10 Marvel Villains With the Coolest Civilian Jobs

Marvel supervillains come in all shapes and sizes, wielding a broad range of powers against the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. From ancient foes waiting in the shadows for their time to strike to grandiose invaders hell-bent on conquest, they all have their own powers, skills, and personal interests. Some are all-powerful, but others struggle to keep the lights on.

Not all villains need to maintain a day job to pay the bills, but some do, and others choose to keep doing their civilian jobs because of how much they genuinely enjoy it. Marvel villains like the Puppet Master and the Painter use their skills for villainy rather than employment. Still, if they ever tried to go legit, they might find themselves among the Marvel villains with the coolest civilian jobs.

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While they may be best known for their criminal feats, DC villains like Cheetah, Lex Luthor, Livewire and Star Sapphire all had interesting day jobs.

10 Circus Performers Turn To Crime

The circus first appeared in Joe Simon and Jack Kirby’s Captain America Comics #5

The circus is a quintessential part of American history, symbolizing the ingenuity and perils of entertainment. Nowadays, the transient nature of makeup-clad strangers can make people uncomfortable, despite how cool it is to watch a skilled performer showcase their craft, regardless of what it is. Marvel’s Circus of Crime isn’t doing anything to help its public image.

Along with The Juggler, the members of the Circus of Crime make up a surprisingly large subcategory of Marvel villains who had mildly interesting abilities and skills but weren’t interesting or powerful enough to stand on their own. Strongmen, lion tamers, and even Batroc the Leaper fell down on their luck and were forced to use their niche and captivating talents for B-list schemes that always fail.

9 Isaac Newton Is A Living Nightmare

The father of physics first appeared in S.H.I.E.L.D. #3 by Jonathan Hickman and Dustin Weaver

Isaac Newton, the legendary father of modern physics, exists in the Marvel Universe as an immortal villain. His civilian life and work are the same as the modern understanding of Sir Isaac Newton’s life and times. Still, his dabbling with sorcery, immortality, and shadowy secret societies makes him an enduring villain.

Split image of Marvel villains like Overdrive, Scourge, and the Punisher robots

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Newton isn’t the only Renaissance figure to live several centuries, but he’s the most violent. He murdered Galileo Galilei, captured and tormented Nostradamus, and led the Brotherhood of Shield for centuries. He foresaw the end of days in the year 2060 and led agents like Howard Stark and Nathaniel Richards, all thanks to his original and legendary career as the man who discovered gravity.

8 People Watch Mojo For Entertainment

Mojo first appeared in Ann Nocenti and Arthur Adams’ Longshot #3

The Mojoverse is a realm haunted by images from Earth television, and Mojo, the pocket dimension’s premiere despot, made a living out of that. Rising to power through cybernetic upgrades and a deeper understanding of the visions around them, Mojo turned the uncontrollable stray TV signals into the basis of society in his world.

He’s not a civilian on Earth, and his televised torture is an extension of his rule over Mojoworld, but it’s also the only job he has. Even when the X-Men aren’t around to battle him, Mojo is an entertainment mogul whose content is widely watched. He turns the X-Men into the stars of his show whenever he can, but only because they bring great ratings.

7 Roderick Kingsley Was A Fashion Designer

First appeared in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #43 by Roger Stern, Mike Zeck, and Steve Mitchell

Several wayward people have taken the mantle of Hobgoblin. Some were established business people, others got tired of being green, but Roderick Kingsley seemingly became a supervillain out of sheer boredom. Fed up with his life as a successful fashion designer, his journey to goblinhood included careful experimentation at the cost of other people’s lives.

Jason Macendale, Roderick Kingsley and Phil Urich as Hobgoblin in a collage image

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Roderick had a web of criminal contacts, which he used to make his business more successful. Through shady dealings and quiet threats, he propelled his fashion business beyond those of his competitors until one of his goons told him about Norman Osborn’s discarded secret base. Kingsley was only the Hobgoblin until he got bored with that, pinned it all on Ned Leeds, and returned to business for a while.

