Forget Evil Superman, Marvel’s Proved the Real Superhero You Never Want to Turn Bad

by

Superheroes are designed to show us the best versions of ourselves. Think of Superman – he represents what it would be like for a truly good person to have limitless power and use it to help others. Most heroes embody our positive qualities, consistently choosing to do what’s right and protect people. While some aren’t perfect role models, the majority are simply good people striving to make a difference. Because they’re naturally seen as champions of justice, it’s surprising – but often captivating – when a superhero turns to evil.

Stories about a villainous Superman are common – we see it in characters like Ultraman and Homelander. Considering how powerful Superman already is, it’s easy to imagine how destructive he could be if he lost his moral compass, as demonstrated in stories like Injustice. But while an evil Superman is frightening, one hero is far more terrifying when he turns bad: Reed Richards. An evil Reed Richards is uniquely monstrous.

Reed Richards is A Mad Scientist With Infinite Potential

When Superman goes bad, he typically doesn’t cause total destruction. While villains like Ultraman act like tyrants, they’re often kept in line by others. More powerful evil versions of Superman, like the one from Earth-1, might destroy a planet, but Reed Richards’s evil counterpart, the Maker, aims even higher. The Maker started by creating a whole race of super-soldiers and using them to obliterate Asgard – and that was just one of his smaller schemes. Anyone who can do that so quickly is clearly dangerous.

The Maker wasn’t simply a villain; he craved perfection and aimed to reshape everything in his own vision. He possessed the intelligence and drive to actually do it, and the new Ultimate Universe is a direct result of his efforts. He essentially turned an entire world into a personal experiment, building an empire from his former rivals. He even made time itself unyielding to prevent interference. In fact, he’s rebuilt entire universes before, like when he brought back the original Ultimate Universe in Ultimates 2. When the Maker focuses, there’s seemingly nothing he can’t achieve – he can rewrite reality and manipulate time to become a god.

If Superman goes bad, the worst that could happen is the destruction of one planet. But if Mister Fantastic turns evil, the entire multiverse is at risk. He’s incredibly intelligent and can hide his schemes until it’s far too late to intervene, and those schemes always have devastating consequences for entire worlds. The Maker is a serious threat, which makes him one of the most dangerous heroes who’s become a villain.

Read More

2026-06-01 23:10