Which Deadly Marvel Hero Has The Highest Kill Count? (2024)

Marvel's superheroes are a multifarious group, running the gamut of humanity. While they don't always agree on everything, there's one rule that is pretty standard among the superheroes of the world—no killing. Superheroes hold themselves to a higher standard, and not killing is part of that standard. However, not every hero follows this rule. Marvel pioneered the violent antihero, and since then, many heroes have come around who will kill their enemies.

The publisher has also given readers plenty of heroes who used to do terrible things and now do their best to make up for their past sins. Many Marvel superheroes have racked up a rather impressive body count throughout their lives, whether it be while they were heroes or before they decided on a new path.

Updated by Timothy Blake Donohoo on August 30, 2024: The Marvel Universe and its characters are a bit less hellbent on having "no-kill rules," but most heroes are reticent about having villains dropping like flies. At the same time, even some mainstream characters care little about this, with Deadpool's kill count and Wolverine's kill count being fairly high. This begs the question of who has the highest kill count in Marvel, with the truth being fairly surprising. This article has been updated with more entries and information to conform to CBR's current standards.

15 While Solo Lives, Terror Dies

Debut: Web of Spider-Man #19 by David Michelinie and Marc Silvestri

The Marvel Universe is full of mercenaries. Some are evil, like Taskmaster, going after the heroes every chance they get. Others are more heroic, only taking jobs that allow them to fight against the villain. Solo is one of the latter. He is a teleporter, allowing him to get into anywhere he needs and do what needs to be done. Solo is an expert with firearms and explosives, which is his main method of killing. While he prefers to use automatic weapons, Solo is a crack shot with a sniper as well.

Solo isn't as high profile as some other mercenaries, which is why his kill count is on the lower end. Solo does help the heroes, but most of them don't like him very much because he tends to shoot his way through problems. He hates terrorism, which is where his catchphrase - "While Solo lives, terror dies" - comes from. Solo will enter any dangerous situation to fulfill his mission, destroying terror one enemy at a time.

14 Speedball Was an Unintentional Murderer

Debut: The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #22 by Steve Ditko and Tom DeFalco

Speedball was created to capture the same magic as Spider-Man by the web-slinger's co-creator, Steve Ditko. Sadly, he never made a huge splash, mostly falling into obscurity alongside the other New Warriors. In the lead-up to the storyline Civil War, Speedball and the New Warriors were would-be reality TV stars trying to make it big and stay relevant. One of Speedball's schemes for stardom caused a massive tragedy.

Choosing to fight a group of villains in a suburban neighborhood for the show, Speedball and his team casually and callously engaged them. This caused Nitro to activate his explosive powers, which obliterated the neighborhood and killed over 600 people. Speedball himself didn't cause the massacre firsthand, but he did instigate the unnecessary conflict that killed several innocent civilians. He survived due to his powers, though he briefly became Penance and worked for the Thunderbolts to help him recover from the guilt.

13 Domino Exterminates the Enemies of X-Force

Debut: The New Mutants #98 by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld

Domino is one of Cable's closest allies, with the lucky mutant also occasionally being his love interest. With her powers of luck and probability, her shots have never missed, though many have missed her. Compared to members of the mainstream X-Men team, she and other members of X-Force are relatively violent and have no issues with shooting first and interrogating the corpse later.

The exact number of Domino's kill count is unknown, but it's likely several hundred if not thousands. While her precision means that she could easily shoot and not kill, the Deadpool ally probably keeps this level of control as a low priority. Given that she protected the island home of the mutants during the Krakoa era and killed all of its enemies, her kill count is likely fairly respectable.

Debut: The Uncanny X-Men #201 by Chris Claremont and Rick Leonardi

Cable is a mutant commando from the future, with his timeline usually shown as a dark and brutal place. Sometimes, he has to contend with and try to defeat Apocalypse, while other times, his clone Strife is the target. Usually seen carrying a massive gun, Cable is less overtly heroic than many of the present-day X-Men and is more like his frequent ally, Deadpool. His choice of weaponry and grisly, chiseled appearance make him symbolic of the "grim and gritty" 1990s comic books for the Marvel Comics franchise.

Given his gun-toting role in the franchise, it's not hard to believe that Cable has killed several people in his bid to change the future. These include people from his own time period and those in the past, with many enemies falling at the gun of Cable. Of course, this exact number is hard to quantify, but Cable has never been shown to be particularly sentimental over the deaths of his enemies.

