Vance's List: 35 Greatest Supervillains
There are no great heroes without great villains. Both DC and Marvel comics have provided some legendary ones, and they come in all types. Some of them have incredible powers that they use for evil. Some don't need powers to be evil. Some are just insane. Listed below are the 35 greatest evildoers in comics, as determined by, well, me.
The rankings are based on several factors, including ability to cause chaos. However, coolness, longevity, body count, and overall aptitude for evil are factored in. The other factor is my own personal feelings about the character. Since I'm writing, how much I like him/her, and in some cases, my lack of knowledge about is weighted in. Enjoy.
35. Two-Face: How do you not love a guy who lets a coin toss decide if he's just delusional, or if he's batshit crazy? His unpredictability makes him fun and has kept him around for over 70 years.
34. Red Skull: Combine a creepy visage with a Nazi scumbag and you get Red Skull. If not for Captain America, comic book USA might be living under a Nazi regime.
33. Soloman Grundy: He might have been born on a Monday, but he has kicked ass on every day of the week. The good folks from the Walking Dead have no shot against the greatest zombie ever.
32. Riddler: OK. He's pretty useless as a supervillain, but he was always one of my favorites. Who doesn't love a good riddle?
31. Brainiac: If you hate when your laptop randomly crashes and loses your hard work, you don't want to meet Braniac. With off-the-charts intelligence, he has confounded Superman many times.
30. Ultron: Capable of world domination and genocide, Ultron is as dangerous as any villain in history. I'm not sure "Oops. Sorry guys." from creater Hank Pym would help much.
29. Juggernaut: And you thought Adrian Peterson was a guy you didn't want to see coming at you at full speed! When he's on his game, he's as badass as it gets.
28. Bizarro: So he may not be a supervillain in the strictest sense. Technically, he was an enemy, though an almost child-like foe. He is another personal favorite who provided some fun comic scenes.
27. Sabretooth: He's sort of a anti-Wolverine, but is there an anti-anti-hero? He's vicious, evil, and a cool backstory tied to one of the world's most popular heroes gets you a spot on the list.
26. Lobo: A genocidal, completely insane space biker who is super-strong, super-violent, and hilarious to boot is a villain I can get behind. He should be more popular.
25. Mystique: An ability to shift her form to look like anybody makes her dangerous. The image of Rebecca Romijn in her (leave little to the imagination) costume had nothing to do with this. I swear.
24. Loki: He's evil. He's a god. And his schemes led directly to the creation of the Avengers and all 300 of it's iterations. I can't remember if this is why he's this high, or why he's not higher.
23. Norman Osborn: His journey from a local nutcase harassing Spiderman, to murderous lunatic responsible for the most well-know comic death ever, to world-wide raging psychotic has been fun.
22. Galactus: When your nickname is "World Eater", there's a good chance you're a pretty bad guy. Although he did bring us Silver Surfer, so there's that.
21. Penguin: Don't let his strange appearance fool you. He'll kill you as soon as look at you. His origin as a bird-centric boob was goofy. He's earned a place on this list as a ruthless Gotham crime boss.
20. Sinestro: As a maniacal Green Lantern gone wrong, he's a great foil. However his yellow power ring paved the way for rings of every other color known to man, and I gotta ding him for that.
19. Dr Doom: Possessing supreme intellect and an unending thirst for revenge, Doom haunts the Fantastic Four. He also runs Latveria with an iron fist, which probably leaves citizens almost as displeased as Americans under George Bush Jr.
18. Amanda Waller: People love shadowy government agents and Waller does it better than anybody. Her ability to know more than anybody else helps her manipulate things on a global scale.
17. Kingpin: Cunning, ruthless, cruel, evil - all things that describe the Kingpin, who takes the term crime boss to another level. He's also personally willing to literally rip the arms off of people he dislikes.
16. Ra's al-Ghul: Having the stated goal of wiping out humanity not enough? He also empoys an army of the most deadly assassins on the globe. Still not enough? He can't be killed due to Lazarus pits that keep him alive and damn scary.
15. Lex Luthor: Superman's most enduring foe is brilliant, charming, rich, and as evil as anybody on this list. Despite his ongoing war against the ultimate hero, he managed to become President. Low turnout I assume.
14. Bane: Being the "Man who broke the Bat" has its privileges. If his weakness wasn't a good rehab facility, he'd probably be higher on this list.
13. Grodd: If you think an evil talking gorilla is too goofy to be a great villain, then Charleton Heston and I need to have a word with you. Grodd is smart, savage, and probably damn dirty.
