Tag: villains

Top 5 Daredevil Villains

Top 5 Daredevil Villains

Published on by KyraLeave a comment

While Daredevil: Born Again is ongoing, let’s discuss the best villains the Man Without Fear has ever had. Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. We’re back with the first Top 5 Villains List. Daredevil doesn’t have the most robust rogues gallery, but he does have a handful of standout villains. Here’s our list of the Top 5 Daredevil Villains.

5: Mr. Fear

Frankly, the top four Daredevil villains are set in stone—for the most part. The only variable I could find was at the fifth spot. I’ve said it a lot in previous Top 5s, but I could’ve gone in several directions. I almost feel like the bottom villain in a hero’s Top 5 villains must bring something a little different. Mr. Fear does that. You’d think that a villain whose gimmick involves fear would be no issue for Daredevil: The Man Without Fear, but Mr. Fear has posed a threat on more than one occasion. My favorite version of the Mr. Fear must be Matt Murdock’s old classmate, Larry Cranston. Cranston once gave Matt’s ex-wife Mia Donovan an overdose of a fear-inhibiting drug that led her to take an innocent’s life. Mr. Fear does more than hold his own with Daredevil’s typical martial arts-savvy characters.

4: Typhoid Mary

Ann Nocenti created Typhoid Mary. She’s a deadly and intriguing villain. Mary’s a mutant with telekinetic abilities and suffers from dissociative identity disorder, which gives her three different identities, a soft-spirited one (Mary), a violent one (Typhoid), and a sadistic one (Bloody Mary). Mary was once a soap opera actress and briefly in a relationship with Matt Murdock. One doesn’t know which one of Typhoid Mary’s personas is in control. Mary’s condition makes her unpredictable. Her mutant powers coupled with her innate mutant abilities make her a force. Season three of the Netflix Daredevil series included a version of Typhoid Mary. Typhoid Mary could make for an interesting foil with the MCU heading toward a Mutant Saga.

3: Elektra

Elektra Natchios is arguably the love of Matt Murdock’s life. Daredevil may have had a lot of girlfriends throughout the years—including the previous entry Typhoid Mary—but Elektra stands alone as Matt Murdock’s most iconic lover. Elektra’s the Catwoman to Matt’s Batman. As the daughter of a Greek ambassador to the United States, Elektra could’ve been anything. She chooses to be a villain for hire. Like Catwoman, Elektra always seems on the cusp of redemption, before showing Daredevil her ruthless nature. Elektra constantly switches sides. And her death at the hands of Bullseye remains one of the most iconic moments in Daredevil comics history.

2: Bullseye

No villain may have caused more pain and suffering for Matt Murdock than the contract killer Bullseye. This is the man that Daredevil tortured by playing Russian Roulette with an empty gun. Bullseye’s hands make anything a lethal weapon. He’s built his reputation on his perfect aim, throwing knives and other sharp objects with insane accuracy. He also helps that Bullseye’s skeleton is coated in adamantium, like Wolverine’s. Despite his physical prowess, Bullseye strives to inflict emotional pain. He’s taken away two of the loves of Matt Murdock’s life, Elektra and Karen Page, and joked about it afterward. Bullseye is the worst kind of villain. He takes pleasure in what he does, and what he does can be sickening.

1: Kingpin

Kingpin started as a Spider-Man villain, but Frank Miller’s run on Daredevil changed the course of the villain’s life. Since Miller’s run on Daredevil, the pair love to hate each other. In the “Born Again” comic book series, Fisk learns Daredevil’s identity and dismantles every aspect of his life, stripping Matt of his law license and even blowing up his apartment. Kingpin’s actions drove Matt Murdock to the brink of insanity. But Fisk has always managed to outsmart and maneuver his way around Daredevil. During the “Return of the King” storyline, he weasels his way into an alliance with Daredevil. He does so intending to betray the Man Without Fear at the most opportune moment. Kingpin may be one of Marvel’s greatest villains, but over the past several decades, he’s been a thorn in Daredevil’s side and worthy of the top spot.

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.

Top 5 Captain America Villains

Top 5 Captain America Villains

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Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. We’re preparing for the upcoming Captain America: Brave New World with another Top 5 Villains List. Captain America has an interesting group of villains, to say the least.

