Best Villain of 2008
Jim Doom says: The Black Glove!
I’ll confess that I was pretty hard up for a good answer to this, but I dug Batman RIP quite a bit this year so this is what I settled on. I like the idea of this villain that is sort of nowhere but everywhere, with several origins, ambiguous power and influence, and also kind of a representation of a spectrum of sins. I still don’t really think I know who or what the Black Glove was, but I’m strangely content with that. It might still be ambiguous or I might’ve just missed something, but I like that the Black Glove still functioned as a great nemesis even without me needing to know or really care who he / it was. The Club of Heroes story from Batman was one of my favorites of 2007, so I’ll give the Black Glove some residual credit from last year too.
For the most part, though, 2008 was a good year for heroes who didn’t need villains to overshadow them. The Skrulls had the public face of Spider-Woman, but she was less a villain than militant theocracy in that story. Brainiac was a jerk, and the future Justice League was a bunch of scumbags, but I don’t think either were around long enough to really qualify. Brainiac especially kind of seemed like a means to an end, as much as I enjoyed that arc. Joker played a fun role in Batman RIP, but he was really just a supporting villain (and I hated how Tony Daniel drew him). I thought The Hood was going to be a bigger deal in 2008 than he was, but maybe 2009 will be his year. I’m probably overlooking something obvious, but deadlines are deadlines.
Doom DeLuise says: Brainiac!
For the first time in history, Superman faced off against the real, actual Brainiac this year. Their confrontation was evenly matched, leaving Superman’s earth father, Pa Kent, dead, and opening the way for the events that unfolded in the New Krypton crossover.
But, most importantly, Brainiac, as presented within the pages of Action Comics by Geoff Johns, is friggin’ scary. He’s super powerful, wicked smart, and insanely confident. In short, he’s a perfect match for the Man of Steel, and I can’t wait until they lock horns again.
Honorable Mention: Gog
He’s a giant, spooky, smiling God, and all he asks is that you worship him. He’ll give you anything you want, put all your concerns to rest, and make the world peaceful. You just have to worship him. But, what if you don’t?
Well, just ask the JSA. This guy was easily one of the coolest villains of the year, mostly because you just never knew exactly what his motivation was.
And here’s who we thought were the Best Villains in years past:
2007:
Doominator: The Joker
Fin Fang Doom: Sinestro
Doom DeLuise: Sinestro
Jim Doom: Sinestro2006:
Doominator: The Joker
Fin Fang Doom: The Joker
Doom DeLuise: The Joker
Jim Doom: Iron Man and Captain America
I would’ve considered the Joker, since I thought he was a great wildcard during RIP, but those Joker’s Asylum one-shots in July sucked so bad that I couldn’t give him the nod. His was especially awful.
The Two-Face one was decent, I guess. Pretty good, even.
I could also see The Joker as a sort of multimedia pick, for lack of a better term. Heath Ledger did a lot for the character.