Top Ten Comic Book Villains by Nick Talbot x Team Illo
Working Team Illo hard for this weekend, we have a second Top-Ten List [FIRST] - this time tapping on the words and memories of guest writer Nick Talbot, and his favorite comic-book villains! The references might seem daunting to some young's but hell, it tugs at my cmicbook-lurving core …aaawww… The illo-task for this cycle, was to interpret the characters as they were Anime and/or Manga characters! Read-ON!
[Illustration by Alejandro Ovalles aka JAOC @ blog / designrelated / artofjoac]
COMICBOOK-VILLAIN#1: Mean Machine Angel (from Judge Dredd)
Mean Machine is one of my favourite Super Villains & is from the British comic book 2000AD. He is a member of the Angel Gang who terrorize the Cursed Earth. His father Elmer "Pa" Angel, unhappy that he was such a nice & gentle boy had a surgeon operate on him when he was a child & turned him into a maniacal cyborg with a mechanical right arm & a steel dome on his head with a dial that controls his mood.
On the first setting he is just plain "Surly", The second setting he is "Mean", Third setting he is "Vicious & on the fourth setting he is "Brutal". At times his dial gets stuck on 4 & he has an uncontrollable head-butting frenzy.
[Illustration by QDOOGG @ bazturdsons.blogspot.com]
COMICBOOK-VILLAIN#2: Tomas de Torquemada (Nemesis the Warlock)
Torquemada is another 2000AD character whose name was inspired by the real life Spanish Inquisitor Tomas de Torquemada. Originally the leader of a fascist police force & quasi religious order on the planet Termight( a future Earth), Torquemada wages a war to rid the universe of all alien species who are regarded as impure. He commands an army of hood-wearing soldiers who bear striking similarities to the costumes worn by the KKK.
Torquemada's character seems to embody so many elements of evil that references Hitler, the Ku Klux Klan, the Spanish Inquisitors & Witch-finder General Matthew Hopkins can not but confirm his high standing as a wickedly devious super Villain.
[Illustration by BRiZL @ http://brizl.blogspot.com/]
COMICBOOK-VILLAIN#3: Balor of the Evil Eye (Slaine)
Balor of the Evil Eye appears in 2000 AD comic series "Slaine". The comic book character is based on Irish Mythology which 2000AD has seamlessly modified into comic strip form. In the "Slaine" series of comic strips, Balor is a leader of a race of demon giants called the Formorians. Sadistic cruelty is Balor's forte as he battles Slaine & the ancients Celts for domination of the earth.
A beastly creature with a 3rd eye in his forehead which is capable of spewing forth powerful energy bursts, he revels in drinking the tears of his tortured victims after hacking & slashing his way through the human armies in visceral bloodbaths never before experienced by the human race. Rape, torture & sorrow are his currency, which he deals in with interest!
[Illustration by BRiZL @ http://brizl.blogspot.com/]
COMICBOOK-VILLAIN#4: Judge Death (Judge Dredd)
2000 AD produces another comic book super Villain in the form of Judge Death, a regular character in the Judge Dredd strips. Judge Death is the son of a sadistic travelling dentist & his character begins in early 2000AD Judge Dredd strips from the "Megazine" series where he is a boy fascinated by inflicting pain & eventually killing some school bullies. He then joins the Judges so he can kill legally & earns the nickname "Judge Death".
His obsessive concept of justice eventually twists into the belief that all crime is committed by the living, therefore life is a crime. He encounters 2 witches known as the "Sisters of Death" who turn him into an undead creature who hisses the catchphrase "The crime is life, The sentence is death".
Judge Death leaves his own dimension after wiping out all life there & travels to Mega City One where he causes the death of over 60 million of its inhabitants, truly a statistic worthy of any "Super Villain".
[Illustration by BRiZL @ http://brizl.blogspot.com/]
COMICBOOK-VILLAIN#5: Thulsa Doom (Conan)
Marvel's "Kull Comics" produced a "Super Villain" in the form of the necromancer Thulsa Doom. Thulsa Doom is the barbarian "Kull's" nemesis & originally appeared in Robert E. Howard's short story "King Kull". Kull's character, as well as Thulsa Doom, was expanded in a series of strips situated in the mystical lands of Valusia & Torrana, where barbarians, wizards, witches, dwarves & necromancers existed.
Thulsa Doom commanded a horde known as the Black Legion whose members were sent to destroy the barbarian Kull. In subsequent strips, "Doom" battles Kull in a different dimension for the crown in the kingdom of Valusia. In Kull the Destroyer , Thulsa Doom meets his own "doom" when he fulfills an ancient prophecy that warns that an evil curse will befall anyone with a scarred face who wears the crown on the throne of Toranna. As Kull has sliced Thulsa Dooms face, doom loses his powers & is destroyed along with the city as it collapses around him.
Thulsa Doom also makes appearances in the Savage Sword of Conan comic strip. Anyone that commands magical powers, a band of men called The Black Legion & can travel between dimensions as well as sucking the life out of people at will must surely earn the moniker of "Super Villain"!
[Illustration by BRiZL @ http://brizl.blogspot.com/]
COMICBOOK-VILLAIN#6: Norbert The Narc (Freak Brothers Comics)
The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers is an underground comic from the 1960s following the humourous antics of a trio of counterculture characters whose prime concerns were avoiding work, the police & acquiring a multitude of mind altering substances. They dealt with multiple difficulties in achieving their goals including violent bikers, stern librarians, intelligent cockroaches & an inept DEA agent known as Norbert the Narc.
