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7 Great Justice League Villains Nobody Talks About
The Justice League is a hard team to fight, for obvious reasons. The team has faced off against the greatest threats to the multiverse over and over, always triumphing. Looking at the Justice League, it’s plain to see why. The team contains the most powerful and skilled group of heroes in the history of comics, each of them having proven themselves as solo heroes in cities across the world. To hurt the Justice League, villains have to go the extra mile, so that even the most innocuous-seeming Justice League villains are actually ridiculously powerful and threatening. The team’s villains have to be the best.
The Justice League faces off against DC’s greatest threats, but not all of their villains are all-powerful, universe-conquering villains. Some of them are just supervillains who have worked hard enough to challenge the best team ever. These seven Justice League villains are awesome adversaries that should get way more credit than they do.
7) Prometheus
The ’90s were a renaissance for the Justice League, with the team returning from its lowest point to take back the title of best team in comics. Grant Morrison and Howard Porter’s JLA was a big reason for that. The book found new ways to challenge the team, and one of the best of these has been woefully misused. Prometheus was basically the Batman of evil, the child of criminals who were killed by the police, and swore revenge on justice as a concept. The villain was a master of technology and tactics and was a great enough fighter to defeat Batman thanks to special enhancements. Prometheus was awesome in the Morrison/Porter years, but since then has fallen from grace. Prometheus had best of all time potential, and it’s about time someone remembered that.
6) Mageddon
DC has numerous universe-destroying villains, but the one that everyone forgets is Mageddon. The ultimate annihilator was teased about halfway through Morrison/Porter’s JLA, an ultimate villain who was coming back to destroy everything. Mageddon was created in the last world of the gods for the final war of its age, destroying everything in its path before borrowing into the Underverse. It was defeated by the people of Earth, who all gained superpowers and used them against the weapon. DC, and superhero comics in general, mine the past for ideas, and, weirdly, they haven’t brought back Mageddon; it would be the perfect event villain.
5) Asmodel
Morrison/Porter’s JLA kicked off with a bang and kept the hits coming. JLA #6-7 saw the team go up against the Bull Host of Angels, the most powerful angel army of the Silver City. The Bull Host was led by Asmodel, a powerful angel who wrought havoc on the Earth, wrestling with Superman himself. Asmodel would later return as the Spectre, deciding that he wanted to take revenge on humanity. Asmodel was defeated, and since then hasn’t made too many appearances. Asmodel is a fallen angel, and the kind of villain who could be built into something special with little effort.
4) Manga Khan
The Justice League had several distinct eras, and one of the most beloved is the Justice League International years. The team’s adventures were more comedic, and readers were introduced to one of the coolest villains in DC Comics history: Manga Khan. Manga Khan was a “powerful” alien conqueror, taking and selling worlds for profit. Khan wasn’t much of an actual threat to the League, but he was always a fun villain who looked the part. Manga Khan really only works in more comedic stories, but it would be interesting to see what Khan could do in a more serious story.
3) The Key
The Key is one of those weird Silver Age villains that has just gotten increasingly weird over the years. Back in the day, the Key was a guy in a custom with key weapons that wanted to open the doors of his mind and gain ultimate power. Grant Morrison would take this idea to the next level in JLA #7-8, and the Key became a modern drug-addled evil shaman, trying to find the keys to ultimate power in the minds of everyone. The villain is difficult to make work in anything but the most complicated stories, so not many creators use him very often. However, looking at all of his appearances of the last 30 years, he’s been in more great stories than otherwise.
2) T.O. Morrow
T.O. Morrow doesn’t seem like he should be a Justice League villain. Morrow is an evil scientist, but on a rarefied level. He is the greatest roboticist on the planet. Morrow’s greatest gift is the ability to create the personalities of the robots. He created Red Tornado, who fell in love, got married, and adopted a daughter, even though he was just meant to fight the Justice League. Tomorrow Woman was so well made that she was able to actively break her programming and sacrifice herself to save the League. T.O. Morrow is one of the smartest villains in comics. He’s a hard sell as a Justice League villain in the modern day, but there are ways to make it work even today.
1) Despero
Despero was once a three-eyed, fin-headed alien conqueror villain who would use his powerful mental powers to attack the Justice League. In the post-Crisis years, Despero would get his muscle makeover, becoming a powerful bruiser who used to slug it out with Martian Manhunter and whatever muscle the League had handy when he attacked. Despero is sort of a generic villain, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t a load of fun. He’s not going to destroy the multiverse or become the kind of foe to beat the whole metahuman community, but he’s still a villain that can be used to challenge the best heroes and teams.
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