Building the perfect DC Comics supervillain strikeforce
Just so as to lighten up…
I thought of coming up with an extremely bad*ss group of DC Comics super-villains, seven members in all, and each character chosen for a tactical reason instead of mere regional preferences.
It’s kind of funny because in the end, I sort of ended up choosing some of my favorite villains anyhow… Eclipso notwithstanding for obvious reasons.
1. LEX LUTHOR (team leader)
Real name: Alexis Luthor (“Alexander” in current continuity).
Powers: Genius-level intellect.
Weapons: Several, especially “Warsuit”, an alien armor found on the planet Lexor which grants its wearer with superior strength and resilience plus nigh-unlimited multiple energy projection (in current continuity there are several different Warsuits and most of them come from the planet Apokolips).
Why I chose him: Luthor doesn’t have any superpowers save for his vast intellect. Meaning, he’s used to outsmarting Superman, who’s allegedly one of the smartest persons in the Universe… so there. That is more than enough to rank number one in any list. Pretty much ‘nuff said.
I mean, you’re probably gonna complain Luthor’s no team player and I’ll sort of grant you that… with the consideration that he’s so damn smart, he can figure out how to be a team player in like, half a second. He’s that good.
Also, Luthor’s got that wonderful truckload of sci-fi gadgets, especially that magnificent green warsuit (which is either from the planet Lexor or from Apokolips, depending on where you’re at in continuity), which makes him physically on par with the Man of Steel.
If I were a supervillain, I’d follow Luthor to hell and back.
2. BLACK ADAM
Real name: Teth-Adam
Powers: Possesses powers and abilities bestowed upon him by six Egyptian deities: Superman-level strength, invulnerability, flight and super-speed. Also godlike wisdom and courage.
Weapons: Jesus, none! Adam is a person of mass destruction himself!
Why I chose him: The “black sheep” of the Marvel Family is powerful enough to tackle any opponent and that alone grants him top-spot on this list. He’s as strong and invulnerable as Superman or Captain Marvel, being theoretically able to haul planetary systems on his own, and he’s also as fast as the Flash, capable of surpassing the speed of light. He’s also imbued with god-like wisdom, and is a natural-born leader.
Recent events, in which Black Adam rose alone against the entire planet and destroyed a whole country (!) in a few days, killing every living being in it with his bare hands, more than proves he’s the most dangerous man alive.
I was tempted to go with Bizarro for raw power, but Adam’s power levels are just the same, plus he’s got the intellect.
3. DEATHSTROKE THE TERMINATOR
Real name: Slade Wilson
Powers: Limited super-strength (about that of ten men) and agility, superior healing, uses 90% of his brain.
Weapons: Well, an entire arsenal , really, ranging from quarterstaff energy blasters to swords to automatic r*fles. Wears light body armor.
Why I chose him: Despite the lack of world-leveling abilities, professional assassin Slade Wilson is a master tactician and one of the best hand-to-hand fighters alive. He’s fought the Batman to a standstill, and went up against the Teen Titans and the Justice League on his own.
He is an expert in the use of firearms and edged weapons, heals fast, has limited superhuman strength and agility, and comes with the extra bonus of having uncovered the secret identity of almost every major superhero short of Superman… and he’s not afraid to use that for his advantage.
Some writers insist on portraying the Terminator like an honored man and so on, but let’s face it: Honor my *ss!This guy is total scum, he would sell his mother for money!
Obs.:I originally thought of having The Wraith (obscure mid-1980s Batman foe) instead of Deathstroke for sheer coolness, but then gave it a second thought.
4. THE SHAGGY MAN
Real name: Inapplicable.
Powers: Vast super-strength and invulnerability, extreme healing.
Weapons: None.
Why I chose him: Since Black Adam, as powerful as he is, cannot be in two places at the same time and I’m strongly inclined of having a brainless Hulk-like powerhouse in any team, for sheer savagery, I thought of Solomon Grundy the swamp zombie... but Grundy’s power levels and personality vary with the ongoing incarnation, which often proves to be a liability. Then I considered the 31st Century behemoth Validus from the Legion of Super-Villains, who’s even more powerful than Grundy… but he’s also almost impossible to control, and was thus discarded.
The pre-General Eiling Shaggy Man is over 10-feet tall, an unstoppable organic android with the mind of a beast: he’s superstrong and invulnerable and able to heal from any injury in a split-second, from the loss of an arm to recovering from a nuclear explosion.
5. AMAZO THE AMAZING ANDROID
Real name: Inapplicable.
Powers: Able to duplicate the powers and abilities of any super-beings he encounters. “Default” powers includes those of the full original JLA roster.
Weapons: Depends on whose powers he’s mimicking, but by default a copy of an Oan power ring and a copy of Wonder Woman’s magic lasso.
