The Favourite Villains Thread

[tony ingram]

I thought it might be nice to have a thread dedicated to reminding people of our favourite bad guys, well known or not, and why they're so wonderful. The more pictures, the better! I'll start, with some favourite Marvel villains of mine...

Nebulon the Celestial Man a giant alien squid who masqueraded as a golden humanoid and tried to flood the world before starting his own religion. Fell foul of the Defenders, several times.


Squadron Sinister Former hirelings of Nebulon. Hyperion, the Whizzer, Dr. Spectrum and their absent colleague Nighthawk were created specifically because Roy Thomas wanted to write a villainous version of the Justice League of America.


The Elf With a Gun: more than thirty years after Steve Gerber created him, we still have no idea who he was, what he wanted or why he was shooting people!


Water Wizard: possibly the most entertainingly lame Ghost Rider villain ever, the Wizard eventually renamed himself 'Aqueduct' because he thought it sounded cooler. He named himself after plumbing!

[tony ingram]

The Headmen Marvel's maddest scientists, who experimented on themselves with bizarre results.


The Ani-Men a team of villains who dressed up as animals for no readily apparent reason. Later, they took the next illogical step and actually had themselves physically altered to resemble their costumes, presumably in order to save time getting dressed in the morning!


Hurricane a disgruntled weatherman who created a homemade power suit and took out his frustrations on Captain Britain.


The Orb Do I really need to say anymore?

[tony ingram]

Finally (for now), the sheer brilliance that is Dr. Vincent Stegron, AKA Stegron the Dinosaur Man, a scientist who seemingly turned himself into a human Stegosaur simply because it reminded him of his name...

[tony ingram]

Man Bull

[Lucy Ingram]

Is his origin story that he overdosed on steroids?

[tony ingram]

Is his origin story that he overdosed on steroids?

Close. William 'Bull' Taurens was a thug working for the sinister Mister Kline, who gave him an experimental serum that made him into a human/bull hybrid.

[Lucy Ingram]

Mad Jim Jaspers MP, reality-warping super-villain and self-described "cheeky chappy" who embodies the British public's deep-seated mistrust of our elected representatives and owns a dimensionally transcendental flying teapot.

If Mad Jim Jaspers were a member of the Privy Council then he'd be entitled to describe himself as "the Right Honourable," which makes me wonder - would "the Right Honourable" go before or after the "Mad"?

[tony ingram]

Surely, it would be "the Right Honourable Mad Jim Jaspers"? Anything else would just sound silly!

[tony ingram]

Anyone remember the original Star Sapphire?

[ramonschenk]

This is hilarious, guys! Makes me hard-pressed to think of my favorite! Probably a post-Marvel Steve Ditko villain!

[tony ingram]

Ditko was responsible for designing some of my favourite Spider-Man villains, including the wonderful Norton G Fester AKA the Looter AKA Meteor Man, who gained super strength from a mysterious meteorite...



...while for Captain Atom's rogues gallery, he came up with some truly bizarre creations like the wonderfully named 'Fiery-Icer'.

[ramonschenk]

Remember that he used to move around using a miniature hot air balloon tied to his shoulders?

[tony ingram]

Remember that he used to move around using a miniature hot air balloon tied to his shoulders?

Well, you would, wouldn't you? Nothing guarantees a quick escape like a hot air balloon!

[Sam_Vimes]

I was always very fond of Dr. Crab as a child:

[ramonschenk]

How does he button up that lab coat? Hmmmm....

[tony ingram]

How does he button up that lab coat? Hmmmm....

This is one of those questions one does not ask. Rather like "how does Razorfist have a pee".

[ramonschenk]

That one is simple: very, very, VERY carefully!

[tony ingram]

Along the same lines: please note that Hector Hammond's tunic has no zipper or buttons. How does he get it over his head?

[ramonschenk]

Velcro. The choice of big-head~ed super-villains across the universes!

[tony ingram]

Where's the bit that fastens, though? There's no apparent break in the outfit. Unless it's around the back? Maybe he buys from a specialist tailor also used by the Leader, who has some sort of invisible fastening thing as his signature piece...

[Philip K Ditko]

Does anyone remember this pair of cocks?

Gamecock
From Captain America #183 by Steve Englehart and Frank Robbins. Later revived by Mark Gruenwald in CA #371.


Cockroach Hamilton
From Don McGregor's run on Power Man. Lived on Cheese Snips and called his gun Josh.

[tony ingram]

I remember both of them. But speaking of Power-Man: do you remember Piranha Jones? (I'll have to find an image)

And whatever happened to Shades and Comanche?

[Philip K Ditko]

Yes I do. Piranha Jones was from the same 3-parter as Cockroach Hamilton.


