Best Of 2003 2.23.04: Best Villain

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If there were no villains, what would super-heroes do? Save cats all the time? Foil bank robberies ad nauseum like in the 30s? Get involved in complex socio-political issues…actually they do that sometimes now.

Anyhow, the super-villain has evolved a great deal since comics began. Once upon a time you just needed a scary looking baddie for the fans to boo and for the good guy to put down by the end of the issue. Nowadays, though, the best villains, whether they’re unstoppable engines of destruction or cruel dictators with their own countries and empires, are more than just one-dimensional. They’ve got motive, feelings, and more often than not, the reader empathizes with them…and suddenly the stories get a lot more interesting when you’re not sure who to root for.

Of course the best villains pull all this off and still manage to be evil bastards in the end.

Here’s who we at 411 thought were the baddest of the bad in 2003.

As always, thanks to ComiX-Fan for use of the top ten format they originated.

We start off with what is at the heart of every comic book: the characters. They are our eyes and ears to the world of the story, the men and women (and other) that we grow to love and hate, cry and laugh with; the best characters become as real to us as any other important people in our lives. These were the ten characters we felt entered our hearts in 2003…


#10: Darkseid (The Legion, Superman vs Darkseid: Apokolips Now!, Superman and Batman: Generations III)

2003 seemed to be the year of Darkseid in the DCU. This Jack Kirby created villain has had a rocky history, but 2003 seemed to reassert his dominant war god status.
The year started with Superman vs. Darkseid: Apokolips Now!. In it Superman and many of his super-family (Superboy, 2 Supergirls, the Eradicator, and Krypto) head to free John Henry Irons – the armored hero Steel) from the grasp of the Dark Lord of Apokolips. As a fallout of the previous year’s Our Worlds at War mega-crossover, Steel had been apparently killed, but was later resurrected by Darkseid, shoehorned into new armor (the Entropy Aegis) that was powered by his soul! Now that is villainy! There are very few villains in the DCU that could trade blows with Superman AND the superman-family, and live it to tell about it. Although Darkseid lost the battle for the soul of John Henry Irons he still proved to be one powerful villain!
Next up was the year long Elseworld’s Superman and Batman: Generations III in which Darkseid’s forces were battling Superman, Batman and their intertwined families for many generations. This was a very head-scratching cross-time caper, but in the end many were dead at the hands of Darkseid and his minions. Among the numerous dead were: Supergirl Blue, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Batman. Unlike in Apokolips Now, Superman and Darkseid went toe-to-toe and… killed each other in battle… now that was a cool ending. BUT, in the spirit of happy endings, due to the death of Darkseid…. the key events of Generations III appear not to of happened at all! Now, I find explaining time travel problematic at best, but suffice it to say that the (not-so) final battle Darkseid and Superman was well worth the price of admission – it reinforced his badassness!
The current Foundations arc in the Legion series, that began in 2003, finds Darkseid again that the center of a (head-scratching) cross-time caper that involves two Superboys (Clark Kent and Konner Kent – wha…?) and culminates with a battle reminiscent of the Young Elvis stamp vs. the Old Elvis stamp grudge match – Darkseid goes to-toe with his younger self with ultimate power and the fate of the universe(s?) in the balance.
Darkseid is one powerful villain and battled many classic DC heroes in 2003 and into 2004 – Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, many Supergirls and Superboys, and the whole Legion! That’s a pretty impressive resume. Only time will tell whether 2004 is the Year of Darkseid… Redux!
By John Babos, writer & editor of Near Mint Memories, 411 reviewer


#9: Magneto/Xorn (New X-Men)

Personally, I thought Chuck Austen was the villain of the year, but, hey, this one makes sense too. In the most brilliantly crafted plot twist of the year, Morrison dropped a major bomb in New X-Men. A two-year setup that made perfect sense. He then went on to develop the most unique take on Magneto in a long time: a drug-addled lunatic whose major flaw is his ego. A man too caught up in the sound of his own voice to realize that he’s long past his prime. It’s a unique and fascinating characterization, one that does justice to the character while being thoroughly modern and thoroughly Morrison. Hey, there’s a reason that “new” word is in the title.
By Kevin Rapp, 411 reviewer


