Should there be stronger villains in the DC?

[Lightning Rider]

And what I'm saying is that there is room for both. Villains like Joker? Yeah, their best feats are the ones that are personal in nature. But for villains like Darkseid and Dr. Doom, they're at their best when they're manipulating events to put massive schemes in motion and emerging as big threats.

Agreed. I suppose we just have a minor disagreement in how often.

I just think DC should do it more. Say what you will about Marvel's events (they really are too numerous), but they make the Marvel Universe feel interconnected and cohesive, and establish a rapport between seemingly opposite corners of the MU. Civil War (the first one) is kind of the perfect example. As much as people seem to hate on that event, it was all about interpersonal interactions within the hero community. Things actually did change after that and the impact was felt in almost all corners of the MU. It would be nice for something to bring that same feeling of interconnectedness to the DCU (which, did in fact exist before Flashpoint, but is kind of missing in its current state). Whether that comes in the form of a massive threat or simply from personal interactions in the DC Universe. Events like Infinite Crisis, Identity Crisis, and Blackest Night, IMO did a really good job of showcasing the connectedness of the DC Universe. But now...its kind of missing.

So, I guess the moral is this: villains being big threats is just as much about the interactions and relationships the heroes form among themselves in dealing with those threats as it is about them being great villains.

I agree, and Civil War is a great example of when it works. I think in large part because there was no central single-minded villain sucking up all the attention. Maybe I just prefer wordier comics, but the conversations and memorable dialogue is what I liked most out of it. The philosophical disagreements and straining relationships. I totally get what you mean now with the interconnectedness, I love that too, I guess I'm just more skeptical of the execution and whether strong villains are necessary for that to take place. I remember thinking, for example, that Blackest Night was going to be much better than it ended up being because of that first issue. Ralph's possessed body was tormenting the Hawks with his memories, taunting them in such a personal way, and invoking their tragic prophecy. I couldn't wait for more characters to come back from the dead and wreak havoc on the consciences of the living heroes by filling them with guilt. But no, what we got was a power ranger like endowment of different color rings left and right and a speech by the guardians about Earth being the center of the universe and the cradle of life and blah blah blah. Still enjoyable, but an example of why I think big events should be done sparingly, to better ensure that they're done well.

I guess because I stopped reading shortly after the New 52 and just started with Rebirth, I find the solo adventures getting back to the core of the characters more refreshing. I'll go back and read the recent era of big threats soon enough.