Copyright Screen Rant
The most terrifying Marvel villain ever returns with a horrific improvement. The Marvel Universe is filled with hundreds of villains, each terrifying in their own way. Some inspire fear through sheer power, like Galactus or Dormammu, while others do so through their intellect, relentless ambition, or their cruelty, like Bullseye and Green Goblin. From street-level killers to immense cosmic entities, Marvel’s rogues’ gallery is a vast collection of nightmares, all capable of earning the title of the scariest villain depending on which aspect of evil is being measured. Sometimes, the least physically imposing are even more intimidating than the all-powerful. Muse and Bushman can often seem more evil than Annihilus or Mephisto. In the first issue of her new comic series, Echo runs into the sleaziest villain in the Marvel Universe, now even creepier than before. Zebediah Kilgrave A.K.A. Purple Man Returns As The Violet Guru Echo: Seeker of Truth #1; Written by Taboo & B. Earl; Art by Jim Terry, Elisabetta D'Amico, and Matt Milla In Echo: Seeker of Truth #1, Maya Lopez starts to see symbols coming out of people's mouths. When she investigates, Echo learns of the existence of a religious cult, where she's asked to be initiated by inhaling a gas. Before she gets a chance to react, Echo sees who's behind the cult. Zebediah Kilgrave a.k.a. the Purple Man has rebranded himself as "The Violet Guru", now able to "synthesize and package his ability" as powder to control dozens of victims without having to utter a single word himself. Fortunately, Echo manages to rough up Kilgrave into letting his followers go and gets him arrested. Still, the fact that Kilgrave turned his already powerful ability into a mass-manufactured weapon is a horrifying idea. Not to mention, Kilgrave's role as a cult leader makes him an even more disturbing villain than he already was. Real-life cult leaders can convince their followers to perform heinous acts. One who can telepathically command them into doing absolutely anything is a nightmare scenario. The X-Men's Current Apocalypse Proves How Dangerous Kilgrave Truly Is Kilgrave Could Become The World's Biggest Villain If He Wished To Kilgrave's ability to control anyone simply by speaking to them means few characters are safe from his control. Unlike most villains who rely on strength or technology, Kilgrave’s influence is instantaneous and absolute, capable of dismantling entire hero rosters with a whisper, or turning heroes against each other without lifting a finger. However, Kilgrave is a sleazy criminal, not a supervillain obsessed with conquest. Recent developments have put Kilgrave's power into perspective. The Violet Guru's consciousness-commanding powder could become something closer to a virus with the potential to blanket the country or the world in submission within days. If this sounds familiar, it's because Doug Ramsey a.k.a. Revelation actually put his own powers to the test and achieved this feat, creating a whole decade-spanning dystopia dubbed "the Age of Revelation". The contrast between Kilgrave and Revelation highlights just how lucky the world has been all this time. Revelation managed to take over the entire United States through language and manipulation. Kilgrave could achieve something far worse if he ever applied the same focus, but fortunately, his goals remain selfish and small-scale. The Earth should be grateful for the Violet Guru's lack of ambition.
