# Super Villain characters with insanely potent powers that are always getting their asses kicked **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 13, 2009, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-villain-characters-with-insanely-potent-powers-that-are-always-getting-their-asses-kicked/509946 "2009-09-13T19:32:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-villain-characters-with-insanely-potent-powers-that-are-always-getting-their-asses-kicked/509946/21 "2009-09-17T16:47:00Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > In that category also goes the time that Spiderman punched out Firelord Yeah, but Spider-Man was really really determined and angry. Around this time, Daredevil beat Spider-Man in a battle that tried to use the same justification in reverse - _because_ Spider-Man was angry, he swung wildly, allowing the more controlled Daredevil to land his punches. And there was that story where Spider-Man took out Iron Man 2020, which I thought was a pretty good tale overall even if the climactic battle was dubious. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-villain-characters-with-insanely-potent-powers-that-are-always-getting-their-asses-kicked/509946/22 "2009-09-17T17:18:56Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > Wasn’t this before Sabretooth became uber-good at EVERYTHING Wolverine-as-Villain character? > > Sabretooth got his ass handed to him by Cage and Iron Fist back in the day. It was about the same time. Having not read the Cage and Fist story, I can see how, using teamwork. Fist can slow him down enough, and he can’t do much against Cage. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-villain-characters-with-insanely-potent-powers-that-are-always-getting-their-asses-kicked/509946/23 "2009-09-17T17:38:53Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > Wasn’t this before Sabretooth became uber-good at EVERYTHING Wolverine-as-Villain character? Sabretooth got his ass handed to him by Cage and Iron Fist back in the day. In his debut, Sabretooth got his ass handed to him by Iron Fist. Who was blind at the time. And didn’t bother powering up the iron fist. ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-villain-characters-with-insanely-potent-powers-that-are-always-getting-their-asses-kicked/509946/24 "2009-09-19T03:51:19Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > Anyway, my addition: **Mr. Mxyzptlk**. From Wikipedia: “Mr. Mxyzptlk has access to fifth-dimensional technology that to third-dimensional beings may as well be magic. His abilities are only limited by his willpower; for example, if he wanted to turn Superman into dust by snapping his fingers, it would happen…Though the exact limits of Mr. Mxyzptlk’s powers are unknown, his power apparently dwarfs that of even third-dimension cosmic beings.” And yet, he’s a total dipstick failure. Only because he doesn’t really care. He is a prankster, not really a villain. Yes he can defeat most everyone in the DC Universe without a problem, but where is the fun in that? And when he does go evil, you get a story called, “[Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman:_Whatever_Happened_to_the_Man_of_Tomorrow%3F)” > [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Yeah, but Spider-Man was really really determined and angry. > > Around this time, Daredevil beat Spider-Man in a battle that tried to use the same justification in reverse - _because_ Spider-Man was angry, he swung wildly, allowing the more controlled Daredevil to land his punches. > > And there was that story where Spider-Man took out Iron Man 2020, which I thought was a pretty good tale overall even if the climactic battle was dubious. Spider-Man against Firelord? Bah, easy to explain. But Daredevil beating the Hulk? That is just stupid. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-villain-characters-with-insanely-potent-powers-that-are-always-getting-their-asses-kicked/509946/25 "2009-09-19T04:00:06Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > In his debut, Sabretooth got his ass handed to him by Iron Fist. > > Who was blind at the time. > > And didn’t bother powering up the iron fist. Well, that makes some sense. Yes, Sabertooth is a master of combat, but Iron Fist is more or less the _best_, period, and fighting blind is fully in keeping with mystic kung-fu tradition. And while Sabertooth does regenerate, they’ve shown that it’s possible to simply beat him into unconsciousness. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-villain-characters-with-insanely-potent-powers-that-are-always-getting-their-asses-kicked/509946/26 "2009-09-19T05:47:50Z")
I think in terms of sheer power vs weak heroes, it’s got to be galactus. but in terms of just badly made, overpowered villains, I would go with: Darkseid (always got his butt handed to him by Mister Miracle, who has no powers) Kang (got beat by Squirrel Girl) Ultron (giving a bad name to adamantium) ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-villain-characters-with-insanely-potent-powers-that-are-always-getting-their-asses-kicked/509946/27 "2009-09-19T06:47:30Z")
