Some will tell you that a hero is only as good as their villains. That Batman is the man he is partially due to the criminal element that he combats, that he has to provide rhyme and reason for the insane just to fight them, that his own mental state reflects it. Then you have the Flash, who fights against a well organized group of blue collar criminals, ones who seek the fun of the game more than the violent outcomes.
On the other side of the pond, we have Daredevil, a man with one of the best rogues gallery in comics simply because of how their actions reflect so perfectly back on to the hero that stands to defeat them. Spider-Man has an incredibly well recognizable list of B and C and even D level villains that he fights on a regular basis as well.
Then there are characters like Green Arrow, Iron Man, and Wonder Woman. Great heroes, but hardly defined by the villains they fight. When you compile a list of arch-rivals for them, you won’t be coming up with too many.
What is it that makes for a great villain? Is it the acts that they commit, or the things they do to the heroes opposing them? I’d like to think that there’s more to it than that, and over the next two weeks, I’m going to be explaining to you my top ten for villains. So without further ado…
Let’s bring on the bad guys!
*Note, this list will just be made up of Marvel and DC villains*
Disqualified:
Black Adam – Despite being one of my personal favorite characters, he’s spent much of the past decade filling the role of a hero. Between his stint in the JSA, and his story in 52, it’s hard to place him on a “villains” list. Sure he and he alone was World War III, but the amount of good stories told about him from a heroic perspective far outweigh those of him as a villain.
Baron Helmut Zemo – Despite being a classic Captain America and Avengers villain, Zemo found new life as Citizen V of the Thunderbolts, and then later as Baron Zemo of the Thunderbolts. He’s climbed up the long road to redemption, and he fits firmly into the role of a “tweener.” Not a hero, not a villain, and not an anti-hero. Something completely different.
Venom – Is he a hero? Is he a villain? Is he Eddie Brock? Is he Mac Gargan? Does Marvel even know? Do I even care anymore? Does anyone?
Honorable mentions:
Brainiac – The 12th level intelligence from the planet Colu has always been a huge threat, but the amount of rebooted origins has knocked him just outside of the running.
Loki – The Norse God of Mischief may have accidentally created the Avengers, and reigned down all varieties of hell on every universe he’s been a part of, but he found himself just slightly edged out of the final draft.
The List
10. Ultron
Hank Pym’s adamantium baby boy with the Oedipus complex gets the ten spot on this list, and it wasn’t that hard of a choice. Ultron has been one of the better ultimate evils in Marvel for decades, whether it involves master minding from a different identity, creating the Vision, or destroying small countries. He’s one of the few villains that the Avengers have always had a sense of fear just at the mention of his name, and he deserves it.
He has an invincible body, and a mind that has shown nothing if not it’s capacity for growth. He’s self-aware, self-evolving, and completely dedicated to domination. The scariest part about him though? He has the mind of Hank Pym. He is honestly and truly the dark side of one of the greatest heroic minds in the history of Marvel comics, as well as the result of that mind trying to achieve something new and great. Nineteen numbers in his model so far, with only number twelve ever showing a redeemable side.
His goals have always been slightly….well, Oedipal. He hates his father, Hank Pym, to the point where he’s based the majority of his existence around killing the man. He loves his mother, Janet Van Dyne, to the point where he created the android Jocasta out of her brain patterns to be his wife. His son, the Vision, has the mind of Wonder Man. And then his other son, Victor Mancha of the Runaways is….well, in an alternate future he turns on the worlds heroes and kills a lot of them at his father’s orders. It’s odd to see a robot who acknowledges the existence of their family, and odder still to see one that creates a family for himself just so that they can have that mentioned existence.
Ultron has been seen a few times lately, in one of these events he infected Tony Stark’s armor and turned him into the new Ultron….who was a naked Janet Van Dyne. Simultaneous with this, he allied himself with the Phalanx in an attempt to seek techno-organic perfection, before eventually being defeated.
9. Sinestro
In blackest day, in brightest night,
Beware your fears made into light
Let those who try to stop what’s right,
Burn like my power… Sinestro’s might!
