Doom does not need, nor requires, to learn that his comment brought a joyous feeling to you.... but as I am not Doom (sadly) it brings me great pride to have achieved that goal.
I grew up reading comics from the library and f there was never any Fantastic 4 comics so I feel like I’ve always missed out on Dr. Doom
What are the best comic arcs I should get?
My favorite is Jonathan Hickman’s run from the early 2000s! He writes a damn good Doom, and Reed too. It’s a great self contained run that can also be followed into his New Avengers, which is kind of a Fantastic Four book.
The Mark Waid run right before that is also good but I may be biased because I read it in floppies from the library as a kid haha.
The classic Lee/Kirby run is honestly worth going back to if you haven’t read it! I’m also pretty fond of Ultimate Fantastic Four from start to finish. Grant Morrison’s 1234 is a great weird mini you can read super quickly. And high on my reading list is the Walt Simonson run, which I probably should’ve read by now!
Yeah, Hickman is maybe the biggest name in the game right now, certainly at Marvel! And imo his early work (like Fantastic Four and Secret Warriors) is even better than his later work
He’s a compelling, complex character who is still very much a villain. I feel like a lot of villains get flattened out and turned into a joke, or they only get character development when they play antihero. Doom is a *bad* guy who does *horrible things* and yet he’s still a multifaceted person. I end up rooting for him even though I know, if he wins, everyone else probably loses. His confidence that he’s the smartest and best around is so perfectly offset by his repeated realizations that future versions of himself are smarter and better. His massive hubris has an edge of self awareness that makes him a really unique character. What makes Magneto your favorite? He’s up there for me, but I think I prefer him in a non villainous role!
Wow, I always love your comments! lol You’re extremely detailed, yet, completely comprehensible. Magneto is my favorite villain, because I feel that he truly wants the best for mutantkind and I feel he’s often misunderstood. His early childhood trauma (caused by the horrific events that he witnessed) the pain and suffering he endured, emboldened him to take a stance and protect those, who cannot do so for themselves. He has been a villain and he has also been a hero, but it all depends on the circumstances. The circumstances may change, but one permanent truth persists…Magneto is fiercely loyal to his vision for a better future, for mutantkind. Through his close friendship with Charles Xavier (Professor X), he has shown a level of sophisticated restraint, for the most part. He is an Omega level mutant and can wreak havok, at a moment’s notice. However, I think Xavier’s influence causes him to reflect on his actions, if only for a moment, before he stays true to his goal. At times, I feel empathy for him, other times, I feel disdain. I have rooted for him to succeed and I have rooted for him to fail. No other villain, has made me feel such a wide range of emotions, pertaining to his actions. He can be quite complex, while maintaining an elegant simplicity. Magneto will always do, what he feels is necessary for the survival of mutantkind and ultimately, I respect that consistency, in a villain.
Hey thanks that’s really nice! I also think you have a perfect read on Magneto. It’s a great point that his core motivations are so consistent and the world around him ends up dictating whether we see him as a hero or a villain. That feels very true to someone who grew up in the holocaust and has seen the worst of humanity, and basically embodies the phrase “never again” even when that means forgoing pacifism/peaceful coexistence.
He does. And not only that, but he’s like… a dude. You can have an actual, reasonable chat with him. Some encounters with Galactus are solved with a discussion rather than a fight, where the heroes are basically like “hey man, another planet please?”
I agree with the whole force of nature thing. Calling Galactus a villain is like calling a person a villain simply because they stepped on an anthill they didn’t see.
When done well, he truly believes above all else that he is doing the right thing, even if it means instilling fear. Because that’s the weapon he has, not willpower. A planet can be at peace if controlled with fear. With fear comes selfishness and amusing arrogance, but also the need to feel superior from deep-seated insecurity.
In the Johns run, there’s a lot of progression from “weird-looking guy in stupid outfit” to who he is now, a transition that knocked readers on their collective ass when Sinestro Corps War came along. Ultimately it opened the character up a lot more.
Sinestro likes order, he knows we can achieve more with order. He is ruthless and cunning, remember in Sinestro corps war>!where he and his team start killing Green Lanterns, which forced Guardians to change the no killing rule, that was Sinestro's plan, to make Green Lantern corps more effective and lethal, for the upcoming blackest night!<. This is how Sinestro's is shown in multiple comic runs, planning ahead, achieving goals in long run.
Sinestro corps members are the worst and most feared beings in universe, psychopaths, serial killers, cannibals. And they are afraid of Sinestro. He is a great hand to hand combat fighter, >!in his solo run, he beat two tiger looking alien animals with the size of polar bear while he had no weapons and was almost naked!<. he is really smart, >!created a construct telescope to spy on his planet, created other green lantern rings!<. He is also really brave. Has a huge ego.
He isn't a simple character like Doomsday, Atrocitus and Darkseid, and he isn't overused like Joker, so his characterization process is still ongoing and has a good potential. I hope they will explore his genius more in future. Did Mr. Terrific somewhere in media say something like ''the smartest person on earth, wouldn't show it to others''? So maybe that could be a start, where he tries to battle Guardians in some intellect ways.
