Supervillain
Encyclopedia
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain
character
type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction
in various media.
They are sometimes used as foils
to superhero
es and other fictional hero
es. Whereas superheroes often wield fantastic powers, the supervillain possesses commensurate powers and abilities so that he can present a daunting challenge to the hero. Even without actual mystical or superalien powers, the supervillain often possesses a genius intellect that allows him to draft complex schemes or create fantastic devices with considerable resources at his disposal to further his aims. Many supervillains share some typical characteristics of real world dictator
s, mobsters, and terrorists
and often have aspirations of world domination
or universal leadership.
Superheroes and supervillains often mirror each other in their powers, abilities, or origins. In some cases, the only difference between the two is that the hero uses his extraordinary powers to help others, while the villain uses his powers for selfish, destructive or ruthless purposes.
, created by Paul Féval, père
in his eponymous 1862 novel, or Féval's nearly-immortal, machiavellian Colonel Bozzo-Corona, leader of Les Habits Noirs
introduced in 1863. Professor Moriarty
, the archenemy
of Arthur Conan Doyle
's detective Sherlock Holmes
, was introduced in 1893. Dr. Fu Manchu
, the antagonist of several popular novels of Sax Rohmer
, is credited with popularizing many of the typical characteristics of the modern supervillain, including his sadistic personality, his desire for world domination, and his use of sinister lairs and themed crimes and henchmen. Rohmer's work had a strong influence on Ian Fleming
, whose James Bond
novels and their film adaptations further popularized the image in popular culture, like Ernst Stavro Blofeld
.
The first supervillain who wore a bizarre costume was the Lightning, from the 1938 film
The Fighting Devil Dogs
.
The first supervillain to regularly battle a superhero was the Ultra-Humanite
, who first appeared in Action Comics
#13 (1939). In contrast to the super-strong Superman, he was a crippled and bald genius, and could be seen as one of the first evil genius
es, due to his deformed body and baldness, which inspired Lex Luthor.
, the Green Goblin
, Lex Luthor
, Two-Face, Magneto
, Venom
, Bane
and Doctor Doom
are examples of well-known supervillains in popular culture and comic book history which have been adapted
in films.
Library Binding: 439 pages
Publisher: Omnigraphics, Inc. (August 6, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0780809777
ISBN-13: 978-0780809772
Villain
A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters...
character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
in various media.
They are sometimes used as foils
Foil (literature)
In fiction, a foil is a character who contrasts with another character in order to highlight particular qualities of another character....
to superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
es and other fictional hero
Hero
A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion...
es. Whereas superheroes often wield fantastic powers, the supervillain possesses commensurate powers and abilities so that he can present a daunting challenge to the hero. Even without actual mystical or superalien powers, the supervillain often possesses a genius intellect that allows him to draft complex schemes or create fantastic devices with considerable resources at his disposal to further his aims. Many supervillains share some typical characteristics of real world dictator
Dictator
A dictator is a ruler who assumes sole and absolute power but without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship...
s, mobsters, and terrorists
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
and often have aspirations of world domination
World domination
World Domination or Global Domination may refer to:* World Domination , 2001* World Domination , 2005* World Domination Enterprises, a UK independent rock band* World Domination Recordings, a US record label...
or universal leadership.
Superheroes and supervillains often mirror each other in their powers, abilities, or origins. In some cases, the only difference between the two is that the hero uses his extraordinary powers to help others, while the villain uses his powers for selfish, destructive or ruthless purposes.
Origins
By some definitions, the first supervillain was John Devil, a proto-FantômasFantômas
Fantômas is a fictional character created by French writers Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre .One of the most popular characters in the history of French crime fiction, Fantômas was created in 1911 and appeared in a total of 32 volumes written by the two collaborators, then a subsequent 11...
, created by Paul Féval, père
Paul Féval, père
Paul Henri Corentin Féval, père was a French novelist and dramatist.He was the author of popular swashbuckler novels such as Le Loup Blanc and the perennial best-seller Le Bossu...
in his eponymous 1862 novel, or Féval's nearly-immortal, machiavellian Colonel Bozzo-Corona, leader of Les Habits Noirs
Les Habits Noirs
thumb|250px|Cover for a French edition of Les Habits Noirs.Les Habits Noirs is a book series written over a thirty-year period, comprising eleven novels, created by Paul Féval, père, a 19th-century French writer....
introduced in 1863. Professor Moriarty
Professor Moriarty
Professor James Moriarty is a fictional character and the archenemy of the detective Sherlock Holmes in the fiction of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Moriarty is a criminal mastermind, described by Holmes as the "Napoleon of Crime". Doyle lifted the phrase from a real Scotland Yard inspector who was...
