DC Comics’s Villain Month: Who’s Who, and Who’s Not Here Yet?

DC Comics finally confirmed months of rumors yesterday and announced a villain-themed event series that will begin by running through all of their titles in September, with 52 stories published and villains taking the reins of the title from their heroes.What we don’t know yet is just which villains actually rate a release. But let’s take a look at what we actually know, and see what we can suss out.Here are the titles we’ve already seen solicited, and what villains will “take over” the titles for a month, based on either covers we’ve already seen or official comments made by DC or the series’ creators:

That’s 24 titles already accounted for, and 28 to go. Yet, we still aren’t done with the Batman villains, let alone the other heroes, if we believe the cover to Forever Evil #1 by David Finch is indicative of who will get their own book. Who appears on that title, that we haven’t yet accounted for?

1. Lex Luthor (Superman)
2. Black Adam (Justice League)
3. Black Manta (Aquaman)
4. Catwoman (she has her own title…)
5. Captain Cold (The Flash)
6. Sinestro (Green Lantern)
7. Killer Frost (Firestorm?!)
8. Black Hand (Green Lantern)
9. Cheetah (Wonder Woman)
10. Deathstoke (?)
11. White Rabbit (Batman)
12. Wrath (I think?) (Batman)

Another twelve titles that seem likely, if not guaranteed to appear.What characters have been specifically mentioned in interviews, either with series writers or with the DC co-publishers, as playing key roles in the story? There are more of those that aren’t yet accounted for, too, including:

1. H’El (Superman)
2. Parasite (Superman)
3. Metallo (Superman)
4. Plastique (?)

…bringing the total to forty.And who have we missed, that have appeared in the “What’s New in the New 52?” blog posts that seem to chart some of the course of Villains Month?

1. Decay (Superboy)
2. Brutale (Earth 2)
3. The Splinterfolk (Animal Man)
4. Nightmare Nurse (Phantom Stranger)
5. Papa Midnight (Constantine)
6. Lady Vic (Batwing)
7. Bronze Tiger (Red Hood and the Outlaws)
8. Cheshire (Red Hood and the Outlaws)

And, then, of course, there are some of those names that you just get stuck in your craw. We’re already at 48 titles (assuming all of these characters get a title, that is), and that’s without a lot of titles having a really solid idea of who their villain might be. We also don’t have any clue how certain titles–like The Green Team, The Movement and All-Star Western, will cope with the event given that those characters (for very different reasons) don’t really have recurring villains.Of course, All-Star Western is headed to the future next month, so by the time Jonah gets back to his regular time, the folks he and Booster Gold ticked off this month could be a real issue. So maybe that roving band of Native American bounty hunters will show up in his Villains Month? It seems like a stretch, though…!So far, though, we’ve seen a number of Batman titles solicited and they’ll be coming out weekly. The idea that there will be 52 books released hasn’t yet officially been stated, although it’s been implied by comments like “We didn’t just take the 52 most popular villains.” So–what if, rather than trying to match up a perfect villain with each character in the line, they had a bunch of books that were weekly throughout September to give Batman, Superman and Green Lantern an opportunity to stretch their impressive rogues’ galleries, while certain books took a break? It’s difficult to see how else it would work, without just assigning certain villains to heroes seemingly at random.Of course, more solicitations will be coming in just a few hours, so we won’t have to wait long to find out…!