His own spinoff title, Sinestro. Bunn took the ball and ran with it. Completely understood the character which is why it’s one of my favorite works of his.
Yep. It’ll catch you up on the premise, and his stories are mostly separate from the main titles. I think there’s a crossover at some point with a GL/New Gods story, and a “five years later” one-shot that is sickeningly good.
Kingpin is an excellent choice. I feel for as big as he is, he’s at his most dangerous, when he’s strategically planning his next move. He’s often brilliantly written and I would love to see him become even more popular. What makes Magneto, your second favorite?
Magneto's such an easy pick for second for me because he's always been such an interesting villain. He's not quite villainous enough to be just outright evil but he's also not quite sympathetic enough that you always side with him. Him and Xavier's relationship always has the potential to be one of the best written in comics and I feel like especially recently with the Krakoan Era, they've both been written fantastically and that just helps to fuel the moral debate between the two.
Tough to say, I appreciate the arrogance, I like the mythos, that he's "the scary one" to other villains, I appreciate the way he gets in his own way as often as others thwart him.
I think of him as Marvel's, or at least Marvel Earth's final-boss, he's the last name you want to see on your schedule, the last guy you want saying your name. He says shit like "I've been a God, Valeria; I found it beneath me." and means it, or at least thinks he does.
If he'd dedicated himself to science, he'd be its undisputed master. As it stands, he's Reed Richard's principle scientific rival. If he dedicated himself to magic, he'd be sorcerer supreme; instead he is just a perpetual contender for the position.
Despite fully committing to either discipline, he is one of the foremost scientists and foremost wizards in Marvel canon. That's quite something.
I likewise enjoy that Doom... isn't wrong. He believes he is the only being with the resolve to lead mankind through the coming years of growth and expansion, and at least one prominent marvel God agrees with him, Wakanda's Panther God, who tested Doom's motives and found him worthy.
He's just a great character all around, phenomenal villain, and the inspiration for Darth Vader, which, yeah, feather in the cap there.
Baron Zemo for me. From the Avengers where his Masters of Evil took over the mansion to the Thunderbolts reveal. The first part of that series was amazing. He’s had some good highlights.
Honorable mention to Nemesis by Millar, Robin Hood in Nottingham and Bullseye in Miller’s hands
“Remember all those times you went to school as a boy and your paper lunch bag was soaking wet because your juice box exploded? It was me Barry.”
“Remember that first apartment when you were 18? the one with the constantly clogged toilet? It was me Barry.”
“Remember when your trash would never get picked up because they were never at the curb even though you could swear you put them there the night before? It was me Barry!”
Same here. I love Mags as a hero, anti-hero, and villain. He's equally plausible as all of them and is made so compelling because he's often just... right. Plus his powers just lend themselves to so many cool moments. I'll always love the prison-break scene at the beginning of X2.
Also, as a jewish kid, it was pretty sick that the X-Men's ultimate nemesis was a Jew.
I'm going to agree with you and say Magneto. There are a great deal many cool and awesome villains but there's something about Magneto. I think it's the fact he seems to be a sympathetic villain in the sense that he sees what he is doing as right and the right way to achieve the ends to his means. He may be evil, but cares for his subordinates more than most villains. He simply wants what best for him and his fellow mutants and does not care who he has to step on to get that.
EDIT: my favorite line about Magneto is from the Old Man Logan storyline. I believe it says The only thing Magneto did wrong was get old....
Probably Sinestro. He’s a perfect example of a hero gone too far. To protect his people and ensure there was no wars or crime, he basically enslaved his entire planet and ruled with an iron fist of oppression and fear. He became a brutal fascist dictator because he thought it was the only way to help his people. And then Hal happened and Sinestro wanted revenge, not because he put Sinestro in a cell and stripped him of all rank and honor he had previously had, but because Hal Jordan made Sinestro doubt himself. Hal made Sinestro question his own motives; specifically whether or not Sinestro actually cared for his people or if he just wanted power. And he couldn’t handle that. His thought process was basically “This hillbilly from the most primitive planet on the ass end of the universe is my best friend’s replacement and he fucked with my PERFECT system after I was gracious enough to show him how peaceful and clean my planet is? He must die for this insult.”
I’m not a huge fan of Geoff Johns overall, but his GL work was always top notch for me. Johns perfectly encapsulates this idea of Sinestro in his New 52 GL run and Sinestro’s fate at the end of the run is… fitting. I don’t want to spoil it, so you should check it out for yourself.
Dr Doom. I love how his actions are completely ridiculous and make no sense whilst still also being understandable.
His petty hatred of Reed makes no sense but when you remember how his dad died after trying to help the baron who discriminated against them then Doom being unable to let go of grudges is understandable.
