The Innocent have nothing to fear from these scary superheroes. Villains are another matter.
Rorschach: [after throwing hot cooking fat on an inmate] “None of you seem to understand. I’m not locked up in here with you. You’re locked in here with me.”
Watchmen
Superheroes are supposed to be champions of justice, the reason people sleep easier at night. But while most cheer them on, criminals are shaken to their core. Every shadow could hide a vigilante preparing to break bones. Every noise overhead could be an alien about to shoot fire from their eyes. Lurking everywhere is an unstoppable army of heroes fighting for their truth, their justice and their way.
So who are the scariest superheroes? Find out… if you dare!
Scene Select
Scary Superhero or Scary Supervillain?: The Spectre (Honorable Mention)
Played by Mark Hamill and Gary Cole
The Spectre: “The time has come for the evil you’ve wrought to consume you.”(Turns a mad scientist’s skin into cheese and unleashes an army of rats. the camera pans away as screams are heard) “Such is the wrath of The Spectre.”
Batman: The Brave and the Bold, “Gorillas in our Midst!”, (Season 2, episode 12)
Jim Corrigan was an honest cop who was murdered by gangsters. God gave Corrigan a chance to avenge his death and made him the host of Raguel, the Angel of Vengeance. The ghostly Corrigan, later called The Spectre, hunted down his murderers and slaughtered them with divine magic. God then tasked The Spectre to track down sinners and punish them, with Corrigan keeping Raguel in check.
The Spectre may sound like a hero, but he’s an unstoppable Knight Templar. He warps reality and tends to torture criminals. A murderous lumberjack gets turned into wood and put through a sawmill. The villain Star Sapphire is turned into actual sapphires and smashed. A fictional country has a civil war including ethnic cleansing? The Spectre judges the entire country guilty and kills every citizen except for two opposing politicians. And yes, that happened.
The Spectre isn’t a villain, but there’s no way he counts as a hero.
5. Ghost Rider: A Scary Superhero
Played by Nicolas Cage and Gabriel Luna
Ghost Rider: “Hell hath no fury like a flaming skeleton on a motorcycle.”
Marvel vs. Capcom 3
Not to be outdone by DC, Marvel has their own Spirit of Vengeance, Ghost Rider.
Johnny Blaze was a motorcycle stunt driver who sold his soul to the demon Mephisto. The demon agreed to save Johnny’s adopted father from cancer. Johnny’s father died later that same night when a stunt went wrong. Mephisto came to collect Johnny’s soul, but Johnny’s sorceress girlfriend stopped the demon.
An outraged Mephisto bound the demon Zarathos to Johnny, causing him to transform into the demonic Ghost Rider whenever innocent blood was spilled. Ghost Rider can summon Hellfire that burns souls, has an unbreakable chain coated in Hellfire, and an enchanted motorcycle. His greatest weapon and the reason he makes this list is his Penance Stare.
The Penance Stare causes victims to feel all the pain they have ever caused. Try and remember all the pain you’ve caused today. Every harsh word, every playful slap, everything. Now multiply it by your entire life. Yeah, don’t screw with this guy.
4. John Constantine
Played by Matt Ryan and Keanu Reeves
(A bar’s worth of monsters approach a child)
The Books of Magic
John Constantine: “No one touches the boy. That’s right, the boy’s mine. And in thirty seconds, me, and him, and the witch are going to walk out of here. You know who I am. Or you ought to. You know my reputation. Now, does anyone really want to start something?” (Nothing happens) “Right. Come on, you lot. We’re moving.”
Moderately powerful con-man and sorcerer John Constantine doesn’t seem like much on paper. What most people don’t know is that Constantine comes from the Laughing Magician bloodline. What’s that mean? He can literally make his own luck.
Constantine is a cynical bastard who will do anything to save the world. He has overcome numerous enemies, even tricking the devil and winning an argument with God. To make matters worse, creator Alan Moore and other writers of Hellblazer claim to have met John Constantine in real life. Was it a cosplayer or is Constantine really out there? No one knows.
3. Wolverine: a Scary Superhero
Played by Hugh Jackman
(A goon has just shot one of Wolverine’s allies)
X-Men #131
Wolverine: “Sucker, you just made the biggest mistake of your life. (SNIKT) And the last.”
Wolverine is the deadliest X-Man. He’s got heightened senses, a healing factor that makes him almost immortal, and bone claws that can cut people to ribbons. Then he got even tougher when a foolish organization called Weapon X kidnapped him and coated his bones in the indestructible metal Adamantium. Between his mutations, the experiments. and centuries of fighting experience, Wolverine is a living weapon.
Wolverine may be a hero, but he rarely hesitates to kill and maim. When pushed too far he enters a berserker rage. In the story Old Man Logan that serves as the basis for 2017’s Logan, Wolverine wass tricked into going berserk and slaughtered the X-Men. If he can do that to his allies, what do you think he can do to his enemies?
2. Batman
Played most by Christian Bale and Ben Affleck
Martian Manhunter: [underwater] “Batman! I’m still burning!”
Justice League: Doom
Batman: “Alfred, prep the Batwing! The Justice League is under attack!”
Alfred: “By who, sir?”
Batman: “By me!”
Batman’s shtick is fear. He was terrified of bats as a child and took on their image for his war against crime. He uses stealth against criminals before leaping out and breaking bones. A glimpse of Batman can scatter a group of thugs faster than an incoming missile. And that’s when Bats is mentally stable. When Bats goes cuckoo, crooks go “AGHHH! My leg! He broke my freaking leg!”
Batman has developed countless plans to stop the Justice League and other heroes in case they go rogue. These plans can be simple as breaking Green Lantern’s hand or shooting Superman with a Kryptonite bullet. They can also be as cruel as using a magnesium-based poison to set Martian Manhunter on fire. For context, magnesium can burn underwater at 1,000 degree Fahrenheit.
Who needs powers when you’re a rich sociopath?
1. Spider-Man: the Scariest Superhero
Played by Tom Holland and Tobey Maguire
Rhino: “What are you doin’? I told ya, I give up!”
Spider-Man: “The Alien Costume” (Season 1, episode 8)
Spider-Man: “That’s funny. I give up, too. [lifts a metal door above Rhino] I give up trying to be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.”
Marvel’s poster boy Spider-Man is the scariest superhero.. Spidey may not be the fastest, the strongest, or the smartest, but he strikes a perfect balance between the three. Throw in webs that The Hulk has trouble escaping and his trusty Spider-Sense, and you get an almost unstoppable character.
Spider-Man is a world-class trash talker. When he gets quiet, though, villains flee in terror because Spider-Man drops all restraints. He’s beaten villains to the point that they develop arachnophobia, if not fear of Spider-Man himself.
Spider-Man once stopped talking during a fight with Firelord, the herald of Galactus. Firelord is strong enough that Thor sometimes needs help to beat him. Captain America had to pull Spider-Man off of Firelord and point out that he was unconscious. Spider-Man doesn’t screw around.
Yeesh. All five heroes are pretty hardcore. Makes ya wonder, though. If they’re this scary, how bad must the super villains be? Check our list of the top 5 bad guys.
Jared Bounacos has written for Movie Rewind since 2016.
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