In Marvel Comics, great power often comes with an overwhelming ego. Many of Marvel’s strongest, smartest, and most influential characters have immense feelings of self-importance. Every victory these heroes and villains achieve is only fuel to their unquenchable egos. Whether they live up to their own hype or not, these heroes and villains don’t have a shred of humility and instead flaunt their “perfection” for the whole world to see. However, as is often the case, such overwhelming pride can, and often does, lead to their undoing. Still, no matter how many times their egos get the better of them, these heroes and villains will never stop talking about how they’re the best at everything.
Possessing an inflated ego isn’t limited to maniacal supervillains who want to take over the world, as there are plenty of Marvel superheroes whose unquenchable self-esteem causes them to believe that they are the only ones capable of saving the world. While some characters have developed a bit of humility, these heroes and villains haven’t, despite the problems it causes them and others.
7) Iron Man
Who would have guessed that a genius billionaire playboy philanthropist would have a big ego? One of Iron Man’s most defining character flaws is his own self-importance, as he constantly believes himself to be the smartest and most qualified person in the room. Iron Man believes that he can fix the world’s problems. But his ego can get the best of him, leading him to ignore other people who are more qualified for the job or have legitimate grievances with his plans. Iron Man may be incredibly smart; however, his lapses in judgment during events like Civil War and World War Hulk have caused significant unintended collateral damage and deaths. Still, Iron Man is one of the smartest, most powerful, and influential heroes on Earth, and he knows it.
6) Beast
The brilliant and furry X-Man Beast has always been lauded for his intelligence. However, over the years, Beast’s belief in his own hype has led to his dark descent into villainy. Beast continually assumes that everything he does, no matter how awful, will ultimately play out to be for the greater good of mutantkind. Beast alienated himself from his fellow X-Men because he felt that only he had the brains and willpower to do what had to be done. These actions will oftentimes lead to numerous people suffering and dying. Beast’s egotism eventually got so bad that he made a bunch of clones of himself to act as his advisors because he doesn’t trust anyone else’s opinion other than his own.
5) Odin
Despite Odin banishing his son, Thor, to Earth so that he may learn humility, the All-Father himself has an ego that dwarfs all others in Asgard. As the God of Wisdom, Odin naturally believes himself to always be in the right, with no room for error. Odin carries the responsibility of protecting the Nine Realms. Still, anyone who questions Odin’s judgment, including fellow Asgardians, immediately faces his wrath. Odin especially holds mortals in very little regard, such as when he forbade Thor from dating Jane Foster because she was a mortal, or making Iron Man give up his sobriety to gain an audience. As Odin himself has stated, humans are nothing to him. Perhaps Odin should take some quiet time himself to learn some humility.
4) Namor
As the King of Atlantis, Namor the Sub-Mariner never skips an opportunity to proclaim how great he is. Having been raised since birth as a member of the royal Atlantean family, Namor unsurprisingly grew up to be full of himself. Constantly flaunting his royal bloodline, Namor views almost everyone else as inferior. Namor especially holds surface-dwellers in a very low regard. He usually can back up his claims of superiority, given his considerable abilities and the prosperity of his nation. Nonetheless, his arrogance, volatile temper, and uncompromising nature often lead him to take on the role of villain and fight his fellow superheroes. Namor’s ego is as massive and overwhelming as the ocean itself.
3) Apocalypse
As the first mutant in recorded history, Apocalypse views himself as the pinnacle of evolution. Apocalypse lives by the philosophy of “survival of the fittest,” with himself at the very top of the pyramid and all humans and mutants as beneath him. For thousands of years, Apocalypse has been worshipped as a god by numerous cultures around the world, and he has never been in any rush to correct them. Apocalypse constantly speaks in third person and demands that both humans and his fellow mutants laud him as a god and savior despite his boundless cruelty. Apocalypse won’t rest until the entire world is under his boot and views him as the one true god.
2) Thanos
The Mad Titan Thanos is as egomaniacal as he is genocidal. Thanos takes immense pride in the fact that he’s butchered trillions of people across the universe. Thanos also has an overwhelming god-complex, as he has referred to himself as a god on countless occasions. Thanos also believes himself worthy of all-powerful cosmic objects like the Cosmic Cube and the Infinity Gauntlet, both of which he spent decades attempting to obtain. Once Thanos does get his hands on weapons of unlimited power, his arrogance skyrockets even more to the point that it clouds his judgment and makes him even more unstable. Thanos also believes that he alone is worthy of Lady Death’s love, so her scorn and infatuation with Deadpool only infuriates the Mad Titan.
1) Doctor Doom
No character in all of fiction has an ego that can compare to that of Doctor Doom. While the ruler of Latveria certainly has the smarts, weapons, and spells to back up his self-regard, Doom is still at his core an overwhelmingly arrogant individual. Doom’s motivation to take over the world is because he truly believes that only he has what it takes to rule it. Doom became the nemesis of the Fantastic Four because he couldn’t handle the idea of Mr. Fantastic being smarter than he is, renamed the capital of Latveria after himself, speaks in third person, and made himself the God Emperor of the remnants of the multiverse. And when Doom lost his omnipotence, he had the arrogance to proclaim that godhood itself was beneath him.
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