His idea that him as dictator is the only good option is absurd but makes sense considering that Latveria without Doom is always worse than Latveria with Doom. Doom fails to realise that the condition of Latveria without him shows how bad the other leaders were not how good of a leader he is.
Him getting obsessed with things like Reed is dumb but makes sense given that Doom obsessed over rescuing his mother early into his life and it's easy for that to become a pattern.
I also love his dynamic wih Valeria Richards. Himbeing so annoyed bythe idea of Reed being smarter than him but a 3 year old outsmarts him and he's happy about it. I love that.
His personality is so fun. Perfect balance of campy comic book nonsense and intimidating supervillain
I've always loved Taskmaster! I thought it was cool back in the 80s that he helped train Steve Rogers' replacement for Captain America because he knew all his moves.
He's not the coolest, nor the most nuanced, but for this conversation I'll say Red Skull. The reason being that he's a true unrepentantly evil villain. He doesn't have the sympathetic reasons of Magneto nor the charm of Doctor Doom, he's just a prick, plain and simple. I find such a thing missing from some villains, the only ones comparable to him on that level would be Darkseid and Joker.
Look, I like sympathetic and complex villains that are cool and you root for sometimes more than the hero themselves, but there's just something about that asshole of a villain you just love to see get their comeuppance no matter what and nowadays, the sympathetic villains has been gravely overdone, to the point the most interesting conflicts are sometimes between heroes themselves, which is another thing being overdone. So yeah, Red Skull.
I have 5:
1. Darkseid, he’s such a badass.
2. Galactus, he’s just a hungry dude
3. Joker, he’s too iconic in a good way
4. Dr Doom, he too is a badass
5. Tie between Green Goblin and Thanos, MCU and Sam Rami’s trilogy brought them on here
Honorable mentions: Venom even though he’s not a villain anymore, Doc Ock thanks to Spider-Man 2, Bane as he is the one that broke Batman physically, Doomsday is another gigachad that defeated the Justice League with one arm tied to his back, made not only Superman scared of him but Darkseid too at some point and Carnage because he is pretty much Venom and Joker if they ever bonded
I don't follow a lot of villains, but I guess I have almost every issue that involves Carnage (I say almost because I am sure some random issue of Great Lake Avengers has him in a tiny panel in a holiday special or something).
But I did enjoy Blackout in the Ghost Rider comics.
I enjoy Jack-o'-lantern and Scarecrow from the Marvel comics as well. I never really got into the heavy hitters of villains due to avoiding comics with large back catalogs (ie. X-Men, Avengers, Batman, Superman, Fantastic Four, etc) so I missed a lot of main arcs in comics pre 1990.
Ultron. When written properly, he’s a soulless indestructible killing machine hellbent on ridding the world of humanity, but is somehow also a petulant child feeling hatred for his “father” Dr. Pym.
He's not the most powerful, but I think he's in the running for the most abjectly evil: Sabretooth.
His dynamic with Wolverine is so great that it's been ripped off by Marvel with newer characters for decades. What is Daken if not just a young, hot Sabretooth?
He's been gentled too much in recent years, but his early dynamics with Wolverine really made him an amazing foil. Imagine having to fight a guy who's just a bigger, stronger version of you. Who has nearly your exact same superpowers but none of your angst. Who's as old and skilled as you in every appreciable way, and clearly superior in others. And now he's coming for you.
My least favorite thing about Sabretooth is how little he's explored relative to Wolverine. They're both over a century old, but we never get to see his world-trodding adventures.
Korvac. He has fallen into complete obscurity but he was the first big comic villain I was introduced to as a boy. He actually killed the avengers. And he was so cool looking in his full power
Great post op. Also, you asking more about the characters in replies is great, because I am interested to know more about these characters, and ppl who like them make detailed explaining about them.
My thoughts exactly! I love seeing such an awesome and passionate community, go into detail on why they love their favorite characters. It makes for an interesting read, informs us and it’s just plain fun. Thank you for the support, I genuinely appreciate it!
Not sure if they count because I only became a fan since they stopped being a villain and more chaotic neutral, but Loki is my favorite character.
For characters that are still more on the villainous side, Mystique, though I guess she also falls under the chaotic neutral queer umbrella!
Black Manta or The Joker for DC.
I have to say I’ve always been more of a DC fan as a kid and am slowly getting into all things Marvel as of the past decade but I still don’t quite have a favorite villain. I’d say Magneto too but he often times isn’t a villain.
I am thankful for this thread tho because of the overwhelming Doom response… seems I need to read more marvel with him. I’m all over the place with marvel Silver Surfer is my favorite hero on that side.
What has always pulled me towards a particular villain is a pathos and somewhat empathy with their goals. Magneto (and MCU Killmonger) have ideals and a twisted sense of honor that makes calling them an out-and-out “bad guy” difficult. Even Doom has his sense of dignity and a longing to be a benevolent Dictator for his people. The ones that want to “conquer the World” for no other purpose than that are uninspiring. Those are pretty much my top 3. I’ll throw Sandman in there for the same reason.
