Greetings.
Alright, today's QOTD comes from Phil, and he asks
Alright, today's QOTD comes from Phil, and he asks
"Hey Caliber,
I thought this might make a fun question of the day. Which Superhero has the best "Rogues Gallery". You can include a team if you like, instead of a singular super hero. Personally, I'm veering towards Darkwing Duck. Mostly because the nature of the show allowed them to steal from literally every other comic/story which existed ever. They even had a Kthulu monster in the form Duckthulu. But I digress...what say you?"
Spider-Man has a pretty healthy selection. Probably the best of the Marvel Universe.
But I think it's a safe bet when I say Batman is the clear winner. He has countless bad guys you could build an entire film off of. I mean, King Tut, Egghead, The Mad Hatter, Purple Lilac. Then you have the B list villains like The Joker, Two-Face, The Riddler, Catwoman, and Bane. That's movie Bane, not comic book Bane. And that's Bane before it's revealed he's a crying punk stuck in the friendzone.
How say you?
Also, thanks to everyone who checked out my story, and I really appreciate those who offered up their advice. I'm working on some other fiction that I'd like to share sometime down the line. In due time. Till then, how about a Caliber classic? Top 4 Uses Of The Word Fuck In PG-13 Movies
Batman has the best villains in comic books. /thread
ReplyDeleteAside from Batman, The Flash's Rogues have always been the main reason to read the comics. Captain Cold, Mirror Master, Pied Piper, Weather Master, Captain Boomerang, Murmur, Zoom...the list goes on.
ReplyDeleteSuperman
ReplyDeleteBrainiac, Lex Luthor, Darkseid, Doomsday, Mr. Mxyzptlk, General Zod, Richard Pryor... that's just off the top of my head...
STAN LEE - KIRBY, DITKO, 'NUFF SAID
ReplyDeleteWhat's wrong with Comic book Bane. A super smart roid freak works for me. It also keeps in line with the Batman tradition of most people only having the same two super powers. Money and Insanity. (See: Joker, Mad Hatter, Penguin, Riddler, Harley, Two Face, etc.)
ReplyDeletehttp://video.adultswim.com/robot-chicken/thats-bane.html
You could sort of include Batman in that list.
ReplyDeleteI considered it actually.
ReplyDeleteThough...hey wait a minute. Someone named Parallax isn't going with the Green Lantern?
ReplyDeleteWell, I mean it happened... but it wasn't like he was a mainstay villain or anything... unless something changed since I stopped reading
ReplyDeleteSpider-Man's is awesome, but Batman gets the nod here. Besides the Big Five(Joker, Penguin, Riddler, Catwoman, Two-Face), you also have: Bane, Harley Quinn, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, Mr.Freeze, Zsasz, Deadshot, Blockbuster, Mad Hatter, Hush, Hugo Strange, Ra's Al Ghul and Talia, Scarface, Black Mask, Great White Shark, Ratcatcher, Killer Moth, Firefly...
ReplyDeleteNo love for the X-Men? Magneto, Hellfire club, Sentinels and the U.S. government, Apocalypse and the horsemen, The Shi'ar Empire royal guard, The Avengers (sort of), AoA versions of themselves, Plus the many many singular villains like Juggernaut, Mystique, etc.
ReplyDeleteGorilla Grodd, too.
ReplyDeleteGorrillas put asses in seats.
ReplyDeleteWhy have there been no sports QOTDs? As for this one, Batman gets my vote.
ReplyDeleteHave you thought up a question and sent it to Caliber?
ReplyDeleteNot sports related, guess I will. Just a random thought as I was reading this one.
ReplyDeleteOn the How Did This Get Made podcast they mentioned that Braniac was originally going to be in Superman 3 but then plans were changed. So it appears very likely some of that script was kept but instead of actually using Braniac they just plugged in Richard Pryor and made his character a savant computer whiz.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see this happen again. Like Ultron is supposed to be in the next Avenger's movie but after a last minute change around he's just Kevin Hart in an adamantium leisure suit.
