For the early incarnations of comic book villains, there were really only two possible variations for character motivation- which was either total world domination or the complete destruction of it.
With time, however, the concept of a villain began to depart from the usual portrayals of them - whereupon they began to recognize the importance of teaming up with the enemy in order to protect Earth from an even greater foe. This, in turn, led to examples of villains breaking tradition by saving the world rather than destroying it. Let's take a look now at 10 villains who saved the world instead of ending it.
10 We Can Be Heroes...Again - Injustice version Superman
During the Injustice comic book series, Superman turns into a tyrant during his efforts to enforce world peace. In response to this, Batman establishes a resistance movement to overthrow Superman’s regime- and eventually does so by the end. Come Injustice 2, however, and his focus soon shift towards protecting Earth, when Brainiac arrives looking to add it to his growing collection of planets.
With the entire world under attack, Batman and Superman form a temporary truce- allowing their allies to come together and join the collective effort to oust Brainiac from Earth. Once the threat is eliminated, however, both sides end up resuming their rivalries.
9 Don’t Let the Name Fool You - Doctor Doom
With a name like “Dr. Doom,” it’s hard to ever imagine him in a positive light. This was not the case, however, for the Marvel story “The Three,”- where Valeria Richards learns of an impending crisis that only Dr. Doom can prevent. Following this, Valeria goes on to find Dr. Doom, where she then persuades him to help by offering to restore his intelligence.
As the plot develops, it reaches a point where the Mad Celestials pursue Valeria- whereby Doom then intervenes by holding them back. This inevitably leads to him supposedly dying during his efforts to save the world. Yet, it was later discovered that he actually survived this incident, and now was ready for a villainous comeback.
8 Not So Cold-Hearted After All - Ice King
The Ice King may have initially seemed like a basic villain, but this wasn't true at all. For example, Ice King's backstory revealed that he was once a successful archeologist named Simon Petrikov, who was happily engaged to a woman named Betty.
His life would soon take a turn for the worst, however, when he discovers a magical crown that begins to turn him insane. Betty would then leave Simon as a result of his changing psyche, and wouldn’t return until the final episodes of the show. There, Betty would be seen summoning GLOB in order to use his powers to renew Simon’s sanity. In the end, it’s up to Ice King to convince her not to use GOLB’s magic, and subsequently save Ooo.
7 Nature Always Wins - Poison Ivy in Batman: The Arkham Knight Videogame
For the most part, Ivy couldn’t give two cents about the survival of the human race. However, during situations where nature is threatened in addition to humanity’s safety, she doesn't' really have much of a choice in the matter.
This was particularly the case in Arkham Knight- where Ivy must help Batman protect Gotham, overall, in order to subsequently protect the Green by spreading using a spore to counteract Scarecrow's fear toxin. Although Ivy eventually succeeds in doing this, she also, unfortunately, dies during the process- telling Batman with her dying breath that “Nature always wins.”
6 I’m Not Bad, I’m Just Drawn That Way - Thanos in Infinity Crusade
Though the recent portrayals from the MCU have conveyed him to be entirely selfish, there have nevertheless been some cases where Thanos has actually worked alongside heroes. Specifically, it was during Infinity Crusade where Thanos had helped Adam Warlock bring down the villain Goddess.
Despite his help, though, Adam had worried that Thanos would inevitably take the Goddess’ Cosmic Egg and use it for himself. In the end, however, he proved Adam wrong and destroyed the egg - serving as one of the few moments where Thanos had legitimately saved the universe.
5 All the Time in the World that You’ve Destroyed - Vandal Savage
Due to his immortality, Vandal Savage is arguably one of the most damning villains in DC Comics. Vandal’s powers allow for numerous opportunities to conquer the world, and (like in the Justice League cartoon) there have even been some moments where he has actually succeeded. In this instance, however, Vandal would come to regret his decision, when his actions leave Earth nearly entirely destroyed.
Later on, however, when Superman is accidentally sent to the future, Vandal would work with Superman to remedy his mistakes with a plan to stop his past self and inevitably save the world.
4 I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying - MCU Yondu
One of the most rewarding aspects of the sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy was the development of Yondu’s arc within the story. Initially, it was thought that Ego was genuinely regretted his mistakes as a father - that is until the audience learns that he has secretly been killing his children all along.
Yondu himself had known this about Ego and didn’t hesitate to join the Guardian’s efforts to destroy him once and for all. Though Yondu ultimately dies at the end, he nevertheless is honored as a hero for his efforts in protecting the galaxy from Ego.
3 Not So Black and White - Lex Luthor in Various Circumstances
Strange as it is, there nevertheless have been many moments where Lex Luthor has, indeed, saved the world. Evidence for this can be found in Young Justice: Invasion, Final Crisis, and Injustice: Gods Among Us.
In a more specific example, though, Lex becomes integral to the survival of Earth in Reign of the Supermen, due to him creating Superboy and returning the Justice League to Earth. This later ends up being necessary to stop Cyborg Superman and his army of minions. So, Lex may be rightly considered a villain, but that doesn’t mean he won't occasionally step in to save the world, either.
2 The Real Dynamic Duo - The Joker from The Brave and the Bold
Parallel universes are notoriously confusing, but in The Brave and the Bold episode, “Deep Cover for Batman,” it is even more confusing to see him team up with the Joker. During this episode, Batman learns of an Earth where the Injustice Syndicate exists- a group of villains who are the parallel opposites to the heroes of his world.
After traveling to this world, Batman teams up with the Red-hood (a heroic opposite of the Joker) to stop the Syndicate altogether. They fight side by side, and in the end, they save the multiverse from the Syndicate’s wrath.
1 The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend - The Legion of Doom
When it comes to facing total annihilation, there isn’t really much a reason to maintain a grudge. Even still, the Justice League from Justice League Unlimited was in no way eager to let the Legion of Doom help in saving the world from Darkseid (especially since they were the ones responsible for this developing catastrophe).
When all is said in done, though, it's still Darkseid, and so the League begrudgingly allows Legion members to work alongside Leaguers during the collective effort to protect Earth. Needless to say, the day was won, and as a reward, the Legion even gave the Legion a ten-second head-start before going after them.