12. Catwoman: Yes, she's only half-villain, but that's enough to qualify for the list. She's also the sexiest character comics have produced. I'm not sure why that's relevant, but it bears mentioning.
11. Lady Shiva: She's the world's deadliest assassin and one of the world's most skilled fighters. She doesn't need messy weapons to kill. She prefers her bare hands.Anybody can be a super-powered world destroyer. It takes a special kind of person to be that deadly with no powers at all.
10. Zoom: Not only is he as fast as his archenemy, The Flash, but it turns out he is responsible, via time travel, for every tragedy in Barry Allen's life. As a Flash fan, he's one of my favorites.
9. Venom: The introduction of Venom into Spiderman's life was a stroke of genius by Marvel, and it's become as popular as nearly any hero. When he's bad, he's very very bad.
8. Black Adam: An ever-changing backstory hasn't helped his legacy, but he's evil on a global scale, and powerful enough to take on any superhero. His willingness to kill 2,000,000 people just to exact vengeance on 1 shows how far he's willing to go.
7. Thanos: I'm a big fan, and I don't care who knows. He's a violent, intergalactic sociopath who was perfectly willing to wipe out his entire race. Not bad for a former pacifist.
6. Bullseye: Do you like your villains crazy? He's completely insane. Like cool killing methods? Anything is a weapon for him, and he never misses. He's the king of the awesome murder, if there's such a thing.
5. Doomsday: He's big, he's scary, he's unstoppable. Doomsday, in his original incarnation, was as awesome as they come. Also, HE FUCKING KILLED SUPERMAN!! How badass is that?
4. Deathstroke: Experimental enhancements seem to always go wrong. Deathstroke is inhumanly strong, fast, and tough. He's the ultimate fighter and the coolest of all supervillains.
3. Darkseid: Darkseid has been at the center of too many world-dominating plots to count. This New God is the ultimate embodiment of evil. In one world, he killed Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. That's a hell of a trifecta.
2. Magneto: You wouldn't think the ability to manipulate magnetics would make one so powerful, but it does. From noble intentions, great evil has been done. Though he's not inherently evil, he's perfectly willing to wipe out mankind and not think twice about it. As villains go, they don't come much better.
1. Joker: Come on. Whatever you like in a supervillain, the Joker has. He's dangerously psychotic, hate-filled, and horrifically violent. There is no supervillain more recognizable and who invokes the characteristics of evil in comics. Evil, thy name is Joker.
The rankings are based on several factors, including ability to cause chaos. However, coolness, longevity, body count, and overall aptitude for evil are factored in. The other factor is my own personal feelings about the character. Since I'm writing, how much I like him/her, and in some cases, my lack of knowledge about is weighted in. Enjoy.
35. Two-Face: How do you not love a guy who lets a coin toss decide if he's just delusional, or if he's batshit crazy? His unpredictability makes him fun and has kept him around for over 70 years.
34. Red Skull: Combine a creepy visage with a Nazi scumbag and you get Red Skull. If not for Captain America, comic book USA might be living under a Nazi regime.
33. Soloman Grundy: He might have been born on a Monday, but he has kicked ass on every day of the week. The good folks from the Walking Dead have no shot against the greatest zombie ever.
32. Riddler: OK. He's pretty useless as a supervillain, but he was always one of my favorites. Who doesn't love a good riddle?
31. Brainiac: If you hate when your laptop randomly crashes and loses your hard work, you don't want to meet Braniac. With off-the-charts intelligence, he has confounded Superman many times.
30. Ultron: Capable of world domination and genocide, Ultron is as dangerous as any villain in history. I'm not sure "Oops. Sorry guys." from creater Hank Pym would help much.
29. Juggernaut: And you thought Adrian Peterson was a guy you didn't want to see coming at you at full speed! When he's on his game, he's as badass as it gets.
28. Bizarro: So he may not be a supervillain in the strictest sense. Technically, he was an enemy, though an almost child-like foe. He is another personal favorite who provided some fun comic scenes.
27. Sabretooth: He's sort of a anti-Wolverine, but is there an anti-anti-hero? He's vicious, evil, and a cool backstory tied to one of the world's most popular heroes gets you a spot on the list.
26. Lobo: A genocidal, completely insane space biker who is super-strong, super-violent, and hilarious to boot is a villain I can get behind. He should be more popular.
25. Mystique: An ability to shift her form to look like anybody makes her dangerous. The image of Rebecca Romijn in her (leave little to the imagination) costume had nothing to do with this. I swear.
