# Most. Ridiculous. Comic. Villain. Ever. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 27, 2003, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ridiculous-comic-villain-ever/171507 "2003-04-27T16:33:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![coyasicanbe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bcef8e/32.png) [@coyasicanbe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coyasicanbe)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ridiculous-comic-villain-ever/171507/1 "2003-04-27T16:33:57Z")
O.K. I know the late 70’ and early 80’s were filled with unbelievable, silly, pathetic villains, but I want to know which one you think takes the cake. My vote goes to Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man, issue 24 from 1978…yes, the Hypno-Hustler! Holy Crap! Peter Parker in a white disco suit fighting your stock Jimi Hendrix-reject with an afro and spiked white disco boots. And the guy actually got in a few shots against Spider-Man! Give me a break! If I hadn’t been a 11 year-old kid at the time, I would have stopped buying comics forever at the exact moment I first viewed the Hypno-Hustler. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ridiculous-comic-villain-ever/171507/2 "2003-04-27T17:13:03Z")
I once asked for someone’s opinion of a really stupid Spider-man villian for a story I was writing and he suggested the Kangaroo, who had the power of super bouncing. I couldn’t use him, since he was killed, so I used the Rhinoceros. ---
**Author:** ![ResIpsaLoquitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b3f665/32.png) [@ResIpsaLoquitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ResIpsaLoquitor)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ridiculous-comic-villain-ever/171507/3 "2003-04-27T17:48:01Z")
Probably any villain created in the 70’s qualifies as “most ridiculous.” Doctor Bong of “Howard the Duck” fame comes to mind. Most 70s Spidey-villains were up there too…the Hypno Hustler shares the proud company of the White Rabbit and Leapfrog. ---
**Author:** ![Fibber\_McGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a6a055/32.png) [@Fibber\_McGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fibber_McGee)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ridiculous-comic-villain-ever/171507/4 "2003-04-27T18:51:50Z")
Doctor Bong was _supposed_ to be ridiculous, or did you actually think Howard the Duck was a serious comic? My choices? Most Ridiculous DC Comic Villain: The Ten-Eyed Man. His “power” what that he had eyes on all ten of his fingers. Seriously. I wish I was making this up. I believe this guy first turned up in the pages of Batman before finally dying in an issue of the short-lived Man-Bat series. You see, even though his eyes were now on his fingers, his instinctual reaction was still to throw his hands up to protect his face from an exploding smoke bomb . . . I think it was a smoke bomb anyway. Not sure. Anyway, temprarily blinded, the guy walked off a roof. Good riddance. Worst Marvel Comics Villain Ever: Turner D. Century. Turner was raised by a freaky dwarf confined to a motorized scooter. Following the death of his mentor he goes on a rampage against the young in an attempt to bring back the “good old days”. Dressed like a dandy from a early-1900’s period piece, he gets around on a flying bicycle built for two (the second seat is occupied by a mannequin in a hoop skirt whose head doubles as a napalm bomb.) and his weapons include a flamethrower umbrella. One scheme of his involved a bicycle horn that kills anyone under the age of 65. Finally, he was wiped out along with a whole pack of other losers by automatic weapon fire courtesy of Scourge in the pages of Captain America. He shan’t be missed. ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ridiculous-comic-villain-ever/171507/5 "2003-04-27T18:58:00Z")
Bull pucky. [This](http://www.seanbaby.com/stupcom/10eyedman.htm) is “hands down” the _stupidest_ villian ever. [Here](http://www.angelfire.com/ar/hellUSA/Teneyedman.html) is a bit more info about the guy. ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ridiculous-comic-villain-ever/171507/6 "2003-04-27T19:03:42Z")
Damn you **Fibber Mcgee** , damn you. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ridiculous-comic-villain-ever/171507/7 "2003-04-27T20:45:05Z")
Crazy Quilt. A Batman villain so lame that his reason for being was to get the money to get his vision corrected. He was like the Rainbow Raider, but with less penache. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ridiculous-comic-villain-ever/171507/8 "2003-04-27T21:40:13Z")
[This Site May Be Of Some Considerable Intrest.](http://www.ape-law.com/GAF/) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ridiculous-comic-villain-ever/171507/9 "2003-04-27T23:32:18Z")
I remember the 10-Eyed Man first appearing in a Batman book, and he was not a joke. He actually offered a good challenge to Bats. Turner D. Century was a ghastly creation. I liked the Scourge murders; they rid the Marvel Universe of some Z-grade villains. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ridiculous-comic-villain-ever/171507/10 "2003-04-27T23:44:19Z")
I dunno, the Riddler sounds like he should be up there. Like Seanbaby says he’s a guy whose only superpower is to tell the heroes he’s about to commit a crime. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ridiculous-comic-villain-ever/171507/11 "2003-04-28T00:03:10Z")
