After Joker and Luthor, who is the next greatest DC super-villain?

[daBronzeBomma]

There is no debate who the top two DC super-villains are.



Lex Luthor and the Joker continue to occupy the top two slots as the World's Vilest, as they have done for the last 75+ years continuously. Luthor used to be #1, now Joker is #1, but neither of them have ever dropped below #2 at DC.

No, this thread is all about who you think is "Numero Tres" in DC's Hierarchy of Villainy after LL and Mr.J (or Mr.J and LL).

This is NOT about which villain is your personal favorite, but rather which villain's resume do you feel is stacked enough, both in-universe and IRL publishing, to go alongside the World's Vilest duo.

No antiheroes nor bad girls gone good. Will Allow for characters who may have had a "good" stint, but over 90% of the time, they must be evil.

I don't know for sure myself, but here are my own top candidates:


1. Cheetah - this is who it should be (to mirror the heroic trinity) ... Except she's been 3 or 4 different identities and lacks truly memorable feats across the board. And she is usually much less of a threat than other Wonderverse rogues like Ares or Circe.


2. Darkseid - the original cosmic evil overlord. The embodiment of Lawful Evil. He would take it easily, except that neither of his true enemies Highfather nor Orion are close to A-list status and Superman is not his primary target.


3. Sinestro - has no caveats like the above two, clearly the alpha villain of a thriving franchise (Lanternverse). Plenty of stories on him across many forms of media. So, probably him, IMHO.


But I can be swayed otherwise ...

Your choice(s) for #3 overall baddie in the DCU?

[Captain Craig]

I can agree with Darkseid and Sinestro as candidates but would place Reverse Flash over Cheetah for contention of that #3 spot.

[Jekyll]

Reverse Flash hands down! He is not crazy, he is not tragic, he is just pure evil.

[Lightning Rider]

Darkseid IMO.

[daBronzeBomma]

I can agree with Darkseid and Sinestro as candidates but would place Reverse Flash over Cheetah for contention of that #3 spot.

Which Reverse Flash, tho?

There is a Reverse Flash for each Flash (Jay, Barry, Wally and even Bart each had their own separate Reverse Flash characters). RF is not one identity, unlike Sinestro.

[MajorHoy]

I take it we should not mention anybody in control of characters at DC comics?

[Jekyll]

Which Reverse Flash, tho?

There is a Reverse Flash for each Flash (Jay, Barry, Wally and even Bart each had their own separate Reverse Flash characters). RF is not one identity, unlike Sinestro.

Eobard Thawne, THE reverse flash. You bring up a good point in each speedster had a rival but they had different names. Jay had "The Rival" I believe, Wally had "Zoom", and Bart had "Inertia."

IMG_1769.jpgIMG_1770.jpg

[FishyZombie]

definitely not Cheeta. Lex and Joker are up there not just cuz they're the archenemies of the big two, but because they've both been awesome parts of countless awesome stories. I'd argue Ares is WW's big bad, but even if Cheeta was, she hasn't been in nearly enough great stories. After Lex and Joker, it's a 4 way tie between Darkseid, Sinestro, Deathstroke and Reverse Flash, IMO.

[The Darknight Detective]

I take it we should not mention anybody in control of characters at DC comics?

No and it would almost certainly mean some time off here.

[darkseidpwns]

Darkseid easy

then
Sinestro
Black Adam
Ra's al Ghul
Deathstroke
Reverse Flash

LOL Cheetah, I can name dozens of DC villains more popular, more recognizable and in bigger stories.

[Zero Hunter]

Brainiac has to be in the top 5. If you go more by how many people outside comics know of them then guys like Riddler and Penguin and other Bat-villains start to take and edge.

[Nyssane]

Darkseid, definitely.

Cheetah still has a ways to go to get to that level.

[AlexanderLuthor]

Darkseid easy

then
Sinestro
Black Adam
Ra's al Ghul
Deathstroke
Reverse Flash

LOL Cheetah, I can name dozens of DC villains more popular, more recognizable and in bigger stories.

^^^Yes, although I would say Catwoman is probably the most recognizable "villain" outside of the Top 2

[Dr. Poison]

There is no debate who the top two DC super-villains are.



Lex Luthor and the Joker continue to occupy the top two slots as the World's Vilest, as they have done for the last 75+ years continuously. Luthor used to be #1, now Joker is #1, but neither of them have ever dropped below #2 at DC.

No, this thread is all about who you think is "Numero Tres" in DC's Hierarchy of Villainy after LL and Mr.J (or Mr.J and LL).

This is NOT about which villain is your personal favorite, but rather which villain's resume do you feel is stacked enough, both in-universe and IRL publishing, to go alongside the World's Vilest duo.

No antiheroes nor bad girls gone good. Will Allow for characters who may have had a "good" stint, but over 90% of the time, they must be evil.

I don't know for sure myself, but here are my own top candidates:


1. Cheetah - this is who it should be (to mirror the heroic trinity) ... Except she's been 3 or 4 different identities and lacks truly memorable feats across the board. And she is usually much less of a threat than other Wonderverse rogues like Ares or Circe.

Your choice(s) for #3 overall baddie in the DCU?

Barbara Minerva has been THE Cheetah in official DC Continuity since 1985 with the exception of the short stint where Sebastian Bellatros briefly stole her powers during Phil Jimenez's run on Wonder Woman. Barbara stole them back and Sebastian ended up dead. As far as her not being as powerful as Circe or Ares, the same comparison could be made with Luthor and Brainiac/Bizarro/Mongul or Joker and Clayface/Bane/Dr. Phosphorus. Granted, the Cheetah hasn't killed any of Wonder Woman's sidekicks but she has had memorable feats over the years such as stealing Fury's Blood Avenger powers to get back the aforementioned powers back from the man that them, single-handedly taking down the heavy hitters of the Justice League(Superman & Flash) during Geoff Johns' run on the title, tossing Bane around like a rag doll during Gail Simone's run on the Secret Six, and almost killing Diana several times since the Perez run. She has also been in an executive/general position in both the Legion of Doom(Mc Duffie's run on JLA) and Secret Society(Forever Evil).

[The Darknight Detective]

Darkseid IMO.

He would be my #3, too.