7 Marvel Villain Rip-Offs Who Became Beloved Characters In Their Own Right

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As a lifelong fan of superhero comics, I’ve always noticed how much they borrow from other stories – and even from themselves! It’s rare to find something truly original; most plots and characters feel like variations on themes we’ve seen before. Honestly, ‘homage’ is a polite way of saying ‘rip-off’ sometimes! You see it constantly with characters – publishers will take inspiration from each other, but they’re just as likely to re-use ideas from their own existing heroes. Villains are the biggest culprits, though. Certain villain archetypes pop up again and again, no matter which hero you’re reading about, and it often feels like you’ve seen that villain’s story before.

While Marvel didn’t invent superheroes or villains, they’ve significantly broadened the range of characters who can fall into those roles. Marvel has often drawn inspiration from both its rivals and its own past creations when developing villains, and sometimes this has resulted in villains becoming even more compelling than originally imagined. These seven Marvel villains, initially inspired by others, have become unique and surprising characters in their own right.

7) The Builders

Jonathan Hickman’s work on the Avengers was truly impressive. He essentially built an entirely new understanding of the Marvel universe to tell a massive, reality-bending story. Central to this was the introduction of the Builders, an incredibly old and powerful alien race who were instrumental in shaping the multiverse. They’re quite similar to the Guardians of the Universe (the Oans) and even commanded their own armies of both organic and robotic soldiers. The Builders were crucial in setting up the major conflicts of the first half of Hickman’s run and remain a significant part of what many consider to be one of the greatest Avengers storylines ever. Though they’re sometimes forgotten, they’ve firmly cemented themselves as important figures in Marvel’s history.

6) Mikhail Rasputin

The X-Men boast a memorable roster of villains, but Mikhail Rasputin isn’t typically among them. He’s not a poorly written character and can effectively contrast with Colossus. However, he heavily borrows from another character, a fact many fans don’t realize. Essentially, Mikhail is a Russian take on Jamie Braddock, brother to Captain Britain (Brian and Betsy Braddock). Both characters possess reality-warping abilities and struggle with madness, though expressed differently. Jamie is a wildly powerful and eccentric British nobleman, while Mikhail embodies the tragic, brooding, and violent archetype common in Russian literature. Despite being inspired by another character, Mikhail became a significant villain during the Krakoa era, which is a notable achievement.

5) Hobgoblin

After Norman Osborn’s Green Goblin seemingly died, he became Spider-Man’s most memorable enemy because he took the ultimate step – killing Spider-Man’s girlfriend, and then sacrificing himself. This created a strangely sympathetic, yet villainous, legacy. For years, Marvel struggled to find a replacement, eventually creating the Hobgoblin as a fresh start. They heavily promoted this new villain, building a lot of mystery around his true identity. While the Hobgoblin never quite reached the Green Goblin’s level of fame, he’s remained a well-known adversary. Interestingly, there have actually been more characters who’ve taken on the Hobgoblin role than Green Goblin, suggesting the concept itself has staying power.

4) King Hyperion

King Hyperion is a compelling character, but he’s often overlooked. He’s similar to Superman, with many different versions appearing throughout Marvel comics. In the Exiles series, he was a formidable villain – a being so powerful he’d wiped out everyone on his Earth. Whether as a hero or a villain, he was unstoppable, and the Exiles faced a unique challenge in finding a way to defeat him. While Exiles isn’t as widely remembered now, King Hyperion’s story continues to resonate with fans, making it one of the more impactful narratives from that series.

3) Deadpool

Deadpool is now a Marvel icon, far more popular than anyone expected. He was popular before, but not to this extent. Originally, he was a straightforward villain, willing to threaten mutants for the highest bidder. He wasn’t the witty, fourth-wall-breaking character he is now – just a loud mercenary focused on enemies like Cable and X-Force. It was this dangerous, comedic side that made him so popular and turned him into one of the most beloved anti-heroes in comics. Although he’s arguably not a villain anymore, his popularity stems from his time as one.

2) Romulus

Wolverine has battled many dangerous enemies, and Romulus quickly became one of his most significant. Essentially, Romulus is an older version of Sabretooth – he possesses all of Wolverine’s abilities, plus the super strength of Sabretooth, and uses finger claws (though he often wears gloves to mimic Wolverine’s claws). Beyond that, he’s completely identical to Victor Creed: he’s intelligent, a master strategist who enjoys tormenting Logan psychologically (like when Sabretooth pretended to be his father, or tried to convince him he belonged to a mutant group called the Lupine), and he revels in violence and suffering. While not necessarily a fan-favorite, Romulus has become a crucial figure in Wolverine’s rogues gallery.

1) Omega Red

Omega Red is often compared to Wolverine – he’s essentially the same character, but with a Russian background. Like Wolverine, he’s a mutant who was turned into a weapon through government experimentation and equipped with incredibly durable metal claws. When he first appeared, Omega Red made a huge impact, almost single-handedly defeating the X-Men (it was actually the second major X-Men story I ever read – I remember seeing a lot of copies of X-Men (Vol. 2) #6 back then!). He quickly became one of Wolverine’s biggest rivals, and their histories share a lot of similarities, including difficult childhoods and being exploited by those who created them as weapons.

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2025-12-05 22:23