Definitely Batman. His villains have more depth than most heroes. And their backstories are usually realy twisted and cool. I'd like to see one of the animated movies with all the Alice in Wonderland stuff, with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum and the Mad Hatter and shit, could be really twisted and cool.
ReplyDeleteAs much of a Marvel guy as I am, I agree, Batman easily wins this. Spider-Man and X-Men both get honorable mentions, but Mr. Wayne's rogues gallery is just way too deep to not be at the top of the heap.
ReplyDeleteCan the suit be made from some sort Velour/Adamantium alloy?
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Love Flash's villains and I really don't read a lot of Flash. They were all some of the best parts of the Identity Crisis/Infinite Crisis stuff.
ReplyDeleteA two way tie between Spider-Man and Batman.
ReplyDeleteThe only comic book I really read as a kid was punisher and he had a shitty rouges gallery. The kingpin who was every hero's enemy in marvel and stupid jigsaw who had potential as a character but was basically just a jobber
ReplyDeleteSeems like batman wins easily but spiderman had a nice little row of bad guys with; venom, Dr. Doom, doc ock, lizard man, sandman, green goblin, hobgoblin, the actor dude with the fish bowl head, rhino, allister Smythe and a ton of others I don't remember. I'd say that stacks up nicely against the batman ones. Yeah joker is in there but its a steep drop after penguin and riddler to the rest. Batman's list is more top heavy because of the joker but spidermans rouge gallery is much deeper.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget Gorilla Grodd!
ReplyDeleteHe might be joking - in the same way he listed Joker, Two-Face, et. al as the 'B-list' villains.
ReplyDeleteThe answer is so obviously "Batman" that this thread should instead be "the 2nd best Rogue's Gallery".
ReplyDeleteServes him right. I always hated the Punisher.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with you on two levels. First I think Batman's gallery is deeper than you're crediting - after Joker/Penguin/Riddler you still have Two-Face, Ras Al' Ghul, Scarecrow,
ReplyDeleteAnd I don' tthink Spidey's rogue gallery is that great. It's the one that I would consider not very deep - after Doc Ock, Venom, and Green Goblin I see a drop-off - guys like Rhino, Mysterio (fish bowl head) & Electro haven't aged as well.
But I'll also admit that I always liked DC more than Marvel, so my bias may be showing.
I'll nominate Daredevil simply because it was my favorite comic for a long time. Kingpin, Bullseye, Mr. Fear, The Owl, Gladiator, The Hand and Purple Man were all cool villains. Okay, maybe not Purple Man.
ReplyDeletePlus, there were all of Daredevil's ex-lovers that were always stabbing him in the back like Typhoid Mary, Elektra and Echo.
Wasn't Dr. Doom a spiderman guy? Add him and kingpin and that's 5 big time villains for spiderman. Then you've got doom, ock, green goblin, kingpin, and venom matched up with joker, penguin, riddler, two face, and who's #5? Bane? That's a pretty even though evilness match up for the top guys. Also wasn't tombstone a pretty cool heel for Spidey? Theres a nice guy for the depth chart.
ReplyDeleteNow I'm definitely biased(and iIl informed) because I never read any comics as a kid but punisher and spiderman.
Or what about silver surfer with thanos and the big old dude that eats the planets. Not as sexy as joker but they would definitely win in a fight
ReplyDeleteCan we all agree teenage mutants ninja turtles had the worst ones with shredder and kwang? Talk about two completely incompetent assholes
ReplyDeleteDr. Doom was originally a Fantastic Four villain - but he crossed over a lot and tangled with most of the Marvel heroes at one point or another, and became something of a 'Marvel Universe meta-villain' (kind of like Luthor wound up doing).
ReplyDeleteAhh yes. Now that I have more coffee in my system, I truly see how much of a heel I was.