#8: Lex Luthor (Superman/Batman, various)

Comic books are so crazy. I mean only in the world of comics could one of the most dangerous men alive, and possibly the world greatest villain also be the President of the United States. Crazy comic books. Lex is one of the stars of one of the year’s hottest new books Superman/Batman. Anyone one who can go toe to toe with those two icons is a force to be reckoned with. He also has popped up in the Teen Titans, but as usual he was behind the scenes. Lex had a more prominent role in the Elseworlds tale Red Son. What a year Lex has been having, and it shows no sign of slowing down in ’04.
By Mathan Erhardt, writer of Who’s Who In The DCU


#7: Charon (Negation)

There were many great villains this year, but for sheer scale of power, who could be greater than the man who lords over the Negation Empire? Whether kidnapping babies, torturing prisoners, killing anyone who gets in his way, or sending his inhuman Lawbringers to do his dirty work, Charon is easily one of the best (or perhaps worst) villains of 2003.

The beginning of the year showed us right off the bat what he could do. After casually reattaching the arm that had been blown off, Charon and his Lawbringers preceded to murder the thousands of transitioned Australians who were attempting to help Kaine. And that was only his first act of evil this year! Charon’s next plan was to make some of his own sigil bearers. Unfortunately, he discovered the bearers needed human DNA, something lacking in the denizens of the Negation Universe. So he decided to graft human DNA into them, which cost countless lives until he managed to convince Javi, the man who was once part of the Negation team, to help him. This year alone, Charon has been either directly or indirectly responsible for the deaths of Matua, Gammid, thousands of the transitioned Australians, and countless people in his own universe. The scary part is, we haven’t even begun to see how much power he truly wields.
By Kyle Litke, writer of CrossGen News & Views, 411 reviewer


#6: The Riddler (Batman)

When Hush was revealed to be Tommy Elliott, I am sure all the Batman readers were disappointed. But, Loeb turned the tables on readers by showing us that Hush wasn’t as important as the “man behind the curtain,” who turned out to the the Riddler. For the first time in years, Riddler became a serious threat and was the highlight of Hush’s conclusion. Not bad for a character that’s been around since 1948.
Halfway through last year, if anyone had predicted that Riddler would have made this list, you would have labeled them insane. He had only shown up in Batman and only to pull a typically inane bank robber. Of all the villains highlighted in Loeb/Lee’s run he seemed to have gotten the short end of the stick.
But then came Batman #619 and we all learned a little bit more about Mr. Edward Nigma. As it turns out, the villain Hush was little more than a smokescreen for the big baddie, a Lazarus Pit restored Riddler. Cured of a brain tumor by Ra’s Al Ghul famous pools, Riddler had gained a moment of clarity and unraveled the whole mystery of the Bat. Then, finding a suitable accomplice in Bruce’s childhood friend, Dr. Elliot, Riddler proceeded to torment and confuse Batman for several months before Batman was able to put together enough of the pieces to end it.
The revamping of the Riddler as Luthor-style manipulator divided the comic book reading community, disappointing some with what they saw as a mystery that never could have been solved while others liked the brand new Nigma. Either way, everyone was discussing it. And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is why the question marked one is on our list.
By Tim Stevens, writer of DC Comics News & Views & Mike Maillaro,411 reviewer


#5: Golgoth (Empire)

Those who haven’t read the amazing miniseries Empire, by Mark Waid and Barry Kitson, have missed out on one of the vilest villains in comic history, Lord Golgoth. This book’s all about a world vastly different from that in most comics, and a better-characterized villain then we’re used to seeing. In this reality, Lord Golgoth has won. There’s really no competition to his reign over the Earth. He’s the man; and he’s in total control. The thing about Golgoth is, even though he’s in head-to-toe body armor, this is one of the most real people you’ll ever see.
It appears that Golgoth may not have any enemies outside, but the nest of vipers that he surrounds himself with is where the fun is. Empire is the closest thing to a soap opera that the comic book industry has. Golgoth has obliterated all the countries of the Earth proving that he’s a very bad man. Yet, the true proof in his evil is his ability to maintain power while being surrounded by a colorfully evil group. He appears to make decisions without any conscience, but some great moments with his daughter Delfi as well as flashbacks to his dead wife prove there is something more behind the mask. These are just a few of the reasons that he’s such a great villain. The faceless nature almost allows you the reader to step into his shoes making the experience that much more entertaining. What would you do if you controlled the world?
By Chris Dellacoino, 411 reviewer


