Ranking DC's Rogues Galleries

[Green Goblin of Sector 2814]

So, I'm in a list-making mood. There are lists of the best villains, but lets play a different game. Let's rank rogues galleries.

I can't imagine anyone on this board doesn't know what a rogues gallery is, but in the case that you've randomly stumbled onto a comic book forum for some inexplicable reason, here's a definition. A hero's rogues gallery is the name for the group(s) of individual villains or villain teams that tend more often than not to come up against that specific hero.

A few ground rules:

• the gallery in question must be assignable to a specific hero;
• no double dipping UNLESS its justified by continual antagonizing of another hero (ex. no grouping Riddler in with the Flash villains cuz he fought Barry once or even twice; but you could count Mongul as both a Superman and GL villain because he's fought the Lanterns a lot in recent years)
• you can do whatever type of list you please; this doesn't have to be a list of only the best, you can have a list of the worst or rank them best to worst or vice versa; that being said though, please state whether its one way or the other
• this is all subjective; so please be respectful of others' opinions.

Okay, with that out of the way, I'll go first. I'll be doing a best to worst, so 1-3 would be like the best; 4-8 would be like the middle of the pack; 9-14 are the lower end of the spectrum:

1. Batman's villains: Shocker! I mean...did you guys expect anyone else? I probably don't need to go into it. You've heard it all before.
2. Superman's villains: I dont know when it became common knowledge that Superman's rogues were "not so great" but I disagree. Any group of villains that has Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Zod, Doomsday, Bizarro, Parasite, Mxyzptlk, Mongul, Silver Banshee, and Manchester Black not only deserves more respect, but is bucking for the #2 spot of all DC rogues galleries
3. Flash Villains: Gorilla Grodd, the Rogues (especially Captain Cold), Eobard Thawne, Hunter Zolomon, Savitar, etc. are all compelling an interesting villains. I just wish they'd stop with the damn evil speedster motif.
4. Titans villains: mostly dependent on a few big names: Deathstroke, Trigon, and Brother Blood, but there's also the likes of Psimon, Plasmus, Jinx, Shimmer, Mammoth, Gizmo, and Dr. Light to make it interesting.
5. Green Lantern villains: Same thing with the Titans'. Mostly relies on a select few names like Sinestro and Krona, but there's Atrocitus, Larfleeze, the Star Sapphires, the recently resurgent Darkstars on the cosmic side. Mongul is also just as much a GL villain as a Superman villain these days. There's also some fun, albeit more gimmicky, Earth-based villains like Goldface and Sonar to round it out.
6. Justice League villains: Darkseid and the Elite (of course), Despero, Lord Havok and the Extremists, the White Martians, Amazo, T.O. Morrow, Professor Ivo, Starro, Queen Bee, and various Injustice Gangs. Reason its not higher is because I think it relies too much on their individual members' rogues galleries and, Darkseid aside, none of the others are really the heavy hitters of the DCU.
7. Wonder Woman's villains: Cheetah and Ares are probably the standouts here. There are others like Drs. Poison, Psycho, and Cyber, Giganta, Angle Man, and Circe. The reason its not higher on this list, though, is because none of those guys have become real household names. You'd think that with a heroine as famous as Diana, her villains would be more well-known.
8. Captain Marvel/Shazam Villains: Black Adam (pretty much the only reason he's on this list), but he's also got Sivana and Mr. Mind. Not much else.
9. Green Arrow's Villains: Some really cool rogues like Constantine Drakon and Merlyn. But other than that, it kind of thins out.
10. Doom Patrol Villains: Brain and Mallah are cool, but the others haven't made a splash. It is impressive that one of their villains (Zahl) is responsible for the first ever instance where a series ended with the deaths of the main cast members.
11. JSA Villains: They've been linked to Black Adam and Vandal Savage, but aside from that not much else except maybe Johnny Sorrow and Onimar Synn
12. Aquaman's Villains: Ocean Master and Black Manta are kind of the only worthwhile ones.
13. Legion of Superheroes Villains: Fatal Five and Mordru. That's kind of it.
14. Hawkman's Villains: Shadow Thief and Onimar Synn are the only ones I can even think of right now.

[Black Manta]

Flash is #1. Then Batman then Captain Marvel. Superman only has a handful of good villains. WW only has Cheetah and Circe. Aquaman only has Black Manta and Ocean Master.