ReplyDeletethere should totes be a spinoff series of the dreadnoks drinkin' grape soda, eatin' chocolate donuts, and bein' all whacky
ReplyDeletewith zartan as the stern but lovable father figure
zandar and zarana can be the crazy aunt and uncle figure who tow the line b/w encouraging the dreadnoks zaniness and setting a good example for 'em
there can even be very special episiodes where they deal with roadpigs personality disorder, when one of the dreadnocks falls for one of them no-good gi joe girls from the other side of the tracks, and when some of the dreadnocks really start to question whether they should stick with cobra
So whose the worst villain in either universe. For marvel it's gotta be Dr. Doom (if you only count earthlings) or maybe kingpin, but doom has the scary mask. In DC would it be lex Luther?
ReplyDeleteI was thinking of that, but I don't know if I would classify Thanos as one of the Surfer's rogues. The only one who could sort of lay claim to the Arch Enemy title would be Adam Warlock.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard for a hero who kills his enemies to have a steady rogues gallery.
ReplyDeleteWorst, incompetent... or worst, Totally Competent. Because Doom was beaten by Squirrel Girl once.
ReplyDeletewhats the sound of 300 lbs of shit hitting the fan?
ReplyDeleteI think they've thrown down enough that thanos can be in his gallery. Surfer was probably the star of the infinity gauntlet. And then adding in Adam warlock, those are some super powerful bad guys
ReplyDeleteYet somehow I think savio Vega had a better record than that stupid fucking brain thing
ReplyDeleteOuch! Maybe he did suck then. I remember his toy looked bad ass though
ReplyDeleteFor DC, probably Luthor and/or Darkseid.
ReplyDeleteTMNT has a more diverse gallery outside of the TV series, especially with the comic books, both the original Mirage AND the new IDW series (btw, the latter is probably the best title out right now, and I'm not backing away from that opinion).
ReplyDeleteIn addition to Shredder with the Foot clan and Krang with his alien race on Dimension X, you also have the Purple Dragons (local gang), Old Hob (mutant cat who hates Splinter and grew up in the same lab), Alopex (rogue fox mutant agent currently working alongside Shredder), and Slash (whom Leonardo almost killed at one point).
There's a lot more depth outside of an 80's cartoon series, you know, considering the 80's just loved their repetition. Hell, look no further than Hogan for proof of that.
You know what drives me crazy about Purple Man? Dude has one of the greatest real names a villain could possibly have, Killgrave, yet he goes by such a stupid ass alias.
ReplyDeleteIGN once ranked the "Top 100 comic book villains of all time", and they actually put Shredder in at #39, which kind of invalidated the whole concept.
ReplyDeleteBatman's enemies win easily but the Decepticons are sorely overlooked:
ReplyDeleteMegatron - the egotistical megalomaniac with fantastic one-liners
Starscream - The usurper who is nowhere near as competent as he thinks
Soundwave - The sarcastic suck-up
Shockwave - The downtrodden den mother
Rumble - The little loudmouth punk with ADHD
Swindle - The scumbag so untrustworthy that his own friends hate him
Galvatron - The psychopath who abuses his own troops
Cyclonus - The battered wife who takes the abuse and makes excuses for it
because that time I asked a sports-related question in QOTD it had, like, 5 responses
ReplyDeleteGotta go with Darkseid.
ReplyDeleteI despise Mxyzptlk but I do think Superman's rouges are underrated.
ReplyDeleteMEGATRON = GALVATRON!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteBizarro, Parasite, Toyman and Cyborg Superman, too. (Although CS has become more of a GL villain, but it looks like the New 52 is shifting back to the S).
ReplyDeleteAs much as I love Superman's rogues, I think Batman's villains are the most iconic in all of comics.
Yeah but I always preferred Galvatron over Megs.
ReplyDeleteHow does that invalidate the concept?
ReplyDeleteIn the original comics he actually was pretty bad ass. Plus there was none of the Dimension X, Krang nonsense that the cartoon had. And they all wore red masks. Crazy!
ReplyDeleteOh Thanos is my absolute favorite villain. So much so that I actually have a fairly sizeable tattoo of him with the gauntlet on my ribcage...
ReplyDeleteNot sure I needed to admit that but what the hell.
Squirrel Girl has beaten all of the heavies.
