00:00Marvel does everything its own way, and that has been one of the best aspects of the
00:03House of Ideas over the decades. Its supervillains are a great example of this.
00:07While they use many classic concepts of antagonism, the publisher always adds its
00:10own special twist. The best villains in the Marvel Universe are those who possess an extra
00:14dimension beyond their evil and power, a trace of humanity that elevates them to another level.
00:18The perfect example of this lies in the weaknesses of these powerful beings.
00:21The most potent Marvel villains all have their weak points. These weaknesses are tied to who
00:25they are and why they act the way they do. These are the greatest psychological flaws that have
00:29allowed heroes to stay alive over the years. Kong the Conqueror. Kong is one of the Avengers'
00:33most powerful villains, a man who has traveled through time and the multiverse, training himself
00:37to kill the most powerful beings in existence. He is a master planner and strategist, but that is
00:41precisely where his downfall lies. In battle, Kong is known for clinging too tightly to his
00:45pre-established plans and strategies. This rigidity has allowed Earth's mightiest heroes to defeat him
00:49time and time again. He is undeniably powerful, with all the right abilities and the necessary
00:53experience, but he is so limited by his own strategic brilliance that he fails to create enough
00:57contingency plans for chaos and improvisation. When something strays from the script he has
01:01written into the timeline, he crumbles.
01:03Red Skull. Red Skull has wielded incredible powers over the years, whether through the
01:07cosmic cube or by stealing Xavier's telepathic brain. But what truly makes him powerful is
01:11his ability to build armies of fanatical believers. Red Skull's hatred is both his most powerful tool
01:16and his greatest weakness. He can devise cunning plans, but as soon as defeats begin to pile up,
01:20all strategy goes out the window and is replaced by irrational rage. That is why he loses every time.
01:25He is such a hateful monster that he always ruins everything in the end, serving as a perfect
01:29metaphor for the self-destructive nature of the fascism he represents.
01:32Sabretooth. Sabretooth is another villain who, despite lacking cosmic powers, is one of the
01:36most formidable around. His healing factor, superhuman strength, and decades of experience
01:40have allowed him to take down entire teams on his own. He consistently used to overpower
01:44Wolverine in battle, despite Logan's unbreakable skeleton. However, Victor Creed is a bloodthirsty
01:49hedonist, and his zeal for hurting others is his weakness. Creed likes to play with his food,
01:52taking his time tormenting those he hates when he should simply finish them off.
01:56That sadism gives his victims the time they need to find an opening and strike back when they should
01:59already be defeated. Green Goblin. Green Goblin has battled Spider-Man for years and even managed
02:04to play his cards well enough to rise to the top of national security during dark rain. He is a
02:08fierce
02:08combatant and a genius capable of creating all kinds of weapons and formulas to make himself even
02:12more powerful. Norman Osborn's greatest weakness, however, has always been his uncontrollable rage.
02:17When he is calm and composed, he can think his way out of any situation. His political rise was a
02:21perfect example of how dangerous he can be when he uses his brain. However, every time he gives in
02:25to anger, he loses badly. The same holds true in his battles against the friendly neighborhood
02:29hero. Whenever Norman loses, it is because Spider-Man has managed to get inside his head,
02:33pushing him into a furious and sloppy state where he makes mistakes a tactical genius should never make.
02:37Doctor Doom. Doctor Doom is a first class menace and one of Marvel's most fascinating villains.
02:42Over the years, readers have seen him grow and change, but one thing has always remained the same.
02:46That is also his greatest weakness, his obsessive hatred of Reed Richards. It has been proven many,
02:50many times over the decades that if you place Doom in a world without Reed, he accomplishes
02:54incredible things. Yes, he would still be arrogant and monarchical, but he would also be heroic,
02:59earning the world's love and saving humanity from greater threats. His defeats are almost always
03:03because of Reed and the fact that Victor is constantly obsessed with proving he is superior
03:06to Mr. Fantastic. Reed Richards will always be his Achilles heel, preventing Doom from reaching
03:10his true potential as the savior he believes himself to be. Thanos. Many consider Thanos Marvel's
03:15greatest villain. There is certainly an argument for that, and he has proven himself more than
03:18powerful enough to crush his enemies over the decades, often facing the entire Avengers
03:22roster alone. However, he always loses in the end, and the reason is purely psychological.
03:27This was brilliantly explained in the classic comic The Infinity Gauntlet No. 5.
03:30Adam Warlock reveals that Thanos is such a profound nihilist that, deep down, he does not consider
03:35himself worthy of victory or absolute power. He subconsciously sabotages himself every time
03:39he is about to win. The Mad Titan can literally become God, with a capital, G, controlling all reality
03:44with the Infinity Gauntlet. But because he believes deep down that he does not deserve that status,
03:48he will always leave an opening, an intentional oversight, so that his enemies have a way to
03:51defeat him. Thanos proves that a person's greatest enemy can be their own inner saboteur. His
03:56physical strength is immeasurable, but his fractured self-image is the only thing preventing
03:59the universe from being permanently destroyed by him.
