Supervillain

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Doctor Doom, one of the most archetypal supervillains and his arch-enemies The Fantastic Four (in background). Art by Jim Lee.

A supervillain, or supervillainess, is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various mediums. Supervillains typically concoct complex and ambitious schemes to accumulate power and suppress adversaries. They often have colorful names and costumes and/or other eccentricities.

Supervillains are often used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes. Their extraordinary brainpower, superhuman abilities, or sheer ambition make them viable antagonists for the most gifted heroes.

Many supervillains share some typical characteristics of real world dictators, mobsters, and terrorists.

Origins

By most definitions, the first supervillain was John Devil, a proto-Fantômas, created by Paul Féval, père in his eponymous 1862 novel, or Féval's nearly-immortal, machiavellian Colonel Bozzo-Corona, leader of Les Habits Noirs introduced in 1863. Professor Moriarty, the arch enemy of Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective Sherlock Holmes, was introduced in 1891. Dr. Fu Manchu, the antagonist of several popular novels of Sax Rohmer, is credited with popularizing many of the typical characteristics of the modern supervillain, including his sadistic personality, his desire for world domination, and his use of sinister lairs and themed crimes and henchmen. Rohmer's work had a strong influence on Ian Fleming, whose James Bond novels and their film adaptations further popularized the image of the supervillain in popular culture.

The first supervillain who wore a bizarre costume was the Lightning, from the 1938 film The Fighting Devil Dogs, which preceded the first modern superhero, Superman.

The first supervillain to regularly battle a superhero was Ultra-Humanite, who first appeared in Action Comics #13 (1939).

Common Traits

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Darkseid, the sadistic dictator of the hellish Apokolips. Cover to Genesis #3, by Alan Davis.

While supervillains vary greatly, there are a number of attributes that define the character. Most supervillains have at least a few of the following traits:

• A desire to commit spectacular crimes and/or rule the world—or in some cases an entire universe—through whatever means necessary.
• A generally irritable and spiteful disposition and contempt for heroes, ordinary civilians, lackeys, and anyone else who may get in their way.
• A sadistic nature and tendency to revel in their sociopathic behavior and/or supposed intellectual superiority
• An enemy or group of enemies that he or she repeatedly fights.
• A desire for revenge against said enemies. The method of revenge often goes beyond simply killing them to making them suffer before death, such as using deathtraps.
• A brilliant scientific mind that he or she chooses to use for evil (see also mad scientist and evil genius).
• Superhuman abilities or special skills, similar to those of superheroes. Frequently, these skills are gained through selfish (and sometimes foolish) meddling with science as opposed to the "natural" or "accidental" gifts possessed by superheroes. Compare the origin of the Green Goblin and that of his nemesis, Spider-Man.
• A dark and threatening-looking headquarters or lair, the location of which is usually kept secret from police, superheroes and the general public. Examples include Magneto’s headquarters Asteroid M and The Legion of Doom’s Hall of Doom. However, some supervillains who feel secure from prosecution live and work in palatial buildings, such as Doctor Doom's castles in his country of Latveria and the office buildings and research facilities of the Green Goblin’s alter ego Norman Osborn. Others are mobile and do not have one particular base of operations.
• A theme by which he or she plots his crimes. For example, The Riddler plots his crimes around riddles, puzzles and word games and Mysterio plots his around movie special effects. Furthermore, most themed villains will stubbornly keep with their style even when it seems impractical or ridiculous to others in view of their typical lack of success.

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Like many supervillains, Magneto once shared a friendship with his future foe (in this case, Professor X). Art by Carlos Pacheco.

