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Post by Cei-U! on Dec 14, 2022 6:02:22 GMT -5
I'm not the biggest fan of the Silver Age Superman as a rule but there are aspects of the Mort Weisinger era Man of Steel's family of comics that I do dig and have since early childhood: the Bizarros, the Legion of Super-Pets, Jimmy Olsen's bizarre transformations. And perhaps nothing epitomizes this silly side of the Superman Family than the team-ups of those magical mischief-makers
11. Mr. Mxyzptlk and Bat-Mite
The daffy duo first joined forces in World's Finest Comics #113 (November 1960), then again in #s 123, 152, and 169, each time driving Superman, Batman, and Robin to the brink of insanity before their latest screwy scheme fell apart, sometimes through the heroes' efforts, sometimes because Bat-Mite, who lacked Mxy's malevolent streak, couldn't bring himself to really harm the titanic trio. The imps even resorted to posing as Catwoman and The Black Flame in one issue, as Supergirl and Batgirl in another. All four stories, two by Jerry Coleman and Dick Sprang, one by Edmond Hamilton and Curt Swan, the fourth by Cary Bates and Swan, are big fun and count among my favorite issues of World's Finest/ Mention must also be made of Evan Dorkin's hilariously meta Mxyzptlk/Bat-Mite reunion in the 2000 one-shot Superman and Batman: World's Funnest, a wild ride through the DC Multiverse drawn by a veritable who's who of comics titans from Sheldon Moldoff to Alex Ross. If you haven't read it, trust me, you should. Cei-U! !gninthgil eht nommus I |
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
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Post by shaxper on Dec 14, 2022 6:03:04 GMT -5
11. Red Hood and Black MaskOccurred in Batman #647-648 (January thru February 2006) By Judd Winnick and Doug Mahnke If Tom and Jerry were mob bosses vying for control of Gotham, it might look something like this:  There's something outright adorable about the unusual (and often oddly hilarious) bond that existed between these two villains who loved to hate each other. It didn't last long, but it sure was memorable watching these two work tirelessly to one-up and double-cross one another in ways that were both thrilling and worthy of a good chuckle, all at the same time.
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Post by MWGallaher on Dec 14, 2022 6:55:43 GMT -5
11. THE SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS...First Draft Version!  A favorite not so much for the team itself--Manhunter, Captain Cold, Star Sapphire, Gorilla Grodd, and Clayface--but for the rare opportunity this comic provided for readers of THE AMAZING WORLD OF DC COMICS--the chance to read an out-of-canon first take on a comic from a major publisher, a completed comic book that was scrapped and reworked entirely for its actual first issue! Clayface would be traded out for several other villains to make for an inflated line-up of baddies which hit the stands in early 1976, with readers like me completely unaware that this first attempt had ever been developed. When I first got my hands on this Gerry Conway/Ric Estrada/Pablo Marcos 18-pager, I couldn't see what was so wrong with it, and it still seems just as good as the "real" SSOSV #1, if not better. The smaller line-up would have provided better focus, and it was a well-balanced selection of super powers. I like the idea of a team of villains fighting a planet-threatening menace like Darkseid--maybe not Darkseid himself, ideally, but I can see why he'd be the go-to-choice given the armada of Kirby-created menaces he could bring against the Society. There's a lot of potential there, considering that none of their world-saving would have been perceived as a noble effort by the superhero community or the public. I think I would have preferred that to the "Captain Comet vs. the Super-Villains" series we ended up getting.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2022 6:57:59 GMT -5
número once: Monster Society of Evil The Captain Marvel world has always been a favorite of mine, bearing on one hand early on a resemblance to the superhero world of say it's competition National/DC which it would eventually become incorporated into, but on another being a rather wonderfully zany and unique experience unto itself. Mister Mind alone fits that description, and there is something so compelling to me about an alien caterpillar who requires spectacles and projects his voice through a little amplifier/talkbox around his neck. The picture above shows the broader group of baddies he's assembled in later incarnations, but even right out of the gate in 1943 in Captain Marvel Adventures, it's a formidable group with Dr. Sivana, Captain Nazi, Ibac, and so on:  What also impresses me is how long-running an epic story the original saga was, running from issues #22-46 of Captain Marvel Adventures making it, according to Wikipedia if accurate, "the first and longest serialized story arc in comic book history". My introduction was in Shazam! #14 in the 70's with "The Evil Return of the Monster Society" (immediately becoming a favorite), and then some later appearances in World's Finest as well as some great stories in All-Star Squadron (the title that made me fall in love with the Golden Age in the first place and created a lifelong journey to go back and revisit the earlier source material). I finally obtained a copy of the original Golden Age story a few years back, and it was everything I hoped for and then some!