The Legion has many more than you listed. They have the Legion of Super-Villains.

[Lee Stone]

I'd prob rank Flash at #2.
DC's done a lot to cultivate his villains as the ultimate Rogues Gallery, similar to how Marvel did Spider-Man's villains with the Sinister Six/Syndicate.

And I'd put Batman at #1, on the strength of the '60s tv show alone.

I'd probably add the Monster Society of Evil to Captain Marvel's list, the Injustice Society (both the original and the modern day version), Brainwave, Ultra-Humanite and Per Degaton to JSA, and Legion of Super-Villains, Glorith and Time Trapper to Legion.

[Green Goblin of Sector 2814]

The Legion has many more than you listed. They have the Legion of Super-Villains.

Oh, I know. I'm just saying that those are the only guys that really stand out to me. Kind of like how you say Wonder Woman only has Cheetah and Circe. Well, of course, obviously she has more villains to those two, but those are the only two that you think are important enough.

[Darkseid Is]

4. Flash Rogues
3. Superman rogues
2. Batman rogues
1...
...
...
...
...

The Atom!

[Rightoya]

Oh, I know. I'm just saying that those are the only guys that really stand out to me. Kind of like how you say Wonder Woman only has Cheetah and Circe. Well, of course, obviously she has more villains to those two, but those are the only two that you think are important enough.

Is that actually important for this list?

Cause i find The White Martians, Circe, Silver Swan, Dr. Psycho, Dr. Poison, Sivana, etc... actually far better/more interessting than the majority of GL(i like a few of them a lot, but the rest falls rly short) and Titans villains.

[dan12456]

Here's mine, but just based on the characters I read alot of (so don't worry that Superman's/Green Lanterns' rogues aren't on the list, I just don't read enough of him to really rank them)

1. Flash. Just an incredible rogues gallery. 3 arch villains (really 4) in Captain Cold, Gorilla Grodd and Eobard Thawne/Zoom (depending if we're talking Barry or Wally) that each push the Flashes in completely different ways. On top of that I love Golden Glider, Heatwave, Weather Wizard, Tricksters, Pied Piper (great redemption rogue), Mirror Master (scudder for me), Top (he was a serious threat in Johns' run) Godspeed (sure they have too many evil speedsters, but he might actually be my favourite) and many more I'm forgetting. My favourites and it isn't very close.

2. Batman. I don't love his rogues as much as many people. Shockingly I find many are iconic but underutilized and don't actually have great stories. That said he has so many quality rogues he can't be lower than this for me. The Court of Owls (my favourite actually), Ras, Joker, Catwoman, Two Face and Black Mask are the cream of the crop for me. Some I consider underutilized are Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, Riddler, Penguin, Mr Freeze. All are very interesting, but don't seem to have amazing stories (or if they do they don't focus on the relationship with Batman, such as Ivy's best stories imo).

3. Aquaman. I think his rogues are so underrated. Ocean Master and Black Manta get the respect they deserve. But the Trench is the ultimate force of nature, Siren can be great, Nereus, NEMO and the Dead King are very cool, other monster like creatures like Chimera and Dead Water are fun. Very fun rogues gallery for me.

4. Wonder Woman: I absolutely adore the tragedy that is Cheetah, even though she doesn't quite feel like a big enough threat to be an arch villain, she makes it work by putting Diana through the emotional ringer of not being able to save her old friend. Also love the various uses of the gods like Circe and Ares, Silver Swan is a favourite and Grail has been a great addition.

5. Green Arrow: I really love his rogues, even though they aren't as popular. Count Vertigo is easily my favourite. Then Komodo, Merlyn and Deathstroke (they've fought way too many times not to be included) are the next elite tier. Drakon, Brick, the Weapons Clans, Ricardo Diaz, Shado and Cupid (I like the concept, even though she has no good stories yet) are all great. Also Prometheus from the show comes to mind, even though his comics counterpart wouldn't be on this list.

6. Nightwing: It's not nearly as good as it could be. I love the circus based villains the most (Saiko and Raptor). James Gordon Jr and his rivalry with the Court of Owls comes next. Thins out fast after that though. Spyral is a cool villain concept, but I can't say I liked any of the specific villains it provided. Prankster, Lady Vic, Professor Pyg and Blockbuster (I hate that he's almost Dick's closest thing to an arch villain) are all pretty good. Deathstroke was great back in the day but seems to have moved on to Green Arrow, Batman and his own adventures these days.

