You know Nimrod is the name of a Biblical character who was a hunter, right? The only reason anyone thinks it means "idiot" is because Bugs Bunny said the name condescendingly in one of his cartoons. So, maybe he had that in mind, but it could have just been that he wanted to name him something synonymous with "hunter".
Another character I would like to see more would be Manchester Black.
Also, teh Kryptonite people were a curious addition to the rogues gallery. I mean, there never has been a clear identity for the kryptonite based characters.
"Never assign to malice what is adequately explained by stupidity or ignorance."
"Great stories will always return to their original forms"
"Nobody is more dangerous than he who imagines himself pure in heart; for his purity, by definition, is unassailable." James Baldwin
You’d have a pretty hard time convincing me there was zero connection between the two in Morrison’s mind when he created him given that he is also a Russian big game Hunter who is explicitly out to kill Superman for the challenge lol. Yep I’m aware of the Biblical origin, but in modern usage the name means “idiot”.
I really enjoyed Black Dawn by Tomasi. I think Manchester as a dark inversion of Superman’s inspirational status, a figure for the super powered people who want to kill the people they feel they should kill, could work really well as a long term role for him. Also this remains one of my all time favorite pages:
The disrespect, it’s downright beautiful
Volcana_DCAU_001.jpg
I'm still waiting for them to incorporate Claire Selton/ Volcana into the mainstream comics (she's like the last interesting DCAU character yet to have a big leap over to the main books; we've already had Harley, Livewire, Lock-Up, Roxy, Montoya etc).
She did appear!! Well, really it was just a cameo appearance but nothing to highlight about. I suppose it would need a good writer for an story to stablish her.
Oh, yes, they give Metallo a motivation and deep far more than simply hate Superman just because.
This thread made think about the kind of rogues Superman have or at least how to classify them: I catalogued four kind of rogues:
1) The rogues who made one apparition. This characters just have one appearance and are mostly one footnote. Either as joke or as one stand story.
2) The background enemies: characters who appear on a regular basis, but without too much to stand out. They either appear for a time as regular background characters or are constant appearances without being nothing beyond than Superman's regulars. They can pop in and out from the books, but there they are.
3) The enemies with a relevant history behind: this characters have a memorable tale which support its status as a Superman rogue. Can either be its debut story or a particular storyline than defined/redefined their characteristics. Examples: Manchester Black, Cyborg Superman, Doomsday.
4) The stablished rogues: either for tradition, constant presence or a definited story, this rogues share an important characteristic with Superman and that is they are a twist to the character and that link them to the character. As was explained in the Superman 2000 proposal, the most traditional rogues are in some aspect the opposition to the Superman concept: Lex Luthor is the human "Ubermensch", Brainiac is the alien without humanity, Metallo is the heartless man of steel, Parasite is the ultimate taker whereas Superman is the ultimate giver, Doomsday is the unleashed superpower and so.
Thsi list is not absoloute, is open to critique and reevaluation.
"Never assign to malice what is adequately explained by stupidity or ignorance."
"Great stories will always return to their original forms"
"Nobody is more dangerous than he who imagines himself pure in heart; for his purity, by definition, is unassailable." James Baldwin
I just meant if theres more then one of them in a one rogue's gallery then they don't stand out as much and I don't want to get rid of them I said they should be given to another hero who only has less villains or don't have a "jokey" villain in their franchise. I don't count Mxyptilk as one because I see him as a reality warper/cosmic threat. Batman is a non-powered hero so it makes sense that his villains are also non-powered but with a few super powered ones to expand his franchise, but also some of them have a chemistry/dynamic with Batman and have a place in his history and like you said before with too many of them they end up trying to repeat what others have done and end up not standing out an example would be Riddler-Cluemaster. Since Toyman has the most appearances outside of comics and the Cat/Adam Grant situation, in my opinion between him, Prankster and Puzzler I think he should be the one to stay as a Superman
Yep this is one of those “really great ideas” I was talking about. Metallo’s transformation costing him his ability to feel and enjoy life’s simple pleasures is a great idea. Take that aspect, the military background Johns gave him, and the more sympathetic characterization from Morrison, plus a really cool look and I definitely think Metallo could finally get the breakout story he deserves.
Never in a million years would’ve thought Busiek’s Subjekt-17 might end up getting adapted on Superman & Lois, but hey looks like it’s happening!
It’s been a long time since I sat down and read Busiek’s entire run, but I remember the interesting thing about this guy being his Anti-Superman nature. Sure doesn’t sound interesting I know, “Superman but evil” is an overused gimmick for Superman bad guys, but what made Subjekt interesting was his contrast with the core belief of Superman: That humans are good and capable of being better than they appear. This guy wasn’t raised by a happy couple in Norman Rockwell’s America, instead he was raised by the Soviet military and used as a test subject. I’ve often wondered if Johns “Project Superman” Flashpoint conception came from this Busiek villain, because the set up is very familiar. On account of the abuse he recieved this guy hates humans, and has good reason to do so, living proof that some humans are bastards frankly, and forces Superman to confront that while also still being someone he can engage in slugfests with.
Can't say I remember all of them but here's a lengthy list:
https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Superman_Villains