We’ll have two official honorable mentions, but I’m going to cheat a bit and add a few in this introduction: MODOK, Batroc, and Adolph Hitler. MODOK stands for Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing. I’d shorten it to MODOK, too. MODOK is a floating head. Batroc’s full name is Batroc the Leaper. He leaps. And Adolph Hitler needs no introduction. Cap spent most of his early days punching Adolph Hitler in the face. With those villains out of the way, let’s get to our official honorable mentions.

Honorable Mention 2: Winter Soldier

Spoiler Alert for one of the MCU’s best films Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Steve Rodgers’ old friend Bucky Barnes is the Winter Soldier. He didn’t make the top villains list properly because even though he was the title villain in one of the greatest Captain America stories and recontextualized Captain America’s past, he became a hero. And he’s stayed a hero for the most part. The Winter Soldier even became Captain America in the comics for a time.

Honorable Mention 1: Serpent Society

The Serpent Society is a supervillain group rather than one villain, but they deserve a mention, especially since they’ll receive their MCU introduction in Captain America: Brave New World. Several factions exist within the Serpent Society. That’s to be expected since the group consists of dozens of snake-themed villains. Sidewinder, Princess Python, Anaconda, Constrictor, Fer de Lance, Puff Adder, Death Adder, Bushmaster, Asp, Cottonmouth, Rattler, and many, many more are part of the Serpent Society. We’ll have to see what the Serpent Society’s plot will be in the upcoming movie, but I wager it won’t be poisoning Washington DC’s water supply to turn everyone into Snake-People. That happened in the comics once. It took Diamondback rebelling against Madame Hydra’s rule to put an end to the plot.

5: Crossbones

Crossbones is often viewed as a Red Skull henchman—another spoiler, Red Skull will make the list—and he often gets attributed as a Sharon Carter villain. But Crossbones instigated Captain America’s assassination in the comics. Crossbones takes pleasure in murder. He even laughs when the Winter Soldier and Falcon take him down following Cap’s death. In the MCU, Crossbones (Brock Rumlow) was the one who hinted that HYDRA may have infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. Near the beginning of Captain America: Civil War, he laughs about the torture he put Bucky through when Captain America apprehends him. Crossbones wears a suicide vest, and Scarlet Witch hurls him toward a building filled with Wakandan relief workers, which causes a rift within the Avengers. Crossbones is more than your average henchman.

4: Arnim Zola

Originally a HYDRA scientist, Arnim Zola conducted numerous biochemical experiments. He messed around with the genes of human subjects and even brought back Adolph Hitler. Zola has a mean streak. He doesn’t care who he teams up with so long as he can continue his experiments. Most of what Zola does is in service of these experiments. He even uploaded his mind into a robot body, granting himself a type of immortality. Don’t let Zola’s goofy appearance of a giant TV screen with arms and legs fool you. Zola is one the deadliest villains in comic book history.

3: Baron Strucker

It was Baron Strucker all along. Baron Wolfgang von Strucker founded Hydra in the 1800s. He fought for Germany during World War I and brought the Red Skull into the fold during World War II. It was Strucker who recruited Arnim Zola. Following the end of World War II, Strucker became near-immortal by obtaining the Satan Claw, a strength-enhancing gauntlet. Strucker infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. with HYDRA agents. For years S.H.I.E.L.D. fell under HYDRA’s corruption, feeding the villainous group all its information. Decade after decade, Baron von Strucker earned his place as one of the greatest criminal masterminds in comics.

2: Baron Zemo

Two characters have taken the name Baron Zemo, a father-son tandem of Heinrich (father) and Helmut (son). I’m cheating—a little—by combining the two characters for this entry. Father Heinrich Zemo was one of the most despicable figures of the Third Reich. He, like Zola earlier on this list, loved testing inventions like ray cannons and disintegration guns on innocent people. He founded the Master of Evil, a thorn in the side of the early Avengers, and eventually killed—or at least we believed he killed—Steve Rodgers’ best friend Bucky Barnes. Following Bucky’s “death,” Captain America kills Heinrich Zemo. Heinrich’s son Helmut Zemo swears vengeance on Captain America. Where Captain America wants to make the world better for everyone, Zemo strives to ruin it because of his vendetta against one man. Helmut Zemo formed the original Thunderbolts, which were villains masquerading as heroes.

