Which Superhero has the biggest number of iconic villains?

  • 126 results
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
Avatar image for xrated48
Xrated48

654

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 2

I would say batman easily with spider man second

Avatar image for voloergomalus
VoloErgoMalus

2881

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

@darthmummy said:

Waitaminute, what makes a villain iconic? It kinda seems like applying that title to some of these guys is reaching a bit. I would argue that these are the only iconic villains in the conversation:

  • Lex Luthor
  • Joker
  • Doctor Octopus

Of course, if you mean "recognizability among comic readers", you have yourself a very long list.

On the flipside, I'd say Magneto means more to the X-men than any of those Villains mean to their heroes... and he doesn't even make your list. So it's a complicated question.

That's a cool way to look at it. Not only does Magneto have the arch-enemy connection to Professor X, he also represents everything the X-men oppose. If the X-men represent Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream of a world where all groups are united regardless of differences, Magneto represents the desire for segregation and his own group's supremacy (in a word, racism). So in that regard, the X-men and Magneto's enmity transcends the comic books and is worth considering as the most iconic of all.

Lex Luthor has his arguments too though, if we're looking at it purely in terms of the human condition. He embodies several of the "seven deadly sins" that have plagued mankind since time immemorial, and also the archetype of the "individual" who refuses to be part of the flock, to relinquish his destiny to a higher power or the collective (the arrogance of free will, but also the ambitious quality of humanity).

Joker's conflict with Batman is interesting too, because it has a metaphysical quality to it. Bruce said in the Dark Knight Returns that the murder of his parents taught him that, "The world only makes sense when you force it to." He spent his entire life training himself to be a paragon of human ability so that he could impose structure on the world. Like the Gothic architecture erected by his ancestor Solomon Wayne, he wants to live forever in the hearts and minds of Gothamites, in immortal symbol of righteous authority that will compel the city to puritanism. He is an avatar of control and order, but much more than that; he employs theatrics and esoteric disciplines to become a supernatural force in the eyes of his enemies. Joker is the perfect enemy for Batman because, besides being a horrifically cunning mass murderer, he doesn't take himself or Batman seriously. He sees Batman and laughs at the absurdity of a man in a bat suit trying to create order in an inherently chaotic world. It's a struggle between iron conviction and the madness that mocks it. Crystallization and fluidity.

Avatar image for joe_chill
Joe_Chill

544

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Batman for sure

Avatar image for superguy1591
Superguy1591

7539

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 2

User Lists: 0

#104  Edited By Superguy1591

Batman, Spider-Man and Superman in that order.

Brainiac, Zod, Luthor and Doomsday are Superman's big four.

Avatar image for thor-parker
Thor-Parker

19856

Forum Posts

250

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 3

Spider-Man and Batman

Avatar image for bluelantern1995
BlueLantern1995

3237

Forum Posts

7086

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 2

User Lists: 26

#106  Edited By BlueLantern1995

Batman by like 2 or 3 villains above its competitor Spider-Man.

Avatar image for havenless
Havenless

3312

Forum Posts

11

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#107  Edited By Havenless

@darthmummy said:

@havenless said:

@darthmummy said:

Waitaminute, what makes a villain iconic? It kinda seems like applying that title to some of these guys is reaching a bit. I would argue that these are the only iconic villains in the conversation:

  • Lex Luthor
  • Joker
  • Doctor Octopus

Of course, if you mean "recognizability among comic readers", you have yourself a very long list.

On the flipside, I'd say Magneto means more to the X-men than any of those Villains mean to their heroes... and he doesn't even make your list. So it's a complicated question.

That's a cool way to look at it. Not only does Magneto have the arch-enemy connection to Professor X, he also represents everything the X-men oppose. If the X-men represent Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream of a world where all groups are united regardless of differences, Magneto represents the desire for segregation and his own group's supremacy (in a word, racism). So in that regard, the X-men and Magneto's enmity transcends the comic books and is worth considering as the most iconic of all.

