Shoudl the bad guys be more successful?

[Chris0013]

I don't mean in killing the hero or the like. But when someone like Electro or Shocker rob a bank or jewelry store should they get away with the loot?

[Jabare]

depends on how effective you want the heroes to be.

If Spider-Man doesn't catch every civilian plummeting to there deaths the stories going to be that much darker

[The Cool Thatguy]

They should be better developed so that the success of their crimes don't matter to us

[phonogram12]

I'd say to an extent they are already pretty successful, just not necessarily in the long run. Norman killed Gwen then apparently manipulated Peter's life for years. Kraven straight up did defeat Pete and Ock took over his body for a rather lengthy period. Kingpin destroyed DD's life and later on became mayor while Bullseye killed not only one, but two of the biggest loves of his life. Really, I think the only way they could become even more successful is if they straight up kill the heroes.

[Anthony W]

I don't mean in killing the hero or the like. But when someone like Electro or Shocker rob a bank or jewelry store should they get away with the loot?

You're allowing yourself to be limited by the view you have as a reader. Think about this, you don't "see" the villains until the writer wants you to.

If we assume that villains are...

1. Always active

2. Have freedom of movement that heroes don't. Don't have anything keeping them to one place OR WOULD IF MARVEL WRITERS WOULD REALIZE THAT THE REST OF THE NATION EXIST

I would think being a villain is quite lucrative. I would even go as far to say that for every unsuccessful robbery there were five or six that were successful.

You know who shouldn't be successful?

Kingpin. The plot armor required for this character is insane. He is one of those characters that demands that you lower the intelligence of every character both hero and villain so he can fit in the story.

[ed2962]

I think it's implied/inferred that certain characters like mobsters etc ( Kingpin, Tombstone, have been successful at their crimes). But to what I assume is the OP's point...I wanna say that Kurt Busiek did a story early in his Astro City run where a gimmick super villain pulled a heist, got away with it and retired and that was the end of the story.

[Chris0013]

I think it's implied/inferred that certain characters like mobsters etc ( Kingpin, Tombstone, have been successful at their crimes). But to what I assume is the OP's point...I wanna say that Kurt Busiek did a story early in his Astro City run where a gimmick super villain pulled a heist, got away with it and retired and that was the end of the story.

Along those lines yes...but also that they blow through their score and need to pull another job. Not every crime is going to be retirement money.

[Anthony W]

I think it's implied/inferred that certain characters like mobsters etc ( Kingpin, Tombstone, have been successful at their crimes).

I find that fascinating because those are the characters with the least chance of getting away with their crimes in a world where you have superheroes and supervillians. People like Kingpin would quickly become second class citizens in the criminal underworld.

But to what I assume is the OP's point...I wanna say that Kurt Busiek did a story early in his Astro City run where a gimmick super villain pulled a heist, got away with it and retired and that was the end of the story.

They get away with it all the time in the Marvel Universe. We just never see it. Just like we never see the heroes prevent every single crime on every single patrol.

[Kurt Busiek]

I wanna say that Kurt Busiek did a story early in his Astro City run where a gimmick super villain pulled a heist, got away with it and retired and that was the end of the story.

You may be thinking of the Junkman.

He...tried to retire...

kdb

[JudicatorPrime]

I don't mean in killing the hero or the like. But when someone like Electro or Shocker rob a bank or jewelry store should they get away with the loot?

Well, yes. The bad guys should be successful in the commission of some crime. And given that very few heroes have telepathic or prophetic abilities, the super-powered villains should have a number of completed capers under their belts before the superhero community catches up with them...well, at least the smart super-villains.

And that's without discussing the cosmic level bad guys, who can wipe out planets with a well-placed force bolt or beam of energy from their eyes. Countless alien species fear Galactus, but really the entity that they should fear is someone with psychotic or nihilistic tendencies. Galactus is just out roaming for his next meal. Those other guys are out to punish Life for their mere existence. They should have scores and scores of victims and destroyed galaxies in their wake. Most superheroes aren't powerful enough to stop them, or fast enough to catch them before they act.

