With only a few short weeks before the world kisses 2019 (and with it, the 2010s) goodbye, now seems like the perfect time to reminisce on some of DC’s most villainous introductions of the decade.
No Thanks, Keep Reading
RELATED: 10 Lessons Manga Can From Marvel And DC Comics
The 2010s have been an incredible time for the comics community as a whole; they’ve seen some of the most memorable comic-book films ever made, heroes become villains, villains become heroes, and introduced some of the most memorable characters ever to hit the panels of a DC comic. So, without further ado, let’s dive into some of the greatest villains DC Comics has introduced over the course of the past decade.
10 Superman
Any list discussing the greatest supervillains of the past decade may well not have been written without the inclusion of DC’s most famous hero and his fall from grace. After being tricked into killing his wife and their unborn child, The man of steel finally loses his cool and snaps (right through Joker’s chest cavity).
While finally ending Joker’s terrible reign of mayhem and carnage may not seem like the evilest thing a hero could do, it’s what Superman does afterward that brings him into the ranks of DC’s greatest supervillains.
9 Red Tool
Marvel and DC have had no shame when it comes to blatantly ripping off each other's characters. Everyone knows that Marvel’s most famous merc with a mouth is simply a fourth-wall-breaking Deathstroke. Even their real names (Slade Wilson and Wade Wilson) are blatant copies of one another.
RELATED: 5 Best Storylines To Come Out Of The 90s (& The 5 Worst)
Well, in 2014 DC upped the ante once again by created Red Tool (Wayne Wilkins. Come on, guys. Seriously?). Wayne is a vigilante that is absolutely obsessed with two things: Using power tools to kill and Harley Quinn. While they may not have started off on the right foot, Wayne and Harley have actually become fairly close after his creepy stalker antics settled down.
8 Leviathan
DC Comics fans may remember Leviathan as the organization Talia al Ghul founded after leaving her father and the League of Assassins. Back before Talia al Ghul was overthrown, Leviathan was a distinctly anti-capitalist organization created with the intention of dismantling society and taking over.
After Talia was overthrown, however, Leviathan was taken over by a mysterious masked man known only as Leviathan, the organization began thinking in much larger terms. Leviathan, who was eventually revealed to be Mark Shaw (formerly the vigilante Manhunter) seems to be led by his frustrations with protecting a world that has ultimately always fallen to chaos. DC hasn’t revealed the extent of his plans, but whatever they are, it doesn’t look good for the heroes left to protect the world.
7 Oblivion
Kyle Rayner, perhaps one of the most gifted Green Lanterns to have ever served in the corp, may indeed be one of the greatest heroes in DC Comics, but at what price? Unbeknownst to Kyle Rayner, when he broke through the source wall and edited the source itself.
RELATED: DC & Marvel: 10 Times Fans Made Them Change Their Stories
Composed entirely of Rayner’s greed, anxiety, rage and fear, Oblivion, much like Rayner himself, is truly a force to be reckoned with. Able to cast illusions, shapeshift, create energy projections and more, Oblivion is just as powerful as Rayner, if not more so.
6 Godspeed
After the death of his brother and subsequent speed force storm, August Heart (one of Barry Allen’s colleagues from the Central City Police Department) begins using his newfound powers to track down the man that killed his brother.
Having been set free due to lack of evidence (which was destroyed when Barry Allen’s lab was struck by the lightning bolt that would grant him his own speedster powers), Billy Parks managed to push Heart over the edge and with his newfound powers, Heart decides to become judge, jury, and executioner. But not before siphoning off as much of the speed force from other speedsters as he can.
5 Mime And Marionette
While Mime and Marionette have gone on some truly awe-inspiring crime sprees. Robbing banks, beating up cops, killing many, many people, they do have some oddly redeeming qualities. For starters, they weren’t always the outlandish criminals that have been introduced to fans in the comics.
RELATED: 10 Comics That Need To Be DC Black Movies
Their life of crime started after the police began extorting Marionette’s father, who would eventually crumble under the pressure and commit suicide. The couple then found the officers responsible and laid down a beating of epic proportions. This story hits on another very important factor in the relationship between the two, they are incredibly, irrevocably in love. Though they may be cold-blooded killers, their love for one another is actually pretty endearing.
4 Volthoom
Like many great villains, the first lantern, Volthoom, didn’t necessarily start out that way. Originally from a different dimension, Volthoom arrived in the main DC universe when Maltusian scientist Krona began his experiments to observe the very beginnings of the universe itself. As this was considered dangerous due to a legend that specifically forbade it.
When Volthoom first arrived, he came in peace and began teaching the Maltusians of the power of the emotional spectrum. After the creation of the first ring, however, Volthoom took a turn for the worst and was deemed too powerful Guardians of the Universe who imprisoned him in the chamber of shadows, which was located inside of a black hole. However, even that wasn’t enough to stop the first lantern.
3 The Court Of Owls
Introduced during Scott Snyder’s epic run on Batman, the court of owls had been running things in Gotham for a lot longer than Batman ever could’ve imagined. While he originally had his assumptions in youth, young Bruce was never able to justify his suspicions.
Though he eventually let go of his belief in the fairytale of the court of owls, that would prove to be a terrible mistake. Having grown tired of Batman’s repeated interference in their plans, Gotham’s Illuminati launches a savage attack against Bruce Wayne and everything he’s come to know and love.
2 Doctor Manhattan
While Doctor Manhattan was, perhaps, one of the only superheroes truly capable of taking Superman on in a head to head conflict, his actions as of late have pushed him over the edge into full-blown supervillain territory. Having played a part in the creation of the New 52 universe and then again in the Rebirth continuity, Doctor Manhattan has repeatedly edited and altered history in order to see just how it would affect the Man of Steel.
Though he may have saved Jor-El from the destruction of Krypton and given Batman a chance to connect with his father again, his actions (and his inevitable confrontation with Superman) may, in fact, lead him to destroy the universe and everyone along with it.
1 The Batman Who Laughs
Much like the Joker tried to prove in Alan Moore’s Killing Joke, the only difference between Joker and anybody else is one bad day. Although, if they happened to be infected with a nanotoxin designed to turn anyone infected with it into a mental copy of the Joker, well, that doesn’t hurt either.
Unfortunately for the Bruce Wayne of Earth -22 (and the entire bat-family, the justice league, multiple universes, as well as pretty much anything and anyone he could get bloodstained claws on), this is exactly what happened. One bad day that turned into the gift that just keeps on giving.