My Own Answer To My DC Multiverse Questionnaire – The Villains

So, as you saw in an earlier post of mine, a few days ago, I sent a number of people on Tumblr a sort of questionnaire, asking what they would do with their own world in the DC Multiverse. I guess with Multiversity being out (and being AWESOME, btw), with the possibility of the return or integration of the previous continuity on the horizon, and with other stories involving multiple universes being told in other books across DC and Marvel, it’s just really hitting me the mass potential that can exist in stories like these. But, just because I sent the questionnaire out in the first place does not mean that I am exempt from giving an answer myself. As I said before, I’ve done stories with my own take on the DCU, but that was more-so becoming my idealized versions of the characters. So, I guess this is how I would do my own world in the DC Universe, who would its heroes be, and who would its biggest villains be (besides alternate Earth villains or singular entity enemies like the Anti-Monitor or Darkseid). And since I did the heroes already, let’s take a look at the villains, starting with arguably the most memorable of all, Batman’s rogues gallery.

Batman’s Rogues Gallery

Of course, I’d want the big names like Joker, Riddler, Penguin, and Black Mask around, but I’d also wanna introduce lesser-known villains and tweak some of the more well-known ones. For example, what if Victor Fries was actually an ally of Bruce Wayne/Batman’s, and the man to become Mr. Freeze was none other than Joe Chill, the man who killed Batman’s parents? What if Roxy Rocket, originally conceived for the 90’s animated series, was the one who played cat and mouse with Batman the most in Catwoman‘s absence (we’ll get to her in a bit)? What if Mirror, from Gail Simone’s run on Batgirl, was trying to kill Bruce Wayne for surviving when his parents didn’t? And then there’s the Joker. I think I’d want him to be more akin to Heath Ledger’s Joker in terms of, rather than having his skin bleached and hair turned green by falling into chemicals, he’s just a guy in make-up with no traceable fingerprints or identity. Also, I think I’d give him a bit of an Alex DeLarge Clockwork Orange twist on him in leading the Jokerz, though perhaps toned down a little from that in terms of…*ahem*, ‘Singing In The Rain’. After all, Joker should still keep that part of him that you can laugh at and/or with while still being frightened of him.

Poison Ivy’s Rogues Gallery

For Poison Ivy, who I envision as being akin to Greg Pak’s interpretation of Storm in this world, her villains would be a mix of wealthy tyrants (Veronica Cale and Knightfall in particular come to mind), other elementally-based baddies (Volcana, Killer Frost, and Livewire), and general villains for hire (mercenaries and assassins like Deadshot or Bane). And of course Floronic Man…’Cuz, duh. And, just for the hell of it, SNOWFLAME! XD Otherwise, though, most of what Ivy would do is just help people out and get into conflicts with governments that either distrust her or don’t want her involvement, even though she’s just trying to be of assistance to people that could use it.

Doctor Fate’s Rogues Gallery

For Doctor Fate, since Khalid hasn’t really been around long enough to earn a Rogue’s Gallery, save for Wotan, I’m thinking he would fight a lot of the mystical/paranormal threats to the world. Mordu, Enchantress, and Morgaine le Fey were easy choices, but I also wanted to bring in villains that hadn’t necessarily gotten much in the way of attention. Then I remembered an old enemy of Batman’s, one that even pre-dates Joker, that was vampiric in nature, and hadn’t been seen much in years: The Monk. Surely someone like that could prove a sufficient threat to the newest person to claim the Helm of Nabu.

The Rogues

Yeah, not much of a shocker, huh? Of COURSE it’d be The Rogues. They’re pretty much THE trademark villains of anyone carrying The Flash mantle since just a little while after Barry Allen took up the role. All the really great ones, like Captain Cold, Weather Wizard, Golden Glider, Mirror Master, and so on. Also, as a sort of take-that to how he was portrayed in Countdown as unapologetically homophobic, I think I’d want Trickster to be gay (seriously, suck it, Countdown). I’m thinking they could perhaps take a bit more directly antagonistic role with the female Flash, in that she has little time for their quirks and wants to shut them all down. And of course I’d need to include a Reverse Flash, and other villains like Gorilla Grodd.

