With a history as confusing as the DC Universe, Brainiac is also one of the more interesting of all of Superman’s Rogues gallery. Brainiac was introduced in Action Comics #242. His plot at the time was to shrink cities on Earth to use on his home planet of Byak, which he ruled. It was in this story that we were first introduced to the bottled city of Kandor.

Later in the Silver age we would find that Brainiac was a creation of the Coluans. This is where things get tricky. There’s a whole Brainiac 2 thing, who long time readers of the Legion of Super Heroes will know is who Brainiac 5 claims to be descended from. It was from the story of Colu creating Brainiac that the accepted history of Brainiac being a super computer came.

From that point on in his history, Brainiac was just that a super computer. In the eighties Brainiac was given a more robot looking body with a metallic brainlike structure adorning the top of his head. It was also during this time that Brainiac’s Skull shaped spaceship was made popular. This form of Brainiac was made even more popular by his appearance in the Saturday Morning super hero spectactula SuperFriends: The Super Powers Show. In a story arc featuring the ever present Darkseid, Brainiac was even given an origin and a reason for his change in appearance from his time doing battle with the Superfriends in Challenge of the Superfriends.

While we all waited with bated breath to see if Y2K would really be the end of the world, DC comics launched a story arc that saw Brainiac 13, a version of Brainiac from the future, travel to the year 2oo in Metropolis and overtake it’s technology replacing it with his own futuristic tech. In the end, Lex Luthor actually saved the day by offering up his daughter in return for the secrets to Brainiac’s tech. Brainiac would return later to cause the Man of Steel trouble yet again. (Honestly though, I don’t think I read that arc. Maybe my good friend Mike Bailey will help clear things up where there are holes in my knowledge.

Brainiac made another appearance recently in the Superman/Batman title, and as that title doesn’t quite take place in the proper continuity of the DC Universe, (Whatever that may be this week.) it’s hard to really tell if that particular story is a proper take on Brainiac.

With such a long and, quite honestly, twisted history, if you had asked me three years ago, Brainiac wouldn’t have been in my list of favorite super villains. Further, if you had asked me six months ago, Brainiac would have only made the honorable mentions list. What happened? How did the crazy emperor of byak/coluan computer/city shrinker/futuristic computer that wants a child come to be on my top ten list?

Two things…or rather two people.

The first person, and the reason Brainiac would have made his way into my honorable mentions 2 or 3 years ago, is James Marsters. Marsters joined the cast of Smallville as a sometimes guest star in Season 5 of the show. He played a shape shifting, humanoid Kryptonian computer known as the Brain InterActive Construct, Brainiac. Marsters brought a certain air to the character that I don’t know that I ever read in any of the comic stories I’d ever seen with Brainiac, and I had certainly never seen the character portrayed that way in any animated version of him I’ve watched over the years.

Masquerading as Professor Milton Fine, Brainiac arrived on Earth in a second meteor shower and sought to release General Zod from the Phantom Zone. During that time, he ran into Clark, befriended him, betrayed him, and was thought defeated by him. That is until he made his return in subsequent seasons. Now, his presence is felt through a connection he made with Chloe, and I am really psyched to see where the take the character in the future.

The second person that brought Brainiac into my favorite super villains and is directly responsible for Brainiac actually making the top ten is Geoff Johns. In the most recent story arc of Action Comics, Johns reintroduced Brainiac as a city bottling, Coluan twelth level intellect. Taking all of the best parts of Brainiac from his long history (including his role in the destruction fo Krypton) and giving us one big, scary baddie for Superman to face. By scary, I mean SCARY. In the story arc, it takes everything Superman’s got to take on Brainiac and defeat him. He basically hangs in a catatonic state absorbing information and controlling his drones until Superman comes face to face with him. Then this drooling, seemingly lifeless mass of Coluan comes alive and kicks all kinds of butt. So he presents Superman with a physical and mental challege. (Kind of like that old show Double Dare only messier and more dangerous.)

