My Top 10 DC Villains
10: NEKRON
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Nekron may very well be the most powerful force in the DC Universe, dethroning the Anti-Monitor in terms of sheer power. He is the personification of death in the DCU, and the guardian of the darkness that has existed in the universe since the beginning of forever that has manifested as his Black Lantern Corps. He wants just one thing: to rest in peace. Unfortunately, this means omnicide for all life and light in the universe, which he (or more accurately, it) sees as the threat to existence (the darkness), and he came so close to doing just that during the darkest hours of the Blackest Night, but he was eventually defeated and sent back into limbo by the combined forces of all of Earth's heroes and all the Lantern corps, albeit at a great cost in life and psychological torture inflicted by the Black Lanterns.
9: ANTI-MONITOR
The Anti-Monitor is DC's answer to Marvel's Galactus. This guy eats galaxies for breakfast. And when he shows up, he becomes everybody's problem. Ruler of the Anti-Matter Universe on the planet Qward, he hungers for the energy from the positive-matter universe that is the DCU. In Crisis on Infinite Earths, he earned his day of infamy when he personally slew Supergirl and indirectly caused the death of Barry Allen, the second Flash. Not only that, he gobbled up almost all the alternate realities of the DCU, wiping out countless trillions of lives, making him the most blood-soaked villain of all time. He has returned to plague our heroes during the Sinestro Corps War and the Blackest Night. What he has planned next during the Brightest Day remains to be seen.
8: CYBORG SUPERMAN
Hank Henshaw is perhaps the most tragic figure on this list. He had a dream career as an astronaut, shared with his beautiful and devoted wife. But during a freak radiation storm, he and his crew were transformed horrifically, and crash landed in Metropolis where they were mistaken as monsters by Superman and engaged in a time-consuming brawl that jeopardised their chances of recovery. His wife later went mad and committed suicide. When his human body crumbled, he used his newfound technopathic abilities to fashion himself a new body from Superman's Kryptonian vessel, taking on the appearence of a cybernetic version of the Man of Steel. Insane with rage and seeking revenge on the then deceased Superman, he impersonated himself as the new Superman (with the blessing of the US government) and then proceeded to wreak his reputation. His hand in the destruction of Coast City in the Reign of the Supermen not only sullied Superman's good name, it also made an enemy of Green Lantern, and lead to Hal Jordan's fall from grace and re-emergence as the villain Parrallax. He has battled Superman and the Green Lantern Corps on multiple occasions, most notably during the Sinestro Corps War, but now he is weary of his existence, and wishes to die. Unfortunately, it seems that he has become immortal, and nothing seems to do the trick. He now leads the Manhunters and the Alpha Lanterns.
7: DARKSEID
Darkseid is kind of what Big Brother would be like in real life, along with enough raw physical power to match Superman blow for blow. He rules the planet Apokolips with an iron fist over its inhabitants, in such a cruel, barbaric and contemptuous manner that even the worst tyrants in history look liberal in comparison. But he isn't satisfied with just one planet. Just like any great conquerer, Darkseid has ambitions for the whole cosmos, but he realises his gargantuan military might are just a means to an end. Instead, he's searching for the holy grail of mass mind control: The Anti-Life Equation, which he believes humans possess in fragments that he can put together. He rarely intervenes directly against our heroes; it is not right and proper for such lowly scum to face a god like him. He prefers to manipulate and strategise his master plans behind the scenes, and only reveals himself when it is too late to stop him. But if you ever do face him directly, odds are that his terrible visage would be the last thing you will ever see. He has control over the Omega Effect, a terrifying force capable of teleporting, disintegrating, raising the dead, and breaking a person's spirit and turning him into another blind servant of the dark god. Even worse is the Omega Sanction, which traps the doomed victim into a series of alternate realities, each one worse than the last.
6: DEATHSTROKE
The name says it all. After an army experiment gave him enhanced strength, speed, reflexes, senses and vastly enhanced brain functions, Slade Wilson took on mercenary work as the dreaded Deathstroke, the Terminator. If you are on his hit list, consider yourself a dead man walking. This guy is a one-man army, a total freaking maniac, and thanks to his abilities as a master strategist and manipulator, is capable of taking on multiple heroes at the same time, as seen in Identity Crisis, where the Justice League had a very bad time indeed. However, his main grudge is against the Teen Titans, who were involved in the death of his son Grant, the first Ravager. The fact that Starfire killed his former wife has not helped smooth over their relations, either. But unlike many villains on this list, Slade isn't truly evil. He even has a code of ethics that he applies to his work, though what he thinks is just and what the Titans think is just are two completely different things (cough TERRA! cough).
