Many people have fears about of the future, and these villains from Marvel and DC stories set in the distant future would make these fears more than justifiable. From universal dominators and robot uprisings to crime lords and nuclear fallouts, the future has no shortage of evil. With time travel technology, these vile villains often attempt to alter the past so that they can shape and control the future. Some try to take over the entire timestream, while others are content with ruining a single person’s life. Whatever their motivations or powers may be, these next-generation villains make the future a place filled with many dangers.
These are the ten villains that thrive in the chaos and peril of the future Marvel and DC worlds.
10) Abra Kadabra
The British writer Arthur C. Clarke said that “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Abra Kadabra is the living embodiment of that idea. While he may present himself as a powerful magician, Abra Kadabra is actually a man from the 64th century who uses futuristic technology that makes it look like he’s using real magic. He travels back to the 20th century to use his technology to commit crimes and quickly becomes one of the Flash’s deadliest foes.
9) Venom 2099
For every Spider-Man, there must be a Venom. Kron Stone was the school bully of Miguel O’Hara and grew up to be a homicidal criminal. Stone killed the family of Jake Gallows, who became the Punisher of 2099. He left Stone for dead in the sewers, where the criminal encounters the original Venom symbiote. Stone and the symbiote would bond, becoming Venom 2099. In addition to the powers of the original Venom, the symbiote had since evolved to give Stone the ability to spit acid and shapeshift. They targeted Spider-Man 2099 because the symbiote was still holding onto its grudge against the original wall-crawler for abandoning the alien parasite.
8) Time Trapper
A being shrouded in mystery, the Time Trapper is one of the most powerful villains the Legion of Superheroes has ever faced. As his name suggests, he is a master of time manipulation, who can do such things as travel through time, freeze his enemies in a single time and place, and alter or completely erase timelines. The Time Trapper is a character with no known name or origin. Over the years, many people have claimed to be the figure behind the cloak, including a future version of Cosmic Boy, Superboy-Prime, and even Doomsday. Whoever the Time Trapper really is, he will stop at nothing until all of time is his to command.
7) Blight
Batman has the Joker, and Batman Beyond has Blight. A cruel businessman, Derek Powers sought to create a deadly nerve gas and sell it to the highest bidder. When he learned that one of his employees, Warren McGinnis, planned to expose his plot, Powers had him killed. This event would inspire Warren’s son, Terry, to become the new Batman and seek vengeance. After being exposed to the nerve gas he had created in an explosion, Powers became a radioactive monster with translucent skin known as Blight. Able to kill people with just a touch, Blight became Terry’s first and deadliest enemy.
6) Stryfe
An evil clone of Cable, Stryfe has spent his entire life trying to prove that he is the original. In the far future, Stryfe is raised by the supervillain Apocalypse to be the heir to his empire. However, discovering his origin as a clone of Nathan Summers, Stryfe goes insane and seeks to destroy Cable and his rebellion against the Apocalypse Empire. Like Cable, Stryfe is a powerful telepath and telekinetic. However, Stryfe’s powers are much more potent, and he has no qualms about using them to torture the minds and bodies of his enemies.
5) Nimrod
A cross between a Sentinel and a Terminator, Nimrod is one of the deadliest robots in Marvel Comics. Hailing from a desolate world 80 years into the future, Nimrod is the pinnacle of Sentinel technology and the ultimate mutant hunter. Virtually indestructible, Nimrod was designed to kill even the most powerful of mutants. When Rachel Summers traveled back in time to prevent the Sentinel’s takeover of humanity, Nimrod followed her to the present and fought the modern-day X-Men. Since then, the ever-evolving Sentinel has become one of the X-Men’s most powerful enemies, whose goal is to instigate a robot uprising.
4) Emerald Empress
Leader of the Fatal Five, Emerald Empress commands the most fearsome supervillain team of the 30th century. She is a significant force to be reckoned with. The green villainess wields the Emerald Eye of Ekron, an all-powerful weapon as old as the universe. The Eye can fire powerful energy beams, cast illusions, create force fields, and gives its user the power of flight. Within hours of acquiring it, the Emerald Empress conquered her home world and began planning to take over the rest of the universe. Marshalling the full force of the Fatal Five, Emerald Empress is the greatest foe of the Legion of Superheroes.
3) Maestro
In the post-apocalyptic future, Bruce Banner is dead, and only the Maestro is left. A century into the future, after a nuclear war had destroyed civilization, Bruce was driven mad by the radiation, and his Hulk persona took complete control, becoming the king of the wasteland. Stronger and smarter than his younger self, Maestro is a fearsome and calculating dictator who rules over the city of Dystopia. This evil Hulk quickly crushed any heroes that managed to survive the initial nuclear fallout. In the wasteland, only the strong survive, and Maestro is the strongest there is.
2) Kang the Conqueror
Hailing from the 30th century, Nathania Richards, aka Kang, lives for only one purpose: conquest. Time and time again, Kang has invaded the present with a seemingly endless arsenal of futuristic weaponry. He battled the Avengers and Fantastic Four many times. Throughout his numerous conquest attempts, Kang has assumed many identities, including Rama-Tut and Immortus. Sometimes, Kang has even allied with and fought his past and future selves. Kang has amassed an empire spanning multiple universes and time periods, making him one of the most successful and dangerous villains in the Marvel Multiverse.
1) Reverse-Flash
Eobard Thawne, aka the Reverse-Flash, is the ultimate villain of the future. He twists the very concept of legacy into something cruel and vile. An obsessive Flash fanboy, Thawne spent his entire life trying to become the Scarlet Speedster of the 25th century. After becoming the wielder of the Negative Speed Force, Thawne traveled back in time to meet his hero, Barry Allen, aka the Flash. Thawne instead discovered that he was destined to become the Flash’s greatest enemy: the Reverse-Flash. The shock of this drove Thawne mad. Feeling betrayed by his hero, he made it his personal mission to be responsible for every horrible event in Barry’s life. He accomplished this goal through his mastery of time travel. He even murdered Barry’s mother, Nora Allen. Thawne had become the reverse of everything the Flash legacy had stood for.
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