1: Red Skull

Red Skull appeared in the first-ever Captain America comic book. No other villain has come close to capturing the menace and imagination as Johann Schmidt, the Red Skull. The Red Skull is the antithesis of Captain America. He’s the super soldier experiment gone wrong. His imagery of a bloody skull dressed in a black coat contrasts the symbology of Captain America’s outfit. While Captain America represents the American ideal, the Red Skull did the same for Nazi Germany. Post World War II, the Red Skull has joined forces with HYDRA, a Nazi stand-in, and he continues to clash with one of the oldest comic book characters. No Captain America villain has ever reached the Red Skull’s status and malice.

Who is your favorite Captain America villain? Let us know who you would add or remove in the comments. And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Top 5 Spider-Man Villains

Top 5 Spider-Man Villains

Published on by KyraLeave a comment

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. We’re back with the first Top 5 Villains List of the new year. I can’t believe we lasted this long before mentioning Spider-Man’s top villains. Let’s rectify that. Here’s our list of the Top 5 Spider-Man Villains.

5: Carnage

We could’ve gone several different directions here. I wanted to put a classic Spider-Man at the fifth spot, someone like Electro, Sandman, Kraven, or even Vulture, but Carnage trumps each of them. The alien symbiote that merged with Cletus Kasady Carnage may be the offspring of another character on this list (spoilers, I guess), but Carnage is a formidable Spider-Man villain and worthy of this list. If we were to discuss Spider-Man’s most violent villains, Carnage would be atop that list.

Carnage has had some stellar storylines, some of the best Spider-Man stories in the past three decades or so since his first appearance: Absolute Carnage, Maximum Carnage, and Carnage, U.S.A. to name a few. Carnage rampages his way near the top of Spider-Man’s rogues.

4: Mysterio

I always liked Mysterio as a villain. Quentin Beck’s penchant for the dramatic and choosing to manipulate and confuse Spider-Man instead of trying to out science or beat Spidey to a pulp made Mysterio unique. Beck spent years on Spidey’s back catalog of villains. Wearing a fishbowl as a helmet couldn’t help.

Even with a ridiculous outfit—or perhaps because of a ridiculous outfit—Mysterio has been in some great Spider-Man stories. The five-issue mini-series Symbiote Spider-Man rescued Mysterio from obscurity. He even returned from the dead in “Mysterioso” (Amazing Spider-Man #618). This story bridged the gap from the goofy Silver Age version of Mysterio to the more sinister character in “Guardian Devil.” And the 2019 MCU film Spider-Man: Far From Home did a lot to improve Mysterio’s image to non-diehard Spidey fans.

3: Doctor Octopus

There was a time when Doctor Octopus would’ve dominated this list, or he’d at least be second to another character we’ll see later, but Otto Octavius finds himself in the third spot. Many comic book characters have changed their looks and even their backstory, but Doctor Octopus may be the king of makeovers. He’s been an Atlantean, an octopus-like monster, and he’s even been Spider-Man before in the storyline Superior Spider-Man.

Many of Spider-Man’s villains may know his identity as Peter Parker, but Doctor Octopus was one of the first. And he used that knowledge to torture Peter. Add in the fact that Doc Ock assembled the original Sinister Six and that makes him a no-brainer for this list.

2: Venom

Venom got teased in the Carnage write-up. When an alien symbiote merged with Eddie Brock to form Venom, it shook up the Spider-Man mythos. Since Spidey has such a great rogues gallery, Venom is the only modern Spider-Man villain who can sneak into the top three. One could argue that Venom is equal parts hero and villain, and many of Venom’s best stories cast them as a hero. Venom Vs. Carnage and Maximum Carnage pit them against their offspring Carnage. I especially liked Venom’s turn as a hero in the latter story because it forced Venom to join forces with their hated enemy Spider-Man. But I always thought Venom worked best as a villain.

Since Venom is a symbiote, more than one character has formed an alliance with the alien. Famously, Peter Parker was Venom’s first host. Other hosts include Mac Gargan (Scorpion), Flash Thompson, and even Mysterio. And since the symbiote has merged with Peter Parker Spider-Man in the past, Venom typically knows Spider-Man’s identity, which makes them even deadlier. Throw in the fact that Spidey’s spider-sense can’t detect Venom, and they’re easily a top villain.

