As hard as it is to believe, 2025 is over, and one of the biggest years for DC Comics is in the books. This was the year of DC All In, and boy did the publisher live up to that initiative’s name. Across numerous DC titles, creative teams delivered challenging adventures for heroes such as Batman, Superman, and even Aquaman. Everyone in the DC Universe got a chance to shine, including the bad guys, and not just the Jokers and Lex Luthors of the world. 2025 was actually the year fans got introduced to some truly challenging new foes.
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As much as we all love the standard bad guys, it’s always nice to see our favorite heroes take on new challenges, and boy, were there new challenges this year. From Aquaman fighting the despotic ruler of the Blue to Absolute Martian Manhunter pitting its main character against a living avatar of negative emotions, the DC Universe, as well as its growing Absolute Universe, was packed with a lot of truly amazing new villains. Read on to discover 5 amazing new bad guys who made their big debut in 2025.
5. Dagon
Dagon is actually a revamping of a classic Aquaman foe, but he may as well be a new character for all the intensity he brought to Arthur Curry’s new series. Dagon was the ruler of the Blue, the mystical force that connects all water life. Dagon had used Darkseid’s residual powers to sever the Blue’s connection to Earth, making him the unquestionable ruler of the force. Thankfully, Aquaman tracked him down, both defeating Dagon and supplanting him as the new avatar of the Blue. Dagon’s time as a villain wasn’t long, but he helped Aquaman go to the next level.
4. The Minotaur
Batman’s latest relaunch has only been around for a few months, but it’s already given fans an amazing new threat in the form of the Minotaur. The Minotaur is a mysterious financial backer who rules the Torus, an organized crime ring optimized for profit. Utilizing his wealth, the Minotaur has bent the police and press to his will, allowing the Torus to grow at an exponential rate and create a stranglehold on Gotham’s underworld right under Batman’s nose. He remains off Batman’s radar for now, but the Minotaur will most certainly prove to be a serious problem next year.
3. The Zanni
Speaking of new villains for the Bat-Family, Nightwing’s had a serious problem with his new god-like antagonist, the Zanni. The Zanni comes from the Fifth Dimension and is essentially an avatar of entertainment and performance. Zanni was at his strongest at the peak of circus performances, leading to his current obsession with Dick Grayson. Zanni wants Nightwing to rule as his ‘ringmaster’ in Zanni’s Cirque du Sin, an extra-dimensional circus to empower the Fifth-Dimensional being. Nightwing has had his life turned upside down by the Zanni, and as he heads into 2026, there’s no sign the monster is slowing down.
2. White Martian
If we’re talking amazing new villains, we can’t forget about the Absolute Universe. Even though the villains of this world are all variants of existing ones, many of them are far more terrifying than their counterparts. Take the White Martian, for example. In this universe, it’s not a true Martian, but a parasitic alien entity. And unlike the benevolent Martian attached to John Jones, the White Martian only exists to spread negative thoughts and emotions and sow discord among humanity. The White Martian has been temporarily dealt with, but it’s currently hiding in the body of Jones’s son, Tyler.
1. Absolute Bane
I’m sorry, but if there’s one new villain that had fans talking this year, it was Absolute Batman’s Bane. He might have been labeled an abomination by one of Bane’s co-creators earlier this year, but fans everywhere loved this twisted take on the foe. His base form is already as big as his doppelganger on Venom. But when Absolute Bane juices, he can grow to at least 15-feet-tall (and even taller, as seen in his final fight with Batman). Even if he’s not ‘new’ in the traditional sense, Absolute Bane’s debut made for one of the coolest debuts in 2025.
Who was your favorite new villain of 2025? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts on the ComicBook Forum!
