Villains are a huge part of the comic landscape. Ostensibly, everyone reads comics for the heroes, but most fans have a healthy appreciation for villains. Many villains are more popular than the majority of heroes and have become as big a part of pop culture as the most well-known heroes. Marvel, DC Comics, and Image Comics have all created some villainous icons over the years.
As with all things, not all villains are created equal. Some make sense with their villainy, but others are mad dogs, committing deeply disturbing acts that set them apart from other antagonists. These are a special breed and are as reprehensible as they come.
10 Purple Man's Mind Control Abilities Have Made Him Into A Monster Like Few Others
Purple Man long had a reputation in the Marvel Universe as a terrible villain, but his treatment of Jessica Jones made it even worse. When she was the C-list hero Jewel, she went after him, and what occurred changed her life forever. He took control of her, using her as an enforcer and sexually abusing her, proving just how monstrous he could be.
Mind control is a terrible power in general, but Purple Man has taken it to places that make it even worse. He's a completely amoral man, and he will make anyone do whatever strikes his fancy at any time. He may not be a world ender, but he can destroy lives easily.
9 Thanos's Brutality Was Caused By The People Around Him
Many people would assume Thanos is disturbing because of his sheer cruelty and that is definitely part of it. What truly makes Thanos disturbing is the cause of it all and how it affected him. From the moment he was born, Thanos was hated because of the way he looked. His parents shunned him, and those around him treated him like a monster, writing a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Thanos is disturbing because of what his life says about the way people treat one another. Thanos craved love and acceptance but was denied it. That transformed him into one of the most prolific villains ever, all because the world around him made him feel like a monster. Thanos is disturbing because of what his transformation says about society.
8 Darkseid's Desire For Total Control Sets Him Apart From All Others
Darkseid is the God of Evil, which should be enough to make him disturbing. However, everyone expects a being like him to be all about destruction and conquest. What's disturbing about Darkseid is why he wants that. Darkseid doesn't want to be the lord of all for the power it would give him; he already has power. What he wants is control of all life.
Darkseid wants to make everything a part of him. He wants no individuality to exist but all to be a part of the dark glory of his own being. His exhortation that he is the tiger force at the center of all things shines a terrible light on the human condition. He's the desire for control in all living things taken to its ultimate and most horrific extent.
7 Carnage Enjoys Nothing So Much As Killing
Carnage was always destined to be a terrifying villain, but it's been taken to the next level over the years. One of Marvel's deadliest villains, Carnage truly showed how dangerous a symbiote could be in the hands of someone with no qualms about violence. Carnage only wants one thing from the world, and that's the blood of his victims.
Villains sometimes have motives that can humanize them; they're still evil, but their motives are relatable and make sense. With Carnage, there is no reason for his actions other than the joy he gets from killing. He's an irredeemable monster, one that is completely remorseless and devoted to death.
6 Negan Shows How Truly Frightening A Man With Nothing Left To Lose Is
The Walking Dead was full of horrific events, all committed by people who would have been considered normal in any other circumstances. Of all the comic's villains, Negan was the most disturbing. The zombie apocalypse took everything from Negan and transformed him into a monster, one who would do anything to survive.
The Negan of the comics was so disturbing the show left out things about him, which is saying something. Negan was once a normal man until the walkers destroyed the world. He could be anybody, which is what makes his transformation all the horrific.
5 Fear Drives Scarecrow In Everything He Does
Batman's villains are known for reveling in their terrible acts. In this regard, Scarecrow is one of the worst. Psychiatrist Jonathan Crane wanted to understand fear and what it did to people, so he experimented with drugs in order to elicit terror that he could study. Scarecrow's entire existence revolves around causing as much fear as possible and loving the suffering it caused.
Any crimes he commits are simply to fund his quest to strike fear into everyone and everything. He doesn't see people as anything more than test subjects and vessels for fear. There is nothing sympathetic about him; his desires have taken him beyond the human condition.
4 Sinestro Is The Casual Face Of Fascism
Sinestro was once a great hero, but his desire for order drove him to fascism. Sinestro is the worst kind of fascist, as he actually believes that fear is the only way to enforce the order he craves. He's magnetic enough that he can convince anyone of the rightness of his cause, showing just how easy it is for someone to fall to terrible depths.
Sinestro's been in some great stories, ones that have earned him loads of fans that actually don't see much wrong with his methods. This is the scariest part of the villain; he makes fascism seem like a laudable goal, misguiding everyone with his supposed altruism and what many see as a necessary evil.
3 Sabretooth Revels In What He Is
Sabretooth's young life was full of abuse and terror. When he finally gained power, his mutant abilities allowed him to take all of that out on the world around him. It got to the point that he enjoyed the brutality, becoming just as monstrous as the parents who made him into what he is. Since then, Sabretooth has lived a life where he did whatever he wanted, the more blood spilled and the more pain caused, the better.
Sabretooth is a serial killer of the worst kind. He can be magnetic and charming when he needs to be but changes into a remorseless killer in a heartbeat. He has slaughtered the innocent, abused women, and generally caused untold suffering for no other reason than because he enjoyed it.
2 Red Skull Is The Nazi Ideology Given Terrible Life
Red Skull is Captain America's arch-enemy, making him one of Marvel's most important villains. Hitler's most prolific servant during WWII, his survival to the present day creates a legacy of racism and torment. What makes him so disturbing is that he shows just how undying the most terrible parts of humanity can be.
Red Skull is Nazism personified, a horrible revenant of hatred that everyone thought was beaten. Red Skull always survives, a terrible reminder of the inhumanity of the human race to their fellows. Red Skull is disturbing because of his reminder that racism never dies — in comics or in the real world.
1 The Joker Is Chaos At Its Most Destructive
Joker is one of the most well-known villains in comics, his rampages against Gotham City are the stuff of terrifying legend. The Joker is a villain like few others. He commits crime only to fund his campaign of death and acts as the punchline to the most dangerous and chaotic joke ever. He and Batman are two separate sides of the same coin; Batman is order and Joker is chaos.
The Joker serves as a reminder that anyone can be a monster. He has no superpowers, just a desire to cause as much death as possible. He's an undying reminder of just how bad the world can get and what can happen when a person decides to laugh in the face of society.