5 DC Villains Who Stole Heroes’ Identities

For as long as they’ve been around, superheroes have had secret identities. They evolved from the concept of masked vigilantes fighting against crime or authority, and the need to conceal their true names has been central to the genre since the beginning. This has led to their superheroic identities becoming more than just another name. They are symbols of everything that hero has come to represent and mantles that can be passed down to the next generation of people looking to do the right thing. The world has carved out legends and mythologies about these masks, but as amazing as that is to see in action, it’s also dangerous.

When the legacy is tied to a name and costume, it becomes much easier for someone with bad intentions to steal it for their own devices. Truth be told, that happens a lot more often than you might think. A lot more often. Today, we’re looking at five times DC villains stole the identities of their heroes, be it to try and make something of themselves, or to drag their most hated enemy’s name through the mud. We won’t know who did what and why until we get started, so let’s jump right into it.

5) Cyborg-Superman – Superman

What’s a better hero identity to steal than that of the original superhero himself? Superman is the de facto superhero, representing the best of all of us, and Cyborg-Superman wanted to destroy all that. He blamed the Man of Steel for his death and transformation into his new form, and when Superman died fighting Doomsday, he pretended to be the hero reborn to destroy his legacy and take out his vengeance against the rest of the world. For a time, his plan even worked, with him destroying Coast City and helping Mongul start a full-on invasion.

Ultimately, his ruse failed not just because of the true Superman’s return, but because he failed to convince anyone close to the Man of Steel of his intentions. He acted like Superman on the surface, saving lives and cooperating with authorities, but it became obvious to most that he was just proselytizing. Cyborg-Superman could pretend to be a hero, but he never learned how to pretend to be Clark Kent, and that left his performance hollow and soulless. Despite his strength, he never stood a chance against the real Superman, who was more human than he’d ever been.

4) Bane – Batman

Visions of a great winged creature have haunted Bane’s dreams since he was a child. In time, he attributed them to a massive bat, and in turn, made Batman the singular focus of his rage made manifest. He strove to prove that he was the better man than Batman on all fronts, but while he managed to break his back, he could never truly break the Batman. The Dark Knight’s legend only grew more powerful than ever, gaining an ever stronger hold on Gotham City. Enter Forever Evil: Arkham War, where the Crime Syndicate took over the world and unleashed all of Arkham’s worst villains, causing undying chaos in Gotham.

Bane knew that only the Batman could stop them, so when Bruce didn’t answer, he became the monster he once feared. As a far more brutal Dark Knight, Bane crushed his opposition under his massive iron boots. He ruled Gotham like a king, intent on making it his kingdom. Eventually, however, the real Batman returned and brought Bane to justice. Bane saw Batman as a weapon, a tool to control the masses and enact his vision, while Bruce always knew that Batman was the public’s servant, never their ruler. He still had the people’s trust, and they turned on Bane in an instant.

3) Orana – Wonder Woman

The title of Wonder Woman hasn’t always belonged to Diana. It predates her, being the mantle given to the Amazon’s greatest warrior who ventures into Man’s World. However, it’s well within any Amazon’s right to challenge her for the title, and that’s exactly what Orana did in Wonder Woman (1942) #250. Orana went out of her way to constantly endanger her fellow sisters, which made Diana focus even harder on keeping them and civilians safe. In the end, Diana’s kindness let Orana get the better of her in the competition, and the redhead became the new Wonder Woman.

Her foray as the new Wonder Woman didn’t last, however. Orana was more concerned with glory than actually being a hero, and the public rightfully called her a strict downgrade. That drove her to challenge the villain Warhead, where she inadvertently lost her life in combat. It just goes to show that pride and greed always wind up being killers, in the end. Wonder Woman is meant to be compassionate and humble, and Diana embodies all of those traits and more, while Orana was just an angry woman in it for herself.

2) Reverse-Flash – Flash

Eobard Thawne has always been obsessed with Barry Allen. He curated the Flash Museum in reverence to his hero, memorizing everything he could about him, even down to recreating the experiment that gave him powers. His obsession even drove him to get plastic surgery to look like Barry. Eventually, Thawne traveled back in time to learn more about his hero, only to learn that he was destined to be his idol’s greatest rival, and even be killed by his hand. This drove Thawne over the deep end, and he somehow convinced himself that he really was Barry Allen to avoid facing his death, all told in “The Return of Barry Allen” arc.

Thawne started as a very convincing Barry, but slowly, his egotistical need to be the only Flash drove him to leave Wally for dead and cripple Jay. Nobody knew more about Barry than Thawne, which let him get away with his plan for so long, corroding Barry’s image. Still, this was a formative experience for Wally, who learned to finally step out of Barry’s shadow and become his own hero, fully surpassing Barry in speed. Wally had held himself back out of reverence to Barry, but upon seeing what that looked like through Thawne, he saw that the best thing to do was honor Barry by being an even better Flash, which is exactly what Wally became.

1) Dominus – Superman

Yes, Superman’s identity is so valuable to steal that it’s earned its place onto this list twice. Everyone wants to be Superman and, frankly, who can blame them? Dominus is one such villain who became the Man of Steel, or should we say Man of Steal? This villain in particular is dangerous because he’s a rogue Lord of Order, making him just as powerful as Doctor Fate. He used his reality-altering magic to switch appearances with Superman, and when he locked up the hero, he used the world’s most-trusted face to convince the world leaders to practically hand over control of their nations, enforcing his rule of the world with his army of Superman Robots. It took Lois and Lex Luthor finding the real Superman to stop this madness.

Dominus’s behavior immediately set off red flags in most people, especially when he declared himself king of the world in the aptly named Superman: King of the World, but his plan was so successful and effective that it almost didn’t matter. He was a being of pure power and order, two things that Superman definitely embodies, but was ultimately defeated because the real Superman is a bastion of hope and willpower, overcoming every challenge set before him to save the day. Dominus was only in this for himself, while the world supported Superman.

Superhero identities are pliable things, but at the end of the day, no villain can truly hold onto a heroic mantle for very long. Which is your favorite time a villain played a hero’s role?

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