Been a weird week for me, to say the least. A lot of things have been picking away at my attention, so expect to see a lot of updates for me this week. Including:
- Avengers Power Review #2 featuring New Avengers #45, Mighty Avengers #18, and Avengers: The Initiative #17.
- All Star Superman #12 review
- Deadpool #2 review
- Superman #680 review
- Why I hate Jeph Loeb: A look into Hulk and Ultimates 3
- And more!
That’s right loyal readers, Grey is going to be working his ever loving ass off to provide more content for you to check out! Who loves ya? That’s right, I do, your resident party host and savior from the dooming acts of boredom that fill up your otherwise mundane lives. Y….2….Grey!
Alright, I’m better now. An hour of watching Chris Jericho promos on Youtube has that effect on me, sue me. I’m in a happy hyper mood right now, and settling in for a weekend of music, movies, and writing. So I figure, hey, let’s hop into where I left you guys last week. Let’s hit up the top five villains of all time! Roll the tape!
5. Norman Osborn – The Green Goblin
Norman has been around to grant his own unique form of villainy in one way or another for over forty years now. He’s something of a milestone villain in the history of Spider-Man when you break it all down. He was the first villain to find out who Spidey really was, he was the father of Peter’s best friend, and he killed Gwen Stacy. It’s not impossible to come to the conclusion that when arch-villainy was defined for comics, that the second definition of it was “Norman Osborn.” He’s done more to damage the life of a single hero then most villains have ever managed to come even remotely close to.
So why is he in fifth instead of first? Mainly due to the problem of him being dead for about thirty of those forty years. Yet despite that, his path of unique villainy continued to cut across Spider-Man’s life throughout those years. Primarily done through the use and manipulation of Harry Osborn as he became the second Green Goblin, and went from Peter’s best friend to his new arch-enemy. Norman made it his job to make Peter’s life into a living hell from beyond the grave. I should probably be mentioning the Clone Saga right now, shouldn’t I?
Ever heard about it? Back in the 70’s Peter fought a clone of himself created by the Jackal, and then after the clone died, Peter left the body in a smoke stack. Except for that the clone didn’t die, and wound up spending years on the road as Ben Reilly. Eventually he came back into Peter’s life during a time when Aunt May was dying, and thus the mystery began. Who was the real Peter Parker? Twists and turns all around, and Mary Jane even got pregnant. Ben wound up becoming the ‘one true Spider-Man’ for a time as Peter retired to be a family man, but of course, Marvel would have none of that. Original plans for the saga called for Harry to have been behind it all along, but Marvel one upped that one too.
It was Norman. Norman who had been in Europe and not truly dead, who had been manipulating Peter’s life for years from the shadows. Norman who returned to kill Ben Reilly and reestablish himself as the greatest nemesis of Spider-Man. Who proceeded to make Peter’s life hell, again. Who hurt his friends, disturbed his loved ones, and even had Peter’s unborn child killed (in 616) while making Peter think that she was alive, only to reveal it was Aunt May who lived the entire time.
Norman was evil enough on his own, never really needing the crutch that was his mask. The most damaging things he did to Peter always seemed to come without it, and if you think about it, the worst ‘Green Goblin’ moment may be the death of Gwen Stacy, but the worst Norman Osborn moment? He turned Peter’s best friend against him, he fathered twins with Gwen and used them against Peter, he killed an unborn and kidnapped Peter’s aunt. And now? Now he’s the head of the Thunderbolts. Now he hunts down unlicensed heroes as a government agent. Unlicensed heroes like Spider-Man.
There was a cover I saw back in the late 90’s that said “Spider-Man’s greatest enemy isn’t the Green Goblin. It’s Norman Osborn.” And I couldn’t agree more.
4. Leonard Snart – Captain Cold
Wait, what? Captain Cold made the list? And not only that, he’s in the top five?! WTF?!
That’s right fans of mine, Captain Cold is EXACTLY the kind of character you should think of when the word ‘super-villain’ comes to mind. He came from an abusive family where he was beaten regularly by an almost inhuman father, and took solace with his sister as they spent as much time as they could with their grandfather. When the old man passed on, Len moved out on his own rather than stay with his father, and wound up turning to a life of crime. His first arrest was as a part of a gang that all wore his trademark visor, and they were broken up by the Flash. This event led him to become Captain Cold, as he sought a method of slowing the Flash down enough to best him. Armed with his cold gun, and eventually his sister (The Golden Glider), he quickly rose to become one of Barry Allen’s arch enemies. What makes him stand out from most villains though is that Snart had no interest in killing people, and was actually quite opposed to the concept. A bad guy with morals.
