Top 10 Comic Book Villains
Comic book characters have taken off recently, especially with the popularity of the movies and animation on television. Even more so it appears the comic villains get a bigger spotlight than the heroes themselves. In a way this makes sense as the villains are often more interesting. Here is the top ten list of comic book villains. Criteria takes into account how important the villains were in the life of “their” hero, how powerful they were (raw power and brain power), and are they interesting. In the end it came down to this: Would I want to read a story with this comic book villain if there were no heroes in the story.
10. Kingpin
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-man #50, Marvel Comics
Wilson Fisk is a criminal mastermind who is involved in extensive illegal activities such as drug running, smuggling, murder, and extortion. Despite this, he has no criminal record and an army of lawyers to keep it that way. He is a criminal financial strategist without parallel. Fisk has no superhuman powers, but the majority of his 400-plus pound bulk is solid muscle. He has battled heroes such as Captain America, Moon Knight and Daredevil, but his most despised antagonist has been Spider-Man.
Most heinous crime: Ordered a hit on Spider-Man’s Aunt May.
9. Galactus
First Appearance: Fantastic Four #48, Marvel Comics
Sole survivor of the universe existing before the Big Bang, Galactus is perhaps the most feared being in the cosmos. Considering he devours planets, he has killed more beings than any the villain on this list or even all combined on this list. Although some may consider him a “force of nature” and a natural part of the universal order, the fear he elicits easily ranks him in the top ten of villains.
Most heinous crime: He has tried to devour Earth many times and his most famous feeding came at the expense of the Skrull home world, leaving the planet a lifeless rock.
8. Thanos
First Appearance: Iron Man #55, Marvel Comics
Considering he has courted death as his lover, that should give you an idea about how impressive he is as a villain. If only Death will do, you are setting your sights high (or low). What kind of gifts do you offer Death? A lifeless universe according to Thanos.
He has controlled some of the most power objects in the universe such as the Cosmic Cube and the Infinity Gems and became god-like himself. He has defeated Galactus to add to his legend.
Most heinous crime: His villainy was seen at an early age when he attacked his home world with nuclear weapons, killing thousands, including his own mother. Now that is cold.
7. Doomsday
First Appearance: Superman: The Man of Steel #17, DC Comics
Doomsday was created and evolved through cloning an infant and having it killed over and over again in one of the harshest habitats in existence, prehistoric Krypton. In other words, he was bred to be nasty.
Many may complain that Doomsday was a marketing ploy but you gotta give him his due becasue he did kill Superman and killing the Man of Steel has to count for something. If you are a one-trick pony, killing the greatest superhero in comic book history is certainly a good place to start. He also defeated the entire Just League, with one arm literally tied behind his back, before killing Superman.
Most heinous crime: He killed Superman. Really, he killed Superman.
6. Dr. Doom
First Appearance: Fantastic Four #5, Marvel Comics
Victor Von Doom suffered an accident that caused his face to be scarred. After this accident he made matters worse when he then attached a hot steel mask to his face, further scarring him, physically and mentally. That takes commitment.
He has controlled various forces of the universe, much like Thanos, such as the Power Cosmic which he stole from the Silver Surfer. He has also usurped the powers of Galactus and a all-powerful being, the Beyonder. In other words he is crafty and smart.
Most heinous crime: He actually sent Franklin Richards, the child of Reed and Sue Richards of the Fantastic Four, to Hell seeking to torment his parents
5. Green Goblin
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-man #14, Marvel Comics
While not one of my favorite villains, he did cause the 2nd most defining moment in the career of Spider-Man. He murdered Spider-Man’s girlfriend Gwen Stacey when he dropped her from Washington Bridge. He has caused Spider-Man more problems and heart-ache than any other villain and had knowledge of Spider-man’s secret identity as Peter Parker. Considered to be Spider-Man’s most dangerous villain the Green Goblin’s insanity and lust for revenge only makes him that much more deadly.
