Super heroes are fun and interesting on their own, but the most popular heroes are the ones that have a large and serious rogues gallery. We all know what a rogues gallery is right? Well I'll explain just in case, as I will be referring to it throughout today's post.
A Rogues Gallery is a list of all the villains a hero faces on a regular basis. I'm going to jump right in with the most classic and well known Rogues Gallery. BATMAN!
Batman is arguably the most popular character that will be on this list, also the oldest, and he also has the most iconic villains in comic book history. Here's the list, starting with the biggest of baddies: The Joker - the most famous of all the Dark Knight's adversaries. A mass murderer, with no specific agenda other than causing chaos and mayhem.
The Penguin - Another famous villain. Oswald Cobblepot is depicted more as a gang boss, often in control of the black market arms deals in Gotham City and beyond.
The Riddler - One of my personal favorites. Edward Nigma is more of a nuisance to Batman, and vice versa. There is still so much potential for the Riddler to become an even nastier villain than he has been shown in the past.
Catwoman - Sometimes rival, sometimes lover of Batman. Either way, Selina Kyle deserves a spot on the list simply because of how she is able to get under Batman's skin. He genuinely cares about her wellbeing, but won't hesitate to taker her down if the situation calls for it. These days, I think Catwoman is more of an anti-hero that helps Batman and the Bat-family rather than work against them.
Bane - The man who broke the Bat. One of the, if not THE, most physically threatening villain Batman has ever faced. On top of his physical ability, he's also a top notch tactician and strategist; making military like manuevers to further his criminal aspirations.
For time and space sake, I'm going to just list the rest of them: Killer Croc, Hush, Hugo Strange, Harley Quinn, Two-Face, Solomon Grundy, Firefly, Killer Moth, Mad Hatter, Man-Bat, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, Ra's al Ghul, Scarecrow, Ventriloquist, Zsasz, Deadshot, Clayface, the Calandar Man, and the Court of Owls. Might have missed a couple. No wonder Batman is so great huh?! Superman has a decent rogues gallery, but it's nothing like this! These are hardcore, classic comic book villains. Many people have died by their hands, and many classic capers. Read Batman: The Long Halloween and then Batman: Dark Victory and then Batman: Hush for a real fun reads that feature most of Batman's Rogues Gallery.
Next up on the classic rogues list is also a DC comics hero. They actually refer to themselves as "the Rogues". I love it. They're the villains of THE FLASH!
Flash's rogues gallery consists of Captain Cold, Captain Boomerang, Weather Wizard, Mirror Master, the Trickster, Heat Wave, Pied Piper, Gorilla Grodd, Abra Kadabra, Golden Glider, and the Top. There's one or two more, but these are the classic bad guys. I love this group because they still have the cheesy comic book villain names like Captain Cold, who uses a freeze ray, or Weather Wizard & Mirror Master. You can probably figure out their abilities just by their name. If you have not seen the Flash TV show, then you are missing out. Best super hero show on TV! Feels like the comic book pages have come to life on my tv screen.
Jumping companies to Marvel. Most iconic Rogues Gallery on this side is of course Spider-Man! He's got classic villains like Doctor Octopus, The Vulture, the Chameleon, Rhino, Mysterio, Scorpion, the Lizard, Green Goblin (Norman Osborn, Harry Osborn), Kraven the Hunter, Jackal, Electro, the Sandman, Hydro-Man, Speed Demon, the Kingpin, Hobgoblin, Molten Man, Demogoblin, Hammerhead, Tombstone, Morbius the Living Vampire, the Beetle, Boomerang, Scarecrow, Looter, Shocker, Silvermane, the Kangaroo, the Big Wheel (yep, real guy), the Gibbon, Grizzley, Man-Wolf, Tarantula, Will o'the Wisp, Jack O'Lantern, Alistair Smythe, Slyde, Styx and Stone, Venom, Grey Goblin, Mister Negative, Morlun, and Carnage.
Wow, what a list! Do you see how this list is almost as famous as Batman's? These guys are vicious too! Doc Ock highjacked Peter Parker's body for like a year! Norman Osborn (as the Green Goblin and not) has killed Gwen Stacey and her father, has been a consistant thorn in Spidey's side, and turned Peter's best friend Harry against him! Harry Osborn was Peter's best friend, as the Green Goblin, he was possibly Peter's most dangerous foe because he knew Peter's secret. Venom, during his first villainous run, KILLED PEOPLE ALL THE TIME! Then they changed him into kind of a good guy to help Spidey fight Carnage, who was even worse and KILLED EVERYONE IN HIS PATH!!! Maximum Carnage is still one of the most violent comic book stories I have ever read, but I also highly recommend it.
So who has the best Rogues Gallery in your opinion? Batman or Spider-Man? Let me know what you think.
The Rogues that didn't make the list are: Superman's villains: Lex Luthor, Braniac, Bizarro, Parasite, Cyborg Superman, Mongul, Doomsday, Bloodsport, Conduit, the Intergang, Metallo, Mister Mxyzptlk, Toyman, Ultraman, and General Zod. There's only a few on here that are worth talking about, that's why the list doesn't hold up.
The X-Men have a terrific rogues gallery! But, since the X-Men are a team and therefore often face another team of villains led by an overall bad guy. Love this concept, but it's not the same as Batman, Flash or Spider-Man. Here's a list anyway: Magneto and his Acolytes, the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Mr. Sinister and the Marauders, Donald Pierce, Lady Deathstrike and the Reavers (more like Wolverine's villains, they all have a personal grudge against the old canuckle head), the Brood, the Sentinels, Apocalypse and his Horsemen, Dark Riders, the Externals, Freedom Force, Factor 3, the Hellfire Club, and the Mutant Liberation Front. Like I said these are mostly groups. Their ranks range from 5 to 10 plus members. Some villains that are worth noting specifically (they're members of at least 1 of the teams listed above): the Juggernaut, Stryfe, Gideon, Sauron, Mojo, and Spiral. Also the Shadow King is worth a mention.
Don't know a lot of these names? Interested in who they are? Good! Ask me for specifics and I shall give them! Comic villains are fascinating to me.
Thanks for reading. Until next time, interweb-slingers, enjoy yourselves and each other.
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