Worldwide, fans of Marvel are gaining a newfound infatuation with The Avengers' spin-off superteam, the New Avengers. The two-decade-old namesake garnered renewed interest thanks to the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Thunderbolts* motion picture, as the asterisk reveals the team being rechristened with the name 'New Avengers' in the closing credits. This has inspired moviegoers to want to learn more about the team as they appear in the comics.

By discovering the comics they appear in, audiences are not only starting to learn about the strongest of the New Avengers but also their most powerful villains. A protagonist is only as significant as their antagonist, and the enemies of the New Avengers helped elevate the team into a household name. The supervillains tied to the group rank among the most dastardly and vile ever to step foot in the Marvel Universe. To best understand these villains, it's helpful to break down their connections to the New Avengers.

10 Iron Man Created the New Avengers (& Then Tried to Destroy Them)

First Appearance: Tales of Suspense #39 by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Don Heck, Stan Goldberg, and Art Simek

The entire reason why a New Avengers team exists is because of Tony Stark. Not only is he one of the key founders of the original Avengers, but Iron Man also founded New Avengers. It's ironic to think that the man who created the team would also seek their downfall, but he becomes a big problem for the New Avengers in the aftermath of Civil War. Even during Civil War, at the onset of the Superhuman Registration Act, the paranoia Stark instilled compelled other superheroes to , not out of conviction, but out of fear.

In New Avengers Annual #2, Jessica Jones is almost assassinated with her baby in hand, compelling her to reach Stark Towers begging to to protect her child.

The turmoil Stark creates to peddle his political narrative directly affects the superhero community, including the very team he founded himself. He sought to create New Avengers to bring the superhero community together, and then sought to tear it all apart without realizing he had become what he hated.

9 Norman Osborn Tried to Replace the New Avengers with Lies

First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #23 by Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, and Artie Simek

In modern Spider-Man comics, where Peter Parker sees him as a friend, Norman Osborn is framed as a decent man once burdened by the Green Goblin's villainy. Current comics treat the Green Goblin as the Mr. Hyde to Norman's Jekyll, but the Marvel of yesteryear made it clear that Norman was always a problem, with or without his Goblin sins. When he's seemingly completely rid himself of the Green Goblin, Osborn remains evil, going as far as to takeover S.H.I.E.L.D. after being personally appointed as Director by the President of the United States.

During the Skrull invasion, Norman killed Queen Veranke on live television, inexplicably saving the world where the New Avengers failed. This endeared him to the public, allowing him to manipulate the media from his true colors and rebrand S.H.I.E.L.D. as H.A.M.M.E.R. However, he isn't just a threat to the New Avengers, but actively tries to replace them with his Dark Avengers.

8 Multiple Iterations of Dark Avengers Fought the New Avengers

First Appearance: Dark Avengers #1 by Brian Michael Bendis, Mike Deodato Jr., Rain Beredo, and Cory Petit

In crafting a more mainstream alternative to the New Avengers, Norman Osborn recruits his most villainous pals. He rechristens them into the more family-friendly costumes that the world has come to recognize fondly. This includes molding former Scorpion Mac Gargen into his Spider-Man, adopting Logan's son Daken as Wolverine, and Bullseye as his pinpoint-accurate Hawkeye. With Norman at the helm as Iron Patriot, he creates the Dark Avengers.

However, it isn’t just the media that Norman manipulates for his agenda; he also manipulates the Dark Avengers to do his bidding. Under the tutelage (or, rather, gaslighting) of Norman Osborn, the Dark Avengers become formidable adversaries to the New Avengers, not only in of strength but also in the power they wield over the public. With the media on their side, the Dark Avengers easily counter the New Avengers' attempts to convince citizens that Osborn and his team are actually evil.

7 The Hood and His Union of Supervillains Antagonized the New Avengers Regularly

First Appearance: New Avengers #35 by Brian Michael Bendis, Leinil Yu, Dave McCaig, Richard Starkngs, and Albert Deschesne

Before becoming the new Ghost Rider, Parker Robbins was the diabolical Hood, and, as such, built a network of supervillains to pick heroes off one by one. This superteam of hoodlums included the Chemistro, The Wrecker, Jigsaw, Vermin, Bulldozer, Blackout, Answer, the Wizard, Madame Masque, Cutthroat, the Living Laser, Purple Man, and Brother Drumm. That barely scratches the surface of how large Hood's gang truly is, or how much of a recurring problem they proved to be for the New Avengers.

By himself, Robbins is a two-bit player in the wider New York criminal underworld. He's a B-villain, and that might be generous to say. Truthfully, most of those in his group are B-villains, but together, they make an A-level threat to the New Avengers using their combined resources. One B-villain can't beat the New Avengers, but a horde of them can stand a chance.

6 Daniel Drumm Targets the New Avengers to Avenge His Brother's Death

First Appearance: Strange Tales #169 by Len Wein, Gene Colan, Dan Adkins, John Romita, Glynis Wein, and John Costanza

Daniel Drumm is the brother of Jericho Drumm, a.k.a. Brother Voodoo, who, during the New Avengers run, becomes the new Sorcerer Supreme. Ironically enough, before Jericho took the mantle, Daniel was the one destined to become the undisputed dark arts master and frequently practiced mysticism growing up. At the same time, Jericho looked down upon his family's religion. It wasn't until dying that he'd make his brother vow to carry the arts in his name as Brother Voodoo, albeit while Daniel haunted him as a spirit.

