# What motivates Marvel criminals in light of how often they’re killed, beaten or arrested by heroes and villains? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comic-books-manga\ **Created:** [February 9, 2026, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-marvel-criminals-in-light-of-how-often-they-re-killed-beaten-or-arrested-by-heroes-and-villains/1027529 "2026-02-09T22:35:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-marvel-criminals-in-light-of-how-often-they-re-killed-beaten-or-arrested-by-heroes-and-villains/1027529/21 "2026-02-10T07:28:04Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > That leaves a life of self interest (usually crime) for the rest. In addition, as posters have alluded to upthread, a lot of them are portrayed as being, frankly, not terribly bright (or at least uneducated). Dumb supervillains tend to be motivated by greed – and, sometimes, just enjoy breaking things and beating people up. Intelligent supervillains tend to be motivated by seeking power, fame, revenge, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-marvel-criminals-in-light-of-how-often-they-re-killed-beaten-or-arrested-by-heroes-and-villains/1027529/22 "2026-02-10T08:26:12Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > . Either you risk life and limb to do good for others or you risk life and limb to profit yourself. The comic book universe does not allow anything in between. Which is weird, because there are so many legal, non-heroic ways to use superpowers. Superstrength? You’re the star of the Gotham moving industry. Flight? You’re the most high-demand courier in the country. Underwater powers? Every marine biologist and oil country in the world want to work with you. And so on. But I guess the super industrial complex has no time for the working-joe enhanced. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-marvel-criminals-in-light-of-how-often-they-re-killed-beaten-or-arrested-by-heroes-and-villains/1027529/23 "2026-02-10T09:19:29Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Like criminals in the real world, they think that they are the ones who will get away with it. TBF…some criminals in Marvel often get away with it. That’s how the story lines move along. It’d get boring if every story ended with the heroes winning. Not to mention multiple earths where some have the bad guys controlling everything and the heroes are in hiding. Magneto seems to have done well. Thanos sure did for a very long time. Too many to list but I hope that’s enough to get the point across. And what about gray areas like Hulk or Deadpool or even Wolverine? They may not be evil but they are not exactly law abiding good citizens either (Wolverine maybe is…mostly). ---
**Author:** ![JohnnyEcks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnnyecks/32/18197_2.png) [@JohnnyEcks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnnyEcks)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-marvel-criminals-in-light-of-how-often-they-re-killed-beaten-or-arrested-by-heroes-and-villains/1027529/24 "2026-02-10T14:06:24Z")
It makes no sense except in the context of fiction, obviously. As an intellectual exercise we can justify it in lots of ways. For example, we only see when the heroes succeed. Statistically, most crimes in the comic book universe are actually easy and extremely profitable, but the successes aren’t shown to the reader. This explains why minor criminals keep at it despite the risk, as well as how supervillains can afford their equipment, lairs, and bizarre, convoluted, and ridiculously expensive plots against the heroes. Or just watch the Venture Brothers- there’s a whole system designed to keep heroes and villains fighting each other so that society can continue without too much disruption, and magic/superscience never becomes available to the public. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-marvel-criminals-in-light-of-how-often-they-re-killed-beaten-or-arrested-by-heroes-and-villains/1027529/25 "2026-02-10T14:14:38Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > And what about gray areas like Hulk Hulk and many others belong in a third category; monsters. Others in the gray area are simply insane or have a screwed up moral compass. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-marvel-criminals-in-light-of-how-often-they-re-killed-beaten-or-arrested-by-heroes-and-villains/1027529/26 "2026-02-10T14:20:02Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Others in the gray area are simply insane or have a screwed up moral compass. Magneto seems to have a perfectly calibrated moral compass. Just his morals are not your morals. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-marvel-criminals-in-light-of-how-often-they-re-killed-beaten-or-arrested-by-heroes-and-villains/1027529/27 "2026-02-10T14:24:04Z")
I strongly suspect that, contrary to his claims, Moist hangs around with Dr. Horrible for the women. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-marvel-criminals-in-light-of-how-often-they-re-killed-beaten-or-arrested-by-heroes-and-villains/1027529/28 "2026-02-10T14:26:29Z")
You might as well ask what motivates criminals in the real world. Prisons are full of three time losers who committed a third felony, despite having been caught in two previous felonies and several misdemeanors. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-marvel-criminals-in-light-of-how-often-they-re-killed-beaten-or-arrested-by-heroes-and-villains/1027529/29 "2026-02-10T14:34:53Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > You might as well ask what motivates criminals in the real world. Mostly the lack of other opportunities; which is the opposite of the super powered. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-marvel-criminals-in-light-of-how-often-they-re-killed-beaten-or-arrested-by-heroes-and-villains/1027529/30 "2026-02-10T14:38:35Z")
> [@Kropotkin](#): > > Frederick Wertham’s The Seduction of the Innocent is widely lampooned today, but he did note "The Superman type of comic books tends to force and super-force. Dr. Paul A. Witty, professor of education at Northwestern University, has well described these comics when he said that they “present our world in a kind of Fascist setting of violence and hate and destruction. I think it is bad for children,” he goes on, "to get that kind of recurring diet … [they] place too much emphasis on a Fascist society. Therefore the democratic ideals that we should seek are likely to be overlooked. Author Michael Chabon (who wrote _The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay_) has likewise noted the irony that, despite fighting Nazis back in the Golden Age, superheroes as a concept are quite fascist. The basic idea that problems should be solved through physical strength, and that the “good guy” is the guy who is the strongest, the most powerful, the most physically impressive and dominant, is essential to the Nazi ideal. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-marvel-criminals-in-light-of-how-often-they-re-killed-beaten-or-arrested-by-heroes-and-villains/1027529/31 "2026-02-10T16:47:30Z")
