All of the Fantastic Four's First Major Villains

In addition to exploring the unknown and discovering new frontiers in science, the Fantastic Four have saved the world from some of the most dangerous villains in the Marvel Universe. Whether they face world-devouring cosmic gods or tyrannical techno-mystics, the Fantastic Four have clobbered, scorched, and outsmarted these threats to lay a better foundation for the future. 

Now, let’s take a closer look at some of the Fantastic Four’s earliest enemies. From their first battles to their latest encounters, these are the villains who tried to stand between the Fantastic Four and a better tomorrow, as seen in stories available now on Marvel Unlimited!

DOCTOR DOOM

As one of the smartest people in the universe, a master of the mystic arts, and the tyrannical leader of Latveria, Doctor Doom may be the most dangerous man alive. Long before Victor Von Doom took over the planet in ONE WORLD UNDER DOOM (2025), he was Reed Richards’ college classmate and academic rival. After one of his inventions blew up in his face, Doom forged a mask to cover his scars, developed an armor that could rival Iron Man’s suit, and seized control of the nation Latveria—all before he debuted in FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #5 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. 

With as many inventions as Mister Fantastic and enough mystical knowledge to challenge Doctor Strange, Doom is a threat to the entire universe. Although he works with heroes on occasion and even stopped the complete collapse of the Multiverse in SECRET WARS (2015), Doom has also turned himself into a god and conquered the world multiple times.

GALACTUS

Although Galactus is more a universal force of nature than a scheming villain, he has been one of the Fantastic Four’s most dangerous foes since he debuted in FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #48 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. As the last survivor of a dead universe, Galactus is an ancient cosmic being who must consume worlds to survive and maintain the universe’s life cycle. 

While Galactus and his endless hunger have wiped out countless civilizations, the Fantastic Four convinced him to stay away from Earth on multiple occasions. Galactus is also accompanied by his Heralds like the Silver Surfer and Terrax, who wield the Power Cosmic and search for new worlds for him to eat. The Fantastic Four teamed up with Galactus on a few occasions and even restored him for the greater good of the universe.

MOLE MAN

The Fantastic Four met their very first villain, Mole Man, in FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #1 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Although Harvey Elder was born as a surface-dweller over a century ago, the shunned social outcast grew obsessed with the underground world. In a massive series of caverns below the Earth’s surface, Mole Man formed a kingdom called Subterranea. He also lorded over a race of underground, semi-humanoid beings called the Moloids, as well as enormous monsters like Giganto, both the forgotten creations of an ancient race called the Deviants.

Using advanced technology, Mole Man often attacks the surface world to get revenge for various perceived wrongs. However, Mole Man has also worked with the Fantastic Four and allowed other heroes to operate out of Subterranea. Mole Man briefly ruled Monster Island before renewing his rivalry with the Fantastic Four.

DIABLO

Born centuries ago to an aristocratic family in Spain, Esteban Corazon de Ablo became obsessed with studying ways to transform elements through alchemy and ultimately sold his soul to Mephisto in exchange for immortality. After taking the name Diablo, he set up a base in Transylvania, where angry civilians imprisoned him in his castle. But when he tempted the Thing with a way to restore his humanity, Diablo was freed in FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #30 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

With his expertise in science and magic, Diablo has menaced the Fantastic Four and other heroes like Spider-Man for years. Diablo went on to join the Masters of Evil, and he briefly became a god-like being when he merged with the Asgardian Destroyer armor. Despite their history, Mister Fantastic has occasionally recruited Diablo to help him with mystic threats or as one of several geniuses in the Future Foundation.

WIZARD

Bentley Whitman may be an intellectual rival to Mister Fantastic, but he began his career as the Wizard by hating another Fantastic Four member. While using his inventions like anti-gravity discs as a performer, the Wizard felt upstaged by the Human Torch in STRANGE TALES (1951) #102 by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby.

After making several unsuccessful attempts to get revenge, the Wizard assembled the Frightful Four, an ever-changing group of villains that originally included Trapster, Sandman, and a mind-controlled Medusa. Despite his few accomplishments, the Wizard is profoundly arrogant, which causes most of his plans to fail. 