Cold fell out of the game and tried his hand as a bounty hunter after Barry died, before later selling his soul to Neron. When his was returned to his status quo, he quickly got back on track, and much of that is thanks to Geoff Johns wonderful run on The Flash, where he gave Cold a lot of well written page time. His goals and motivations clearly defined, as well as just what it takes to make him want to kill somebody. Johns humanized Cold in a way that most writers would never consider doing for a villain outside of Magneto or Lex Luthor, and yet here we are. He took the reigns as head of the Rogues, and enforced his own brand of rules on to the team. No drugs, no senseless violence, and no playing Rogues against each other.
Oh, and the biggest rule? The one that they’ve broken a single time and lived to openly regret? You don’t kill a Flash. Inertia conned them into killing Bart, and now Cold is leading the hunt for his death before the team can sit back and fade away.
Rogues have morals and convictions, a true sense of honor amongst thieves. They’re a brotherhood of men with a common goal, and they take pride in who and what they are. You break the rules, Cold stands up and does something about it. You do drugs, he beats you. You screw around, he docks your pay.
Captain Cold isn’t a super villain, and if anyone claims he is to his face, then they’re going to hear the truth. He’s a Rogue, and damn proud of it.
3. The Joker
What can be said of the Clown Prince of Crime that hasn’t been said already? Batman’s opposite figure, raging insanity with a murderous instinct. A villain who feeds off of the public knowing and fearing his mere existence, off knowing that the sound of his laughter is enough to scare even the strongest of men.
He has one of the most memorable looks in comics, as everyone recognizes the pasty white skin with the green hair and the big, red lips. His image is as iconic as the Batman’s, featuring only mild changes to his purple suit over the years. And recently he was portrayed, brilliantly, by Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight, a role that might give the actor a posthumous Oscar nod for best actor.
He’s crippled Batgirl, killed a Robin, broken down and humiliated James Gordon, and killed Sarah Gordon. He has no remorse, no guilt, only his sense of humor. He does what he thinks will be good for a laugh, nothing more, nothing less. With absolute power he’s done things from making the world smile from one to the other, and he’s also created a world in his own image where he killed Batman every day, bringing him back to continuously do it again and again. That wound up being his defeat, actually. He couldn’t bring himself to be in a world without Batman, without his other half. That’s how dependent he is on the Bat, even with the ability to completely destroy everything, he NEEDS Batman.
Another excellent look at the Joker came from the Batman Beyond movie, where he tortured and brainwashed Robin, turning him into a mini-Joker, even implanting his own consciousness as a sleeper personality. His fight with the new Batman made it a point to establish that one of Joker’s draws to Bruce Wayne is that Bruce never laughed at him. That was the purpose of it all; he wanted to get a reaction out of the stone cold Batman so desperately. Yet when he had a Batman that was a talker, he hated it.
Describing him in a sane way is a lot harder then you’d expect, which is pretty funny when you consider just how insane he is. His actions are legendary, his laugh is famous, and his smile…..is to die for.
He’s the Joker, and his name itself is reason enough to place him in the number three spot.
2. Victor Von Doom – Dr. Doom
For all the evil megalomaniacs in comics, Doom holds a very special place. He actually has his own country that is ruled by his iron fist. While most aspire to conquer the world, Doom has taken a country, he has diplomatic immunity, and he has the power to do what he wants and to get away with it. It’s an incredible weapon to use against an opponent, the power to be as evil as you’d like without facing ramifications. It’s a weapon Doom has been using for decades.
He’s easily one of the smartest men alive, as well as one of the most arrogant. His entire villain career is almost completely incidental to his hatred of a single man who he refuses to admit is intellectually his superior. Reed Richards. His whole life is dedicated to revenge sought against Richards; everything he’s done is part of his plan of revenge. Revenge for something Reed didn’t actually do, revenge for a mistake that Victor made himself and has forever refused to admit his own guilt in. Though in the eyes of Doom, death is more appealing then admitting that he’s inferior to anybody in any way.
An amazing Dr. Doom story is the recent Books of Doom by Ed Brubaker. An amazing retelling of Doom’s origins, one that fills the gaps created over the years and gives us a look at his actual takeover of Latveria, for the first time ever. From gypsy child, to cold heartless dictator. The path of Doom. There’s also Unthinkable, by Mark Waid during his run on Fantastic Four with the amazing Mike Wieringo (rest in peace Ringo!), where Doom finally accepted his inability to outsmart Reed and turned to sorcery to finally achieve his victory. Despite the encounter ending in Doom’s temporarily being trapped in hell, he left his mark on the team. Scarring Franklin’s psyche almost irreparably, and leaving a burned hand print on Reed’s face that he could hide if he tried.
