darkseid

Happy Monday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another list of five. Today’s Top 5 list centers around comic book villains who could be the main character in a television series or movie. The DCU and DCEU have been better showcasing their villains. Penguin, Black Adam, Joker, Clayface, and even Harley Quinn have all had television shows or movies featuring them as the main characters. Marvel has been less prolific. This may be a Marvel-heavy list of five, but I’ll try to sprinkle in some DC Comics characters who haven’t yet seen the limelight. Let’s get started with our list of Comic Book Villains who can be the main character in a movie or television series.

Honorable Mentions

We have multiple characters who could claim an honorable mention spot, so we’ll run through a few here. Darkseid can and should get the Thanos (in Avengers: Infinity War) treatment, and Kingpin could have his own series akin to HBO Max’s Penguin. None of them make this list because this is more of an inevitability. While we won’t shy away from obvious choices (more on that with our top spots), we don’t want to include characters who are all but assured a movie or show. With that said, we’ll give a shout-out to anti-hero and sometimes villain Lobo. I’m writing this post early and haven’t yet watched Supergirl, but if Lobo captures fans’ hearts, he could easily get his own movie or show. Consider this the Penguin effect. Fans loved Colin Farrell’s portrayal of the character and demanded a show.

5: Vermin

Vermin is a strange choice, especially when he’s the only Spider-Man villain who made this list, but his inclusion makes some sense. I’d love to see a Marvel show, film, or special presentation of the Spider-Man story, “The Child Within.” Vermin is the main character in that story. Geekly has mentioned “The Child Within” in the past, but we’ll give you a quick breakdown. Vermin encounters a nine or ten-year-old child in the sewer. The child asks Vermin to help take him home. Vermin reluctantly agrees. He leads the child to a mansion (his home), but the boy is too scared to enter. We learn the child is Vermin’s inner child. This mansion is his family’s home.

“The Child Within” tells Vermin’s backstory. Vermin is one of Marvel’s most tragic villains, so what this show portrays may not be for everyone. But “The Child Within” explores identity and the power of acceptance. Both of these topics have a strong pull in today’s climate. This story is long overdue for a live-action telling. Make it happen, Marvel.

4: Poison Ivy and Bane

My head tells me Bane should take this spot. My heart insists Poison Ivy claims the fourth spot. I went with both. Let’s begin with Bane.

Bane seldom gets a fair shake on the big screen. Ironically, he was little more than Poison Ivy’s mindless pawn in Batman and Robin, and he served as an underboss in The Dark Knight Rises. Neither one of these versions does Bane justice. Heck. Bane often gets sidelined in his own stories. “Knightfall,” the storyline where Bane builds a Gotham empire, breaks Batman’s back, and arguably Bane’s most well-known story, pushes Bane aside to focus on Azrael (the replacement Batman), midway through its arc. Not everyone likes Tom King’s run on Batman, but I thought it did a great job showing Bane at his conniving best. “City of Bane” could showcase this underrated villain like no other big screen project has.

Simply put, Poison Ivy is a fan favorite. She co-stars in the Harley Quinn Animated Series, but has rarely seen the limelight on the big screen. Poison Ivy is more of a sure thing. I could easily see her featured in a future movie or show.

3: Atrocitus

Wonder Woman and Superman villains don’t lend themselves to solo movies too well. I can’t really see Lex Luthor outside the context of a Superman movie. I’d love to see that, but I question if it could work. I also didn’t want to include multiple Batman villains on this list, and Flash hasn’t landed as a big-screen superhero…yet. That leaves Green Lantern villains. Several could’ve made this list. Star Sapphire is more of a hero at this point. Nekron and Black Hand could certainly headline a film, but we may need to wait several years for the DCU to set up those characters. Sinestro is Green Lantern’s longest-running foe, but Atrocitus serves a specific purpose in Green Lantern lore. The Guardians of the Universe (the ones behind the Green Lanterns) make mistakes and can commit atrocities.

Hey! Atrocitus sounds close to atrocities. Coincidence? I think not. The Guardians destroyed Atrocitus’s home world and murdered his people. He gains the red power ring, fueled by rage (part of the emotional spectrum, with green meaning will and yellow fear), and goes on a revenge tour. Atrocitus has a clear goal. Fans could even root for him to succeed. This can make Atrocitus as compelling a villain as Thanos for a solo movie. Sure, Sinestro recruits his army of yellow lanterns, but his goals reek of selfishness. Atrocitus believes in a righteous cause. And I like the idea of the Guardians owning a checkered past.

2: Apocalypse

Ever since his first appearance forty years ago (1986), Apocalypse has been one of the X-Men’s most consistent villains. As the oldest known mutant, Apocalypse’s origin stretches back to Ancient Egypt. He has a simple philosophy: Survival of the Fittest. Apocalypse embodies this philosophy. And it’s this philosophy that makes Apocalypse a great villain with which to focus a movie or show. Funny how having clear goals makes a villain a good candidate as a main character. While I could see several Apocalypse storylines translated to the big screen, “Age of Apocalypse” may be the most fun.