Why I chose him: Amazo is an android imbued with absorption cells, which means he’s able to mimic the powers and abilities of any super-beings he encounters, being even able to use multiple powers at the same time.
Amazo fits a role that I consider the most important in any metahuman assemblage, which is that of the multi-power. He’s your ace-in-the-hole, really.
I originally considered the Composite Superman, who has the powers of the entire Legion of Super-Heroes roster, but Compy’s godlike powers come at a price and expire after a day… whereas Amazo gets to keep the powers he’s absorbed indefinitely (which means you automatically get the powers of the entire Justice League by default, including Superman, Green Lantern and the Flash, among others, plus the eventual ones he might encounter).
6. FLORONIC MAN
Real name: Jason Woodrue.
Powers: Human/vegetable hybrid able to telepathically control and manipulate plant life. Also a master botanist and possessor of genius-level intellect.
Weapons: None.
Why I chose him: The Floronic Man, apart from being a genius-level botanist and electronics specialist, he’s able to directly communicate and control plant-life on a world-wide scale… Which means he’s capable of undreamed-of destruction if user properly: He could mess up with oxygen production (remember, algae…), uproot and accelerate the growth of underground vegetation in heavily-populated areas, cut down on food produce, etc. Great for causing natural disasters and terraforming!
7. MIRROR-MASTER
Real name: Sam Scudder.
Powers: None.
Weapons: A truckload of mirror-based and light-based gadgets… ranging from hand-held holographic mirrors to laser guns.
Why I chose him:No super-villain group is complete without a Flash-foe, and why? Not because of the gaudy costumes and the weird powers, but because they’re all used to fighting a man who moves faster than light!
Take the Mirror Master for instance: He’s just a regular guy, not particularly bright nor strong nor fast, you take away his weapons and he’s zilch. But… and this is a huge but in here… he’s so used to fighting the Flash, that any other “slower” enemy has absolutely no chance against him!
But why did I choose the Mirror Master instead of Captain Cold or say, the Pied Piper? Because of the multi-power aspect, again. Even though most Flash villains actually have multi-power (meaning, if Captain Cold needs a cold gun that travels through time, he’s got it, and if Captain Boomerang needs a boomerang that travels through time, he’s got it too), the Mirror Master’s more formidable because anything with a reflective surface on, automatically becomes both a multi-purpose weapon and a mean of transportation.
The sheer logistics of having the Mirror Master in your team is too good to pass up.
I thought of coming up with an extremely bad*ss group of DC Comics super-villains, seven members in all, and each character chosen for a tactical reason instead of mere regional preferences.
It’s kind of funny because in the end, I sort of ended up choosing some of my favorite villains anyhow… Eclipso notwithstanding for obvious reasons.
1. LEX LUTHOR (team leader)
Real name: Alexis Luthor (“Alexander” in current continuity).
Powers: Genius-level intellect.
Weapons: Several, especially “Warsuit”, an alien armor found on the planet Lexor which grants its wearer with superior strength and resilience plus nigh-unlimited multiple energy projection (in current continuity there are several different Warsuits and most of them come from the planet Apokolips).
Why I chose him: Luthor doesn’t have any superpowers save for his vast intellect. Meaning, he’s used to outsmarting Superman, who’s allegedly one of the smartest persons in the Universe… so there. That is more than enough to rank number one in any list. Pretty much ‘nuff said.
I mean, you’re probably gonna complain Luthor’s no team player and I’ll sort of grant you that… with the consideration that he’s so damn smart, he can figure out how to be a team player in like, half a second. He’s that good.
Also, Luthor’s got that wonderful truckload of sci-fi gadgets, especially that magnificent green warsuit (which is either from the planet Lexor or from Apokolips, depending on where you’re at in continuity), which makes him physically on par with the Man of Steel.
If I were a supervillain, I’d follow Luthor to hell and back.
2. BLACK ADAM
Real name: Teth-Adam
Powers: Possesses powers and abilities bestowed upon him by six Egyptian deities: Superman-level strength, invulnerability, flight and super-speed. Also godlike wisdom and courage.
Weapons: Jesus, none! Adam is a person of mass destruction himself!
Why I chose him: The “black sheep” of the Marvel Family is powerful enough to tackle any opponent and that alone grants him top-spot on this list. He’s as strong and invulnerable as Superman or Captain Marvel, being theoretically able to haul planetary systems on his own, and he’s also as fast as the Flash, capable of surpassing the speed of light. He’s also imbued with god-like wisdom, and is a natural-born leader.
Recent events, in which Black Adam rose alone against the entire planet and destroyed a whole country (!) in a few days, killing every living being in it with his bare hands, more than proves he’s the most dangerous man alive.
I was tempted to go with Bizarro for raw power, but Adam’s power levels are just the same, plus he’s got the intellect.