• Although super villain “team-ups” occasionally occur and some supervillain teams exist, such as the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and Sinister Six, most supervillains do not collaborate with one another but employ a team of simple-minded and expendable henchmen to assist them. Some supervillains, such as Darth Vader, Berg Katse and Cobra Commander, control entire armies whose troops are considered equally expendable and subject to murderously draconian discipline.
• Due to a cowardly nature or physical inequality to their foes, some supervillains manipulate events from behind the scenes. For example, the physical inequality of Lex Luthor, a man of human intellectual prowess compared to the sun-powered alien physicality of the character of Superman echoes the duality of mind versus body. Also see: Ernst Stavro Blofeld of the James Bond novel and film series.
• A strong commitment to their criminal profession to the point where they will quickly resume their activities in their favorite area immediately after escaping prison or recovering from serious injury.
• A refusal to accept responsibility for personal mistakes and setbacks in favor of blaming their enemies or subordinates.
• A back story or origin story that explains how the character transformed from an ordinary person into a supervillain. The story usually involves some great tragedy that marked the change. In the case of some supervillains, including Two-Face, Magneto, Doctor Doom, Mr. Freeze, and some versions of Lex Luthor, this story involves a one-time friendship with their future foe.
• A low success rate against their protagonist/hero adversaries is typical of most supervillians.

Personality Types

Professor Moriarty, illustration by Sidney Paget.

One thing that supervillains do not share is motivation; characters choose to become supervillains for many different reasons:

• The Evil Genius: Lex Luthor, The Shredder, Red Skull, Professor Moriarty, and many others are portrayed as outright evil and power-hungry. Few writers attempt to portray them with any redeeming qualities. This approach was common in the Golden Age of Comic Books, but subsequent writers prefer more complex villains. Marvel Comics writer/editor Stan Lee often says it is more important that fans sympathize with villains than heroes. In the Silver Age of Comic Books, many of these villains' motivations shifted an obsessive desire to seek revenge upon a hero over a precived slight (real or imagined) as in the case of Dr. Doom, Lex Luthor, and Doctor Octopus.
• The Fallen: Darth Vader, Arthas Menethil, Venom, Riku and the Green Goblin, have fallen under some corrupting influence. In some cases, such as the ending of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, the character overcomes his or her manipulator or hidden demons and is able to somewhat redeem themselves.
• The Psychopath: Sabretooth, Typhoid Mary, Carnage, The Joker and most other Batman villains are criminally insane and incapable of controlling their murderous urges.
• The Dark Lord: Sauron, Morgoth, Palpatine, Shao Kahn, Darkseid, Sargeras, Lord Voldemort, Ganondorf or Aku. A villain of near-omnipotence in its realm who seeks to rule Earth or the Universe with the help of its large armies and devoted followers.
• The Mercenary: Sandman, Electro, Blob and Deadpool are simply thugs with superhuman abilities. They often work as henchmen of more ambitious and intelligent supervillains.
• The Minion: Though powerful villains in their own right, these villains serve one particular client, usually as a bodyguard or enforcer. They are different from mercenaries, however, as their loyalty to their master is not motivated by money. Darth Maul, Revolver Ocelot, Crossbones, and the Horsemen of Apocalypse fit this category, and numerous other supervillains served in this capacity early in their career, before going into business for themselves.
• The Beast: Man-Bat, Dr Jekyll, The Lizard and Sauron undergo Therianthropic transformations and cannot control their savagery.
• The Trickster: Mr. Mxyzptlk, Impossible Man, Randall Flagg, Q, and The Riddler torment heroes for their own pleasure. In addition, they are typically far more powerful than the heroes and must be outwitted.
• The Born-and-Bred: The Super-Skrull, Davros, Lord Zedd, the White Witch and Brainiac are extraterrestrials and their behavior is either common or encouraged on their home planets.

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Galactus, a cosmic being who requires the energy from planets to survive, his vast power has allowed him to lay waste to innumerable off-Earth technological civilizations in his quest for sustenance. Art by John Byrne.

