Lets Talk about DC's BEST & WORST New Villains

Another old post that I made
The New 52 only had half a year old, which means that that most of the books were only wrapping up their first act.

Villains, some are very interesting and others has been the biggest WTF of their respective books

so lets talk about that

I will present first the list of what I think are The WORST & BEST 5 New Villains




WORST NEW VILLAINS

5-Peraxxus from Justice League International






You know, I can totally understand what Jurgen was going for here
he wanted the team to face a huge world destruction threat, its something very simple for team comics to try to bond together against imminent destruction
But this guy just suck

he is basically a miner who wants to own earth for Coal and stuff

its quite unoriginal too, reminds me of Imperiex with a mix of Thanos in there

maybe as a minor-medium villain it might had work but he is just not believable as a credible threat to destroy earth.








4-Swan and Condor from Hawk and Dove




You know what is the easiest laziest way to create and archnemesis for a superhero
you make exactly that same hero but make him evil

thats Swan and Condor they have no depth no great motivation or impulse, they just want to kill Hawk and Dove cause they are the opposite of them and they ultimately fail










3-BrainStorm from Mr Terrific



hmm... something is weird with that pic but im pretty sure is him

well, do you know what is the second easiest and laziest way to make an archnemesis for your superhero
having him kill a family member

on this case Brainstorm is really nothing special, his origin is laughable and badly explain and his motivations are pretty much none-existent he is pretty much riddler from Batman forever, he is just ordinary

but due some incredible unbelievable circumstances he gets to Kill Paula Holt by malfunctioning her GPS forever tie him to Mr Terrific
that is something big that he just doesnt deserve

like i said, there is nothing special about him which make him really impossible to care about, by getting him so tightly with Mr Terrific it makes him look like a lesser Hero

a Good Villain doesnt do that, he enhances the Hero, makes him better by the contrast and opposition between them

How can we take Michael seriously if his enemy is this guy

2-The Mirror From Batgirl

This villain, as an idea, is not bad, he is basically what had happen if Final Destiny had an Slasher type of villain, where it fails is on his motivation

The mirror is someone who survived an accident which kills all his family
sounds familiar?

and he feels guilty of having survived but unlike Frank Castle who kills bad guys that might cause deaths like what happen to his family, this guy kills other survivors from accidents

...
What?

If he kills other survivors
Why Doesn't he Kills himself?

is it for lack of trying? or he just doesnt know how to kill himself? he has guns, he could do it

No he is just like:
";_; OMG my life SUCKS so much and i hate having survived
I better go and KILL MORE PPL"

NO!
that doesnt make any sense
the human Brain doesnt work like that

he also make sure to kill other ppl by using the same method in which they survived

maybe thats why he cant kill himself
his family died in car and maybe he cannot afford a car
thats the explanation

but then he also breaks his own code by Killing not a survivor but someone who saved another person
and he does this by bombing a train, in which a Bunch of other ppl died in
making him a Terrorist basically

so if he bombed a train, only cause the guy running it save some other dude, why not a hospital, there are doctors there, doctors(and miracles) heal and save ppl, he was probably saved by one too it would make sense with that set of broken rules

this is a guy who can easily bomb a hospital simply CAUSE HIS FAMILY DIED IN A CAR ACCIDENT
do you see the problem?

this is someone who, again, has an interesting MO but without a good reason to exercise it, its completely meaningless

he doesnt even relate that much to the concept of being a mirror
i think the idea is that the guy sees others as defined by having survived which is why using a mirror makes them reflect how their die
except that it doesnt apply when the victim is not in front of a mirror cause he puts A BOMB on his train

which makes him just a very stupid costume

The death of his family and his own survival is NOT a good reason, he doesnt do this cause he hates family, he still weeps for his family and that is ANOTHER flaw

which is why im so glad that i found the picture above
just like Barbara is saying it
We Could NEVER sympathize with a monster like him, one can easily comprehend, understand and even relate to Punisher, who in all is nothing but a mass murderer, but never this nut job

a good villain reflects on a good hero but it didnt mean it literally! his fight with Batgirl is just onesided, his motive is just for her, is a symbol of breaking the reflection of a survivor, to overcome survivor's guilt, this whole character is just designed to make barb look good but you cant do that if the villain SUCKS SO HARD.

he is crazy but not the right amount of crazy to feel threaten about him or fear him and his origin tries to makes us feel sorry for him but one simply couldnt care less

which lead me to my #1 choice

1-EVERYSINGLE VILLAIN IN STATIC SHOCK




Someone said to me that there are about 19 villains in total, i didnt bother to count so Im gonna assume that that is right
and with the exception of 1 who turns out to be an undercover cop, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM DIES by the end of chp 6

So in only 6 issues Static receives this massive legion of villains
and not even one of them actually matters

they are not memorable on any way, ALL of them are unoriginal, based of other concepts and dont even receive enough attention to actually care about Any of them
none of them can actually be perceive as a credible thread and none of them actually does anything important in the book

they are nothing but Fodder Cannon, that Including the Main Villain which makes me think that the writer(McDaniels) didnt even tried to create something good
He didnt even tried

The motivations of this guys never go beyond IM EVIL!