24. Loki: He's evil. He's a god. And his schemes led directly to the creation of the Avengers and all 300 of it's iterations. I can't remember if this is why he's this high, or why he's not higher.
23. Norman Osborn: His journey from a local nutcase harassing Spiderman, to murderous lunatic responsible for the most well-know comic death ever, to world-wide raging psychotic has been fun.
22. Galactus: When your nickname is "World Eater", there's a good chance you're a pretty bad guy. Although he did bring us Silver Surfer, so there's that.
21. Penguin: Don't let his strange appearance fool you. He'll kill you as soon as look at you. His origin as a bird-centric boob was goofy. He's earned a place on this list as a ruthless Gotham crime boss.
20. Sinestro: As a maniacal Green Lantern gone wrong, he's a great foil. However his yellow power ring paved the way for rings of every other color known to man, and I gotta ding him for that.
19. Dr Doom: Possessing supreme intellect and an unending thirst for revenge, Doom haunts the Fantastic Four. He also runs Latveria with an iron fist, which probably leaves citizens almost as displeased as Americans under George Bush Jr.
18. Amanda Waller: People love shadowy government agents and Waller does it better than anybody. Her ability to know more than anybody else helps her manipulate things on a global scale.
17. Kingpin: Cunning, ruthless, cruel, evil - all things that describe the Kingpin, who takes the term crime boss to another level. He's also personally willing to literally rip the arms off of people he dislikes.
16. Ra's al-Ghul: Having the stated goal of wiping out humanity not enough? He also empoys an army of the most deadly assassins on the globe. Still not enough? He can't be killed due to Lazarus pits that keep him alive and damn scary.
15. Lex Luthor: Superman's most enduring foe is brilliant, charming, rich, and as evil as anybody on this list. Despite his ongoing war against the ultimate hero, he managed to become President. Low turnout I assume.
14. Bane: Being the "Man who broke the Bat" has its privileges. If his weakness wasn't a good rehab facility, he'd probably be higher on this list.
13. Grodd: If you think an evil talking gorilla is too goofy to be a great villain, then Charleton Heston and I need to have a word with you. Grodd is smart, savage, and probably damn dirty.
12. Catwoman: Yes, she's only half-villain, but that's enough to qualify for the list. She's also the sexiest character comics have produced. I'm not sure why that's relevant, but it bears mentioning.
11. Lady Shiva: She's the world's deadliest assassin and one of the world's most skilled fighters. She doesn't need messy weapons to kill. She prefers her bare hands.Anybody can be a super-powered world destroyer. It takes a special kind of person to be that deadly with no powers at all.
10. Zoom: Not only is he as fast as his archenemy, The Flash, but it turns out he is responsible, via time travel, for every tragedy in Barry Allen's life. As a Flash fan, he's one of my favorites.
9. Venom: The introduction of Venom into Spiderman's life was a stroke of genius by Marvel, and it's become as popular as nearly any hero. When he's bad, he's very very bad.
8. Black Adam: An ever-changing backstory hasn't helped his legacy, but he's evil on a global scale, and powerful enough to take on any superhero. His willingness to kill 2,000,000 people just to exact vengeance on 1 shows how far he's willing to go.
7. Thanos: I'm a big fan, and I don't care who knows. He's a violent, intergalactic sociopath who was perfectly willing to wipe out his entire race. Not bad for a former pacifist.
6. Bullseye: Do you like your villains crazy? He's completely insane. Like cool killing methods? Anything is a weapon for him, and he never misses. He's the king of the awesome murder, if there's such a thing.
5. Doomsday: He's big, he's scary, he's unstoppable. Doomsday, in his original incarnation, was as awesome as they come. Also, HE FUCKING KILLED SUPERMAN!! How badass is that?
4. Deathstroke: Experimental enhancements seem to always go wrong. Deathstroke is inhumanly strong, fast, and tough. He's the ultimate fighter and the coolest of all supervillains.
3. Darkseid: Darkseid has been at the center of too many world-dominating plots to count. This New God is the ultimate embodiment of evil. In one world, he killed Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. That's a hell of a trifecta.
2. Magneto: You wouldn't think the ability to manipulate magnetics would make one so powerful, but it does. From noble intentions, great evil has been done. Though he's not inherently evil, he's perfectly willing to wipe out mankind and not think twice about it. As villains go, they don't come much better.
1. Joker: Come on. Whatever you like in a supervillain, the Joker has. He's dangerously psychotic, hate-filled, and horrifically violent. There is no supervillain more recognizable and who invokes the characteristics of evil in comics. Evil, thy name is Joker.
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