19 Creepy Marvel Characters Deserving Of A Halloween Special
With the debut of Marvel's inaugural "Special Presentation" Werewolf by Night, Marvel Studios has effectively shined a light on the dark side of the MCU just in time for spooky season.
Marvel Studios
But while the monster fighting, blood-shedding madness of Werewolf by Night feels like a great and gruesome introduction to Jack Russell, Elsa Bloodstone, and Man-Thing, this writer hopes that it's also the beginning of future Marvel Halloween specials, which could highlight such horror-friendly heroes (and villains) as the 19 Marvel characters listed below!
1.Agatha Harkness
One of the standouts of WandaVision, the shocking reveal of Agatha Harkness as the “villain” of Marvel’s first streaming series quickly made the character a fan favorite and guaranteed the character a spin-off with the upcoming Coven of Chaos. We don’t know what Coven of Chaos has in store for Agatha and the rest of Westview, but with Scarlet Witch seemingly perishing at the end of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Agatha’s potential newfound freedom provides a pathway to continue or even conclude her Coven of Chaos story with a one-off Halloween special at some point.
2.Clea
Revealing herself in the mid-credits scene for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Clea is a powerful sorceress whose comic book history reads like a laundry list of cosmic horrors. Assuming that Kevin Feige has some kind of larger plan for the character since he cast Academy Award-winning performer Charlize Theron in the role, it’s not that far out of the realm of possibility to imagine Theron leading a surreal and scary multiversal adventure pitting Clea against her (and our) worst nightmares.
3.Ghost Rider
Whether it’s Johnny Blaze, Danny Ketch, Robbie Reyes, or Alejandra Jones, this hellfire-enhanced superhero is one that would be incredibly befitting of a spooky season showcase at some point in the future. Though it’s unclear if Gabriel Luna’s version of Robbie Reyes from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. would be brought back into the MCU fold, and it’s unlikely that Nicolas Cage would ever reprise the role of Johnny Blaze in a similar fashion to Evan Peters or Patrick Stewart in the MCU, anything can happen, especially with Walking Dead star Norman Reedus having been vocal about taking over the macabre vigilante’s mantle in the past.
4.Jericho Drumm (aka Brother Voodoo)
One of the most underrated badasses in Marvel’s superhero roster, Jericho Drumm is a Haitian psychologist who absorbs the spirit of his brother, a voodoo priest, after becoming a master of voodoo practice. Taking on cults, evil spirits, mad scientists, and many other visceral villains, he has been allied with Spider-Man, Moon Knight, Jack Russell, Black Panther, and Doctor Strange over the years, and eventually became the Sorcerer Supreme within Marvel Comics’ canon. He’s yet to take the screen in the MCU (though his brother, pictured above, appeared in the original Doctor Strange), but he would be perfectly primed for his own horror story next Halloween ahead of the release of Blade in late 2024.
5.Man-Thing
Dr. Ted Sallis (in full Man-Thing form) made his debut in Werewolf by Night last week in a fitting introduction as a good-hearted monster hunted by a rogue’s gallery of sadistic monster slayers. It appears that Man-Thing will have an important function in future MCU stories alongside Jack Russell, especially if his appearance in the upcoming Avengers e-ticket ride says anything, and hopefully, there's a chance he gets a solo Special Presentation (perhaps an origin story of sorts?) in the coming years.
6.Venom
There's slim to no chance that the Tom Hardy version of Eddie Brock/Venom will become the canonical Venom within Earth-19999, but let's not forget that the alien symbiote was also left behind somewhere in Mexico during the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home. We don't know just how or where the MCU's version of Venom will manifest, but if Werewolf by Night is any judge of what Marvel could get away with under their “special presentation” banner, those clamoring for a more vicious version of Venom might want to set up their prayer circles for a Venom Halloween special.
7.Moon Knight
A unique Disney+ series that has touched upon the nature of life and death in the MCU as well as the creepy characters who prey upon their fringes, Moon Knight helped usher in a new brand of hero into Marvel's live action, onscreen canon. With a few of Marvel's most eerie moments spawning from the series, Moon Knight could be a perfect platform for Marvel's next spooky season special, especially if you consider how hard it could be to nail down Oscar Isaac for another multi-episode run as the personality-swapping hero.
8.Doctor Strange
It might be technically unlikely that Benedict Cumberbatch would reprise Doctor Strange in a substantial capacity outside of theatrical showcases for the character, but it's also true that Stephen Strange's roster of villains include many of the more frightening and psychologically sadistic within Marvel lore. Whether it's D'Spayre, Silver Dagger, or even Mephisto, Marvel has plenty of nightmarish nemeses for Doctor Strange to spar against in a Halloween special, should Marvel get the spark of inspiration (and a hefty budget) to do so.
