Comic book readers love villains almost as much as they love heroes. In fact, in many cases, comic book fans like villainous characters even more than they like the heroes those villains fight against. Villains like Lex Luthor and Harley Quinn have been fan favorites for many years, despite their evil ways.
As these characters grace the silver screen, audiences see how human they truly are. Even for their flaws, viewers relate even more to villains. In some cases, they truly just love watching villains commit their villainous acts. Regardless, DC certainly intends for many villains to be hated — just for fans to turn around and embrace them instantly.
10 Black Mask
Black Mask, or Roman Sionis, isn’t somebody that fans typically enjoy as a character. He’s a bad man, and when he appears in Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), he is the victim of a revenge tale. However, it is not exactly the character himself that audiences enjoy so much. Black Mask was played in Birds of Prey by Ewan McGregor, a famously charming actor.
The character may be a villain, but it’s almost impossible for viewers to hate Ewan McGregor whenever he appears on the screen. Some ended up loving the Black Mask, even if they disagree with what he does and who he is, fundamentally, as a character.
9 Doctor Sivana
Much like Ewan McGregor performing as the Black Mask, Mark Strong’s appearance in Shazam! as Doctor Thaddeus Sivana makes it hard to hate this movie’s villain. Mark Strong is a fun actor who delivers an excellent performance in this movie. Unlike the Black Mask, too, Sivana’s motives are more relatable to the average viewer.
When Sivana was young, he was nearly chosen by the wizard Shazam to be his champion; ultimately, he wasn’t, and Billy Batson ended up as Shazam instead. Doctor Sivana was so overwhelmed by what happened to him that he couldn’t help but dedicate his entire life to trying to figure out that world. It’s an understandable madness.
8 General Zod
The tragedy of Clark Kent, also known by his birth name of Kal-El, is that he believes he is the only surviving Kryptonian. There are none left of his alien species, thus leaving him completely alone in the universe. However, he is not alone. In the DCEU, he meets General Dru-Zod, more commonly just known as General Zod or Zod, played by Michael Shannon. Like Clark, Zod believes that he is completely alone in the universe.
He sees a way to rebuild the Kryptonian species and bring them back to the universe. Clark Kent stands in the way of Zod being able to save his people. While Zod’s methods leave something to be desired, few can fault him for wanting to save Krypton.
7 Deathstroke
Deathstroke has not yet had a major presence in the DCEU, but it seems that things are heating up for him. As Batman, also known as Bruce Wayne, apparently has an extensive history that viewers haven’t seen, Deathstroke apparently became one of his villains at some point. Bruce has been Batman long enough that Jason Todd has already died, so it’s not surprising that he has existing villains like Deathstroke.
Joe Manganiello appeared at the end of Justice League, as Lex Luthor recruited the character Deathstroke, also known as Slade Wilson, for the first time. Fans love Deathstroke in the comics, and they’re more than excited to see him reappear in the DCEU.
6 Doctor Poison
In the old days of comic books, it seemed that many supervillains were evil just for the sake of being evil. Without long, complicated backstories, bad guys were bad guys simply because they wanted to. However, as time goes on, these villains do receive origin stories. Villains and people who do bad things don’t do them for no reason, in most cases, and readers are curious for reasons.
It’s easy to feel bad for some of these characters and the terrible things they’ve had to endure. Doctor Poison, in her past, was a victim of her own poisonous gasses; actress Elena Anaya wears special plates on her face to play the disfigured Doctor Poison. The villain is also shy and subdued, craving the attention of those around her; audiences felt bad for her, more than they hated her.
5 Lex Luthor
Fans typically love Lex Luthor or they hate him, but some audience members just really love to hate him. Regardless, they’re talking about him. Lex Luthor is always a villain that pops up as somebody lovable despite all odds, and this could not be more true about Lex Luthor in the DCEU. Played by Jesse Eisenberg, Lex Luthor is a madman so wild that it’s almost impossible not to enjoy him when he’s on the screen.
He has a vendetta against Superman specifically, whose very existence Lex feels threatens his own, but he’s begun taking on the entire Justice League recently. It seems that he will likely even be the franchise’s big bad moving forwards, too.
4 Cheetah
One of the newest villains in the DCEU is Kristen Wiig’s Doctor Barbara Minerva, or Cheetah. Doctor Minerva is a friend of Diana Prince’s before she ever becomes a villain of hers. In fact, it is because she loves Wonder Woman and her life so much that Doctor Minerva even seeks to better her own life in the first place.
Through the power of Max Lord’s wishes and the Dreamstone, she’s able to become a literal apex predator, morphing into a creature crossed between a cheetah and a human, thus giving her the name of Cheetah. She is an unfortunate casualty of her own bad decisions, and it’s hard not to feel bad for her, and even kind of like her, much like Diana.
3 Black Manta
The main villain of the movie Aquaman ending up being Orm Marius, or the Ocean Master. However, earlier in the movie, the film introduced Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as the character of David Kane, also known as the Black Manta. He is another major villain Aquaman frequently faces off against in the comics, so it’s exciting to imagine that he’ll likely be a major villain in an upcoming Aquaman sequel.
When David Kane was first introduced in Aquaman, the hero literally let his father die. It’s hard not to sympathize with a guy after seeing something like that happen. Even if he is a mercenary, so are characters like Deathstroke — that’s nothing new to villain-loving audiences.
2 Harley Quinn
Another fan-favorite villain is Doctor Harleen Frances Quinzel, more commonly known as Harley Quinn. While Harley, played by Margot Robbie in the DCEU, was first introduced in Suicide Squad, the movie was met with mixed reviews. However, this movie gave her an origin story and gave Margot Robbie a chance to start out in the DCEU. By Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), Harley Quinn was already a favorite.
She’s the movies’ protagonist, but she is arguably still a villain. Though Harley is on her way to becoming an anti-hero, and maybe even a hero, she still is infinitely lovable. Margot Robbie’s charm adds even more love to Harley Quinn.
1 Maxwell Lord
The most surprising lovable villain in the DCEU is probably Max Lord. In the DCEU timeline, his real name is Maxwell Lorenzano; he goes by the name of Maxwell Lord, or Max Lord, when he’s trying to scam people. This movie version of Max, though, as played by Pedro Pascal, isn’t quite as malicious as the comics version. This Max Lord is simply an opportunistic man who wants to better himself, for both selfish reasons and for his son, for his legacy.
By the end of Wonder Woman 1984, Max Lord proved himself to be one of the most lovable villains in all of the DCEU, as he gives up everything evil and apologizes to his son for everything he has done.