I remember reading a non-Marvel/DC story that had a supergroup taking on a preening supervillain. He had his super HQ, legions of followers, multiple weapons of mass destruction, etc. He was every bit the stereotype, gloating over his victories, punishing lackeys for minor infractions, showing off his babelicious arm candy, and so on. The last panel showed a lone missile that had gotten through his defences and was heading straight toward his command module, and he’s standing there with a forlorn look on his face and saying the words “I was just wanting to have a little fun” before getting obliterated. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-marvel-criminals-in-light-of-how-often-they-re-killed-beaten-or-arrested-by-heroes-and-villains/1027529/32 "2026-02-10T16:51:38Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Which is weird, because there are so many legal, non-heroic ways to use superpowers. Superstrength? You’re the star of the Gotham moving industry. Flight? You’re the most high-demand courier in the country. Underwater powers? Every marine biologist and oil country in the world want to work with you. And so on. But I guess the super industrial complex has no time for the working-joe enhanced. One certainly would suspect that, on an Earth with numerous superpowered people, there’d be a demand for them in “mundane” professions. But, that doesn’t make for good comic book storytelling, I guess – who wands to read about Dolphin Dan who works as a marine biologist? ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-marvel-criminals-in-light-of-how-often-they-re-killed-beaten-or-arrested-by-heroes-and-villains/1027529/33 "2026-02-10T16:54:14Z")
At least one Marvel villain is motivated by his desire to turn people into dinosaurs. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-marvel-criminals-in-light-of-how-often-they-re-killed-beaten-or-arrested-by-heroes-and-villains/1027529/34 "2026-02-10T17:18:07Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > In comic book land, once you develop a superpower you have to pick a side. Fate will not allow those talents to go unnoticed. Either you risk life and limb to do good for others or you risk life and limb to profit yourself. The comic book universe does not allow anything in between. Way back in the early days of the Avengers, the group broke up because of the Hulk. Captain American started a new group, comprised of the villains Hawkeye, Quicksilver, and the Scarlet Witch. The Witch later went crazy and destroyed the universe or some such, but was rehabiliatated and led to a cycle that was shown in her tv series and the Dr. Strange movie. The Avengers took in many former villains over the years, like the Black Widow and Wonder Man, and good-guy Hank Pym - he of the many identities - became a wife-beater, possibly because his mind was affected by growing and shrinking too much. Even loyal and faithful Jarvis betrayed the Avengers, although it was revealed he was under mind control. The Hulk has been at every point on the compass. You can find similar examples of being considered either a hero or villain in the DC world. Ultimate good guys like Captain America, demonized in Secret Empire, and Superman, as a dangerous alien, were villainized. The whole Civil War saga pitted groups of superheroes against one another supporting or rebelling against the Superhuman Registration Act. Mostly, my crack about the writers is the only truth. Tens, hundreds, of thousands of superhero stories have been written over 90 years. Plots get reused wholesale of necessity. But sometimes writers get permission to flip the world upside down and explore new consequences. There was a period in the 90s when the good guys were almost as morally dubious as the bad guys. Yeah, the good guys always win in some way in the end, but the absolute values of the 40s are long gone. Now let’s talk of the probability of a small-time crook being found by Batman, who has to slowly patrol Gotham (Manhattan) and its 500 miles of streets looking for crime taking place in the back of brownhouses, and why crooks think they have a 99% chance of not being caught. ---
**Author:** ![YamatoTwinkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/cc9497/32.png) [@YamatoTwinkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YamatoTwinkie)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-marvel-criminals-in-light-of-how-often-they-re-killed-beaten-or-arrested-by-heroes-and-villains/1027529/35 "2026-02-10T17:19:00Z")
What kind of person willingly joins a group that calls itself the “[Brotherhood of Evil Mutants](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brotherhood_of_Mutants)?” ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-marvel-criminals-in-light-of-how-often-they-re-killed-beaten-or-arrested-by-heroes-and-villains/1027529/36 "2026-02-10T20:07:04Z")
The OP is basically asking why writers keep reusing the same villains. It’s mostly because any franchise needs so damn many of them. For every superhero with a continuing series, you need dozens of different villains to keep him busy year after year, and that’s with using the same ones over and over again. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-marvel-criminals-in-light-of-how-often-they-re-killed-beaten-or-arrested-by-heroes-and-villains/1027529/37 "2026-02-10T20:14:49Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > The OP is basically asking why writers keep reusing the same villains. I don’t think he is. > [@Cmyers1980](#): > > I don’t know if 616 Marvel Earth’s crime/terrorism rate is lower than our world but what motivates a seemingly endless number of people to join gangs and other criminal organizations (AIM, Hydra, etc.) in light of how often they end up killed, beaten or arrested? Sounds like he’s asking about the (generally non-powered) henchmen and gang members, not the super villains. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-marvel-criminals-in-light-of-how-often-they-re-killed-beaten-or-arrested-by-heroes-and-villains/1027529/38 "2026-02-10T20:16:40Z")
IRL or in the comics, folks become mooks when there’s not much other way to earn a living. Maybe they hope to be promoted to Thug Leader I soon, but those promotions are hard to earn and the pole to climb is especially greasy. So of the fairly few folks with higher aspirations, most remain mooks. Or get killed or jailed along the way. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-marvel-criminals-in-light-of-how-often-they-re-killed-beaten-or-arrested-by-heroes-and-villains/1027529/39 "2026-02-10T20:18:02Z")
How many henchmen even have a name, let alone a recognizable face? How do we know they kept coming back for more? At least the old Batman show henchmen usually had their names printed on their shirts. I never saw anything like that in comic books. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-marvel-criminals-in-light-of-how-often-they-re-killed-beaten-or-arrested-by-heroes-and-villains/1027529/40 "2026-02-10T20:21:14Z")
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