DC Comics has every kind of villain you could ask for. From killer clowns and knowledge-consuming androids to supersoldier mercenaries and the living embodiment of evil itself, there is plenty to choose from when it comes to antagonists in the DC Multiverse–and all that is before the topic of motivations is brought up.
There is all manner of reasons for a person to turn into a supervillain in the DC Universe. Some villains, such as Flash‘s Rogues, are just looking for a quick and hefty payday. There are also some villains who just enjoy the act of killing. However, there are others who actually have pretty understandable reasons for their villainy. Of course, there are others who are just plain evil and are proud of it.
10 HAVE A POINT: General Zod Will Do Anything To Protect What Is Left Of His People
General Zod’s motivations in recent years have become a bit more nuanced. He is among the last survivors of his race and has established a small family unit with Ursa and Lor-Zod. While Zod, at his core, is a fascist, it’s hard not to sympathize with a man whose people are on the brink of extinction. Zod is just trying to make sure his people survive this seemingly final generation of Kryptonians.
In issues of Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps by Robert Venditti and Rafa Sandoval, Zod has even helped the Green Lantern Corps against the threat of the Darkstars.
9 JUST EVIL: Mongul Wiped Out Coast City And Runs A Mobile Planet Full Of Slave Gladiators
Mongul isn’t actually just one individual. It is a lineage of conquerors who rule Warworld. It was Mongul that wiped out Coast City alongside Cyborg Superman. Mongul joined the Sinestro Corps and tried to take it from Sinestro. It was Mongul that delivered the Black Mercy to Superman in the Fortress of Solitude on his birthday.
Furthermore, Mongul rules Warworld, which is a mobile planet full of slave gladiators that fight and kill one another for the pleasure of Mongul.
8 HAVE A POINT: Atrocitus Takes Brutal Vengeance For The Angry And Downtrodden
Atrocitus’s Red Lantern Corps is powered by rage. It is their rage against the injustice that befalls each recruit and the cruelty that permeates around them. Their rage is so great, that, after the Red Lantern ring attaches itself to a recruit, a Red Lantern essentially becomes a mindless beast of pure rage spitting out blood that burns like napalm.
Atrocitus understands that for some, nuanced and calculating justice isn’t satisfying–it’s the correct course and the measured response, just not satisfying. Atrocitus gives his recruits the opportunity to take bloody revenge against their oppressors, tormentors, and captors.
7 JUST EVIL: Superboy-Prime Is A Petulant Child With A Penchant For Murder
Superboy-Prime comes from an Earth more innocent and simple than the ones that followed. This Earth was destroyed by the Anti-Monitor during Crisis on Infinite Earths by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, and he was unleashed on the modern world during Infinite Crisis by Geoff Johns and George Perez. During this time, Superboy-Prime raged about how corrupt and tainted the modern Earth was and ended up killing several members of the Teen Titans, including Connor Kent aka Superboy.
Superboy-Prime ended up trying to recreate the Multiverse using the Anti-Monitors tower, but he was stopped by the combined efforts of Earth’s heroes.
6 HAVE A POINT: Poison Ivy Recognizes The Destructive Power Of Mankind To The Natural World
Pamela Isley was at one point just a botanist, but she was granted power over plants thanks to a chemical she created (though this was actually due to experiments performed on Isley by Woodrue aka the Floronic Man in the pre-New 52 continuity). From there, Isley became Poison Ivy, a dark champion of the Green.
Poison Ivy’s main grievance is the destruction and consumption of mankind threatening the natural world. Due to her connection with plant life, Poison Ivy feels the pain and agony of the world’s flora as it is annihilated by humankind. Considering what humanity is doing to the environment and climate, it’s hard not to agree.
5 JUST EVIL: Prometheus Destroyed Star City And Has Brutally Killed Countless Heroes
Prometheus is a cruel killer who has slaughtered countless superheroes in his crusade against the concept of justice. His real name is unknown, but his path started when his criminal parents were gunned down by police officers years ago. Since then, he has tried to kill every superhero he can get his hands on and even beat the entire Justice League at one point.
He tried to throw Barbara Gordon, aka the Oracle, off a clocktower during a duel with the Birds of Prey. He cut off one of Arsenal’s arms. He used an earthquake device to wipe out much of Star City. That’s before even mentioning the deaths of Gloss, Tasmanian Devil, and Sandstorm. Green Arrow actually killed Prometheus over the destruction of Star City, but Prometheus was resurrected with the New 52.
4 HAVE A POINT: Red Hood Is Right To Resent Batman For Not Dealing With Joker For Good
Jason Todd’s fury at Batman is hard to not sympathize with. Beyond the unhinged parenting methods used by Batman, Bruce not enacting some kind of final vengeance on the Joker over the death of Jason Todd or even the maiming of Batgirl is hard to understand.
Red Hood has become more of an antihero in recent years, but Jason Todd’s first return found him waging open and lethal war against Batman and the Gotham City underworld. This culminated in a showdown between Red Hood, Batman, and the Joker, wherein Jason pleaded with Batman in the hopes of understanding why the Joker was still alive after what he put Jason through. Batman tried to get Jason to understand, but his explanations fell on deaf ears. After all, how many people has the Joker killed, Jason himself included?
3 JUST EVIL: The Joker Is A Sadistic Killer With No Remorse Or Restraint
It’s hard to think of a DC villain more violent and depraved than the Clown Prince of Crime himself. He has done it all: torture, mutilation, and killing. He cut off his own face to rediscover himself, killed Jason Todd when he was Robin, and shot Barbara Gordon through the spine. He’s had countless victims over the years.
One of the most memorable Joker atrocities comes from Death of the Family by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, in which the Joker made a living human tapestry by stitching several Arkham Asylum staffers together and running tubes through their stomachs to keep them alive but paralyzed.
2 HAVE A POINT: Black Adam Is Tired Of Seeing His People Subjugated
Black Adam was given the power of Shazam hundreds of years ago, but the Wizard found Teth Adam too brutal and locked him away. When he was unleashed again, he sought vengeance on the Wizard, but he eventually retreated back to Kahndaq after being beaten by the new champion, a young boy named Billy Batson.
Black Adam has since sought to protect Kahndaq from foreign invaders and internal despots. During the reign of the Crime Syndicate in Forever Evil by Geoff Johns and David Finch, Black Adam joined up with Lex Luthor to overthrow the Crime Syndicate. He was most recently invited onto the Justice League by Superman himself. It seems even the Man of Steel has to admit that there is something redeemable in Black Adam.
1 JUST EVIL: Darkseid Is Just The Living Embodiment Of Evil Itself
Darkseid is the purest embodiment of evil in DC Comics. He is a New God of the Fourth World, and he has sought the Anti-Life Equation, with which he intends to remake all of reality to suit his desires. He has killed countless in this quest, and he has found himself at odds with heroes throughout the universe in this mission.
Most recently, Darkseid wiped out the Quintessence–the council of gods who oversaw the preservation of order in the Multiverse. It seems that this was the first step in an all-new dark crusade by Darkseid.
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