10 Messed Up Marvel Villains You Won't Believe Exist

8. Madcap

Madcap Deadpool
Marvel Comics

Although originally a Captain America villain, Madcap is today most synonymous with Marvel's Deadpool. The character was created after being subjected to an experimental formula developed by AIM, which meant Madcap was impervious to any and all harm - something he struggled to reconcile with, as the original accident that led to him developing powers resulted in the deaths of his immediate family.

Madcap went a bit loopy afterwards, deciding to torment the citizens of New York and putting many in harm's way. After years spent appearing on-and-off in various comics, he reemerged during the events of Secret Invasion and tried to drive Wade Wilson insane. Madcap then gets absorbed into Wade's own consciousness after they regenerate together, before getting split apart at a later date.

A bitter rivalry would ensue, and in many ways it made perfect sense. Both Deadpool and Madcap are impulsive and indestructible, and it yields some pretty interesting results.

But what's so unsettling about Madcap? His bloodlust for innocents isn't exactly exceptional as far as comics are concerned, and Deadpool's not exactly a moral bastion either, but it's how he returns after one encounter that makes him truly creepy.

After disintegrating himself with a Chitauri weapon, Madcap regenerates inside the body of Deadpool's ally Bob, emerging as a talking tumour who could control his host. It's a pretty gnarly visual, and one fans probably don't want reminding of, so uhh... sorry about that.

Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.