When Power Corrupts: 8 Heroes Who Went Evil

Part of what we love about comics is the character development. Reading how a specific character grows into their role as a hero, rogue, antihero or even villain is truly entertaining. Some of our favorite characters have gone through major changes over the years as they get acclimated to their role in the universe. But some changes haven't been for the good for our favorite heroes specifically, some changes have gone quite dark as we watched our beloved hero fall into a life of evil or corruption. More often than not, the change from heroism to villainy is a slow burn - unless of course they've been possessed, which does happen often enough in the comic universe.

Sometimes in the comics a hero has a bad day and they just don't give a flying shit about their actions or the consequences, but that's not what I'm talking about. There are several times when a superhero turns into an over-the-top full-fledged supervillain - here are 8 heroes that cross the line.

8. Daredevil

Daredevil is a hero that always rode a fine line between antihero and vigilante, but seeing him transition into a villain wasn't any easier because of that. Daredevil found himself possessed by an evil entity known as The Beast, and while possessed Daredevil gained control of the Hand ninja clan when he was visiting Japan. Daredevil returned to Hell's Kitchen with his new enforcers in tow, and his first action was to build a massive new headquarters in the middle of Hell's Kitchen that he called Shadowland. Daredevil began imprisoning anyone he considered a threat in Shadowland and even killed his long time adversary, Bullseye.

7. Sinestro

As the original trainer of one of the greatest, if not the greatest, Green Lantern in comics history, Hal Jordan you would imagine that he's got a solid sense of morality and goodness. But the fact of the matter is that Sinestro is one of the best examples of the transition from hero to uber-villain. Sinestro slowly but surely began to abuse his Lantern powers by becoming a dictatorship of absolute power on his home planet, Korugar. When the Guardians of Oa discovered his deceit, they stripped him of his ring and banished him to the antimatter universe. It was here that he found the power of the Yellow Ring, even creating the Yellow Lantern Corps. He still remains one of the few heroes-turned-villain who hasn't reverted.

6. Superboy Prime

Superboy Prime's story starts off as a familiar tale of a young Kal-El being sent to Earth after Krypton's destruction. Yet, his story changes when he arrives on an Earth that doesn't have superheroes, just a DC Comics that publishes the stories of Batman, Green Lantern and of course Superman. These stories mimic the world from an alternate Earth, so when Clark Kent (Superboy Prime) grows up and his powers manifest he discovers the multiverse and helps save the universe in Crisis on Infinite Earth he is sent to a "paradise dimension" that is anything but. Clark goesmad as he watches the heroes of the new Earth fall into darkness and he gets so angry that he punches through the wall of reality and goes on a murderous rampage: moving planets out of orbit, killing countless heroes and even destroying the Watchtower of the JLA.

5. Wonder Man

A few years ago Wonder Man went down the path of hero turned villain when Captain America requested Wonder Man to join the Avengers. Wonder Man actually turns on the Captain, saying that he thought the whole idea of the Avengers was a pretty bad idea. Considering that a bunch of heroes had died over the years while a part of the Avengers, he really wasn't that far off base. So Wonder Man assembled a team of low-ranking, seemingly unknown, heroes to take on the Avengers and while they do some damage, ultimately they are defeated as Iron Man captures Wonder Man - but the conflict put seeds of doubt in the public's mind as to whether the Avengers were worth the hassle.

4. Mary Marvel

She may be the perfect example of "good girl gone bad." Mary Marvel has the same powers as Billy Batson, also known as Shazam. Mary lost her powers, fell into a coma and later gained new powers thanks to exposure to from her family's longtime adversary, Black Adam. Black Adam's form of magic altered her and then through countless manipulations from characters like Darkseid, Eclipso and Granny Goodness, Mary Marvel ventured down a truly dark and dangerous path of evil.

3. Ultimate Reed Richards

When The Maker joined Marvel's main "616" universe, anyone who wasn't keeping up with the Ultimate Universe prior to Secret Wars was curious about him. The Maker is the Ultimate version of Reed Richards, aka Mister Fantastic of the Fantastic Four. Reed started out rather heroic, but when the world nearly ended things only went downhill for Reed. He proposed to Sue Storm and she said no, his home was bombed while he was there scarring him physically and driving him insane. He redesigned himself as The Maker and followed a life of evil.

2. Scarlet Witch

Wanda Maximoff, the child of Magneto, has had a place in the comics for several years but her descent into a villainous role started once her two sons died. Scarlet Witch had a nervous breakdown and used Chaos Magic to cause numerous attacks that seemed to come from other villains which destroyed the Avengers; killing Ant-Man, Hawkeye and Vision. Shortly afterwards Scarlet Witch fell into an unstable, catatonic state then thanks to her brother's persuasion she created the House of M alternate reality which threw another new wrench into her villainy.

1. Jean Gray

The proverbial good girl with telepathic powers had such wonderful potential, and Professor Xavier saw it, hoping to train her to take over as a leader among the X-Men and a future teacher in his school for the gifted. Deep in her subconscious though was a power just waiting to emerge known as The Phoenix. When The Phoenix's power manifested Jean was able to stay in control for a few years, but then the Hellfire Club stepped in and began messing with her mind. Eventually she gives in to the idea of total power, and Dark Phoenix is "born." She goes on a rampage and essentially kills an entire solar system by eating its star.