DC Comics Villains: Psychopaths or Redeemable?

There are regular villains, and then there are DC villains. Are DC Comics villains are ever going to beat the allegations?

There are regular villains, and then there are ✨DC✨ villains. DC Comics villains pose universe-level threats, are inherently evil with little to no redeeming qualities, nearly unbeatable in combat, and as iconic as their heroic counterparts.

However, they are a necessary evil. After all, what’s a good story without an opp? Using five villains as a case study, let’s examine whether the DC Comics villains are ever going to beat the allegations.

1. The Joker

Insanity isn’t an insult to the Joker; it is a proud state and the ideology behind his worldview.

He is willing to utilise both mental and physical means to reach his goal and is never afraid to get his hands dirty.

In the comics, The Joker is a mass murderer, a terrorist, manipulative, and on a mission to break minds.

The Joker’s fixation on Batman is compulsive. He doesn’t target Batman to stop him from committing crimes; he’s already a seasoned criminal. He sees Batman as his sane counterpart and aims to turn him the “right” way.

It irks the Joker that Batman refuses to murder him, no matter how heinous the situation, because maybe then he will realize he is the twisted yin to Batman’s yang.

The Dark Knight does the storyline justice: it starts with a bank robbery where the Joker kills his colleagues to keep the loot.

The violence escalates to bombings, terrorism, and an ultimatum: one person will die until Batman reveals his identity, leading to an array of murders.

At the end of the movie, the police finally catch him. But what are the chances he won’t resume his nefarious activities in prison or after his release?

2. God of War Ares/Mars

While some wage war out of necessity, Ares does it for the love of the game.

Ares is a menace in the comics. His favourite pastime? Inciting wars and conflict. Enslaving humanity. Attacking the Amazons and Olympian Gods. Possessing soldiers and leaders to disrupt peace. Building armies of the dead and teaming up with other villains because chaos empowers him.

The Olympian Gods die fighting against Ares in Wonder Woman, so Zeus uses his last strength to create Themyscira (the hidden island of the Amazons).

He continues to stir up conflict by influencing humans to create weapons during World War I until Diana, his half-sister, defeats him.

3. Lex Luthor

LeLex Luthor could secretly be the muse behind Mariah Carey’s Obsessed, because how does a person turn a vendetta into a personality trait?

And who better to propagate this movement than a multi-millionaire with too much time and money?

In the comics, he hates godlike beings lording over humans. Since the 1980s, writers have portrayed him as a mad scientist who engineers wars and earthquakes.

In Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, he turns the public against Superman by committing mass murder, framing him, spreading propaganda, creating a hybrid monster, Doomsday, and pitting Superman against Batman.

The rift between Superman and Batman escalated to a point of a death duel, with Lex Luthor forcing Superman’s compliance by kidnapping his mother. He was later tried and jailed for his crimes.

However, in Justice League (2017), he escapes and colludes with the assassin Deathstroke to form a new alliance.

4. Black Manta (David Kane)

David Kane might have reasons for being hateful and destructive. Might.

The comics say kidnappers took David Kane as a child and forced him into servitude on a pirate ship. Aquaman supposedly ignored his pleas for help, sparking Kane’s lifelong vendetta.

In Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Black Manta, son of a mercenary who died during Aquaman’s battle against Orm, holds a grudge.

He seeks Orichalcum to free the imprisoned Kordax, who orchestrates attacks in Atlantis and kidnaps Arthur’s son for sacrifice.

Eventually, Aquaman, Mera, Orm, and Former Queen Atlanna defeat him. When Aquqman offers him a chance to live, he refuses, choosing death over help from the man who let his father die.

5. Ocean Marius (Orm)

Orm Marius belongs in the same group as Loki: royal younger siblings with chips on their shoulders. If they had better fathers, perhaps they wouldn’t be villains, but they are.

In the comics, jealousy and entitlement drove Orm to challenge Arthur Curry (Aquaman), his half-brother, for the title of rightful heir, despite being half-human and raised on land.

Futhermore, he hates humans for polluting the oceans, “threatening” Atlantean supremacy, and invading realms, prompting him to declare war on the surface world repeatedly.

His ideology in Aquaman as the King (read: usurper) of Atlantis is that humans are the enemy, so he wages war against them. This is when Aquaman (Arthur Curry) steps in to find the real Trident of King Atlan, defeat Orm, and become the King of Atlantis.  

Later, Aquaman helps Orm escape from the Kingdom of the Deserters to defeat Black Manta, and the brothers start to get along.

Verdict

Ranging from concerned to slightly sympathetic, the DC Comics villains are giving the heroes a hard time, eventually evolving, or not. Characters like The Joker, Lex Luthor, and Ares are inherently heinous, earning them a “psychopath” rating.

David Kane gets an “unfortunate” participation award because he couldn’t move past his pain and accept growth when he had a chance. For the effort to be a better sibling, Orm Marius receives a “potential” rating. Any contrary opinions?