Supervillain







Supervillains from the 1966 film Batman, a film adaptation of the comic books based on Batman and the 1960s television show of the same name. From left to right: Penguin, Riddler, Catwoman, and Joker.


A supervillain is a variant of the villainous stock character that is commonly found in American comic books, usually possessing superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero.


Supervillains are often used as foils to present a daunting challenge to a superhero. In instances where the supervillain does not have superhuman, mystical, or alien powers, the supervillain may possess a genius intellect or a skill set that allows them to draft complex schemes or commit crimes in a way normal humans cannot. Other traits may include megalomania and possession of considerable resources to further their aims. Many supervillains share some typical characteristics of real world dictators, gangsters, and terrorists, with aspirations of world domination or universal leadership.[1]




Contents






  • 1 Notable supervillains


  • 2 See also


  • 3 References


  • 4 External links





Notable supervillains


The Joker, Lex Luthor, Magneto, Doctor Doom, Darkseid, Venom, Ra's al Ghul, Deathstroke and Thanos are some notable male comic book supervillains and have been adapted to film and television.[2][3] Some notable examples of female supervillains are the Catwoman, Mystique, Harley Quinn, Talia al Ghul, Poison Ivy, Hela and Dark Phoenix.[4][5]


Just like superheroes, supervillains are sometimes members of supervillain groups, such as the Sinister Six, the Suicide Squad, the Brotherhood of Mutants, the Injustice League, the Legion of Doom, and the Masters of Evil.


Stephen Moffat and Mark Gatiss have claimed to regard James Moriarty as a super villain because he too possesses genius level intelligence and powers of observation and deduction setting him above ordinary people to the point where only he can pose a credible threat to Sherlock Holmes. And because Moriarty is a successful, sociopathic antagonist.



See also





  • Archenemy

  • Rogues gallery

  • List of Batman Family adversaries

  • List of Superman enemies

  • List of Spider-Man enemies

  • Evil Overlord List

  • Mad scientist

  • List of comic book supervillain debuts

  • List of female supervillains

  • Lists of villains




References





  1. ^ "Eury & Misiroglu On The Supervillain Book". Comicon.Com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-18. Retrieved 2012-05-09..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}


  2. ^ "Joker tops supervillain poll". Metro.co.uk. 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2012-05-09.


  3. ^ "Top Ten Comic Book Super Villains". Comicbooks.about.com. 2012-04-10. Retrieved 2012-05-09.


  4. ^ "Lethal Ladies ; The 10 Best Female Supervillains". Newsarama.com. Retrieved 2013-10-22.


  5. ^ "Maleficent and 16 Other Famous Queens of Mean". Time Magazine. Retrieved 2015-04-09.




External links




  • The dictionary definition of supervillain at Wiktionary


  • Media related to Supervillains at Wikimedia Commons










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