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*Disclaimer: This article solely reflects the author’s opinion. Reader discretion is advised.*
*Trigger Warning: The article also contains a description of all types of violence*
Marvel Cinematic Universe movies have distinguished themselves as being a large interconnected universe suitable for all ages. Being owned by Disney, Marvel had to stick to the family-friendly tone since 2011. The Iron Man movies go into Tony Stark's playboy lifestyle, but after those movies, he became a family man. This was done to make him more palatable to the audience. He and his friends are all noble heroes saving the world.
However, that changed in 2015 with the release of the first season of Daredevil on Netflix. The main protagonist is Matt Murdock, a relatable man who takes matters into his own hands and inflicts unspeakable violence on the guilty. After Daredevil, Jessica Jones went further darker with disturbing storylines of s*xual violence and repressed trauma. Thanks to this, the movies were also forced to grow up a bit.
Who are the anti-heroes in the Marvel Universe?
While Marvel movies, in general, did have mature storylines, as witnessed by the X-Men movie franchise, MCU movies have started following suit in recent years. WandaVision had a grieving Wanda Maximoff break bad and hold a town hostage under a magical hex where the people are forced to enact the different sit-coms. The show perfectly sets up her antagonistic turn in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
On the other end of the spectrum is the Loki series. It picks up after Loki from 2012's The Avengers escapes captivity and is arrested by the mysterious TVA or Time Variance Authority. While he begins the series as an unwilling prisoner, it ends with him in the position of authority, with the God of Mischief transforming into the God of Stories, i.e., the one preserving the entire multiversal tree.
Similar to Loki is the 2025 summer blockbuster Thunderbolts*, which also offers a chance at redemption for the previous villains from the previous MCU stories. The team consists of Yelena, a shady assassin, a U.S. Agent, a disgraced Captain America, a Ghost from Ant-Man and Wasp, Red Guardian and Taskmaster from Balckwidow, and Bucky.
This and protagonists from Netflix Marvel like Daredevil and The Punisher beg the question, are anti-heroes a unique approach to Marvel storytelling or is it losing its moral compass?
Is Marvel losing its morality?
This turn to grey has had a lot of people wondering if Marvel is losing what we call "morality." The simple answer to that question is no. That's because grey characters/anti-heroes have existed in popular consciousness for a long time, and morality is subjective. Marvel Comics has always had a wide assortment of characters of different natures ever since the beginning.
Namor, yes, the same character from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, is also one of the earliest Marvel characters. In the comics, he can serve as a hero and villain, depending on the situation. The same applies to characters like the Hulk, too.
World War Hulk, the 2007 event, has the Hulk as an anti-hero who is avenging Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Black Bolt, and Reed Richards' deception. They trick Hulk into a spaceship and shoot him into the void of space. The ship, on course to a peaceful planet, crash lands on a gladiator one, where the Hulk is forced to fight. He finally overthrows the oppressive regime and finds happiness.
But that happiness is short-lived as the ship explodes, killing the Hulk's wife and most of the planet, with very few survivors, including the Hulk. Thus, he returns to earth and enacts vengeance upon Tony Stark, Reed Richards, Blackagar Boltagon, and Steven Strange. Read this event comic.
While from a certain perspective, you may feel that the four Hulk is targeting are wrong, they did so with his interest in their hearts. But still, they resorted to trickery instead of discussing the situation honestly with Bruce Banner. Grey stories like these only add depth and a layer of realism to a superhero universe. And they also perfectly convey the subjective nature of morality.
Does Marvel have a history with anti-heroes?
Antiheroes are a dime a dozen throughout Marvel lore. One of the most popular antiheroes in Marvel history is Frank Castle, i.e., The Punisher, played by Jon Bernthal. A war veteran, Castle decides to punish criminals after experiencing personal loss. In his pursuit of punishing evil, Frank commits unspeakable acts of violence. This is unlike Daredevil, who has a no-kill rule.
In recent years, another character has joined the rank of anti-heroes in the Marvel lore. The character is none other than Magneto. While initially introduced as a mutant supremacist, Chris Claremont fleshed out his origin in the Uncanny X-Men #150 from 1981. However, he continued to be a villain. However, in recent years, fans and writers have grown more and more sympathetic to Eric, making him more of a heroic figure.
Apart from these two, Marvel also has anti-heroes like Deadpool, Elektra, Moon Knight, and even Doctor Doom. Doom, much like Magneto, is a Holocaust survivor and lost his mother to Mephisto, who imprisoned her soul.
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Anti-heroes offer a much-needed variety to an otherwise family-friendly movie franchise. Their presence is not a moral failure in any way. If you are interested in catching any of these Marvel anti-heroes, you could do so on Disney+.
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