It's often said that a hero is only as good as their villain. In comics, there are no shortage of crazy villains to stop many heroes at every turn, however, there seems to be a big trend where villains would be created that were just darker versions of the hero. With similar powers, these villains provide an alternative look at what the hero could've been had they gone down a different path. With some of these "hero copies," though, there is one key difference other than the moral alignment: their power levels. Many of these villains have ideas on how to take on the hero using their own powers. However, they make some adjustment that results in them being stronger versions. This presents a great obstacle for each hero, as they have to learn clever ways of overcoming their foes to become better. Often times, the hero wins, but that doesn't mean that the villains still aren't strong.
This power upgrade can often be the result of an altered version of the hero's origin story or some added tech or ability that gives them an edge in battle. They seek to perfect the formula that created their own adversaries. Either way, these villains serve their purpose of providing tense conflicts where it seems like the hero could lose (though we know they often don't). Not all villains have originality in their execution, but that doesn't stop them from being potent. We're looking at 20 villains that ripped off their heroes but ended up more powerful.
20 REVERSE-FLASH
Copying the Flash in both name and abilities, the Reverse-Flash made it his life's goal to ruin Barry Allen forever. He went as far as going back in time to take out his mother (which presented numerous complications in the timeline). Reverse-Flash found a way to obtain the same powers of speed as Allen, but ended up being much faster due to his experience.
He unlocked methods of time travel and other abilities that Allen didn't even know were possible, leaving the Scarlet Speedster often feeling defeated. With this in mind, their conflicts were always personal and full of some sound-breaking attacks.
19 VENOM
After the Venom symbiote was attached to Peter Parker and discarded, it went on to Eddie Brock. With both characters having a vendetta against Spider-Man, they adapted a lot of the wall crawler's abilities. Being able to swing from tall buildings, climb up walls, and even sporting a spider logo, Venom has always been a darker version of Parker.
The one thing that sets him apart from Spider-Man is the symbiote itself. Being a powerful alien, Venom can withstand a lot of attacks that Spider-Man never could. Furthermore, Venom happens to be much stronger than Parker, capable of greater feats than Spidey.
18 YELLOWJACKET
Darren Cross was a businessman connected to Hank Pym. This led him down a dark road where he eventually gained powers to alter his size through Cassie Lang. As a result, he took up a suit that was reflective of one of Pym's old hero identities: Yellowjacket.
Being a prototype battle suit designed by Pym himself, the Yellowjacket armor had the same basic components of the Ant-Man suit, but had several additions that made it stronger. Cross simply had better equipment, which forced Scott Lang to constantly think on his toes. Cross also managed to have some extra strength and a healing factor to boot.
17 SINESTRO
Where Hal Jordan was one of the strongest Green Lanterns, Sinestro became one of the strongest Yellow Lanterns. Jordan stands for will, and Sinestro stands for fear. As a result, the two have always been mirrors of one another, intertwined in a battle that pits two opposing Lantern Corps against each other.
Willing to embrace all of his savagery and imagination, Sinestro often outperforms Jordan, having greater constructs and abilities. Even when he was a Green Lantern, he was one of the best in the entire organization, meaning that Jordan always has his hands full when dealing with him.
16 GENERAL ZOD
General Zod was a Kryptonian like Superman, and embodied a part of the Man of Steel's extinct civilization that should never have been dug up. Coming to Earth, Zod inherited the same powers of Superman, but had the benefit of years of formal training. This not only made him a better leader, but a much more formidable threat.
Through his previous adventures, Superman solely relied on his impressive abilities to get the job done, but he didn't have any decent combat training. As a result, the war against Zod was a tough one that often brought the Man of Steel to the very limit of his strength.
15 BLACK ADAM
One of the reasons villains come out on top is that they never hold back, where heroes have a moral code to uphold that can make them weaker in turn. That was the case with Shazam and Black Adam. Despite both being granted the powers of the gods, Shazam (Captain Marvel) never wanted to end anyone, which made him pull his punches at times.
Meanwhile, Black Adam never let up, always trying to do whatever he could to get ahead. Furthermore, Shazam was just a kid blessed with almighty power, where Black Adam had many years to get used to his abilities and train -- it makes sense that he would be the stronger one.
14 CARNAGE
After a while, Venom was less of a villain and more of an anti-hero. There were a few times where he teamed up with Spider-Man, like when Carnage showed himself to the world. Carnage was an offspring of Venom but, after bonding with a crazed criminal, became one of the most feared villains in the Marvel Universe.
Carnage is an unpredictable monster who goes wherever the wind takes him. Fully embracing his psychotic side, Carnage can create all sorts of weapons with the help of the symbiote that Venom can't. When he gets out of prison, it's all hands on deck to find him.
13 MAGUS
Adam Warlock is one of the strongest heroes in the Marvel Universe, but even he struggles with the future. When the Magus came to the present, Warlock was shocked to find out that he was just a future version of himself. If reality were to proceed normally, Warlock was destined to become evil.
Warlock fought Magus, but Magus proved to be much stronger. Other continuities posited that Magus was the "evil side" within Adam Warlock. Either way, Magus was a serious threat that couldn't be contained easily. He had powers that were greater than Warlock, and never held back in a fight.
12 ATTUMA
Namor the Submariner is an odd character with a questionable sense of morality. Being the prince of Atlantis but also half-human, Namor was an underwater metahuman unlike any other -- he could fight on water and land.
However, it was a shock to find that there was another Atlantean who could do that: Attuma. Being born and raised in battle, Attuma was very similar to Namor but had a much larger penchant for conquest. After waging war on Atlantis several times, Attuma eventually took over the underwater kingdom of Lemuria. Since then, he has always posed a serious threat to Namor.
