When it comes to villains in fiction, nothing is better than a great redemption story. If a villain goes to the limit over and over and then finally sees the light and saves the world, it often seems earned in many cases. Harley Quinn was a villain since her introduction, working under Joker, but when she found her redemption as a member of The Suicide Squad, it was a story well told.
Catwoman has been a villain, but it seems fans are coming around to her wedding with Batman. Gifted and prolific thief as she is, she never really reached the level where Bruce would condemn her as having gone to the point of no return. However, there are villains in DC Comics whose deeds are entirely unforgivable. Here are 10 that are way beyond redemption.
10 DARKSEID
Most comic book fans like to compare Thanos to Darkseid. Thanos is a conqueror who, at one time, killed countless people in the name of pleasing Lady Death. Darkseid does what he does just because he wants to destroy everything.
While Thanos killed many, Darkseid wants to destroy every world, one after the next. He is a ruthless tyrant who has conquered several worlds across the multiverse and has no intention of slowing down. There is nothing redeemable about this DC Comics villain at all.
9 LEX LUTHOR
Lex Luthor has always believed that what he is doing is for the greater good. To many people, he did enough to redeem himself of all his past crimes when he used his power and money to help Gotham City. Luthor proved that no matter how repulsive and evil you are, people will still support you if you are charismatic enough and make token gestures.
However, underneath his smug smile and condescending attitude lies a villain that deserves no redemption. He has tried to kill Superman on more than one occasion. He has also helped some of the worst villains in the DC Universe do whatever they want to get away with their crimes. The guy is a villain of the highest order, no matter how nice he pretends to be.
8 BRAINIAC
Brainiac is an alien lifeform who has one goal in mind. He is the clone of a brilliant scientist who wants to collect worlds to "save" them. To do so, he shrinks them and packs them away in his collection. He stole the entire city of Kandor from Krypton and wanted to do the same with Metropolis on Earth.
Like the worst villains, Brainiac did everything he did because he thought he was doing the right thing. He captured and imprisoned entire cities of people and kept on going along that path, thinking that this was the way it was meant to be. When someone commits a terrible wrong, believing they are in the right, it makes it impossible for them to redeem themselves.
7 DOOMSDAY
Doomsday is a monster. Yes, his origin was tragic, as he was cloned as a baby and then killed over and over again. Every time he died, he was resurrected, and whatever killed him could never end his life again. The entire purpose of these terrible experiments in death was to create an unstoppable, unbeatable monster that nothing could destroy.
By the time Doomsday reached Earth, he was almost unstoppable. It took Superman beating him to death to end his threat -- but it came at the cost of Superman's life. This fact alone left Doomsday beyond redemption when he finally returned to life, and as a monster, there is nothing good about this DC Comics character.
6 JOKER
The Joker is mass murderer who shows no remorse of sympathy for anyone he kills or hurts. To Joker, everything is a game. There is no real origin for Joker, and the only thing that people really know about him is that he is completely unpredictable and incredibly dangerous.
His crimes make him one of the most irredeemable characters in DC Comics. He killed Jason Todd by beating him to death. He shot Barbara Gordon just because he wanted to push Commissioner Gordon to the limit. He used newborn babies as bait. He tricked Superman into killing Lois Lane and then laughed when Superman came for him. It all just shows the extent of the horrors that a villain without conventional superpowers can commit.
5 ANTI-MONITOR
The Anti-Monitor has one goal in life -- to destroy everything. This creature's origins date back to the dawn of time, when a malevolent species known as the Oans wanted the power to destroy all they believed to be evil. These beings helped birth the Anti-Monitor.
The Anti-Monitor awoke nine billion years after his creation and converted anti-matter into energy to destroy his first universe. That was just the start. By the time Crisis on Infinite Earths ended, the Anti-Monitor had destroyed countless worlds before Barry Allen sacrificed himself to help stop the destruction and save Earth.
4 PARALLAX
Parallax is a demonic parasite that has been around since the start of time. It travels from world to world, feeding on fear and bringing death and destruction to entire civilizations through the spread of the terror it causes. It is irredeemable because it is merely a force of nature.
Parallax is strong enough that it was able to corrupt possibly the greatest hero Earth had ever seen: Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern. With Parallax behind the wheel, the Green Lantern became one of DC Comics' deadliest villains and only self-sacrifice could save the world.
3 RA'S AL GHUL
Is Ra's Al Ghul redeemable? It is not likely so. Al Ghul is one of Batman's deadliest villains and a man who only has one goal in mind -- world domination. He's been working towards that goal for hundreds of years, thanks to the Lazarus Pits.
If there is one thing that proves he is beyond redemption, it's the fact that his name alone literally translates into Demon's Head (or Head of the Demon). This name describes his character perfectly. He has killed countless people and will kill more, with no reason to ever believe he will stop.
2 VICTOR ZSASZ
Victor Zsasz is not redeemable because he is morally incapable of any good. At one time, Zsasz was a wealthy man who lost everything after his parents died. When his attempt on his own life was thwarted, Zsasz killed his savior, believing that he was paying the man back by freeing him from this life.
Since then, Zsasz has killed countless people in the name of "saving them" from their pointless existence. Actually, the truth is that the murders can be counted. Every time Zsasz kills someone, he adds another tattoo onto his body.
1 TRIGON
It seems there are many demons and monsters in the DC Universe, but none may be as morally corrupt as Trigon. A group of humans seeking peace exorcised the darkness from their souls to another realm, and that evil energy formed Trigon.
As a baby, Trigon slaughtered the people who were responsible for his creation and conquered an entire planet as an infant. He destroyed his entire homeworld by the age of six and was just getting started. The father of Raven of the Titans, Trigon's goal is to conquer and destroy everything. As a complete construct of evil, he is one DC Comics character who can never be redeemed.