6 Prowler Made Window Washing Cool

Hobie Brown first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #78 by Stan Lee and John Buscema

Many readers don’t consider manual labor a “cool” job, but it is when done right. Hobie Brown took his wiping skills to the next level by modifying his equipment and designing an outfit that would make the job easier, more fun, and cooler-looking. He then used that same equipment to turn to a life of crime before becoming a vigilante.

Brown’s getup was perfect for scaling buildings and leaving them spotless, so it’s no surprise that he can burglarize high-value targets without leaving any trace. When he encountered Spider-Man for the first time, the web-slinger was able to turn him back to the straight-and-narrow.

5 Morbius Was A Chiropterologist

Dr. Michael Morbius first appeared in Roy Thomas and Gil Kane’s Amazing Spider-Man #101

Dr. Michael Morbius never wanted to become The Living Vampire he became. He wasn’t seeking anything supernatural when he combined his DNA with that of a vampire bat, he was just searching for a cure for his blood condition. It sounds like a crazy idea in hindsight, but having the cool job of studying vampire bats may have clouded his judgment.

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Morbius has bat powers, but they don’t all make sense. He can hover because bats can fly, but he doesn’t have the wings that enable their flight. He’s also proportionally stronger and faster than bats and can hypnotize people. He attributes these powers to bat DNA, calling into question his knowledge of bat biology, and uses them to lead the Legion of Monsters and a few other groups as his new profession.

4 Tiger Shark Was An Olympic Swimmer

Arliss first swam onto the scene in Roy Thomas and John Buscema’s Sub-Mariner #5

Todd Arliss is a biological mess. He used to be an Olympic Swimmer, but he was told he’d never swim again after he broke his back saving a drowning man. Luckily for him, a mad scientist took him in, pumped him full of DNA from a tiger shark and the Sub-Mariner, and released his new creation back into the world.

The transformation ruined Arliss’s mind, but it perfected his body, turning him into the ultimate oceanic predator. With strength and speed to nearly match Namor, he’s an ongoing problem for Atlantis, having claimed the kingdom’s throne for himself on multiple occasions. The saddest thing about the disgraced Olympian is that his predatory DNA means his intellect is reduced to that of an animal.

3 Mysterio Did Visual Effects For Movies

Beck first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #2 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko

Split image of Green Goblin, Venom fighting Spider-Man, and Doctor Octopus from Marvel Comics

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As Mysterio, Beck can use his professional skills on a massive scale, finally getting the attention he should have gotten. Beck grew to want fame after years of fighting and failing, but his primary goal has always been to become the master of illusions. He just wanted to be the best at his craft, and the world around him pushed him to extremes in pursuit of that goal.

2 Overdrive Was A Professional Racer

First appeared in Dan Slott and Phil Jimenez’s Free Comic Book Day 2007 (Spider-Man) #1

James Beverley never wanted to be a supervillain. His body is host to nanoscopic germ-like robots, which grant him control over vehicles. He wanted to use his powers for good, but the short-term rewards of burglary and getaway driving were too enticing.

Overdrive’s powers make him a natural behind the wheel of any vehicle. Because of his incredibly broad power set, it’s not too hard for him to find a job when he stops committing crimes. He’s mostly a joke character, but his idolization of Spider-Man and his tragic journeys between life and death are made cooler by his old life as a racecar driver.

1 Skrulls Secretly Took Over as Marvel’s Fab Four

Skrull Beatles first appeared in Paul Cornell and Manuel Garcia’s Wisdom #6

Skrulls are incredibly skilled at mimicry, supplanting much of Earth’s population on several occasions. They take on the lives of everyone from superheroes to world leaders, but many Skrulls adopt average human lives with boring day jobs. Others become pop culture icons.

Pop Culture’s influence on mass groups of people would be an asset to any invading alien civilization, so, naturally, the Beatles were replaced sometime amid their meteoric rise. The Skrull Beatles changed their sound and eventually drifted apart when John decided he’d rather make love, not war, choosing a civilian life over that of an invading soldier.