I’m looking forward to this villains return in the future whether on Smallville or in the comics. The great characterization of Brainiac in the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited cartoons isn’t lost on me either. However, even on that slice of animated awesomeness, he nowhere near approaches the coolness brought to him by Marsters, and the awesomeness bestowed upon him by Johns.

A challenge for Superman on all fronts. A threat to the Earth and the Universe at large. Brainiac is definitely worthy to be in anyone’s top ten.

I don’t know why I have the Leader this low on my list. I have always enjoyed the character of The Leader. He runs a close race with The Abomination for The Hulk’s arch-nemesis, and it’s quite the pair up. Dr. Doom has his genius pitted against the genius of Reed Richards. Mandarin pits his almost magical alien technology against Iron Man’s tech. The Joker’s insanity is a great contrast to Batman’s near-obsessive quest for justice. The Green Goblin’s strength, agility, and insane abandon is an interesting foil to Spider-Man’s strength, agility, and great sense of responsibility. In the Leader, though, we have a villain who should either be able to completely dispose of his foe, or completely be disposed of by his foe. Yet, it’s a battle of super intellect vs. great strength, and the two are locked in this neverending battle that we comic fans love. It’s a dynamic that I enjoy about the Leader’s presence in the Hulk book and it was one of Stan Lee’s many strokes of genius along with Co-creator Steve Ditko. The Leader also carries with him the classic “take over the world” goal. That is, he did until thwarted by the Hulk, now his quest is one of ultimate vengeance. A dynamic that is unlike any other of the would-be dictators of the Marvel U. Add all of this to the cast of characters that The Leader has created with no regard to human rights at all, and you have a twisted villain that is always fun to pit against the hero (or in the Hulk’s case anti-hero) of the story.

If you want to read all about The Leader’s history, check out the wiki. Here is a brief history though. The Leader made his first appearance in TALES TO ASTONISH #62. Born Sam Sterns, The Leader had a very average intelligence. He worked as a janitor at a nuclear plant and found himself the victim of an accident involving gamma irradiated waste. While recovering, Sterns discovered that his head was growing and he couldn’t absorb enough information. Practically overnight he became one of the most intelligent people on the planet. Specifically, he is great with patterns, strategies, and problem solving. In fact, he is so good at strategizing, it is almost a psychic thing when it comes to his plans unfolding. Later, Sterns would begin to lose his intelligence. He then conned the Hulk (gray at the time) to help him absorb gamma radiation that had turned Rick Jones into a Hulk, thus curing Jones and restoring The Leader’s intelligence. he’s gone through some different looks over the years, but his goal has remained the same, destroy Bruce Banner and The Hulk.

He has died and returned on a couple of occasions, and he has even brought others back from death’s embrace.  He was last seen doing battle with Hulk’s Hiroim that came to Earth with the Jade Giant at the end of Planet Hulk and the beginning of World War Hulk.  He apparently died again.  But I think it’s safe to assume that he’ll be back.  It’s what he does.  He’s The Leader….and The Leader…well, read the text on the comic book cover there.

The Leader has one trait that a villain must have if he’s going to be “villainy” enough.  No, not the pencil stripe mustache.  I’m talking about selfishness.  The Leader has never had any qualms about who he uses, walks over, manipulates, or physically changes.   In his day, The Leader has created quite a little cast of super-powered characters to do his bidding.  Whether he pulled them from the jaws of death, manipulated them after a particularly bad run in with the Green Goliath, or just promised them things he would never deliver, he has mastered the art of conning someone into genetic manipulation.  His creations include the likes of Rock, Redeemer, Ogress, and others.   All promised something THEY wanted, but ultimately just pawns to bring about HIS desires.  Selfishness at work friends.  Selfishness at work. It also shows The Leader’s intelligence coupled with his depravity, that he would make someone a freak just to bring about his own means, and he does so with very little compassion or concern for the individual.  It’s kind of chilling.