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,197 
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Post by Confessor on Dec 14, 2022 6:59:22 GMT -5
#11 – Roberto Rastapopoulos and Allan ThompsonAs seen in the Tintin books: The Red Sea Sharks (1958) and Flight 714 (1968)  In The Adventures of Tintin, the millionaire Hollywood tycoon Roberto Rastapopoulos is the boy reporter's arch-nemesis – the Moriarty to Tintin's Holmes. Allan Thompson, on the other hand, first appears as a drug smuggling thug working for the sinister Kih-Oskh Brotherhood. But it is Allan and Rastapopoulos's appearances together in The Red Sea Sharks and Flight 714, where they are working together as first and second in command, that I am specifically picking for today's Classic Comics Christmas event. It's great for long-time fans of the Tintin series to see these two no-good villains working together, and they actually compliment each other very well, with Rastapopoulos supposedly the brains of the operation and Allan the brawn. The dastardly pair can certainly be quite cold-blooded at times: in The Red Sea Sharks, when a fire breaks out onboard Allan's transport ship – where Tintin, Snowy and Captain Haddock are all being held captive – the pair just abandon the vessel, leaving the boy reporter and his comrades to burn alive (though they manage to escape, of course). What's particularly interesting about the two villains' appearance in Flight 714 is that although Hergé initially sets them up as being deadlier and nastier than ever, he then defangs them and turns them into figures of ridicule, with Allan having all his teeth knocked out, transforming him into a pathetic looking, toothless old man, and Rastapopoulos falling victim to a series of humiliating incidents. Flight 714 ends with the utterly defeated Rastapopoulos and Allan being abducted by aliens, leaving their fate unknown. If you're a fan of The Adventures of Tintin, seeing these two bad guys working together in The Red Sea Sharks and Flight 714 is a real treat. 
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Post by Icctrombone on Dec 14, 2022 7:06:02 GMT -5
#11. Dr. Ok, Electro,Kraven the Hunter, Sandman, The Vulture, Mysterio, Amazing Spider-man Annual #1Marvel Comics ( 1964)Writer: Stan LeeArtist: Steve Ditko I’m not a big Spider-man fan but I have to include this book on the list. The Sinister Six , as they were named, was quite a selling point for this premiere Spidey Annual. The story is by the numbers- Dr. Octopus gathers together Kraven, Mysterio, Sandman, the Vulture and Electro in order to kill Spider-man. They kidnap Betty Brant and Aunt May and inform JJJ that the web spinner has to come to specified places to fight the antagonists of the book. He beats them and all is well in the end. I'm sure that this entry will show up again, probably by Kurt himself , as he's indicated in the past that he loves this book. A few points that I enjoyed about the book:
Peter loses his powers in some type of Psychosomatic event but still goes to face off against Electro Cameos from most of the Marvel Superheros compete with plugs to buy their books.  Cool looking individual splash pages of him beating each baddie. I will overlook that the 6 didn’t just dogpile Spidey, cause ...you know, comics. 
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Post by Icctrombone on Dec 14, 2022 7:09:52 GMT -5
THE SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS...First Draft Version! A favorite not so much for the team itself--Manhunter, Captain Cold, Star Sapphire, Gorilla Grodd, and Clayface--but for the rare opportunity this comic provided for readers of THE AMAZING WORLD OF DC COMICS--the chance to read an out-of-canon first take on a comic from a major publisher, a completed comic book that was scrapped and reworked entirely for its actual first issue! I'm no expert but I thought the Manhunter was a good guy. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2022 7:19:09 GMT -5
11. Evil Mutants (The New Adventures of He-Man, 1990s, published by Egmont)The New Adventures of He-Man debuted in syndication, circa 1990, a continuation of Masters of the Universe. I hated it at as a kid, but I have come to appreciate its contribution to the mythos. The Evil Mutants are a faction, led by a creature called Flogg, who formed an alliance with Skeletor (actually, they used him!). Loyal to no-one but themselves, they caused much terror, although Skeletor gave them a run for their money. Egmont published a short-lived UK comic in the 90s, and the Evil Mutants, often part of many character-driven stories, caused even more terror and destruction. Less of a faction and more underlings in the comics (which deviated from the source material), they continued to have a short but terrifying run. I chose them because, while their reign of terror was short-lived, they made an impact.  