More often than not, Daniel meant well by being the catty ghost on his brother's shoulder, but he becomes more inimical in the wake of Jericho's death. Blaming Doctor Strange, Daniel attacks the New Avengers, showing just how powerful spirits can be by possessing Strange's friends to work against him. His ability to submerge himself into corporeal beings showcases his mastery of the supernatural beyond the grave.

5 Moridun Was the First Sorcerer Supreme and Ultimate New Avengers Villain

First Appearance: New Avengers #2 by Al Ewing, Gerardo Sandoval, Dono Sánchez-Almara, and Joe Caramagna

When Sunspot bought out A.I.M., he decided to use the organization's resources for good by forming a New Avengers unit to combat the pending incursions against the multiverse. One of the constant threats to the Multiversal Avengers is Moridun. As the Sorcerer Supreme of the Fifth Cosmos, the title instantly appoints Moridun as one of the most powerful threats that any Avengers team has been unlucky enough to face. He's the first instance of primordial magic within the overall multiverse.

Moridun is so powerful that he was able to survive the Fifth Cosmos' transition into the Sixth. In this transition, he regenerates into Omnimax, the Devourer of Worlds. Regardless of whether he's called Omnimax or Moridun, he's considered one of the strongest Marvel characters to emerge in the past decade or so.

4 New Avengers vs. The Void, Sentry's Dark Half

First Appearance: Sentry #1 by Paul Jenkins, Jae Lee, José Villarrubia, Richard Starkings, and Wes Abbott

On his own merits, Robert "Bob" Reynolds' Sentry persona is one of the noblest heroes ever to wear a pair of tights in the Marvel Universe. When he is consumed by the Void, however, he becomes the exact opposite. Vindictive and vicious, the Void casts a shadow over Marvel whenever it appears on or is even mentioned. During "The Sentry" arc that begins in New Avengers #7, the team is forced to confront Sentry’s darker half.

Truth be told, calling the Void merely a Dark Sentry is an oversimplification. The Void is an ancient entity dating back as far as 1600 BCE. It does not just possess godlike power; it is implied that its strength is connected directly to God itself.

3 Yelena Belova's Super-Adaptoid Transformation Was a Nightmare for the New Avengers

First Appearance: Inhumans #5 by Paul Jenkins, Jae Lee, Avalon Studios, Richard Starkings, and Wes Abbott

Yelena Belova is best known now by MCU fans as the newest Avenger with ties to Black Widow, as both were trained to be assassins in the Red Room. While Yelena's comic history runs a similar trajectory, there is a point in time where she becomes a pawn in a much bigger game when A.I.M. and Hydra experiment on her body, turning her into the Super-Adaptoid, a creature who can absorb and mimic anyone's powers through touch.

This transforms Yelena into the ultimate final boss against the New Avengers. Her best efforts are seen in New Avengers Annual #1, where she nearly dismantles the entire team, including Marvel's Superman, in one flailing swoop. If not for an army of Iron Man suits and an overwhelming Void presence, the New Avengers would have been toast.

2 The Hand Can't Be Stopped, Not Even by the New Avengers

First Appearance: Daredevil #174 by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, Glynis Wein, and Joe Rosen

While The Hand is most deeply associated with combating Daredevil, they're actually recurring villains for the entire Marvel Universe, allowing them to serve as antagonists for any hero in any comic. Beginning in New Avengers #11, when Maya Lopez is first introduced as Ronin, The Hand resurfaces as they work with Viper (a.k.a. Madame Hydra) to recruit Silver Samurai. Later in the series, Elektra Natchios, at her most violent, targets Maya after becoming the leader of the Hand, fighting the New Avengers in an attempt to force Echo into the group.

The Hand remains a constant presence in Marvel lore. Some of the best Avengers, like Daredevil, have tried countless times to put an end to the clan of ninjas, but no matter what, the Hand always prevails. They're like cockroaches in that their strength lies in numbers, destined to return stronger and larger every time they seem to be defeated.

1 Agamotto, The New Avengers' Ultimate Boss Fight

First Appearance: Marvel Premiere #5 by Gardner Fox, Irv Wesley, Don Perlin, and Sam Rosen

The Eye of Agamotto is a recurring artifact in Doctor Strange's lore. It becomes a focal point in New Avengers after Stephen Strange loses his status as Sorcerer Supreme, prompting him and the Avengers to follow the Eye in search of the next potential Sorcerer Supreme. The device has become so pivotal to Avengers history that it's easy to forget how important Agamotto himself is to Marvel lore. Agamotto served in the Stone Age Avengers and was Earth's first Sorcerer Supreme, not to be confused with the first Sorcerer Supreme of the multiverse.

Agamotto later returns from the spirit realm as the mastermind behind a demonic invasion of Earth, believing Doctor Strange and Doctor Voodoo have failed to uphold his legacy. He possesses the New Avengers in an attempt to defeat Doctor Strange, showing that even after eons in the afterlife, this ancient being has only grown more powerful.