That’s the thing about fighting Victor Von Doom, even when you win, you still lose something. He always leaves his mark, and he never leaves his opponents quite the same ever again. He’s one of the smartest and most dangerous men alive; his name is his title, his legend. And while he might be equally infamous for his calls of “Curse you Richards!”, one thing is never to be denied.
His name is Victor Von Doom, and the Marvel universe has never, and will never see a villain quite of his caliber again.
1. Alexander Joseph “Lex” Luthor
Lex Luthor is the definition of villainy. He’s smart, he has resources, he has a firm list of his personal wants and desires, and more important than all of that, he feels morally justified in all that he does. He’s the greatest nemesis of the greatest hero in the history of comics, and since day one he’s never viewed himself as the bad guy. Everything he does, he claims he does for the sake of humanity. He takes great pride in his species, in the abilities of the common man, and he takes insult at others coming in and standing tall over them.
Metropolis was his city, after all. He was the most key fixture of the entire city and yet along comes Superman, and all of the sudden the city starts depending on him. Lex found that as a sign of humanity weakening to the whims and abilities of an alien, of someone that would never truly be one of them. They had more love for this God-like being from another world then for him, a man who came from nothing to be one of the single most powerful men on the planet.
Post Crisis saw Lex reinvented as the evil business man, instead of as the mad scientist. This is the version you’ll see focused on. The smart Lex, the one that could do whatever he wanted and get away with it. Who was always just enough steps ahead of his enemies to keep control steadily in his grasp. His kryptonite ring, his partnership with the Matrix Supergirl, hell, the man cloned himself, destroyed the city, and then managed to get out of it without taking a hint of blame!
Oh, and he was voted President of the United States. You can’t forget about that. Even when he eventually snapped, he found his way out of it by pushing the blame off on to a dead man with the same genetics from another universe, reestablishing himself as a legitimate business man and creating the Everyman Project.
He’s currently doing the super villain thing again, without the use of his own company, and with the public looking viewing him as the evil man that the heroic community has always viewed, but that doesn’t bother Lex. He’s doing the right thing in his own eyes, he’s saving the world from the evil of Superman.
The biggest flaw of Luthor’s character is one pointed out from time to time, and it’s that if he could have saved humanity from itself, and if he was smart enough to save the world, why didn’t he just do it instead of focusing all of his efforts on Superman?
He’s Lex Luthor, Man of Steel. The greatest hero humanity will ever know, because he’s the greatest villain of all time.
Like it? I hope so, I mean, I did spend a good little bit of time compiling this list for your guys.
Random thoughts time!
Dan Slott is the new writer of Mighty Avengers! Sure he’s leaving Initiative in the hands of Christos Gage, which is a bit depressing as it truly is Slott’s book, but the fact that he’s leaving it to write one of Marvel’s biggest books? That’s a hell of a promotion, and no one deserves it more. Dan Slott has been doing an amazing job at Marvel the past few years, and it’s nice to see him getting the recognition that he deserves. And for some reason the mention of him using Jocasta on the team has me feeling like a fanboy, even though I never got into the character. Something about his love for obscure characters just works for me, because he’s proven more than a few times that he’s more than capable of breathing new life into characters that others have written off, like Triathlon and the Skrull Kill Krew. Maybe if we’re lucky he’ll bring Ant-Man along for the ride.
Bring back Cloud 9!
You know what book is unbelievably sexy? X-Men: Legacy. I don’t know what it is about Mike Carey, but his run has been remarkable. When he initially came on to X-Men back with the Supernovas arc, I was a bit skeptical. I mean, this is a guy who writes one of my least favorite books (Ultimate Fantastic Four), and nothing else I’ve ever read/heard of, and he’s coming on X-Men? With that team? I gave him a chance, and was glad that I did. Legacy has just been amazing though, and it’s clear that he loves these characters and gets them, and it’s easily the best X book on the market consistently. He’s making the continuity work, every last little bit from the silver age original plots to the later retcons, he goes out of his way to make sense out of everything. It’s kinda cool when I turn the page and see a reference to an event I read in the nineties and figured had been forgotten.
Yes, I have this on my wall.
