The DC villains might be harder to typecast for Myers-Briggs® personality types than some of the other comic book characters. The Myers-Briggs® is intended for the mentally stable, and some, if not all, of these villains are decidedly not.
Labeling these characters is just for a bit of fun — we can definitely still see the types that some of these villains fit into. It becomes increasingly obvious that some of the Myers-Briggs® personalities occur far more often in villains than in heroes.
From The Joker to Two-Face, let's get inside the minds of some of our favorite baddies.
Updated on 27th January, 2020 by Staci Miller: With more DC villains stepping into the spotlight further and further as the comics move forward and the DCEU brings out new movies, we have a much clearer picture of some more villains and are able to analyze what their result would be if they ever took the MBTI quiz!
15 Deadshot: ISTP, The Virtuoso
Deadshot is a villain who became one of the founding members of the Suicide Squad. His confidence might make him seem like an extravert on the surface but the truth is, Deadshot isn't recharged by anyone although he works well in a team — at the end of the day, he's doing what he needs to do for his daughter (though an argument could be made for ESTP).
Ultimately, he's someone who's very practical and can handle a crisis exceedingly well. He knows exactly what he has to do to get the job done and his strengths lie in staying focused on the task at hand, making him a pretty convincing ESTP.
14 Cheetah: ESTP, The Entertainer
With Wonder Woman 1984 coming to our screens this year, we're finding out more and more about Cheetah since she's taking a lead antagonistic role. She's been present in the comics for a long time though, and we already have a sense of her personality from there.
Cheetah is the entertainer. So focused on her jealousy and achieving her goal that she often misses the bigger picture, she's certainly sociable and confident, but it's not always in a way that benefits anyone else — in fact, it never is. She's definitely bold though, which is one of the main strengths of the ESTP.
13 Ares: ESTJ, The Executive
How could the Greek God of War Ares be anything but a leader type?
Ares wants to lead his own world, based on what he would consider the perfect ideals. For all his faults, he seems like an incredible organizer and one who would manage to keep a new world in line (if through very harsh and unconventional methods). He's not a follower by nature — he's definitely a leader.
We saw more of him when he was introduced to the DCEU, but he's always been a driving villainous force in the comics.
12 Darkseid: ENTJ, The Commander
If ever there was a commanding personality, it's Darkseid. He's one of the biggest villainous presences in the DC universe and it's because he's so good at being a villain — not to say every ENTJ is horrible, but it's definitely worth noting that their traits are so powerful that they can be used for bad.
If Ares is a natural-born leader, he has nothing on Darkseid who takes these similar traits and executes them with a far more forceful nature that could only belong to someone typed as the Commander.
11 Steppenwolf: INFJ, The Advocate
Steppenwolf stepped into the spotlight when the Justice League movie was released and allowed us to see more of an antagonist that wasn't too widely known about. Being the Advocate might make him sound friendly, but he's anything but.
Although he almost slides into being an INTJ, this member of Darkseid's elite is creative and almost inspiring (at least to other villains!) in the way he goes about his acts. Of course, he lacks the altruism that most INFJs tend to possess but he checks all the other personality trait boxes.
10 Harley Quinn: ESFP, The Entertainer
Harley Quinn herself would have probably been familiar with these personality types, as she was a psychiatrist who was assigned to The Joker. This obviously proved to be her downfall (although she wouldn’t call it a downfall).
Harley underwent such a massive change, but through it all, it appears she’s probably an ESFP. There’s a lot of debate surrounding this lady, but she seems to love to put on a show and clearly recharges by socializing. That being said, she’s definitely an extrovert. All in all, the ESFP personality seems to fit super closely for this villain.
9 Poison Ivy: INTP, The Logician
And then there’s Ivy, the woman who ends up very close to Harley (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) but almost couldn’t be more opposite. Let's just say they only have one letter in common because Poison Ivy is definitely an INTP.
INTPs are inventors and tend towards the more Ravenclaw side of things. These types have a real thirst for knowledge, a habit of keeping themselves to themselves unless it’s something they feel extremely strongly about (like the ecosystem, in Poison Ivy’s case).