Shades and Comanche turned up again in Shadowlands: Power Man along with Hamilton and other old  Cage Villains such as Mr Fish.

[tony ingram]

Ah, I'll have to dig that out! I'd forgotten. I used to love Power Man (and later Power Man & Iron Fist, the best "buddy" comic ever). Piranha also turned up in Terror Inc., if I recall correctly.

[Philip K Ditko]

I must look out for that. I liked Terror's earlier incarnation, Shreck, in St George and Critical Mass, but the first issue of Terror Inc is the only one I have. Jorge Zaffino was a very underrated artist.

[tony ingram]

He was indeed! Actually, that era came up with some pretty good stuff, most of it now totally overlooked much of the time.

[Lucy Ingram]

Was Piranha Jones one of those environmentalists who hates humans?

[tony ingram]

Was Piranha Jones one of those environmentalists who hates humans?

No, he was an underworld type with huge filed teeth. Not to be confused with The Piranha, the Man-Fish, Tiger Shark, King Shark, The Shark, Carcharo or the Eel.

[MajorHoy]

Anyone remember the original Star Sapphire?

I was too young at the time (like, wasn't even born yet).   





The first I heard of her was back in an issue of The Amazing World of DC Comics, where she was mentioned and a picture of her was shown. Don't recall ever reading a story with her in it.

[tony ingram]

I still have a reprint of her first appearance. Great story.

[MajorHoy]

Was Piranha Jones one of those environmentalists who hates humans?

No, he was an underworld type with huge filed teeth. Not to be confused with The Piranha, the Man-Fish, Tiger Shark, King Shark, The Shark, Carcharo or the Eel.

Don't forget Ramon Bracuda from a few issues of DC's Showcase '93.

[Lucy Ingram]

Yay, Nightwing!

[MajorHoy]

[MajorHoy]

Does anyone remember . . . Gamecock
From Captain America #183 by Steve Englehart and Frank Robbins. Later revived by Mark Gruenwald in CA #371.

Did he ever fight Bantam?

[tony ingram]

Nope, and since Bantam is now dead, it's likely that was a missed opportunity...

[Lucy Ingram]

Are all poultry-based superheroes black?

[tony ingram]

Are all poultry-based superheroes black?

Nope. See here:
http://britishcomics.wikia.com/wiki/Birdman_and_Chicken

[MajorHoy]

Nope, and since Bantam is now dead, it's likely that was a missed opportunity...

Since when has being dead ever been a problem for a comic book character to return?
(With maybe a handful of exceptions, but even then, who knows?)

[tony ingram]

Nope, and since Bantam is now dead, it's likely that was a missed opportunity...

Since when has being dead ever been a problem for a comic book character to return?
(With maybe a handful of exceptions, but even then, who knows?)

I know Marvel brought back Blue Streak, Bird Man II and Turner D. Century, but I think even they would draw the line at Bantam.

[Lucy Ingram]

Why? He looks pretty bad-ass.

[tony ingram]

"Bad ass"? The man named himself after a chicken, for God's sake!

[Lucy Ingram]

Yeah, but if you point that out to him, he'll kick your sneckin' head in, 'cos he's well 'ard.

[tony ingram]

Yeah, but if you point that out to him, he'll kick your sneckin' head in.

Not since the unfortunate exploding oil tanker incident, he won't. He's now KFC.

[Lucy Ingram]

We can rebuild him! We have the technology! Anyway, wouldn't superpower logic dictate that he now has oil tanker-based powers?

[MajorHoy]

We can rebuild him! We have the technology! Anyway, wouldn't superpower logic dictate that he now has oil tanker-based powers?

Does that mean if he takes a leak, crude oil comes out instead?   

[tony ingram]

We can rebuild him! We have the technology! Anyway, wouldn't superpower logic dictate that he now has oil tanker-based powers?

Does that mean if he takes a leak, crude oil comes out instead?   

I think the only thing crude around here is you, Major...  

[MajorHoy]

We can rebuild him! We have the technology! Anyway, wouldn't superpower logic dictate that he now has oil tanker-based powers?

Does that mean if he takes a leak, crude oil comes out instead?   

I think the only thing crude around here is you, Major...  

I put that as delicately as possible!

[Lucy Ingram]

I was thinking more of the power to, like, explode.

[MajorHoy]

I was thinking more of the power to, like, explode.

But aren't oil tankers more likely to rupture and create oil spills then just go "BOOM"?

(And aren't there already enough characters who just explode? Look what happened to one of the comic book shops I go to sometimes!   )

[tony ingram]

I was thinking more of the power to, like, explode.

But aren't oil tankers more likely to rupture and create oil spills then just go "BOOM"?

Having seen many TV shows in which cars explode for no reason, I had assumed that Americans added some volatile material to their oil which blew up on contact. Is this not the case?

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