1: Green Goblin

Could it be anyone else? Green Goblin takes a lot of what makes the villains on this list formidable and combines them into one character. Norman Osborn knows Peter’s identity. He isn’t afraid to use his knowledge of Spider-Man’s identity to his advantage and has leveraged Spider-Man’s identity on multiple occasions. He has a personal connection with Spider-Man through his son Harry Osborn being one of Peter’s friends. He can manipulate, out-science, and even overpower Spider-Man physically. Green Goblin even killed Peter Parker’s first girlfriend Gwen Stacy.

I could go into numerous Green Goblin stories here, but that may need a future list. Simply put, Green Goblin was the obvious choice for the first Spider-Man big-screen adaptation.

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.

Top 5 Underrated DC Comics Villains

Top 5 Underrated DC Villains

Published on by JimLeave a comment

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. We’re doing something very different this week and posting a much older post by our resident Star Trek Geek, Jim Plath. He shared his Top 5 Underrated DC Villains years ago, and I just found the copy. Sorry about that, Jim. Without further ado, here is the Top 5 Underrated DC Villains.

This one ended up being trickier than I expected. When you start digging, you can make a case for just about any villain of Batman’s not named Joker, Ra’s, Deathstroke, or Superman’s not named Lex, Doomsday, Darkseid, or Brainiac. Here’s my list though.

5) Cheetah:

You could make a case for just about any DC female villain not named Harley Quinn these days, but given that she’s really an anti-hero now, she might not make the list anyway. Cheetah’s history with Wonder Woman is pretty front-and-center in Wonder Woman’s current arc, and it’s doing wonders for drawing attention to her sympathetic qualities. As a character, she’s tragic, and as a villain, she’s got Wonder Woman’s durability and the speed of, well, a cheetah. That makes her a worthy adversary for a good portion of the Justice League.

4) Brother Eye

The OMACs/Brother MK1/Brother Eye have been used similarly to Marvel’s Sentinels. They’ve been involved in some great Justice League stories over the years, played a pivotal role in Infinite Crisis and Final Crisis, and always generate hefty stakes.

3) Mongul

Mongul is something of an ersatz Darkseid. In fact, that’s most likely why he’s underrated. Like a lot of characters, his backstory changes slightly here and there, but he’s proven himself a threat to each member of the Justice League individually, and given them a run for their money as a group. He even once destroyed Hal Jordan’s hometown of Coast City.

2) Psycho Pirate

With the power to affect people’s states of mind, he probably gets passed over too often for villains like Scarecrow, but Psycho Pirate’s powers are broader. He’s been shown to mollify hostile characters, even pacify Bruce Wayne and Jim Gordon. It isn’t always about fear with the Psycho Pirate.

1) Vandal Savage

When it comes to men made untouchable to father time, the bulk of the spotlight goes to Ra’s al Ghul these days. Some of that is the influence of the Arkham video game franchise, and the Christopher Nolan Dark Knight trilogy, but another factor is Savage is far more powerful. There just aren’t many DC heroes who can make a match for him, so he doesn’t get as many shots at the bigtime.

Do you agree with Jim’s list? Who would you add or remove? Let us know in the comments. And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Top 5 Superman Villains Rogues Gallery

Top 5 Superman Villains

Published on by Kyra1 Comment

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.

Top 5 Hulk Villains

Top 5 Hulk Villains

Published on by KyraLeave a comment

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. We’re sticking with the Spooky Season theme or at least Spooky Season adjacent with the Top 5 Hulk Villains. Hulk has an odd array of villains because he spends a large portion of his time as a monster.

But the Green Goliath has his fair share of villains. Let’s see who made the list.

5: Absorbing Man

Absorbing Man could’ve been higher on this list. He has one of the most intriguing powers in Hulk’s rogue’s gallery; he can absorb any material he touches. Think of it like a physical version of the X-Men’s Rogue’s power. But Absorbing Man functions just as much as a Marvel Universe villain as he does a Hulk villain. His origins come from a classic Thor comic and has a link with Loki. And his most notable partner Titiania has a connection with She-Hulk, so Absorbing Man could be just as much of a She-Hulk villain.

