If there’s anything constant in Marvel Comics, it’s that death isn’t. Heroes and villains are continually dying in epic clashes before resurrecting within a couple of years or even months. Oftentimes, Marvel uses the death of an infamous supervillain to draw attention to new storylines or to emphasize different characters. Still, as of 2025, many of Marvel’s most popular and dangerous supervillains are currently dead, and their absences have had ripple effects on the greater Marvel Universe. While it’s impossible to say if or when these maniacal warlords and sadistic serial killers will reanimate, for now, they have had their comeuppances and are no longer among the living.
The life of a supervillain is one full of danger and betrayal, so it should come as no surprise when these criminals meet gruesome deaths, either at the hands of superheroes or rival villains. While their time in the afterlife may eventually come to an end, for now, these villains are dead.
7) Erik Killmonger
image Courtesy of Marvel comics
One of Black Panther’s deadliest enemies, Erik Killmonger, has died and been revived several times, but his most recent death is the longest he’s gone without resurrection. In 2021, Killmonger bonded with an alien Symbiote that housed the soul of his deceased father, N’Jadaka. This entity tried to take over Killmonger’s body, but the villain fought back and his strong willpower made it an ongoing struggle for control. Eventually, the Symbiote-infused Killmonger died in a climactic battle against Black Panther, who impaled the villain with a spear. While Killmonger is dead for now, history has shown that it’s only a matter of time until this villain returns to wreak havoc on Wakanda.
6) Kraven the Hunter
Image courtesy of Marvel Comics
The longtime Spider-Man villain Sergei Kravinoff, aka Kraven the Hunter, has died several times over the years, most notably in Kraven’s Last Hunt, before eventually returning from the dead during the events of Grim Hunt. However, this latest resurrection came with a terrible curse because Kraven could only die permanently if Spider-Man kills him. In the 2019 storyline “Hunted,” Kraven is desperate to end his eternal life and find peace. He figures out a loophole to the curse in which he would don Spider-Man’s costume and let his clone/son, the Last Son, kill him. Since Kraven technically “became” Spider-Man and had himself killed, the curse was lifted, and he was finally able to die. Afterwards, the Last Son became the new Kraven the Hunter, continuing his father’s legacy.
5) Mandarin
image Courtesy of Marvel comics
Despite serving as Iron Man’s archenemy and one of his most powerful adversaries, the Mandarin met his end in 2018 at the hands of an unexpected anti-hero. The ruthless warlord was elected as the official representative for Bagalia, a small island nation governed by Baron Zemo and populated with supervillains. While giving a speech at the United Nations, Mandarin is shot in the head with a special bullet that could bypass the villain’s force field. The sniper was none other than the Punisher, who killed the Mandarin as part of a crusade to destroy Baron Zemo and his associates. The Mandarin is the most recognizable and powerful supervillain the Punisher has ever managed to kill, and the warlord has yet to come back to life.
4) Baron Zemo
image Courtesy of Marvel comics
As the leader of Hydra and the Masters of Evil and a primary foe of Captain America, Baron Helmut Zemo is one of the most dangerous and conniving supervillains in Marvel Comics. Still, it was revealed during the One World Under Doom storyline this year that even Zemo couldn’t stand up to the wrath of Doctor Doom. When the new Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Doom, took over the world, Zemo seemed to be one of the villains’ supporters. However, the Avengers exposed the truth. The Zemo who publicly supported Doom was really a Dooombot, and the real leader of Hydra had been dead for months. The real Zemo never surrendered to Doom, and as punishment, the Sorcerer Supreme crushed his head.
3) Sabretooth
image Courtesy of Marvel comics
Victor Creed, aka Sabretooth, has always sought to make Wolverine’s life a living hell, and in 2024, the X-Man finally got his revenge. In the “Sabretooth War” storyline, Sabretooth and his army of goons aim to hurt Wolverine by slaughtering mutants on Krakoa, including the hero’s son, Daken. After a long and bloody conflict that leaves many heroes and villains dead, Wolverine and Sabretooth have their climatic showdown. At first, neither feral mutant can completely overpower the other but finally Wolverine’s primal rage allows him to dismember his most hated enemy. After decades of fighting, one of Marvel’s longest-running rivalries reached its gruesome conclusion with Wolverine standing victorious over the mutilated remains of Sabretooth.
2) Red Skull
image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
One of Marvel Comics’ very first villains and Captain America’s archnemesis, the Nazi war criminal Johann Schmidt, aka Red Skull, is one of the most fearsome characters in comic book history. He has died multiple times over the years, but he’s always managed to come back thanks to cloning technology. Yet even his conniving methods of cheating death were not enough to allow him to avoid the same fate as Baron Zemo at the hands Doctor Doom when he became the Sorcerer Supreme and the ruler of Earth. While we aren’t shown the method of Red Skull’s execution, Doom confirms that he did kill the Nazi villain. And if Baron Zemo’s death is anything to go by, it was surely a brutal demise. Doom may be a maniacal supervillain, but even he draws the line at Nazis.
1) Doctor Doom
image Courtesy of Marvel comics
This year has seen Victor Von Doom, aka Doctor Doom, sacrifice ultimate power and even his own life to save the one person he cares about. In the storyline One World Under Doom, Marvel’s greatest villain becomes the Sorcerer Supreme and uses his mystical enhancement to make himself Earth’s ruler. When the Avengers and Fantastic Four try to stop Doom, the dictator defeats them. Unfortunately, Valeria Richards, Doom’s goddaughter, is accidentally killed in the crossfire. Horrified that he killed the only person he loves, Doom sought to bring Valeria back to life. Doom eventually managed to gain an audience with the all-powerful entity, the Living Tribunal, who agrees to restore Valeria in exchange for Doom’s life. The villain agreed, and now the Marvel Universe is without its greatest villain: Doctor Doom.
What do you think? Leave a Comment below and join the conversation in the ComicBook Forum!