At some point in time, beards were connected to woodsmen and scruffy men who were doing hard and “dirty” work, and men who didn’t have beards were considered posh and trimmed. That certainly changed, most of these perks are still present today and it has entered all the “pores” of popular culture and fictional characters. So, it’s not unusual to see once scruffy, bearded, evil villains sharing their “beard” trait with once good boy “naked” chin superheroes. We at Fiction Horizon, are bringing you the list of 12 most awesome superheroes (& villains) with beards.
1. Doctor Strange
Currently the most popular superhero in Marvel Cinematic Universe, Stephen Strange always had a majestic beard. From his first appearance in Marvel comics in 1963, Strange always sported some kind of facial hair – from mustaches and goatees to the final fashionable beard that we know and love today.
This fact is not unusual since wizards and magicians in popular culture always had different types of facial hair which makes them more dramatic and mysterious. Strange’s Multiverse of Madness beard look hasn’t changed that much from his comic book beard. Maybe we see something different in future MCU movies. Nevertheless, Benedict Cumberbatch does an amazing job sporting Doctor Strange’s signature beard.
2. Tony Stark, Iron Man
This list can’t exist without the first Marvel Cinematic Universe, Mr. Beard himself, Tony Stark. Same as Doctor Strange, Stark’s look was always adorned with some type of facial hair – mustaches, goatees, beards, and more. It’s not surprising that his look was inspired by a business mogul from the beginning of the century, Howard Hughes, whose signature looks always had fashionable facial hair.
It’s hard to imagine someone else in place of Robert Downey Jr. as iconic superhero Iron Man in MCU sporting a fashionable beard. There are multiple versions of Iron Man in the comics, so it’s really interesting if there’s a version of Tony Stark without his signature beard? Hopefully not.
3. Aquaman
The King of Atlantis has various different looks. For example, his blonde hair with no beard at all was a really popular look during his beginnings in the DC comic book universe, however, that changed in the last 20 years or so.
With his huge physique, and being tall and full of muscles, comic book writers decided to give Arthur a new badass look that gave made him even more dangerous. Of course, as already mentioned, that varies since comics have a tendency to change or reset a lot of characters in their universe. Arthur’s famous beard became even more iconic when Jason Momoa was cast as Aquaman in DC Extended Universe. Regardless of his look, Arthur always looks badass but his beard takes his look to the next level.
4. Green Arrow
One of the oldest superheroes ever, Green Arrow is probably one of the most iconic comic book heroes with a beard. Robin Hood and Green Arrow have a lot of similarities, however, his original look in his first appearance in comics in 1941, actually didn’t have beards.
After some time, Green Arrow got his signature beard like his colleague in another fictional universe, Robin Hood, who was a star in his own movie of the same name in 1922 and played by Douglas Fairbanks. Green Arrow stayed mostly the same with some variations of live-action adaptations like CW TV shows Smallville and Arrow, with Justin Hartley having no beard and Stephen Amell having a two-day beard. Hopefully in DC Extended Universe, we see other adaptations of Green Arrow with, of course, his signature beard.
5. Thor
Superhero from Marvel comics, the son of Odin, is one of the most popular fictional characters in popular culture. The general public knows him from Marvel Cinematic Universe where he is portrayed by Australian actor Chris Hemsworth and he’s doing an amazing job.
However, this blonde Asgardian God wasn’t always famous for his beard. Comic book fans know him as a clean-cut superhero going around the galaxy saving innocent lives. His “clean” look is iconic but most of the fans agree that bearded Thor looks like a God on a mission. Scruffy and badass are just a few adjectives for bearded Thor, hopefully, it stays that way.
6. T’Challa, Black Panther
T’Challa doesn’t usually have a beard in the comics. However, Chadwick Boseman made T’Challa unimaginable without a beard. Boseman’s neat look and clean-cut beard made T’Challa even more badass. In comparison to his beginnings, Black Panther looks so much different today.
It didn’t help that his first appearance in 1966 Fantastic Four comics was overshadowed by the fact that Black Panther under the mask was … grey. That’s right, he had grey skin without facial hair. Thankfully, Marvel fixed their mistake and made T’Challa authentic to his African roots. Bearded MCU’s Black Panther became and stayed an icon in popular culture and for that, we as the fans can thank the late Chadwick Boseman.
7. Hercules
The namesake of the old hero from Greek myths, Marvel’s Hercules is probably one of the most known bearded superheroes out there. Even though he shares his name with the ancient demi-God from Greek myths, they don’t share facial hair.
Often in conflict with another Asgardian God Thor, these two make the expression “bearded battle” really serious. Quite “rugged” and unpolished, Hercules is a true bearded superhero.
8. Odin
The All-Father is the King of Asgard and protector of the Ten Realms in the Marvel comics. Being part of the Asgardian race and being worshipped by Vikings of Midgard, the most iconic bearded people in all humankind, Odin, of course, is a true bearded superhero. Fathering multiple children, among them Thor, who also found himself on this list, it’s really not unusual seeing him on this list.
9. Wolverine
This one is a bit “controversial”. Or maybe not. The most famous X-Man had a lot of different facial hair styles during his comic runs. The general public knows him from original X-Men movies in the 2000s where Hugh Jackman truly popularized his look – sideburns.
However, the older Wolverine gets, there is much more beard “game” which we saw in the movie Logan in 2017.
10. Vandal Savage
This supervillain from DC comics is truly iconic. Often voted as one of the best villains in all of DC, Vandal Savage’s iconic look is what singles him out from the rest. He has multiple different looks through his comic book runs but what’s always consistent in his looks is his beard. His “Dracula” style, which is a consequence of his immortality and living in different historic eras, made him very recognizable.
Hawkman, Hawkgirl, and others always have a hard time fighting him and we like to think that his “beard game” is also the reason why they struggle against Vandal Savage.
11. Baron Mordo
The main Doctor Strange’s villain from Marvel comics always had a pretty unique look about him. In the 1960s, when his character first appeared in the comics, didn’t change that much, just like his main nemesis Doctor Strange. A yellow cape and predominantly green color costume with black and yellow details make him one of the strangest clothed villains in Marvel comics.
His beard, of course, strongly fits his look. Baron Mordo’s appearance as a supervillain is definitely rounded off by goatee – beard combination. Chiwetel Ejiofor, an actor portraying Baron Mordo in MCU, changed his look a bit with an unkempt beard.
12. Ra’s al Ghul
“Demon’s Head” is the most iconic supervillain in DC comics. We saw multiple versions of him in live-action TV shows like CW’s Arrow, played by Matthew Nable, where he had a two-day beard, which wasn’t anything extraordinary. However, in the comics and Batman video game franchise, his beard is much different. His two-part goatee which varies from comics to DC animated shows is what the general public recognizes him by.
Iconic beard always fits well together with iconic supervillain characters in a fictional world, so it’s only suitable to finish this list with one of the best.
