Superman Villains Appreciation 2021

[mathew101281]

An issue I see with a lot of Superman’s villains is that they lack a definitive look. With exception of Doomsday, most of Superman’s villain differ wildly from depiction to depiction.

[Vordan]

Don’t agree, quite a few have iconic looks.

Lex has his power armor, his green and purple labcoat, or a simple business suit each of which are iconic in their own right.

Brainiac has pretty much looked like the Gary Frank redesign or an adaption thereof since that arc

Livewire has basically kept her DCAU look since her debut

While it’s not my favorite look for him, Metallo as a Terminator has been pretty consistently his outside media look

Manchester Black hasn’t changed his look at all outside of inverting his tattoo colors in S&tA and the brief Gleason redesign in Black Dawn

And even Doomsday has gotten a redesign that gave him tusks in the New 52 which was a change from before. Others like Toyman or Prankster lack iconic looks however.

[Gaius]

Don’t agree, quite a few have iconic looks.

Lex has his power armor, his green and purple labcoat, or a simple business suit each of which are iconic in their own right.

Brainiac has pretty much looked like the Gary Frank redesign or an adaption thereof since that arc

Livewire has basically kept her DCAU look since her debut

While it’s not my favorite look for him, Metallo as a Terminator has been pretty consistently his outside media look

Manchester Black hasn’t changed his look at all outside of inverting his tattoo colors in S&tA and the brief Gleason redesign in Black Dawn

And even Doomsday has gotten a redesign that gave him tusks in the New 52 which was a change from before. Others like Toyman or Prankster lack iconic looks however.

Bizarro is also pretty distinguishable though I guess he has the luck of just having to look like a screwed up Superman.

[protege]

Hey another Prankster fan!



Yeah Busiek cracked that character to me. Basically keeping him as the Silver Age elaborate trap-maker who sells himself out as a distraction for hire is a fantastic villain. His goal isn’t to kill Superman or conquer the world, it’s just to keep Superman occupied long enough so that his employers can pull of their crimes while Superman is busy. I love that idea!

Sadly no, we still get stories where Metallo is just a dumb thug (mostly in anthologies though), and no one has really cracked Metallo despite multiple writers adding great ideas and concepts to him. He still hasn’t had that one story that brings everything together and shows why he’s cool and worth keeping around, despite multiple great writers using him.



Johns was the one to revamp him as a soldier, the government’s initial Anti-Superman weapon when they weren’t sure what his intentions were. That was an absolute fantastic idea, one of Johns greatest.



During the New 52, Morrison played up his more sympathetic aspects. That he also desired Lois’ love alongside Clark, and actually became Metallo in part to protect her and the rest of the planet from the Superman “threat”. That the military used him as a human weapon afterwards. That he was addicted to Kryptonite. There’s a lot of great ideas at play here.

Personally I think the way to go with Metallo is to make him the embodiment of the darker side of the American war machine. The way soldiers get used and tossed aside by their superiors. Rather than just have him out to kill Supes or steal money (both pretty banal stories that don’t really utilize him to his full potential imo), Metallo should be gunning for Sam Lane and maybe even the American military higher-ups/government as a whole, with Supes having to stop him while also sympathizing with his pain. I think that would be the way to finally unlock his potential.

It’s a pity PKJ probably isn’t going to use him, because I think a guy who’s serving in the armed forces right now might have some interesting insights into how Corbyn could work.

Prankster or toy man could be Superman's arcade.

[protege]

Not surprised, it’s the obvious update. Radio jockey isn’t something most young people listen to anymore. Now it’s streaming or being an Internet troll lol. Still gives her a connection to electricity in her Leslie incarnation so I’m a-ok with it and actually prefer that update to her DCAU one.



He did show up in Batman/Superman for Williamson’s last issue, so technically he has! But I doubt they would try to swipe him permanently (although Batgirl stole Livewire for a hot minute) but we’ll see. Ultimately though that tie to Superman is going to keep Bloodsport linked to the big guy, shooting Superman is ballsy and is basically his “rep”.