Green Lantern’s Rogues Gallery

In addition to other ring-bearers like Sinestro, Black Hand, and Atrocitus, I’d like to see some of the classic Green Lantern villains come back. Solomon Grundy is of course a great pick, and a fairly well-known baddie, what with his appearances in the Justice League animated series, Batman: Arkham City, and Injustice: Gods Among Us. Doctor Polaris is another good one, since he’s pretty much Magneto, only in an even dumber costume. Although technically, I’m pretty sure neither one is a rip off of the other, since they both made their debuts a couple of months apart from each other. Not really enough time to cheat off the other person’s test sheets, if you get my drift.

Wonder Woman’s Rogues Gallery

Since Diana would be Queen not only of Themyscira but of Atlantis as well with Mera, I’m thinking her rogues could be a blend of her usual enemies and Aquaman’s. So, on one hand, you’d have the typical Wonder Woman enemies like Cheetah, Circe, and Giganta, and on the other, you’d have people like Ocean Master, Black Manta, and King Shark. Of course, as a result of that, Mera would naturally get in on the fun of taking them down from time to time, because hey, she can’t just stay behind sitting on the throne ALL THE TIME, right? 🙂

Superman’s Rogues Gallery

And finally, we come to Superman’s enemies. Of course, Superman has some of the most powerful opponents, as well some weaker-yet-varied ones, which makes sense. I mean, let’s say you’re Lex Luthor, calling in villains to kill Superman. Sometimes, when you’re evil and you’re trying to bring down a man as powerful as Superman, you gotta just throw random shit at him to see what works and what doesn’t. I think I’d wanna bring Ultra-Humanite back as one of his primary enemies, since he was his arch nemesis before Luthor came around in comics. Others would likely include Mongul, Brainiac, Atomic Skull, Metallo, Parasite, Bizarro, Toyman, and so on. As for his most notable and recognizable enemy, though…well, we’ll get to him in a sec. One thing I’d probably change is that Brainiac in this universe DID cause the destruction of Krypton. Why? Because otherwise, it makes the Kryptonians look REALLY stupid for not being able to tell (save for one or two scientists that they considered babbling madmen) that their frakking PLANET was about to blow. Seriously, why is it that in every single continuity, they NEVER believe it?! They never for one second suspect that the world is about to end…until right before it ends?! At least in the Superman animated series, we were given the semi-believable excuse that Brainiac lied to them about it!

Justice League’s Rogues Gallery

I’m thinking Justice League level threats, bad guys that are so powerful that they require the League’s attention instead of just one member’s, would be ones that are so powerful and dangerous that no single member of the team can take them down. Amazo‘s a good example, since it can replicate the abilities of anyone it interacts with. Mongul’s another good one, as he’s been shown to be able to be a match for even Superman. Starro would of course be a must, as the first villain the Justice League of America ever battled. And I think I’d want to re-establish Doctor Light as a credible threat to the team, minus…erm, certain things they did with him over the years (see Identity Crisis, unless you have a weak stomach). I suppose, depending on the situation, you could see supervillains like Brainiac, Grodd, and Black Hand as being League threats, and of course groups of villains would require the team’s attention…speaking of whom…

The Legion of Doom

The Legion of Doom are typically recognized as being the ultimate group in opposition to the League. As such, I’m thinking that only the most dangerous, powerful, and brilliant villains of the DCU would form its inner circle. Lex Luthor, Riddler, Grodd, Vandal Savage, those kinds of villains that are a tad bit more devious, diabolical, and dangerous than the average rogue. Also, to round it out, I think I’d want people like Enchantress, Floronic Man, and Lion-Mane to be members, as villains with personal vendettas against members of the League.

Task Force X

Task Force X I think would basically be a mixture of Secret Six and Suicide Squad, in terms of some of the people that have been on both teams. Also, I think it’d be a well-balanced team of strength, speed, and varying skill-sets. In that case, I think Catwoman would be a must for the team. Also, I think I’d want to include Yo-Yo. No, not the one King Shark ATE that time, but the one from Flashpoint who, I’m not 100% sure, but I think was supposed to be Harleen Quinzel in the altered timeline. Again, not certain, but would certainly explain a bit. Otherwise, the obvious members include Deathstroke, Deadshot, King Shark, Scandal Savage, and possibly Bane at some point.