ReplyDeleteI'd personally put Ras Al' Ghul instead of Bane. Bane, like Doomsday, was part of one incredibly memorable storyline but hasn't really been very interesting since.
ReplyDeleteNah, Dr. Doom was a bad-ass.
ReplyDeletet I've been reading comics on and off for several decades and I the only two Green Lantern villains I could name are Parallax and Sinestro. And Sinestro is a GREAT villain - but it takes more than two great villains to make a memorable rogue's gallery.
ReplyDeleteSuperman and Batman have crossed paths a few times, but I'd hardly say that they belong in each other's villains list. Other than stuff like the Dark Knight Returns they have mostly been portrayed as close times, even if at times their relationship is strained.
ReplyDeleteOh? Well then I stand corrected. Never read any of the TMNT comics.
ReplyDeleteThe new Nick cartoon is getting a nice little Rogues Gallery going. And their Shredder is decidedly NOT an incompetent asshole.
ReplyDeleteThe supercomputer at the end seems very Brainiacish.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the villains they've amassed on the new show is pretty sweet. The Krang army, Shredder/Karai and the Foot, Mousers, and Purple Dragons are still there, and they still have some of the random mutants that were created like Snakeweed, Spider Bytez, etc. I'm expecting big things from Season 2 when they finally introduce Casey.
ReplyDeleteNot gonna retread, so I'll toss up an underrated one: The Hulk.
ReplyDeleteAbomination is ok, but the you've got The Leader who really should be pushed a lot harder than he is. Dude is supposed to be as smart as Hulk is strong. Absorbing Man's power set should make him a top guy too. Then you have The Maestro, who is one of the best villain concepts out there.
Kraang says "this" to the post that Kraang is reading.
ReplyDeleteNah, Marvel would never bait and switch us by turning a well-known villain into a comedian...oh wait...
ReplyDeleteCan we throw in Mongul too? The only thing with Supes' villains is, most cannot be translated to live-action so easily, as some are too comical, and others need a LOT of backstory to not seem rushed. That's why he is always stuck with Lex, and that's why Superman Returns failed partially (if you were going back with Lex, at least introduce the power suit so you can have a fair fight and not retread to the '70s again)
ReplyDeleteScott forgot the Music Meister, BTW. And Shame. And he calls himself a comic geek, yet doesn't remember that he was LOUIE THE Lilac, not Purple Lilac?!!?
ReplyDelete"You mean Galvatron!" "HAIL GALVATRON!"
ReplyDelete"Well, they were the same guy..."
Also, don't forget the Pryor-inspired version of Baxter. I am now wondering how the 2003 rogues held up?
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of which, Hogan had a damn good rogues' gallery, which I am reminded of when I look back at his HOF class. You had Piper, Sheik, Volkoff, Orndorff (I think those are the ones who were inducted alongside him, '05 was it?)...then there's Andre, DiBiase, Savage, Perfect, and so forth and so on.
ReplyDeleteKraang is that which is called a jobber in comparison to that which is called Savio Vega, even though that which is called Savio Vega met defeat from the one who is called Santa Claus.
ReplyDeleteStar Sapphire too?
ReplyDeleteSupposedly there is going to be Krang Prime voiced by Roseanne Barr.
ReplyDeleteBatman by a landslide.
ReplyDeleteSlaughter, Flair (kinda), Undertaker, Sid... yup.
ReplyDeleteActually, that was me.
ReplyDeleteLouie, that's right. Dammit. I do remember he was played by Milton Burel, and he was lame as fuck.
I never had a problem with comic book Bane, I just enjoyed the movie version more.
ReplyDeleteAh c'mon, Superman III isn't that bad. There's a lot of under-the-radar humor in that film, plus, Superman being a total prick is awesome. It's no 5 star affair, but I really don't think it deserves the hate it gets.
ReplyDeleteBoy, is he going to be PEEVED. Peeeeeved.
Turk(the thug that always got his jaw broken) is a fun running gag; as far as legit villains, I was always partial to Tombstone.
ReplyDeleteThe guy with the fishbowl head is named Mysterio, btw.
ReplyDelete