7. Titans: great top of the list, Deathstroke, Trigon, Blackfire and Brother Blood. Then a massive drop off for me.

HM: David Zavimbe/Batwing: Not really sure how he'd rank, but he's one of my favourite characters and for how short lived he was I think they did an incredible job of giving him a good rogues gallery. Massacre was a better arch villain than many established heroes have. Ayo Keita was a horrifying man, Lord Battle was an awesome high level threat for the region (someone beyond Batwing's skills to deal with, which I thought was cool. If heroes really existed its would be really unlikely all the villains in their area would happen to be around their skill level) and Father Lost was sufficiently creepy. Unfortunately we will likely never see any of them again.

[Green Goblin of Sector 2814]

Is that actually important for this list?

Cause i find The White Martians, Circe, Silver Swan, Dr. Psycho, Dr. Poison, Sivana, etc... actually far better/more interessting than the majority of GL(i like a few of them a lot, but the rest falls rly short) and Titans villains.

I mean, this isn't just supposed to be my list. I'm inviting y'all to make your own, based on your own subjective criteria.

[Robotman]

Anyone who doesn’t have Superman’s rogues gallery in the top 3 are kidding themselves.

[Raijin]

Here's mine, but just based on the characters I read alot of (so don't worry that Superman's/Green Lanterns' rogues aren't on the list, I just don't read enough of him to really rank them)

1. Flash. Just an incredible rogues gallery. 3 arch villains (really 4) in Captain Cold, Gorilla Grodd and Eobard Thawne/Zoom (depending if we're talking Barry or Wally) that each push the Flashes in completely different ways. On top of that I love Golden Glider, Heatwave, Weather Wizard, Tricksters, Pied Piper (great redemption rogue), Mirror Master (scudder for me), Top (he was a serious threat in Johns' run) Godspeed (sure they have too many evil speedsters, but he might actually be my favourite) and many more I'm forgetting. My favourites and it isn't very close.

2. Batman. I don't love his rogues as much as many people. Shockingly I find many are iconic but underutilized and don't actually have great stories. That said he has so many quality rogues he can't be lower than this for me. The Court of Owls (my favourite actually), Ras, Joker, Catwoman, Two Face and Black Mask are the cream of the crop for me. Some I consider underutilized are Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, Riddler, Penguin, Mr Freeze. All are very interesting, but don't seem to have amazing stories (or if they do they don't focus on the relationship with Batman, such as Ivy's best stories imo).

3. Aquaman. I think his rogues are so underrated. Ocean Master and Black Manta get the respect they deserve. But the Trench is the ultimate force of nature, Siren can be great, Nereus, NEMO and the Dead King are very cool, other monster like creatures like Chimera and Dead Water are fun. Very fun rogues gallery for me.

4. Wonder Woman: I absolutely adore the tragedy that is Cheetah, even though she doesn't quite feel like a big enough threat to be an arch villain, she makes it work by putting Diana through the emotional ringer of not being able to save her old friend. Also love the various uses of the gods like Circe and Ares, Silver Swan is a favourite and Grail has been a great addition.

5. Green Arrow: I really love his rogues, even though they aren't as popular. Count Vertigo is easily my favourite. Then Komodo, Merlyn and Deathstroke (they've fought way too many times not to be included) are the next elite tier. Drakon, Brick, the Weapons Clans, Ricardo Diaz, Shado and Cupid (I like the concept, even though she has no good stories yet) are all great. Also Prometheus from the show comes to mind, even though his comics counterpart wouldn't be on this list.

6. Nightwing: It's not nearly as good as it could be. I love the circus based villains the most (Saiko and Raptor). James Gordon Jr and his rivalry with the Court of Owls comes next. Thins out fast after that though. Spyral is a cool villain concept, but I can't say I liked any of the specific villains it provided. Prankster, Lady Vic, Professor Pyg and Blockbuster (I hate that he's almost Dick's closest thing to an arch villain) are all pretty good. Deathstroke was great back in the day but seems to have moved on to Green Arrow, Batman and his own adventures these days.