Not least among The Leaders creation are his Humanoids.  Pink Robots that are nearly indestructable and look a lot like Muscle Men. Remember Muscle Men? They were a toy that came out in the eighties. They came in little plastic cans and there was an assortment of them. I don’t know if they were supposed to be aliens or wrestlers or what. You know what? Just check them out for yourself. Originally they were released as pink little guys. Later though they got some more colors to them.

Anywho, the humanoids (not to be confused with The INhumanoids) were a neat threat to the Hulk in that there were always a ton of them, or one really super big one, and their near invulnerability allowed The Leader a great way to come close to conquering the Behemoth.

The Leader is also unique in that he originally set his sights on total world domination.  I, for one, don’t feel that there are enough Super Villains out to take over the world.  The Leader’s initial plans involved grand schemes of taking over the planet and ruling, but were thwarted by the Hulk time and time again.  So, he became a baddy more interested in vengeance than conquest.   He turned his great intelligence to scheming ways to destroy the Hulk.  It was often the Hulk’s savage unpredictability that caused the plans to unravel.   I just think it’s interesting that this guy dropped all he was doing, all of his plans, just to stop the Hulk.  This should make him a national hero, but his methods often hurt others too much for his actions to be sanctioned by the military.   Also, if he did dispose of The Hulk, he’d just go back to trying to take over the planet.

As I stated earlier, I have always thought it was a stroke of genius to give the Hulk an arch villain who’s power is his intelligence. The Hulk was, for a long time, basically a big child.  So it would seem that The Leader would outsmart him time and time again.  However, he never quite did the job all the way.

Now, there is an interesting link between The Leader and not only The Hulk, but Banner as well.  The Leader, in his own twisted way, sees the two as family.  Because of the connection of gamma radiation in their origins, they are like opposite sides of a very strange coin.   Almost family.

This dynamic intrigues me above all others when it comes to The Leader.  He has cured Bruce, hunted Bruce, tried to kill Bruce, and even made alliances with The Hulk and Bruce.

If The Leader is involved in a Hulk story, count me in.  I love a good Leader vs. Hulk story, and though there was a time where he was a bit overused, like Lex in Superman, or Doom in FF, he’s always a welcome villain in the pages of The Incredible Hulk.

As always, reactions and thoughts can be posted below.

I still haven’t figured out if it’s “super villain” or “supervillain.”

In my quest to let everyone know how lame I am, my quest to get a list of my top ten favorite super villains continues with this the second (and final) part of the honorable mentions from my list.

Growing up, there was one villain that I always thought was Spider-Man’s true arch nemesis.   More than anyone else in Spidey’s rogues gallery, this guy just seemed the natural foil to all of Spider-Man’s antics.  I’m referring to the multi-armed menace known as Doctor Octopus.

Doctor Octopus, or Doc Ock as Stan Lee so affectionately called him, was one of several villains that Spider-Man faced over the years that took his name from a member of the Animal Kingdom. A brilliant scientist who was ridiculed because of his use of his mechanical arms before an accident fused them permanently to his body became a foe who, due to his multiple limbs was able to keep Spider-Man at bay time and time again. Years after it was established that Doctor Octopus was a menace to be reckoned with, he began a rather awkward relationship with May Parker. This, of course, freaked Peter out to no end, and I still don’t quite understand how whole thing happened.

As I said previously, I always saw Doc Ock as Spider-Man’s arch-enemy. I guess it’s because I believed more his ability to take Spider-Man in a fight. He didn’t have super strength, or any other amazing powers or abilities, but how many times did we see Spider-Man tangled up in those arms.