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Post by foxley on Dec 14, 2022 7:46:57 GMT -5
THE SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS...First Draft Version! A favorite not so much for the team itself--Manhunter, Captain Cold, Star Sapphire, Gorilla Grodd, and Clayface--but for the rare opportunity this comic provided for readers of THE AMAZING WORLD OF DC COMICS--the chance to read an out-of-canon first take on a comic from a major publisher, a completed comic book that was scrapped and reworked entirely for its actual first issue! Clayface would be traded out for several other villains to make for an inflated line-up of baddies which hit the stands in early 1976, with readers like me completely unaware that this first attempt had ever been developed. When I first got my hands on this Gerry Conway/Ric Estrada/Pablo Marcos 18-pager, I couldn't see what was so wrong with it, and it still seems just as good as the "real" SSOSV #1, if not better. The smaller line-up would have provided better focus, and it was a well-balanced selection of super powers. I like the idea of a team of villains fighting a planet-threatening menace like Darkseid--maybe not Darkseid himself, ideally, but I can see why he'd be the go-to-choice given the armada of Kirby-created menaces he could bring against the Society. There's a lot of potential there, considering that none of their world-saving would have been perceived as a noble effort by the superhero community or the public. I think I would have preferred that to the "Captain Comet vs. the Super-Villains" series we ended up getting. I'm no expert but I thought the Manhunter was a good guy. He was, but the one in the SSoSV was one of the clones created by the Council to act as enforcers. After the heroic Manhunter and Batman destroyed the Council, this clone survived and went rogue. |
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Post by commond on Dec 14, 2022 8:00:57 GMT -5
11. The Frightful Four
 Probably a little bit low on the power scale given they're supposed to be the evil counterparts of the Fantastic Four, but I really enjoyed the first few appearances of the Frightful Four. You had the megalomaniac, super-genius Wizard, who wasn't quite clever enough to outwit Reed Richards, the dumb, tough guy in Sandman, the legend that is Paste-Pot Pete, and the amnesic Medusa. They actually gave the Fantastic Four a decent run for their money in their first few skirmishes. In fact, I believe the Q-Bomb blast that robbed the Fantastic Four of their powers was the first time the FF had been defeated at the end of an issue. I liked pretty much everything Kirby & Lee did with these characters both individually and as a group. I'm vaguely familiar with a few of the later incarnations, but it's the Kirby/Lee version that's my number 11.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2022 8:03:26 GMT -5
On the second day of Christmas, the Ghost of Christmas villainy brought to me another nostalgia-fueled choice, another ape-themed villain and more villains I first encountered in the pages of Iron Man (#115 this time)... The Ani-Men.   I first encountered the Ani-Men when Nefaria sent them after Tony Stark in the summer of 1978 when I was an impressionable 9 year old, and they were glorious. When Classic X-Men launched in the 80s, I was in high school and got to read their encounter with the X-Men (again at the behest of Nefaria), and thanks to Marvel Unlimited, I eventually got to read their introduction in Daredevil. A soft spot for ape-themed characters keeps Ape-Man a easily pushed nostalgia button, but I found these lovable cannon fodder scrubs became a fond memory of what made comics fun for me as a kid. -M |
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Post by foxley on Dec 14, 2022 8:07:44 GMT -5
Because sometimes bigger is better... 11. Braniac and Luthor's Army Crisis on Infinite Earths #9 (1985) In "War Zone", a cadre of Earth's most powerful super-villains gathers together aboard Brainiac's starship. Lex Luthor coordinates the meeting declaring that he shall take advantage of the Crisis by holding the multiple Earths hostage. Alexi Luthor of Earth-Two protests, citing that he should lead the cadre rather than his Earth-One counterpart. Brainiac concedes that there is no need for two Lex Luthors and destroys the Earth-Two Luthor. The cadre of villains takes advantage of the situation. They spread themselves across the realities, sowing chaos and discord at every turn. Chemo poisons the waters surrounding Hudson Bay, killing Aquagirl. Doctor Phosphorus brutally injures