DC Villains

Today... I bring you... the final part of this Superhero Marathon but there will probably be a lot more updates following the release of Spider man, Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers etc. so rest assure superhero fans, this is not the end!
Today is all about the Villains of the DC universe ranging from Deathstroke all the way to the prince of crime The Joker!
enjoy!
Let's start today off with the most dangerous Mercenary I know, he has fought batman in Arkham Origin and has taken town the teen titans, I bring you Deathstroke.

Slade Wilson is a military specialist who at the age of 16 joined the army, ever since then he has mastered every fighting skill presented to him and became Lieutenant Colonel whilst falling in love with a captain. Slade was given a dose of a secret experiment which enhanced his abilities making him stronger and faster and giving him a regenerative healing factor. years later his son was taken by Jackal I think and he cut his sons throat making him a mute, his wife furious tried to kill Wilson but only managed to shoot him in his eye hence the eye patch. He has become a remorseless killer and given the name "the terminator" and I think its pretty clear how he got that.
The interesting thing about Deathstroke is that he is not a full villain, he is what is known as an anti villain, someone who does occasionally work for the good guys if a bigger threat is presented so for fans and myself that adds a bit of fun and excitement to the character because I love it when a Villain and the hero are forced to work with each other because they are almost unbeatable together and you begin to think there is this bond brewing but inside it changes nothing; you'll always hear that same line "this doesn't change anything" plus you'd think after joining their side he would immediately try and kill them but no Slade Wilson the brutal killer has a code of honour which is brilliant because it shows he's not actually a psychopath unlike some of the other popular villains in the DC universe, he's more of an honourable calculator, he will join you but he won't kill you then he will work out how to kill you, I mean his skills are incomprehensible with swords, guns and hand to hand combat- he is the perfect assassin.
As well as being this pragmatic machine he is also a fan favourite because of his skills, not everyone can take on the dark knight and win but Slade and Batman create a very fluent and brilliant fight which test's both of their skills and usually its more of a draw than a victory. A perfect example of this is in Arkham Origins, the hand to hand combat choreography between these two is spectacular plus in this game Deathstroke does look amazing they've taken the more armoured look which definitely works. He's recently been incorporated into the hit series ARROW but we haven't seen Deathstroke- only Slade Wilson so it will be very interesting to see how they will approach this character in later episodes or even the next series.
I love Deathstroke because he is awesome, the skills he possesses are amazing which are portrayed brilliantly in the comics as well as the games but he deserves a role in a film, it would be incredible to see a fight between his equal or even a partnership. Through the years he has developed both visually and characteristically creating an interesting character with a tragic past but this is overclouded by his immense powers that has made him a superhuman killer.
moving onto the monster that killed Superman.

Doomsday

Doomsday is an incredibly powerful monster with strengths and abilities beyond human comprehension, he was designed by a scientist called Berton who was slaughtered by the beast almost instantly after begging for mercy. So as a villain he doesn't have the greatest back story but he is just an awesome creature, being created on Krypton allowed him to build this hatred towards the Kryptonians. The most interesting and awesome thing about Doomsday is that when he dies he in a way evolves past the thing that previously killed him and over years and years of dying he has become almost invulnerable, he was genetically designed to be killed time and time again in an effort to become immune to death and that makes him a perfect match for superman if not better. He looks menacing and scary which is something I always felt that DC lacked, a really freaky villain but for psychopathic villains they get an A*
He is scary, he's big and he looks brilliant its like he is made of some form of rock which apparently can cut through Kryptonian flesh which is awesome, I just think its refreshing to have a superior villain and you'd think "no one can beat superman" well your wrong, this rampaging giant has successfully killed the man of steel whilst also dying as well (later coming back) someone did the impossible, he killed superman by beating him up and at the last minute they both gave the final blow and they died and thats a rare occasion so not only did it make this villain well known but it has created the most interesting comic to read and an amazing fight in the animated world and I wouldn't like to imagine the result if they adapted it to a live action film which is yet to be done and I'm sure fans are itching for Doomsday to make an appearance.
I think the main reason I like this character apart from his awesome look is the fact he simply cannot die, well he can but when he regenerates he can no longer be killed by that thing which is complete nonsense but it works brilliantly that means he can be an reoccurring villain that offers a new challenge for superman or the Justice League if they decide to get involved and that would truly create a spectacular fight. It leaves the question... will Doomsday ever be truly defeated or will he become immune to everything. A character called Darkseid learnt of Doomsdays ability the hard way. ending it quickly I found a really nice quote from IGN that describes him perfectly "The more others try to stop him the more unstoppable he becomes" I really liked how they phrase it so thank you IGN.