As one of the more together villains of the DC universe, one could argue that she’s an unmistakable INTP. Not all villains are just crazy characters without a cause!
8 The Joker: ENTP, The Debater
The Joker: easily the hardest villain to type. He’s just so off the rails and blatantly not even close to human anymore that it’s hard to even give him a personality type, but there is one that fits...
ENTP.
It might seem like he’s impossible to type, but ENTPs love a challenge, and they love finding out how the world works. They love to be around others but they have that curiosity so often associated with introverts, and they’re so clever. The Joker fits all of this and is so far from your typical villain.
7 Two-Face: INTJ, The Architect
INTJs are a type super commonly associated with villains. The low empathy, the lack of tact at times, the habit of focusing too much on the facts and not on other people’s emotions... Oh, and let's not forget about the ability to scheme because they think things through and plan them out.
These personality types can definitely be used for evil (though not everyone does!).
Two-Face is one of these villains who fits the INTJ tropes. Poor Harvey Dent didn’t want to end up like this, and his powers could have been used for good forever. Unfortunately, you either die a hero or…
6 ...And The Riddler: Another INTJ
The Riddler is another INTJ! You were warned there were multiple of these among villains — their powers can be used for evil! Apparently, it’s really tempting to turn evil if so many INTJs have turned to the dark side.
The Riddler used to be a far more two-dimensional character that was harder to type but recently, he’s been given an obsessive backstory. He has been made to be far more intelligent and driven than just your average criminal, which has given us the ability to see his Myers-Briggs® type.
Anyway, his riddles make him the perfect, obvious INTJ.
5 Lex Luthor: ENTJ, The Commander
Lex Luthor is very interesting. He could almost be an INTJ, too, but one letter definitely has to be altered to make this guy accurate: he’s an ENTJ, a true commander. He sees Superman as a threat to the world and has actual goals and opinions that make him more than a mindless villain, making him an -NTJ. But there’s definitely something downright evil there to put him into the villain category altogether. He’s also a genius, which is another reason he should be put into the ENTJ category; those guys are clever, for all their potential faults.
4 The Scarecrow: Another Commander
Another ENTJ you’ll find is The Scarecrow.
The Scarecrow, an enemy of Batman, deals in fear and uses it against the average human which is exactly where his –NTJ comes from. INTJ and ENTJ are debatable again here, but I would type him as an ENTJ for the sheer fact that he definitely takes power in manipulating people. Sure, he doesn’t like to be around them for the right reasons, but — being around them certainly seems to recharge him?
3 Catwoman: ISTP, The Virtuoso
And we're back to some Gotham City Sirens with Catwoman!
Breaking the archetypes of INTJ and ENTJ villains, Catwoman is an ISTP. ISTPs tend to be masters of anything that they turn their hand to and are bold experiments, which is what puts Catwoman firmly in this category. They’re somehow both spontaneous and rational, creative and practical all in one. These types of ISTPs are great in a crisis. Catwoman manages to combine the best of all of these and sure, she doesn’t exactly use it to be a superhero, but you can’t help but admire her.
2 The Penguin: ESTP, The Entrepreneur
ESTPs love to live on the edge. They’re smart people who are very perceptive and, for that reason, tend to be great judges of character.
Sound like anyone? Yep. The Penguin.
He’s a little different from other Batman villains in that he doesn’t come across as insane, or necessarily criminal. Well, he is a mobster, but it’s not criminal in the same, erratic way. Instead, he seems to be very together — he just doesn’t use his intelligence for good things. In a way, this makes him one of the scarier villains because there’s logic and reason there, he’s just a very questionable person.
1 Ra's al Ghul: INFJ, The Advocate
The “Head Of The Demon,” Ra’s al Ghul is another common enemy of Batman, but he can be found across all of the comics, facing other heroes such as Superman. Ra’s is a great strategizer and it could almost put him into INTJ status, but he just makes the cut of INFJ.
It seems weird to type a villain as an INFJ — but he is an idealist. His ideal world is just… pretty dystopian because he thinks he’s actually saving it by doing this. No one said all INFJs have the same ideals.