Ask, and Ye Shall Receive...Answers: Episode 37

Why do villains always fight the same heroes? It almost makes too much sense for them to try to target other heroes.

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16 Comments

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Raw_Material

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It's their purpose and reasons behind their specific hero they wanna take out.

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QuantomMan

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By the way, new website layout ROOOCCCKKKKKSSSS

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RazzaTazz

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This is one of those hard to answer questions as it demands an appreciation of the hero both within the comic and outside of continuity. In comics the reason is that the villains are generally co-located with the heroes and thus more likely to commit crimes where the heroes also are. Outside of the comic universes, the villains make up the mythos of the character as much as the character does themselves. Something about comics appeals to our nature of creating heroes, and heroes need enemies. Theseus fought the Minotaur and King Minos. What if instead of Theseus the myth had Hercules or Jason or Achilles that had been sent to Crete? It would have changed the story significantly. Or alternately if Theseus had been part of the assault of Troy. Villains are tied to characters because of who the heroes are and it makes the heroes stronger in our minds.

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Zeeguy91

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Edited By Zeeguy91

@gallivant said:

right on the money. Except there's another thing to consider than in basic storytelling a villain is nothing more than an extension of the hero itself. It tends to be that the Antagonist/Protagonist are bound together for a reason and they wont be some type of universal villain because those types could potentially be dull since they lack depth of connection to heroes or even a team of heroes.

Think about Galactus, the only real connection he has to the fantastic four or any other team like the Avengers is that he sent a herold to check out the planet and caused a bunch of ruckus, now the boss man gonna come eat the planet. I don't know all the intricacies of the story but that's the main point and it lacks any depth in my mind.

Thanks. However, I have to say that in the cases you bring up, where there is really not a deep connection between the hero and villain, there is instead focus on the general scope of the villain, their motives, and/or their success rate. For example, Galactus is a threatening and compelling villain because of the general scope of him. He's a godly, cosmic force of nature, capable of eating whole planets. However, what makes him interesting is not just he's capable of doing what he does, but that he must in order to maintain balance in the universe.

The same can be said for villains like the Anti-Monitor, who destroyed the multiverse and caused the DC Universe to reset, Darkseid, who has enslaved every living being in the universe, and Dr. Light. who raped a hero's spouse and caused a rift within the League.

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Gallivant

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@zeeguy91 said:

@joshmightbe said:

Obsessive nature seems to run deep in the villain community so it kind of makes sense that some would focus on one guy.

This. Many villains focus on one enemy because they've developed a fixation or just a simple vendetta against that one hero. Look at Joker or Lex Luthor as an example. Joker is obsessed with Batman because he sees a special connection between them. Joker views their back and forth like a game. and Batman is his only worthy opponent. Lex Luthor hates Superman because he feels threatened by a super-powered alien and, in some iterations, because he is jealous of Superman's attention and status as "Metropolis' favorite son," a status that he thinks he should hold. The same is true for a lot of hero/villain dynamics: Thor and Loki, Aquaman and Black Manta (at least now), Deathstroke and the Teen Titans (before Flashpoint), etc.

However, I have seen several occasions where heroes have gone up against villains that weren't traditionally in their "rogues gallery." Examples include when Daredevil recently went up against Klaw (originally a Fantastic Four villain), Scarecrow vs. Swamp Thing this past week, The Emperor Joker arc where Superman had to stop Joker, and Dr. Doom's fights against Iron Man. So, there are plenty of cases where a villain will fight another hero that isn't "theirs."

right on the money. Except there's another thing to consider than in basic storytelling a villain is nothing more than an extension of the hero itself. It tends to be that the Antagonist/Protagonist are bound together for a reason and they wont be some type of universal villain because those types could potentially be dull since they lack depth of connection to heroes or even a team of heroes.

Think about Galactus, the only real connection he has to the fantastic four or any other team like the Avengers is that he sent a herold to check out the planet and caused a bunch of ruckus, now the boss man gonna come eat the planet. I don't know all the intricacies of the story but that's the main point and it lacks any depth in my mind.

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Crimsonlord53

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Old man logan show's what happen's when the bad guys work toward a common goal.

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Vguysofly

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Isn't this pretty much the premise of Supercrooks? Going beyond the heroes stomping grounds and so forth.

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katayev

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It worked out quite well, although with tragic consequences, in Injustice - Joker went after Superman.

I think it's a great idea and I would like to see more of it and without the villains turning into a laughing stock. I want a serious story with serious consequences (like in Injustice)

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nickxh

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Great video. You brought up some good points.

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soundjam

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Edited By soundjam

I think its more along the lines of as much as Green Goblin wants Spider-Man out of the way, he wants to be the one to kill him.

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SavageDragon

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Edited By SavageDragon

Villain month sounds awesome. I would like to see Black Hand show up in Justice League Dark. Or how bout Braniac against JLA?

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RedheadedAtrocitus

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The first question is the reason why I think Acts of Vengeance was so great as a crossover event for Marvel back in the day. One of my favorite crossover events of all time. And DC is going to have a "Villain's Month"? Sounds too much like what Faces of Evil was back in '09 to me.

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Zeeguy91

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Obsessive nature seems to run deep in the villain community so it kind of makes sense that some would focus on one guy.

This. Many villains focus on one enemy because they've developed a fixation or just a simple vendetta against that one hero. Look at Joker or Lex Luthor as an example. Joker is obsessed with Batman because he sees a special connection between them. Joker views their back and forth like a game. and Batman is his only worthy opponent. Lex Luthor hates Superman because he feels threatened by a super-powered alien and, in some iterations, because he is jealous of Superman's attention and status as "Metropolis' favorite son," a status that he thinks he should hold. The same is true for a lot of hero/villain dynamics: Thor and Loki, Aquaman and Black Manta (at least now), Deathstroke and the Teen Titans (before Flashpoint), etc.

However, I have seen several occasions where heroes have gone up against villains that weren't traditionally in their "rogues gallery." Examples include when Daredevil recently went up against Klaw (originally a Fantastic Four villain), Scarecrow vs. Swamp Thing this past week, The Emperor Joker arc where Superman had to stop Joker, and Dr. Doom's fights against Iron Man. So, there are plenty of cases where a villain will fight another hero that isn't "theirs."

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joshmightbe

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Edited By joshmightbe

Obsessive nature seems to run deep in the villain community so it kind of makes sense that some would focus on one guy.