Friday, May 29, 2009

Top-Ten Crime Jerks

It seems to me that the best way to start this whole affair is to give you a little insight into what I enjoy as far as supervillains are concerned. I love a good gimmick, or a good codename, or a garish costume. I love a guy who is just too dumb to do anything but pull a heist, or too crazy not to try and fight the Mighty Thor. So here are my top-ten b-list villains from Marvel comics in the 1960's.
10. The Wrecker
Dirk Garthwaite is a guy who is just too dumb to do anything but rob banks and punch the Mighty Thor in the face. He got his start as the Wrecker trying to rob a hotel room in which Loki, the Norse God of Mischief was staying. The Wrecker managed to overpower Loki while he was trying to summon his girlfriend, and stole his pointy hat, which, when he put it on, gave him super-strength.
Let me reiterate.

HE OVERPOWERED LOKI, A NORSE GOD, AND STOLE HIS FUCKING HAT.

"Nice hat, prancy! Looks like it belongs to the Wrecker now!" Sadly Jack Kirby did not draw the scene where the Wrecker sits on Loki's chest and spits in his mouth.

This of course lead to a long history of the Wrecker habitually fucking with Thor and getting the shit beat out of him, because, let's face it, he's just a dude with a onion mask and a magic crowbar, and Thor is the God of Thunder. To be fair, he DID beat up Thor's brother before he even had powers, so he probably figured things would work out differently...



9. Radioactive Man

I'm gonna be real with you guys.

Radioactive Man is on this list because he is a gigantic glowing green guy.
He never really did anything super crazy or exciting. Pretty much he irradiated himself so that he could wrestle Thor after Thor stopped China from invading India. He was also part of the Masters of Evil and the Titanic Three, both of which mean that he is fucking awesome and should be feared. In recent years he's become more of an anti-hero, as happens to many classic villains. I'm pretty sure he still melts people just by standing close to them though, so that's pretty awesome.

Also, he's still a gigantic glowing green guy, and it is hard to beat that.






8. Psycho-Man
Look at this fucking guy. He is pure Kirby bad-ass awesome. He has a little box that shoots different colored lasers, and each laser makes you feel like shit in a different way. One color makes you jealous, another makes you angry, another makes you sad, you get the picture. Basically, he has all the powers of your mom when you have not called her in a while. Did I mention he is also like an inch tall? He lives in a gigantic robotic version of himself because he comes from Sub-Atomica, which is a microscopic world that exists in an alternate dimension. He basically built a huge version of his feel-bad box and tried to make everyone so sad that he could conquer Earth. It took the Fantastic Four, the Black Panther, and the Inhumans to take him down. Later, he decided that just turning everyone into mopey-ass emo kids wasn't good enough and decided to become Captain Cosmic, which I'm pretty sure didn't happen but would've been cool. I think he also said a couple times that he feeds off of "fear energy" like a vampire, but that's a little too Twilight for me.



7. Boomerang
Guess what this guy does? Guess where he is from?

The Marvel wiki lists his trick boomerangs as follow
Shatterangs - These detonate with a force equivalent to twenty hand grenades.
Gasarangs - These release highly concentrated tear gas upon impact.
Razorangs - These razor-edged boomerangs are capable of slicing through steel.
Screamerangs - These generate high-intensity sonic waves as they fly through the air.
Bladarangs - These whirling boomerangs cut like buzzsaw blades.
Gravityrangs - These Create a local gravity field around their target.
Reflexerangs - These are solid-weighted boomerangs

Absolutely nothing else needs to be said to exlpain why Boomerang fucking rules, although I should point out two things: first, his "Shatterangs" apparently explode with the force of "twenty hand-grenades." That's a shit load of hand grenades. Second, apparently he has technology capable of generating "concentrated fields of gravity," and yet all he can think to do with it is stick it on a boomerang. This really highlights the pathos of a great villain.


6. The Unicorn
Once again, the Unicorn never really did anything too crazy. In fact, his story was pretty cool. He was a Russian scientist who worked alongside the original Crimson Dynamo. When Crimson Dynamo defected, the Unicorn was sent to America to kick his ass.
But seriously folks.

Take a look at this guy. He has a giant hat with a lens on top so he can shoot a laser from his face. Oh, also, his face laser is called the "power horn."
According to Wikipedia, he was last seen "attempting to walk from New York to Moscow, and is assumed to have drowned."
What a sad ending for this most noble of God's monsters.






5. Batroc, the Leaper
Or should I say "Batroc, ze leepair!" There is nothing about Batroc that is not crazy and amazing. First, he's a snooty French d-bag with the worst taste possible. He has a Salvador Dali moustache and apparently
stole that costume of Hawkeye's that went into the laundry with a mustard colored sock. Further, he knows karate. He's even good at it. So good, in fact, that he is almost the equal of Captain America. Truly, he is the French super-soldier. He's also apparently an olympic level weight-lifter and can lift as much as 500 pounds.
If none of this was enough, he is also the leader of a team of mercenary supervillains known as Batroc's Brigade. Batroc's Brigade counts among its alumni such luminaries as The Porcupine, and Machete. Basically they are there to make Batroc look more threatening by comparison.
If you see this guy coming at you, distract his ass with a baguette and run like hell.