Sinestro is a prime example of staying power in a villain. Created as Hal Jordan’s opposite number, he’s managed to stick around long enough for writers to flesh out his importance to the modern ideal. The former Green Lantern who ruled his sector with an iron fist is the perfect example of absolute power corrupting absolutely. His methods of control and order were insane to the point where he found himself imprisoned in the anti-matter universe, finding himself allying with the Weapons Masters of Qward to get his prized possession, his yellow ring.
The yellow ring always symbolized fear to the Lanterns, even before it was established that the rings were controlled by fear. A weapon that is your opposite number, that is your weakness, it would be enough to scare any bearer of the ring, for how do you stop an enemy who wears your weakness on their right hand?
Even death has never kept this man down. He’s died on more occasions then are even worth mentioning, and every time he finds his way back. It’s almost scary, in fact, that a man with this much hate in his heart can find his way back from the grave so often. Casting his yellow light over the universe, spreading fear wherever he goes. Scarier still? He no longer does it alone. Now he has his Sinestro Corps, the yellow ring bearing harbingers of fear, lighting space up as they spread fear throughout the universe.
Sinestro is currently imprisoned in a Science Cell on Oa as his Corps continues to spread fear in his name, but solicits are showing us that it’s only a temporary thing. So the question arises, where will his evil spread to next? How long until he sparks the next war of light?
The answer? Sooner than any of us may think.
8. Darkseid
He might be the ultimate evil in all the universe, the leader of the evil Gods, but can anyone think of anything truly evil that he’s done? He’s fought Superman to wins, losses, and standstills. He’s waged a war against the New Gods of New Genesis that is as timeless as their existence. And yet, he’s lost to Doomsday hand to hand. He’s had his planet taken over by the Cyborg Superman. He’s been thrown into the Source Wall for imprisonment on more than one occasion. One of the most powerful characters in comics history, and he’s most commonly used for jobbing.
So why does he rank? Simple, he may seem to lose, but he also takes a toll on whoever faces him, whether it be physically or mentally. When you fight Darkseid, you never forget it. He’s also an easy villain to build an event around, whether it be Genesis, Our Worlds at War, or even Final Crisis.
Though to be a hundred percent honest, his ranking comes in large part due to a single story arc that showed just how evil the man could be, that gave us a glimpse as to what the future would truly hold under his grasp. Rock of Ages. A future story where Darkseid took over the Earth, gaining and using the Anti-Life equation. He won, period. Even when he met his defeat, the damage had been dealt.
Or I could just bring up the Great Darkness Saga. In which Darkseid slumbered for a thousand years, allowed himself to be forgotten, and then came back and nearly conquered the entire universe.
He may not be on the side of victory too often, but the entire universe knows and fears his name. And for that alone, Darkseid makes the list.
Currently Darkseid is in the process of taking over the Earth in Final Crisis.
7. Eric Magnus Lehnsher – Magneto
Magnus almost made my disqualified list as he’s not always the easiest character to cast as a villain. He’s sympathetic, he’s tried his hand at being a good guy, he’s made legitimate attempts at reforming, and yet, he always winds up back in the same place.
He’s a bad guy that doesn’t always preach violence, yet stands firm in his belief that mutants should be the dominant race. He’s proven that he’s willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish his goals, and that human life is, to him, meaningless. He’s killed countless numbers of people through both direct and indirect means, without ever showing a hint of remorse. All that matters to him is mutant superiority.
It’s hard to really categorize Magneto, mainly because EVERYBODY knows him. He was a boy brought up in a concentration camp, who later discovered the great power at his disposal and set out to lead his people into the future. He’s lived up to the great hypocrisy of fighting to prevent another Hitler from coming into power while proving that having himself in charge isn’t much better, as was witnessed in Planet X. I don’t care what Marvel says, Morrison calls it Magneto, it’s Magneto, and he was culling humans left and right to prove his point. That’s the peak of his madness.
Do I measure the man by his madness? Not totally, as I find that the greatness of the man named Magnus comes in a large part due to being a sympathetic villain. He’s only a slight philosophical difference away from his main enemies, and the man does have a point. Enough so that I can warrant putting him this high on the list, but not so much that I could consider him being higher on it.
