Top Five Supervillains of All Time

Who needs superheroes anyway? What would Batman be without that ensemble of evil comprising the Joker, the Penguin, the Riddler, and Catwoman? For Spider-Man, Dr. Octopus is at least as essential as Mary Jane Watson. Peter Parker's original girlfriend, Gwen Stacy, is remembered due to her death at the hands of the Green Goblin; Aunt May is a waste of ink unless tormented by the Vulture or Mysterio.

Supervillains suffered from the late 1980s to the early years of this decade as comic books became darker and more psychoanalytical--often the superhero's greatest enemy was himself. Many great, classic supervillains were killed off or emasculated. The Riddler, for example, was turned into a petty criminal easily disposed of in one frame. The Green Goblin is currently in his nth incarnation after a convoluted string of deaths and new men behind the mask. Moreover, few scintillating supervillains were introduced in the period. Bane is a notable exception, but the Knightfall series was most enriched by the rogues gallery of old Batman foes that escaped from Arkham Asylum.

There are three qualities I assess in a supervillain. First, I judge their unique abilities. An ability can spawn organically or as an accessory. For example, the Penguin's umbrella is an excellent accessory, as well as his sharply pointed nose. Secondly, I investigate their persona. Although persona is closely linked to ability (e.g., the Riddler's penchant for puzzles), it also assesses the depth of a character. For instance, an interesting aspect of Dr. Octopus is the mental conflict between the id of his mechanical arms and the superego of his natural self. Finally, I assess the villain's historical depth. Due to their vast number of appearances and the critical roles they have taken in plot development, the Joker and Green Goblin are essential to Batman and Spider-Man, respectively.

To follow the advice of our loyal reader G, let's begin with fifth place.


5. Magneto. Although I'm not an X-Men specialist, without Magneto the series would have been crippled. His magnetic powers are ingeniously tapped to turn the tiniest ferromagnetic trace into a deadly weapon (witness the scene in the movie X-Men 2 where Mystique places an iron pill in a security guard's beer). Representing the antithesis of Dr. Xavier's belief in a world of peaceful cohabitation by humans and mutants, Magneto arrived at his pessimistic conclusion after internment in Auschwitz and years of debating Dr. X. The original X-Men supervillain, he has remained a staple ever since.


4. The Riddler. When Edward Nigma turned to crime, he didn't do it for the loot. The Riddler is one of those villians who perpetually loses the upper hand by making one too many boasts and by devising impractical Rube Goldberg-like death contraptions. Obsessive compulsion has been a recurrent trait of the Riddler since the 1960s, when he tried but couldn't refrain from leaving a clue for the Caped Crusader. Introduced in 1948, the Riddler was originally a minor villain until Frank Gorshin's classic portrayal of the puzzlemaster in the 1960s Batman television series.


3. The Joker. My top three choices are virtually interchangeable. Introduced in Batman #1, the Joker killed almost three dozen people over his next 12 appearances. As comic books turned less bloodthirsty during their Golden Age, the Clown Prince of Crime became less homicidal but maintained his maniacal creativity. Between an arsenal of comedic weapons (his victims often die of chemically induced laughter) and a penchant for elaborate traps, the Joker has stayed amusing for six decades. Although he is constantly reinvented, interpretations of Batman's archenemy usually fall into one of two categories: a nearly harmless prankster thief (exemplified by Cesar Romero in the 1960s TV series) or a raving mad psychopathic mass murderer (most fully realized in the late 1980s, when a DC telephone poll sentenced the second Robin to death at his hands). The best Jokers strike a balance somewhere in between.


2. The Green Goblin. Spider-Man's most dangerous foe, the Green Goblin's greatest years came between his introduction in Amazing Spider-Man #14 and Norman Osborn's demise in Amazing Spider-Man #122. The Green Goblin is equipped with an astounding array of weaponry, exemplified by his jet glider and pumpkin bombs. Many consider the death of Norman Osborn, the original Green Goblin, in 1973 to herald the beginning of the long decline in comic book quality. Osborn's goblin serum turned him into a physically and intellectually enhanced madman, one of the least sane villians in the comic book universe. As previously mentioned, the Green Goblin killed off Spider-Man's first love in two of the greatest comic books ever published.


1. Dr. Octopus. Dr. Otto Octavius was a brilliant nuclear physicist who metamorphosed into a criminal genius when an atomic explosion caused his assistant mechanical arms to fuse to his flanks. These appendages are now controlled through his nervous system and represent the primal and violent side of Doc Ock's personality. Although Octavius is overweight and myopic, the extrasensory capabilities of his additional arms provide the doctor with superhuman physical abilities. Introduced in the second issue of Amazing Spider-Man, he defeated the Wall Crawler so soundly that it took the intervention of the Fantastic Four to save the day. Featured in the movie Spider-Man 2, Alfred Molina's rendition of Spider-Man's eminent foe masterfully highlighted the nuances of Doc Ock's warped mind.