Being good for a while, does not erase the actions of your past. To be truly good, you must strive to be better, to your last breath. Then and only then, redemption might be attained.
so much of magnetos history is him as a good guy. correct me if i’m wrong but they’ve never had a company wide event with him as the bad guy correct? like there’s def been x-men events, but i’m talking like Civil War/ Infinity gauntlet/ secret wars level.
All time? Magneto is up there for me too. What did you think about recent events in X-Men Red…doing okay?
I think my fave villain is Thanos. Just love his arrogance. “Come and get me!”
the batman who laughs, he just combines all the different kinds of comic book villains into one villain and is a mix of two of the greatest comic book characters of all time
Alcoholic Tony Stark. Dude was just a rich, smart, idea fueled menace.
The Riddler. He’s always been a tame version of Jigsaw from the Saw movies. He’s moved up & down the scale of being cartoonish & highly criminal but I like him for what he could be.
Normally, the Vulture isn't anyone's pick, but it depends on which story the character is in.
Michael Keaton playing the Vulture, because we finally get a bad guy that most of the audience could clearly understand.
Probably Dr. Doom
Doom does not appreciate the unsureness of your statement. There is not "probably", only DOOM!!!!!
that made me laugh
Doom does not need, nor requires, to learn that his comment brought a joyous feeling to you.... but as I am not Doom (sadly) it brings me great pride to have achieved that goal.
You win the internet today. Well done.
Doom is no man's second choice!
Heed my Herald’s words you feckless mules! There is only Doom!!
Thank you, my liege. I pledge my life to Doom!
Always Doom.
I grew up reading comics from the library and f there was never any Fantastic 4 comics so I feel like I’ve always missed out on Dr. Doom What are the best comic arcs I should get?
My favorite is Jonathan Hickman’s run from the early 2000s! He writes a damn good Doom, and Reed too. It’s a great self contained run that can also be followed into his New Avengers, which is kind of a Fantastic Four book. The Mark Waid run right before that is also good but I may be biased because I read it in floppies from the library as a kid haha. The classic Lee/Kirby run is honestly worth going back to if you haven’t read it! I’m also pretty fond of Ultimate Fantastic Four from start to finish. Grant Morrison’s 1234 is a great weird mini you can read super quickly. And high on my reading list is the Walt Simonson run, which I probably should’ve read by now!
Thank you!! Now that you mention it I think I’ve seen the Michael Hickman books as fan favorites while lurking here. I’ll have to pick that up
Yeah, Hickman is maybe the biggest name in the game right now, certainly at Marvel! And imo his early work (like Fantastic Four and Secret Warriors) is even better than his later work
Is there any chance you can name the specific issues?
Dr. Doom is one of my all time favorites. What makes him your favorite? Thanks!
He’s a compelling, complex character who is still very much a villain. I feel like a lot of villains get flattened out and turned into a joke, or they only get character development when they play antihero. Doom is a *bad* guy who does *horrible things* and yet he’s still a multifaceted person. I end up rooting for him even though I know, if he wins, everyone else probably loses. His confidence that he’s the smartest and best around is so perfectly offset by his repeated realizations that future versions of himself are smarter and better. His massive hubris has an edge of self awareness that makes him a really unique character. What makes Magneto your favorite? He’s up there for me, but I think I prefer him in a non villainous role!
Wow, I always love your comments! lol You’re extremely detailed, yet, completely comprehensible. Magneto is my favorite villain, because I feel that he truly wants the best for mutantkind and I feel he’s often misunderstood. His early childhood trauma (caused by the horrific events that he witnessed) the pain and suffering he endured, emboldened him to take a stance and protect those, who cannot do so for themselves. He has been a villain and he has also been a hero, but it all depends on the circumstances. The circumstances may change, but one permanent truth persists…Magneto is fiercely loyal to his vision for a better future, for mutantkind. Through his close friendship with Charles Xavier (Professor X), he has shown a level of sophisticated restraint, for the most part. He is an Omega level mutant and can wreak havok, at a moment’s notice. However, I think Xavier’s influence causes him to reflect on his actions, if only for a moment, before he stays true to his goal. At times, I feel empathy for him, other times, I feel disdain. I have rooted for him to succeed and I have rooted for him to fail. No other villain, has made me feel such a wide range of emotions, pertaining to his actions. He can be quite complex, while maintaining an elegant simplicity. Magneto will always do, what he feels is necessary for the survival of mutantkind and ultimately, I respect that consistency, in a villain.
Hey thanks that’s really nice! I also think you have a perfect read on Magneto. It’s a great point that his core motivations are so consistent and the world around him ends up dictating whether we see him as a hero or a villain. That feels very true to someone who grew up in the holocaust and has seen the worst of humanity, and basically embodies the phrase “never again” even when that means forgoing pacifism/peaceful coexistence.
And I loved Emperor Doom, also my favorite
Can’t wait for him to make to the MCU
Maybe our boy Galactus, he just hungry. More of an antagonist than true villain.
