The 10 Most Villainous Moments of 2011
The Worst of The Worst from Marvel and DC in 2011
Honed to malevolent perfection, destined for vile greatness with the ways of destruction and utter chaos, true villainy has been affront in 2011. And you saw it early on with mystical dark-asgardian hammers striking the earth, wars between female warriors and sea-dwellers, and an entire city captured within the grips of mass infestation.
Picture: The Purple Man enacts his plan to corner the criminal underworld in Villains For Hire #1.
They are the bad guys. And these, dear reader, are their most villainous moments; this is their time!
Captured in this award-winning article for 2011, are the pages of Marvel and DC comic books that shined with a dark hue. This is the Top 10 most criminal moments of the year; the acts of simple thuggery and outrageous evil that most adversely affected the superhero world as we know it.
#10. Good Enough - The Midnighter Gives Us a Glimpse Inside His Thoughts
One of the latest titles from DC to get a start in The New 52 is Stormwatch, featuring The Martian Manhunter and an odd assortment of good guys bent on watching over and saving the planet. In this panel, though, we are (re)introduced to The Midnighter. From Stormwatch #2, you can tell something is wrong with the guy and he's going to need watching of his own. This single moment puts him in a creepy light.
#9. Unfathomable Power - Magneto Shows Us The Power of a True Super-Villain
In 2011, after the fallout of the Fear Itself and X-Men: Schism event, Magneto was given a miniseries. Even though he's temporarily a reformed criminal, a recent disturbance has put him at the center of a mass murder. There's only one problem: you don't simply arrest the Master of Magnetism. And as we see in Magneto: Not A Hero #1, never take him for granted. Iron Man and Captain America thought they had the room demagnetized, but a true super-villain is never without resources.
#8. A Tradition of Evil - Nesting Within His Properties, Batman Uncovers Deep Hatred
Some villains will go to far lengths, above and beyond normal methods, to kill their nemesis. In Batman #3, we're privy to The Owl, a low-key character who has taken revenge to the upper limits. Quietly and methodically, his family has been building "nests" within the properties of Wayne Enterprises over the century from as far back as 1891, waiting for the moment to destroy him.
#7. Kill The Spider - And don't worry about casualties.
The Jackal is one of Spider-Man's Greatest (and craziest) villains, but he's also a biological genius who figured out how to clone himself. In his latest and most diabolical scheme called Spider-Island, this carrion of terror has a new trick in the syringe, seizing the entire city of Manhattan in his insane clutch. And how did he do it? BEDBUGS! By having them carry an genetic infection, this super-villain turns the citizens into mutated spiders.
In Amazing Spider-Man #668 you have a true, disturbing indication as to why.
#6. Deviant Evil - How Social Media is causing a new form of villainy to emerge.
With Social Media such as Facebook and Youtube taking center stage in the lives of so many people, you've probably noticed the immersive appearances of texters, twitterers, and video-streaming junkies in comic books. In Green Lantern #2, you get an even greater look at the aberrant behavior; what's scary about this is how potentially real it could be. As Oliver enters the room, he realizes he's surrounded by super-powered thugs that want nothing more than to kill him for a cool, internet video!
#5. Face Off - The Joker is rarely outdone when it comes to evil.
In Detective Comics #1, The Joker made his most recent debut against Batman. And among villains, he's an artist of pure, sociopathic evil. He has no true pattern; he's completely unpredictable. And in this issue, he's clearly willing to have his face mutilated just to get his message across. Without even trying, the nemesis of The Dark Knight shows us the horror of the madman - his insanity - which is too crazed to be psychologically diagnosed.
#4. The World Will Know Fear - Nothing will be left untouched.
Marvel's biggest event for 2011 was Fear Itself and in it most of their superheroes contended against the rise of the All-Father of Fear, Odin's older brother. The struggle was vast and unyielding; buildings crumbled, civilizations were turned to stone, and Washington D.C. was practically decimated. One panel, though, really captured the momentum and psychological backdrop. From Fear Itself #3, Captain America was killed while facing one of "The Worthy" (he was actually the newest incarnation of Captain America in the form of Bucky Barnes). Striking a murderous blow to his chest, the star-spangled costume crumpled to the ground. And that's when hopelessness took root.
#3. Hidden In Religion - A newborn diety does what he must to survive.
The Annihilators are an incredibly high-powered group of individuals composed of heroes like Beta Ray Bill, The Gladiator, and Quasar. With omega-level strengths such as theirs, you'd think nothing could stand in their way. Well...not so; never underestimate the power of worship.
The Universal Church of Truth has managed to house their fledgling avatar within a sect on Earth. And in Annihilators: Earthfall #3, this entity, now captured and confined, does what any young deity must to survive. It flees into the minds of millions of innocent people. So far, so good; do you kill everyone?
#2. Never Let A Planet Get In Your Way - A Cosmic Sociopath Among Us
Here's a scene from Green Lantern Corps #1, which sends a powerful message to the Guardians of Oa and their chosen. Laying waste to an entire population (and a few lanterns on the side), an unseen enemy destroys just about everything to convey a simple message of fear. The level of hate and disregard for life is obvious. This is certainly a heinous act of grand magnitude which begs what is later to come.
#1. This Changes Everything - And it's your fault.
When DC Comics brought out The New 52, a soft reboot of all their titles with number #1 issues, they needed a catalyst. Enter: Professor Zoom, one of The Flash's greatest enemies. He's the leading force behind their Flashpoint series and in this year, no one else compares to him and his act of malevolence. Using his ability to move through time, he calculated a plot that imprisoned Superman at birth, pitted Wonder Woman and Aquaman against each other, kept Hal Jordan from becoming a Green Lantern, and made certain Barry Allen never became The Flash. His actions literally brought the world to devastation.
But that's not all. Here in Flashpoint #4, you learn that this was incidentally Barry's fault! The Professor just made sure it all worked.
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