Most heinous crime: Killed Gwen Stacey in front of Spider-Man.
4. Venom
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #300, Marvel Comics
Venom is actually a team-up between two beings, one an alien and one a human, who both hate Peter Parker/Spider-Man intensely. Venom is an alien symbiote that has bonded with a number of different hosts who all share its hatred, most notable Eddie Brock..
Venom has all the powers of Spider-Man but does not trigger Spider-Man’s early warning abilities, his spider sense, which gives him a crucial advantage over Spider-Man. Venom also has knowledge of Spidey’s secret identity and kidnapped Peter’s parents in an effort to lure him into trap. Although he has had a tendency to fight for good by protecting the innocent he started out as a villain and always comes back to his evil-doing roots. His extreme popularity guarantees him a place on this list.
Most heinous crime: Pushed Spider-Man in front of a train and turned Peter Parker into a ultra-violent vigilante while trying to bond with him.
3. Magneto
First Appearance: Uncanny X-men #1, Marvel Comics
One of the first mutants to appear on the planet and also one of the most dangerous, Magneto has deemed that mutants or homo-superiors are homo sapiens’ successors as rulers of the planet. He is more than willing to sacrifice every human to achieve his ultimate goal of mutant domination on Earth.
His control of all magnetic forces him a good shot at this, especially when he leads his team of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants or any army of misguided mutants. Not letting his past friendship with Charles Xavier get in the way, he has attacked the X-men throughout their history and knows their strengths and weaknesses.
Most heinous crime: He ripped Wolverine’s adamantium metal skeleton from his body and physically reduced the X-men to the level of a two-year old while leaving their minds in tact. Oh, and he killed Jean Grey.
2. Joker
First Appearance: Batman #1, DC Comics
Update: Also read our list of the top 10 best Joker stories.
The maniacal Joker is Batman’s most dangerous foe. Unpredictable, murderous and surprisingly cunning, the Joker is a threat to all human life. Heath Ledger commented on his role, describing his character, the Joker as a “psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy.”
While Joker is a skilled inventor and chemist, the reason he is on this list is due to his purely evil actions spurred by his insanity. Nothing is beyond him and no life holds any value in his warped reality. With a maniacal intensity his focus is usually on destroying Batman while having a laugh doing it. Killing innocents isn’t only his plan, it is his desire.
His most heinous crime: He is a mass murderer killing hundreds of people. He killed the 2nd Robin, Jason Todd, Sarah Essen (Commissioner Gordon’s second wife), and crippled Batgirl.
1. Lex Luthor
First Appearance: Action Comics #23, DC Comics
Lex Luthor may be one of the most gifted persons alive in every facet of his life, but he is also a sociopath without regard for the suffering of others. His hatred for the Man of Steel drives him and makes him Superman’s greatest foe.
Becoming President of the United States and knowing that Kryptonite is the one weakness of Superman has given Lex advantages when trying to destroy Clark Kent’s alter ego. Lex’s disregard for everyone, believing himself superior to all others, has placed him at the top of the list. It has to be noted that he is more intelligent than Superman and has often out-smarted him. Add to the fact that nothing is too low or too vile for him he has an advantage over the moral limitations of Superman. Calculating, cool and a master manipulator puts Lex at the top of the comic book villain chart.
Most heinous crime: Lex activated a “Doomsday Plan” to destroy Metropolis and burned the city to the ground killing thousands. He also had an affair Perry White’s wife, fathering a child.
There were many honorable mentions such as Doctor Octopus, Dark Phoenix, Sinestro and Apocalypse. Do you think any other comic book villains were overlooked? (Editors note: Red Skull and Darkseid deserve at least honorable mention as well.)
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41 Responses to “Top 10 Comic Book Villains”
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I cannot believe Dark Phoenix didn’t make the list, didn’t she destroy a whole solar system?
[...] the X-men I think Dark Phoenix deserves #2 status, no offense Marvel. I found a similar list of the top ten comic book villains at [...]
Darksied.