In a superhero book the Villain is one of the most important parts, even though a book or story can be made without one
but a Villain its what always challenge the hero
its the obstacle to overcome, it makes us care about the hero more cause when we see a good villain we feel just like the hero, we side with him/her
and if the villian is more than good we not only want it to be defeated we care if it is defeated, we fear it, respect it, and get a thrill for next encounter or wonder if there is going to be one

and thats the important part of a comic book, if its taken seriously, it works and we get entertain by it

AND NONE OF THOSE CHARACTERS HAD THAT

so lets see 5 characters which did had that   


BEST NEW VILLAINS

5- Massacre from Batwing

This is the most basic example of what i was talking about a good villain
it presents a challenge to the hero and the hero improves himself by the challenge

Massacre is involve in mystery, we dont have a clear look at his motivation but it is there and he looks like he enjoys doing everything he does
which makes him and interesting character




 


4- Harry Tanner - The Eminence of Blades and Prince of Lies from Stormwatch

Whatever you think if Cornel's Stormwatch was good or bad(Personally i think its not one of his best job but it isnt bad by the very end) you have to admit that this guy is BADASS

He is a Liar, thats it, but what defines this as such a good villain is cause when the moment comes, you might think that he is saving the world, but he is just saving himself, if you believe him, then you get into his trap, and thats what makes him great, you might be convinced by him.

he is powerful enough, but he presents himself as a mental challenge for the heroes as well as a physical challenge

will wait to see more about him

3- Talon and the Court of Owls from Batman


talk about credible challenges, this is by far one of the Best Batman Villain(s)
in Years
there has been very few characters that can present such an overcoming challenge to the hero that you completely doubt of the ability of the hero to go forward, Bane had that in the KnightFall
and is very hard to find a villain who can pull something like that of

their motivation is simply a God Complex that goes beyond what Batman feels
Batman has a sense of Ownership for the city and everyone on it, this is MY city, MY ppl, and this villains are a reflection of that which goes beyond that sense
Batman thinks he owns the city
They Literally OWN the city but the dont care about it, they are so high and above it that they could as well be gods of the city
they are nothing but reflections of that feeling

and one of the brilliant things about a reflection
it doesnt need words
just by looking at them by the corner of the eye, you can feel it



2- William Arcane and the Rot from Swamp Thing and Animal Man


I cannot think of a single good villain that has been a kid and also so scary, not only comics but any medium, maybe Pride from FMA:B but William really goes beyond that.

The sole concept of someone so weak and yet so powerful and frightening is difficult to pull on a credible way but here it works perfectly.

he is the emissary of Death, he just have a simple objective which is basically winning a chess game, it doesnt need to be more complex than that

he is just Basic thats all and the same is the Rot
Rot is nothing by the antithesis of plants and animals, just like Scorpion is the enemy of Spiderman only cause they Spider's natural predators, the rot is the enemy of life

In both the ST and Animal Man it just represent a basic fearsome idea that is Death

just like the court of Owls, an idea doesnt need to be complex to make it work but i give extra points on Will and The Rot cause they play much better with the symbolism that it represents

and now what i think is the BEST NEW VILLAIN

1- Penguin from Penguin Pain and Prejudice



ok technically Im cheating with this one cause Penguin is not a new villain and he hasnt even change that much from the previous continuity but lately we have seen a remake of the character that gives him a completely new perspective and depth that could as well make him a completely new character from what was before

and if you dont buy that then FU, this is my list



Like I said one before of the main characteristics of a good villain is that you care about the

and there is nothing more than that on Pain and Prejudice

It presents a completely New Layer for Penguin, it in essence makes him human, you feel sorry about him, despite doing some of the most horrible and twisted acts

he is a corrupt person, and evil being but the fact that you try to understand him and sympathize with him is what gives him the top place

you hate him and you want to see him defeated but enjoy the ride and want to see him again soon
thats what makes a great villain

I hope Pain and Prejudice becomes like a follow up for the character and i hope others try to replicate what happen here with on Penguin and other old and new villains alike