7. Titans: great top of the list, Deathstroke, Trigon, Blackfire and Brother Blood. Then a massive drop off for me.

HM: David Zavimbe/Batwing: Not really sure how he'd rank, but he's one of my favourite characters and for how short lived he was I think they did an incredible job of giving him a good rogues gallery. Massacre was a better arch villain than many established heroes have. Ayo Keita was a horrifying man, Lord Battle was an awesome high level threat for the region (someone beyond Batwing's skills to deal with, which I thought was cool. If heroes really existed its would be really unlikely all the villains in their area would happen to be around their skill level) and Father Lost was sufficiently creepy. Unfortunately we will likely never see any of them again.

Ollie suffers from lazy ass writers. They are concerned with 'doing their own thing' rather than playing with the toys that are already there.

[Raijin]

I'm going to go by my own preferences:

1. Superman
2. JSA
3. Firestorm
4. Atom
5. Flash

[BatmanJones]

1. Batman
2. Superman
3. Flash
4. Green Lantern
5. JLA (TIE)
5. JSA (TIE) Both teams have an enormous number of major villains if you go back to the early runs and they recurred a lot before the more modern runs.
6. TT
7. Wonder Woman

It's amazing to me how few major villains Aquaman has. Until New 52 probably the Fisherman would have been his #3. Likewise Green Arrow. There's Count Vertigo and... Merlyn I guess.

[Magneto]

Batman, Flash and Superman are the top three

[Nyssane]

How I see it:

1. Batman's - This is a no-brainer. Batman has the most instantly recognizable rogues gallery in comics. Many of his villains have completely devoted fanbases to just them, which is something no other superhero really has. And everyone knows Joker, Riddler, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, Catwoman, etc. The list goes on.
2. Flash's - I don't read the Flash comics, but I know how popular the Rogues are, and for good reason.
3. Superman's - Lex Luthor is iconic enough alone for this list, but beyond him and possibly Darkseid (who seems to be a more general Justice League villain), his foes aren't instantly recognizable like those in Batman's or to an extent Flash's. Again, I don't read Superman (at this point I feel like I'm an exclusively Wonder Woman fan), but I can at least name Bizarro, Brainiac, and a few other "big" Superman enemies.
4. Wonder Woman's - Before Rebirth, she would've been lower, but Greg Rucka revitalized her rogues gallery in the comics. Her villains aren't commonly regarded as well-known or popular, however, because she hasn't had the wealth of outside media that Batman and Superman have (or even Flash). But I think with Wonder Woman 2's focus on Cheetah things may change.
5. Green Lantern's - This may be because I don't think I've picked up a single Green Lantern comic in my entire life, but I shudder to name even five Green Lantern foes. Sinestro and Atrocitus are obviously the biggies, but particularly with the lack of GL in the DCEU, I don't see him too high up in terms of his villains.
6. Aquaman's - Black Manta and Ocean Master are immediately recognizable, but like Wonder Woman, Aquaman hasn't really had as much exposure so his villains fall sort of low on the list. Maybe his solo movie will bump him up over GL.
7. Green Arrow's - His TV series has certainly made people more aware of his enemies, but I'm not sure how well that translates to the comics and to the wider awareness of his rogues.
8. Shazam's - I struggle to name even two. Black Adam and... who?

I didn't include any teams, as the Justice League villains are essentially just various enemies from members' rogues galleries. Although Titans, in my opinion, has the most iconic team rogues gallery out of DC. As for other characters like Nightwing, they're mostly lumped in with Batman's.

[Aahz]

5. Green Arrow: I really love his rogues, even though they aren't as popular. Count Vertigo is easily my favourite. Then Komodo, Merlyn and Deathstroke (they've fought way too many times not to be included) are the next elite tier. Drakon, Brick, the Weapons Clans, Ricardo Diaz, Shado and Cupid (I like the concept, even though she has no good stories yet) are all great. Also Prometheus from the show comes to mind, even though his comics counterpart wouldn't be on this list.

At least in the comics he faces most of these villains so rarely, that you can imo barely speak of a rogues gallery. Count Vertigo appered for example pre flashpoint only in roughly 5 Green Arrow issues. Komodo was iirc only in one (quite long) Arc, and he and Merlyn are also not facing that often.