# Which B-list comic book villains are fascinating? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 28, 2010, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-b-list-comic-book-villains-are-fascinating/548280 "2010-07-28T08:19:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-b-list-comic-book-villains-are-fascinating/548280/21 "2010-07-30T01:04:47Z")
I would push [The Foreigner](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreigner_%28comics%29) because of his intro “Men call me The Foreigner. Women call me frequently.” ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-b-list-comic-book-villains-are-fascinating/548280/22 "2010-07-30T02:59:48Z")
[The Ten-Eyed Man](http://www.seanbaby.com/stupcom/10eyedman.htm). Go ahead, guess where his eyes are. Not in his face. He got those blinded. So he went to Dr. Engstrom who would have been a real physicist if only his name started with an A, but became the kind of crime doctor who would connect somebody’s optic nerves to his fingertips. In short, The 10-I’d Man’s blinky thingies are on the tips of his fingers now. Available for colonoscopies and checking whether your two-year-old really put that jelly bean up his nose and supervillainry as long as you don’t try to shake his hands. A Batman foe. Also the spiritual opposite of Snapper Carr. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-b-list-comic-book-villains-are-fascinating/548280/23 "2010-07-30T03:11:42Z")
[The Trapster](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trapster), aka the much cooler name “Paste Pot Pete.” [The Taskmaster](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taskmaster). Has “photographic reflexes” - he can fight like Captain America, shoot like Bullseye or the Punisher, shoot an arrow like Hawkeye, parkour like Daredevil, fight with a sword like the Black Knight, play guitar like Hendrix, paint like Picasso, etc. [Batroc Ze Leapair!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batroc_the_Leaper) ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-b-list-comic-book-villains-are-fascinating/548280/24 "2010-07-30T03:33:46Z")
[Alice](http://www.comicvine.com/alice/29-65553/) (warning that page has major spoilers for the storyline which introduced her, which, really, I can’t recommend enough), briefly (and hopefully in future, too) an enemy of Batwoman… To quote the short description on that page… > [@](#): > > Alice, believing herself to be the Alice Pleasance Liddell of Lewis Carroll’s story, is the latest High Madame of the Religion of Crime. She speaks entirely in quotes from the Alice books, she is the leader of the Religion of Crime, which is obsessed with Batwoman, to whom she has a connection herself. (Which is spoiled on that page, but I won’t spoil.) Aside from that, she’s, visually, awesome… [Here’s a picture for those who choose to avoid the spoilers.](http://www.comicvine.com/alice/29-65553/all-images/108-298209/alice/105-941137/) I think Rucka and Williams were trying to set her up…if not as an A-Lister, at least no more B-List than Batwoman herself. ---
**Author:** ![AndyPolley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@AndyPolley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndyPolley)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-b-list-comic-book-villains-are-fascinating/548280/25 "2010-07-30T14:43:35Z")
Perhaps a few letters below “B-List,” I submit X-Factor Nemesis [#1 Fan](http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/numberonefanxfactor.htm)! Peter David Ruled. ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-b-list-comic-book-villains-are-fascinating/548280/26 "2010-08-01T03:16:23Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > In any case, I vote for the original Terra-Man. The combination (a super scientific villain who based his weapons on old west archetypes) was wonderful. He wasn’t actually a super scientist, he was actually from the old west. Captured by aliens, then brought to our time due to relativistic space travel. He killed them and used their equipment to be a Superman opponent before the Crisis. > [@pravnik](#): > > [The Taskmaster](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taskmaster). Has “photographic reflexes” - he can fight like Captain America, shoot like Bullseye or the Punisher, shoot an arrow like Hawkeye, parkour like Daredevil, fight with a sword like the Black Knight, play guitar like Hendrix, paint like Picasso, etc. I would say he is not really a B-Lister. He started that way, but his more recent appearances have pushed him into the A-List. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-b-list-comic-book-villains-are-fascinating/548280/27 "2010-08-01T03:51:06Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > Speaking of PG…there’s also Vartox…originally an enemy-turned-ally of Superman - and visually based on Sean Connery’s character Zed from the hilariously bad movie Zardoz - he’s now a good natured, funny as hell, annoyance to PG. Originally coming to Earth with the intent of seducing her (in order to save his people), his general smarminess - and the fact he attempted to use an indestructible eating machine in his seduction, but lost control of it (don’t ask…just…don’t ask) - fairly obviously turned her off. Then he started acting like a sane (if…incredibly 70s-tastic) person, explained the situation, and grew on her…but not enough that she didn’t get kind of twitchy when he showed up again. I loved Vartox back in the 80s. He was ostensibly an ally of Superman, but because God hated him, everything he touched turned to shit. He had TWO planets blow up on him, for gossake, and nearly destroyed Earth at least once. And every time he showed up on Earth, he and Martha’s little boy would start out friendly but inevitably a fight would break out…and every single time he kicked Superman’s ass. You never even had the sense that Superman THOUGHT he could take him in a fair fight. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-b-list-comic-book-villains-are-fascinating/548280/28 "2010-08-01T16:40:12Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > > [@Tengu](#): > > > > Speaking of PG…there’s also Vartox…originally an enemy-turned-ally of Superman - and visually based on Sean Connery’s character Zed from the hilariously bad movie Zardoz - he’s now a good natured, funny as hell, annoyance to PG. Originally coming to Earth with the intent of seducing her (in order to save his people), his general smarminess - and the fact he attempted to use an indestructible eating machine in his seduction, but lost control of it (don’t ask…just…don’t ask) - fairly obviously turned her off. Then he started acting like a sane (if…incredibly 70s-tastic) person, explained the situation, and grew on her…but not enough that she didn’t get kind of twitchy when he showed up again. > > I loved Vartox back in the 80s. He was ostensibly an ally of Superman, but because God hated him, everything he touched turned to shit. He had TWO planets blow up on him, for gossake, and nearly destroyed Earth at least once. And every time he showed up on Earth, he and Martha’s little boy would start out friendly but inevitably a fight would break out…and every single time he kicked Superman’s ass. You never even had the sense that Superman THOUGHT he could take him in a fair fight. Also, he is from the [Sombrero Galaxy](http://mightygodking.com/index.php/2009/03/12/thursday-whos-who-vartox/). I am not kidding. My picks would be the Sportsmaster, Evil Star (and his Starlings) and the Unicorn. Ok, so maybe he’s just a C-Lister. I like him anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-b-list-comic-book-villains-are-fascinating/548280/29 "2010-08-01T16:47:06Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > > [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > > > > [@Tengu](#): > > > > > > Speaking of PG…there’s also Vartox…originally an enemy-turned-ally of Superman - and visually based on Sean Connery’s character Zed from the hilariously bad movie Zardoz - he’s now a good natured, funny as hell, annoyance to PG. Originally coming to Earth with the intent of seducing her (in order to save his people), his general smarminess - and the fact he attempted to use an indestructible eating machine in his seduction, but lost control of it (don’t ask…just…don’t ask) - fairly obviously turned her off. Then he started acting like a sane (if…incredibly 70s-tastic) person, explained the situation, and grew on her…but not enough that she didn’t get kind of twitchy when he showed up again. > > > > I loved Vartox back in the 80s. He was ostensibly an ally of Superman, but because God hated him, everything he touched turned to shit. He had TWO planets blow up on him, for gossake, and nearly destroyed Earth at least once. And every time he showed up on Earth, he and Martha’s little boy would start out friendly but inevitably a fight would break out…and every single time he kicked Superman’s ass. You never even had the sense that Superman THOUGHT he could take him in a fair fight. > > Also, he is from the [Sombrero Galaxy](http://mightygodking.com/index.php/2009/03/12/thursday-whos-who-vartox/). I am not kidding. [The Sombrero Galaxy is real, and so that is not his fault.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sombrero_Galaxy) I think they only had him be from there to explain why Supes would bother calling anybody else for help when Vartox was around. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-b-list-comic-book-villains-are-fascinating/548280/30 "2010-08-01T16:50:43Z")
> [@Lok](#): > > I would say [Taskmaster] is not really a B-Lister. He started that way, but his more recent appearances have pushed him into the A-List. This. I never bought that he’d actually be a match for Spider-Man or any other super-powered opponent, though. Yes, he could replicate the pattern of their motions, but he’s not going to come near their strength and speed. I always wanted him to mouth off to Ben Grimm and the Torch. And God help him if he tried something with Sue Storm. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-b-list-comic-book-villains-are-fascinating/548280/31 "2010-08-01T16:59:04Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Mad Cap- MC was a fundamentalist Christian on his way to a retreat. The bus crashed and everybody else was killed. The crash activated Mad Cap’s mutant powers. Actually, the bus crashed into a vehicle carrying some experimental substance belonging to AIM (Madcap had no idea who the guys in yellow beekeeper suits were and it just made the whole thing seems crazier to him). They thought everyone was dead - no witnesses - but Madcap was in a pool of the stuff. And the rest is history. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-b-list-comic-book-villains-are-fascinating/548280/32 "2010-08-01T17:42:01Z")