11 Scarlet Witch Inadvertently Killed A Rather Large Number of Mutants

Debut: The X-Men #4 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

Scarlet Witch has had her troubles over the years, often getting possessed by her mystical enemies or losing her grasp on her sanity because of her powers. Once a member of the Brotherhood of Mutants, Scarlet Witch has betrayed the Avengers many times and even killed three of her fellow Avengers - Scott Lang, Vision, and Hawkeye. This event would lead to her being taken to Genosha by Magneto, where he and Xavier could try to help soothe her broken mind. However, Scarlet Witch was about to commit an act that would lead to the deaths of an unknown number of mutants.

Scarlet Witch de-powering the mutant race is often written off by her defenders as a rather benign act where no one is hurt. However, there are multiple mutants whose lives depended on their powers, like Wolverine's healing factor holding back his adamantium poisoning or the psychic energy that blew out Chamber's chest keeping him alive. When the mutants with powers integral to their survival lost them, many of them died. Scarlet Witch has definitely killed a large number of people, completely inadvertently, but there's no way to know how many.

10 Elektra Is a Trained Assassin

Debut: Daredevil #168 by Frank Miller

Also known as a love interest for Daredevil, Elektra Natchios is a violent assassin who was well-trained in the deadly arts. A master martial artist, she's been able to take down some of the most dangerous human quarries, and her skills have also made her a major threat to several superhumans and mutants. Though she (usually) lacks true powers of her own, she can still take out several targets before they even realize what is happening.

It's not known precisely how many people Elektra has killed over the years, though she has little regard for the act. This has caused a rift between her and Daredevil/Matt Murdock several times, which is why the two always break up. However, given her proficiency and how long she's been in the game, her kill count is probably pretty steep.

Debut: Web of Spider-Man #18 by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane

Starting out as a notable Spider-Man villain, Venom transitioned into a violent "Lethal Protector" who still used brutal force. The united form of the Venom symbiote and Eddie Brock was prone to eating brains, unleashing vicious, homicidal fury on those that it felt needed to be brought to justice. That's not even counting the many deaths the symbiote caused before bonding with Eddie.

When the Venom symbiote bonded to Marc Gargan (the former Scorpion), Venom ate his way into the record books and massively added to his kill count. Likewise, even when Flash Thompson was Agent Venom, he notably used guns and was violent in his own way. Thus, the symbiote as a whole has likely caused several hundreds of casualties.

8 Black Widow Spent Years As A Soviet Assassin

Debut: Tales of Suspense #52 by Stan Lee, Don Rico and Don Heck

Black Widow was a child in WWII when Wolverine and Captain America saved her from the Nazis. At some point after that, Widow was accepted into the Red Room and soon became a top Soviet assassin. Black Widow pulled missions throughout the Cold War, the Infinity Formula she was dosed with keeping her young and spry. Eventually, Black Widow defected, mostly working with SHIELD and the Avengers. While Black Widow doesn't always kill, she has a problem with it when she's working with SHIELD.

Black Widow is an excellent hand-to-hand fighter and a crack shot with pistols and rifles. She is an acrobatic fighter who can even hit targets precisely while twisting and turning in midair. Black Widow has slowed down with the killing as she's spent more time as a superhero and was often used more as a spy than an assassin by the Soviets. This explains why her kill count could be relatively low, but the high range puts it somewhere around two thousand.

7 Bucky Became The World's Most Feared Assassin As The Winter Soldier

Debut: Captain America Comics #1 by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby

James "Bucky" Barnes was originally Captain America's kid sidekick, but Bucky Barnes' kill count was anything but child's play. He was trained in black ops and unconventional warfare. The night before Captain America would attack Nazi bases, Bucky would sneak in and soften up the target, killing guards, sabotaging equipment, and making it much easier for Cap to triumph when he got there. Bucky was thought dead, killed trying to stop a drone bomb from striking London, but he survived. Bucky was taken by the Soviets, who rebuilt him and transformed him into the Winter Soldier.

Winter Soldier was the Soviet Union's greatest assassin, making Bucky Barnes' kill count fairly large in the grand scheme. Bucky had already racked up an impressive kill count in the war, but he easily eclipsed that as the Winter Soldier. The Winter Soldier used everything he could to destroy his targets, using weapons and tactics that many would find unsavory. Bucky has had quite a glow-up since rejoining the side of angels and has eased up on the killing. Bucky didn't give up killing altogether but is more selective about it.

6 Blade Has Dispatched Many Vampires

Debut: The Tomb of Dracula #10 by Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan

The vampire hunter known as Blade started on his lifelong mission when Deacon Frost attacked his pregnant mother. Blade spent years training to hunt and destroy vampires. Blade is a master of multiple weapons but prefers to use swords and firearms, especially modified ones that can fire stakes. Blade has been known to wade into seas of vampires and kill them by the score, his superhuman strength, speed, and agility allowing him to dispatch many vampires at once.