4. The Looter

Ah, the Looter. Enemy of Spider-Man, threat to nobody. I must confess, much of my love for this guy comes from Todd Dezago and Mike Wieringo's run on Spectacular Spider-Man, wherein he was hilarious. Pretty much the Looter found a meteor which he naturally decided to investigate, hoping it would hold the mysteries of the universe or whatever. Anyway, it shot green gas all over him (gross), which he decided gave him super strength.

He just decided that. It didn't.

He figured that now all he had to do was take out Spider-Man, and the world would be his oyster. Unfortunately, since he's just a dick with a green rock, things never really went his way, and we will never have to raise a salute to President Looter. Ah, well.



3. Mysterio
I really don't have much to say about Mysterio. He's honestly one of my favorite villains. He has a solid gimmick, and a great costume, and much like many of Steve Ditko and Stan Lee's inspired villains, he has endured and become a mainstay of Marvel villainy. Does anyone not know why Mysterio is straight up badass?

















2. The Melter
Fuck yeah, the Melter! Aside from telling kids to get off his damn lawn, the Melter does exactly what he says he does. He melts shit. And I don't mean like popsicles or whatever; I mean he melts Iron Mans. He was part of the original Master of Evil which, like Radioactive Man, means he is to be feared and respected. Pretty quickly into his career, he ditched the cape and the giant steel adult diaper and got a new costume, but I like this one better. He was eventually shot by the Scourge, but lives on in my memory.













1. Tiger Shark

Why is Tiger Shark number one? Well, i have some very compelling reasons with which I am certain you will agree. First, he looks awesome. What a great costume. Second, there aren't many underwater themed villains, and pretty much all of them are either boring or just straight up lame all around. Tiger Shark on the other hand is very awesome. Here we have an olympic swimmer who realized that he was not badass enough and so decided to become part shark.

Think about that for a second. Let that sink in.

Imagine if Michael Phelps decided to splice his genes with that of the ocean's greatest predator. Would anyone be safe? Would you even try going in the water? I fucking wouldn't. What this all adds up to is a terrifying, bloodthirsty man-shark with eight gold medals in murder. Pretty much the only Sub-Mariner villain who wasn't completely goofy, and a force to be reckoned with outside of the water as well. He kidnapped the queen of Atlantis and had himself declared king in his first outing. He was also a latter-day member of the Masters of Evil, which means that he is the best of the best, forever.


Next, I'll explore the ten best and most enduring villains of Marvel's silver age. Not necessarily my favorites, but the ones that deserve the most recognition.


All images and characters are copyright Marvel Comics.

The list!

As I said, I'm beginning with the Marvel villains of the 1960's. Some of these characters pre-date the Silver Age, but they appeared, often very prominently, in the 1960's. As far as I know, this is the most complete list of Marvel villains that appeared in the '60's anywhere, though by no means do I claim it to be comprehensive or exhaustive. If you know someone I missed, shoot me an e-mail, or leave a comment!