Magneto is currently human, and working for a way to regain his powers and continue his mission of mutant superiority despite their diminished numbers.
6. Johann Schmidt – The Red Skull
Speaking of Nazi’s, next up we have one of the most well known one of all. The Red Skull is a vision of times past and potentially future, he represents the worst the world has ever produced. His goals to this day still center around the victory and reemergence of Nazism, and the downfall of America. Fitting goals for the arch-rival of Captain America.
The Skull has been a thorn in the side of the Captain for over sixty years now, and their rivalry has grown exponentially. It was bad enough when the Skull was a propaganda machine of fear and control during the war, but in modern times he’s evolved past that. He spent years living inside a cloned body of Captain America himself, and more often than not holding a cosmic cube in his hands. The Skull was smart, cunning, ruthless, and above all else, he had the ability to inspire fear in whoever looked at him.
Even when he was gunned down in the pages of the current run of Captain America, he still made his presence known. Currently living in the body of Aleksander Lukin, the Skull is enacting his plans of domination as he pushes America towards voting in a presidential candidate that he himself controls. The master manipulator is playing his cards perfectly, and has easily earned his title as “The Man who Stole America”.
Wait, did this list just end at six? What gives?! I figured I might save the rest for next week and spend the rest of this column talking about a few other things that are on my mind, including the Marvel and DC solicits that were released this past week.
The Good:
FINAL CRISIS: LEGION OF THREE WORLDS #4
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by George Pérez & Scott Koblish
Covers by George Pérez
Don’t miss this issue as lightning strikes again in the DC Universe! The Crisis of the 31st century continues as a great hero falls and another returns to help Superman and the Legion combat the murderous Superboy-Prime! Meanwhile, the Time Trapper makes his move against the three Legion founders, Polar Boy’s bizarre mission comes to an end and Superman makes a shocking discovery that will redefine the terms of this war.
As a Legion fan, this mini has been on my must buy list since it’ initial announcement, and the mystery of just what the lightning rod from The Lightning Saga holds is soon to be revealed. Geoff Johns and George Perez? Three different Legions AND Superman? How could you not want it?
BOOSTER GOLD #15
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art and cover by Dan Jurgens & Norm Rapmund
Booster Gold creator Dan Jurgens takes over as writer to kick off the 4-part “Reality Lost” storyline! With the timestream inexplicably altered and Rip Hunter missing, Booster Gold travels into the past to fix the anomaly before they’re wiped out of time forever! Luckily, Booster gets a hand from none other than the Elongated Man!
Call me biased, but Dan Jurgens taking over full chores for Booster Gold is about the best I could hope for after the loss of Johns and Katz. Not to knock on Dixon, who did a damn good job, but Booster is Jurgens baby. I have faith.
GREEN LANTERN #37
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Ivan Reis & Oclair Albert
Cover by Shane Davis & Sandra Hope
The prelude to “The Blackest Night” marches on with “Rage of the Red Lanterns” part 3! Hal Jordan continues his journey into the deepest depths of Ysmault, unlocking the strange secrets behind Atrocitus’s crimson power and witnessing a bizarre prophecy all his own.
Everything this book does has been golden for close to three years now, and Rage of the Red Lanterns seems to me like it’s going to be continuing the trend.
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #22
Written by Geoff Johns & Alex Ross
Art by Alex Ross and Dale Eaglesham & Nathan Massengill
Cover by Alex Ross
Variant cover by Dale Eaglesham & Nathan Massengill
Concluding the sequel to KINGDOM COME and featuring several pages of painted interiors by Alex Ross! The Justice Society have had their greatest wishes granted, but at what deadly price? As war breaks out among the Justice Society, the cost of Gog’s watchful eye comes to light. But removing Gog from Earth will cost more than they could ever imagine. This finale will leave the Justice Society torn apart…and see a new team rise out of the ashes!
It’s finally over! And a new team! No more Gog! And maybe even no more Alex Ross!
CAPTAIN AMERICA #45
Written by ED BRUBAKER
Penciled by LUKE ROSS
Cover by STEVE EPTING
Villain Variant by TBA
It’s Bucky versus Batroc and a mysterious foreign agent from his past as the Winter Soldier, as he fights to keep a secret super-weapon from falling into enemy hands! But the shocking ending of this three-parter brings a new twist to the mission… and sends our New Captain America in search of whatever is left of his old comrades, the Invaders.
