10 DC Supervillains Who Defined the 2000s

As the 20th century ended and the 21st century began, DC Comics began telling bigger storylines more frequently. Three Crisis events took place during this period, with numerous other events reshaping everything people once thought they knew about the DC Universe. Most of these dramatic events were caused by the all-new supervillains, who, with more personal and ideological vendettas, began terrorizing the superhero community. Their crimes also became more ruthless and bloodier as they began targeting the loved ones of these heroes to break them psychologically. Some of these villains raise serious ethical questions about how best to implement justice in a ruthless world, sparking debates over what it truly means to be a hero or a villain.

From new twisted Lantern Corps to crazed serial killers, the 21st century started strongly evil with these menacing supervillains.

10) Onomatopoeia

Debuting in 2002, Onomatopoeia is one of the creepiest yet strangest serial killers in DC Comics. As his name implies, this villain only speaks in sound effect words as he commits horrific murders. Onomatopoeia’s past is shrouded in mystery, with no one even knowing his name. He kills non-powered superheroes and takes their costumes as trophies. Naturally, he became a frequent enemy of Green Arrow and Batman. With his devious mind and his skill in all manner of martial arts and weaponry, Onomatopoeia has come close to killing these heroes on several occasions. An enigmatic and terrifying serial killer who plays into the tropes of comic books, the last word most of Onomatopoeia’s victims hear as he pulls the trigger is “bang.”

9) Veronica Cale

In 2003, Wonder Woman got her very own version of Lex Luthor. A brilliant bioengineer and cruel businesswoman, Cale had to crawl her way to the top of the corporate ladder. She is profoundly envious and resentful of Wonder Woman’s god-given powers and despises her message of harmony. Cale’s hatred for the Princess of Themyscira grew further when Ares nearly killed her daughter, Isadore, in a plot to destroy Wonder Woman. Although Cale doesn’t have any powers, she’s pooled all her extensive resources and strategic mind into killing Wonder Woman. Many of Cale’s plans involve assembling villains against Wonder Woman or creating new ones, such as Dr. Cyber and Silver Swan. With her unending envy and drive to succeed, no one hates Wonder Woman more than Veronica Cale.

8) Brother EYE

Although in the pre-Crisis universe of Earth-AD there existed a heroic AI known as Brother EYE, an all-new villainous version of Brother EYE made its mainstream continuity debut in 2005. Created by Batman, Brother EYE is an all-seeing AI housed inside a giant satellite orbiting the Earth. Batman created Brother EYE to spy on superheroes. However, the villain Maxwell Lord hacked into the satellite and reprogrammed it to kill all superhumans. By infecting millions of civilians with nanites, Brother EYE transformed them into powerful, yet mindless cyborg super soldiers called OMACs. With the OMACs, Brother EYE committed numerous atrocities, including leading a bloody war against Themyscira. And in the Future’s End timeline, the rogue AI assimilated most of humanity, turning them into nightmarish cyborgs. Thanks, Batman.

7) Larfleeze

The 2000s saw many new Lantern Corps introduced, with the Orange Lanterns among the strangest. The Orange Lantern is powered by avarice and naturally it is sought by the greediest beings in the universe. But there can only ever be one Orange Lantern at a time. The current Orange Lantern is the demented Larfleeze, who debuted in 2007. Billions of years ago, Larfleeze was a thief who turned on his partners to keep the Orange Lantern Power Battery for himself. Countless people have been drawn to the alluring power of the Orange Lantern Power Battery, but Larfleeze murders all who dared try to take it from him. Those who die by Larfleeze’s hand are then reanimated as energy constructs and join his massive army of imprisoned souls.

