Celebrate Halloween With This Look At The Scariest Marvel And DC Characters Of All-Time

It's Halloween, and that means we're taking a look at over 20 of the most terrifying Marvel and DC characters of all-time. From Carnage to Man-Bat and more, read on to see if your favourite made the cut...

By JoshWilding - Oct 31, 2019 10:10 AM EST

Filed Under: Horror

As the number of comic book movies released on a yearly basis rises, so too do the different sorts of genre that Marvel and DC attempt to tackle. Looking to the future, it seems like horror might be the way to go, especially with movies and TV shows like Blade, Moon Knight, and Morbius on the way.

So, with Halloween here, we've been wondering which comic book characters from the Marvel and DC Universe are truly the most terrifying. We're not just talking about looks, either, as there's a lot that makes these heroes and villains scary enough to give you nightmares both on the page and screen.

What you'll find here is our breakdown of the scariest characters in the Marvel and DC Universes. From monsters who slaughter their prey to heroes that use fear as a weapon, this lot is sure to have freaked you out at some point.

So, to take a look at this list, simply click on the "View List" button.

Red Goblin

When Norman Osborn bonded with the Carnage symbiote, he became one of Spider-Man's most terrifying villains, and a recent one-shot revealed just how twisted his time as the Red Goblin was (he slaughtered countless innocents). More unhinged than ever, he was truly the stuff of nightmares.

Man-Bat

Batman is a scary dude, but what if he was an actual Man-Bat? Well, that's the alter-ego of Kirk Langstrom, a scientist who developed a formula which made him more monster than man. Gotham City is scary enough as it is but seeing this guy in the sky would make you never want to leave the house!

Venom

Unfortunately, the Venom movie wasn't the R-Rated horror we were all hoping for. However, while this alien symbiote's origin may be rooted in the world of sci-fi, he's not to be trifled with and some iterations of the villain have even had a taste for human flesh. Plus, he's wanted to eat Spidey's brain for years!

Demogoblin

The Marvel Universe features a lot of very scary Goblins, but perhaps the most frightening is this one. Jason Macendale was actually the second Hobgoblin before he became possessed by a demon after making a deal with N'astirh for power. When Jason rid himself of the demon, Demogoblin was born!

Etrigan

One of the most notorious of Hell's demons, Etrigan's soul was merged with the body of a human man, Jason Blood, who calls upon the demon's terrifying power to fight the forces of darkness. He's clashed with a number of DC Comics over the years and is expected to appear in Justice League Dark.

Mephisto

The Marvel Universe's devil, Mephisto is responsible for making the life of Ghost Rider a living hell (literally), but has often set his sights on other heroes too. For example, it's his fault that Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson are no longer married, as he took that away from them in return for saving Aunt May's life.

Werewolf By Night

That's right, the Marvel Universe has its own werewolf! Werewolf by Night was the victim of an ancient family curse who struggled for years with his bestial alter-ego. But over time he has conquered his inner demons and become a hero; alas, that makes seeing him under a full moon no less scary.

Solomon Grundy

Solomon Grundy is a reanimated corpse, hailing from a cursed place near Gotham City called Slaughter Swamp. His appearance and strength have varied greatly over the years (he once rivalled Superman in terms of power), but one place he wasn't very scary was in the latest season of Gotham.

Parallax

Parallax is quite literally fear itself, so calling it terrifying seems like an understatement. After possessing Hal Jordan and decimating the Green Lantern Corps, the monster stayed dormant for a time before reemerging to power up the Sinestro Corps and ensure fear will always have a place in the universe.

Ghost Rider

If the Spirit of Vengeance comes calling, you're definitely in trouble! As horror comic book characters go, Ghost Rider is definitely up there with the best regardless of who it is beneath the flaming skull. His penance stare ensures that evildoers feel each and every one of their nastiest deeds!

Scarecrow

Scarecrow may be just a guy wearing a sack over his head, but don't pretend seeing him down a dark alley wouldn't freak you out. Throw in the fact that he uses a fear gas which will make all of your worst nightmares come true, and he really is one of the most imposing figures in Batman's rogues' gallery.

Vermin

More rat than human, anyone who has a fear of rodents will want to keep clear of this nasty Spider-Man villain. Famous for his role in "Kraven's Last Hunt," Vermin's backstory may be somewhat tragic, but he's vicious, evil, and has no problem with tearing his victims to pieces when he gets hungry.

Carnage

If you thought Venom was scary, he's got nothing on Carnage! The offspring of the Venom Symbiote bonded with serial killer Cletus Kasady, and the twisted duo have enjoyed murdering entire towns of innocents (literally) ever since. He can even turn his suit into devastating weapons like knives and axes!

Clayface

In terms of appearance, Clayface is a pretty damn scary looking monster. However, throw in the fact that he's able to use his powers to transform into whoever he likes and you'll never know if your closest friend is actually this creature in disguise, ready to smother you with clay and steal your face!

Green Goblin

One of Spider-Man's biggest enemies, Norman Osborn has taken great delight in torturing Peter Parker for decades. He killed his girlfriend, and even came up with a plan that seemingly resulted in the death of Peter and MJ's firstborn child. Throw in that terrifying mask and he's definitely a very scary customer.

Morbius The Living Vampire

Sometimes friend and sometimes foe to Spider-Man, Morbius isn't your typical vampire, but will suck your blood just as quickly as Dracula himself! Currently an anti-hero of sorts, you never know where his alliances are going to lie, especially as his thirst for blood can vary from day to day.

Man-Thing

There may be a resemblance to Swamp-Thing, but Man-Thing is a very different monster. In fact, he's a large semi-intelligent creature that dwells in the Florida Everglades and is the sole guardian of the Nexus of All Realities located there. He's scary, but does have an important job.