The borg. Eons old, consisting of thousands of species, amazing technology and innovation ability. But if you hit one with a rock, for some reason they go down. Plus they always get beat by Picard and Janeway, which is bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-villain-characters-with-insanely-potent-powers-that-are-always-getting-their-asses-kicked/509946/28 "2009-09-19T06:54:50Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > I think in terms of sheer power vs weak heroes, it’s got to be galactus. > > but in terms of just badly made, overpowered villains, I would go with: > Darkseid (always got his butt handed to him by Mister Miracle, who has no powers) > Kang (got beat by Squirrel Girl) > Ultron (giving a bad name to adamantium) Squirrel Girl has also beaten Doctor Doom-- twice. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-villain-characters-with-insanely-potent-powers-that-are-always-getting-their-asses-kicked/509946/29 "2009-09-19T07:08:35Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > Darkseid (always got his butt handed to him by Mister Miracle, who has no powers) Hmm… I can’t think of a direct confrontation between Scott Free and Darkseid. Even if they were to fight Darkseid would have his own reasons for manipulating his adopted son… ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-villain-characters-with-insanely-potent-powers-that-are-always-getting-their-asses-kicked/509946/30 "2009-09-19T09:13:46Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Squirrel Girl has also beaten Doctor Doom-- twice. I chalk that one up to bad writers. Doom’s like the Lex Luthor of the Marvel Universe, and he’s kicked plenty of butt. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-villain-characters-with-insanely-potent-powers-that-are-always-getting-their-asses-kicked/509946/31 "2009-09-19T15:59:21Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > I chalk that one up to bad writers. Doom’s like the Lex Luthor of the Marvel Universe, and he’s kicked plenty of butt. I don’t know. Squirrel Girl’s teeth, cheek pouches and ability to communicate with squirrels are all pretty useless. But squirrel jumping, squirrel climbing and especially squirrel agility are nothing to sneeze at. Think about it- wallclimbing, super jumps, and super agility both Spiderman and Nightcrawler have those abilities and put them to great use. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-villain-characters-with-insanely-potent-powers-that-are-always-getting-their-asses-kicked/509946/32 "2009-09-19T16:04:22Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > I don’t know. Squirrel Girl’s teeth, cheek pouches and ability to communicate with squirrels are all pretty useless. IIRC, part of the win against Doom came from having a swarm of crazed squirrels go for his eyes. ---
**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:** [September 19, 2009, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-villain-characters-with-insanely-potent-powers-that-are-always-getting-their-asses-kicked/509946/33 "2009-09-19T16:42:03Z")
A number of villains have suffered from being overbilled, touted as pan-cosmic menaces only to get pwnd. Dormammu and Mephisto are probably at the top of that list. ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-villain-characters-with-insanely-potent-powers-that-are-always-getting-their-asses-kicked/509946/34 "2009-09-19T19:56:07Z")
> [@astro](#): > > I nominate [Graviton.](http://marvel.com/universe/Graviton)He f\*\*\*ing controls gravity and can lift islands and office buildings! He could turn his opponents into a compressed puddle of bone and meat, and yet still manages to get beat time and again even by some fairly lame supers. Graviton is a special case, because he sort of has this goal of ruling the world, etc. etc., but he mostly uses his godlike powers to try to score pussy. Just about all of his villainous schemes – such as stealing an entire Macy’s department store and offering it as a prize for any woman willing to become his queen – are obvious punani-obtaining plots. We’re not exactly dealing with Reed Richards or Magneto-level intellect and ambition, here. All you really need to defeat Graviton is to get Tigra to kiss him, resulting in mass blood migration from his brain, and instant unconsciousness. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-villain-characters-with-insanely-potent-powers-that-are-always-getting-their-asses-kicked/509946/35 "2009-09-19T20:24:59Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Dormammu and Mephisto are probably at the top of that list. I thought about them too before nominating Galactus, but what put the G-man over the top was that at least Dormy and Mephy had Dr. Strange as an enemy, who is supposedly one of the strongest heroes in the marvel universe, so even if Strange temporarily lost his powers, had his magical artifacts taken away, and beat them by tricking them with his astral projection, it’s still Dr. Strange. But for Galactus, his main enemy is the Fantastic Four, and they could probably get beat by Spiderman by himself. ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-villain-characters-with-insanely-potent-powers-that-are-always-getting-their-asses-kicked/509946/36 "2009-09-20T00:46:24Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Yeah, but Spider-Man was really really determined and angry. No it was complete crap. Firelord flies through suns and an exploding gas station is supposed to hurt him? It was a terrible fight. The Surfer routinely levels both heros and villans it’s just that he usually doesn’t care that much. Doom also took over the multivrese (before the retcon) in SW I. My vote would be for Magneto. He constantly gets his arse handed to him. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-villain-characters-with-insanely-potent-powers-that-are-always-getting-their-asses-kicked/509946/37 "2009-09-21T05:39:03Z")
Red Sonja, Conan, and Shang- Chi always kicked vampire butt… Micronauts made fools of the Louisiana State Police. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-villain-characters-with-insanely-potent-powers-that-are-always-getting-their-asses-kicked/509946/38 "2009-09-21T07:54:15Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > … Micronauts made fools of the Louisiana State Police. I think that was in a Man-Thing teamup-- an, at the time, popular Dukes of Hazard carryover theme, to get the best of the _Roscoes_ (P. Coltrane). I don’t know where the inept Southern Sheriff stereotype came from? Maybe the '60’s and the civil rights movement. Buford T. Justice. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-villain-characters-with-insanely-potent-powers-that-are-always-getting-their-asses-kicked/509946.md?page=1)