Over the years, Marvel has created many amazing characters, their disparate personalities making them memorable. Sometimes, the publisher’s creators like to throw a curveball at readers. They’ll take characters who seem one way and show that they’re just pretending, trying to be something they’re not in order to fool people into treating them well. Other times, it’s obvious that they’re pretending, trying to lull others into a false sense of security.
These characters are all complete frauds. Some of them are all about subterfuge. Some of them are lying to the people around them. Finally, some of them are lying to themselves. Despite their reasoning, they’re all frauds.
10 The Chameleon Is All About Pretending To Be Something Else
Not all Spider-Man’s foes can be cool, but that doesn’t mean they don’t still have great gimmicks. The Chameleon has never been a cool villain, something made worse by the fact that Kraven was his brother, but his ability to change his appearance made him the perfect spy. For years, he worked against the interests of the West and the superhero community.
The Chameleon’s entire existence is predicated on being a fraud. It got so bad with him that he often doesn’t even know who he is anymore. His ability to change has affected everything about him, including his mind. At times, he’s more pathetic than threatening because he’s completely lost any semblance of his own identity.
9 Nick Fury Is The Consummate Spymaster
Nick Fury believes in his goal of protecting humanity from the worst threats, but that’s the only place where he isn’t a fraud. Fury has been a spy since the end of World War II, jumping into that world against the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc. The Infinity Formula allowed him to stay in the fight for decades, and in that time he learned a lot about chicanery.
Fury rose to the top because he was willing to do whatever it took. He lied, cheated, and did terrible things to people who cared about him in the name of freedom. There’s no bond of trust he won’t break to succeed in his mission.
8 The Punisher Is Just A Mass Murderer In Disguise
The Punisher is not a superhero. He’s not a good man. He’s barely even a human being. The Punisher is basically a void of living vengeance, a person who only exists to fill the gaping need for some kind of purpose. He talks a big game about killing evildoers and that eliminating crime will protect the innocent, but that’s not who he is.
He’s a mass murderer, just like the worst people he fights against. There’s nothing noble about his mission. There’s no glory. There’s just a criminal shooting other criminals to satisfy a yawning black chasm inside of him that will never be filled.
7 Norman Osborn Has Always Been A Fraud At Some Level
Norman Osborn has used multiple supervillain identities over the years, but one thing is always the same: he’s a fraud. Osborn has always tried to keep up the facade of a wealthy businessman, a respectable person who keeps a monster under the lid. Even before he was the Green Goblin, his rage, hatred, and lust for power were always there.
His villainous career has been defined by his fraudulent nature. He’s pretended to be rehabilitated multiple times, lying to anyone who would believe him. His greatest fraud – his leadership of the Avengers and the Superhero Initiative – had nearly disastrous consequences. Osborn doesn’t care who suffers or is lied to as long as he gets more power.
6 Mister Sinister Lied To The People Of Krakoa Since The Beginning
The X-Men have some terrible allies, with Mister Sinister taking the cake in recent years. Sinister has always been a fraud. There is no one who he won’t lie to and nothing he won’t pretend to be to get what he wants. His time as a member of the Krakoan Quiet Council has proven this more than any prior acts.
Sinister has been plotting against the mutants of the nascent nation since its beginning. His only desire has been getting unfettered access to the most powerful mutants ever born. The sad thing about Sinister on Krakoa is that everyone knew he was a fraud, but what he brought to the table was enough to put up with him.
5 Sabretooth Has Fooled Everyone Many Times Over The Years
The X-Men have battled some controversial villains, but few of them can match Sabretooth. Sabretooth has done terrible things over the years, and yet for some reason the X-Men have tried multiple times to bring him into the fold. Other than his time when his morality was inverted post-AXIS, he was always pulling one over on the team.
His most successful fraud on the X-Men involved faking brain damage, lulling members of the team into a false sense of security, and then escaping, nearly killing Psylocke. Over the years, Sabretooth has fooled many people, pretending to be whatever he needed to be to manipulate those around him. As long as he gets to kill, he’ll pretend to be anyone.
4 Beast Has Become A Monster Wearing A Mask
Some Marvel leaders aren’t to be trusted, something Beast has proven since taking over X-Force on Krakoa. Henry McCoy was once the X-Men’s happy-go-lucky scientist, always ready with a joke. Time would change all of that, as the vicissitudes of the mutant race have caused a darkening in Beast that has come completely to fruition on Krakoa.
Beast is the head of X-Force, and he’s taken the black ops team to some terrible places. He’s embraced being amoral and hides his own burgeoning evil behind the face of someone who is only doing what the job needs. He’s no longer a hero and has become a complete fraud.
3 USAgent Was Terrible As Captain America
Steve Rogers has no problem walking away from being Captain America when he disagrees with the country he represents. One of these times, Army veteran and former superpowered wrestler Johnny Walker was chosen to take up the shield. Being Captain America is about more than fighting, though; it’s about being a symbol of something bigger.
USAgent was a complete fraud when it came to this. He wasn’t a symbol of freedom, but of conserving the old order and doing what he was told. He was a soldier, and he loved the violence. He was terrible as Captain America and his post-Cap career as USAgent hasn’t been much better.
2 Mystique’s Uses Her Powers To Fool Just About Everyone
Marvel has many great shapeshifters, but few can match Mystique. Over the years, she’s proven to be loyal to only one person and that’s her wife, Destiny. To everyone else, she’s exactly what her powers have made her, a completely malleable person who will become anything to get what she wants. Even her own children aren’t immune to her trickery, and they rarely get to see the real her.
In the end, Mystique really only cares about her and Destiny surviving. Everything else is basically her being a fraud of some type to someone. Duplicity has become a huge part of her nature, and it’s not something that is going to change any time soon.
1 Doctor Doom Deludes Even Himself About Who He Is
Doctor Doom is an iconic Marvel villain. He’s known for the complexity of his character and his rock solid belief in himself. However, Doom is actually complete fraud. He tries to pretend that he’s some kind of altruistic leader who cares about others, but in reality all that matters to him is self-aggrandizement.
Doom puts on airs, but he’s a fraud under the surface. He’ll do anything for power, and he’s proved that with his sacrifice of his former lover Valeria. The irony is that Doom realized this during his God Emperor days, giving up his power because he was able to come to the conclusion that he didn’t deserve the power. Of course, eventually he went back to believing his own lies again, but at least he realized his fraud for a short time.
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