Whew! That’s the end of that! Got your own ideas on who would be the heroes and villains of your own world in the DC Multiverse? Lemme know in the comments below, and I shall see y’all next time. Ja né!

What I Bought Today – Detective Comics #20, Earth 2 #12, The Movement #1 (WARNING – SPOILERS)

Say, it’s Wednesday, isn’t it? Guess that means I should take a minute to talk about…

We got some kickass comics this week, including one that’s brand spanking new one, completely new and fresh characters to it. So, let’s start off with Detective Comics #20…or is it #901, if last month’s was the 900th? I dunno, should I count it as #901? Lemme know in the comments. But anyway, here’s #20 of the current numbering system.

So the reign of Emperor Penguin is pretty much over at this point, which I think is a bit too soon to end it. Still, seems as though he may be looking to make a comeback. Long story short, Ignatius Ogilvy seems to have transformed himself with a modified Man-Bat serum, some stuff he obtained from Poison Ivy that makes his skin under his fur coated in a bark-like coating, and some sort of variation of Venom. He’s not as strong as Bane, mind you, but this transformation gives him an edge over Batman who never considered Emperor Penguin that big a threat for the amount of time that he’s known of him. However, a recently pardoned Penguin, of all people, aids Batman due to their mutual desire to bring Ogilvy down. Following Ogilvy’s arrest, Cobblepot decides to return the rights of the Children’s Centre to Bruce Wayne and renaming it the Martha Wayne Children’s Centre, feeling that putting himself out there made him a target and that he must return to the shadows for now. In the meantime, though, Ogilvy is sent to Blackgate Prison, quickly making a name for himself by brutally killing ‘The Boss’ of the prisoners, renaming himself Emperor Blackgate.

Earth 2 #12, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, EARTH 2 IS ONE YEAR OLD!

In fact, note to self: Do a Jyger’s Favourite 5 of favourite Earth 2 moments. But anyway, not really that much to talk about, other than Doctor Fate taking down Wotan in the skies over Boston while Flash and Green Lantern (who got involuntarily pulled there by the ring, it seems) run interference to keep the World Army from getting involved, then they go back to Alan’s to hide out, only to learn that the World Army has declared war on the country Steppenwolf is running. However, what is a bigger story to me, Green Lantern and Hawkgirl follow a trail of clues they gathered regarding Sam’s murder to a container at a dock in Macau, said to contain a clue as to why Sam was murdered…the contents of which being a bunch of dead Parademons. LONG dead, from the looks of things. It seems that Sam’s murder has more to do with the long-running plot of the story than originally met the eye.

And finally, we have the first issue of Gail Simone‘s The Movement. And since this features a brand new cast of characters…

From left to right: Mouse, Tremor, Virtue, Katharsis, and Burden

Anyway, lemme just fill you in on some of the details, since I want you guys to go out and buy this comic yourselves: The story takes place in Coral City. The cops in this story, as well as pretty much every single bureaucrat in the city, are corrupt as shit. A murderer is running around town cutting people’s eyes out (comic is rated T+, btw). A group called The Movement are recording and unveiling the shady dealings of police officers under the guise of a hacker group called Channel M, while also investigating the murders, and pretty much keeping the cops out of everywhere from Tenth to Twentieth Street, proclaiming it as theirs. I’m not sure if The Movement are supposed to be good guys or anti-heroes, but either way, there’s a definite sense of the 99% conflicting against the 1% in this story. Not quite sure where it’s headed, but I’m definitely interested enough to keep buying and see what happens.

Anyway, that’s all for today. This Saturday, I will be going to GameZilla for Free Comic Book Day, so I’ll be sure to buy something there. And next week, if the schedule on the DC website is accurate (God, I hate months with 5 Wednesdays, they always do something weird with the schedule those months), I should be getting Batman #20, Batman and Robin #20 (Batman and Red Hood), and Justice League of America #3. Ja né!