Norbert may not qualify as a normal, run-of-the-mill Super Villain in that he never killed anyone or performed any of the normal "villainous deeds", he was however the nemesis of the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers who although lawbreakers themselves, were actually the heroes & perceived by the reader to be on the side of good. Norbert was a narcotics officer who dressed up as a hippy in order to entrap the intrepid trio & often was duped into part-taking in illegal activities in pursuit of his goal.
[Illustration by Piino @ http://pencilspaintspantones.tumblr.com / http://twitter.com/piino]
COMICBOOK-VILLAIN#7: The Joker (Batman)
Anyone who hasn't been living in a cave for the past 70 years is likely to have heard of The Joker from the Batman series of comics & films. The Joker is said to have first appeared in the comic book: Batman #1 in 1940 (although this claim of origin has been disputed) & he is responsible for many of the tragedies that take place in Batman's life.
The Joker is usually portrayed as a deadly psychopath with a macabre sense of humour. Many of his weapons, tools & tricks combine joke-shop qualities & his speech usually contains some form of humour or joke. His appearance is usually with bleached white skin, green hair & bright red lips.
These peculiar features have been traced to different origins, however these traits are probably best most remembered through The Joker ending up in a vat of chemicals which gives him a clown-like appearance.
He is a deadly criminal mastermind definitely worthy of the title "Super Villain" & his evil sense of humour is definitely one of the things that makes him stand out from the crowd of wannabes. DC comics really has a winner with this maniacal super-villain!
[Illustration by QDOOGG @ bazturdsons.blogspot.com]
COMICBOOK-VILLAIN#8: Brainiac (Superman)
Superman comics have provided readers with a plethora of wicked "Super Villains' over the years. Lex Luther is probably the most memorable, however for a bit of a different flavour, I have included the colourful "Brainiac" in this review. After all, the diabolical "Brainiac" had the audacity to literally shrink the capital city of Superman's home planet Krypton!
The storylines containing Brainiac are also a little more complex than those relating to simple crime & include concepts like cloning & time travel. Not only that, but Brainiac's "look" is also pretty cool. He is usually depicted with green skin & some form of cool, possibly bio-mechanical costume with electrical cables/ diodes drilled into his cranium. He is after all, an extra-terrestrial android & there simply aren't enough of those around in comic books these days.
Let's face it, the name "Brainiac" is also pretty appropriate for a diabolically evil genius who is obviously a maniac with a super intelligent brain! As far as I know, Brainiac has been a character in Superman comics since the late 50's, but I would love to see more of his evildoings in any upcoming superman comics or movies! Another DC Super Villain with the goods, (I mean EVIL) to make any Superman saga even more super-er-er!
[Illustration by TOYSREVIL]
COMICBOOK-VILLAIN#9: Doc Octopus (Spider-Man)
Any list of Super Villains wouldn't be complete without entries from Marvel comics. Doc Ock, or Doctor Octopus (aka: Dr Otto Gunther Octavius) is one of Spider-Man's regular evil enemies. Doc Ock is a mad scientist whose main goals are to show everyone how much of an evil genius he is, as well as ridding the city of Spider-Man. His most noticeable feature is the 4 mechanical arms protruding from his body which were developed by him to assist in his research with radioactive materials.
There was an accident & the arms were fused to his body. It is possible this accident also damaged his brain. Despite being brain damaged, short sighted & looking overweight, Doc Ock's mechanical appendages more than make up for any physical weaknesses he may have. His tentacles have helped him beat "Spidey" to the point that the red & blue superhero almost considered retiring from the superhero game. Even when his harness is surgically removed he is capable of controlling it remotely using mental powers.
I felt Doc Ock should be included as one of the Super Villains, because, let's face it, who hasn't wanted an extra set of hands (or tentacles) at one time or another. For all his amazing feats (or arms), Doc Ock deserves 6 thumbs up as a super Villain.
[Illustration by TOYSREVIL]
COMICBOOK-VILLAIN#10: Venom (Spider-Man)
The concept of a black, amorphous, goo like, evil has always been a good one, and so Venom, another of Spider-Man's enemies gets a vote for "Super Villain" from me. Marvel created a great extra terrestrial evil doer in the dark form of "Venom". Not only is his appearance totally wickid, but the concepts behind his creation are also pretty clever. Venom is an extra terrestrial symbiotic life-form which needs a host body for it's survival. The creature initially survived by attaching itself to a host body & draining it of adrenaline. The host body would then gain the parasite's powers at the expense of its life. It was imprisoned by it's own race when it was discovered that "Venom" didn't want to kill its hosts, but use them, essentially to get around in!
Venom's first host body was Spider-Man, however "Spidey" rejected the creature, which then became one of web-slingers arch enemies. Venom is telepathic, has shape-shifting capabilities & can take with it additional items without adding to its mass through the use of a "dimension aperture". It doesn't need to make physical contact with its host to control it, it also has an awesome costume & razor sharp fangs! With all those attributes rolled into one evil-doer, who wouldn't put Venom in the "Top 10 Super Villain" compilation.
Credit: Written article by Nick Talbot (Introduction by TOYSREVIL). All illustrations have been loaded on Facebook too!