3. DEATHSTROKE THE TERMINATOR
Real name: Slade Wilson
Powers: Limited super-strength (about that of ten men) and agility, superior healing, uses 90% of his brain.
Weapons: Well, an entire arsenal , really, ranging from quarterstaff energy blasters to swords to automatic r*fles. Wears light body armor.
Why I chose him: Despite the lack of world-leveling abilities, professional assassin Slade Wilson is a master tactician and one of the best hand-to-hand fighters alive. He’s fought the Batman to a standstill, and went up against the Teen Titans and the Justice League on his own.
He is an expert in the use of firearms and edged weapons, heals fast, has limited superhuman strength and agility, and comes with the extra bonus of having uncovered the secret identity of almost every major superhero short of Superman… and he’s not afraid to use that for his advantage.
Some writers insist on portraying the Terminator like an honored man and so on, but let’s face it: Honor my *ss!This guy is total scum, he would sell his mother for money!
Obs.:I originally thought of having The Wraith (obscure mid-1980s Batman foe) instead of Deathstroke for sheer coolness, but then gave it a second thought.
4. THE SHAGGY MAN
Real name: Inapplicable.
Powers: Vast super-strength and invulnerability, extreme healing.
Weapons: None.
Why I chose him: Since Black Adam, as powerful as he is, cannot be in two places at the same time and I’m strongly inclined of having a brainless Hulk-like powerhouse in any team, for sheer savagery, I thought of Solomon Grundy the swamp zombie... but Grundy’s power levels and personality vary with the ongoing incarnation, which often proves to be a liability. Then I considered the 31st Century behemoth Validus from the Legion of Super-Villains, who’s even more powerful than Grundy… but he’s also almost impossible to control, and was thus discarded.
The pre-General Eiling Shaggy Man is over 10-feet tall, an unstoppable organic android with the mind of a beast: he’s superstrong and invulnerable and able to heal from any injury in a split-second, from the loss of an arm to recovering from a nuclear explosion.
5. AMAZO THE AMAZING ANDROID
Real name: Inapplicable.
Powers: Able to duplicate the powers and abilities of any super-beings he encounters. “Default” powers includes those of the full original JLA roster.
Weapons: Depends on whose powers he’s mimicking, but by default a copy of an Oan power ring and a copy of Wonder Woman’s magic lasso.
Why I chose him: Amazo is an android imbued with absorption cells, which means he’s able to mimic the powers and abilities of any super-beings he encounters, being even able to use multiple powers at the same time.
Amazo fits a role that I consider the most important in any metahuman assemblage, which is that of the multi-power. He’s your ace-in-the-hole, really.
I originally considered the Composite Superman, who has the powers of the entire Legion of Super-Heroes roster, but Compy’s godlike powers come at a price and expire after a day… whereas Amazo gets to keep the powers he’s absorbed indefinitely (which means you automatically get the powers of the entire Justice League by default, including Superman, Green Lantern and the Flash, among others, plus the eventual ones he might encounter).
6. FLORONIC MAN
Real name: Jason Woodrue.
Powers: Human/vegetable hybrid able to telepathically control and manipulate plant life. Also a master botanist and possessor of genius-level intellect.
Weapons: None.
Why I chose him: The Floronic Man, apart from being a genius-level botanist and electronics specialist, he’s able to directly communicate and control plant-life on a world-wide scale… Which means he’s capable of undreamed-of destruction if user properly: He could mess up with oxygen production (remember, algae…), uproot and accelerate the growth of underground vegetation in heavily-populated areas, cut down on food produce, etc. Great for causing natural disasters and terraforming!
7. MIRROR-MASTER
Real name: Sam Scudder.
Powers: None.
Weapons: A truckload of mirror-based and light-based gadgets… ranging from hand-held holographic mirrors to laser guns.
Why I chose him:No super-villain group is complete without a Flash-foe, and why? Not because of the gaudy costumes and the weird powers, but because they’re all used to fighting a man who moves faster than light!
Take the Mirror Master for instance: He’s just a regular guy, not particularly bright nor strong nor fast, you take away his weapons and he’s zilch. But… and this is a huge but in here… he’s so used to fighting the Flash, that any other “slower” enemy has absolutely no chance against him!
But why did I choose the Mirror Master instead of Captain Cold or say, the Pied Piper? Because of the multi-power aspect, again. Even though most Flash villains actually have multi-power (meaning, if Captain Cold needs a cold gun that travels through time, he’s got it, and if Captain Boomerang needs a boomerang that travels through time, he’s got it too), the Mirror Master’s more formidable because anything with a reflective surface on, automatically becomes both a multi-purpose weapon and a mean of transportation.
The sheer logistics of having the Mirror Master in your team is too good to pass up.
posted by 186282mps at 8:14 AM
<< Home