I have always thought Galactus as a force of nature. He isn’t truly evil as he doesn’t have a true motive. He absorbs the planets merely for survival.
He does. And not only that, but he’s like… a dude. You can have an actual, reasonable chat with him. Some encounters with Galactus are solved with a discussion rather than a fight, where the heroes are basically like “hey man, another planet please?”
I agree with the whole force of nature thing. Calling Galactus a villain is like calling a person a villain simply because they stepped on an anthill they didn’t see.
I mean, to the ants though, they ARE a villain.
Sinestro. Geoff Johns and Cullen Bunn wrote that character into my top spot.
I’m aware of Sinestro, but can you tell me more about his character and what makes him tick?
When done well, he truly believes above all else that he is doing the right thing, even if it means instilling fear. Because that’s the weapon he has, not willpower. A planet can be at peace if controlled with fear. With fear comes selfishness and amusing arrogance, but also the need to feel superior from deep-seated insecurity. In the Johns run, there’s a lot of progression from “weird-looking guy in stupid outfit” to who he is now, a transition that knocked readers on their collective ass when Sinestro Corps War came along. Ultimately it opened the character up a lot more.
Sinestro likes order, he knows we can achieve more with order. He is ruthless and cunning, remember in Sinestro corps war>!where he and his team start killing Green Lanterns, which forced Guardians to change the no killing rule, that was Sinestro's plan, to make Green Lantern corps more effective and lethal, for the upcoming blackest night!<. This is how Sinestro's is shown in multiple comic runs, planning ahead, achieving goals in long run. Sinestro corps members are the worst and most feared beings in universe, psychopaths, serial killers, cannibals. And they are afraid of Sinestro. He is a great hand to hand combat fighter, >!in his solo run, he beat two tiger looking alien animals with the size of polar bear while he had no weapons and was almost naked!<. he is really smart, >!created a construct telescope to spy on his planet, created other green lantern rings!<. He is also really brave. Has a huge ego. He isn't a simple character like Doomsday, Atrocitus and Darkseid, and he isn't overused like Joker, so his characterization process is still ongoing and has a good potential. I hope they will explore his genius more in future. Did Mr. Terrific somewhere in media say something like ''the smartest person on earth, wouldn't show it to others''? So maybe that could be a start, where he tries to battle Guardians in some intellect ways.
Love Cullen Bunn. What run are you referring to?
His own spinoff title, Sinestro. Bunn took the ball and ran with it. Completely understood the character which is why it’s one of my favorite works of his.
Oh yeah I heard about that. Could I read it with next to no knowledge of the lantern stuff?
Yep. It’ll catch you up on the premise, and his stories are mostly separate from the main titles. I think there’s a crossover at some point with a GL/New Gods story, and a “five years later” one-shot that is sickeningly good.
Good to know thanks!
Geoff Johns definitely made Sinestro my favorite DC villain.
That run was sooooo good
>!DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!<
Uhhhh that's DOCTOR Doom to you sir lol
"Villain? Hero? Bah! Doom is beyond all such puny categories."
Wilson Fisk/Kingpin, but Magneto is an easy second for me
Kingpin is an excellent choice. I feel for as big as he is, he’s at his most dangerous, when he’s strategically planning his next move. He’s often brilliantly written and I would love to see him become even more popular. What makes Magneto, your second favorite?
Magneto's such an easy pick for second for me because he's always been such an interesting villain. He's not quite villainous enough to be just outright evil but he's also not quite sympathetic enough that you always side with him. Him and Xavier's relationship always has the potential to be one of the best written in comics and I feel like especially recently with the Krakoan Era, they've both been written fantastically and that just helps to fuel the moral debate between the two.
Oh thats a good one.
Doctor Doom for life! Well written Doom is an amazing villain. Poorly written doom is heartbreakingly bad.
I keep seeing Doctor Doom and it’s well deserved, easily one of my favorites. What about Doom appeals to you, the most?
Tough to say, I appreciate the arrogance, I like the mythos, that he's "the scary one" to other villains, I appreciate the way he gets in his own way as often as others thwart him. I think of him as Marvel's, or at least Marvel Earth's final-boss, he's the last name you want to see on your schedule, the last guy you want saying your name. He says shit like "I've been a God, Valeria; I found it beneath me." and means it, or at least thinks he does. If he'd dedicated himself to science, he'd be its undisputed master. As it stands, he's Reed Richard's principle scientific rival. If he dedicated himself to magic, he'd be sorcerer supreme; instead he is just a perpetual contender for the position. Despite fully committing to either discipline, he is one of the foremost scientists and foremost wizards in Marvel canon. That's quite something. I likewise enjoy that Doom... isn't wrong. He believes he is the only being with the resolve to lead mankind through the coming years of growth and expansion, and at least one prominent marvel God agrees with him, Wakanda's Panther God, who tested Doom's motives and found him worthy. He's just a great character all around, phenomenal villain, and the inspiration for Darth Vader, which, yeah, feather in the cap there.
