Why does Batman have a better Rogues Gallery than Superman?

[samurainoir]

And what makes a good Villain For Superman or Batman?

How does The Flash's Rogues compare?

[The Toyroom]

Because, over the years, Superman has been so powerful it's hard to come up with a legit threat for him to go up against. Guys like The Prankster and Toyman would seem better suited as Batman foes.

Whereas Batman, a normal man, usually faces villains who border on or have crossed over into insanity. They're more of a threat to him because of their irrationality and unpredictability, which in turns showcases Batman's mental prowess to rise above the insanity to defeat them.

As far as The Flash, the Barry Allen version has always been immersed in science (FLASH FACT!), so his villains usually work when they've taken science and twisted it (Capt. Cold, Heatwave, Mirror Master, Weather Wizard, The Top, Gorilla Grodd....even Abra Kadabra and Professor Zoom- guys from the future who use "future science" against the Flash).

[BlackKnight]

I hate the Over-usage of Luthor As Superman's # 1 Rogue.
Always Have ...
Luthor was only cool in His Kyptonite Space suit fighting the Big S ..., outside of that, I wish he would just go away.

I like Mxy , Metallo, Bizarro, DarkSeid & The New Direction of Braniac as go to villians over Luthor Any Day.

[madmarva]

As for Batman's villains, take your hat off to Bill Finger, who collaborated with various artists, to create most of the classic Batman villains. The TV series also cemented many of those villains as household names.

Plus most of the Batman villains have a gimmick that easy to latch onto and as Anthony pointed out, Killer Croc or Mr. Zazzz (the serial killer who marks his body after each victim), Prof. Ivo or a dude with a machine gun can be a threat to Batman, but Superman could clean up all of those clowns between servicing Lois and saving a cat that got stuck in a tree.


I respectfully differ with you, BK, about Luthor. To me Luthor is not so much a villain to Superman but a member of his supporting cast and perhaps the most important member at that. He's used best as more of a constant antagonist rather than a character who is going to be defeated and then show back up 6 months later.

The Flash villains are a lot like Batman's built around a concept. Mirror Master is my favorite, what a twisted idea.

I agree with Anthony, part of the problem with Superman villains is the power issue. If a character is powerful enough to go toe to toe with Superman, you can't just throw him in jail.

To me the best Superman stories are when there's action but also an issue at stake.

I've never cared for Bizzaro. He's really a one-note character to me. Mxy-however you-spell-it-plck has been done well from time to time. Really liked the way Greg Rucka used him.

Toyman and Prankster have been updated lately to where they are better characters but they're still no match for Superman. Metallo can be fun, but again not a great match.

Darksied is great. Byrne and the Superman Animated series did good stuff with him.

Brianiac is probably his best overall villain now with the way Johns re-set him, along with Gen. Zod.

Mongul is good. Loved those Jim Starlin DC COmics Presents issues where Superman teamed up with Jordan, Martian Manhunter and Supergirl against Mongul and of course the Alan Moore annual.

Gen. Lane (lois' daddy) has been set up to be a pretty good villain the last two years and in the most recent issue of Secret Origins.

I like Hank Henshaw (Cyborg Superman) and that Manchester Black character was really good, too.

Conduit was OK.

[Random Axe]

Batman's rougues are similar to Spider-Man's in that their cores are based on humanity and it's various and numerous flaws.

Batman is a very disturbed man. A few twists of fate and he could be just like many of his villains he faces or has locked away in Arkham. They all lost part of their humanity to something, be it scientific experiment, accident, traumatic episode or malice. Harvey Dent was Batman in a suit. He was out for justice and all for doing things the right way. It wasn't until his life was drastically and irrevocably altered that he began his path of destruciton.

Child abusers and women batterers tend to learn from what they've seen and experienced. Young Bruce Wayne could have easily been taken down a much different path after witnessing his parent's murder. Joker, Penguin, Riddler, Two-Face, those guys in some way are mirror opposites of Batman and represent what might have been. I think that's what makes them so compelling. That's my .02

Scott

[The Toyroom]

I respectfully differ with you, BK, about Luthor. To me Luthor is not so much a villain to Superman but a member of his supporting cast and perhaps the most important member at that. He's used best as more of a constant antagonist rather than a character who is going to be defeated and then show back up 6 months later.

To me, Luthor should always have about 4-5 plots against The Man of Steel in various stages...He knows he might get defeated but is always working on the next one down the line....All the while knowing that one day he WILL be successful. The question is, which day?

[The Toyroom]

I'd like to see a lot of the 70s one-shot villains dusted off and brought back as on-going threats...Superman really needs to expand his Rogues Gallery. Once you get 10 foes deep, he's pretty much got nothing. Batman has like 30.

[HardyGirl]

I may get shot down for this, but here's my 2 cents:

Batman isn't a superhero per se (more of a vigilante in a funny costume, except in the TV series), so he gets more of the average Joe who's just nuts or thinks they're above the law type of villain; no super-human abilities. So they are evenly matched. Superman is not of this world, but he lives on this world, so unless Zod returns, or some other super alien force descends on Earth, (which isn't going to happen that often even in the comics), his list of villains is going to be limited, b/c he's so powerful.

[samurainoir]

Anyone else miss Cowboy Terra Man?

[madmarva]

Anyone else miss Cowboy Terra Man?
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BlsLZY4Qci...400/terra1.jpg

Geoff Johns reworked him several years ago in on-off Superman story. Have no idea what issue it was.

Neal Adams drew the origin of the character way back when. Kind of a Sci-fi Sergio Leon story. Swan always drew him as a Charles Bronson look-a-like.

Kind of like Vartox was based on Sean Connery

[ShadowAvenger]

Anyone else miss Cowboy Terra Man?
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BlsLZY4Qci...400/terra1.jpg

I do and I always loved when he showed up.

[thunderbolt]

Bruce Timm and Co. did a great job making Supe's Rogues a lot darker. The addition of Darkseid as a major player in the world of Superman was one of Byrne's better moves while on the book.

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

I think with Batman baddies you get more entertaining dialogue. They're freaks who're wrapped around the axle over some strange schtick. Superman bad guys tend to be big "GRRRR!!!! I will SMASH you!!!!" types. Mostly 'cos it's tough to write any other kind of bad guy that'd be a challenge.

And the Flash's bad guys are so entertaining 'cos they're so.... odd, yet handled deadly seriously. ("Beware my power to SPIN REALLY FAST!!!! oooohhhhh!!!")

Don C.

[The Toyroom]

Anyone else miss Cowboy Terra Man?
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BlsLZY4Qci...400/terra1.jpg

My favorite 70s addition to Supes' Rogues Gallery!

[huedell]

I think Superman has the best rogues gallery of any DC superhero...
just for the record.