Top 10 Characters Who Became Villains After Trying to Create A Cure
#10: Harry Osborn aka Green Goblin
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“The Amazing Spider-Man 2” (2014) There have been a lot of Green Goblins over the years, most of whom accidentally drive themselves to insanity by taking an experimental serum. But seldom are they trying to save a life, even their own. Dane DeHaan’s Harry Osborn from the second “Amazing Spider-Man” movie, however, has the same genetic disease that killed his father Norman. Fearful for his young life, Harry comes to the conclusion that Spider-Man’s blood can save him, but goes into a downward spiral when the Web Head rejects the idea. Desperate, Harry tracks down the venom that created Spider-Man, but the substance only accelerates the disease, mutating him and forcing him to don the Goblin suit to sustain himself.
#9: Richard Lazarus
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“Doctor Who” (1963-89; 2005-) Another character who fears their own mortality, the appropriately named Professor Lazarus tries to reverse the aging process on a genetic level. Like any negligent scientist, Lazarus tests the machine on himself, and at a public event, no less. While somewhat successful, his machine also unlocks previously dormant genes, gradually mutating him into a scorpion-like creature that needs to feed on human energy. Lazarus becomes a pretty wacky villain, but one that definitely fits in with the Whoniverse. Thankfully, the Doctor’s able to kill Lazarus once and for all, but the professor once again proved why you shouldn’t play god.
#8: Doctor Mindbender
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“G.I. Joe” franchise (1982-) “G.I. Joe” villains have a tendency to be over-the-top, but few have such a dramatic shift in character as Doctor Mindbender. Indeed, Mindbender actually used to be a harmless orthodontist who only wanted to cure dental pain in his patients. He created a machine to manipulate brainwaves, but in the same way many of the characters on this list go wrong, he tested it on himself. This of course scrambled much of his reasoning, making him devious and hateful. Such attributes are welcome with the evil organization Cobra, which he later joined. The good old dentist probably should’ve just stuck with laughing gas.
#7: Silvio Manfredi aka Silvermane
“The Amazing Spider-Man” Vol. 1 #75 (1969) Another elderly man who seeks to stave off his own demise, Silvermane is a mob boss who commissions Dr. Curt Connors - someone we’ll be returning to later - to create a potion that’ll grant him immortality. Again, this goes a little too well, as Silvermane finds himself de-aging Benjamin Button-style right out of existence. Fortunately for him, Silvermane bounces back, allowing him to continue his life of crime as a middle-aged man. This doesn’t last, however, as the potion’s fading effects turn him into an invalid. As a last-ditch effort, Silvermane has constructed a cyborg body onto which he attaches his head, turning him into the full-blown supervillain we know today.
#6: Ichirö Yashida aka Silver Samurai
“The Wolverine” (2013) While the comics version of Silver Samurai differs, the Ichirö Yashida version from the second “Wolverine” movie is, you guessed it, another old-timer afraid of kicking the bucket. After being saved by Wolverine in the bombing of Nagasaki, Ichirö returns to Logan as a dying old man. He proposes to have Logan’s healing abilities transferred to him, thus saving his life and relieving Logan of his immortal burden. But Logan refuses, kicking off a whole adventure for the time-worn mutant. After faking his death, Ichirö is revealed to be operating the Silver Samurai armor, and proceeds to take Wolverine’s healing factor by force. It works, but Ichirö’s newfound youth is short-lived, as Wolverine ensures he meets the very thing he fought so desperately to avoid.
#5: Michael Morbius aka Morbius, the Living Vampire
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“The Amazing Spider-Man” Vol. 1 #102 (1971) Sheesh, these Spider-Man villains should really stop trying to bend the laws of nature. To be fair, Morbius eventually finds himself operating as more of an anti-hero, but he definitely didn’t start out that way. A brilliant biologist with a debilitating blood disease, Michael Morbius turns to the DNA of vampire bats and electroshock therapy to cure himself. Unfortunately, the former introduces a slew of side-effects, transforming Morbius into a vampire-like creature. Though this grants him superhuman abilities, it also creates a need to feed on human blood to survive. This puts him into conflict with heroes like Spider-Man, as Morbius again seeks a cure, this time for the monster he’s become.
#4: Victor Fries aka Mr. Freeze
“Batman: The Animated Series” (1992-95) Originally starting life as a criminal named Mr. Zero, the general mythology for Mr. Freeze changed forever with the advent of his appearance in “Batman: The Animated Series.” A scientist named Victor Fries, his origin became much more tragic as he tries to save his terminally ill wife Nora. After cryogenically freezing her until a cure can be found, Fries is exposed to chemicals that make him incapable of surviving outside of sub-zero temperatures. From there, Fries constructs a suit that can sustain him and dons the supervillain persona Mr. Freeze. Versions of the character almost always see him utilize a freeze gun and other gadgets that allow him to further fund his research.
#3: Kirk Langstrom aka Man-Bat
“Detective Comics” Vol. 1 #400 (1970) If this list is anything to go off, scientists really shouldn’t be experimenting with bats. Kirk Langstrom starts off as a zoologist who seeks to imbue humans with a bat’s sonar abilities, partially motivated by his growing deafness. He too tests the formula on himself, but he ends up with more bat characteristics than he bargained for. Turning into a human-bat hybrid has serious ramifications on Langstrom’s sanity, as the appropriately named Man-Bat continually finds himself in the crosshairs of Batman before the latter can temporarily reverse the transformation. Over time, however, Langstrom has learned to control his faculties as Man-Bat, allowing him to play the part of anti-hero in addition to his villainous ways.
#2: Curt Connors aka The Lizard
“The Amazing Spider-Man” Vol. 1 #6 (1963) Yeah, in hindsight, Silvermane really shouldn’t have trusted a guy who already failed to cure himself. By all respects, Curt Connors is a brilliant geneticist and a good man, often aiding Peter Parker / Spider-Man when not in his villainous Lizard form. This originally comes about when Connors tries to regrow his lost arm by experimenting with reptilian DNA. It initially works, but the serum doesn’t stop there, transforming him into a massive, humanoid lizard creature. Though Connors tries to suppress it, every time he turns into the Lizard he becomes wildly unstable, often trying to turn humankind into a race of creatures like himself. Well, misery does love company, after all.
#1: Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
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“Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde” (1886) The foundation upon which many of these characters are based, Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Henry Jekyll is already grappling with the maniacal alter ego inside of him when his story begins. Jekyll develops a serum to banish Mr. Hyde for good, but this instead gives the latter free reign in the former’s body, and in some interpretations even transforming it. Jekyll typically awakens sometime later, having no memory of what dastardly deeds he committed as Mr. Hyde. Originating in 1886, Dr. Jekyll is the quintessential character whose foolhardy attempts to fix himself only turn him into an even greater threat.
