Monsters are alive and well in the Marvel Universe. Whether they're hiding in sewers, camped out in mountains, living in the far reaches of space or under a child's bed, there are many beasts crawling and creeping around, preying on the weak. Heroes such as Thor, Blade, and Doctor Strange have spent years fighting many of these monsters, but several other heroes have paid their dues vanquishing these beasts.
While many of these Marvel monsters are well-known, others have spent years in the shadows, biding their time. Some monsters don't intend to cause harm but have been manipulated or angered by the foolishness of man, and some have demanded retribution for these disturbances.
10 Fin Fang Foom
One of the most famous monsters in the Marvel Universe, Fin Fang Foom is a shape-shifting alien that resembles a Chinese dragon. A group of his alien race left their planet in search of other worlds to conquer and landed on Earth centuries ago. Choosing to shape-shift into beings on Earth and infiltrate the species, Fin Fang Foom chose to enter a deep slumber in a tomb, which was a backup plan in case his fellow aliens failed.
Fin Fang Foom has been depicted as a villain as well as a hero, choosing to side with many different factions in his long tenure on Earth. While he usually tries to prolong his slumber, he's been forced to fight the Fantastic Four, The Avengers, and has even worked with the Agents of Wakanda, the Mole Man, and many others.
9 Wendigo
A monster native to the Canadian wilderness, the Wendigo is the result of a curse – one that dooms anyone who consumes the flesh of another human to become a massive, furry beast with razor-sharp claws and teeth. The Wendigo is forced to roam the woods until the curse is taken up by another. The beast is so feral that it's come to blows with many heroes who've found themselves seeking refuge in the Canadian mountains.
The Wendigo has been known to fight anyone and anything in its constant search for flesh. It has often come to blows with the Hulk, though it's also fought the likes of the Sentry, the Red Hulk, and even Moon Knight. The Wendigo curse is impossible to cure, and it's still uncertain how many there can be at a given time, with some believing it's limited to two. However, there's also evidence to suggest tribes of Wendigo live in secret in the Canadian Rockies.
8 The Midgard Serpent
The Midgard Serpent, aka Jormungand, is one of the deadliest monsters across the Nine Realms, having clashed with Thor, the Norse God of Thunder on several occasions. According to Norse mythology, the Serpent is the son of Loki and the sorceress Angerboda. Along with the Fenris Wolf, the Serpent is seen as one of the most dangerous monsters in Asgardia, leading Odin to banish the Serpent to the oceans of Earth.
Most recently. the Midgard Serpent attempted to defeat Thor by infiltrating the dreamscape of Donald Blake, Thor's alter ego and host. The Serpent revealed to Blake that his whole life was an illusion, causing Blake to go mad. In his rage, he murdered the Midgard Serpent, took its power, and fused it with his own Odinforce, which made him a huge threat to Thor.
7 Krakoa
As the current home to the X-Men and most of the mutant population, Krakoa is the mutant-island entity that was originally introduced as a living monster island and an enemy of the X-Men. Originally believed to have mutated because of nuclear radiation off the coast of the Pacific Ocean, Krakoa was actually the twin of Arakko – two landmasses that were split by the Twilight Sword of an enemy.
On one of the X-Men's first missions, they arrived on Krakoa after detecting a mutant presence. However, they were captured as potential sources of food, which forced Professor X to recruit two different teams of mutants to try and rescue their fellow members from Krakoa. Years later, the X-Men learned to communicate with the island through a psychic link and formed a long-lasting partnership.
6 The Lizard
Dr. Curt Conners is a brilliant scientist and geneticist, who unfortunately lost his arm in an explosion. Conners then devoted his life to experimenting with reptilian DNA to try and regrow lost limbs. He eventually settled on a serum that incorporated lizard DNA with human genes. Experimenting on himself, the serum successfully regrew his arm, but also turned him into a giant feral Lizard monster who went on to fight Spider-Man several times.
While Conners was eventually cured of his Lizard personality, in times of extreme stress and anger, he is shown to revert back into it. Sometimes, he even retains his human intelligence. Nobody has taken more precautions to avoid his transformations than Connors himself, who is constantly terrified of harming his family or others because of his own selfish experiments.
5 Sauron
Karl Lykos has a unique set of powers. He's a mutant with the ability to absorb the energy and life force of others. After absorbing the energy of the mutant, Havok, it triggered Lykos' body to turn into a humanoid-pteranodon hybrid – similar to the one that bit him in a traumatic attack as a child. Adopting the name Sauron, Lykos went on to rule the Savage Land – an island forgotten by civilization and once a home to many species of dinosaurs.
While Sauron has been underestimated many times, he's provided one of the most comical interactions Spider-Man has been in recently. The potential of his powerset is truly frightening, which has made him an Avengers-level threat at times. He was even the prime target of the mass jailbreak that caused the creation of the New Avengers.
4 Xenmu
The alien monster, Xemnu is an incredibly intelligent being with a huge amount of strength and power. Introduced in Marvel Comics in 1960's Journey Into Mystery, he is one of the first monsters introduced (even before the Fantastic Four!) Able to cast hypnotic rays, use telekinesis, scatter his atoms, and even inhabit host bodies, Xemnu is a force to be reckoned with.
Most recently, Xemnu was a foe of the Hulk in the Immortal Hulk title. He was hired by the Roxxon company to ruin the Hulk's public image by creating disasters and swooping in to save the day. Xemnu used his hypnotic powers to persuade civilians and even close friends and allies of the Hulk to turn their backs on him. Thankfully, Hulk managed to break free of his control.
3 Swarm
Nazi-bees. That's the whole tweet. Although it may seem far-fetched, the villain Swarm is the culmination of former Nazi scientist Fritz Von Meyer's work regarding beehives and human intelligence. Somehow, Von Meyer managed to train honeybees to follow his brainwaves, which lets him command swarms of bees to do his bidding.
Although it's a strange premise, Swarm has been a sting in many heroes' backsides. Seen as a low-level villain, he provided ample training experience for some of Marvel's best heroes and has shown a wide range of intelligence, despite his questionable choices when it comes to applying it.
2 Frankencastle
After he was killed by Daken, Frank Castle (the infamous Punisher) was revived by the Legion of Monsters as an undead-zombie-like monster known as "Franken-Castle". The Legion resurrected Frank to recruit him in their fight against the villain known as Hellsgaard, who was systematically killing off monsters. Although he originally refused, Frank got involved after seeing innocent child monsters being killed too and decided to enact his own brand of Punishing on Hellsgaard.
An incredibly interesting spell in Frank Castle's long, tumultuous life, he went on to slay hordes of Hellsgaards men. He also nearly enacted revenge against Daken – the man who killed him originally – before he was returned to his human form through the Bloodstone.
1 Dracula
The legendary King of the Vampires, Count Vlad Dracula has a long history in the Marvel Universe. Having fought the likes of the X-Men, Blade, and the Avengers, Dracula has a habit of resurfacing, causing terror, and then slipping back underground. Due to his large amount of followers, he always seems primed to return.
Recently, Dracula has helped create a new Vampire Nation, settling in Chernobyl and claiming it for all vampires. After enlisting the services of Omega Red, Dracula managed to lure Wolverine to Chernobyl, ambush him, and claim some of Wolverine's blood for himself. Now able to walk in the daylight, the Vampire Nation is sure to attack soon.
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