#4: Black Adam (JSA, Hawkman)

Uber-writer Geoff Johns has been sowing the seeds for the recently wrapped Black Reign arc for some time now. 2003 saw that effort kick into high gear with Black Adam leaving the JSA and taking his once nemesis and current disciple Atom Smasher (a long-time junior JSA’er from the days of Infinity Inc.) along.
Black Adam is one of the most powerful characters in the DCU – his power-levels are similar to Captain Marvel’s who, I imagine, is in the “top 3” in the DCU in terms of power levels – alongside Superman and Wonder Woman. That is some serious fire power for a character, that I think, should make it onto everyone’s best hero AND best villain lists of 2003!
What makes Black Adam a top villain, or even top character for that matter, in my mind, is that his actions made readers think about what is a hero or a villain? In the end some of his actions were over-the-top and just wrong. Murder is murder, period, no matter how you slice it. However, his character was a lens through which we, as readers, could filter our angst of the state of the real world’s geo-political landscape and prevailing winds of a doctrine of preemptive military action. I won’t go off on a political rant, but I will say that my initial reservations aside, the stories revolving around Black Adam in 2003 made me and, I think, many others reevaluate our notions of right and wrong, and hero and villain, in a comic book world striving to entertain and engage a readership that is more mature and hardened after many of the tough things we’ve lived through in only the first four years of the new millennium.
2003 saw Black Adam pull his 21st Century “dark JSA” from the remnants of the the 1980’s “junior JSA” – Infinity Inc. and take some decisive and controversial actions (cheered or jeered depending on your geo-political views) – the destruction of the crime cartel called the Council, the murder of uber-terrorist Kobra and decimation of his organization. This was all leading up to the “event” that kicked off 2004 – the bloody coup and takeover Black Adam’s homeland of Kahndaq from its dicatatorshop – regime-change, DCU style!
Black Adam evolved over his years in the JSA, but most particularly in 2003, from a black and white “evil” character to a more complex thinking man’s villain… hero… or 21rst century patriot. Some of his actions were clearly villainous… some were not. Any comic book character that has readers reevaluate their beliefs and be entertained by a story can’t be all bad, can they? Lets see what 2004 brings for a newly “Gray” Adam!
By John Babos, writer & editor of Near Mint Memories, 411 reviewer


#3: Captain Cold (The Flash)

Another long time villain who got a bigger share of the spotlight this year. Geoff Johns’ revitalization of the Flash has been in large part because of how cool he’s made Flash’s Rogues Gallery. While Zoom got most of the attention this year, Captain Cold snuck under the radar and actually seemed to be trying to help the Flash out during the Ignition arc. It’s only to clear his name, but we’ve really gotten into his head since Johns came on The Flash, and he’s a much better character as a result.
Falsely accused of a rash of police murders, Captain Cold went without his costumed alter ego while he tried to unravel who was setting him up. Upon the return of the Flash (Wally West, his memory having returned), Cold put on his fighting togs once more, watched wits with the still confused, unconfident West and eventually ended the cop killer reign of terror himself.
However, the real reason he is on this list is his alter ego, Lenny Snart. Good ol’ Mr. Snart did his best work out of costume as Wally West’s diner companion. As the newly reawakened West struggled with the knowledge of his costumed identity, Snart proved to be an unexpected foil, a man who seemed a natural companion for West, just another blue collar guy blowing off some steam at the end of the day. Even better, upon a second reading of the Ignition storyline, it is not inconceivable that Cold was the first person to know that West was the Flash, beating even the Dark Knight Detective to the punch. With that in mind, Snart becomes all the more impressive, a man willingly guiding his greatest enemy back to “health” so as to best a more immediate threat. He may go by Captain Cold, but this year, Snart gets all the kudos.
By Tim Stevens, writer of DC Comics News & Views & Mike Maillaro,411 reviewer


