Worst Villain of 2007


Fin Fang Doom says: Iron Man!

There’s no doubt in my mind that Iron Man is not a hero. Every time in 2007 that he appeared in a comic that didn’t have his name in the title, be it Thor, She-Hulk, Captain America, or Civil War, he was presented as a total asshole. Not necessarily evil, but definitely not good. Yet despite the fact that he totally deserved to get pwned by Hulk, Thor, Nova, She-Hulk, and the Winter Soldier, he was still presented as a hero in the Marvel U.

If Marvel were do an all-out heel turn with Iron Man, like it seemed they were doing in 2006, they’d have one hell of a villain on their hands. Until then, they’ve got a villain that’s not nearly living up to his potential, or just a hero that’s a really big dick.

Doom DeLuise says: Captain Atom/Monarch!

MonarchNowhere do they explain why Captain Atom went from being a hero in his Captain Atom miniseries (Captain Atom: Armageddon) before Infinite Crisis to a villain in Monarch’s armor after the Battle for Bludhaven. Countdown doesn’t even come close to explaining it, either. The only time we saw him between those two “events” was when Kyle Rayner caught up with him in the Bleed during the Ion mini-series, when Captain Atom/Monarch wasn’t acting at all villainous. Without explaining why he’s acting like a villain, we have no reason to care about his actions. And, thanks to the Countdown Arena mini, we now know that he’s incapable of being phased during a fight against three Supermen and a whole bunch of Captain Atoms from other universes. Unlimited power? Unlimited stupid, is more like it.

Honorable Mention: The Joker. Whether he was posing as a magician involved in elaborate black magic snuff shows, stuck in Arkham and teasing Jimmy Olsen in a scene reminiscent of Hannibal Lecter’s first appearance (without any drama or relevance), or standing next to Lex Luthor and sneaking up on the JLA several times an issue, the Joker has been a friggin’ joke all year long, only it’s a really bad joke with no punchline.

Jim Doom says: The Monitors, Bug People, Superboy Prime and every other threat posed in the pages of Countdown!

Superboy had his moments. When Geoff Johns was writing him in the pages of the Sinestro Corps War, he was still the unstable and super-powered unpredictable brat, so he still had potential.

But as soon as Geoff Johns lets him out of his hands, nobody else knows what to do with the guy. Paul Dini and his ragtag bunch of Weekly Morons managed to make Superboy one of the most ridiculous and annoying comic book characters ever.

You know, sort of like the bug lady that can control a Monitor. Or Monarch, who apparently only does things so he can star in his own mini-series.

Hey! Check out what we had to say about this category in 2006!