5: OZYMANDIAS Aguably, Adrian Veidt isn't a villain, but a hero. The World's Smartest Man single-handedly saved the world from nuclear armageddon, and now intends to help usher in a golden age for all mankind. But how he achieved all of this is anything but heroic: he faked an alien invasion which ended up killing millions of New Yorkers. His former friends, the Watchmen, are the only ones who know what he did 35 minutes ago, and they can't tell anyone, or they would doom the world to Mutually Assured Destruction. What's truly scary about Ozymandias is the cold rational thought process behind his masterstroke, and many of us cannot help but agree with him. Adding to this is the realisation that against the smartest man in the world, the long-toiling heroes never stood a chance.
4: SINESTRO Sinestro was once hailed by the Guardians of the Universe as the Greatest Green Lantern. But when his pupil Hal Jordan discovered that he kept Space Sector 1417 orderly through fear and control, he was stripped of his ring and banished to the Anti-Matter universe. Sinestro forged a new yellow ring powered by the yellow flames of fear, the antithesis of the willpower of the Green Lantern Corps, and from these humble beginnings, he unleashed a great yellow terror upon a terrified universe: the Sinestro Corps. Sinestro's likeness to Adolf Hitler in space is beyond coincidence. He sees the universe as a chaotic, disorderly mess that the Guardians have failed to rectify over their eons of existence, and like any self-respecting control-freak, he wants to bring order to it, on his terms. What makes Sinestro even more compelling is the fact that, while he has created his own corps, he still believes in the cause of the Green Lanterns, and he is willing to do anything to "help" them police the universe. Like making them change a few little laws...
3: RA'S AL GHUL Out of all of Batman's extensive and eclectic rouges gallery, Ra's al Ghul is the only one who threatens the world on a regular basis. No one knows just how old he is; his Lazarus Pits have ensured his survival for untold centuries. He sees the world and is disgusted with humankind's wanton destruction and depravity, and so, like any good Samaritan on this list, he wishes to cure that, and create an utopia, using the extensive resources and contacts at his disposal as leader of the League of Assassins. His plans often involve killing off about 9/10ths of humanity, which does not sit well with the Dark Knight. Despite their long history of mutual antagonism, Ra's sees Batman as a worthy foe to be respected, and has even married his daughter Talia, herself an accomplished fighter and businesswoman, to Batman in the hopes of turning him to his side. To fight a villain is one thing. To fight against a misanthrope who is legally your father, as well as fighting your own wife, that brings a whole new definition of messed up.
2: LEX LUTHOR Superman's most iconic and persistant nemesis is perhaps the most intellectually gifted human being alive. Problem is, he knows it, and keeps on aquiring more power, influence and prestige to fuel an ego as big as Superman's heart. Through his company LexCorp, he has accumulated more financial power and influence than the US President; in fact, he has even been the President! The second most powerful man on earth!
Emphasis on second. Were it not for Superman, Lex believes that he could have lead the world into a new and glorious dawn where cancer is a thing of the past, pollution is solved, poverty is washed from the streets, people won't have to pay taxes.... yeah, I don't buy it either. He's just mad at the big Boy Scout for stealing the spotlight away from him. All of his attention is not focused on helping others, but geared toward whetting his greed, and attempting to kill Superman, who he also blames for making him bald. Seriously.
1: THE JOKER There was no doubt in my mind, I don't think there was a doubt in yours, either, that the Clown Prince of Crime would be number one. I can understand why Batman does not kill. I can understand why Batman wants to bring a sense of order, peace and comfort to the beleagured citizens of Gotham. What I can't understand is why the hell he still lets the Joker live! This man (if you can call him that) is pure evil. Chaos, death, torture and devastation with a smile on its face, and the reason why clowns are an endangered species in Gotham. He has caused Batman much pain and suffering: he shot and killed Commissioner Gordon's wife, shot and paralysed Barbara Gordon (the first Batgirl), then tortured Gordon with the nude photos, and he killed Jason Todd, the second Robin, with a crowbar and left him to die in an exploding warehouse (but he gets better). Batman fights a war to eliminate all crime from Gotham so that the tragedy that endured as a child won't happen to anyone else, but whenever he meets with the Joker, it's a case of the unstoppable force meeting the immovable object.
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