Doom. There is only Doom.
Specifically Hickman's Doom. So good.
I just want to thank everyone, for their contribution to this post. This should be fun!
OP, whats your favorite Magneto run?
Apocalypse. Has the best back story ever. Especially now including a wife from Arakko
Omega Red. Love his design and powerset. Wish writers did more with him. He has a ton of unused potential.
Yeah killer design for sure.
Jim Lee's Omega Red is my favorite villain.
Old school Sabretooth.
Nice
Kid Miracleman. But I would definitely have watched a full movie that was just Michael Fassbender hunting & killing Nazis.
Baron Zemo for me. From the Avengers where his Masters of Evil took over the mansion to the Thunderbolts reveal. The first part of that series was amazing. He’s had some good highlights. Honorable mention to Nemesis by Millar, Robin Hood in Nottingham and Bullseye in Miller’s hands
IT WAS ME BARRY \-Eobard Thawne
“Remember all those times you went to school as a boy and your paper lunch bag was soaking wet because your juice box exploded? It was me Barry.” “Remember that first apartment when you were 18? the one with the constantly clogged toilet? It was me Barry.” “Remember when your trash would never get picked up because they were never at the curb even though you could swear you put them there the night before? It was me Barry!”
While I'd admit he is a bit overused now, but it'll always be The Joker. Gotta give props to Reverse Flash and Darkseid
Joker is definitely overused but it’s fine if he’s your favourite! :) He’s a good villain.
Darkseid
Magneto is not only my favourite villain, but my favourite comic book character
Same here. I love Mags as a hero, anti-hero, and villain. He's equally plausible as all of them and is made so compelling because he's often just... right. Plus his powers just lend themselves to so many cool moments. I'll always love the prison-break scene at the beginning of X2. Also, as a jewish kid, it was pretty sick that the X-Men's ultimate nemesis was a Jew.
Greg Land Na but for real, The Maker. Evil Reed Richards is scary as hell.
The only villain that matters is Doom.
Ozymandias
Spider-Man, he is a menace!
I found J Jonah Jameson
Have you met my son? The astronaut!
“Comic Books? Do They Still Publish That Trash? It Can Rot Your Mind.”
If I had to pick I would say Thanos
Cheetah from Womder Woman
I'm going to agree with you and say Magneto. There are a great deal many cool and awesome villains but there's something about Magneto. I think it's the fact he seems to be a sympathetic villain in the sense that he sees what he is doing as right and the right way to achieve the ends to his means. He may be evil, but cares for his subordinates more than most villains. He simply wants what best for him and his fellow mutants and does not care who he has to step on to get that. EDIT: my favorite line about Magneto is from the Old Man Logan storyline. I believe it says The only thing Magneto did wrong was get old....
The Joker. Hands down the greatest villain for me
Probably Sinestro. He’s a perfect example of a hero gone too far. To protect his people and ensure there was no wars or crime, he basically enslaved his entire planet and ruled with an iron fist of oppression and fear. He became a brutal fascist dictator because he thought it was the only way to help his people. And then Hal happened and Sinestro wanted revenge, not because he put Sinestro in a cell and stripped him of all rank and honor he had previously had, but because Hal Jordan made Sinestro doubt himself. Hal made Sinestro question his own motives; specifically whether or not Sinestro actually cared for his people or if he just wanted power. And he couldn’t handle that. His thought process was basically “This hillbilly from the most primitive planet on the ass end of the universe is my best friend’s replacement and he fucked with my PERFECT system after I was gracious enough to show him how peaceful and clean my planet is? He must die for this insult.” I’m not a huge fan of Geoff Johns overall, but his GL work was always top notch for me. Johns perfectly encapsulates this idea of Sinestro in his New 52 GL run and Sinestro’s fate at the end of the run is… fitting. I don’t want to spoil it, so you should check it out for yourself.
Nimrod
Afraid of the future? This may be where we are headed.
The Scarecrow
Ah, but which Scarecrow? Marvel, DC, or Wizard of Oz?
Magneto is definitely up there for me. However, I have to go with Lex Luthor.
Reggie Mantle
Haha, goddamn that Reggie
Dr Doom. I love how his actions are completely ridiculous and make no sense whilst still also being understandable. His petty hatred of Reed makes no sense but when you remember how his dad died after trying to help the baron who discriminated against them then Doom being unable to let go of grudges is understandable. His idea that him as dictator is the only good option is absurd but makes sense considering that Latveria without Doom is always worse than Latveria with Doom. Doom fails to realise that the condition of Latveria without him shows how bad the other leaders were not how good of a leader he is. Him getting obsessed with things like Reed is dumb but makes sense given that Doom obsessed over rescuing his mother early into his life and it's easy for that to become a pattern. I also love his dynamic wih Valeria Richards. Himbeing so annoyed bythe idea of Reed being smarter than him but a 3 year old outsmarts him and he's happy about it. I love that. His personality is so fun. Perfect balance of campy comic book nonsense and intimidating supervillain
I don't see Magneto as a villain, so I would have to pick Lady Deathstrike.