In the nineties came my favorite incarnation of the good Doctor. The suit-wearing, cigar smoking orchestrator of the reunion of The Sinister Six was an outstanding and more menacing than ever take on Doc Ock. In fact, one of my favorite Doc Ock moments came in the second reunion of the Sinister Six in the pages of Spider-Man (Not Amazing, Spectacular, or Web of…just Spider-Man). In it he threatened the family that Sandman lived with to gain Sandman’s help in his dastardly plot. When Sandman finally stood up to Doc Ock, he pulled out a ray gun and used it to turn Sandman to glass, as he did so he referenced an encounter the Sandman had with The Hulk YEARS before. I had the obscure comic so it was neat to see it used in what was then a modern day context.

I also always liked the visuals of Doc Ock’s arms and the different things he could do with them, from standing above everyone, to fighting, to lighting a cigar, he’s just a visually fun, exciting villain to challenge Spidey with.

Next in my honorable mentions list is another villain from Spider-Man’s rogues gallery. (Actually, I like a LOT of Spider-Man’s rogues.)  My favorite types of villains are the ones that are almost the exact opposites of our heroes.  The darker versions of the good guys.   It’s a little more interesting when someone comes along that is a twisted version of a villain.  The only time I’ve seen this done is with a guy that calls himself THE HOBGOBLIN.

The Hobgoblin came about as a huge mystery in the Amazing Spider-Man title. Roger Stern laid out clue after clue and red herring after red herring. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think that Stern ever actually got to give the answer to the mystery he set up. The Hobgoblin was really nothing more than a cheap knock off of the original Green Goblin, or so it would seem. Then, during the Inferno storyline Hobgoblin was changed into a demonic looking being and was driven crazy by the experience. He only got scarier in each appearance following his change.

I can’t really put a finger on why I like the Hobgoblin. I really like the concept. I enjoy the twist of him actually becoming a goblin. I like the fact that though Spider-Man knows how to face a goblin now, Hobgoblin is still a threat. (or is he dead?)(Should have done my research.)(Give me a minute here…..reading…studying…fact-checking)(Oh…come to find out…Roger Stern DID finish up the mystery….13 YEARS LATER…I missed that.)(WOW!!! That’s really messed up.)

You know what, I liked the whole transformation into an actual goblin, and the fact that it was someone stealing the idea of the original Green Goblin and running with it.

ahem…moving on…

Before Ned Leeds, or Roderick Kingsley, or whoever else tried to mount the glider, there was Norman Osborn.   Norman was/is a crazy cuss.  Osborn attempted to create a serum based on the formula of a former associate at Oscorp unsuccessfully.   The serum blew up in his face, giving him greater strength, intelligence, and making him insane.  He adopted the persona of the next villain on our list…THE GREEN GOBLIN.

Many would argue that The Green Goblin is Spider-Man’s ultimate arch-enemy. I totally see that. He killed Peter Parker’s girlfriend. Everytime he’s come back to life, he’s made it his goal to make Spider-Man’s life a living hell, apparently just for the fun of it.

I think that’s what makes me like him. The Green Goblin’s not out to rule the world, or take over New York’s mob. He’s just crazy. He hates Spider-Man. He’s just nuts. That can be scary. It can be fun. It can make for some great stories, and while he doesn’t make my top ten proper, he only JUST missed it.

Ok…confession time.   I like the goblins, green and hob, because they are colorgul villains.

Finally, we come down to the last of the honorable mentions.  There is a villain that is so narcissistic, so egotistical, so….bound and determined to make sure that everyone knows he has committed a crime that he never really gets away with it.  He wears bright green in a world of dark colors.  His symbol is a punctuation mark.  He’s the villain that so many people on the internet are clamoring to see in the sequel to The Dark Knight.  He is, of course, The Riddler.

I love The Riddler. I like the fact that he is so stuck on himself and so hellbent on outsmarting the Caped Crusader that he gives himself away everytime. He’s a bit crazy, but so calculating at the same time.

If well-written, the Riddler is a fantastic counter to Batman’s detective skills.  In fact, at the time of this posting, The Riddler has apparently gone straight and is making a living as a private detective in Gotham City.  Of course, none of bat-family trust him, and as a reader, I have to agree with them.  I am waiting for that return to the dark side.  (Granted that’s happening a bit in Trinity right now.)(For my thoughts on that title and using parentheses too much in a blog post, listen to future episodes of Geek Out Loud.)