Even so, he deserves a mention on this list. After fighting Thor for several rounds, Absorbing Man gets banished into outer space. Upon his return on a comet, Absorbing Man battles the Hulk. And the two became on again, off again rivals ever since.

4: Abomination

The Abomination is a classic Hulk villain. Had this been a decade or two ago, the Abomination could’ve landed much higher on this list, maybe even number one. But a few villains have taken his spot as the Hulk’s big bad. Emil Blonsky’s villainous origin plays out similarly to his Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) counterpart. He started as a KGB agent and spy; he was switched to a British Royal Marine for the MCU. Blonsky subjected himself to a ton of gamma radiation and turned into scaly and larger version of the Hulk.

The Abomination is the oldest evil Hulk, but there have been other “evil Hulks” who have taken over higher spots.

3: Maestro

Okay. Maestro is just a future version of the Hulk. But he’s one evil son of a gun. This version of the Hulk comes from the Future Imperfect timeline where the world has been rocked by nuclear weapons. Hulk is uniquely qualified to survive such a future and the horrors he’s seen have driven him mad. Maestro may no longer be as strong as his younger counterpart, but his healing factor makes him virtually immortal.

It also doesn’t hurt that the legendary comic book writer Peter David and equally legendary artist George Perez co-created Maestro and gave the character a phenomenal run in the early 1990s.

2: Red Hulk

Red Hulk is yet another evil version of the Hulk, but he’s more than that. Red Hulk started as General Thaddeus E. “Thunderbolt” Ross. Red Hulk may have debuted in 2008, making him the “newest” character on this list. But Thunderbolt Ross has been around since the very beginning. He was the father of Hulk’s long-time love interest and eventual wife Betty Ross. Thunderbolt hated the Hulk and led the military’s charge to subdue him.

Thunderbolt Ross turned himself into the Red Hulk to go toe-to-toe with the Green Giant. The Red Hulk retained Ross’s intellect and more importantly his military training, making him a force. Ross has yet to become the Red Hulk in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. William Hurt played the character until his passing. Harrison Ford will portray the character in the upcoming Captain America: Brave New World. It should be a matter of time before Red Hulk makes his MCU debut.

1: Leader

I may be biased, but the Leader remains the ultimate foil for the Hulk. Janitor Samuel Sterns gets turned into the ultra-intelligent Leader after exposure to gamma radiation. He develops telekinesis, telepathy, gamma ray manipulation, and can self-resurrect. He’s been a part of several major Hulk storylines, including the creation of the Red Hulk, our number two villain on this list.

The Leader is also one of the founding members of Intelligencia, a group of the greatest criminal minds on Earth. This group can affect the Marvel Universe as a whole. But the Leader works best when he squares off against the Hulk. He is the yin to the Hulk’s yang. The only villain who comes close to besting the Leader as the Hulk’s greatest enemy may be the Hulk himself.

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.

Top 5 Batman Villains

Top 5 Batman Villains

Published on by KyraLeave a comment

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. We’re kicking off spooky season a little late with a Top 5. The Top 5 Batman Villains to be exact. I struggled with whether to include The Joker and call it the Top 5 Batman Villains Not Named The Joker. But I decided to keep the Joker and add a sixth, honorable mention villain. The best of both worlds? This sixth villain is someone who wouldn’t have made the list. Eek! Batman has so many great villains. Let’s get started.

6: The Riddler

Yep. The Riddler almost didn’t make the list. This doesn’t mean that he’s a poor villain. It doesn’t mean that any of the villains you don’t see on this list are poor villains. I may have to make a Top 5 Underrated Batman Villains at some point. Let me know yours in the comments. Batman has a stacked rogues gallery.

Back to the Riddler. The Riddler began as a joke villain. TV executives even modeled the vibe of the 1960s Batman series starring Adam West from a Batman comic book cover that featured the Riddler. He’s been reimagined so many times that the Riddler has become a formidable foe. He got a little drip from the Batman: The Animated Series. He’s still one of my favorite villains from that cartoon series. “The War of Jokes and Riddles” is a must read if you’d like to see the Riddler portrayed as Joker’s equal. But the Riddler’s best story may come from Batman: Earth One, Volume Two.

