Why does Batman have a better Rogues Gallery than Superman?

[thunderbolt]

What do you guys think Geoff John's is going to do with Batman's villains in Batman Earth One?

I think I read where Riddler's going to be the villain in the first graphic novel. Not really one of my favorites, but I'm looking forward to seeing how he develops and new on the job Batman.

After seeing the Alfred design, I'm not too excited about it.

[samurainoir]

... But the Ras/Drake arc in Red Robin is good too imo.

I've been "trade waiting" on Red Robin, but I have heard good things about it. Whatever folks feel about Damian, his presence certainly has ratcheted things up a notch with Ras and Talia when it comes to the Bat Family.

I got a real kick out of the idea of Deathstroke taking on BatDick (okay that sounded kind of Wrong) via a remote control Damian.

[The Toyroom]

I'd like to see "The Sand Superman" and Solomon Grundy re-integrated back into the Supermaniverse as foes for The Man of Steel.

[The Toyroom]

What do you guys think Geoff John's is going to do with Batman's villains in Batman Earth One?

I think I read where Riddler's going to be the villain in the first graphic novel. Not really one of my favorites, but I'm looking forward to seeing how he develops and new on the job Batman.

That's a bold choice....most people would've went "Joker" right out of the gate.

[madmarva]

What do you guys think Geoff John's is going to do with Batman's villains in Batman Earth One?

I think I read where Riddler's going to be the villain in the first graphic novel. Not really one of my favorites, but I'm looking forward to seeing how he develops and new on the job Batman.

[PNGwynne]

^I remember that Parasite, and thinking, "What happened...!"

So glad to hear of Metallo's reboot--saw a pic of him here recently, & he looks cool but classic...

[The Toyroom]

Johns does have a great way with villains. The work he done with Sinestro and Black Hand has really upgraded both villains. He's not done a lot with Hector Hammond, but what he has done has been super creepy. I would like to see Johns revise his origin.

Johns has done some nice stuff with Parasite and Metallo, making them better characters in secret origins and his version of Brainiac and Zod which Robinson and Gates are using right now in the Superman books has elevated them to a greater level of prominence and threat.

That's one of the points I was trying to make earlier when things got side-tracked....Superman's villains CAN be deadly...it's just been a long time since anyone has treated them that way. It's been over 20 years since Byrne's reboot and like 30 or so since guys like Metallo and Parasite were real threats to Superman during the Swan days of the 70s.

Anyone remember when the Parasite first returned post-Crisis? He wasn't even a Superman foe by that point and he was initially rebooted as a enemy for Firestorm working for the Suicide Squad. And I think he was green.

[madmarva]

You know the more I think about the initial questions on this thread, I think it goes back to Batman just being a better all-around and more broadly relateable character than Superman.

Personally, I prefer Superman to Batman because of the basic optimistic outlook of the character, but Batman is more cool. He can be threatened by lesser threats than Superman and there is more inherent danger to being Batman, which should make his adventures more thrilling not matter who the villain is. Batman deals in the dirt and grime and smog and grit of the city while Superman flies above it.

Johns does have a great way with villains. The work he done with Sinestro and Black Hand has really upgraded both villains. He's not done a lot with Hector Hammond, but what he has done has been super creepy. I would like to see Johns revise his origin.

Johns has done some nice stuff with Parasite and Metallo, making them better characters in secret origins and his version of Brainiac and Zod which Robinson and Gates are using right now in the Superman books has elevated them to a greater level of prominence and threat.

Johns in his Zod story and Brianiac story also latched on to the idea that the only way to truly get at Superman is to threaten or harm the people he loves.

Brianiac now is probably the second biggest threat in the DCU next to Darksied.

[BlackKnight]

This version is officially gone...Geoff Johns just rebooted John Corben/Metallo with a new origin in Superman:Secret Origin #5.

That Book Was Awesome.
With Secret Origin ..., and the Last Stand of New Krypton Arc with the Legion ...., I am Actually Enjoying Superman Titles the Last Month or so .., over anything in the Bat Camp. ... But the Ras/Drake arc in Red Robin is good too imo.

[samurainoir]

This version is officially gone...Geoff Johns just rebooted John Corben/Metallo with a new origin in Superman:Secret Origin #5.

Just read that issue yesterday! I quite enjoyed it. Particularly since it does give him a more complex and emotional relationship with General Lane, Lois and Clark.

Hopefully they can follow this up in the current ongoing series in present continuity.

[The Toyroom]

And as successful as the "Terminator" style Metallo was from the visual action aspect of the comics, there was something to be desired about losing many aspects of his personality and motivations in the process of beefing him up. He seemed to be simply "muscle" for the past few decades as opposed to the schemer he was in the 70's.

This version is officially gone...Geoff Johns just rebooted John Corben/Metallo with a new origin in Superman:Secret Origin #5.

[The Toyroom]

Toyman was pretty much his oldschool roots

I think Toyman had some connections to LexCorp....

[The Toyroom]

I agree with whomever pointed out earlier that Doomsday was probably the first A-list Superman bad guy that had "stuck" in decades. I even have a hard time placing Metallo or Parasite into that "A" category, and they were created in the 70's I think.

Metallo was created in the 50s (in fact I think his first appearance was also in the same issue that Supergirl 1st appeared in). The Parasite was created by a young Jim Shooter in the 60s.

[samurainoir]

Letsee, Prankster was a fallen kiddie TV show host, Toyman was pretty much his oldschool roots,Mxy's rules were changed a bit where he didn't always have to be tricked into saying his name backwards, it was for the first time, but next time it will be something different.

Sounds like fun to go back and reread them. I'll have to go dig those out! Thanks for pointing them out. I don't think I ever went back to reread Byrne's run since they originally came out two decades ago!

[thunderbolt]

Letsee, Prankster was a fallen kiddie TV show host, Toyman was pretty much his oldschool roots,Mxy's rules were changed a bit where he didn't always have to be tricked into saying his name backwards, it was for the first time, but next time it will be something different.