• The Noble: A few characters deemed supervillains actually have goals that could be considered noble but pursue them in extreme ways. The best-known example is the X-Men’s enemy Magneto, a Holocaust survivor who seeks to end the human oppression of mutants, but uses war and terrorism to accomplish his goals. John Sunlight, featured in Doc Savage pulp magazines, Syndrome of the movie The Incredibles, and Ozymandias of the comic book series Watchmen have large-scale utopian goals but resort to destructive measures to implement them. Furthermore, they tend to callously shrug off the harm they inflict on the innocent as being part of a "greater good" that requires certain sacrifices. Poison Ivy and Ra's Al Ghul, both ecoterrorists and Batman adversaries, are dedicated to protecting the natural environment from human civilization but are willing to eliminate humanity to do so.
  • Japanese anime and tokusatsu series often feature noble villains, similar to the type described above. This type shows a sort of respect for his or her foe. As a common plot device, they, or one of their comrades or kin, owe a debt to the hero and work to repay it. However, when the debt is paid, the villain continues with his or her crimes.
• The Ultimate: A few supervillains, such as Galactus, Chernabog, and Ares personify forces of the universe and cannot be judged by simple standards of morality.

There are also any number of so-called gimmicky second or third string supervillains who seem to exist only to be beaten by even the the most amateur superheroes. They are usually not very evil or even competent at criminal activity. Usually, they are more bluster and bombastic than truly threatening. They are noted for their stubborn persistence, nonetheless. Daredevil nemeses The Matador, Jester, and Stilt-Man are examples of supervillains who have made a career of being humiliated by everyone they've fought. In the Marvel Universe, there is actually a chain of drinking establishments that cater to supervillains, the so-called Bar With No Name which was first seen in Captain America issue 319 showing many recognizable, but unremarkable supervillains as patrons. Other stories since, have popularized the bar's image as a hangout that only obscure or "loser" supervillains would bother with.

In the Modern Age of Comic Books, heroes and villains have generally become less morally absolute. While many superheroes were portrayed as psychologically complex and morally fallible, if not questionable, villains have also become more multifaceted. Psychological impulses and personal tragedy were often explored as motivations behind their behavior. During this time, many villains were “redeemed” and, either permanently or provisionally, became anti-heroes. Examples include Magneto, Elektra, Venom, Sandman, Catwoman, Emma Frost, Juggernaut and Mystique

Supervillains as Foils

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Cover to Joker: Last Laugh #6. Art by Brian Bolland.

Many supervillains are portrayed as an inversion of their foe. For example, Wolverine constantly tries to contain his animalistic urges, while Sabretooth fully embraces his. Batman is often portrayed as a humorless dark character who stands for order, while The Joker is an irrational, sardonic, brightly-colored lunatic who represents the chaos which disrupts the order. The Incredible Hulk is the raging, reckless alter ego of a brilliant scientist while The Leader is the exceedingly intelligent, conniving alter ego of a human of average intellect and both were transformed by gamma radiation. Professor X seeks for mutants to coexist with normal humans, while Magneto believes that mutants have a right to rule over other humans.

Occasionally, this contrast is more direct. Bizarro is a flawed clone of Superman. The villain Venom is often considered the dark, twisted version of his nemesis Spider-Man, as he wears Spider-Man's old symbiote costume and as a result has similar powers but uses them to kill anyone he personally judges to be 'evil' instead of using them with a sense of responsibly like Spider-man does. Captain Marvel's foe Black Adam was once a protégé of the wizard Shazam, but used his powers for darker purposes and has returned to challenge Marvel, wearing a black version of his own outfit. Another example of inversions are the Reverse-Flashes, the enemies of the Flashes. The Crime Syndicate of Amerika is an alternate reality version of the Justice League from a world in which everything is an inversion of its DC Universe counterpart.

These contrasts help build-up the mythic grandeur of superhero and villain relationships and allow the villain to serve as a foil for the hero.

See also

• List of supervillain debuts
• Supervillainess
• Archenemy
• Mad scientist
• Rogues gallery
• Enemies of Batman
• Spider-Man villains
• Enemies of Superman
• Enemies of the Flash
• Enemies of Captain Marvel (DC Comics)
• List of supervillain teams and groups
• Evil Overlord List
• Hubris