[Huntsman Spider]

Well, yes. They bad guys should be successful in the commission of some crime. And given that very few heroes have telepathic or prophetic abilities, the super-powered villains should have a number of completed capers under their belts before the superhero community catches up with them...well, at least the smart super-villains.

And that's without discussing the cosmic level bad guys, who can wipe out planets with a well-placed force bolt or beam of energy from their eyes. Countless alien species fear Galactus, but really the entity that they should fear is someone with psychotic or nihilistic tendencies. Galactus is just out roaming for his next meal. Those other guys are out to punish Life for their mere existence. They should have scores and scores of victims and destroyed galaxies in their wake. Most superheroes aren't powerful enough to stop them, or fast enough to catch them before they act.

So, somebody like Carnage, but with actual cosmic powers . . . or maybe Knull from Donny Cates's Venom run.

[Lee Stone]

I don't mean in killing the hero or the like. But when someone like Electro or Shocker rob a bank or jewelry store should they get away with the loot?

Sure, but they should eventually get caught or meet a karmic fate.

[Lukmendes]

I think villains should be allowed to be more competent.

That means they can still lose, but do so in a more dignified way, specially since a villain being more dangerous is how a hero looks badass.

I mean, shit, there are villains who got depressing nerfs, Sabretooth became a joke for a long time (And he may still be one), Shocker used to be actually competent, now he's worse than his Ultimate version...

Well, yes. They bad guys should be successful in the commission of some crime. And given that very few heroes have telepathic or prophetic abilities, the super-powered villains should have a number of completed capers under their belts before the superhero community catches up with them...well, at least the smart super-villains.

And that's without discussing the cosmic level bad guys, who can wipe out planets with a well-placed force bolt or beam of energy from their eyes. Countless alien species fear Galactus, but really the entity that they should fear is someone with psychotic or nihilistic tendencies. Galactus is just out roaming for his next meal. Those other guys are out to punish Life for their mere existence. They should have scores and scores of victims and destroyed galaxies in their wake. Most superheroes aren't powerful enough to stop them, or fast enough to catch them before they act.

Can also be terrifying to think about the Infinity Gems just for existing, while finding them isn't easy, once one has 'em, they're basically a super god, and any random nobody with those stupid gems becomes a super god lol.

[Agent Z]

You're allowing yourself to be limited by the view you have as a reader. Think about this, you don't "see" the villains until the writer wants you to.

If we assume that villains are...

1. Always active

2. Have freedom of movement that heroes don't. Don't have anything keeping them to one place OR WOULD IF MARVEL WRITERS WOULD REALIZE THAT THE REST OF THE NATION EXIST

I would think being a villain is quite lucrative. I would even go as far to say that for every unsuccessful robbery there were five or six that were successful.

You know who shouldn't be successful?

Kingpin. The plot armor required for this character is insane. He is one of those characters that demands that you lower the intelligence of every character both hero and villain so he can fit in the story.

Many supervillains lack the resources to just relocate to another city or country. And Marvel has shown that superheroes exist in places outside the US or New York, so just moving isn't going to do anything.

As for Kingpin, he rarely deals with anyone besides Spider-Man or Daredevil, neither of whom is the most powerful hero in the world. And they still regularly beat him. Hell, Zdarsky's run had a pair of real estate scam artists outwitting him.

[Agent Z]

I find that fascinating because those are the characters with the least chance of getting away with their crimes in a world where you have superheroes and supervillians. People like Kingpin would quickly become second class citizens in the criminal underworld.

Plenty of superheroes ignore street crime or don't know how to properly handle it. Then you got the other villains who have ambitions that have little or nothing to do with the mob world. Tombstone and Kingpin thrive because superheroes and other supervillains pretty much leave them alone.