Originally Posted by
Tzigone
Well, when they can just re-use the same half-dozen over and over and over again...
Actually, I do wonder when the last really good villains were developed? Re-working existing ones has happened quite a bit, but all new ones? Harley, but they're anti-heroing her. Have done same with Deathstroke at times. They like doing that. But also, I think with newer heroes, or even generally modern story-telling, new villains are often created for a specific arc. And then they've served their purpose - there's little they can do to top that arc. Or they're meant to be sympathetic, but for many the sympathy wears off after they do enough bad things. I feel that way about Doomsday, Bane, and the version of Doctor Freeze driven by Nora. Whereas in the old days they were created for cool powers or colorful appearances or whatever, and with the more generic storypurpose of just being a villain.
Yeah, I'm kinda sick of the Joker, and would like to see some focus on non-Luthor, non-Krypton-based villains for Superman.
Also, as the audience has gotten older, and perhaps more set in our ways, I wonder if we've gotten more likely to say we want to see our favorites, not new nobodies. Are you more likely to get an issue if it has a villain you already know on the cover or one you don't know? And, of course, the most common time for villains to be introduced is when new heroes are introduced, and we don't seem to have as many of them with their own stories as we once did. I mean, we used to get several heroes/stories in 'Tec or Action Comics or whatnot. Going to fewer stories in more issues no doubt makes a difference, too. 4 stories a month could mean 48 stories a year for Superman with 18 villains. Now it's maybe 2 or 3 stories a year and it makes sense to use known villains. Of course, that didn't stop Captain Marvel from fighting Sivana a lot in the old days. Over and over and over again.