Ra’s A Ghul.
Red Skull.
Loki.
Mephisto.
Apocalypse.
I think any fan could make a pretty strong case for most of those villians. But I am shocked that Red Skull isn’t on the list. He was a freakin’ Nazi who basically hated everything. He’s the type of guy that maliciosly kicks puppys.
I think Carnage should have been on the list instead of Venom. Carnage is way more dangerous, and is as demented and evil as the Joker.
Eddie Brock still has some goodness in him, regardless of his hate por Spidey. Carnage doesn’t.
The Jokers most heinous crime is killing Jason Todd? Who the hell cared about Jason Todd, what about Barbara Gordon and the Commish?
Darkseid, The White Martians, Superboy Prime.
I can’t believe I didn’t list the Red Skull under honorable mentions. That was a clear omission I have corrected. As well as Darkseid. I have always been more of a Marvel guy and I admit Darkseid never interested me.
I did consider Carnage over Venom, but didn’t think I could include both so I went with the more popular comic book villain in Venom. Venom is more interesting to me because of his twisted code of ethics and he has affected Spider-man more than Carnage.
about the joker
you forgot that he shot her in the hip leaving her as a cripple til our days in KILLING JOKE
shot batgirl that is
Anti-Monitor… I mean, he was responsible for Crisis on Infinite Earths!
Alexander Luthor… Infinite Crisis.
Red Skull… Planned Captain America’s assassination.
Mr. Sinister? Apocalypse? Stryfe managed to shoot Professor Xavier! Luthor is a punk at best and a schmuck at worst. Bah to DC villains not named Joker.
The list is cool but these definitely should have been included:
Darksied,
Ra’s A Ghul,
Apocalypse.
and u could remove Galactus and Venom for they have some good in them.
I wouldn’t even really consider Galactus a villain. He was created for the purpose of destroying worlds, to balance out creation so its not like he has evil intent, he just has a job to do.
I’m not gonna name names for spoiler’s sake, but The Watchmen’s villain deserves #1
your list is HIGHLY flawed there, bubba….
The Kingpin shouldn’t even sneak into the top 50, let alone the top 10.
also, Lex Luthor is #1? not likely….
M.O.D.O.K!
What about Tyrannosaurus Reich?
Your choice of images for the list are great except Lex Luthor. I was always a big fan of the Marvel Universe images and the images they used on the slurpee cups back in the 70’s and those remind me of them
Lobo, or is he just an anti-hero?
He killed his own home world for frags sake, he also beat the crap outta super man - twice. once drunk (check it out)
The Joker killed the second robin? Why did he stop? He was on a roll.
The Joker should be #1.
Red Skull & Apocalypse should definitely make the top 10 list. To make them fit I’d remove Kingpin & Doomsday.
Not only did Red Skull plan the death of Captain America, he also killed Peter Parker’s parents, forcing him to live with his aunt & uncle which lead to him becoming Spider-man. S.H.I.E.L.D. considers him one of their greatest threats.
Apocalypse deserves to be on the list as the oldest living mutant, as the person who: created Mr. Sinister, created Stryfe, infected Cyclops’ son (who became Cable because of it), and gave Angel new wings (making him into one of his Four Horsemen). If for nothing else, he had a hand in creating some of the X-Men’s top villains & super heroes.
Gargamel!He’s the badest bad magician the Smurf village has ever seen!
I want to thank Byron for letting me know about this list. It was very informative. I do agree however, that Darkseid should have been included in the list. I really don’t think that Galactus should have been included, because Reed Richards proved that Galactus was a “force of nature”, which was proved when he stood trial for saving him, (and then he destroyed the Skrull homeworld),by the Shiar, and Reed was acquitted when the conceptual entity Eternity(summoned by Uatu the Watcher)proved that Galactus was INDEED a force of nature, predestined to “weed out” the unworthy species at the end of “our universal cycle”. I do agree with the #1 pick, and the #2 pick. Joker is a TOTAL sociopath!, and Lex is just plain evil(actually, I’d classify him as a sociopath too!)Let’s not forget Rhas Al Guhl!