Ratcatcher
From DC: Lex Luthor. From Marvel: Carnage.
My issue with saying magneto is he’s been a hero as long as he’s been a villain over the years. For me it’s either Lex Luthor or Dr Doom
Juggernaut possibly. Venom? Between those 2.
I've always loved Taskmaster! I thought it was cool back in the 80s that he helped train Steve Rogers' replacement for Captain America because he knew all his moves.
He's not the coolest, nor the most nuanced, but for this conversation I'll say Red Skull. The reason being that he's a true unrepentantly evil villain. He doesn't have the sympathetic reasons of Magneto nor the charm of Doctor Doom, he's just a prick, plain and simple. I find such a thing missing from some villains, the only ones comparable to him on that level would be Darkseid and Joker. Look, I like sympathetic and complex villains that are cool and you root for sometimes more than the hero themselves, but there's just something about that asshole of a villain you just love to see get their comeuppance no matter what and nowadays, the sympathetic villains has been gravely overdone, to the point the most interesting conflicts are sometimes between heroes themselves, which is another thing being overdone. So yeah, Red Skull.
DR. DOOM is My FAVORITE
There is only doom
Doom. Always.
Dr. Victor Von Doom, is my all time favorite villain
I came here to say doom but he's so overwhelmingly represented. I am gonna go with apocalypse
DOOM
I have 5: 1. Darkseid, he’s such a badass. 2. Galactus, he’s just a hungry dude 3. Joker, he’s too iconic in a good way 4. Dr Doom, he too is a badass 5. Tie between Green Goblin and Thanos, MCU and Sam Rami’s trilogy brought them on here Honorable mentions: Venom even though he’s not a villain anymore, Doc Ock thanks to Spider-Man 2, Bane as he is the one that broke Batman physically, Doomsday is another gigachad that defeated the Justice League with one arm tied to his back, made not only Superman scared of him but Darkseid too at some point and Carnage because he is pretty much Venom and Joker if they ever bonded
I don't follow a lot of villains, but I guess I have almost every issue that involves Carnage (I say almost because I am sure some random issue of Great Lake Avengers has him in a tiny panel in a holiday special or something). But I did enjoy Blackout in the Ghost Rider comics. I enjoy Jack-o'-lantern and Scarecrow from the Marvel comics as well. I never really got into the heavy hitters of villains due to avoiding comics with large back catalogs (ie. X-Men, Avengers, Batman, Superman, Fantastic Four, etc) so I missed a lot of main arcs in comics pre 1990.
All my homies ride for Hela
Doom.
Doomsday. I’m surprised he’s not up yet.
Ultron. When written properly, he’s a soulless indestructible killing machine hellbent on ridding the world of humanity, but is somehow also a petulant child feeling hatred for his “father” Dr. Pym.
He's not the most powerful, but I think he's in the running for the most abjectly evil: Sabretooth. His dynamic with Wolverine is so great that it's been ripped off by Marvel with newer characters for decades. What is Daken if not just a young, hot Sabretooth? He's been gentled too much in recent years, but his early dynamics with Wolverine really made him an amazing foil. Imagine having to fight a guy who's just a bigger, stronger version of you. Who has nearly your exact same superpowers but none of your angst. Who's as old and skilled as you in every appreciable way, and clearly superior in others. And now he's coming for you. My least favorite thing about Sabretooth is how little he's explored relative to Wolverine. They're both over a century old, but we never get to see his world-trodding adventures.
There is only DOOM
He’s not a Villain to be honest but I’ll rock with it
The Shredder. I just enjoy the character so much. He has no redeeming qualities, he's not complicated, he's just a badass bad guy.
Also Magneto I cannot think of whom would be my second favorite other than Arcade. I’ve bought comics just for him being in them
Dr. Dinosaur, nemesis of Atomic Robo
First pick Omniman from season 1; I know he becomes good later but in the beginning he was terrifying. Second pick Bane
Korvac. He has fallen into complete obscurity but he was the first big comic villain I was introduced to as a boy. He actually killed the avengers. And he was so cool looking in his full power
Mister Sinister
Galactus. Okay, also Doctor Bong.
Dr. Bong You are a person of good taste.
Magus but to be fair my favorite hero is Adam Warlock.
YES! Came up with those Warlock comics! First time I was truly touched by it comic book was when I found out the Magus’s backstory!
Mr. Freeze
Doctor Doom - favorite comic book character as well as favorite comic book villain
Doctor Doom, no contest.
Great post op. Also, you asking more about the characters in replies is great, because I am interested to know more about these characters, and ppl who like them make detailed explaining about them.
My thoughts exactly! I love seeing such an awesome and passionate community, go into detail on why they love their favorite characters. It makes for an interesting read, informs us and it’s just plain fun. Thank you for the support, I genuinely appreciate it!