9.The Nightstalkers
With a core team comprised of Blade, Hannibal King, and Frank Drake, the Nightstalkers make up a trio of Marvel's most effective vampire hunters and are renowned for being highly regarded among Blade die-hards. Though the group was depicted as somewhat of a high-tech super team in Blade: Trinity with Frank Drake swapped out for Abigail Whistler, fans have been hoping for a proper depiction of the Nightstalkers in the MCU, which could make for a solid Blade post-script as a Disney+ Halloween showcase down the line.
10.The Morlocks
An (occasionally literal) underground community of outcast mutants within the X-Men universe led by Caliban and Callisto, the Morlocks featured some of the more fiendish and monstrous characters in Marvel's canon, although their moral alignment was much more complicated than their unsettling powers. While Marvel's streaming series pushing the appearance of more mutants as of late, the Morlocks could make for a spooky, body horror-friendly step forward for X-Men characters in the MCU.
11.Magik
The New Mutants were sadly left between a rock and a hard place as the corpse of Fox's X-Men franchise was still warm when the spin-off hit theaters in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Though every character from the film could arguably have their own Halloween special, few could be as cool and as fitting as Magik, whose interdimensional badassery deserves a second shot and could fit right alongside the wave of new women heroes such as She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel.
12.Daimon & Satana Hellstrom
Though the pairing found themselves with a short-lived and canonically confusing showcase of their own a few years back (titled Helstrom), Marvel's resident exorcists and demon fighters seem perfect for a Marvel Halloween special, especially in the same vein of a separate-yet-ultimately-connected fashion of Werewolf by Night. Furthermore, if Blade is going to lean into Marvel's macabre side with the supernatural, I think that could work as a solid springboard to give Satana and Daimon Hellstrom a second chance in the MCU via a one-off "Special Presentation."
13.Sabretooth
Most Marvel fans might agree that Sabretooth has never had his due on the big screen, with his best appearance ultimately happening in one of the X-Men franchise's most reviled films. That said, with the amount of spotlights given to less prolific Marvel characters, Sabretooth could make for an awesome inverse of the "heroic beast-man" archetype of Jack Russell in Werewolf by Night if the MCU wants a nastier, more villainous option for their next Halloween special.
14.The Punisher
One of the most interesting question marks within the MCU is how (or even if) they incorporate Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, within their fairly safe pre-existing canon. While Marvel's Disney+ series have allowed the MCU to showcase more violence than usual, especially in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Moon Knight, so if there's any litmus test for the ultraviolent vigilante in the MCU, having Castle take on his enemies on a bloody Halloween night could make for surprisingly fitting one-off special, even if it may be less spooky than some of the other possibilities on this list.
15.Enchantress
Marvel Animation Inc.
Die-hard Thor fans have been wondering when one of his most critical adversaries would be joining him in the MCU, and some even suspected that Sylvie was going to be the "Sylvie Lushton" version of Enchantress and not a Loki variant. Alas, Enchantress still hasn't made her grand entrance into the MCU, but with Loki dealing with the Time Variance Authority and Thor playing surrogate father elsewhere in the galaxy, it may be Enchantress' time to unleash her dark magic on New Asgard in Marvel Studios' next spooky season special.
16.Doctor Doom
Fantastic Four may be a few years away, but the MCU has already begun laying the groundwork for the esteemed superhero team with Reed Richards' appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. But if there's anyone within the Fantastic Four universe that fans may enjoy getting to know prior to their cinematic showcase, it would be Victor von Doom, who, I'm sure, many could imagine refining his maniacal tendencies within the MCU through a future "Special Presentation."
17.Loki
Loki has his hands full at the moment with the second season of his eponymous show on the horizon, but Loki’s particular skillset and potential to traverse time and space could make him the perfect fodder for a Marvel Halloween special. Given Hiddleston’s nature and past work in the horror genre, a Hammer Horror-esque vehicle with the verbose and deceptive Loki at the center of it could be lightning in a bottle while capturing the same vibe as the old-school horror atmosphere in Werewolf by Night.
18.Hydra's D.O.A.
19.Nightmare
Marvel Animation Inc.
One of Stephen Strange's most unnerving villains, the MCU could find its own "Freddy Krueger" with this demented dreamweaver front and center. While a third Doctor Strange big screen solo adventure is still in the air, given how busy Marvel's cinematic slate is for the next few years, a Nightmare-centric adventure into the darkest depths of the MCU could make for an intriguing and revealing exploration of just how supernatural Marvel's current landscape will be.