Interestingly, the majority of Batman’s villains tend to be at least five metric crap units\* above and beyond the crappiness level of any other comic villain. Even the Golden Age villains, the ones we tend to associate with Batman automatically…Two-Face, the Penguin, the Riddler…step outside the “Batman” mythology and take a good, hard look at them by the cruel light of day. What the hell?! Two-Face…with the power to _count to two!_ The Riddler…who _tells you about his crimes!_ And the Penguin… Actually, the Penguin is at least mildly cool in that he is \*so uncool _that he sort of achieves negative uncoolness, and becomes cool again. Don’t ask me to explain this. Even the Joker only narrowly escapes being completely lame on the basis that clowns are intrinsically evil. And these are the guys who were deemed worthy of repeat appearances; the one-shots are even_ more \* appalling, as evidenced by [the Eraser.](http://www.angelfire.com/ar/hellUSA/Eraser.html) For those who don’t remember the character, this is the guy who deduced Batman’s secret identity by recognizing Bruce Wayne’s distinctive smell. Think about that, for awhile. \*0.5 decacrap ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ridiculous-comic-villain-ever/171507/12 "2003-04-28T01:11:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ResIpsaLoquitor \* > \*\*Probably any villain created in the 70’s qualifies as “most ridiculous.” Doctor Bong of “Howard the Duck” fame comes to mind. Most 70s Spidey-villains were up there too…the Hypno Hustler shares the proud company of the White Rabbit and Leapfrog. \*\* To be fair, the White Rabbit was absurd even within the context of the stories. A bored rich girl who decided it would be fun to deliberately _make herself_ into a “super-villian”. Her mind was somewhere out in the hinterland between crazy and stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/13edae/32.png) [@Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Cheatem_Undhow)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ridiculous-comic-villain-ever/171507/13 "2003-04-28T01:19:58Z")
FTR: [Shitty Marvel Villans](http://www3.sympatico.ca/davray/marvel.html). Includes Hypno-Hustler. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ridiculous-comic-villain-ever/171507/14 "2003-04-28T03:25:31Z")
The Vegetable. He looked like a giant cucumber with arms and legs (ala Mr. Potatohead) and he fought the [Mighty Crusaders](http://www.toonopedia.com/mightycr.htm)…um…or maybe just one of 'em. IIRC, he had all the powers of…um…a vegetable. There’s also Uglyman from the same issue…his power was that he was…well…ugly. Not “make people go insane” ugly, just normal-level ugly. Kinda like the Mole Man without the pathos, without the cool fighting stick, without the underground kindom filled with vast resources and without the hordes of evil minions. The Mighty Crusaders are probably the worst comic team ever written. Except the super-hero versions of the Blackhawks. NOTHING’s worse than them. :: shudders :: Fenris ---
**Author:** ![Lizard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@Lizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lizard)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ridiculous-comic-villain-ever/171507/15 "2003-04-28T04:06:27Z")
No, the dumbest Spiderman villain has to be Razorback. His super power? He “could drive any type of machine.” :rolleyes: Oh, and he could electrify his hood, too. Big fucking deal. ---
**Author:** ![coyasicanbe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bcef8e/32.png) [@coyasicanbe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coyasicanbe)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ridiculous-comic-villain-ever/171507/16 "2003-04-28T04:23:47Z")
I must admit that I considered Razorback, but felt he would have to go in an thread titled: Most. Inbred. Comic. Villain. Ever. ---
**Author:** ![d\_redguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5fc32e/32.png) [@d\_redguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/d_redguy)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ridiculous-comic-villain-ever/171507/17 "2003-04-28T04:26:14Z")
OK, here’s my vote. [Arcade](http://www.sean-walsh.com/comixlibrary/arcade.htm) . First ran into this joke in a copy of X-Force. He was trying to “test” Shatterstar or some such tripe. He is truly ridiculous. I mean, look at that **bow tie**! **hyperjes** is looking over my shoulder. “He looks like Carrottop! Carrottop is teh suck!” ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ridiculous-comic-villain-ever/171507/18 "2003-04-28T06:26:43Z")
Nah, Arcade can be wickedly cool if handled by a good writer (Chris Claremont comes to mind). He can definitely look like a dork if a weenie is at the helm, though. ---
**Author:** ![Freyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freyr/32/5763_2.png) [@Freyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freyr)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ridiculous-comic-villain-ever/171507/19 "2003-04-28T06:59:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Terrifel \* > \*_Interestingly, the majority of Batman’s villains tend to be at least five metric crap units_ above and beyond the crappiness level of any other comic villain. \*\* Consider, too, some of the villians that were produced for the **Batman** TV series of the '60s and it goes for awful to **WTF!?** I mean, c’mon… Liberace as a piano playing villian? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Nichol\_storm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Nichol\_storm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nichol_storm)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ridiculous-comic-villain-ever/171507/20 "2003-04-28T13:04:31Z")
“Ridiculous” is a difficult term to pin down; as in **rjung** ’s example, many seemingly ridiculous villains can be genuinly effective when used by a competent writer. That said, the evil gay robot[Machinesmith](http://www.marveldirectory.com/individuals/m/machinesmith.htm) (aka Starr Saxon) is one of my favorite campy badguys. .:Nichol:. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ridiculous-comic-villain-ever/171507.md?page=2)