Both Marvel and DC are home to some incredibly powerful supervillains. Over the years, many evil doers have tried to accomplish all sorts of things, only to be thwarted in the end by whichever hero just in the knick of time. However, every so often, the heroes have suffered an unfortunate loss, with the villain being the victor for a certain period of time.
With evil sometimes being the victor, all sorts of frightening possibilities have been imagined. Though the good guys still find a way to win in the end, some villainous victories have had dire repercussions. To look back at some of the biggest wins for the baddies, here is our list of 5 Marvel and 5 DC villains who have actually taken over the world.
10 The Crime Syndicate
The Crime Syndicate is a very dark and evil reflection of the Justice League who comes from Earth 3. In this world, evil always wins out over good, making this team some of the most powerful supervillains imaginable. For as many times as the main Justice League has faced off against them though, no other time was more devastating than during DC’s Forever Evil storyline.
After managing to take down three different versions of the Justice League, The Crime Syndicate actually succeeded in taking over the world. Their ruthless methods quickly established them as the dominant characters of the world, leaving it up to villains like Lex Luthor to take them down. Thankfully, their reign didn’t last too long, but they still managed to do something that very few other villains actually accomplish.
9 Ultron
Unlike in the movie, Marvel’s Age of Ultron comic actually sees the evil robot completely take over the world. Ultron’s rule is so great that very little human life still exists within it. Likewise, readers are given hints as to some brutal ways that Marvel characters have perished.
For a story that revolves entirely around stopping Ultron, the villain is actually in very little of it. For the most part, Wolverine is the main character as he travels back in time to stop Hank Pym from ever creating the A.I. Though Wolverine succeeds in erasing the timeline, Ultron still managed to take over the entire world.
8 Brother Eye
Like Ultron, Brother Eye is a very dangerous A.I. system that managed to take over the entire world. Kicking off the Future’s End event, Brother Eye is shown to have taken down the entire Justice League and enslaving the rest of the planet.
In a final effort to destroy the computer once and for all, Terry McGinnis travels back in time in order to convince Bruce Wayne and Mr. Terrific to not create Brother Eye. While the plot is very similar to that of Age of Ultron, Brother Eye still managed to take over the Earth in an equally devastating way. Furthermore, with the similarities between the two “villains,” it would make sense for the two to accomplish some of the same feats.
7 Apocalypse
Though it may seem obvious, the Age of Apocalypse storyline would have to see the iconic X-Men villain take over the world. After Legion went back in time and accidentally killed his father, Apocalypse was free to take over the world due to the lack of Xavier’s guidance and influence. Because of this, every X-Men title at the time changed and looked at the characters’ roles in this alternate timeline.
Of course, everything is eventually put back to normal in the end, but it doesn’t change the fact that it was one of the biggest Marvel events at the time. Like with Ultron in Age of Ultron, Apocalypse isn’t seen too much in Age of Apocalypse. Still, he managed to enact one of the most devastating takeovers of the Marvel universe to date.
6 Joker
As the Dark Knight's most formidable foe, the Joker has posed as all sorts of threats over the years. Though he typically operates within Gotham City limits only, the iconic villain has branched out from time to time, causing problems for other DC heroes elsewhere. In one instance, Joker actually managed to take over the world, but within the pages of a Superman comic.
After obtaining the powers of Mr. Mxyzptlk from the fifth dimension, Joker used his abilities to conquer the world. From there, he managed to lock Superman in Arkham Asylum and murder Batman again and again. As one can probably imagine, a world ruled by the Joker is a truly frightening thought. Thankfully, the villain’s reign was short-lived, but he still accomplished something many others have failed to do.
5 Magneto
Thanks to the help of his daughter, Magneto was one of the most prominent political figures in the entire Marvel universe. During the House of M storyline, Scarlet Witch rewrote reality where mutants were the dominant species on the planet. In the process, she made her father the most important man on the planet while also trying to give those closest to her a better life.
The irony of the situation is that, for all the other times Magneto has actively sought to establish mutants as the dominant species, he had no hand in creating the House of M. Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver were the two responsible for rewriting reality, making Magneto just as clueless as everyone else. However, even though his hands were clean of the situation, Magneto was still the dominant figure of the world, qualifying him for this list.
4 Darkseid
On several occasions, DC has explored what the world would look like if Darkseid were successful. However, the two biggest examples are in JLA: Rock of Ages and Final Crisis. Both stories feature incredibly dark takes on the DC universe, which does make sense considering the scope of Darkseid’s power.
Furthermore, in Final Crisis, Darkseid came incredibly close to plunging the world into the Dark Multiverse. For how powerful he was at the time, it is a miracle that Superman was able to save the world. With this demonstration alone, it is fair to say that Darkseid has earned his place on this list.
3 Thanos
Thanos has come very close to victory on many occasions. However, it wasn’t until recently where he actually managed to take over the world. In the Thanos Wins storyline by author Donny Cates, Thanos travels into the future to discover that he has obliterated virtually all life in the universe.
With very few living things still in existence, Thanos relies on the help of his younger self in order to take down the last few who stand against him and finally win over Death. Considering the devastation that Thanos brought to the entire Marvel universe, it is easy to see why he is such a threat to the heroes who fight him. Likewise, thanos managed to conquer far more than the Earth making his reign truly terrifying to think about.
2 Lex Luthor
Surprisingly, Lex Luthor was once arguably the most powerful man on the planet. For a brief period, the iconic Superman villain was actually the sitting President of the United States of America. After lying and manipulating his way to the top, Luthor actually managed to obtain the oval office, using his power for all sorts of evil and selfish gain.
Though he didn’t exactly take over the whole planet, Luthor’s presidency still had massive repercussions even after he left office. However, seeing him in this way did draw a lot of interesting parallels to Superman and the different type of power dynamic between the rivals. Furthermore, for someone as brilliant as Lex, it is almost surprising that he hadn’t done something like this sooner.
1 Dr. Doom
Though the character has had a very rough time on the big screen, Dr. Doom is easily one of Marvel’s most powerful and dangerous villains. However, for all the evil actions he has done over the years, Doom was arguably never more powerful than he was during Jonathan Hickman’s Secret Wars series.
At one point in the series, Doom is so powerful that he is literally a god. Shaping much of the world in his image, Doom reigned ruthlessly over the entirety of the Marvel universe. Eventually, Reed Richards is once again able to defeat the villain and restore the damage he’d done, but it doesn’t change the fact that Victor Von Doom was the most powerful Marvel character ever for a time.