Marvel's heroes have a variety of motives for their heroism. Some are trying to atone for their pasts, some are out for revenge, and some are just good people trying to use their powers for the right reasons. Each has their own motives, and they allow those to guide them through their heroic career.
Other Marvel heroes have hidden agendas more complicated than simply doing the right thing because it's right. Ulterior motives don't make these heroes bad people, but it can make them difficult to work with or to trust. While this doesn't negate their accomplishments, it certainly puts them in a new perspective.
10 Reed Richards
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Reed Richards has always ranked high among Marvel's popular and intelligent heroes. Richards has been a key factor in saving the entire universe many times, but it's not because he's some kind of big time hero. No, when it comes down to it, Reed Richards does it for the science.
Reed Richards lives for scientific exploration and advancement. Being a superhero is just a way to explore the universe around him, interacting with technology and aliens he otherwise wouldn't. It allows Reed to test his intellect in new and interesting ways. A secondary ulterior motive is protecting his family, but science is always the main one.
9 Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider always has an ulterior motive, and it's very easy to figure out. Ghost Rider, specifically Johnny Blaze and Danny Ketch, were both empowered by Zarathros as the Spirit of Vengeance. While they're ostensibly good people, vengeance is their main motivation.
Ghost Rider is driven to take vengeance on the wicked for their crimes against the innocent. That's not to say that Ghost Rider doesn't care, but he has a duty to do what he does. The Spirit of Vengeance compels Ghost Rider, and the desire to exact vengeance will always be a weighty factor.
8 Black Cat
Black Cat is Marvel's version of Catwoman. There is basically only one personality difference between the two — for years, Black Cat loved Spider-Man but hated Peter Parker. Underscoring Felicia Hardy's actions is her desire for personal gain.
When Black Cat isn't working with Spider-Man, she indulges in robbery and theft. Felicia's ulterior motives revolve around making a profit or making Spider-Man like her. Black Cat is anything but altruistic, and her motives play a huge role in her actions and response to every situation.
7 Professor X
Each X-Men member has a different fear, and Professor X's play into his ulterior motives. Professor X wants to protect mutantkind. He's gone to great lengths to secure prosperity for his people. The only time he'll act against other mutants is if it will benefit mutantkind as a whole.
If Xavier gets involved with something, it's because he's trying to help mutantkind. He has no problem with humans benefiting from his actions, but if mutants aren't getting anything out of it, Xavier won't get involved. Professor X isn't a superhero. He's a man with a very specific mission, and it's always about mutants.
6 The Hulk
The Hulk is the strongest one there is, but calling him a superhero is completely incorrect. He doesn't fight supervillains to protect the innocent. The Hulk usually fights villains who are in his way or are related to his origin, like the Leader or Abomination. He'll occasionally help against a big bad, but that's mostly because he's asked, not because he particularly cares.
The Hulk wants to be left alone and that motives about ninety percent of his fights. It's why he's battled heroes just as much as he has villains. Also, different iterations of the Hulk have fought for various reasons as well. The Hulk is never without an ulterior motive.
5 Iron Man
Iron Man isn't always the best hero and definitely has ulterior motives. To begin with, there's the big one: to make up for years of being an arm dealer. Tony Stark's guilt over using his engineering skills to create weapons led him to heroism. It's a noble ulterior motive, but that doesn't mean they're all of his ulterior motives are noble.
For example, Tony Stark collected Thor's DNA in case he needed to clone him. He started the Illuminati because he felt he was uniquely suited to make decisions that affect everyone. Iron Man betrayed his friends during the superhero civil war because he didn't see any other way out of the situation. He even hunted down non-registered heroes as Director of SHIELD because they hurt his pride.
4 Nick Fury
Directors of SHIELD have a tough job, and all of them constantly have ulterior motives. That started with the first Director of the organization, Nick Fury. Fury was a complicated person at the best of times, keeping multiple plates spinning during his tenure. SHIELD under Nick Fury dealt with a thousand things at once; even when he helped the heroes, he was looking at a much bigger picture.
On top of that, Fury was the Man on the Wall. His job was simple — destroy threats from outer space and other dimensions before they ever reached Earth. This was just one of many ulterior motives that motivated everything Nick did. His alliances with the heroes were always complicated by his tangle of agendas.
3 The Punisher
The Punisher is an unrepentant mass murderer. He's not a good man, and he's not a superhero. He is a killer, pure and simple. The only silver lining behind his actions is that he kills the worst of the worst. The Punisher's motive for all of this is ostensibly to keep the streets safe, but it's really just petty revenge.
The Punisher has also worked with heroes before, and those times there were definitely ulterior motives because he hates superheroes. The Punisher is known for using other people to get fulfill his goals, especially members of the superhero community. The Punisher's motives often lurk below the surface, but they're always there.
2 Beast
Beast has joined the ranks of Marvel leaders who can't be trusted, a big change from how he used to be. Back in the day, the Beast often had scientific ulterior motives at times, but it was still mostly above the board. Since taking over leadership of X-Force, Beast has played his cards close to the vest, doing any and everything in his power to keep Krakoa safe.
For Beast, that means stealing technology, doing terrible experiments on prisoners, and using a feral Wolverine as his personal assassin. Beast may be doing what he can to protect Krakoa, but it's quite possible he's doing it all because he truly enjoys it. Beast enjoys the power and the lack of anyone questioning him.
1 Deadpool
There are many greedy Marvel heroes, who feel the best reward for altruism is payment. Deadpool fits this bill in multiple ways. To begin with, Deadpool is a mercenary. He works for the highest bidder, meaning that profit is always an ulterior motive. At times, his agenda involves hanging out with people he likes, joining X-Force to be around Wolverine, and fighting evil with Spider-Man.
Finally, Deadpool wants to make up for who he was in the past. He feels genuine remorse for being the person he used to be. Deadpool wants to be considered a hero like his idols. He's doing his best to become a hero, someone who his daughter can look up to.