The inherent drama of superhero comics means that heel and face bends are commonplace. Some of Marvel’s greatest heroes started out as villains, while other characters continually waver between good and evil. While nearly every major Marvel character has switched sides at least once, some notable character buyouts were very short-lived.
The list of Marvel villains is vast: power-mad despots, hapless petty criminals, cosmic beings…these are all regular UM threats, and many creators have tried to turn them into heroes. However, many changes did not last. Although villains become heroes for various reasons, they also tend to relapse immediately.
10 Brainwashing Made The Sandman A Villain Again
Known as the Sandman, Flint Marko started out as a Spider-Man villain, but was also a backup Avenger. After decades of battling Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four, Marko tried to make him a legit superhero.
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After talking with The Thing and Spiderman, Marko decided to turn his life around. Marko enjoyed great success, working as a member of the Silver Sable Wild Pack and receiving a presidential pardon. However, the Wizard used a mind control machine to turn the Sandman into a villain, and Marko never fully recovered from this blow.
9 Batroc Knew His Redemption Couldn’t Last 
Batroc the Reaper is one of Marvel’s dumbest villains. However, that didn’t stop writer Christopher Hastings from humanizing the stereotypical French supervillain in the pages of amazing gwenpool. With a team of artists and editors, Hastings transformed Batroc from a one-note striker to a Robin Hood-esque mentor figure.
Along with Gwenpool, Batroc worked to fight evil organizations and set aside money so Gwenpool could become a better hero. However, the 25-issue series ended with Batroc lamenting his inevitable return as the core villain. Sure enough, the Leaper was quickly seen as the henchman of the Kingpin and the Secret Empire, with all of his character growth forgotten.
8 Doctor Doom Is Fed Up With Heroism 
From Doctor Doom’s perspective, he’s always been a hero, and the others are just too blind to see the truth. However, Doom is not capable of true self-sacrifice and is almost always a traditional villain. The moment he stepped into Iron Man’s shoes is one of the only exceptions.
After Second Civil WarDoom chose to become a hero in hopes of regaining the divine bliss he achieved during the second Secret Wars. Doom fought supercriminals like the Hooded One and even fought alongside the Avengers as the infamous Iron Man. However, the project bored him, and Doom returned to his near-evil ways.
7 Pyro Used His Last Days To Benefit Mutant Humanity 
Born in response to the AIDS crisis, the Legacy Virus was one of the oldest X-Men storylines. The virus caused the mutants’ powers to fluctuate wildly before killing the infected mutant in a painful outburst. One of the unlucky ones to die this way was Pyro, the classic X-Men enemy.
Pyro knew he was dying and took time to reflect on his legacy. As one of his last acts, Pyro saved anti-mutant Senator Robert Kelly from his former Brotherhood comrades. Soon after, Pyro died of the disease. Pyro’s legacy was pivotal to mutant humanity and helped change Kelly’s prejudices. In this case, the character was rightfully redeemed, but died too soon for readers to appreciate.
6 Carnage Turned Back Axis 
The event Axis Back in 2014, Doctor Doom and the Scarlet Witch cast a reversal spell that accidentally upended the moral compass of nearly every major character in the Marvel Universe. The murderous symbiote Carnage was caught up in the spell and his rage turned into a burning desire to be a better person.
Carnage pursued mainstream superheroes to the best of his abilities, rescuing reporters and battling villains. Later, Carnage joined the Astonishing Avengers to save the world from the evil Avengers and X-Men and reverse the fate. Carnage, along with other villains like Hobgoblin and Absorbing Man, gracefully accepted the fact that he had to give up his heroism to bring the heroes back.
5 The Phoenix Force Sacrificed Itself For Humanity 
The Phoenix Force is a powerful cosmic entity, far beyond the reach of mortal beings. Mortals, however, have long been fascinated by the stellar force, and the Phoenix’s most notable attempt to study humanity came when she impersonated Jean Gray during The Dark Phoenix Saga.
Like Grey, the Phoenix Force gave in to its worst impulses and became the Dark Phoenix, slaying an inhabited solar system. When a tribunal of galactic civilizations wanted to kill Gray for his actions, Phoenix sacrificed himself so Earth and the X-Men could survive.
4 Norman Osborn Turned His Heroism Into More Villainy 
Norman Osborn is more than just a Spider-Man villain. In fact, for a time, he was the biggest villain in the entire Marvel Universe. However, his dark reign was preceded by a single act of heroism in the final battle of the Skrull Invasion.
As the assembled Earth Defenders battled the Skrull army in Central Park, Norman Osborn fired the shot that killed Veranke, the Skrull Queen. This led to the defeat of the Skrulls and victory for Earth. However, Osborn was quick to take advantage of the people’s newfound faith in him to hunt down the heroes as the new leader of HAMMER.
3 The Age Of X Avengers Discovered Their Inner Heroes 
Sometimes the good guys are the bad guys. In the alternate timeline of Age of X, the Avengers were a government-appointed assassination team dedicated to killing mutants. Led by Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Woman, Hulk, and the Invisible Woman stormed a mutant fortress to kill its inhabitants.
Upon finding a group of mutant children, the entire group except Hulk realized what a mistake they had made. The group fought a bloody last battle to protect the children from the Hulk, sacrificing their lives to stop the evil Jade Giant variant.
2 Wonder Man Died On His First Appearance 
Before he was the Hollywood hero fans know today, Wonder Man was Simon Williams, a businessman who lost his business to Tony Stark. Williams agreed to undergo an experimental procedure from Baron Zemo and help him defeat the Avengers as a double agent.
However, once Williams learned the true nature of the Avengers, he rebelled against Zemo’s plot to use him as a murder weapon. However, this rebellion cost Wonder Man his life and Simon Williams disappeared from Marvel Comics for over 10 years.
1 Sabretooth Redemption Lasted One Mission 
Of all the recurring X-Men villains, Sabretooth is perhaps the most unpleasant and least regrettable. However, that didn’t stop Xavier and Magneto from giving him a second chance in the early stages of the nation-building of Krakoa.
As a member of Krakoa’s Strike Team, Sabretooth was tasked with working alongside Toad and Mystique to infiltrate Damage Control and gain information. However, Sabretooth soon disemboweled a few human guards and was exiled to Krakoa Trench for his crimes. Even when he was offered the keys to the kingdom, he couldn’t help but kill people for just one day.