From the comics, to cartoons, to Frank Gorshin to Jim Carrey, and even to John Glover, I have always enjoyed the Riddler, and seen him as a force to be reckoned with by Batman and his Bat-family.

He may not be strong, or a ninja-trained fighter, or even a former acrobat, but his brain and calculated schemes always give the Dynamic Duo and friends a run for their money and makes for a fun story.

So, The Riddler brings us to the end of the honorable mentions.   I wanted to mention people like Rhino, Sandman,Venom,(that would have been too many Spidey villains though) Mxyzptlk (For a correct pronunciation watch this.) Hush, Metallo, Annihilus, Apocalypse, Mister Sinister, and others, but there’s only so much space on the web. The official top ten starts soon. Get ready to tell me how wrong I am.

I don’t know if it’s the Party conventions of the past week and a half (political joke uhthank you) or the fact that I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now, but I think it’s time to break out my top ten favorite super villains.  While I don’t know that a hero is only as good as his villain, (Superman started out fighting corruption and mobs, Batman was a detective) I do admit that a good villain makes for a great story.   Over the years we’ve been given more villains than heroes it seems as writers attempt to bring on the next legendary foil for our heroes.  but only a handful have had staying power to torment our heroes again and again and again.  What follows is a list of my favorites.  This is not a list of the greatest villains ever.   This is not a list that I think should be anyone’s definitive list.  It’s simply my favorite super villains to come along since the dawn of the super hero.

As with my favorite super heroes, I will begin with the honorable mentions.

First on the list is the newest villain on the scene lately, THE RED HULK.  I can hear the collective groan of you the fearless readers.  Allow me to expound just a bit.   I’m a huge fan of the Hulk. In fact, you can read just how big of a fan I am by reading this article from my top ten list. The thing about the Hulk is that he has seldom ever found himself actually beaten down. There are very few villains that can match his strength. Enter THE RED HULK.  I know that a lot of comic book readers are shaking their heads in disgust right now, but let’s look at the facts.

At the time of writing this,  the actual identity of Big Red is still up in the air.  Granted there have been some obvious clues as to his identity, but let’s face it, when things are spelled out that much in a mystery like this one, the first thought is “red herring.”  So, I’m not convinced that Doc Samson has gone all red and hulked out on us.

Couple with the mystery, a character who calculatingly beat the Hulk near enough to unconsciousness to subdue him, but kept him conscious enough to keep him from turning into Banner.  In fact, he dispatched the real Hulk long enough to have an unimpeded fight with The Mighty Thor.

His motives are unclear, but his power is unmistakeable, and I’m a huge fan of the “dark reflection” type villains as this top ten list will clearly show.

Next on the honorable mention list is a villain that is not so much a villain as a force of nature in the worst sense.  With an insatiable hunger (for planets) and practically limitless power, GALACTUS makes for one of the most formidable foes in the Marvel Universe. Let me clarify before I go on to prevent any confusion. I am referring to Galactus of the 616 Marvel Universe, not the cosmic swarm Galactus of the Ultimate Universe.

I don’t know if it’s really fair to call Galactus a villain. It has been stated many times in comic history that Galactus is neither good nor evil, he simply exists to feed. The problem is that when he feeds worlds die. When worlds die, beings die. That’s not really a good thing. I think it’s a combination of the hopelessness for the inhabitants of the worlds that Galactus chooses to devour along with the fact that Galactus exists beyond the concepts of good and evil in a sense. On one hand, he must know the billions of lives lost when he feeds, on the other hand, if he cared at all for anyone other than himself, he would simply not feed and allow himself to fade into non-existence.  One of my favorite arcs involving Galactus was in Walt Simonson’s run on the Fantastic Four back in the early nineties.  Right after The Acts of Vengeance, Simonson came onto the Fantastic Four title as writer and artist.  In his firt adventure with the team, Simonson took our heroes on a time-spanning journey along with Thor and Iron Man into the not so distant future where the Universe was ceasing to exist.   At the end of the second or third issue of the arc it was revealed that Galactus was at the core of the destruction of the Universe as he had grown exponentially in size and was devouring space and time accordingly.   In the end, to save the future, Galactus had to use the Ultimate Nullifier to destroy everything.  Great story, great “villain.”

