What Makes a Villain Transcend the Ordinary?

[Psiknight]

Here are my essential Villain traits:

 

1) Power: He or she (or it) has to have the ability to consistently challenge the protagonist(s). Be it physical strength, mental acuity, or some other ability, the villain has to be at least on par with the protag to the point of being able to potentially best him/them. Most villains will probably fit this req.

 

2) Three-Dimensionality: A supervillain has to have a personality! Writers have actually taken the time to devote more than a page to the villain's backstory. The villain must have more than a single-minded need for destruction (or at least have a decent reason for wanting to destroy things). This doesn't mean that the villain must have a "soft side" but, rather, the villain needs to have a side!

 

3) Multiple Appearances: The villain needs to appear more than a handleful of times over the course of the comic. The villain doesn't need to be in every issue but he needs to appear at least periodically, lest he be forgotten.

 

4) Makes an impact: The villain needs to make an actual impact on the storyline. It doesn't need to be story-shattering but it needs to be lasting. Joker killing Robin II (not the best example as he's done many other lasting things), Green Goblin killing Gwen Stacy, etc. Many villains come and go (even many times) but never really do much to the story outside of that current issue.

[Timulty]

Here are my essential Villain traits:

 

1) Power: He or she (or it) has to have the ability to consistently challenge the protagonist(s). Be it physical strength, mental acuity, or some other ability, the villain has to be at least on par with the protag to the point of being able to potentially best him/them. Most villains will probably fit this req.

 

2) Three-Dimensionality: A supervillain has to have a personality! Writers have actually taken the time to devote more than a page to the villain's backstory. The villain must have more than a single-minded need for destruction (or at least have a decent reason for wanting to destroy things). This doesn't mean that the villain must have a "soft side" but, rather, the villain needs to have a side!

 

3) Multiple Appearances: The villain needs to appear more than a handleful of times over the course of the comic. The villain doesn't need to be in every issue but he needs to appear at least periodically, lest he be forgotten.

 

4) Makes an impact: The villain needs to make an actual impact on the storyline. It doesn't need to be story-shattering but it needs to be lasting. Joker killing Robin II (not the best example as he's done many other lasting things), Green Goblin killing Gwen Stacy, etc. Many villains come and go (even many times) but never really do much to the story outside of that current issue.

 

So, Mxlpkltx(God, I hope I spelled that right) wouldn't count because he is from the 4th dimension?(okay, I remember it as 4th but it could be 5th, 6th etc.)

[ninanina]

Ummmmm....that would be mxyzptlk.......pronounced

 

mix yez pit il ik.....with the accent on "pit". I know 'cause I read it in a letter once 35 years ago when someone asked DC.....How do you pronounce mxyzptlk? Okay, I admit I was bored so I decided to learn it back then.

 

....and yes....they pronounced it wrong on Smallville.

 

Trust me.

 

And the best way to make a villain popular is to show him over and over again on a TV program for 3 years like they did on Batman. Then years later.....feature them on a series of movies.....like they did Batman.

[Psiknight]

Here are my essential Villain traits:

 

1) Power: He or she (or it) has to have the ability to consistently challenge the protagonist(s). Be it physical strength, mental acuity, or some other ability, the villain has to be at least on par with the protag to the point of being able to potentially best him/them. Most villains will probably fit this req.

 

2) Three-Dimensionality: A supervillain has to have a personality! Writers have actually taken the time to devote more than a page to the villain's backstory. The villain must have more than a single-minded need for destruction (or at least have a decent reason for wanting to destroy things). This doesn't mean that the villain must have a "soft side" but, rather, the villain needs to have a side!

 

3) Multiple Appearances: The villain needs to appear more than a handleful of times over the course of the comic. The villain doesn't need to be in every issue but he needs to appear at least periodically, lest he be forgotten.

 

4) Makes an impact: The villain needs to make an actual impact on the storyline. It doesn't need to be story-shattering but it needs to be lasting. Joker killing Robin II (not the best example as he's done many other lasting things), Green Goblin killing Gwen Stacy, etc. Many villains come and go (even many times) but never really do much to the story outside of that current issue.

 

So, Mxlpkltx(God, I hope I spelled that right) wouldn't count because he is from the 4th dimension?(okay, I remember it as 4th but it could be 5th, 6th etc.)

 

I'm not sure where you drew that conclusion from my post but I'll try to answer. I feel that Mxyzptlk satisfies # 1 and 3 but I never felt he had much of a personality (or at least a villain's personality) or that he really made much of an impact. He was a goofy annoyance that was never a villain IMHO. Yet, he was one of Superman's only recurring "villains" in the beginning, so he deserves some credit. I just don't think he is in the same league as the Joker.