The List:
Abomination
Absorbing Man
The A-Chilterians, The Cyclops, & Kraglin
The Actor
Amphibian
The Ani-Men (Ape-Man, Bird-Man, Cat-Man, Frog-Man)
Annihilus
Ares
Attuma & The Atlanteans
The Awesome Android
The Banshee
Baron Mordo
Baron Zemo
Batroc The Leaper
The Beasts of Berlin
The Beetle
Big-Man
The Black Knight
The Black Widow
Blastaar
The Blob
Boomerang
The Brainwasher
The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (Magneto, Mastermind, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Toad)
The Burglar
Byrrah
The Carbon-Copy Man
The Cat Burglar
Centurius
Chameleon
Chuda
The Circus of Crime (Bruto the Strongman, Clown, The Great Gambonnos, The Human Cannonball, Livewire, Princess Python, The Ringmaster)
Cobalt Man
Cobra
The Collector
The Commissar
Comrade X
The Controller
Count Nefaria
The Crime Master
Crime Wave
The Crimson Dynamo
The Crusher
Death’s Head
The Defender
The Demi-Men
The Demon
Destiny
The Destroyer
Diablo
Doctor Doom
Doctor Dorcas
Doctor Faustus
Doctor Octopus
Dominus
Dormammu
Dragon Man
Dredmond The Druid
The Eel
Egghead
Ego, The Living Planet
Electro
El Tigre
El Toro
The Enchanters 3 (Forsung, Brona, Magnir)
The Enchantress & The Executioner
The Enclave (Carlo Zota, Maris Morlak, Wladislav Shinski)
Factor 3 (Agent 10, Agent 14, The Master)
The Faceless Ones
The Fenris Wolf
Fin Fang Foom
Frankenstein’s Monster
The Freak
The Frightful Four (The Mighty Medusa, The Sandman, The Trapster, The Wizard)
Galactus & The Silver Surfer
Galaxy Master
Gargantus
Geirrodur
The Gladiator
The Glob
Gorgon
Gorki
The Gortokians
The Grandmaster
Gregory Gideon
The Green Goblin
The Grey Gargoyle
The Grim Reaper
Grotesk
The Growing Man
Half-Face
Hatap, The Mad Pharaoh
The Hate-Monger
Hawkeye
Hela
The Hidden Man
The High Evolutionary
Him
The Hulk
The Human Top
Hydra, Baron Strucker, Imperial Hydra & Madame Hydra
Immortus
The Impossible Man
The Infant Terrible
The Invincible Man
Ixar, Ultrana, & The Ultroids
Jack Frost
Jack O’Diamonds
The Jester
J. Jonah Jameson
The Juggernaut
Kala
Kaluu
Kang the Conqueror
Karnilla
The Keeper of the Flame
Kingpin
Klaus Kruger
Klaw
Konrad Zaxon
Kraven the Hunter
Kree & Ronan, The Accuser
Lava-Man
The Lava Men
The Leader
Leapfrog
The Living Brain
The Living Eraser
The Living Laser
The Living Monolith
The Lizard
The Locust
Loki
Loko
The Looter
The Lords of the Living Lightning
Lucifer
The Machinesmith
Madame Masque
The Mad Thinker
The Man-Ape
The Man-Beast
The Mandarin
Mangog
Man Mountain Marko
The Master Planner
Master Mold & The Sentinels
The Masked Marauder
The Matador
Maximus the Mad
Mekano
The Melter
Mentallo
Mephisto
Merlin The Mad
Mesmero
Metal Master
Mimic
The Mindless Ones
The Minotaur
The Missing Link
Mister Doll
MODOK & AIM
Molecule Man
The Mole Man
Molten Man
Mongu
Mr. Fear
Mr. Hyde
Mysterio
Namor, The Sub-Mariner
Nightmare
The Ogre
The Organizer
The Owl
The Painter
The Phantom
Pilai and the Kosmosians
Plantman
The Plunderer
Pluto
The Porcupine
Powerman
The Protector
The Prowler
Psycho-Man
The Puppet Master
The Purple Man
Quasimodo
Radioactive Man
Rama-Tut
The Red Barbarian
The Red Ghost & The Super-Apes (Igor, Mikhlo, & Peotr)
The Red Guardian
Red Raven
The Red Skull
Replicus
The Rhino
Sando & Omar
Sandu, Master of the Supernatural
The Savage Land Mutates (Amphibius, Barbarus, Brainchild, Sauron)
The Scarecrow
The Scarlet Beetle
The Scarlet Centurion
Scorpio
The Scorpion
Second-Story Sammy
The Secret Empire
Sentry #439
The Shocker
Silvermane
Skagg, The Storm Giant
The Skrulls, Emperor Dorrek, Morrat, & The Super-Skrull
Skybreaker
The Sleeper
The Sons of the Serpent
The Space Phantom
Spencer Smythe & The Spider-Slayers
The Squadron Sinister (Dr. Spectrum, Hyperion, Nighthawk, The Whizzer)
Stilt-Man
Stingray
The Stranger
The Stunt-Master
The Sumo
The Super-Adaptoid
Supremacy
The Supreme Intelligence
Surtur
The Swordsman
Tana Nile
Tazza
The Terrible Tinkerer
The Thermal Man
Tiger Shark
The Time Master
Titanium Man
The Toad Men
Tomazooma
Torgo
The Torpedo
Trago
Tri-Man
The Tumbler
Typhon
Tyrannus & The Moloids
Ulik
Ultimo
Ultron
Umar
The Unicorn
The Unknown
Unus the Untouchable
The Vanisher
The Vision
The Voice
The Vulture
The Warlock
Warlord Krang
Whiplash
Whirlwind
Wonder Man
The Wrecker
“Wrecker” Smith
Xemnu the Titan
Xemu
Yagg, The Invincible
Yandroth
The Yellow Claw
Ymir, the Frost Giant
Zarrko, the Tomorrow Man
Zom
Zota

Thursday, May 28, 2009

If this be Doomsday...!

Hiya. My name is George. I'm a pretty ok guy. I love comic books. More than anything, I love supervillains. The purpose of this blog is to discuss, highlight, and sometimes even ridicule some of my favorite ne'er-do-wells from comic book lore. I'm going to begin with Marvel comics villains appearing in the 1960's, because that's where almost all my favorites come from. In the coming days, I'll move forward through the '70's, '80's, '90's, and into the present. I'll eventually explore characters from both Marvel and DC, and other companies as well. I'll probably even move back through time to the '40's when supervillains first started to show their ugly mugs.

Hope you enjoy, and if you have a favorite villain you'd like highlighted, please feel free to e-mail me at ifthisbedoomsday.gmail.com