The Wizard also created a mischievous young clone of himself, Bentley-23, who joined the young geniuses of the Future Foundation. More recently, the Wizard targeted Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch with an army of drones called the Frightful Four Hundred.

PUPPET MASTER

The Fantastic Four have always been Marvel’s First Family, and their extended family even includes some of their villains. Introduced in FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #8 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Phillip Masters—the Puppet Master—is the stepfather of Alicia Masters, the Thing’s wife. After he caused a lab explosion that inadvertently blinded Alicia, the Puppet Master developed a way to take over someone’s mind by making sculptures of them with magic-infused, radioactive clay from the base of Wundagore Mountain.

One of the Fantastic Four’s oldest foes, the Puppet Master tried to take control of the Thing during their first meeting. When Alicia and the Thing began dating, he was horrified, but he has come to reluctantly approve of their relationship. When his stepdaughter tried to control others using his methods, he strongly encouraged her not to make the same mistakes he did.

RED GHOST

After accidental exposure to cosmic rays gave the Fantastic Four superhuman powers, a scientist named Ivan Kragoff tried to recreate their fateful trip. With three ape passengers, Ivan launched himself into cosmic rays, which gave him the intangibility powers uses as the Red Ghost starting in FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #13 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. His apes, who also developed powers like super-strength and the ability to shape-shift, became known as the Super-Apes. 

The Red Ghost and his various teams of Super-Apes have faced the Fantastic Four several times. He also joined the Intelligencia, a group of genius villains. Although he died at the hands of a Captain America doppelganger who was secretly a Hydra agent, the Red Ghost eventually returned to life and was haunted by the ghosts of his old dead apes.

PSYCHO-MAN

Although he comes from a sub-atomic realm called the Microverse, Psycho-Man caused some big problems for the Fantastic Four. While working as a scientist on the microscopic planet Taran, Psycho-Man developed the Control-Box, which can influence anyone’s feelings of anger, doubt, and hate. After traveling to the regular-sized Marvel Universe, Psycho-Man tried to build an even larger version of his machine but was stopped by the Fantastic Four and their allies in FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL (1963) #5 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

On one of his return trips to the Marvel Universe, Psycho-Man used a robot called the Hate-Monger to transform the Invisible Woman into a cruel and hateful version of herself called Malice. Although Reed Richards restored her mind, Susan Storm Richards chased Psycho-Man to the Microverse and collapsed his nervous system by exposing him to his device’s maximum settings.

SUPER-SKRULL

The shape-shifting alien Skrulls were some of the Fantastic Four’s earliest enemies, and the Skrulls’ strongest warrior became one of the team’s most dangerous foes. After a decorated career in the Skrull military, Kl’rt debuted as the Super-Skrull in FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #18 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Thanks to Skrull genetic engineering, the Super-Skrull has the powers of all four members of the Fantastic Four and can expertly combine them in lethal ways. 

As both a dedicated servant of the Skrull Empire and a disgraced soldier trying to atone for his failures, the Super-Skrull has faced the Fantastic Four and Avengers many times. Despite their history, Kl’rt teamed up with several cosmic heroes and Avengers to protect the galaxy from threats like Annihilus in ANNIHILATION (2006). After briefly ruling the Skrull Empire, Super-Skrull helped unite the Skrulls with their rivals, the Kree, to form the Kree-Skrull Alliance under the leadership of Emperor Hulkling.

ANNIHILUS

One of Mister Fantastic’s most famous discoveries is the Negative Zone, a harsh dimension filled with insectoid creatures. However, none of its inhabitants are as dangerous as Annihilus, the Negative Zone’s vicious ruler, who debuted in FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL (1963) #6 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Although Annihilus has an army at his command thanks to the Cosmic Control Rod, the Fantastic Four kept his universe-destroying ambitions in check for years. 

During the epic ANNIHILATION (2006), Annihilus gathered the Negative Zone’s forces together as the Annihilation Wave and launched a devastating cosmic attack that wiped out the Nova Corps and several other worlds. Although a ragtag group of heroes defeated him and sent him back to his dimension, Annihilus later killed the Human Torch and trapped him in a cycle of death and rebirth in the Negative Zone. Even though he has teamed up with heroes on occasion, Annihilus is still one of the universe’s most dangerous looming threats.

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