Hawkman. The Joker and Poison Ivy capture Freedom Force. Eclipso incapacitates Wonder Woman and the Justice League fight the Brotherhood of Evil. What I like about this issue is that amidst the cast of thousands in COIE, here we get a spotlight on the bad guys. And Perez does a brilliant job drawing all of the villains. Everyone is recognizable, and thanks to Marv Wolfman, all of the bad guys (at least, those whho get speaking roles) are in character. This was handled so much better than the equivalent issue in Secret Wars II, which consisted of 99 villains attacking the Beyonder en masse and getting their asses handed to them by the Thing. So bring on the bad guys! |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Dec 14, 2022 8:11:29 GMT -5
11. Savage Land Mutatesfirst appearance: X-men #62 preferred line-up: Brainchild, Barbarus, Amphibius, Gaza, Lupo, and Vertigo  As with my #12 pick, this is a case in which I like the idea more than their actual performance would seem to merit. They made my list – and this will apply to several other entries – just because I so liked a story in which they figured prominently, i.e., the story arc in Marvel Fanfare #1-4, which starred Spider-man (in issues 1-2, Angel and Ka-zar (issues 1-4) and the X-men (issues 3-4). Granted, there are some critical flaws connected to the Savage Land Mutates that make them far from an A-list squad: - they’re almost always lackeys for someone else, e.g., Magneto and then Sauron in their initial appearances. - as their name indicates, they’re sort of limited to an exclusive base of operations, i.e., the Savage Land. However, they are a cool bunch of characters, with diverse powers and abilities that make them a pretty suitable match for any incarnation of the X-men and any other super do-gooders. It’s too bad they never transcended their limitations, geographic or otherwise, and made a bigger splash in the wider Marvel universe.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Dec 14, 2022 8:24:34 GMT -5
11. Dormammu and Loki, architects of the Avengers/Defenders war.  I didn't much care for the Bob Brown art in that long story arc, and some of the matches were ridiculous. The Silver Surfer barely managing to defeat the frickin' Vision, and only because the latter abandons the fight to save Wanda from a volcano? That's absurd! However, the Avengers/Defenders war was presented (and felt!) like a truly major event, and I enjoyed the bits of continuity built into it: the blindness of Loki (after events in Thor's own mag), Dormammu's ceasless attempts to circumvent the letter of his own oath about never invading the Earth... Continuity can be a drag when it weighs storytelling down, but when used to build a coherent universe it can also be a great boon. Such was the case here. As for the team-up between the lord of the Dark Dimension and the god of mischief, it was great! Both fellows have an oversized ego and great magical powers, neither plans to be true to their alliance if it hinders their own agenda, and both end up not getting what they hoped for! Back in those days, there were few really heavy hitters among Marvel's villains and none of them had been overused to the point of irrelevance. Galactus, Doctor Doom, Dormammu, Loki, that was about it. Seeing two of them join forces heralded a true epic! I don't recall if they ever met again after the story's conclusion, to compare notes and chew the fat... "It's your fault we failed!" "No, it's YOUR fault, you DOLT!"
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Post by DubipR on Dec 14, 2022 8:25:35 GMT -5
Nogoodniks times 3! #11- The Terrible Trio Fox. Shark. Vulture. Three criminals in animal masks. Each mask represents their crimes. Are they special in the Batman lexicon? Not by a longshot. Why do I enjoy them so? They're just three guys with amazing tech in animals masks trying to thwart the Dynamic Duo. The premise is simple when created back in 1958; three famous inventors seeking out new adventures so they turned to crime. Dressed in sharp business suits and animal mask. Fox was sort of the stand out of the trio who showed a little more intellect than the other. The trio faded into obscurity until the early 00s when they were brought back, making them a little more grotesque, almost akin to Man-Bat. Then brought back again the DC Rebirth era in the critically acclaimed Gotham Academy series as three students in a secret society. I like some of the Golden Age hokeyness of some these weird Bat villains. The feel of bandits, mixed with movie serial bad guy feel. |
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