appeared in Tales of Suspense #52 as a KGB agent and Iron Man’s antagonist. Natasha Romanoff’s Russian ancestry meant that she was mostly a villain in her early years of comic-book fame.

7. Rogue

Rogue is a member of the X-Men. She first appeared in Avengers Annual #10, and has appeared in dozens of comic book storylines. Rogue uses her absorption skills to take other people’s powers and memories from her own body for enhanced super-soldier powers.

8. Deadpool

The Merc with a Mouth was recruited to destroy the titular team of juvenile superheroes in Deadpool’s first appearance, The New Mutants #98. Then, in 1997, Joe Kelly began writing a solo series for the character, and Deadpool established his distinct personality, which was popularized by Ryan Reynolds’ film adaptation. Deadpool became an anti-hero rather than a villain after obtaining his fourth-wall-breaking sense of humor.

9. Emma Frost

Emma Frost was one of the founding members of the Hellions, a band of unstable teenage mutants formed to fight the New Mutants. She battled the X-Men twice before forming an all-girl super-team with her friends, the Hellfire Club. However, Emma finally and permanently became a protagonist of the X-books during Grant Morrison’s New X-Men series. She joined the team after Cassandra Nova’s Genocide of Genosha and even had a romance with Cyclops.

10. Songbird

Melissa Gold is a former member of the Masters of Evil, formerly known as Screaming Mimi. She’s since abandoned her malicious persona in favor of her heroic one, even becoming an Avenger. Melissa adopted the alias Songbird, however, her transformation into a superhero was short-lived.