DC has long been the leader when it comes to mainstream horror comics. They revitalized the horror comic in the '80s with Alan Moore's Swamp Thing and went from there, bringing in new talent and eventually starting Vertigo. Even now, all these years later, horror is an important part of DC's DNA, with the publisher putting their roster of respected of heroes in stories like DCeased and DC Vs Vampires.
One of the great things about the DC Universe is how adaptable it is. There are plenty of heroes out there that would work really well as horror movie villains with relatively few tweaks.
10 Batman Already Uses A Horror Movie Villain Vibe In His Battle Against Crime
For years, Batman has played on the fear and superstition of criminals in his quest to destroy crime, so this one is kind of a no-brainer. Beyond that, there have been entire stories like Batman: Red Rain that show just how great of a horror villain Batman could be. Even without vampirism, Batman could still be a great horror movie villain.
Imagine a man pushed too far in his war on crime with advanced technology, his mind broken by years of fruitless conflict, targeting the common citizens of Gotham because they might become criminals. A dark terror that swoops down, grabs that kid tagging alley walls, and leaves him broken on the street. Batman would make for great urban horror.
9 Superman Could Be The Ultimate Boogeyman
Superman is the great role model of the DC Universe but plenty of stories have shown just how effective he is as a villain. DCeased already played with an undead Superman being the ultimate monster and that makes perfect sense. His powers make him potentially the most frightening being ever, not just because he can kill pretty much anyone but because he could easily destroy society on a whim.
Superman as horror movie villain wouldn't just be killing people; he'd be destroying entire nations, breaking human civilization into pieces so small it could never recover even if it was able to somehow defeat him.
8 Zatanna's Power Makes Her Dangerous To Everyone
Zatanna is one of the most powerful magic users on the planet and that's frightening enough. Her powers allow her to do all kinds of widespread damage to just about anything. She has an amazing amount of magical knowledge, allowing her to do things that boggle the imagination without even using her backwards-talking spells.
Zatanna could be used as the ultimate witch villain, utilizing her powers to help people but exacting a terrible price from them. It's a classic archetype in horror stories, one that she would excel in with a just few tweaks.
7 Ragman's Soul-Stealing Costume Has A Lot Of Horror Potential
Ragman is one of the coolest magical heroes in the DC Universe. His costume allows him to steal souls and use them to fuel his powers, enhancing his strength and other abilities. That opens the character up for a lot of cool horror plots. What if one of the evil men's souls he absorbs takes control of him and the suit?
Or maybe ripping the souls from so many for so long has caused him to lose his own? Maybe he's become addicted to the power it gives him, deciding to branch out from just evil doers and start absorbing the souls of more and more innocents? There's a lot of potential with a Ragman-led horror movie.
6 Black Adam Is Already An Unstoppable Killing Machine
The slasher movie became the go-to genre for generations of horror fans after the successes of Halloween, Friday The 13th, and Nightmare On Elm Street. Characterized by unstoppable killing machines killing morally compromised teens, it's become a beloved hallmark of trash cinema and also one that lends itself well to one particular DC hero: Black Adam.
Black Adam is known for violently dispatching all kinds of enemies that don't meet his standards of morality. This makes him perfect for a slasher-type horror villain, even if his preferred weapon isn't bladed— making him the first villain in the smasher genre.
5 Cyborg Could Combines Body Horror & Fear Of Technology
Two great genres of horror are body horror and technological horror. Cyborg is the perfect crossover character for that type of horror. He lost most of his body and had it replaced with advanced technology, making him into a titanic hero. Those same advantages could be made into the perfect horror villain fodder.
A man, slowly eaten alive by the technology he's come to depend on to give him back his body? That has a lot of horror potential and makes him into someone that could star in some great horror movies that push the limits of the genre.
4 Harley Quinn Would Work Well As Murderous Femme Fatale
Harley Quinn has quickly taken her place as one of the most popular heroes in comics, but she has the perfect pedigree to become a horror movie villain. She's already known for being mentally unstable, so playing that up would easy. On top of that, as a beautiful woman, she can easily slide into the role of a femme fatale, using her feminine wiles to find victims and get sympathy.
Quinn is highly skilled and has no qualms about getting extremely violent. This works perfectly for horror, allowing her to straddle the worlds of femme fatale and psychological horror expertly.
3 The Spectre Could Be Used In An Amazing Lovercraftian Horror Story
Lovecraftian horror is otherwise known as cosmic horror. It's all about humans coming into contact with all powerful gods who have no regard for humanity and the realization of how insignificant humans are. The Spectre is perfect for that. As a divine instrument of vengeance, he has all of the qualifications for cosmic horror.
The Spectre is already one of the most powerful beings in the DC Universe and has long brutalized evil doers. He doesn't care for humanity, just for brutally righting wrongs, lording over humans. He would be excellent in a cosmic horror story.
2 John Constantine Would Easily Lend Himself To Horror
John Constantine has long been a cornerstone of the horror side of the DC Universe. Usually, he's the one fighting the demons but it wouldn't take much to get him to walk the path of damnation. John Constantine is already known for being a pragmatic individual, so seeing him walk down the path of evil with the best of intentions at first wouldn't be a stretch.
John Constantine slowly losing more and more of his soul as he tried to gain power to defeat all the ills of the world would make for a compelling horror story, eventually leaving nothing more than a demon fueled dark avenger, destroying everything in his path.
1 Swamp Thing As An Avenging Angel Of The Green Isn't A Stretch
Swamp Thing was the catalyst for the return of horror to comics and making him into a horror movie villain would be simple. Humanity is destroying the Earth and Swamp Thing is the representative of the Green. It wouldn't take all that much for him to start lashing against the people who are actively destroying the life that he is sworn to protect.
Swamp Thing could easily wreak havoc on not just individuals but all of human society, tearing down cities and killing everyone within with little more than thoughts. He's an unstoppable force for nature, one that would teach the world a lesson that it would never forget if it survived his rampage.