Blade has always been a killer, but the number of his kill count depends on how someone counts undead creatures. Vampires are all undead, so it's in the eye of the beholder whether they count as actual kills since they were basically dead already. Blade was born in 1929, so it's easy to assume his kill count is quite high if they do count.

5 Deadpool Is A Hilarious Killing Machine

Debut: The New Mutants #98 by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld

Wade Wilson was a soldier with cancer when he volunteered to be part of Weapon X. He was given a powerful lab-created healing factor based on Wolverine and Sabretooth's mutant powers. However, it left him terribly scarred, physically and mentally. Since then, Deadpool has been the Merc with the Mouth, first fighting against the heroes before becoming one of them. Deadpool has risen to the ranks of the Avengers, proving that someone doesn't always have to walk a villainous path as long as they work to change.

However, that doesn't mean that Deadpool stopped being deadly. Deadpool is functionally immortal, able to walk into nearly any room and clear it of enemies. Deadpool is a whirling dervish with his swords, cutting through anything in front of him, and is a master of almost every other killing implement in the world. He's also killed a lot of people over his long career, easily between ten and fifteen thousand, and his healing factor lets him heal from the most grievous wounds, something his enemies can't do after fighting him.

4 Wolverine Was Crafted Into A Machine Of Death

Debut: The Incredible Hulk #180 by Len Wein and John Romita Sr.

When Wolverine's mutant powers manifested, resulting in a berserker rage, he killed the groundskeeper (who was probably his biological father), maimed the groundskeeper's son, and accidentally killed his mother. These were the first people to fall to his claws, but they'd be far from the last. Logan eventually joined the armed forces and became a prolific soldier, fighting through every major conflict of the twentieth century and the Cold War. During this time, Wolverine killed scores of people, using pretty much anything he could get his hands on.

Weapon X gave his adamantium skeleton and released his bestial side, which was the doom of the program. Wolverine broke loose, killing an obscene amount of guards and escaping into the night. Since then, Wolverine's life has improved as he found friends and loved ones, but the killing hasn't stopped. Wolverine has killed hordes of ninjas and enemies over the decades, so fifteen to twenty-five thousand may actually be a little low, but it's the closest estimate.

3 The Punisher Is A One-Man War On Crime

Debut: The Amazing Spider-Man #129 by Stan Lee, John Romita Sr., Gerry Conway and Ross Andru

Frank Castle's kill count began as a Marine in the Siet-Cong War. Castle became an expert at killing and started to enjoy it. After mobsters killed his family, Frank Castle became the Punisher and began to cut through the criminal underworld like a knife through butter. Castle was already the perfect killing machine when his war started, and he's only gotten better as the years have gone on.

The Punisher has become the most dangerous anti-hero in New York City, cutting a swath through crime and crime families. It might seem a little far-fetched that one person without superpowers could kill over twenty-five thousand people, but the Punisher excels at mass murder. He's opened up with 50 cal. machine guns at weddings. He's planted explosives and killed entire gangs. The Punisher gets it done in any way possible, meaning his kill count is even higher than Wolverine or Deadpool. His fellow heroes aren't fans of his methods, but he gets results.

2 Ares Is The Personification Of War

Debut: Thor #129 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

Ares is the Olympian God of War, an immortal fighting for ages. Ares only recently joined the forces of good, working with the Avengers and the Dark Avengers, acting as the team powerhouse. He has never had any problem with killing - he prefers axes to other weapons. He is often seen swinging a massive double-bladed ax around when enemies are about with superhuman strength.

Ares's dealings with mortals usually end with someone getting killed, adding even more tallies to his kill count. Ares lives and breathes war, gaining more power from conflict. He has fought in rough battles throughout the ages, preferring melee weapons to guns, tearing through everyone in front of him. Ares has been fighting wars for thousands of years, so his kill count is very high, even though it's impossible to number.

1 Thor Fought For Centuries With The Armies Of Asgard

Debut: Journey Into Mystery #83 by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby

Thor is the son of Odin and Gaia, who became the God of Thunder. Thor was raised to be a warrior and fought the enemies of the Golden Realm constantly. Eventually, Thor proved himself worthy of Mjolnir and became even more devastating. Thor's constant victories made him vain and arrogant, which led to him being sent to Earth to learn a lesson in humility. This led to Thor becoming a superhero, which had a neutering effect on his large kill count.

Much like Ares, it's impossible to truly gauge Thor's kill count. Thor has spent years fighting battles over his long life, tearing through every enemy before him. While Thor slowed down on the killing as an Avenger, he didn't completely stop and was willing to kill more as it became more acceptable to his comrades. Thor is a killer and easily has the highest kill count among the heroes of Earth and beyond.

Marvel

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