#2: Zoom (The Flash)

Before this year Reverse-Flash was only seen in one storyline since The Flash relaunched with Wally West under the cowl in 1987. Longtime fans of The Flash know that Professor Zoom was Barry Allen’s (the Silver Age Flash) greatest nemesis—he killed Barry’s wife Iris, nearly killed his almost second wife, and was finally killed at the hand of Barry. Of course his death left it difficult to bring the baddie back. With the exception of “The Return of Barry Allen” storyline that has remained the case.
Super-scribe Geoff Johns answered the call for more by creating a new more powerful version of Zoom (Reverse-Flash) in 2003. The tragedy and conflict that Zoom created were amplified by the fact that Wally West, in some small way, can be blamed for the genesis of this new villain. If Wally had agreed to go back in time and prevent the accident that crippled his friend Hunter Zolomon the new fiend would not have been born. This tragic decision led to the evils unleashed by Zoom. Costing Wally his unborn twins, life as he knew it, and quite nearly his wife, Linda.
In Zoom, in Hunter Zolomon, Geoff gave us a character you could certainly dislike, but it was tough to. He entered the pages of The Flash with a huge chip on his shoulder. Although he was generally a nice guy (certainly the friendliest of the Keystone cops), even before the events that would spiral his life out of control, you could see moments of darkness in Hunter; when he would talk about his knee, his past…there was something beneath the optimistic Rogue profiler, something more.
After he was crippled by Grodd, Hunter changed. He became short with Wally, more surly, and hey, people love Wally West, so even though we felt bad for Hunter, if he didn’t like Wally, we didn’t like him.
And that was what drove Hunter nuts: the sheer unfairness of it all.
A tragic set of circumstances he never asked for but was born into cost Hunter his parents (his father murdered his mother). One bad judgment call cost him his career and his second family (he wrongly assumed a Rogue was unarmed and that Rogue would go onto shoot and kill his father-in-law, driving away his wife, and shatter his kneecap). A cruel twist of fate would cripple him as his super hero friend failed to save him.
And yet Wally was still the one we loved; that everybody loved.
Wally West had the perfect life; thanks to a series of horrible and unjust misfortunes, Hunter Zolomon was living a nightmare. It just wasn’t fair.
And what one of us hasn’t felt that way? That your best friend’s life is great, yours sucks, and there’s no good reason why that is.
Zoom was the villain you rooted against, but deep down, you couldn’t hate him, because he could any one of us if we just had one bad day.
It was a momentous, but extremely tumultuous year for the Flash. Zoom, as written by Geoff Johns, was the reason.
By Chris Dellacoino, 411 reviewer & Ben Morse, writer of The Watchtower, co-Editor-In-Chief of 411Comics


#1: Dr. Doom (Fantastic Four)

A Master of Science and Sorcery, with a distinctive appearance George Lucas confessed that was the inspiration for Darth Vader. A genius who could, and in fact would like to, change the world for the better, limited only by his thirst for revenge and his own definitions of what is “better”. And yet, for all his ego, he still lives by a code of honor of a sort. He has stood alongside his enemies in past battles and single-handedly saved the world. He even managed to conquer the world once, but gave it up because the circumstances of the victory weren’t challenging enough for his tastes. He is the greatest super-villain of all time; Doctor Victor Von Doom.
Doom cranked the “Evil Bastard” meter up past 11 this year with his most twisted scheme against the Fantastic Four (and especially the accursed Reed Richards!) ever. After selling the soul of the only woman he ever loved to a trio of demons in exchange for the power he would have had after a lifetime of studying magic, he went to work. Acting through Valeria Richards (who he turned into his familiar as he delivered her at birth), Doom put Franklin Richards into Hell, removed the teams powers only to mismatch them among the remaining members and locked Reed Richards in a library full of magic texts he couldn’t read in order to give Richards a sporting chance of beating him. If you need any other indication of how big a badass Doom is, Reed Richards broke him OUT of Hell in order to personally look after him, saying that it was only a matter of time before Doom would be running the place.
By Matt Morrison, writer of Looking To The Stars, 411 reviewer