> [@Lok](#): > > > [@RealityChuck](#): > > > > In any case, I vote for the original Terra-Man. The combination (a super scientific villain who based his weapons on old west archetypes) was wonderful. > > He wasn’t actually a super scientist, he was actually from the old west. Captured by aliens, then brought to our time due to relativistic space travel. He killed them and used their equipment to be a Superman opponent before the Crisis. Post-Crisis he was an environmental crusader with…rather ill-thought-out methods, and an inexplicable western fetish. A few years back he was killed by Black Adam to make a point. (He had reverted back into something resembling his pre-Crisis version at that point.) ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-b-list-comic-book-villains-are-fascinating/548280/33 "2010-08-01T18:13:37Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > > [@Tengu](#): > > > > Man, the Spot is awesome, but is that not the most horrible real name/code name joke ever? > > Not as bad as E. Nigma, the Riddler. Which, in turn, is not as bad as Telford Porter, The Vanisher. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-b-list-comic-book-villains-are-fascinating/548280/34 "2010-08-01T19:27:36Z")
Ah yes, the stunningly obvious names that make their fate all but certain. Like Remus Lupin in the Potterverse. With a name like that, he’s totally fucked if he’s not bitten by a werewolf at some point in his life. The only thing that would be worse would be a cross-dressing Superman whose secret identity was Sue Permann. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-b-list-comic-book-villains-are-fascinating/548280/35 "2010-08-01T20:04:42Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > > [@Tengu](#): > > > > Speaking of PG…there’s also Vartox…originally an enemy-turned-ally of Superman - and visually based on Sean Connery’s character Zed from the hilariously bad movie Zardoz - he’s now a good natured, funny as hell, annoyance to PG. Originally coming to Earth with the intent of seducing her (in order to save his people), his general smarminess - and the fact he attempted to use an indestructible eating machine in his seduction, but lost control of it (don’t ask…just…don’t ask) - fairly obviously turned her off. Then he started acting like a sane (if…incredibly 70s-tastic) person, explained the situation, and grew on her…but not enough that she didn’t get kind of twitchy when he showed up again. > > I loved Vartox back in the 80s. He was ostensibly an ally of Superman, but because God hated him, everything he touched turned to shit. He had TWO planets blow up on him, for gossake, and nearly destroyed Earth at least once. And every time he showed up on Earth, he and Martha’s little boy would start out friendly but inevitably a fight would break out…and every single time he kicked Superman’s ass. You never even had the sense that Superman THOUGHT he could take him in a fair fight. Agreed, other than the gayest outfit in the universe, his power set was pretty awesome. The latest Power Girl take on him makes him pretty clueless and much depowered, but the physical sex-free punchline after the leering setup was pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-b-list-comic-book-villains-are-fascinating/548280/36 "2010-08-01T20:20:58Z")
There was the being with near Galactus level powers who was going to re-decorate the earth. ---
**Author:** ![Rrose\_Selavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bcef8e/32.png) [@Rrose\_Selavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rrose_Selavy)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-b-list-comic-book-villains-are-fascinating/548280/37 "2010-08-01T20:22:50Z")
When I was a kid (in the Uk) , and really into Marvel comics there was a local toy shop that had what I always to this day (mis)remember(?) as a large action figure based on the early Fantastic Four “Enfant Terrible” alien character - I never had the figure as i don’t think my parents would have bought it at the time - it wasn’t near xmas or my birthday so I couldn’t ask for it. But i even had a name for my own character for the toy - Skorpio- (it was on sale at the Zodiac toy shop ) but it was never to be for me. It might even have been unofficlally/possibly illegally based on the character maybe looser than I remember as it seemed a pretty obscure character to make an action toy for in the then 1970s. I’m about to google but am I mad or does anyone else recall such a figure on sale? ---
**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:** [August 1, 2010, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-b-list-comic-book-villains-are-fascinating/548280/38 "2010-08-01T20:35:30Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > And God help him if he tried something with Sue Storm. IIRC, she stomped him in no time flat during CIVIL WAR: he had enough time to realize a pissed-off Sue Storm was coming for him, and enough time to realize there wasn’t anything he could do about it, cue the one-sided one-and-done. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-b-list-comic-book-villains-are-fascinating/548280/39 "2010-08-02T01:06:40Z")
[Dr. Solar, Man of the Atom](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_%28comics%29)! ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-b-list-comic-book-villains-are-fascinating/548280/40 "2010-08-02T04:32:03Z")
The Shocker. Because he’s really just in it for the money. Given the choice between killing Spidey or a pile of loot, he’ll take the money 99% of the time. Will he kick Spidey while he’s down? Of course. But he’ll never, say, kidnap Mary Jane. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-b-list-comic-book-villains-are-fascinating/548280.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-b-list-comic-book-villains-are-fascinating/548280.md?page=3)