Lex Luthor has his arguments too though, if we're looking at it purely in terms of the human condition. He embodies several of the "seven deadly sins" that have plagued mankind since time immemorial, and also the archetype of the "individual" who refuses to be part of the flock, to relinquish his destiny to a higher power or the collective (the arrogance of free will, but also the ambitious quality of humanity).

Joker's conflict with Batman is interesting too, because it has a metaphysical quality to it. Bruce said in the Dark Knight Returns that the murder of his parents taught him that, "The world only makes sense when you force it to." He spent his entire life training himself to be a paragon of human ability so that he could impose structure on the world. Like the Gothic architecture erected by his ancestor Solomon Wayne, he wants to live forever in the hearts and minds of Gothamites, in immortal symbol of righteous authority that will compel the city to puritanism. He is an avatar of control and order, but much more than that; he employs theatrics and esoteric disciplines to become a supernatural force in the eyes of his enemies. Joker is the perfect enemy for Batman because, besides being a horrifically cunning mass murderer, he doesn't take himself or Batman seriously. He sees Batman and laughs at the absurdity of a man in a bat suit trying to create order in an inherently chaotic world. It's a struggle between iron conviction and the madness that mocks it. Crystallization and fluidity.

Good points. However, if Joker never existed, Batman would still be as popular, he'd just have Two-Face or the Riddler as his archenemy. Two-Face has the personal connection, and Riddler is like the reverse of the world's greatest detective.

Same with Luthor. It's a great dichotomy to have a normal human oppose the most powerful being ever, but if he didn't exist, someone else would fill the void.

Magneto IS the reason the X-Men exist. Not only was he originally going to make the team with Charles, but when he snapped Charles used that as motivation for who they're trying to stop. He is also Xavier's best friend. He has joined the team and been their leader. He is the greatest of what they are, the public identifies them with him. Even his children are amongst their ranks. I've always felt like if the X-Men truly, genuinely convinced Magneto to join their cause, the war would be over. All other mutants look at him as a messiah. He is the key to everything. He's the most important character in the history of X-Men comics. Weird to say, but it's actually true.

Avatar image for powerherc
PowerHerc

86191

Forum Posts

211478

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 11

#108  Edited By PowerHerc

Must be Batman.

Avatar image for night4345
Night4345

8450

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 2

Superman.

Avatar image for voloergomalus
VoloErgoMalus

2881

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

@havenless: Yup. Magneto is irreplaceable as far as the X-men are concerned. If you take iconic as meaning important to their adversaries, it's gotta be him.

Avatar image for blackdog2009
Blackdog2009

312

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#111  Edited By Blackdog2009

@x35:

heck no. Batman. which of Spiderman's villains could be more iconic than The Joker or CAtwoman? answer: NONE

Avatar image for rustyroy
RustyRoy

16610

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Batman : Joker, Catwoman, Riddler, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, Two Face, Bane, Penguin, Ra's al Ghul, Harley Quinn etc.

Avatar image for westy206
westy206

1073

Forum Posts

24

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 2

@rustyroy: I wouldn't say Quinn or Ghul as to be iconic one must be recognised and neither of these are known very well to people out side batman readers.

Avatar image for magnablue
magnablue

10500

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 1

Batman

Avatar image for onemoreposter
Onemoreposter

4365

Forum Posts

103

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 1

@onemoreposter said:

Batman, easily.

Superman in second. Everyone has heard the name Brainiac even if they don't know where it comes from. Lex Luthor is pretty well known as well and used in every day speech. Those two are probably the best known villains/most heard of villains in all of comicdom.

I had no idea who Brainiac was until I watched the JL animated series a few years ago. And I've been reading comics for 20 years, just not Superman comics.

Understandable, but I'm sure you've heard someone call someone a braniac long before you became familiar vvith the character.

