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Harley Quinn, Joker, Darkseid, And More — Top 10 Best Comic Book Villains In DC Comics

Published on: August 25, 2016 at 10:31 PM
By Carter Lee

Harley Quinn and the Joker are some of the most popular villains in DC Comics, but there are so many more. There is no hero without a villain and every villain brings out the best, and often the worst, of the hero in a story. This list of the best comic book villains focuses mainly on the comic book rather than any portrayal in a movie. The comic book world is vast among the big two, Marvel and DC Comics, so this list takes a look at DC Comics’ villains specifically ranked in no particular order; doing so is like trying to rank your children — they’re all special.

Top 10 Best Comic Book Villains—DC Comics

Mirror Master

Samuel Scudder was a criminal who worked in a mirror factory. Through happenstance, Scudder realized the mirrors held special abilities when he accidentally added the wrong ingredients. He used these mirrors to start a life of crime, and this DC Comics villain dubbed himself Mirror Master — after creating a costume of course. This comic book villain uses mirrors to help hypnotize victims, shape-shift, and travel between dimensions, among other skills, and is a longtime rival of The Flash.

Deathstroke

Deathstroke is a mercenary and the official DC Comics website explains the origin of this dangerous assassin.

“Originally a soldier in the U.S. Army, he was part of an experiment super-soldier project where he gained enhanced strength, agility and intelligence. His vendetta against the Titans began when he swore revenge for the death of his oldest son Grant; his two children would go on to become Titans members as Jericho and Ravager. Traditionally his actions have been limited by a strong personal code of honor, although his motives became more villainous following the death of his wife Adeline Kane.”

In addition to Teen Titans, Deathstroke has been a rival to DC Comics heroes Batman and Green Arrow.

Two-Face

Gotham City district attorney Harvey Dent was a man who stood for the people and worked hard to send criminals to prison — until mob boss Sal Maroni went on trial. Maroni used a bottle of acid and burned half of Dent’s face off; that was the end of Dent and the birth of Two-Face. Two-Face is obsessed with duality and uses chance with a simple coin toss to decide the fate of others. This DC Comics super-villain is a longtime rival of Batman and has been a member of the Injustice League and the Injustice Gang.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb8Ak-Dad2Q

Brainiac

Superman has Brainiac to thank for losing his hometown’s capital city, Kandor, on Krypton. The alien humanoid used his powers to shrink down numerous cities to a small size and keep them on his Skull Ship. Brainiac is a very intelligent DC Comics villain and his obsession with information is what drives his need to collect cities.

Sinestro

Thaal Sinestro was the greatest Green Lantern Corps member and he was the trainer of Hal Jordan. Sinestro used his powers to form a dictatorship and when The Guardians of the Universe found out, Thaal was banished. He eventually formed the Sinestro Corps and is a longtime, and most dangerous, rival to Green Lantern.

Reverse-Flash

The first DC Comics villain to refer to himself as Reverse-Flash was Professor Zoom; although he is technically the second doppelganger to The Flash. Professor Zoom is the arch-rival of Barry Allen and is a time traveling murderer who will go to any length to destroy Allen.

Anti-Monitor

Anti-Monitor is the evil counterpart to the Monitor, his brother. This powerful being reigns over the Antimatter Universe. Anti-Monitor is all-powerful and rains terror upon the entire Multiverse. Many consider this being to be the most powerful of DC Comics’ villains.

Darkseid

Darkseid is as evil as he sounds (pronounced Dark-side). This DC Comics villain only has one mission: to conquer the universe and to banish free-will. Villains don’t get more evil than that — or scarier. Darkseid embodies pure hatred and is the monarch of Apokolips — an inter-dimensional hell.

Harley Quinn and the Joker

Bonnie and Clyde have nothing on Harley Quinn and the Joker. Quinn, whose name is a play on the word Harlequin, worked in Gotham’s Arkham Asylum as a psychiatrist. Dr. Harleen Quinzell was assigned to the Joker and Quinzell and the Joker fell in love; the super-villain duo have been inseparable ever since. When Harley Quinn works by herself, she is a formidable foe to Gotham and to Batman; but when Quinn is with the Joker the two are nearly unstoppable.

The Joker is not only the most popular DC Comics villain but perhaps the most popular comic book villain of any brand. The Joker character has transcended comics and has become entrenched in pop culture. Audiences that otherwise wouldn’t see comic book movies became infatuated with Jack Nicholson’s version in 1989, and absolutely obsessed by Heath Ledger’s translation of the super-villain in 2008. Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker led to over 20 awards, including an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. This is the only time an actor has been acknowledged with an Oscar in a comic book movie.

The Joker is not only an ingenious madman — he is a serial killer. The Joker is a terrorist to Gotham City and undoubtedly the greatest foe of Batman. The only worthy opponent of the Joker is Batman and often the Joker has gotten the better of him. The Joker has had several opportunities to kill Batman once and for all, but has always passed on them; it’s more fun to him to torture Batman’s loved ones, including crippling Batgirl and killing Robin. Harley Quinn seems to be the only love the Joker has and the lunatic couple make the perfect pair.

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From Mirror Master to Harley Quinn and Joker, this list of DC Comics’ best villains should give comic book fans plenty of material to add to their collection.

[Image via Warner Bros. Pictures]

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