, the archenemy
Archenemy
An archenemy, archfoe, archvillain or archnemesis is the principal enemy of a character in a work of fiction, often described as the hero's worst enemy .- Etymology :The word archenemy or arch-enemy originated...
of Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
's detective Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
, was introduced in 1893. Dr. Fu Manchu
Fu Manchu
Dr. Fu Manchu is a fictional character introduced in a series of novels by British author Sax Rohmer during the first half of the 20th century...
, the antagonist of several popular novels of Sax Rohmer
Sax Rohmer
Arthur Henry Sarsfield Ward , better known as Sax Rohmer, was a prolific English novelist. He is best remembered for his series of novels featuring the master criminal Dr...
, is credited with popularizing many of the typical characteristics of the modern supervillain, including his sadistic personality, his desire for world domination, and his use of sinister lairs and themed crimes and henchmen. Rohmer's work had a strong influence on Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
, whose James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
novels and their film adaptations further popularized the image in popular culture, like Ernst Stavro Blofeld
Ernst Stavro Blofeld
Ernst Stavro Blofeld is a fictional character and a supervillain from the James Bond series of novels and films, who was created by Ian Fleming and Kevin McClory. An evil genius with aspirations of world domination, he is the archenemy of the British Secret Service agent James Bond and is arguably...
.
The first supervillain who wore a bizarre costume was the Lightning, from the 1938 film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
The Fighting Devil Dogs
The Fighting Devil Dogs
The Fighting Devil Dogs is a 12-chapter Republic movie serial starring Lee Powell and Herman Brix, the latter better known by his later stage name, Bruce Bennett. It was directed by William Witney and John English...
.
The first supervillain to regularly battle a superhero was the Ultra-Humanite
Ultra-Humanite
The Ultra-Humanite is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Action Comics #13 , and was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster...
, who first appeared in Action Comics
Action Comics
Action Comics is an American comic book series that introduced Superman, the first major superhero character as the term is popularly defined...
#13 (1939). In contrast to the super-strong Superman, he was a crippled and bald genius, and could be seen as one of the first evil genius
Evil genius
The evil demon, sometimes referred to as the evil genius, is a concept in Cartesian philosophy. In his 1641 Meditations on First Philosophy, René Descartes hypothesises the existence of an evil demon, a personification who is "as clever and deceitful as he is powerful, who has directed his entire...
es, due to his deformed body and baldness, which inspired Lex Luthor.
Well known Supervillains
The JokerJoker (comics)
The Joker is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain published by DC Comics. He is the archenemy of Batman, having been directly responsible for numerous tragedies in Batman's life, including the paralysis of Barbara Gordon and the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin...
, the Green Goblin
Green Goblin
The Green Goblin is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 ....
, Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and the archenemy of Superman, although given his high status as a supervillain, he has also come into conflict with Batman and other superheroes in the DC Universe. Created by Jerry Siegel and...
, Two-Face, Magneto
Magneto (comics)
Magneto is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the central villain of the X-Men comic, as well as the TV show and the films. The character first appears in X-Men #1 , and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby...
, Venom
Venom (comics)
Eddie Brock is a fictional character created by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane. A comic book supervillain, Brock's earliest appearance is a cameo in Web of Spider-Man #18 before making his first full appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #299 as Venom...
, Bane
Bane (comics)
Bane is a fictional character who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Batman: Vengeance of Bane #1 , and was created by Chuck Dixon, Doug Moench, and Graham Nolan. Bane has been one of Batman's more physically and intellectually powerful foes...
and Doctor Doom
Doctor Doom
Victor von Doom is a fictional character who appears in Marvel Comics publications . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Fantastic Four #5 wearing his trademark metal mask and green cloak...
are examples of well-known supervillains in popular culture and comic book history which have been adapted
Film adaptation
Film adaptation is the transfer of a written work to a feature film. It is a type of derivative work.A common form of film adaptation is the use of a novel as the basis of a feature film, but film adaptation includes the use of non-fiction , autobiography, comic book, scripture, plays, and even...
in films.
See also
- VillainVillainA villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters...
- ArchenemyArchenemyAn archenemy, archfoe, archvillain or archnemesis is the principal enemy of a character in a work of fiction, often described as the hero's worst enemy .- Etymology :The word archenemy or arch-enemy originated...
- Rogues galleryRogues gallery (disambiguation)Rogues gallery may refer to:*Rogues gallery, a police collection of pictures or photographs of criminals and suspects kept for identification purposes...
- Evil Overlord ListEvil Overlord ListThe Evil Overlord List, also known as If I Were An Evil Overlord, is one of several popular lists of planned actions for a competent Evil Overlord to avoid the well-known, cliché blunders committed by supervillains in popular fictional works, typically explained in a comical fashion...
- Mad scientistMad scientistA mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
- DictatorDictatorA dictator is a ruler who assumes sole and absolute power but without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship...
- List of comic book supervillains
Further Reading
- Supervillain Book: The Evil Side of Comics and Hollywood
Library Binding: 439 pages
Publisher: Omnigraphics, Inc. (August 6, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0780809777
ISBN-13: 978-0780809772