The most consistent book Marvel puts out, hands down. And you know what feeling I get from this issue? Another homerun.
X-FORCE #10
Written by CHRISTOPHER YOST
Pencils & Cover by MIKE CHOI
Villain Variant by TBA
“OLD GHOSTS”
DEMON BEAR. GHOST RIDER. LEGACY VIRUS. MISTER SINISTER. VANISHER. DOMINO. CAMERON HODGE. THE RIGHT.
And it only gets bigger from here. Part 4 (of 4)
Mike Choi on art has me sold on this arc, the rest is just 90’s icing.
X-FACTOR #38
Written by PETER DAVID
Penciled by VALENTINE DE LANDRO
Cover by MIKE MAYHEW
Siryn goes into labor three weeks early. Could this be the second mutant born since M-Day? Either way, the U.S. government isn’t going to sit idle while it happens. Can Rictor and the mother-to-be fend them off? They’ll have to, since X-Factor and Longshot are busy fighting an army of Darwins!!
When I reviewed the Layla Miller one-shot, I said to give the book to De Landro full time. I’m glad Marvel handled that right. That said, the recent She Hulk crossover was the only set of issues since this book launched that I wasn’t psyched for, this one on the other hand? I dig it. Army of Darwins! FTW!
NOVA #20
Written by DAN ABNETT & ANDY LANNING
Penciled by WELLINTON ALVES
Cover by MIKE DEODATO, JR.
Villain Variant by TBA
Guest-starring the original New Warriors… and the Nova Corps?! Whether Rich Rider likes it or not, the Nova Corps has been re-founded, and planet Earth doesn’t seem ready for its futuristic policing methods! Now the Human Rocket is on a collision course with some of his oldest friends and ex-teammates… the original New Warriors! Plus: a sucker punch ending that will make you gasp “I don’t believe they did that!” It’s all in the next issue of the book that has Ain’t It Cool News
raving “This is now Marvel’s benchmark comic.”
I’m with Ain’t It Cool News on this one, this is one of Marvel’s best new titles of the past couple of years. And it’s by a pair of writers where an “I don’t believe they did that” moment lives up to it’ hype! Do yourselves a favor as well, also in the solicits is one for a hardcover volume containing the first twelve issues and the annual…..BUY IT!
The Bad:
SUPERMAN/BATMAN #55
Written by Michael Green & Mike Johnson
Art by Rags Morales & John Dell
Cover by Morales
The now super-powered Dark Knight takes his crusade worldwide, but one man stands in his way: his original protégé, Nightwing! Meanwhile, the all-too-human Superman teams up with Zatanna to unravel the mystery behind the loss of his powers!
What a waste of Rags Morales, ugh.
TITANS #8
Written by Judd Winick
Art and cover by Howard Porter
There’s a traitor in the Titans’ midst, and the entire Tower is under lockdown until the team can discover which member could betray them. The problem is, there’s no real way to investigate, since the traitor is now a sleeper agent!
Pardon me while I bash my head into a wall.
These solicits are classified until the release of Secret Invasion #8.
I counted eight different books with that written in, which was just a tad infuriating.
X MEN NOIR #1 (of 4)
Written by FRED VAN LENTE
Pencils & Cover by DENNIS CALERO
Variant Cover by DENNIS CALERO
“The coroner’s men flipped the redheaded corpse over so Dukes and Magnus from Homicide could get a better look at her. ‘Better’ being a relative term in this case, with the claw marks that slashed her face into a featureless, bloody mask and turned her guts into a butcher shop explosion.
“But the tattoo — the simple, encircled ‘X’ above the left shoulder blade — remained intact, and Dukes pointed it out with the toe of his wingtip once Peter the rookie was done heaving up lunch.
“‘See this ink?’ he said. ‘Means she did time at this reform school upstate, run by this shrink, Xavier…'”
I get what they’re doing, I really do. Noir could be a cool thing. But read this solit and take it seriously. Do it, I dare you.
