Villains who have grown beyond their heroes.

[Toxin45]

I mean Darkseid was a new gods villain then a superman villain and now a justice league villain.

Like Anti-Montior also started off as a criss crossover villain then became both a justice league villain and a Green Lantern.

Vandal Savage started off as green lantern villain and then becomes a justice society villain and then a justice league villain.

[DrNewGod]

I did not know that. I thoughf Savage was a Flash villain.

That's an easy assumption to make. His first appearance was in the pages the original Green Lantern's quarterly title, but he came along pretty late in GL's run, and only made a few appearances.

Image.jpg

In the Silver Age, he got dusted off to play a rather prominent role in the development of The Earth-1/Earth-2 multiverse concept, reintroducing the Justice Society to most readers, in the pages of The Flash.

Image.jpg

In his first Post-Crisis appearances, he was squared off against Wally-Flash, and became his recurring Big Bad during the late 1980s.

Image.jpg

With the return of the JSA in the early 1990s, Vandal Savage was firmly moved into their basket.

[hareluyafan1]

I thought Lady Shiva was a Richard Dragon ally.

She was introduced as an antagonist because she'd been duped into thinking Richard Dragon had killed her sister. When she learned the truth they became allies.

[Restingvoice]

Can't have two bald geniuses as villains. Gets confusing.

So that's why they combine them

[Adekis]

Black Adam, roundabout the time that Teth Adom gained more nuance and started really caring about Kahndaq, I began to feel like he was less of a Marvel Family villain, and more of a DC character. Of course, the question of to what extent he's even a straight-up villain any more at that point is also worth asking.

[DrNewGod]

Black Adam, roundabout the time that Teth Adom gained more nuance and started really caring about Kahndaq, I began to feel like he was less of a Marvel Family villain, and more of a DC character. Of course, the question of to what extent he's even a straight-up villain any more at that point is also worth asking.

Yeah, he basically became an edgier DC version of Marvel's Submariner.

[Gaius]

Cyborg-Superman became more of a GL villain for a while before returning to the Superman books in the New 52.

[DrNewGod]

You know, as I read these (including my own suggestion), most of these didn't so much "grow" beyond their original role as they were just used differently by writers. A couple of the villains listed here though actually did get character and characterization progression that made them grow beyond being "Hero X's Adversary #N," Black Adam and perhaps Harley for example.

[John Venus]

Nobody really thinks of Deadshot as a Batman villain anymore. He started off as just another Batman wananbe before Englehart and later John Ostrander and Kim Yale salvaged him and made him awesome in Suicide Squad then later, Gail Simone developed the character further in Secret Six.

Vandal Savage is no longer tied to any specific hero. He could be anybody's villain.

Darkseid, I would argue is now more of a threat to the entire DCU than just another JL villain.

Anti-Monitor went from being a threat to the entire DCU to be a GL villain during Sinestro Corps War and a glorified battery in Blackest Night.

I don't think Killer Frost is purely a Firestorm villain either.

Lady Shiva has outgrown Richard Dragon and now more tied to Batman and to a lesser extent Green Arrow lore.

Then there is adaptations playing mix and match with villains:

Giganta being heavily tied to Grodd in the Justice League cartoon. Thus making her come off as a Flash villain origin wise. No real beef between her and WW even if they clashed.

Ras Al Ghul, Talia and Nyssa being Green Arrow villains on Arrow.

Gentleman Ghost clashing with Batman on Batman: The Brave and the Bold, with GG's origin now tied to Batman instead of Hawkman.

Clock King and Count Vertigo are Green Arrow villains but served as antagonist for Batman in Batman: The Animated Series.

[batnbreakfast]

Nobody really thinks of Deadshot as a Batman villain anymore. He started off as just another Batman wananbe before Englehart and later John Ostrander and Kim Yale salvaged him and made him awesome in Suicide Squad then later, Gail Simone developed the character further in Secret Six.

I miss Deadshot. Haven't read a story I liked him in since Secret Six. Secret Six in general is missed. Bane, Catman, Ragdoll, Knockout and those weird adventures they had. Kinda like a Doom Patrol

[jetengine]

Poison Ivy should have outgrown Batman but because she's a classic rogue she hangs in there even when it doesnt make sense

[John Venus]

I miss Deadshot. Haven't read a story I liked him in since Secret Six. Secret Six in general is missed. Bane, Catman, Ragdoll, Knockout and those weird adventures they had. Kinda like a Doom Patrol

I miss Bane being a twisted surrogate father to Scandal and the Deadshot/Jeanette relationship.

[Stanlos]

I was reading a post about which heroes lack strong personal nemesis villains and thought about villains who have moved beyond their original 'nemesis' and become more widely used.

Darkseid, started out a New Gods villain, now is more of a Justice League adversary.

Black Adam, started out Captain Marvel's dark reflection, but has increasingly appeared facing other heroes, or even working alongside them.

Deathstroke, one of the original Teen Titans foes, now 'graduated' to being a more general threat (particularly on the Arrow show, where he's a Green Arrow villain, instead, since GA didn't have a terribly deep bench of regular foes to use).

Any other villains who started out one heroes 'nemesis' and have sort of leveled up, or just switched to a new hero more or less permanently?

Or the opposite, someone like Despero started out, IIRC, as a foe of the entire Justice League, and now is more seen as 'Martian Manhunter's nemesis,' which, for all that MM is an entire cul de sac full of powerhouses, still seems like a demotion...

In Black Adam's case it is unclear if he is actually still a villain or not. They totally benched Cap and developed Adam. #StillSaltyAboush

[batnbreakfast]

I miss Bane being a twisted surrogate father to Scandal and the Deadshot/Jeanette relationship.

We need a hug

[Steel Inquisitor]

Black Adam, in the comics at least. He's become sort of like DC's Namor. Vastly more interesting than Billy, but so are Mary and Freddy.