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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2019 7:52:17 GMT -5
In 95% of discussions I've had with comic fans, online and offline, the consensus appears to be that Batman and Spider-Man have the best rogues galleries. For me, Bats' rogues gallery is the best one in superhero comics! I would say that the Flash, Iron Man, Fantastic Four and Hulk also have great rogues galleries. Superman has some good rogues, but I don't think he has the quality and quantity. Bats and Spidey have the quality and quantity. To a lesser extent, I think Flash, Iron Man, FF and Hulk do. With Supes, the likes of Luthor, Brainiac, Metallo and Parasite are great. And there are others. But once you get beyond the heavy-hitters, I don't think it's the strongest. What about underrated rogues galleries? I thought we could share some thoughts. Also, if you wish, share some thoughts about the supervillain equivalent of one-hit wonder bands. Is there a supervillain who only appeared once? Or twice? I'm going to make a case for Luke Cage having a varied and interesting rogues gallery. Of course, there's the major foes like Diamondback. Then you have great opponents like Chemistro, Bushmaster, etc. I don't know if some of his foes appeared more than once, but I have solid and fond memories of the supervillains that Cage battled. Then there's She-Hulk. I remember the Grappler, a supervillain who had studied the science of leverage and used it against She-Hulk:  I haven't checked, but I suspect poor old Grappler doesn't even have a Wikipedia page. I like what he did. In that issue, he had studied leverage in great detail. And gave She-Hulk a run for her money. I am sure he could have applied the science of leverage to someone such as Spider-Man, Luke Cage, etc. Maybe he'll appear in Disney's She-Hulk series. I could go on and on about the likes of Hawkman, Nova, etc. If I was a comic creator who was given a new superhero to write, I would be so tempted to use existing heavy-hitters like Electro, Sandman, Mandarin, Juggernaut, etc. But it must have been fun for writers to come up with new foes when the likes of Luke Cage, Nova, She-Hulk and others debuted. Who do you think has an underrated rogues gallery? I appreciate that outside the big superheroes, the likes of Cage and Nova won't have the quantity of supervillains, but quality can be more important than quantity some of the time, and for me, there's no doubting the appeal of characters such as Diamondback, Grappler, Bushmaster, etc. |
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Post by brutalis on Nov 14, 2019 10:03:53 GMT -5
Always liked silver age Hawkman/Hawkwoman who had a nice variety of different and unusual rogues.
Byth: scientist with shape changing powers
Shadow Thief: like name says thief with shadow powers
Gentleman Ghost: another that name implies everything
Onimar Syn
Hath Set
Hyathis: plant elemental and ruler of a world
Kanjar Ro
Lion-Mane: were-lion
Manhawks: alien bird race wearing human masks that shoot lasers from the eyes
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Post by badwolf on Nov 14, 2019 10:25:46 GMT -5
I think Spider-Woman has an interesting and weird rogues gallery.
The Brothers Grimm, a pair of magical possessed mannequins (descended from the golden age villain Mister Doll):
The Needle, an abused old tailor who sews the lips of his victims shut:
The mysterious Gypsy Moth:
The nameless entity later referred to as the "Waxman":
Daddy Longlegs, desperate for fame, who drank an imperfect concoction of Bill Foster's growth formula:
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2019 11:00:31 GMT -5
That Daddy Longlegs story was reprinted in the UK as an A4-sized "Summer Special" (late 80s, I think).
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Post by Prince Hal on Nov 14, 2019 11:45:51 GMT -5
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Post by Cei-U! on Nov 14, 2019 11:53:50 GMT -5
Always liked silver age Hawkman/Hawkwoman who had a nice variety of different and unusual rogues. Byth: scientist with shape changing powers Shadow Thief: like name says thief with shadow powers Gentleman Ghost: another that name implies everything Onimar Syn Hath Set Hyathis: plant elemental and ruler of a world Kanjar Ro Lion-Mane: were-lion Manhawks: alien bird race wearing human masks that shoot lasers from the eyes Kanjar Ro and Hyathis are actually Justice League villains.
Cei-U! Just sayin'!
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 14, 2019 12:11:29 GMT -5
Don't know about underrated as much as forgotten in these discussions is Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family's enemies: Dr Sivana and his clan, Black Adam, Mr Atom, Aunt Minerva, Mr Mind, Ibac, Sabac, Kull, Captain Nazi and the best left forgotten Mr Banjo and Nippo.