General Zod (Man of Steel)

ahh, Michael Shannon as the infamous General Zod was definitely one of the best highlights of the year in the movie industry for me. Michael is a superb actor who is able to create a menacing and evil character that has been displayed both in MOS and the Iceman but in this he creates a new Zod thats both mad and sad, we may begin to sympathise with the general.
On Krypton Dru-Zod was bred to be a warrior that fights for Krypton and it's citizens, when he found that Krypton was slowly dying he decided to take action and form a coup with him most trusted allies, Faora and Nam-Ek as a result to his failing to secure the Codex himself and his comrades were sentenced to 300 cycles of "somatic reconditioning" in the phantom zone. After the destruction of his planet they are freed and left to drift the empty void until they die that is until Zod finds various colonies in which he finds weapons, armour and a useful world engine. For years they planned and waited for a sign, a sign that was given to them by Clark himself who accidentally initiated a beacon on the scout ship. He came to earth with the goal of rebuilding Krypton and that was not negotiable. after his only chances of saving his race were destroyed he vowed to kill every human possible, his life purpose was gone so the only thing he could do was destroy what he could
Michael creates a very complex character that expresses a range of emotions which we rarely see in some villains, he regrets killing his friend Jor-El but he claims he had to for the sake of his planet, he is angered by the destruction of his last chance to bring Krypton back and he is enraged by the betrayal of one of his own. As you can see we see a wide range of different emotions that create this complexity and at points make us sympathise with him, he wants his planet back, he wants his people back; he kills this by deciding to go insane and try and kill anyone and everyone. I would like to talk about his death though, I know a lot of you are angry at it but think about it very... very... very carefully what else could Clark do? wait! I'll get this prison made of metal oh wait, he can rip through it or melt it dammit! maybe tying him to a tree would work! there was literally no way to contain him without the phantom zone so yes I loved his death because it hit the hero in the heart, he tried his best to reason with him but there was nothing he could do and if you want to go into detail, maybe Zod gave up with his purpose gone what could he do?
"a good death is it's own reward"
Zod really gave us a good fight especially at the end with the destruction of Metropolis yes it was over the top but there are always casualties in wars even with "superman" Zod looked absolutely amazing in Man of steel, his armour was brilliant and his characteristics and portrayal were amazing, the thing I find most interesting about him which makes him a lot better than other Kryptonians was his ability to conquer the outside world and enhance his abilities, it took Clark years to control his X-ray vision and heat vision... it took Zod a few days so that kinda shows his powers and determination for this seemingly lost cause and to top it all off he has awesome powers that make him superman's equal but in the final fight he becomes something more. Overall he is a menacing evil and brutal villain that has finally made an impact (Terrance stamp was still great) and credit goes to the wonderful Michael Shannon who just fit the part with his intimidating look and superb acting skills.

Dark Archer (Arrow)

 Arrow has been appearing a lot in this blog mainly because its amazing and because this particular characters fits in brilliantly with this post.
I present to you Malcolm Merlyn or the "Dark Archer"
The brilliant thing about him is that he is Oliver's best friends dad which adds something special to the character, will he kill him and how will he react and the same applies to Malcolm finding out that Oliver is his rival, they are both shocked.
Malcolm is a very rich and successful businessman who is haunted by his wife's death in the Glades, after an affair with Moira Queen he leaves starling city only to return with a plan to destroy the glades with a device that causes earthquakes. He dons his own hood and bow taking out targets and fighting the hood until he was seemingly killed however his plan was partly successful with a few casualties. But in season 2 he is back from the dead with a revelation that will affect all of the Queen family, Thea is his daughter! at this point in the series we are unsure of his goals but we know that Ra's Al Ghul is pleased to know that he is alive and well so that HE could finish him off himself.
Malcolm is a very mysterious character at the beginning, he just appears we have no idea where he's been and we are even more surprised to find out he is the other archer which is fantastic because we are the only ones that know of his identity, so that creates a lot of fun scenes, a particular favourite is when Malcolm is shot by an assassin hired by Moira Queen only to be saved by Oliver, just brilliant! obviously the highlight of the series featuring Malcolm is the archers first encounter in which we saw Oliver take 3 arrows the back (not the knee unfortunately) I was both amazed and shocked by the brawl because it was beautifully put together but honestly it was very painful watching Olly get beat up and it just showed that he isn't the only one with skills, it was an amazing episode.
I think he is a brilliant villain because he's not superhuman, he's just very talented in his skills which are displayed brilliantly but he is also played by John Barrowman who is awesome anyway but in this he creates a mad and tragic character who has been consumed by his past and this idea that killing people will bring him peace or at lease satisfy his thirst for revenge. Throughout the series little hints are left which tease us, this made his appearance even more exciting and fun. I cannot wait to see how he develops in season 2 but one thing that bothers me is that he doesn't appear to be affected by Tommy's death. Overall he is a cunning remorseless killer who would be satisfied with the death of thousands of innocent civilians, he is superior compared to Oliver which creates breathtaking scenes and awesome action, I love the fact his past is almost non-existent because it keeps him interesting, what did he learn? what did he experience? however saying that I would like to know his involvement in the league of assassins. before I leave you I would like to expand on an idea that has been brewing, ok bear with me... Ra's al Ghul comes to starling to take out his 2 betrayers forcing Oliver, Malcolm and Sara to team up against Ninja's

