So I'm thinking this topic is pretty straightforward
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Typically, in superhero comics, the hero will build up a rogues gallery as time goes on. The early issues serve to establish the villains almost as much as the hero himself, and we get to see which villains stick around for the long run and become recurring bad guys.
Now, since each hero has his or her own personality and power set, naturally a writer is going to write villains that kind of key into the protagonist in terms of theme, opposing personality traits, similar powers, their civilian relation with the hero's civilian identity, etc etc.
Well, I'd like to ask you guys here at CBR: what are some of the worst and best rogues galleries you've seen in superhero comics?
I personally feel that Spider-Man's rogues gallery has been generally strong. Characters like the Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, the Scorpion, and Venom all seem to have some kind of different personal stake at finding and crushing Spidey, when they go on their merry villainous way. Then there's villains that are not quite so personally involved or don't bear grudges, but are still interesting foils for spider-Man because of their power sets. I find that typically Spider-Man fights villains that are just a notch stronger than he is. Spider-Man is very strong and agile, and he has a couple of nifty superhuman abilities, but most of his better villains have the odds stacked in their favour when it comes to sheer power. I've always felt that that's also part of Spidey's challenge every month, to fight seemingly unsurmountable odds, and still come out on top.
Last things last, a great many of Spidey's villains could in fact be considered a dark mirror image of Spidey/Peter. Many of them gained their powers in some freak scientific accident, and some were seemingly good people before this happened. But they are the ones who, unlike Spidey, don't live by the adage that 'with great power comes great responsibility'. They instead shirk all responsibility, and live the life of an out-of-control supercriminal, using their powers for completely self-serving purposes, whereas Spidey puts the endangered civilians first, and uses his powers altruistically.
at least, that's my take on it. What do you guys feel about rogues galleries in Marvel, DC, and beyond?