11 MERLYN
One cannot have the Green Arrow without Merlyn. Sometimes referred to as the Dark Archer, Merlyn is a longtime enemy of Oliver Queen, using all sorts of crazy tactics and schemes to defeat him forever. Having spent time training under the League of Assassins, Merlyn was a perfect archer, never missing a target and always coming out on top.
Also having personal ties to Queen, he was able to get in his enemy's head and mess with both aspects of his life. There were several times where Merlyn proved to be more skilled than Queen, whether it be in his planning or his combat.
10 OCEAN MASTER
Arthur Curry isn't the only person who can take over the throne of Atlantis. His brother, Ocean Master (sometimes going by the name of Orm), also has his sight set on ruling the underwater kingdom. In the New 52, the big difference between Ocean Master and Aquaman was that the former was full Atlantean while the latter was only half.
This gives Ocean Master access to all sorts of Atlantean abilities that Aquaman could never properly obtain. That said, the two were close to each other in power, having a lot of the same powers and skills. Still, Ocean Master proved more than a formidable opponent.
9 CRIME SYNDICATE
On Earth-3, there exists a version of the Justice League that is all about taking over the world. Calling themselves the Crime Syndicate, they consist of villains like Ultra Man, Owlman, Johnny Quick, and even Deathstorm. When going toe-to-toe with the Justice League, there are all sorts of match-ups to monitor.
Some are equal in strength, and some instances, the Justice League member comes out on top. In general, though, the Crime Syndicate edges out by having a better speedster as well as Grid on their side. They pose a significant threat to the League, who have to pull out all the stops to beat them.
8 KILLMONGER
Killmonger is a character that has always been a beneficiary of patience. Despite being thrown out of Wakanda for some time, he used that to his advantage to learn how to fight and take over. By the time he went back to Wakanda (in the comics, mind you), he was ready to take on T'Challa despite having no relation to him.
Despite the two having similar strengths and abilities, Killmonger managed to edge out a win, complete with the iconic throwing of T'Challa over a waterfall. Since then, Killmonger has made his mark in Wakanda, even having his own distant village there.
7 MAESTRO
There are a lot of big bad foes that go up against the Hulk, and Maestro has to be one of the more fearsome. Being a future version of the Hulk, Maestro has lost all touch of his humanity, only taken over by the monster within. Just about every superhero passed away in a nuclear war, and he was the sole survivor.
Still being a version of the Hulk, Maestro has all the same powers. However, years of harboring radiation and conquering the world served him well, allowing him to be a much stronger counterpart. Hulk is never one to hold back, but Maestro has more raw strength than his younger self.
6 BARON MORDO
Baron Mordo was an excellent student of magic when studying under the Ancient One. After hearing of the power of Dormammu, Mordo began embracing the dark arts, much to the disappointment of his teacher. While the Ancient One chose to teach Strange as a foil for Mordo, the Baron proved to be a better wizard earlier in the game.
The two are essentially mirrors of one another, one supporting the laws and the other not afraid of breaking them. Mordo eventually tapped into the essence of the universe to give him power while Strange became the Sorcerer Supreme. The two still fought, but in later issues, Strange usually came out on top.
5 KOMODO
Komodo, in many ways, was everything that Oliver Queen was not. Having an eye on business and intelligence while Queen was going to frat parties, Komodo always seemed to think in terms of the long game. After Queen was shipwrecked, Komodo became an archer and a darn good one at that.
Despite being blind in one eye, Komodo was an expert with a bow and arrow. Furthermore, he was a master fighter in general. Even when Queen fought Komodo as the Green Arrow, it was the villain who came out on top. Even in terms of archery, this villain seems better than the Emerald Archer himself.
4 ZEKE STANE
Zeke Stane is the son of Obadiah Stane, and understandably has a grudge against Tony Stark. Having an impressive intellect from an early age, Stane sought to analyze the Iron Man armor and create his own with plenty of useful enhancements. The result was a replica of the Iron Man suit, but with all sorts of toys attached to it.
These additions made Stane a formidable opponent to Stark, even getting the upper hand on him a few times. The only downside to Stane is that he never came up with anything truly original. Instead, he added to things that were already created.
3 RED VOLCANO
Red Tornado wasn't the only android created by T.O. Morrow -- Red Volcano was another member of his android design, albeit a bit more unstable and dangerous. Red Volcano had all of the same attributes of Red Tornado, save for one thing: its ability to summon volcanoes and disrupt landforms.
Red Volcano was destructive and could dismantle entire cities using its own abilities, and even had the power to create flames out of its body. It proved to be a stronger version of Red Tornado, and one that required a bit more effort to take down as shown in Young Justice.
2 ABOMINATION
Abomination was never a foe that was going to forever pose a match to the Hulk. However, there is one thing that separates the two. When Abomination was first created, it was with a concentrated dose of gamma radiation. That dose caused him to be stronger and more monstrous than the Hulk on a base level.
If Hulk's strength wasn't tied to his rage, then Abomination would've always come out on top. With so many different versions of the Hulk introduced later in the Marvel Universe, it becomes a bit difficult to take him down -- especially when going against Worldbreaker Hulk.
1 LADY DEATHSTRIKE
Lady Deathstrike was a tough pick for this list. She has the same powers as Wolverine, including a healing factor. Being turned into a cyborg, she also has the increased strength and durability that he has. Furthermore, she arguably had more training than he did, and there was even a time where she could've beaten him.
Admittedly, Wolverine is practically an invulnerable character at this point. Regardless of how many hits he takes, he still manages to come back. Had it not been for his Adamantium, Lady Deathstrike would've easily come out on top. That, or some weird end would've occurred like it did in X2.