The first superhero book that Marvel Comics produced when it began its run was Fantastic Four and that set the template for what would end up becoming one of the best lineups of heroes and villains in the medium. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created the First Family of Marvel and they went on to fight a varied group of villains, introducing the world to the Skrulls, bringing Namor, the Sub-Mariner into the fold, and helping one of Marvel’s most important villains, Doctor Doom, to rise to power. However, among those first 10 villains are also some names that few people will recognize and some that were rarely, if ever, seen again.

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Here is a look at the Fantastic Four’s first 10 villains in comics, ranked by power.

10) Wrecker

The cover of Fantastic Four #12 makes it look like Hulk is the main villain, but just like in Avengers #1, this was not the actual fact as another villain manipulated the situation that sent the superhero team after the Green Goliath. In Avengers, it was Loki, which was a big deal. In Fantastic Four, it was mech less of a threat, a villain known as the Wrecker. This is not the Wrecking Crew Wrecker, bit was just a communist spy sent to destroy a U.S. military base. He returned three more times, but he was only a nuisance in this debut appearance.

9) Kurrgo

Kurrgo is a villain who debuted in Fantastic Four #7, and he was another alien that the Fantastic Four had to face, although he wasn’t nearly as powerful as the Skrulls that debuted a few issues earlier. He hailed from the planet of Xanth, which was much more advanced that Earth’s technology. However, they only had two spacecraft, so they sent Kurrgo to Earth to abduct the Fantastic Four and demand they help save them from an oncoming asteroid. However, while Reed saved them by getting them to a safe planet, Kurrgo planned to rule over them and the FF had to stop him. Other than advanced technology, Kurrgo had no other powers.

8) Miracle Man

Miracle Man was one of the Fantastic Four’s earliest villains, debuting in Fantastic Four #3. He was a magician before becoming a villain when he learned he could really hypnotize his audience. When he used his powers during one show to humiliate the FF, who were visiting his show, he then decided to use his power of hypnosis to get rich. His hypnotic control was strong, but in all, he wasn’t powerful enough to be a threat, and all it took was for Human Torch using his flame to temporarily blind the villain to stop him from having access to his powers.

7) Mole Man

The first villain the Fantastic Four ever faced was the Mole Man in Fantastic Four #1. In his own, the Mole Man is not powerful at all. However, his power goes a lot further when it comes to his influence, his allies, and control over monsters who assist him. As someone who has sworn to protect the citizens of Subterranea, he has a lot of people who will fight for him, making him a strong enemy when he gets his people supporting him. In that first issue, he worked with Giganto and Tricephalous, and this is what makes him such a threat.

6) Red Ghost

The Red Ghost debuted in Fantastic Four #13, and what most readers remember the most from this issue is that it was also the debut of the Watcher. This means that the FF traveled to the moon for Reed Richards to experiment on a meteor fragment, but they find a Soviet Union villain on the moon as well, who has his own “Super Apes.” The Red Ghost provided some limited threat to the FF, but his Super Apes eventually rebelled against him. That said, Red Ghost did have super powers, including the ability to turn intangible at will, making him almost impossible to attack, and his super genius rivals most people on Earth.

5) Puppet Master

Puppet Master seemed like a silly villain when he debuted in Fantastic Four #8, but he became an extremely important character as time went on for the Marvel super team. In the start, Puppet Master was just another generic villain, a man who could create puppets resembling anyone and then control them through the puppet, similar to voodoo. However, he needs his Psychic Clay to make this work, and he has to always return to Transia to get more. While his power is limited, the fact he is Alicia Masters father, and therefore The Thing’s current father-in-law, makes him a lot more complicated as a Fantastic Four villain.

4) The Skrulls

The Skrulls made their Marvel Comics debut in Fantastic Four #2 in 1961, and they have since become one of the most dominant and recurring alien species in comics. Their powers are pretty simple, as they are shapeshifters who can also mimic sounds and voices. This exact Skrull is the Deviant Skrulls, and they can also form weapons with their body parts. However, the one thing that holds them down is that they can’t replicate powers without being genetically modified (like the Super-Skrull). Over time, the Skrulls proved how powerful they were, which was shown in full in Secret Invasion when they attempted a hostile takeover of Earth.

3) Namor

Namor is only a Fantastic Four villain because he is arrogant and has an unhealthy infatuation with the Invisible Woman. Namor first appeared in comics way before Marvel Comics ever existed as an ally for Captain America during World War II. When he debuted in Marvel proper, it was in Fantastic Four #4 when Johnny Storm found him as an unhoused person who was being bullied. Johnny helped him shave, saw he was Namor, the World War II hero (who Johnny had read about in comics), and helped him get his memory back, only for Namor to become antagonistic. Namor is almost unbeatable when in the water, and he is only a villain because he puts his water kingdom of Atlantis above the surface world.

2) Impossible Man

The Impossible Man debuted in Fantastic Four #11, and like Namor, he is not a typical villain. He is an alien from the planet Poppup, and similar to Mr. Mxyzptlk in DC Comics, he is basically an imp with unlimited powers. His role as a villain is just based on the fact that he came to Earth and wanted to cause mischief, before later wanting to become a hero. He is most entertaining in his interactions with The Thing, who he frustrates beyond belief. Power wise, it is a good thing he doesn’t want to be a villain. He can rearrange his molecules to form his body into any shape he chooses and can divide himself into separate beings. He also has an encyclopedic knowledge of Earth’s culture and is always bored, seeking attention.

1) Doctor Doom

The most powerful of all of the Fantastic Four’s first 10 villains is Doctor Doom, and no one else comes close. He debuted in Fantastic Four #5 and was the villain who repeated the most over the first few years of FF comics. He got Namor to turn bad and join him, almost convinced the Hulk to join forces with him, and even tried to lure Spider-Man to the dark side. Since he had diplomatic immunity, he was almost impossible to defeat, not to mention his supreme intelligence and use of countless weapons and suits of armor (and Doombots). He became even more powerful when he mastered magic and actually conquered the world more than once, with the most recent being One World Under Doom.

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