Over time, DC has introduced readers to some of the strongest antagonists in comic history. With their powers and abilities, many DC villains remain human at heart with different motivations. For this reason, many of these villains have complex origins.
While some villains are just evil in nature, a handful of them started out as the good guys. After an initial stint working on the side of justice, some heroes went over to the dark side never to return to the crime-fighting world. From vengeance to power corruption, here's a look at some of the DC villains who used to be one of the heroes.
10 Star Sapphire
Prior to becoming Star Sapphire, Carol Ferris was a pilot and owner of Ferris Aircraft. At the time she was also Hal Jordan's boss and love interest. Although she didn't date him because of their professional relationship, she also developed feelings for Green Lantern without knowing they were the same person.
In an interesting turn of events, Carol was chosen to become the queen of the Zamarons, a race of extraterrestrial female warriors. When she turned down their offer, the Zamarons possessed her with the power of the star sapphire gem and turned her against her love interest, Green Lantern. While possessed by the gem, Star Sapphire spent her time as his archnemesis.
9 Red Hood
Before taking on the hood, Jason Todd served as the second-ever Robin in DC comics after his predecessor, Dick Grayson left to join the Teen Titans. Red Hood bears a lot of similarities to Batman except that he chooses brutal force while fighting crime. He also goes as far as committing murder, making him a villain, since heroes shouldn't take the lives of their adversaries.
After the Joker violently murders Jason Todd, he is resurrected almost two decades later in Under The Hood. This understandably turns him to the dark side as he grows to be more violent and blames Batman for his death.
8 Ozymandias
For fans of HBO's Watchmen series, Ozymandias is a narcissistic billionaire and genius who orchestrated the death of three million people in New York. Before this unfortunate event, though, Ozymandias was like every other wealthy superhero.
After his love interest, Miranda St. John dies from a drug overdose, he launched a crackdown on drug dealers in New York City. But as his obsession with saving the world from an impending nuclear war grew, he decided to create a threat big enough to force the world to set aside their differences and work together. To fulfill this plan, he took things to the extreme. Despite the good things he achieved while crimefighting, once he crossed the line there was no going back for him.
7 Sinestro
Before becoming one of the more formidable DC villains, Sinestro used to be a member of the Green Lantern Corps. In fact, he was Hal Jordan's mentor and trainer following his recruitment into the Corps. Sinestro's journey to the dark side was fueled by power corruption and insecurity.
As the Green Lantern in his home planet, Korugar, he maintained a totalitarian regime, ruling the citizens with an iron fist. When Hal Jordan brought this fact to the Corps, he was imprisoned and banished to an antimatter planet. There, he came in contact with the Weaponers of Qward, who helped him forge the yellow ring to unleash revenge on the Green Lantern Corps.
6 Superboy-Prime
While Superboy-Prime is another evil iteration of Superman, he's one of the most ruthless versions. Raised in Earth-Prime, a universe where superheroes are fictional characters in comics, he was unaware of his powers for a long time.
During the Crisis On Infinite Earths, the Anti-Monitor destroyed multiple dimensions including Superboy-Prime's Earth. When all his efforts to save his world turned futile, homesickness and despair drove him to madness. In the process, he went on a rampage killing as many as 32 different Green Lanterns.
5 Black Adam
Born in ancient Egypt as Teth-Adam, this guy was the first-ever disciple of Wizard Shazam. In the New-52 timeline, he lost most of his family to the oppressive ruler of Kahndaq. Although he briefly joined the Justice Society of America, his fellow team members rightfully distrusted him because of his unstable nature. He soon returned to his evil ways and even befriended DC supervillain, Sinestro along the line.
Prior to becoming a villain, Black Adam was selected by Shazam for showing kindness to others. Unfortunately, the demon, Blaze corrupted the ceremony and his path to evil began. Hereafter, he destroyed many DC characters and became the dictator of his home country.
4 Two-Face
In The Dark Knight, Harvey Dent's descent to evil showed how trauma can change people for the worse. Starting out as a textbook hero, Harvey Dent used to be Gotham City's district attorney. During his stint as a lawyer he worked tirelessly to eradicate crime in the city.
However, when the Joker kidnaps and traps Dent and his girlfriend, Rachel Dawes, in two separate buildings riddled with bombs, Batman fails to save them both. Despite surviving the explosions with a disfigured face, the Joker successfully manipulated Harvey into exacting revenge on those responsible for Rachel's death. Blinded by pain and rage, he went on a murderous rampage on the people he wrongly blamed for his predicament .
3 Peacemaker
Aptly named the Peacemaker, this guy started out as a pacifist diplomat dedicated to maintaining peace by any means necessary. Well, this didn't end well as his perception of peacekeeping quickly turned to the use of lethal force rather than refrain from using violence. At first, he was simply a soldier haunted by the demons of his late father's actions as a Nazi camp commandant. However, he later committed crimes against humanity and launched his career as the forceful Peacemaker after his release from prison.
2 The Comedian
Working as a founding member of The Minutemen, the Comedian started out as a hero. Enduring harsh living circumstances during the Great Depression possibly changed his outlook on life. Nevertheless, his violence got him kicked out of the team in spite of the good work he had done in the past.
Beyond sexually assaulting his colleague, Silk Spectre, the Comedian also unleashed violence on his victims and even went as far as working for the corrupt government in The Watchmen comics. The Comedian requires no motivation for evil since he is just a bad guy on the inside. His good work with fellow Minutemen didn't mask his true nature as he didn't uphold the best behavior while on the team.
1 Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor's origin story in Smallville is one of the strongest ones yet. In the television series, Lex and Clark Kent were best friends. In fact, his friendship with Clark kept him grounded most of the time since he constantly battled personal demons from his troubled childhood.
At first, he used his wealth for good as a philanthropist in Smallville. However, his paranoia over Clark's secret identity set him on a path to villainy. He was mistrustful of his friend's excessive superpowers and saw him as a threat to humanity. Over time, he outgrew his kind nature and became obsessed with power and control.