The Brood

The Brood are a race of alien parasites that reproduce by implanting their eggs in others. They are a recurring enemy of the X-Men, Sh'iar, and Captain Marvel and have the ability to control those they inhabit. That's led to some Alien style goings on in the comics which is always freaky to see play out.

Jack O'Lantern

A few different men have held the mantle of Jack O'Lantern, and they've all looked downright horrifying. One was gunned down by The Punisher while attempting to kill Spider-Man, and the latest is a sadistic mercenary abducted as a kid by Crime-Master who took the mantle after murdering his predecessors.

Marvel Zombies

Set in an alternate universe where a zombie outbreak has ravaged the heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe, these zombies are not to be messed with. Everyone from Captain America to Iron Man have been reduced to their baser instincts by the plague, and Spider-Man even ate his Aunt May!

Killer Croc

Suicide Squad's Killer Croc wasn't particularly scary, but his comic book counterpart most certainly is! One of Batman's more unusual foes, it's when he goes full-on Croc that he's most terrifying, and the Arkham video games did a particularly good job of emphasising his monstrous tendencies.

Nekron

Nekron is the embodiment of death and darkness in the DC Universe, and has the power to take and restore life as he pleases, contributing to the reanimation of many heroes in the past. That came to be during the events of Blackest Night where his monstrous Black Lantern Corps were formed.

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33 Comments

Benjamitesandwich - 10/31/2019, 10:23 AM

No love for Gorr? Great list, though.

KWilly - 10/31/2019, 10:27 AM

Doing some research on the Venom character, he's actually not nearly the villain everyone thinks he is. He's been technically more of a good guy than a bad guy. Yeah, he had a vendetta against Spidey, but after that was over, he's been obsessed with protecting innocent people (in the comics).

Venom gets this "pitbull" like reputation everywhere else, but the movie actually represented him accurately. A big goofy, anti-hero.

L0RDbuckethead - 10/31/2019, 10:46 AM

@KWilly - The symbiote has an extremely goofy personality in the comics.

99OPTIMISTPRIME - 10/31/2019, 12:39 PM

@KWilly - Has Venom ever murdered innocent people? That's how you measure a modern day supervillain. Deathstroke can be pretty damn scary. The Titans has actually done a pretty decent job at depicting him on the show.

KWilly - 10/31/2019, 3:06 PM

@WAKANDABATMANFOREVER - Yeah, Venom will murder bad people all day long, but never good. (Except Spider-Man, but obviously he never did that anyway)

Comicbookart - 10/31/2019, 10:29 AM

They need to make a real CBM horror film.

hazapez - 10/31/2019, 10:36 AM

@Comicbookart - arkham asylum serious house on serious earth lol

MyCoolYoung - 10/31/2019, 10:32 AM

I'd add the new villain Scorcese on there. His look isn't scary, unless you dislike bushy eyebrows, but he's the only villain that could crossover to each company on a crusade to bring them down

Mrcool210 - 10/31/2019, 10:36 AM

The red Goblin is awful, Dan slott essentially took Carnage and turned him into a gary stu. I was laughing so hard when he said that he had "removed all weaknesses" Like that is the most fan ficy thing I have read in a comic in a very long time. I've heard slot has done good on F4 though. Good, hopefully he can actually write good stories with the F4

crawley - 10/31/2019, 12:16 PM

@Mrcool210 - lol, you said "dan slott" and "write good" in the same paragraph.

L0RDbuckethead - 10/31/2019, 10:47 AM

Happy Halloween everyone

Se4M4NSt4ine - 10/31/2019, 10:54 AM

This was a nice little article, thank you @joshwilding

number10 - 10/31/2019, 11:10 AM

no Void?

SpideyFan31 - 10/31/2019, 11:10 AM

Would love to see Jack O Lantern in live action!! lol

DarkArrow19 - 10/31/2019, 11:22 AM

No Trench?!?!

Goldboink - 10/31/2019, 11:47 AM

I want Man Thing something awful.

Feralwookiee - 10/31/2019, 12:11 PM

@Goldboink - Like, in a movie, or relationship-wise? 😁

Goldboink - 10/31/2019, 1:22 PM

@Feralwookiee -
Yea, in the internet age every perversion is possible. As long as there is no fear you can jump on Man Thing and just start humping pretty much anywhere.

Feralwookiee - 10/31/2019, 2:09 PM

@Goldboink - Gives a whole new meaning to "whatever knows fear burns at the Man-Thing's touch"! 🤣

Goldboink - 10/31/2019, 2:38 PM

@Feralwookiee -
If you are into that sort of thing!

Feralwookiee - 10/31/2019, 12:32 PM

Pretty good list, but you forgot this creepy bastard!

blackandyellow - 10/31/2019, 12:41 PM

What about Hemo-Goblin, the vampire that gives you AIDS?

Feralwookiee - 10/31/2019, 5:36 PM

@blackandyellow - Dude looks a bit like Caliban from Marvel. I've never heard of him, so I had to look him up...Holy shit. That's one wacked out backstory! 🤤🤣

diabolik - 11/1/2019, 6:06 AM

simon garth the marvel zombie

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Celebrate Halloween With This Look At The Scariest Marvel And DC Characters Of All-Time

It's Halloween, and that means we're taking a look at over 20 of the most terrifying Marvel and DC characters of all-time. From Carnage to Man-Bat and more, read on to see if your favourite made the cut...

Red Goblin

Man-Bat

Venom

Demogoblin

Etrigan

Mephisto

Werewolf By Night

Solomon Grundy

Parallax

Ghost Rider

Scarecrow

Vermin

Carnage

Clayface

Green Goblin

Morbius The Living Vampire

Man-Thing

The Brood

Jack O'Lantern

Marvel Zombies

Killer Croc

Nekron

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