DC is known for its respected roster of heroes. These heroes often have amazing powers, ones that set them apart from the heroes of other comics. Power can be a good thing but it can also corrupt. Many of DC’s dangerous and intimidating villains have gained power that puts them on par with their heroic foes and that has hastened their fall to evil. They don’t always start out that way but for some people, a little power is a terrible thing.
There are some powers in the DC Multiverse that have corrupted all but the hardiest individuals, with a higher number of villains stemming from these abilities than others.
10 Super-Intelligence Often Leads To Super Evil
The DC Universe is full of extremely intelligent villains, men and women who have used humanity’s greatest tool: their brains. Few powers have corrupted like super-intelligence. A prime example of that is Vandal Savage. Evolved to unheard-of levels by a meteorite a hundred thousand years ago, he’s used his super-intellect to menace the world ever since.
Villains like Lex Luthor, T.O. Morrow, Anthony Ivo, and so many others have used their intellect to bedevil the heroes for years, becoming foes who can stand up to the most powerful heroes. The creations of their minds have proven just as great as any power.
9 The Orange Light Of Avarice Completely Took Over Larfleeze
The emotional spectrum is full of powers that have doomed their users to lives of evil, and one of the most corrupting is the orange light of Avarice. The power of the Orange Lantern completely controls those who try to take it, so that there is only one actual member of the Orange Lantern Corps at a time. That has been Larfleeze for ages, as he’s killed everyone who tried to take the power and transformed them into energy constructs.
Larfleeze is often played comedically, but his life has been completely controlled by the light of Avarice, forcing him to kill to keep it.
8 The Power Of Time Travel Has Created Some Terrible Villains
Having the ability to travel through time has been something that has created a lot of villains. Per Degaton was one of DC’s first time-traveling villains, later joined by Chronos and the Lord of Time.
The ability to travel through the time stream and change things has attracted the worst kinds of people, willing to use it for personal gain and power. Time travel has created some terrible villains, ones who have no problems using this ability in the worst ways.
7 Speedsters Come In Two Varieties & One Of Those Is Monstrous
The Speed Force gives its users amazing powers and has created some great heroes like Jay Garrick, Barry Allen, and Wally West. It’s also created some evil villains, like Reverse-Flash, Savitar, and Godspeed. There’s something about the power the Speed Force provides that makes some people turn evil.
The Negative Speed Force that the Reverse-Flash uses is one of the greatest powers in the universe and has the most potential for evil, as it gives Reverse-Flash powers that the best speedster heroes have and ones they don’t have access to, like unaided time travel and the ability to degrade speedsters to dust.
6 The Red Light Of Rage Makes Its Users Into Terrible Berzerkers
Another power from the emotional spectrum that has corrupted nearly all of its users is the red light of Rage. The Red Lanterns lose all control of themselves, becoming beings of pure Rage. This has spurred them on to some monstrous acts, ones that have made its power more associated with evil than anything else. While the users sometimes have good intentions, the red light is just too powerful for them.
While heroes like Guy Gardner and Supergirl have been able to defeat it, the red light has corrupted nearly everyone that had it. It’s a potent energy that has overcome all but the stoutest hearts.
5 Vampirism Has Always Been A Road To Evil
Vampires aren’t as big in DC as other kinds of monsters, but it’s always been a swift road to corruption. The need to feed on blood has often driven people insane, becoming relentless monsters defined by their thirst. It also gives great power, with abilities like super strength, flight, and an undead healing factor.
While some can overcome the temptation of drinking from the living, others can’t, and they’ve bedeviled the heroes many times over the years. It’s forced people who wouldn’t usually kill to consider it when no other option is readily available.
4 The Yellow Light Of Fear Has Created Many Evil Villains
One of the worst powers of the emotional spectrum, the one that has produced the evilest users, is the yellow light of Fear. First wielded by rogue Lantern Sinestro, he created his own Corps in the seminal story The Sinestro Corps War. While the yellow light has been used for good, the people who are chosen by Sinestro Corps rings are often the most monstrous villains around.
The power to use Fear can only come from someone who is halfway down the road to evil anyway and the members of the Sinestro Corps have rarely if ever overcome it to do anything good with it.
3 The Power To Control Anti-Matter Has Never Led To Good Places
Anti-matter in the DC Multiverse is the ultimate destructive power. It’s been presented as a power that was the exact opposite of the positive matter energies and is most identified with beings like Anti-Monitor. One of the only people to ever use it for good is Alexander Luthor and even he eventually fell to evil.
Anti-matter beings and their energies have always led to terrible places. The anti-matter universe of Qward has produced many evil beings, including the Weaponeers of Qward. Anti-matter never does anything good in the DC Multiverse.
2 The Black Energy Of Death Has Corrupted All It Touched
The black energy of Death is the opposite of the powers of the emotional spectrum. The Black Lantern rings resurrected the dead and turned even the most heroic dead, like Earth-2 Superman, the Hawks, Aquaman, and Firestorm, into flesh-eating monsters. Black Hand had tapped into it earlier than most and it dominated him, transforming him into the avatar of Death.
Only two beings have ever used a Black Lantern ring for good, Batman and Roy Harper. Other than those two, trillions were Black Lanterns and none were able to truly overcome the corrupting influence of Death.
1 Magic Has Corrupted Many Of Its Users
Magic is one of the greatest powers in the DC Multiverse, with some amazingly powerful heroes and villains using it. It’s corrupted many of those it touched. Magic is wild power, one that gives its users the ability to do nearly anything with the right training. Unfortunately, that training and the realization of the power it gives have turned even those who started with good intentions into evil.
Magic is a pathway to great power and sometimes, great power attracts the worst people. It also can take those with the best of intentions and transform them into the worst beings imaginable.
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