HULK #9
Written by JEPH LOEB
Art & 50/50 Covers by ART ADAMS & FRANK CHO
Do ya like ladies? (don’t answer that) How ‘bout monsters?(hang on) BIG BOMBASTIC BATTLES built by superstar Jeph Loeb? (not yet) And does the idea of seeing JUMUNGOUSLY AMAZING ART ADAMS and FREAKIN’ FRANK CHO pages twitter your twutter? (you can answer YES now)
IN THIS ISSUE! The LADY LIBERATORS are dead-set on capturing RULK and finding out who he really is…even if he kills ‘em! AND…can HULK, SENTRY, MS. MARVEL, and MOON KNIGHT stop the WENDIGO ARMY from killing everyone in Vegas? What about the WENDIHULK!? (or is it HULKDIGO!?)
Would anybody be upset if I broke both of Loeb’s hands?
NEW WARRIORS #19
Written by KEVIN GREVIOUX
Penciled by REILLY BROWN
Cover by NIC KLEIN
Donyell Taylor has a decision to make. Hoping to save the life of his brother, Donyell attempted to travel back in time… but accidentally found himself in the future instead. A future where everything he’s fought against has come to pass: Iron Man has taken the Superhuman Registration Act to new heights, imposing his rule over a good chunk of the free world and making outlaws of the super heroes. But when Donyell finds his brother alive and well in the most unlikely place, might he give up everything he’s fought for—including his New Warriors—and give in to this future to get what he really wants?
Want to know a little Nexus secret? We have advanced copies of most books for reviews, and this one can’t be pawned off to anyone, for anything. Seriously, why is it still around? It’s just…..it’s bad.
Comics this week
For the first time since her debut, I found myself enjoying not one, but two titles featuring Supergirl. Both of them in the sake week! Marv Wolfman penned a good first parter over in the Brave and the Bold, teaming Kara up with Raven because of some evil messages from her father that I know nothing about, and then she went ahead and kicked a little ass in Geoff Johns Action Comics. But is she really getting her origin tweaked already? Am I actually becoming intrigued with the character? I love Action Comics, and I’ve been enjoying James Robinsons issues of Superman, but Supergirl? I knew going in I was going to be buying it for the upcoming crossover, but I might just wind up giving it a try afterwards. That’s saying a lot, you have to understand, she recently had a team up with Mitch Shelley, the Resurrection Man, and I STILL didn’t buy it!
On the subject of Superman, I find it unfortunate that I read the last issue of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s All Star Superman this week. This book has been a phenomenal read, and non-stop fun in a modern and yet silver-agey way. These twelve issues have been a definite treat, and show a side of the character that just can’t be beat. Morisson does an amazing job of taking little ideas from all over the years and pulling together a fascinating story. I mean, he even tied in DC 1,000,000, which is a great way to get brownie points with me. If you for some reason haven’t checked this book out yet, and shame on you if that’s the case, go ahead and buy the two hardcovers. You won’t be disappointed.
I miss New X-Men. I read it when it was New Mutants, and I even stayed on after the creative team shift up until the book ended. I enjoyed the Kyle/Yost run quite a bit, especially their characterizations. Young X-Men is not New X-Men. It’s not fun, it’s not intriguing, it’s not even very well thought out. It’s a souless abomination of a title that has no right to replace New X-Men, and it’s one I won’t waste another penny on until we get a creative team shift. No offense Guggenheim, because I liked your run on Flash, but this? This is crap. Where are Nori, Julian, David, Victor, and Josh? Are Pixie and X-23 really the only members of the old team that are destined to get face time?
And what’s up with J-Date trying to charge me $40 a month? I’m Jewish, but that doesn’t mean I’m rich. Stereotypes, bleh.
What I read last week:
- Action Comics
- All Star Superman
- Birds of Prey
- Brave and the Bold
- Flash
- Robin
- Tangent: Superman’s Reign
- Mighty Avengers
- Uncanny X-Men
My pick of the week? All Star Superman
What I’m watching this week?
- WWE Raw
- Terminator: The Sara Connor Chronicles
- Entourage
- Heroes
- Dexter!!!!!!
What am I reading now? The Flash: Rogue War
