5 Heroes Who Saw Their Future Selves Become the Villain

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A powerful quote from Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight perfectly captures the essence of heroism: “You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” While this line speaks to public perception of heroes and the potential for personal change, it’s a common occurrence within comic books. Through various stories and experiences, many heroes find that their future selves become much more sinister than they ever imagined.

The concept of evil doppelgangers for popular heroes is fairly common, but sometimes the current, heroic versions actually learn about their potential, darker futures. Occasionally, this turns out to be a trick orchestrated by an enemy, not a genuine glimpse into the hero’s destiny. Other times, the hero actively tries to prevent a grim future, only to find themselves heading right towards it. Regardless of the specifics, some heroes are confronted with a troubling future and difficult realities they must acknowledge.

5) Iron Lad/Nathaniel Richards

Kang the Conqueror is a complex character known for having many different versions of himself, and one particularly interesting one is Iron Lad, also known as Nathaniel Richards. This young hero is deeply disturbed after encountering his future self and decides to travel back in time. He then joins the Young Avengers, becoming the hero Iron Lad. It’s a direct example of someone seeing their future as a villain, but even though Nate tries to avoid that fate, he might not have control over it. He eventually has to embrace his destiny and become Kang the Conqueror to fix the timeline.

4) Superman

Okay, this situation is a bit deceptive because the character doesn’t truly represent Superman’s future, but he *presents* himself as such. In the “The Sixth Dimension” storyline from Scott Snyder and Jorge Jimenez’s Justice League, the heroes face the threat of Perpetua escaping her prison with the destruction of the Source Wall. This prompts Superman to enter the Sixth Dimension to find a solution. A younger Superman goes through a portal, and an older version emerges. However, this older Superman isn’t a hero; he isn’t even the real future Superman. He’s revealed to be Alpheus, also known as the World Forger. When Superman entered the Sixth Dimension, he unknowingly walked into a trap. Alpheus intended to leave him to die, disguising his actions as a desperate attempt to save the multiverse. So, while Alpheus wasn’t *actually* the future Superman, he briefly pretended to be, which was quite disturbing.

3) Tim Drake

While Tim Drake is often considered the best Robin, a future version of him is far from admirable. The “Titans Tomorrow” storyline, created by Geoff Johns and Mike McKone, presents a timeline where heroes are more aggressive and employ authoritarian methods to combat crime. In this future, Bruce Wayne is dead, and Tim has become the new Batman. However, this version of Tim began using the very gun that killed his parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne, to eliminate Gotham’s criminals. The younger Tim was ultimately forced to face and defeat his older, more troubled self, thankfully preventing a darker future.

2) Bruce Wayne/Batman

When you think of heroes with future selves who become villains, Batman is definitely near the top of the list. It’s common for these evil future versions to come from alternate timelines and realities, and with so many evil Batmen existing, it appears our main Earth might be the unusual case. A particularly striking example appears in Detective Comics #1082. Doctor Hurt shows Batman a possible future where he transforms Gotham into “a city of fear with one hero and everyone else a villain”-and it’s an incredibly grim vision. This future Batman is especially ruthless, maintaining complete control over everything. Luckily, this version isn’t actually real; it’s more of a “what if” scenario. However, it’s still disturbing, both for those reading the story and for the Dark Knight himself.

1) The Hulk

If The Hulk is known as one of the strongest comic book characters, it’s not shocking that he has a future, evil counterpart – and this version is truly frightening. First introduced in a story arc called “Future Imperfect” by Peter David, the villainous future Hulk, named Maestro, comes from a future devastated by nuclear war. Instead of being weakened by the radiation, he actually *gains* strength from it. Even more disturbingly, there’s nothing left of Bruce Banner – just pure power. Maestro is a cruel dictator who has killed both heroes and villains. The current Hulk has fought him on several occasions due to time travel, but he remains a terrifying and lethal enemy, serving as a grim reminder of what The Hulk *could* become.

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2025-10-04 00:13