My final choice is of course the Joker

I honestly believe that the Joker may be the best villain and what's interesting is that all the villains above are physically stronger whereas the Joker depends on his madness.
I'm not going to do a little "origin" story because I don't think he needs one, I want to go in and talk about his character.
As a comic book fan I believe a good villain is created by something memorable I mean anyone can be a villain but it takes something special to be that "special" villain for example Doomsday killed Superman, not many people will forget this and comparing marvel villains such as venom and the red hulk none have done something truly memorable whereas the joker is full of them. He paralysed Jim Gordon's daughter, killed Jason Todd and in the movies we saw him cause chaos single handedly and turn Gothams White Knight into something he fought against then to top it off he turned all of Gotham against the Batman then again it can be argued that it was Batman's choice. I think a lot of the villains in both universes are looking for the same thing, power and the right to control everything, this applies for Loki and General Zod but the Joker is after anarchy as he explains in the film he is a "dog chasing cars" meaning that there is no plan unlike most villains who plan and then destroy to create panic amongst it's people whereas the joker is full of surprises, he could blow up a hospital not to send a message just because he can or because he enjoys it.
The thing to consider about the Joker which separates him for a lot of villains is that he has no rules, no code of conduct or no morality this makes him very dangerous despite his lack of super powers, because that means he can do anything and feel nothing afterwards, he can cross lines without feeling remorse or regret and that is scary because anything that is drawn in a comic no matter how bad is ok because its the joker, he doesn't stop and say "shooting a pretty woman doesn't seem right" he'll do it and so far I see no boundaries to his madness nor his cruelty. At the end of the day whether you like it or not the Joker does wrong things simply because there wrong, there's no particular reason he just enjoys doing bad things and a Villain that appears to have no sense of what's right or displaying kindness is the most feared because deep down you know he would not spare you, begging is useless towards him and I think all this makes him the best of the best especially after the Dark Knight.
Heath Ledgers portrayal was outstanding, he was evil and insane who would stop at nothing to get what he wants, and the costume... wow I honestly never thought I would be afraid, there's something about it that frightens me a bit but he looks amazing and the way he was brought to life was mind blowing, the detail and care they took with the notorious villain impacted the film so much because his portrayal was truly insane and Heath Ledger, you will be missed because you changed the foundations of being a villain, you can do bad things but that doesn't make you "the villain" its about leaving a mark and he did that, and since then the Joker has become an insanely brilliant character in the comics all the way to the Arkham Games and animated series
here's my favourite quotes from the joker (from the same scene in fact)
"Oh, you. You just couldn't let me go, could you? This is what happens when an unstoppable force...meets an immovable object. You truly are incorruptible, aren't you? Huh? You won't kill me...out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness. And I won't kill you...because you're just too much fun. I think you and I are destined to do this forever"

"I took Gotham's white knight...and I brought him down to our level. It wasn't hard. See, madness, as you know...is like gravity. All it takes is a little push"

thanks for reading today, I had a few more villains lined up like Sinestro and good ole Lex Luthor.
Christmas is almost here so have a great Christmas and a happy new year.
Again please feel free to comment your favourite villain from the DC universe of check out the marvel Villains here:
http://james-lister.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/marvel-villains.html
Until Next time
Merry Christmas!