DC Comics has created some of the most popular heroes of all-time. These stalwart champions of justice have been fighting the good fight since the beginning, protecting their home cities, the planet, the universe, and the very omniverse itself from the worst threats out there. It takes something special to be a DC hero; you’ve just joined a community that includes icons like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern, and tons of other legends. The bad guys you’re going to fight run the gamut from street-level crooks to cosmic gods out there to rewrite creation. It takes a lot to become a hero and stay one, with DC’s do-gooders being the best of all time.
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Heroes get replaced all the time, with new people stepping into familiar mantles. While it’s usually a new hero or a supporting cast member, there have been times when villains were given the nod to take over for major heroes. All villains are formidable to an extent, but not all of them have what it takes to step into the shoes of the greatest heroes ever. However, some of them do have the goods, something they’ve proven many times. These five DC villains could easily step in for the heroes, showing the world that there’s more to them than just evil.
5) Cheetah
Wonder Woman doesn’t have the strongest villains, which is weird for someone of her stature. However, that doesn’t mean she has no formidable villains, with the Cheetah sitting atop the ranks. The Cheetah is a venerable supervillain mantle, having been around since the Golden Age. The current version is the same one that has been going strong since the post-Crisis Wondy origin change, Barbara Minerva. She’s been a member of all of the major supervillain teams, like the Injustice League and the Legion of Doom, fighting alongside the greatest bad guys of them all. She’s strong and fast enough to keep up with Diana, and that’s before we get to how skilled she is. Anyone who can challenge Wonder Woman the way she does is no slouch, something she’s proven over and over again. Their relationship has always been rather close and the two of them have worked together numerous times. Cheetah could very easily step into the shoes of her nemesis/girlfriend (come on, we all know it), her powers and skills making her a potent defender of truth. Bonus points if she gets to use the Lasso.
4) Captain Cold
The Flash is the fastest man (or if we’re talking about Avery Ho, woman) alive. While not every Flash is created equally – Jay is slow but skilled, Barry is faster and even more skilled, Bart was always too impulsive (ha ha), and Wally has the greatest connection to the Speed Force. Replacing the Flash is a tall prospect for anyone who isn’t a speedster and that’s why Captain Cold is such a good choice. He’s been battling Barry Allen and Wally West for years now, two of the fastest speedsters in the multiverse, and has actually been able to challenge them. Len Snart knows his way around his cold gun and a speedster. He could deal with someone like Reverse-Flash; he’s worked with him and knows how he fights. As for the rest of the Rogues, Cold is easily the most skilled of them, so he could handle any of them if they tried to attack the city during his tenure as the coldest man alive.
3) Deathstroke
Deathstroke the Terminator is one of DC’s toughest fighters. Slade Wilson earned his super soldier serum by being the best of the best and he kept that up on battlefields across the world. He became a mercenary, the best in the world, but would run afoul of the New Teen Titans because of his son, the first Ravager. Since then, he’s been consistently battling against every major hero in the DC Multiverse, from people you would expect like Batman, Nightwing, and Green Arrow and some you wouldn’t, like Superman. He’s supremely intelligent and as skilled as he could be, his tactical thinking and arsenal of powerful weapons making him more than a match for most out there. Slade could easily step into any of the major DC cities and take over for its hero. Even Metropolis and Superman-level villains would fall to the Terminator. He may lose to the heroes, but the villains? Deathstroke would make mincemeat out of them.
2) Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor came to prominence as Superman’s greatest enemy, but he’s so much more than that. He’s one of the smartest people in the universe, able to out think Brainiac. He’s one of the richest people on Earth, using his wealth and power to create the most powerful weapons and armors imaginable. He’s constantly battling Superman, his weapons potent enough to allow him go punch for punch with the Man of Steel. He’s the leader of the Legion of Doom/Injustice League/Injustice Gang, able to corral the most contentious villains into a powerful fighting force, and has defeated forces of cosmic power. He’s been president. Lex is the total package and he’s actually stepped up to take Superman’s place more than once, using his armors and ingenuity to help save the city of Metropolis. There’s few villains out there that he couldn’t handle, even among the Last Son of Krypton’s most powerful foes. Luthor is always a force to be reckoned with, so letting him step up and take Superman’s place (again) would be a winning formula.
1) Two-Face
Batman doesn’t have a blood feud with all his villains, as evidenced by Two-Face. Harvey Dent worked with the Dark Knight and Commissioner Gordon, the three of them making a potent anti-crime force until one fateful day in a court room changed the star district attorney’s life forever. The demons he had always held at bay came roaring out and Two-Face was born. Since then, he’s been one of Batman’s most interesting enemies, their prior relationship coloring their rivalry. Harvey was able to build himself into one of the most formidable criminals in Gotham and there’s not a single doubt in my mind that he could take Batman’s place. In fact, he has before – in the post-Infinite Crisis story “Face the Face”, it was revealed that Batman left Harvey in charge of protecting the city while he went off with Dick and Tim, the three of them retracing his training. Of course, this eventually led to him becoming Two-Face again, because Batman asked him to give up his job when they got back and Harvey didn’t take that well, but Dent proved that he could do the job of his greatest foe rather easily.
What DC villains do you think can take over for heroes? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