Avatar image for vinomonster
vinomonster

5566

Forum Posts

507

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 4

#116  Edited By vinomonster

DC: Batman

Marvel: Spidey

Avatar image for havenless
Havenless

3312

Forum Posts

11

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#117  Edited By Havenless

@onemoreposter:

While the word originated from that villain, most people don't know that. Is obscure X-Men villain 'Exodus' wildly popular because people know that word?

Avatar image for saint_sophie
Saint_Sophie

7263

Forum Posts

1019

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 2

Spidey and Batsy.

Avatar image for uft
UFT

4533

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

well the most iconic villains are joker, lex and magneto.

why did no one say x-men?

mags, apocalypse, mystique, juggernaut, dark phoenix.

i would say it goes

1. batman

2. spiderman

3. x-men

4. superman

for recognisable and popular villains

Avatar image for leonkarlen123
leonkarlen123

8815

Forum Posts

71

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 2

Spiderman. Venom, Green Goblin, Sandman, Doc Ock and Carnage..

Batman. The Joker, Bane, Penguin, Two Face and Riddler..

I say a tie between Batman and Spiderman.

Thor has the worst villains though.. Only known one is Kurse or Malekith

Avatar image for battle_forum_junkie
Battle_Forum_Junkie

10331

Forum Posts

8401

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 5

User Lists: 2

@onemoreposter said:

Batman, easily.

Superman in second. Everyone has heard the name Brainiac even if they don't know where it comes from. Lex Luthor is pretty well known as well and used in every day speech. Those two are probably the best known villains/most heard of villains in all of comicdom.

Lex Luthor is definitely one of the most iconic villains out there, but "Brainiac" is used as an idiom. Sure, the word is popular but I wouldn't count that towards the characters popularity. The character himself is not really that well-known by anyone other than comic readers. I always assumed it was an idiom first. Maybe that's just me, though.

Edit; He's probably more popular than I'm giving him credit for, though. He has been in shows like JLU and Superman: TAS. Not to mention being the big bad in Superman: Unbound.

Avatar image for rustyroy
RustyRoy

16610

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

@westy206 said:

@rustyroy: I wouldn't say Quinn or Ghul as to be iconic one must be recognised and neither of these are known very well to people out side batman readers.

Harley is very popular among geeks and many people outside if Batman readers know about Ra's

Avatar image for antimutant001
antimutant001

720

Forum Posts

4215

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 5

User Lists: 0

1.X-men and 2.Spiderman 3.FF 4. Batman

But Lex Luthor is more iconic,because he is father of Super-villainy.

Avatar image for punisher_
Punisher_

121

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Late to this thread but Batman easily.

Spider-Man has a lot of known villains but only some of them are iconic. The rest of his villains are b list - d list villains. His iconic list of villains would be.

1. Doc Oc.

2. Green Goblin

3. Venom

4. Kraven

5. Mysterio

6. Sandman

7. Lizard

Batman Rogue gallery cant be touched in all of comics

1. Joker

2. Bane

3. Two Face

4. Poison Ivy

5. Riddler

6. Penguin

7. Mr. Freeze

8. Ra's Al Ghul

9. Scarecrow

10. Harley Quinn

11. Catwoman

I can keep adding more too...

The thing is with Batman villains compared to Spider-Man villains is that Batman's villains are fleshed out characters and have character growth through out all these years and you can understand their actions and in some times sympathize. Spider-Man villains are whack and just are villains just to be villains. ALL these years and their characters are still the freaking same! Electro was a lineman that got struck by lightning, Lizard experimented on himself and became a lizard, Vulture put on some wings to steal jewls, and its like that for the majority of Spider-Mans villains. People know Spider-Man villains because they are named after animals so they are easy to remember but a lot of them suck honestly are really C List villains imho.

Avatar image for kanyecosby
KanyeCosby

9094

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Batman

Avatar image for stormshadow_x
stormshadow_x

20603

Forum Posts

797

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 22

Batman then Spider-man