Marvel's villains are the best in the business. The greatest of them have transcended the page to become legendary antagonists and like the foes they fight, are often more complex than they seem. That complexity often extends to who they are. While it's easy to lump them together as villains because they fight the heroes, a deeper glance reveals some don't quite fit the mold.

RELATED: 10 Marvel Events That Didn't Live Up To The Hype

For are a good amount of Marvel "villains" that label doesn't really stick upon closer inspection. This doesn't change the fact that many of their actions are evil and have caused untold havoc. Despite their horrible choices and dark mistakes, some "villains" have fairly heroic intentions.

10 Dark Phoenixes Aren't Actually Villains

Dark Phoenix Jean and Cyclops

There have been two notable Dark Phoenixes in Marvel history. The first was the corrupted Phoenix Force itself, having taken the form of Jean Grey. Human emotion and the machination of Mastermind and the Hellfire Club drove it to darkness. The second was Cyclops, corrupted by the power of the Phoenix Force.

Even considering that the first killed billions and Scott killed Xavier, calling either of them a villain doesn't quite fit. The nature of the Phoenix is death and rebirth. Its cosmic fire purifies. When the Phoenix destroys, it's just doing what it's meant to do.

9 Doctor Doom Is Better Than He Gets Credit For

Doctor Doom in front of a blue sky in Marvel Comics

Doctor Doom is usually thought of as the Earth's premiere villain. Doom's grudge against Reed Richards is legendary, and he's tried to take over the world multiple times. Yet, he's also saved the entire universe on several occasions. Doom's a great leader to the people of Latveria, whose lives are nearly perfect because of his rule.

The fact of the matter is that Doctor Doom can do a better job running the world than most of Marvel's famous leaders. The ruler of Latveria is far from perfect, but when looking at how he's helped his nation prosper, it's hard to count him among the villains.

8 Magneto Was Right

Magneto hovering in the air and verbally accepting his seat in the Great Ring in Marvel Comics.

Magneto is currently a hero at this point, but it's impossible to actually say he was ever actually a villain. Magneto commits terrorist actions, but it's hard to argue with his reasoning. As the years go by, more and more events prove Magneto right.

RELATED: 9 Marvel Characters Who Would Be Dead Without Night Nurse

Humanity often wants to destroy mutantkind, much like the Nazi's attempts to destroy Magneto's people, and the actions of the X-Men really didn't help make it any better. Magneto's methods may not have been "good" but his goals center on ensuring the survival of his race — not on global domination.

7 Galactus Is A Force Of Nature

Galactus uses his powers to construct a world-devouring device in Marvel Comics

There are few beings in the comics deadlier than Galactus. He's existed since before the current iteration of the universe and has been devouring planets and the lifeforms they contain for billions of years. Galactus' body count is unfathomable, but it all stems from a need to sustain himself.

Galactus' sustenance comes from planets and planets have life. He doesn't take that life maliciously and only fights if he has to. Just as humans find themselves at the top of their food chain, Galactus is at the top of his. As an agent of cosmic balance, Galactus is beyond paltry things like villainy.

6 The Lizard Can't Really Control What Happens When He Transforms

The Lizard in Marvel Comics

The Lizard is a legitimately terrifying villain, a cold-blooded monster who loses every semblance of humanity once he transforms. Dr. Curt Connors is a good man; he wants to pioneer a treatment help people regrow their list limbs. Unfortunately, he receives far more than he bargains for and transforms into a reptilian beast.

Once transformed, the Lizard is a creature of instinct. He sometimes has shreds of human intellect, but even that is tainted by his animalistic nature. It's a little much to call the Lizard a villain. At worst, he's a victim of hubris and at best he's merely a predator using his instincts to survive.

5 Loki Is A Trickster By Nature

Loki in Marvel Voices - Pride header

Loki's bravery is as legendary as his lies. He's a trickster god in a kingdom of warriors, using his magic and cunning to fight them. Loki's the God of Mischief and he lives up to his name. It's his place in the Asgardian pecking order. Loki weaves lies and tricks, trying to gain the power he feels owed by the only methods he has.

Loki's attacks on the heroes are because he's the "bad guy." It's his place in things, just like Thor is destined to be the epic hero. Proving over the years that he's more than just a villain, Loki is a complicated person who looks out for himself the only way he can.

4 Mystique Has Always Looked Out For Her People And Those She Loves

Mystique smirking in Marvel Comics' X-Men Black.

Mystique's danger can't be understated, but she's another mutant "terrorist" whose is only evil because of her methods. Many of Mystique's actions over the years all stem from being a mutant and a queer woman in a society which shunned both. She does whatever she must to look out for those she loves, like her wife Destiny, and to protect mutantkind.

Mystique's leadership over the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants was her way of ensuring mutantkind's survival. The fact she helped the group morph into the government sponsored Freedom Force proves Mystique is happy to follow the rules when doing so benefits her people. She further proves this during her time in X-Factor and working with Xavier.

3 Mister Sinister Is An Amoral Scientist

an image of Mister Sinister gleefully excited

When it comes to mutant genetics, none are smarter than Mister Sinister. He's been working for over a century to create the largest repository of knowledge on the mutant genome, a project that's yielded a genetic library like no other. To get to this point, Sinister has had to conduct numerous experiments, and he's never shied from that.

RELATED: 10 Marvel Villains We Want To See In Midnight Suns

To Sinister, science is the most important thing. He's completely amoral and a Darwinist to boot, pruning the genetic tree of dead ends when he has to. This doesn't help the Morlocks, who he ordered slaughtered, but calling him a villain is much too simple of a term.

2 Nimrod Is Just Following Its Programming

Nimrod argues from his throne from Marvel's Powers of X comic.

A Nimrod unit being built is the death knell for the mutant race in every timeline. Nimrod units aren't invincible, but they represent a leap forward in anti-mutant weaponry that eventually becomes insurmountable no matter how well entrenched mutant power is. To the X-Men, a Nimrod is the scariest development imaginable.

While mutants are scared of Nimrods, and they would consider them villains, a Nimrod is only a machine. It can be reprogrammed. Even the current Nimrod, which is based on a human personality, is only trying to protect humanity from what it perceives as mutant aggression. They do evil things, but that's only because they are obedient to their programming.

1 Apocalypse's Survival Of The Fittest Mantra Is Actually Altruistic

Apocalypse holding up his smoking fist and sneering in Marvel Comics

Apocalypse cultivated a reputation as fear personified for millennia. It's impossible to calculate how many lives he took in that time, and for years, his extreme Darwinist beliefs were viewed as cruel. However, this was completely misunderstood. Apocalypse was once a member of the mutant nation of Okkara, which was attacked by the demonic realm of Amenth.

Half of the mutant continent and most of the population of Okkara — including Apocalypse's family — went to fight the demons. His wife Genesis told him to prepare an army strong enough to fight Amenth upon their return. This was the beginning of Apocalypse's mission, and it gave the years of culling an altruistic bent.

NEXT: 10 Best Manipulators In Marvel Comics