Marvel vs DC: Top Five Villains

Updated:

22 Jan 2017

Foe for Foe, who are the meanest of them all?

In the world of good there is always evil. You cannot have light without dark. The dark defines the light as does the light define the dark. In the world of Superheroes, there are many villains that step out from the darkness, either with a personal vendetta against the good superhero, or simply have a desire to throw the world into chaos and watch it implode upon itself. And some have more sinister motives behind their actions. But, there are always villains that are more memorable than others. Let’s take a look at the top five villains for both the DC and Marvel Universe.

DC Universe Top 5 Villains

5. Deathstroke

Slade Joseph Wilson, better known as Deathstroke, was firs enlisted in the US Army when he was sixteen years old. Proving himself in the battlefield, Slade was quickly promoted to the rank of Major. Clearly impressed by his skills as a soldier, Slade was chosen for a secret experiment whereby the army enhanced his physical as well as mental powers. Slade was given enhanced strength, speed, agility and durability a well as enhanced intelligence as a result of the experiment, aspects that now made him a super soldier. He was part of a secret ops team known as Team 7 and when it was disbanded, a bitter Slade turned his powers towards evil and became a mercenary. Through his work as a mercenary, Deathstroke made a name for himself in the criminal world as the greatest assassin and one that is feared by most and rightfully so.

4. Sinestro

Thraal Sinestro, a great leader with great confidence in his ability to rule, a confidence that lead to his downfall. Once apart of the Green Lantern Corps, Sinestro was in charge of the 1417 sector and was praised for his ability to police it and, through this ability, there was peace in his sector. However, this peace came at a price. Sinestro had a determination to preserve order and, it was this desire turned him into more of a dictator than a protector. For Sinestro, control and domination became a means to an end. For him, it was the true path to order in the universe. After being ejected from the Green Lantern Corps, Sinestro formed Sinestro Corps. With the yellows energy of fear, Sinestro will stop at nothing to achieve control over everything.

3. Darkseid

The villain known as Darkseid has one desire and that desire is to rule, not just the planet, but all of existence. He is a villain to be feared and rightly so. Hailing from the world of Apokolyptic, Darkseid is seeking the ultimate rule in the universe. He wants to enslave all life, not just on earth, but in the entire universe, he wants to break down what exists and build it anew and in his image. He desires full control over all, giving the universe one true god…him. With some of the most depraved and sadistic beings in his court, not to mention a legion of powerful creatures knowns as Parademons, it would seem that he has the tools to pull off the job. With his limitless might and immeasurable intelligence, Darkseid had managed to stand against the might of the Justice League single handedly.

2. Lex Luthor

When you say Super Man, one name comes to mind as the ‘dark’ to that light…Lex Luthor. From a young age, Lex Luthor found a way to build up his empire. Behind the ‘hard work and dedication’ that the world saw was the true way in which he managed to make his name known in the world: Intimidation, bribery and murder. But, Lex being a very smart man, ensured that none of the heinous acts committed were ever traced back to him. The front put on for the people painted a picture of a young man who simply saw opportunity and took it, giving to the people something to aspire towards. Everyone wanted to be like Lex Luthor, wanted to have what he had. This adoration from the people only proved to grow an already immeasurable ego. However, all that changed when Super Man came to earth. When all eyes turned to him, the Man of Steel, that fought for justice, protected the weak, defeated evil, it gave the world someone new to look up to, taking the spotlight off of Lex Luthor and, just like a spoiled child, Lex did not like that at all. With a heart driven by jealousy that was masked with hate, Lex spends his life trying to break Super Man down. He will go to any lengths to accomplish his goals and he doesn’t care who he hurts in the process. As long as Super Man gets knocked off the pedestal that rightfully belongs to Lex, he doesn’t care who he kicks down and kills along the way to do that.

1. The Joker

'Why so serious?’

A line that any fan of DC will know. At the top of the list is the crazy, unpredictable, violent and dangerous Joker. He is probably the most dangerous villain in the DC universe simply because he has no plan. There is no meaning behind his devious acts, no trigger that sets him off on his path of evil. No, The Joker lives for one thing in life and that one thing is chaos. He revels in spreading it, in showing to the world that they are all living a lie, that there seemingly safe lives can all change with the quick snap of fingers and go from peaceful to chaotic, that the one you loved most can be taken away. He has gone up against many characters in the DC Universe, including the Man of Steel, but the Ivory to his Ebony, the Yang to his Yin will always be Batman. Many lives have been lost at his hands and for no other reason than to have a good laugh.