“Age of Apocalypse” asks what would happen if Apocalypse got his way, where only the strong survive. This storyline contains some of the bleakest storylines in X-Men lore. There are too many to count, but believe me, they can tug at one’s heartstrings. And “Age of Apocalypse” hasn’t graced the big screen in earnest. I’d love to see A Pair of Lips, I mean, Apocalypse headline a Marvel movie or show.

1: Doctor Doom and Magneto

Doctor Doom and Magneto had to top this list. They’re the obvious ones. They’re two of the most recognizable villains in comic book history. They have compelling backstories, and I don’t believe Marvel has plans to give either one their own movie or show–at this time. Sure, Avengers: Doomsday includes Doctor Doom’s name in its title, but this team-up movie will include so many characters I can’t imagine Doctor Doom will get significant screen time. We need a Doctor Doom and Magneto story like Avengers: Infinity War had with Thanos. These are two of the most complicated villains in comic books. Both could single-handedly carry a movie.

That’s our list of comic book villains who could be a movie or show’s main character. Which comic book villain would you like see get their own movie or show? Let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. We’re back with another Top 5 Villains List. This time we’re covering Superman’s rogues gallery. We mentioned Supe’s rogues in a previous Top 5, the Top 5 Most Powerful Rogues Gallery. But Superman’s villains are getting their list today. Let’s see who made the list.

5: Darkseid

You may think that Darkseid is way too low on this list, but I view him more as a Justice League villain if not a DC universe-wide villain. But Darkseid needs to make the list. I struggled with that. I wanted to include Parasite or Cyborg Superman or even Toy Man or Mister Mxyzptlk. Consider them the honorable mentions. Oh. Spoiler alert: those villains didn’t quite make the list. Getting back to Darkseid, he inspired Marvel’s Thanos. So, Darkseid is a heavy hitter. Unless the writer powers down the villain, Superman often needs help when dealing with Darkseid.

4: Doomsday

What more can be said of the villain who killed Superman? He belongs on the list; he may even be too low like Darkseid. Next.

Just kidding. We’ll discuss Doomsday a bit more. Doomsday is an engineered being from the depths of prehistoric Krypton. Is everyone still on board with genetic experiments? Doomsday’s creator imbued him with few feelings, mostly hate and a desire for destruction, which led to him destroying worlds and eventually finding Earth. Doomsday can’t die. He adapts every time he gets defeated. He can’t be reasoned with. Of Superman’s mindless foes (or his foes who are forces of nature), Doomsday tops them all and makes this list.

3: General Zod

Since he’s a Kryptonian, General Zod has powers comparable to Superman. And as his name suggests, he’s a general. So, he has military training. That makes General Zod a Superman-powered general who desires to subjugate humanity and turn Earth into a New Krypton. Yep. He’s terrifying.

General Zod may even be my choice for Superman’s first major villain if I were to reboot the character. He ties in perfectly with Supe’s past. General Zod knew Kal-El’s birth parents after all. And he hated them. It made sense that Man of Steel featured General Zod as its main antagonist. Too bad the movie wasn’t better.

2: Brainiac

There have been many Brainiacs and with that several origins for the character. No matter the origins or version, Brainiac is often considered Superman’s second-greatest villain. You can probably guess who takes the top spot. Usually, writers depict Brainiac as a superintelligent android or cyborg from the planet Colu who is obsessed with collecting all knowledge in the known universe. He even goes so far as to shrink cities like Kandor, the capital of Superman’s home planet Krypton, and Brainiac has destroyed countless civilizations.

If his body ever gets destroyed, Brainiac uploads his artificial consciousness into a new body and begins anew. This makes Brainiac pseudo-immortal and a major threat to Superman. One of my favorite versions of Brainiac comes from the Superman Animated Series. Brainiac was an AI present when Krypton exploded. We learn that Brainiac destroyed Krypton so he and he alone would have the knowledge that Krypton ever existed. This put him at odds immediately with Superman. And the reveal was fantastic. Sorry. Spoilers for an almost thirty-year-old cartoon series.

1: Lex Luthor

What more can I say about the man who would be Superman? Most people know Lex Luthor. He’s one of Comicbook’s greatest villains, let alone Superman’s greatest villain. CEO of LexCorp, Lex Luthor as I mentioned in the Most Powerful Rogues Gallery Top 5 is DC Comics’s version of Tony Stark if Iron Man decided to go a different path. Lex hates how much the world loves Superman. He doesn’t trust all that power belonging to an alien. While I could mention several large-scale, DC Comics affecting schemes, my favorite Lex Luthor story, the one that shows how evil he can be, comes from a much smaller story.

Lex visits a diner outside Metropolis. He offers a waitress at the diner a large sum of money to sleep with him. The waitress knows who Lex is, everyone knows him and what he’s done, and she’d rather not sleep with the devil. But the money Lex offered was too good to pass. As soon as she decides to sleep with Lex, he leaves the diner. Lex’s chauffeur asks why he left before completing the “transaction,” and Lex said—and I’m paraphrasing—She will always know that she would’ve slept with me. Now she hasn’t a penny to show for it.

Like Outkast once said, what’s cooler than being cool? Ice cold. That sums up Lex Luthor.

Did we get the list right? Let us know who you would add or remove in the comments. And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Tag: darkseid

5 Comic Book Villains Who Can Be the Main Character