Batman: Earth One shows a newer Batman navigating Gotham’s underbelly. The Riddler from Volume Two does a lot of Riddler schtick. He asks riddles of Batman and states that if Batman doesn’t solve the riddle in time, he’ll detonate a bomb killing hundreds. Batman solves the riddle in time because he’s Batman. But the Riddler detonates the bomb anyway. This isn’t your typical Riddler.

5: Two-Face

Two-Face has always been a layered Batman villain. He started as one of Bruce Wayne’s good friends and lost touch with reality after a criminal threw acid on the left side of his face. He’s another great villain from the Batman: The Animated Series. His two-part origin story in that series was fantastic and worth a watch. Aaron Eckhart’s portrayal of Harvey Dent was one of the most underrated elements of 2008’s The Dark Knight. But I’d have to go with the source material and 1990’s “The Eye of the Beholder.”

“The Eye of the Beholder” may sound familiar to fans of Batman: TAS. Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Dent form an alliance with Batman to rid Gotham of crime. Little do Gordon and Batman know, Harvey suppresses a second personality. “The Eye of the Beholder” does a great job of diving into Dent’s psychology and is well worth the read.

4: Mr. Freeze

Like the Riddler, Mr. Freeze began as a gag character. He used the name Mr. Zero at first and the 1960s TV show portrayed him like he appeared in the comics. Wild! It took Batman: The Animated Series to reimagine into the Mr. Freeze we know today. Mr. Freeze differs from most Batman villains. He isn’t crazy. He just wants to save his cryogenically frozen wife and will do so by any means. Tim Hill had a great Mr. Freeze story that took a different turn for the villain; he was a victim of Batman’s abuse. But I’d go back to the Batman: TAS classic episode “Heart of Ice” as a go-to Mr. Freeze story.

“Heart of Ice” earned a well-deserved Emmy. It’s the story that transformed Mr. Freeze from a gag villain into the tragic one we know today.

3: Bane

Bane not only matches Batman in brawn, but he can also go toe-to-toe with Batman on an intellectual level. That makes Bane’s inclusion in 1997’s shlocky Batman & Robin even more reprehensible. Tom Hardy’s turn as the villain in 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises gets closer to who the villain is. In the comics, Bane grew up in a prison, atoning for the crimes his father had committed. While in prison, he honed his body and mind. Tim Hill’s run on the Batman featured Bane as the main villain, but I’d go with the classic Batman: Knightfall story as starting point for Bane.

Batman: Knightfall features the moment that Bane “broke the bat.” He raises Batman up and breaks him over one knee, leaving Batman a paraplegic. This story will sound familiar to anyone who’s seen The Dark Knight Rises. This story element appears prominently in the film.

2: Ra’s Al Ghul

Ra’s Al Ghul translates to “Head of the Demon.” He’s another Batman villain who differs from most of the rest in that he believes his actions are just. Ra’s wants to save the planet and attain a perfect environmental balance by eliminating most of humanity. Marvel’s Thanos would borrow more than a little of this mentality. The Lazarus Pits he uses keeps him virtually immortal. Yet again, Batman: The Animated Series does a great job showcasing Ra’s Al Ghul’s origin. But I would turn again to the source material.

Ra’s Al Ghul first appeared in Batman #232 “Daughter of the Demon” and the story plays out almost exactly as Batman: TAS. So, never mind. I guess you could watch the show instead.

1: The Joker

I spoiled this one. I can’t see a world without the Joker as Batman’s ultimate villain. The Joker may be the greatest villain in all of comics. He needs no introduction. There have been numerous actors who have given powerful performances as the Joker. Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Hamill embodied the Joker in one way or another. I’ll always have a soft spot for Jack Nickolson’s Joker, even if he did venture from the characters a bit. John DiMaggio took the Joker to a gritty place with his vocal performances. But Heath Ledger’s Joker still takes the cake.

The Joker has too many great comic book stories to mention here. I could do a Top 5 of these stories. I’ll rattle off a few: “A Death in the Family,” “The Laughing Fish,” “Joker’s Five-Way Revenge,” “Batman: The Man Who Laughs,” and of course, “The Killing Joke.” The Clown Prince of Crime reigns supreme for a reason.

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