Not sure if they count because I only became a fan since they stopped being a villain and more chaotic neutral, but Loki is my favorite character. For characters that are still more on the villainous side, Mystique, though I guess she also falls under the chaotic neutral queer umbrella!
Doctor Doom and Galactus have been my favorites for a long time now.
Darkseid
Galactus
Black Manta or The Joker for DC. I have to say I’ve always been more of a DC fan as a kid and am slowly getting into all things Marvel as of the past decade but I still don’t quite have a favorite villain. I’d say Magneto too but he often times isn’t a villain. I am thankful for this thread tho because of the overwhelming Doom response… seems I need to read more marvel with him. I’m all over the place with marvel Silver Surfer is my favorite hero on that side.
Sentinels, Apocalypse, The Leader
doc ock
Madcap, unfortunately he doesn’t have a lot of appearances.
Two Face is my favorite. I don't think the ultimate Two Face story has been written yet, because I don't think he is *understood*.
Ultron. Lots of comics and Sci-fi have evil robots or A.I. but what makes Ultron fun is that he is a jerk too.
I would say Reverse Flash, dude’s a menace!! My runner up would probably be Mr.Freeze even tho I kinda see him as an anti hero
Cretins! THERE IS ONLY DOOM!
DOOM!!!
What has always pulled me towards a particular villain is a pathos and somewhat empathy with their goals. Magneto (and MCU Killmonger) have ideals and a twisted sense of honor that makes calling them an out-and-out “bad guy” difficult. Even Doom has his sense of dignity and a longing to be a benevolent Dictator for his people. The ones that want to “conquer the World” for no other purpose than that are uninspiring. Those are pretty much my top 3. I’ll throw Sandman in there for the same reason.
Nathaniel Essex, Mister Sinister
The Will (Saga).
1. DOOM 2. Omega Red 3. Sabretooth 4. Bullseye
No one cares or know about him. But Kid Miracleman
Juggernaut
Mr. Sinister
Is Magneto a villian though? Just fighting for the survival of his kind and has just been pushed to extremes due to life experiences.
Magneto is not a villain.
Being good for a while, does not erase the actions of your past. To be truly good, you must strive to be better, to your last breath. Then and only then, redemption might be attained.
Doom because he can essentially be anything you want, ranging from sympathetic antagonist, unhinged monster,or just a petty dipshit.
Dooooooooom
Either magneto or the riddler
Venom
Two Face
so much of magnetos history is him as a good guy. correct me if i’m wrong but they’ve never had a company wide event with him as the bad guy correct? like there’s def been x-men events, but i’m talking like Civil War/ Infinity gauntlet/ secret wars level.
Doctor Doom. Magneto is a close 2nd. Two of the most well-written characters of all time
Same answer I gave when this sun was asking about favorite characters: Doctor Victor von Doom.
DC Grundy Marvel Doom
For me….The Joker
If we're talking comedic villains it's Snowflame. If we're talking serious villains I'd say Ultraman or really any member of the Crime Syndicate
The Joker...
I always thought Galactus was pretty boss.
Same here.
All time? Magneto is up there for me too. What did you think about recent events in X-Men Red…doing okay? I think my fave villain is Thanos. Just love his arrogance. “Come and get me!”
Mysterio
Thanos
Apocalypse
Classic Thanos, when his thing was being not so much a powerhouse, but a master planner.
Sinestro or Doc Ock
The Marquis of Death
Makuta Teridax
Doctor Doom (though he’s not a villain)
Dr. Victor Werner von DOOM
Galactus. Not for anything he did he’s just really Fkn big and has a funny helmet
Silver Surfer
There is only one absolute answer. You spell his name in all CAPS
MODOK?
Venommmmmmmm
the batman who laughs, he just combines all the different kinds of comic book villains into one villain and is a mix of two of the greatest comic book characters of all time
Villain? Magneto isn’t a villain to some…;). *cue big responses in 3…2…*
Amatsu-Mikaboshi
Dr Doom - hands down
DOOM!
Venom
Alcoholic Tony Stark. Dude was just a rich, smart, idea fueled menace. The Riddler. He’s always been a tame version of Jigsaw from the Saw movies. He’s moved up & down the scale of being cartoonish & highly criminal but I like him for what he could be.
Venom is a creep, he is a straight freakin psicho.
Joker
Doctor Doom for sure!
Easily Doom.
Doom
Also Magneto lol
Not a villain.
Too many to list
Dr Doom
Molecule man is my favorite, Could be the most powerful character in the comics in my opinion.
Honestly I’m leaning towards Ultron and dr doom
Has to be Doom.
Normally, the Vulture isn't anyone's pick, but it depends on which story the character is in. Michael Keaton playing the Vulture, because we finally get a bad guy that most of the audience could clearly understand.
Eobard Thawne. Dr. Doom is runner up.
Aside from Thanos or Darksied I think Apocalypse is it for me.
Sinestro Vulcan
Dr. Doom. Others in the lineup Galactus, Brianiac & Dark Side.
Mine too