Something I’ve noticed about The evil trinity.

[mathew101281]

Lex Luthor, Joker or Cheetah are all significantly less powerful then their arch nemesis.

Characters like Green Lantern, and usually have evil opposites as their archenemies. It seems like physical ability rarely determines archenemy status. In fact most archenemies are on par or significantly weaker then their heroic counterparts. Why is that?

[Lightning Rider]

Their thematic richness is what gives them weight. Joker questions Batman's morality and questions his psychology, Luthor exists to refute the notion that a Superman is necessary (and ends up reinforcing it), and depending on the version, Cheetah invokes Diana's compassion.

The fact they're less physically powerful is, I think, a coincidence. And when it comes to Cheetah, it's not always cut-and-dry that she's much weaker.

[DrNewGod]

The Joker and Batman didn't start out all that far apart in terms of ability. That's probably grown more pronounced over the last 10-20 years.

[j9ac9k]

Batman used to be a man who dressed as a bat and caught criminals before he became a near god-like "I'm the best at everything" figure.
Wonder Woman has been elevated to near (or on par with) Superman level power through the years, due to her significance as DC's most prominent female hero. Cheetah's gotten some upgrades through the years though to keep up.

[The no face guy]

I think the initial impetus for superheroes comics was that the superhero would always win, so the Joker and Cheetah could go down to defeat again and again. (1950's/60's)

Luthor is a little more interesting as he is just a mere mortal basically using his wits to take on a Kryptonian, but again it's a villain who can be recycled to go down defeat again and again

[DrNewGod]

I think the initial impetus for superheroes comics was that the superhero would always win, so the Joker and Cheetah could go down to defeat again and again. (1950's/60's)

Luthor is a little more interesting as he is just a mere mortal basically using his wits to take on a Kryptonian, but again it's a villain who can be recycled to go down defeat again and again

Actually, Batman's early rogues were patterned after Dick Tracy's, and were intended to be just as disposable. The Joker actually got whacked early on, but was popular enough they had to "wow, he's tougher than we thought" their way out of it to bring him back.

[LifeIsILL]

Cheetah should be just as powerful as Wonder Woman, not sure why she isn't.

As for Lex and Joker, you can have so many kind of scenarios with those characters, usually Batman and Superman outsmarts them with their brain instead of just ending things with a punch.

And most of Batman's villains are much weaker than him.

[Dr. Poison]

Lex Luthor, Joker or Cheetah are all significantly less powerful then their arch nemesis.

Characters like Green Lantern, and usually have evil opposites as their archenemies. It seems like physical ability rarely determines archenemy status. In fact most archenemies are on par or significantly weaker then their heroic counterparts. Why is that?

Full stop here, at least about Cheetah. When written by a writer who has done the proper research on the character, she is easily a credible threat to Wonder Woman. Some examples include Wonder Woman stories by George Perez, Phil Jimenez, Geoff Johns(Justice League #13 & 14 from the New 52), and Steve Orlando. In these stories, she is shown to have strength on par with Diana's along with speed that usually surpasses that of Diana's. Heck, in Johns' Justice League story, she took out the entire League minus Green Lantern who was away from the team at the time.

[manduck37]

Well, I think it's because when it comes to villains their power level isn't important. A good villain is supposed to say something about the hero. Who they are, what they value and so on. All of the villains mentioned are the opposites of their respective heroes. The heroes value life, use their resources to help the world, are kind and look out for everyone. The villains place no value on life beyond what they can get, are selfish and horde resources, are cruel and care only about themselves. Power levels are only good for physical fights. Though power levels are not the only way a villain can be a threat. Look at all the terrible things Lex has done with his fortune and power. Same with Joker and Cheetah. There are plenty of things you can do to a hero that are worse than taking a swing at them.

[Lightning Rider]

Well, I think it's because when it comes to villains their power level isn't important. A good villain is supposed to say something about the hero. Who they are, what they value and so on. All of the villains mentioned are the opposites of their respective heroes. The heroes value life, use their resources to help the world, are kind and look out for everyone. The villains place no value on life beyond what they can get, are selfish and horde resources, are cruel and care only about themselves. Power levels are only good for physical fights. Though power levels are not the only way a villain can be a threat. Look at all the terrible things Lex has done with his fortune and power. Same with Joker and Cheetah. There are plenty of things you can do to a hero that are worse than taking a swing at them.

Well said..