Some say evil is a state of being, others a state of mind. Whether you define a bad guy through his nefarious acts or just an English accent (looking at you, George Lucas), one thing is clear: The dark side is strong, and a good villain can be just as compelling as the heroes they vex, but if the Secret Society of Super-Villains proved anything (not that I’m entirely sure they did, mind you) it’s that many evildoers can succeed where a single might have failed. Grouping your bad guys can be dicey, though, as Loki proved during Marvel’s ‘Acts of Vengeance’ crossover. Though he pulled in the biggest names in the Marvel Universe, he missed the fact that Doom resented The Red Skull, The Kingpin would cheerfully throw any of this criminal comrades-in-arms under the bus, and also that he had put the living symbol of Third Reich aggression in the same room with a concentration camp survivor. (Even Daredevil saw that conflict coming.) Anyone planning a team-up has to remember that there is no honor among thieves, which started my mental gears a’grindin’…
The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) likes to think of it as a nefarious version of ‘Emerson, Lake & Palmer’, only with added Starscream, asking: What four villains of all the fictional worlds would you recruit for the perfect combination of eeeevil?
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In no particular order:
1) Joker
2) Darth Vader
3) The Borg
4) The Great Intellegence
Kahn Noonien Singh
Lex Luthor
Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg
Tomax and Zamot Paoli
If you are going to take over the world, you got to go corporate.
The Valeyard (the possible future evil regeneration of The Doctor), Agent Abrella (the alien black market arms dealer and destroyer of worlds from Dekaranger), Darth Krayt (Sith Lord with organic armor from the “Legacy” comics) and The Big Brain (from Futurama, that left Earth for no raisin).
Emperor Tranza from Jetman (only defeated because Radiguet was an insecure jerk), Unicron, Sauron and Destro, who was the real brains behind Cobra and would have succeeded if not for that meddling Cobra Commander.
I almost went with Unicron, but I just couldn’t do it. For some reason, I always seem to classify him in my mind not so much as an evil character, but almost a cosmic force of nature (not unlike Galactus or a god in many comics/movies). Plus, you wouldn’t really need three other characters if you have Unicron, right?
I went back and forth on that but finally decided that because, according to the Transformers mythos, he’s essentially the god of Evil and the diametric opposite of Primus, then it’s OK. I made the Galactus parallel in my head but was able to see enough distinction.
I think the other three are necessary, though, because when some guys drive through Unicron’s eye in an effort to blow him up, you’re going to need some guys/other incarnations of evil to deal with those chumps.
Norman Osborn, Virgil (from DMC), Bowser, Shredder.
The theme evil doers that have heroes that heckle them as well as villians that will do whatever it takes to win.
Beast Wars Megatron,,Jabba the Hutt, Ra’s Al Ghul, and Baron Sengir.
You have three long-term planners who work with others to further their goals, and the Hutt to work for profit…
Wow, the picture is perfect!
And thou there are five villans on it – they might just be “The Big Five”.
The Joker, Hannibal Lecter, Count Dracula, Señor Chang
Because I feel like none of these characters are going to be easily pushed around by each other. They have extremely strong personalities, and little attachment to the real world (which is a weakness easily exploitable in many villains). The only one with actual powers is Dracula, but if I was writing this mash-up, I’d underplay Dracula’s supernatural powers.
btw, do I win anything for best answer?
Palpatine, Sauron, The Borg, and Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz
Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII
Madame Rouge, in her Teen Titans version
Mister Sinister, the X-Men enemy
Dr. Blight, the Captain Planet enemy