The next honorable mention goes to another somewhat cosmic being.  Like Galactus he was made famous through the art of the great Jack Kirby.  In fact, while Kirby collaborated with Stan Lee to bring Galactus to the pages of Marvel,  the next villain on the list was a creation all Kirby’s own.  Surprisingly, this villain wasn’t introduced in a Crisis or huge crossover event as you would expect given his current reputation, rather he was introduced in the unlikely pages of SUPERMAN’S PAL JIMMY OLSEN.  I’m referring to the anti-life equation seeking Lord of Apokolips, Darkseid.
I was first introduced to Darkseid on Saturday mornings while watching Superfriends. I knew then that he was a much bigger threat than Lex Luthor and his Legion of Doom ever were, but I didn’t know just how evil he really was in the source material from which his character was taken. Throughout the years, I’ve come to enjoy stories involving Darkseid and his search for the anti-life equation. His battles with Superman and the Justice League are the stuff of legend. His uneasy truce with the New Gods of New Genesis is always engaging to read. His treachery knows no bounds and he has surrounded himself with a truly creepy group of lackeys from his right hand man Desaad to Granny Goodness and all the others.

On Superman: The Animated Series, and later Justice League Unlimited, Bruce Timm and crew gave us a Darkseid that brought out the anger and frustration in Superman like no one else could. Anytime Superman can cut loose of someone it’s fun to watch. Anytime someone can make Superman angry enough to do so, it’s even funner (or more fun if you like). However, Darkseid is a bit limited in what kind of stories can be told with him in conjunction with our major characters, so he merits an honorable mention rather than a top ten spot.

Finally, in this part of my list of honorable mentions comes one of the more interesting villains on the list at all.  He was a hero turned villain.  In fact, he has become one of the more vile villains in the galaxy.  He turned his back on a brotherhood, and on those who needed his protection to pursue selfish means and unwarranted vengeance.  This isn’t to say he was always good.  In fact, he obtained his powers through less than heroic means.  While it may sound like I’m talking about Darth Vader, I am referring to Sinestro.

Since most of my initial exposure to comic book characters came from Saturday morning cartoons, it follows that I learned of Sinestro while watching THE CHALLENGE OF THE SUPERFRIENDS. Sinestro appealed to me as kid because he was the antithesis to Hal Jordan. In fact, he carried a weapon that was fueled with an energy that presented itself as Jordan’s one weakness – yellow. Silly? Maybe. However, to a kid on the living room floor in front of his television it made perfect sense as well as good television.

Recently, the rogue Lantern from Qward returned in force to the comic book world, spawning a war with Green Lanterns across the galaxy. For what makes Sinestro evil is not the color of his ring, but the desire to rule as a dictator, to strip away the freedom that sentient beings should enjoy. His battles with the Green Lantern have been some of the best battles in comic books as he trained Hal Jordan and (as previously stated) used Jordan’s weakness as his weapon.

If a villains ability to go toe to toe with a hero makes him a good villain, then Sinestro’s got it. Couple with that the history Sinestro has with the Lanterns along with the agenda he brings to the table and you have yourself an interesting villain that makes his appearance in a comic worth checking out.

So, there you have it, the first installment of my list of favorite Super villains. There are five more honorable metions to go before we jump into the list itself. As always, offer your thoughts on these or predictions on favorites in the comments section. Remember, though, this is a safe place to geek out. So, while I encourage you to be critical, I also encourage you to be cordial. Let’s not go the route of the peopel this blog is about.