Marvel Universe Top 5 Villains

5. Dark Phoenix

Jean Grey, a well known name in the Marvel universe. A great mutant with telepathic energies that are seemingly greater than even Professor Xavier’s, this young woman has had a very difficult life as a mutant. Her powers manifested when she was ten years old after she experienced the emotion of a dying friend. Her parents, John and Elaine Grey, took her to Professor Xavier to be treated. When he introduced her to the astral plane, apart of her mind manifested into a Phoenix Raptor and it reached out to the mind of the young Scott Summers, another child in the orphanage. It was at this point that Charles chose to place shields in her mind in order to prevent her use of her powers until she was older. That was the first spark of the Phoenix that was seen. Though Jean Grey started out as perhaps the weakest member in the X-Men, she would become one of its strongest and her transformation to the Phoenix, and ultimately, the Dark Phoenix, was born from a need to save others. The shuttle with her fellow X-Men on board was going to crash if she did not use her powers to guide it back. Though she was dying due to exposure to fatal levels of radiation, Jean pushed herself to save the lives of those she loved, Scott Summers in particular and, in so doing, unlocked her full potential as both a telepathic and telekinetic mutant. She emerged with the new name of The Phoenix. However, the immense power she possessed, making her almost god-like, corrupted and overwhelmed her. But what made that corruption spill over the edge and make her snap, was the failed attempt by a villainous group called the Hellfire Club to try and control her mind and so, the Dark Phoenix emerged and was a total force of destruction.

4. Apocalypse

In the X-Men: Apocalypse movie, we are introduced to En Sabah Nur, aka Apocalypse. He is thought to be the first mutant ever to walk the earth as his rule dates back to the time of the Egyptians. He was seen to be a god but, he was indeed nothing more than a mutant. Having been found as a baby by nomadic raiders after being abandoned by the Akkaba, the nomads took him in and taught him how to survive in the harsh deserts, that one needed to be strong in order to survive and this ideal would be the one thing to shape the man Apocalypse became. With this mind set, with this teaching firmly implanted within his mind, Apocalypse eventually rises to wipe the earth of the weak ‘human’ race, destroy them and the things they have built, to make way for the new age of mutants.

3. Loki

The adopted son of the great Odin, ruler of Asgard, Loki has long resented the favour the Asgardians had for his brother Thor. Where Thor excelled in the art of war with weaponry, Loki excelled in the arts of sorcery, finding he had a natural affinity for it. He became infamous for his mischievous ways, perhaps an attempt to get his father, Odin, to recognize him and appreciate his abilities. But, his antics did not draw attention from his adoptive father who seemed to show love and adoration only to his son Thor. This only made Loki resent his adoptive brother more and the jealousy that brewed within twisted his heart, making it darker and, in turn, making Loki become a darker man with the desire to break down his adoptive brother and his adoptive father, to have them, and the world kneel before him.

2. Magneto

Another iconic name in the world of Marvel is that of Magneto. When one thinks of the X-Men, the top villain that comes to mind is Magneto. Though, in the depictions of him in both film and in animated television series, it is difficult to say if he is a true villain or not. With his mutant power to control metal, he is a formidable opponent to have and it has been seen that he has the ability to strike fear into the hearts of many. With his mission, not unlike that of Apocalypse, to have the mutant race be the one to rule earth, feeling that being a mutant makes himself and all mutants superior, we have seen Magneto be the bad guy but, it is more of a man fighting for the right cause just going about it in the wrong way. However, we have also seen Magneto fight with the X-Men in the face of a common enemy. As much as he may be depicted as a villain, fighting against the humans who show discrimination towards mutants, even fear them, his driving force behind his evil ways may, in fact, be the same as that of Charles Xavier. Perhaps it is simply his past that has twisted Magneto’s views on the right way to deal with humans.

1. Doctor Doom

I will admit I was surprised to see Doctor Victor Von Doom come in as the number one villain for the Marvel universe. He is the main villain to the Fantastic Four but has been seen in battles against the likes of Iron Man and even the Avengers. Due to an explosion that occurred when working on a machine he had created that would allow people to communicate with the dead, Victor von Doom was left with a face that was horribly disfigured. Reed Richards had warned Victor about the machine only to learn later that, it wasn’t the calculations that had been off - as he had noticed earlier and informed Victor of - but the tampering of the machine by Ben Grimm, a friend of Richard’s who did not like Victor and his superior attitude. This was the starting point of the rise to villainy for Victor. After his expulsion from the university, Victor travelled the world and, upon his travels, came to learn the arts and disciplines of the monks in Tibet. Shortly after, he forged himself a suit of armour and Doctor Doom was born. His goal was to take down those that he felt were responsible for his accident with particular focus on Reed Richards.

There it is, the top five villains found in the DC Universe and the Marvel Universe. Do you think these criminal masterminds, psychos, mutants and beings of other dimensions deserve their spots here? Or is it time for these title holders to step aside and make way for new villains not yet seen? You decide.