Was lock up a Superman or Batman villain? And where's the master jailer?

[Multiverse]

Was lock up a Superman or Batman villain? And where's the master jailer?

Lock-Up is a Batman villain. Last I remember Master Jailer was when he was a Suicide Squad member in that Suicide Squad/ Aquaman crossover.

[Vordan]

Was lock up a Superman or Batman villain? And where's the master jailer?

He died in a Suicide Squad crossover I believe. Hasn’t come back since although the Superman story in Truth & Justice featured an interesting revamp of him.

[Vordan]

Given PKJ’s cosmic direction for Superman, and his bringing in a lot of swords and sorcery aspects to Clark’s world, I’m going to hope he’ll be bringing Khyber back:

[godisawesome]

I know a lot fo people like Corben as a military man and ex-boyfriend/would-be-boyfriend of Lois... but I actually think the professional mercenary/super criminal capo who’s much more than dumb thug from the DCAU and (a bit) in Supergirl is a better idea.

For one thing, I often feel like a lot of the military stuff comes off as I credible Hulk knockoffs, and I don’t find Metallo as “Robot Major Talbot” to be a good idea.

But for another, the DCAU Metallo cracked the code for me in terms of how you can make the professional still more nuanced. I’d embrace the idea that Metallo’s “combat body” has no sensation aside from audio and visual input, and make his preferred form of payment/wage be in outfitting a more complex but much more fragile body that is able to replicate his sense of touch, taste, smell, etc.... but is t perfect, with part of the implication being how it unhinges him a bit if he can’t get back to the “sensory body.”

[Vordan]

I think Corben becoming a merc after he breaks away from the military is actually the perfect route to take him in. I just think him starting out as the government’s Anti-Superman weapon is the perfect origin for him. But becoming a merc to acquire money so that he can upgrade his body to restore his ability to feel and taste is a perfect motivation for why he’s committing crimes. The military is never going to do it because it would make him less effective as a weapon, and since they’ve got jurisdiction over him, anytime Supes turns him over to the authorities he’s going right back to the military instead of STAR Labs or whatever. It puts Supes in a tough position, even if he can beat Corben.

[Multiverse]

I know a lot fo people like Corben as a military man and ex-boyfriend/would-be-boyfriend of Lois... but I actually think the professional mercenary/super criminal capo who’s much more than dumb thug from the DCAU and (a bit) in Supergirl is a better idea.

For one thing, I often feel like a lot of the military stuff comes off as I credible Hulk knockoffs, and I don’t find Metallo as “Robot Major Talbot” to be a good idea.

But for another, the DCAU Metallo cracked the code for me in terms of how you can make the professional still more nuanced. I’d embrace the idea that Metallo’s “combat body” has no sensation aside from audio and visual input, and make his preferred form of payment/wage be in outfitting a more complex but much more fragile body that is able to replicate his sense of touch, taste, smell, etc.... but is t perfect, with part of the implication being how it unhinges him a bit if he can’t get back to the “sensory body.”

I'll always love the DCAU Metallo (Malcolm McDowell nailed the voicework); I just wish they kept that plotpoint that he hates Luthor just as much as Superman (they never brought back his grudge over Luthor).

[Prime]

Do you think every villain mentioned here has the capacity to kill Clark? Outside of the obvious ones.

[marhawkman]

Do you think every villain mentioned here has the capacity to kill Clark? Outside of the obvious ones.

"Should they?" is a better question. Not all villains exist to be a mortal enemy of the hero.

[Vordan]

Atom Man will be showing up in S&L!

Do you think every villain mentioned here has the capacity to kill Clark? Outside of the obvious ones.

I’d say someone like Prankster doesn’t, but his aim isn’t to kill Superman anyway.

[Prime]

What about Toyman?