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Post by chaykinstevens on Nov 14, 2019 12:57:41 GMT -5
I haven't checked, but I suspect poor old Grappler doesn't even have a Wikipedia page. I like what he did. In that issue, he had studied leverage in great detail. And gave She-Hulk a run for her money. I am sure he could have applied the science of leverage to someone such as Spider-Man, Luke Cage, etc. Maybe he'll appear in Disney's She-Hulk series. Grappler turned up in Captain America #319 & 320 by Mark Gruenwald. The cover to #319 said "If Cap can't stop Scourge every super-villain on this cover will die!" Other villains offed included Turner D Century, Firebrand, Commander Kraken and another David Kraft creation I liked, the Ringer.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2019 13:03:47 GMT -5
Four Armed Terror  I really liked this character
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Post by tarkintino on Nov 14, 2019 13:06:50 GMT -5
Prince Hal called them out, and I agree; the original Doom Patrol's Brotherhood of Evil could be the most underrated rogues gallery.  This was one of the first major, true villain teams (as opposed to random, short-lived partnerships) of the Silver Age, and just as their enemies were a strange voice of their own, the Brotherhood were as much if not more diverse in their bizarre, sci-fi novel-esque natures. Unlike so many rogues' galleries, the Brotherhood were not only relentless, but in the end, Madame Rouge and Captain Zahl were the first villains to murder an entire superhero team. All other villain groups should have taken notes from that event. Whether the groups were revisited--appropriately enough in the early years of another DC watershed title-- The New Teen Titans--  ...retconned or whatever, few superheroes had as effective a roster of enemies like the Brotherhood of Evil. The aura of their final Silver Age appearance still contains power from an in-universe and reader perspective, and that's rare when just about every character ends up in the grinder of neverending tinkering/retcons over the decades. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2019 14:05:12 GMT -5
I haven't checked, but I suspect poor old Grappler doesn't even have a Wikipedia page. I like what he did. In that issue, he had studied leverage in great detail. And gave She-Hulk a run for her money. I am sure he could have applied the science of leverage to someone such as Spider-Man, Luke Cage, etc. Maybe he'll appear in Disney's She-Hulk series. Grappler turned up in Captain America #319 & 320 by Mark Gruenwald. The cover to #319 said "If Cap can't stop Scourge every super-villain on this cover will die!" Other villains offed included Turner D Century, Firebrand, Commander Kraken and another David Kraft creation I liked, the Ringer.
That the Grappler appeared again pleases me. Never judge a book by its cover. When I first picked up his first appearance issue, I thought he might be corny. Instead, he was very believable. One could believe that a guy who studied the science of leverage (for many years) would develop that well. So it made him a credible opponent for She-Hulk. Although I do have to say, it seems a waste of your life to study leverage but still get your ass kicked.  |
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 14, 2019 14:39:16 GMT -5
Wait, the Grappler fought Captain America? With the loaded boot?  |
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Post by beccabear67 on Nov 14, 2019 20:51:47 GMT -5
Killraven had some wild alien hybrid villains, The Sacrificer, Atalon The Fear Master, Overlord, Warlord, the green 24 Hour Man (and G'Rath), there was a sort of rat man Rattack, and Sabre (protype to the the later Sabre), and was Mint Julep truly an ally? I especially liked Skar though, whatta face...  |
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Post by chadwilliam on Nov 14, 2019 21:18:49 GMT -5
Superman has some good rogues, but I don't think he has the quality and quantity. Bats and Spidey have the quality and quantity. To a lesser extent, I think Flash, Iron Man, FF and Hulk do. With Supes, the likes of Luthor, Brainiac, Metallo and Parasite are great. And there are others. But once you get beyond the heavy-hitters, I don't think it's the strongest. For his first twenty years, Superman had to depend upon Luthor, Mxyzptlk, Toyman, and The Prankster to keep him busy. Of those four, The Toyman and Prankster get what I consider to be a bad rap. Within the space of 12 months starting in May, 1958 however, he gets Bizarro, Brainiac (July, 1958), Titano (Feb, 1959), and Metallo (May, 1959) doubling that amount. Give him another year and we get The Kryptonite Man. One year after that, we see The Phantom Zone. I think it's an impressive list considering the variety it offers and that rapid succession of new villains has a lot to do with this period being a high water mark for the character. You want Man vs. Science? You've got Luthor. An outer space epic? Brainiac. Comedy? Bizarro. Surrealism? Mxyzptlk. A knockdown humdinger of a slobberknocker? Metallo. Superman powerless? Parasite. Western? Terraman. Even the refinements made to Luthor added a level of tragedy to their battles which I don't believe you saw with other heroes. Superman's greatest foe was once his number one fan. While some might regard Mxyzptlk as more of a nuisance than a threat, it was he who could have Superman questioning his own existence with a snap of the finger. To be honest, there was only so much you could do with someone like Terraman and I don't believe that The Parasite ever fully lived up to his potential - if he absorbed people's memories along with their abilities, why did we never see a Parasite who was conflicted about his actions when absorbing Superman's decency, for instance? - but I would actually rate Superman's Rogues Gallery as a notch above The Flash's though of course, he had more time to build his up than the Scarlet Speedster. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2019 8:30:19 GMT -5
I do wish Judge Dredd had more rogues. Other than Judge Death and Mean Machine Gang, there's no-one that is really memorable - or been ubiquitous.
Part of that, I suppose, is due to the nature of Dredd. His antagonists either end up dead or permanently in an Iso-Cube. But I can't help think that he deserves a wider and more varied rogues gallery.
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