Marvel's heroes and villains have fought ferocious battles against each other, all with the fate of the planet Earth in the balance. The heroes win, and the villains go into hiding or to jail. However, that doesn't mean that the villains have never taken over. In fact, Marvel has published many stories where the villains have won and become rulers of the world.
While these stories usually take place in alternate universes or future timelines, they still let readers see what the world would be like if the villains were in charge. Many of these comics have become quite popular, with their villainous rulers grabbing readers' imaginations.
10 Ultron
Marvel has many evil robots, but none are so famous as Ultron. The mad android has attacked humanity many times, but the Avengers were always able to stop him. Well, until Age of Ultron, that is. Written by Brian Michael Bendis with art by Bryan Hitch, Brandon Peterson, and Carlos Pacheco, the story took place in an alternate future where Ultron escaped the Avengers and returned months later with an army of drones.
Ultron and his drones killed the majority of the human race on the first day. Many heroes died, leaving a small cadre of survivors to form a new Avengers team. Ultron took control of the world, hunting down the remnants of humanity. The Avengers were forced to use time travel to defeat him, but Wolverine and Invisible Woman killed Hank Pym, creating a world doomed for another reason. A second try saw the two get it right.
9 Akhenaton
Writer/artist Jim Starlin's Marvel Universe: The End saw the heroes of the Earth face off against a returned monarch of the past. The pharaoh Akhenaton, kidnapped from Egypt in the waning days of his reign by aliens, came back to Earth with nearly omnipotent power as a servant of the Celestial Order. Akhenaton used his vast cosmic powers to kill Earth's heroes in two fell blows.
The governments of the world swore fealty to him as the Defenders - Silver Surfer, Namor, Hulk, and Doctor Strange, Genis-Vell when he was Captain Marvel, and Thanos worked together to end his reign. They attacked the Celestial Order's stronghold. In a pitched battle against the Order, Thanos was able to steal their power source and ended Akhenaton's reign.
8 Kang The Conqueror
Kang the Conqueror was very successful in his future conquests, but the present resisted his efforts because heroes like the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. That was until Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, by writer Kurt Busiek and artists Alan Davis, Kieron Dwyer, Rick Remender, Ivan Reis, and Manuel Garcia. Acting as Victor Timely, Kang softened up the world for assault.
Using his far future technology and the power of Damocles Base, Kang was able to conquer the world. The Conqueror had finally won in the present, outsmarting the heroes who had always defeated him. It wouldn't last, but for a time the Kang Dynasty was strong.
7 Magneto
Magneto has been the recipient of a patented Marvel face turn, having held membership with the X-Men for over a decade. The irony is that the circumstances that saw him join the team stemmed from the aftermath of his rule of the Earth. During House of M, by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Olivier Coipel, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch recreated the world with Magneto in charge.
Unfortunately, Wolverine still had his old memories and with the help of Layla Miller awakened the memories of the other heroes. They attacked the House of M in Genosha, revealing the truth to Magneto. Scarlet Witch freaked out and depowered the mutant race as she restored the world. Magneto lost his powers for a time but once he regained them, he joined the X-Men to protect his decimated people.
6 The Void
The Sentry has always numbered among the scariest Avengers, with his dark side the Void jeopardizing humanity. He was always stopped by the heroes. However, What If... (Vol. 1) #200, by writer Marc Guggenheim and artist Dave Wilkins, presented what would happen if Norman Osborn won the Siege of Asgard. In this reality, the Sentry killed Ares before the conflict started, so he wasn't weakened during the battle.
The Sentry tore through the Asgardians and the Avengers alike. Norman Osborn won in the short term, but soon the Void took complete control of the Sentry. He slaughtered everyone in his path, ending all life on Earth, fulfilling his purpose to make everything as empty as he was.
5 Apocalypse
Apocalypse has always numbered among Marvel's most powerful villains, and he's proven that by taking over the world in alternate timelines and the future. The most well-known example of this is The Age of Apocalypse, where the early death of Charles Xavier emboldened Apocalypse's attack on the world. However, he only actually ruled the Americas, so this one doesn't actually count.
However, thousands of years in the future, Apocalypse is the ruler of the world. Nathan Summers, infected by the techno-organic virus, is sent to the future with Mother Askani, who helps him deal with it while training him to fight Apocalypse. Eventually Nathan would come back to the present as Cable to stop this future from happening, but he's yet to succeed.
4 Red Skull
Among Marvel's most ruthless villains, Red Skull takes the cake. Captain America and the Avengers usually beat him, but in one alternate universe, Cap didn't awaken at the same time. In Captain America: Cap Lives!, by writer Dave Gibbons and artist Lee Weeks, Cap was never found by the Avengers because the Nazis won World War II.
Cap is found in the 21st century by resistance fighters. Red Skull took over the Fourth Reich after the death of Hitler and rules with an iron fist. Cap joining the resistance turns the tide of battle, as the two enemies reignite their war, which ends with the dethroning of Red Skull.
3 Nimrod
Powers of X, by writer Jonathan Hickman and artist R.B. Silva, presented one of many dark futures where machines had taken over humanity. This one took place during Moira MacTaggert's ninth life, when she teamed with Apocalypse. In this future, Nimrod and Omega Sentinel ruled the world for the machines, having dispatched nearly every living mutant.
Nimrod and Omega Sentinel presided over a humanity that had embraced the concept of post-humanity, combining their bodies with machines. However, the remaining X-Men, led by Apocalypse, broke into their data center, found the location of Nimrod's birth, and gave it to Moira. Wolverine killed her and ended that timeline, stopping it from coming to fruition.
2 Thanos
After defeating Akhenaton in the aforementioned Marvel Universe: The End, Thanos became God. Thanos's weaknesses kept him from power before, but this time he used his powers to try to find the flaw in the universe which he sensed. Of course, the heroes and cosmic beings tried to end his reign as God, but his power was too great.
Thanos tried to find the source of entropy eating away at the fabric of the universe and found it in the past. The first superhero who had been resurrected started the process, and since then it had intensified. Soon, the entire universe is gone except for him and Adam Warlock, and he sacrifices himself to bring the universe back, removing the instability.
1 Doctor Doom
Doctor Doom is a Marvel legend, and has ruled not only the world, but the remnants of the multiverse. During Secret Wars (2015), by writer Jonathan Hickman and artist Esad Ribic, Doctor Doom found the power to stop the Incursions, becoming God Emperor Doom. He used this power to combine fragments of alternate worlds into one, saving what was left of creation.
Doom created a world that depended on him, but survivors of the 616 Earth led by Reed Richards and Black Panther were able to disrupt his kingdom. In a final battle with Richards, Doom admitted that Reed would have done a better job than he had. He gave up his power, allowing the Richards family to rebuild the multiverse with his old power.