6) Arkillo

When Sinestro sought to found his own Corps powered by fear to rival the Green Lanterns, he appointed the vicious warrior Arkillo to be the drill instructor of the all-new Sinestro Corps. Arkillo made his introduction in 2006 as a savage fighter and one of Sinestro’s most trusted allies. Powered by a Yellow Ring, Arkillo spreads terror across the universe and has butchered countless Green Lanterns. Surprisingly, though, when the Green Lanterns and Sinestro Corps formed a fragile alliance, he developed a close friendship with the similarly hard-headed Green Lantern, Guy Gardner. A genuine believer in Sinestro’s ideology of order through tyranny, Arkillo is an anti-villain willing to set aside differences between the rival Corps if it ensures a more peaceful universe.

5) Professor Pyg

Introduced in 2009, Lazlo Valentin, aka Professor Pyg, is a deranged surgeon and serial killer who’s obsessed with making people “perfect.” Unfortunately, Pyg’s idea of perfection is to mutilate and lobotomize his victims until they turn into brainwashed servants called Dolltrons who are stripped of their individuality and freedom. Pyg was once an agent of the UN spy organization Spyral until he was driven mad by his own mind-eroding drugs. Pyg is also the leader of a deranged and abnormal group of supervillains known as the Circus of Strange. Pyg is one of the most psychotic and chilling Batman villains. His goal is to remake the Dark Knight into his twisted idea of perfection.

4) Manchester Black

A powerful telepath and telekinetic, Manchester Black and his team, the Elite, debuted in 2001. They are a scathing critique of anti-heroes such as Wildstorm Comics’ the Authority, who kill without remorse. Black’s driving ideology is that only lethal justice can bring about real change. Unfortunately, many people began cheering for his brutal ideology. Black and the Elite’s ideas of justice put them in direct conflict with Superman. They were formidable foes. Black’s telekinesis alone is powerful enough to make Superman suffer a seizure. Luckily, Superman managed to defeat Black and the rest of the Elite, showing humanity a better way. Still, Black has reemerged several times and stands as one of the most relevant and morally nuanced threats to Superman and his message of hope.

3) Zoom

Where Barry Allen had Eobard Thawne, Wally West has Hunter Zolomon, aka Zoom. Zolomon was introduced in 2001 as an FBI agent and Wally’s friend. However, when Gorilla Grodd paralyzed Zolomon, he begged Wally to go back in time to undo the attack. After Wally refused, Zolomon tried to use a time machine, which backfired, and turned him into the villain known as Zoom. Despite his name, Zoom doesn’t run fast but instead slows down time around him to give the illusion of moving at impossible speeds. Zoom became obsessed with turning Wally into a better, more determined hero by subjecting him to profound personal tragedies. Easily his worst act was making Wally’s wife suffer a miscarriage. Zoom truly is one of the Flash Family’s most cruel tormentors.

2) Atrocitus

In 2008, the DC Universe was introduced to the nightmarish, rage-fueled Red Lantern Corps and their terrifying leader, Atrocitus. This hulking alien was one of the five survivors of the Space Sector 666 genocide, which saw the Guardians of the Universe’s original peace-keeping force, the Manhunters, go rogue and wipe out almost all life in the sector – including Atrocitus’s wife and children. Atrocitus’ desire for vengeance festered and grew until he used black magic to create the first Red Lantern Power Battery and rings. In forming the Red Lantern Corps, Atrocitus has recruited hundreds of the most wrathful and vengeance-driven beings in the galaxy to aid in his never-ending war to destroy the Guardians and the Green Lantern Corps.

1) Hush

In 2003, a mysterious new villain called Hush threatened to destroy Batman and everyone he loves. Hush was revealed to be Dr. Thomas Elliot, Bruce Wayne’s childhood friend. Elliot was born into a wealthy family. At an early age, he tried to kill his abusive parents by cutting their car brakes so that he could collect his inheritance. However, Bruce’s father, Thomas Wayne, saved Elliot’s mother, causing Elliot to swear revenge against the Waynes. After years of training to become a criminal mastermind, Hush worked with the Riddler and discovered Batman’s secret identity. With this knowledge, Hush has commenced numerous complex schemes to kill the Dark Knight and the Bat-Family. With his striking design and intricate plots, Hush has become one of Batman’s most personal and dangerous adversaries.

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