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Many of the test subjects who took the experimental serums followed in Captain America’s footsteps and became heroes like Union Jack and Black Widow. Unfortunately, whether they were already evil or corrupted by faulty versions of the serum, these villains gained enhanced abilities, making them even more dangerous.
10) Scourge
During the 1950s, after Captain America disappeared, the U.S. Government tried to replace America’s greatest heroes: William Burnside became Captain America, and Jack Monroe became Bucky. Burnside convinced Monroe to take an untested Super Soldier Serum, which increased their strength but drove them insane. In the modern day, Munroe attacked the real Captain America. Although Munroe had a brief time as the hero Nomad, he was eventually forced back into villainy. Placed under mind control by the villain Henry Gyrich, Munroe became Scourge and tried to kill the Thunderbolts. As Scourge, Munroe used a vast array of weapons, including guns and blades. Although Munroe was eventually freed from his brainwashing, he was killed soon after by Winter Soldier.
9) Johnny Nightmare
When the Punisher first met Jake Niman, they seemed to have a lot in common. Like the Punisher, Jake was a veteran whose family was killed by a gang, and he was seeking revenge. Although the Punisher initially helped Jake, he eventually uncovered the truth about the killings: Jake himself was the target hunted by the gang for war crimes he committed in Afghanistan under the alias Johnny Nightmare while empowered by a Super Soldier Serum. His family just got caught in the crossfire. The revelation made Jake reclaim his Johnny Nightmare identity and go on a murderous rampage. This maniacal villain was one of the physically toughest foes the Punisher ever faced because he could easily shrug off machine gun and rocket launcher attacks.
8) Protocide
Before Steve Rogers took the Super Soldier Serum, Clinton Mclntyre, aka Protocide, was one of the first test subjects to receive a prototype version of the formula. Although the serum made Protocide stronger and faster than Captain America, the serum also rendered him violently unstable and caused him to develop a severe heart defect. After being put in suspended animation for decades, Protocide was reawakened in the modern day by the terrorist group A.I.M. The villains manipulated Protocide into believing that Captain America and S.H.I.E.L.D. were enemies of the United States and trained him to be their enforcer. With a shield just as strong as Captain America’s, Protocide fought Captain America several times on equal footing, at first badly injuring him and later fighting to a standstill.
7) Grand Director
When Captain America was frozen in ice and presumed dead during the 1950s, the U.S. Government tried to have someone else take up the hero’s legacy. They chose William Burnside, who underwent plastic surgery to resemble Captain America, and also legally changed his name to Steve Rogers. Unfortunately, when he took an untested Super Soldier Serum, he went insane, and the government put him in suspended animation. After breaking free in the modern day, Burnside became a Neo-Nazi villain known as the Grand Director, who battles the unfrozen original Captain America. Although the Grand Director is shown to be faster and stronger than Captain America, he loses due in part to his fractured mind.
6) Taskmaster
Tony Masters, aka Taskmaster, is a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who struck out on his own to become one of the deadliest mercenaries in Marvel Comics. He’s most well-known for his power to perfectly mimic anyone’s fighting style after seeing it only once. Taskmaster was born with this photogenic reflex ability, but during his time at S.H.I.E.L.D., he was able to drastically increase its potency by injecting himself with an experimental Nazi version of the Super Soldier Serum. Although the serum didn’t improve his strength, it significantly increased his reflexes and mimicry ability to the point that he could contend with some of Marvel’s best martial artists like Captain America, Daredevil, Elektra, Iron Fist, and Shang-Chi.