Rhas Al Guhl was a man who hated evil, and yet he became what he despised to defeat it, very misguided! I think a fair comparison could be made between he and Marvel’s “villain” Magneto.
Good observation about Rhas Al Ghul and the Magneto comparison is right on. Both characters have had their good moments.
Waugh Waugh what about the Penguin? “The refined gentleman of crime” was the perfect contrast to demented, psychotic lunatics like the Joker and Two-face. It’s a travesty that the Penguin didn’t crack the top ten.
this list is completely flawed, completely!
Sir Jorge, If you are going to say a list is completely flawed you should give some reasons or tell us how we missed the mark. Which comic book villains did we miss?
I don’t know if it’s just me but Poison Ivy,the Batman villainess should be in that list too.
She was the first actual feminist and the first actual environment fighter in any comics. She is a perfect femme-fatale - seductive (just try to google “poison Ivy” for photos and you will see how beautiful they draw her),yet extremely deadly “thanks” to a dangerous mind and a toxic kiss.
APOCALYPSE!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME! TIME TRAVEL FOR 1 AND 2 THE OLDEST AND STILL MOST POWERFUL MUTANT!!
[...] Batman has some of the best evil villains of any superhero. The Joker made it to #2 on our list of best comic book villains, showing the popularity and ruthlessness of Batman’s arch nemesis. But hold the Batphone one [...]
You forgot Ozymandias from watchmen. First of all, he’s not subject to most villains main flaw, he does not ramble about his evil plan before execution. Indeed at the moment the minutemen find him in Karnak, his fortress, he had already begun implementation of his plan to kill half of the inhabitants of New York city. Apart from that the heroes are unable to stop him and his plan succeeds. His motives may have been heroic in nature, but killing half of New York while driving most of the survivors insane… That’s cold as hell man. Oh by the way joker should be number 1, Lex is a good villain and all but the joker is craziest most sadistic and evil bastard ever to grace the pages of comic books. Lex motives are simple, he has a penis envy of sorts against superman yet the joker is simply a irredeemable psychopath who kills innocents for pleasure. Lex can’t compete with that.
Oh I forgot, the joker’s kill count is hard to establish exactly yet I believe it to be in the hundreds of thousands of people range not hundreds. Trust me in this one, he truly kills for the fun of it there is no exact motive behind his crimes. He does not care for world domination, money or anything in particular. His only obsession is the death of Batman a foe truly worth killing and he will burn the world to ashes just to achieve that goal. He’s awesome.
Either Joker or Venom should be #1.
Actually, Joker’s most heinous crime wasn’t killing Robin, or crippling Barbara Gordon.
It was cited in one of the Hitman comics in the 90’s that Joker once gassed an entire room of Kindergarteners. So… who wants some tots? They were cooked in a gas oven… HAHAHHAhahahaha
Apocalypse
Mr. Sinister
Apocalypse def should be on over either Kingpin, Galactus, or Doomsday. I’m not a Red Skull fan but I’d put him 9 or 10 and Joker should be #1. Not a bad list though. What about Brainiac? I like the comment about Poison Ivy but she shouldn’t be on here.
Onslaught?
What about the Mandarin. I think onslaught should be mentioned as he is probably one of the most powerfull bad guys on marvels list.
The Mandarin? Are you out of your cotton-pickin’ mind?
I totally agree about 1-st and 2-nd position. Lex Luthor and the Joker are the craziest sociopaths ever created in comics, never mind they don’t possess super powers. The bad thing is that till now it’s not created movie who reveals the truely nature of Lex Luthor - the Superman movies make him funny sociopath (something like the Joker in the first Batman movie) or Smallville (first six seasons) makes him not so evil. I hope that in near future Superman movies will be directed by someone who really knows what to do :). I’ve heard rumors that the director of next Superman movie will be Christopher Nolan but we will see.