I know that some people are doing the eye-rolls at X-Force, and I can see where they’re coming from with it. I mean, it’s 90’s Marvel in a nutshell. Variant covers, uber violence, Wolverine, Archangel, etc. Hell, Graydon Creed, William Stryker, and Bastion are all villains. And now we have the return of the Legacy Virus and the Vanisher. People are going to rag on this book for the fact that it feels straight out of the 90’s, but me personally? I love it. It’s non-stop fun and excitement, and it’s obvious with every issue that Kyle and Yost do, in fact, love the characters. This had started to grow clearer and clearer during their run on New X-Men, but this cements it. These aren’t two guys looking for a pay day, these are two fans who have the best job in the world, and they want to share their love for the material with the world. Oh, and it has Mike Choi on art now, so that just makes it even better. Not to insult the work of Clayton Crain, but his art just never felt right for interiors. It was good, but it was just too dark, which I guess can be blamed on the inkers and colorists, but it just never really felt like a good fit.
Jim Shooter’s Legion of Super Heroes is……it’s not a great book, and I’d be hard pressed to call it a good book, but it’s not bad by any means. It’s fun, and it’s addicting, even if it never seems to have the ‘must read’ feeling that Mark Waid gave the title just a few years ago. It’s obvious that he’s trying to do something different with the team then most readers are used to, and it’s going over decently, it’s just been rather…..I don’t even know how to describe it. Every so often I want to walk into my shop and drop the book from my pull list, but then I read another issue and decide to give it ‘one more month’. It’s like crack, you just can’t quit it.
I read a few issues of the current Squadron Supreme series and only could think of one thing. Supreme Power was AWESOME. I mean, it was freaking AMAZING. But the Marvel Knights run that they relaunched it as? There’s a reason the book was quietly cancelled in mid-arc, it was horrible. It stripped the heart and soul out of the original title as Quesada tried to claim that it was for the sake of bringing in a wider audience. The book lost more than the nudity and foul language though, it lost its purpose. It stopped being a compelling tale about super humans in a world where the government wanted to control them, and they fought to be their own people, and it turned into a story about how those same characters put themselves under the thumb of the very same people that only a single volume earlier they’d fought against with all of their might. And now what? Now it’s Nick Fury in that world getting together new versions of Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, and the Fantastic Four while Hyperion, Zarda, and Dr. Spectrum are nowhere to be found? This isn’t the Squadron anymore, it’s the Avengers. Marvel should have given up on the title when Supreme Power wrapped up, because everything to come since then has just been unforgiving, unreadable crap.
I miss THIS book. Bring it back. Now.
I broke my own personal code this week and did something I promised myself I would never do. I read Amazing Spider-Man. I checked out the first five parts of ‘New Ways to Die’, mainly out of my love for the creative team behind it (Romita Jr. is my pick for essential Spider-Man artist of the modern era), and god……I wish I hadn’t. People have been raving about the book lately, mainly for this arc, so I figured I’d give it a gander. It just felt…..well, it was crap. Harry owns a coffee shop and Norman doesn’t bother to question why he’s alive? Anti-Venom is Eddie Brock with the power to violently cure people? Mac Gargan is Venom with a Scorpion suit? Everybody thinking that Spider-Man sells pictures to Peter Parker so both can make money? I just don’t get it. I mean, this is a story that I’m reading and I’m able to see perfectly how it could have worked a year ago. You know, with Mary Jane Watson PARKER in the book. Sure, One More Day accomplished one thing that was needed in putting the identity back in the bag, but after reading five issues I’ve seen maybe two scenes that require a single Peter to work, and neither were very good. I’m sorry, but roommate drama is not more interesting than a married character.
What I read last week:
- Legion of Super Heroes
- Superman
- Teen Titans
- Avengers: The Initiative
- Captain America
- Deadpool
- Fantastic Four
- New Avengers
- Nova
- Runaways
- Thunderbolts
- X-Force
- X-Men: Legacy
My pick of the week: Captain America
Question of the week: Why didn’t they leave the World title on CM Punk and then have him FEUD with Chris Jericho over it while putting the Jericho/HBK feud on the slow burner so that it could culminate at Wrestlemania without feeling overly long?
Oh, and is it just me or has it been a far too long since anything with the Final Crisis logo hit shelves? Did they really take a full month off for every title, even the ones that don’t seem to go along with the core book (i.e. Legion and Rogues, a.k.a. my favorite parts)? I’m loving the concept, but where’s the material? Secret Invasion might feel too spread out with all of its minis that don’t seem to matter, but at least they’re on a constant schedule.
The Gold Standard
