DC Comics has helped define and redefine what the supervillain can be over the decades. Going back to the Golden Age, DC’s villains were loquacious madmen, setting the standard for what was to come with their big plans and even bigger speeches. Trends came and went, powers levels ballooned and contracted, funny capers became more deadly serious. The history of the supervillains in the DC Multiverse has had many important factors, but one thing that has stayed pretty consistent all these years are the charisma levels. DC has some of the charismatic villains out there, bad guys who can convince anyone of anything. Henchmen are still a thing in cities across the DC Multiverse, meaning that some villains go out there on recruitment drives, convincing local street toughs to put on clown costumes or whatever. That takes charisma.
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DC stories have given readers some of the most depraved acts of villainy imaginable. Some bad guys who risen top thanks to ghastly feats, but the best only stay there because they’re charismatic. Trends come and go, bad guys are the next big bad and then everyone hates them; the ones who stick around are the ones that make readers want to see them again. These five DC villains are the most charismatic and as contrast we’re going to throw in two villains who somehow rolled negative when they were rolling for charisma.
7) Doctor Psycho
Wonder Woman is extremely formidable and she has to be; enemies like Giganta, Grail, and Ares can knock her into next week. However, not all of his enemies are so physically tough. In fact, one is the opposite of that kind of villain entirely: Doctor Psycho. To begin with, he’s a diminutive fellow, so physically he’s not much to write home about. He is quite intelligent though and a powerful telepath, making him an extremely dangerous foe to underestimate. He’s also a vile little man, a terrible person through and through, and it oozes off the page. He’s just an off-putting little misogynistic troll, angry at the world and full of hate for the women out there who have made his life more difficult. It’s fun to watch him get beat on, because it’s great for the bad guys to taken down a peg or five, which I think is the textbook definition of negative charisma.
6) Larfleeze
The Lantern Corps’ of the DC Multiverse are some of the most potent forces in all creation, but only one of them is just one person: the Orange Lantern Corps, its ring and battery under control of the alien known as Larfleeze. Orange is the color of avarice and Larfleeze has been eaten from the inside out by it. He is a being of boundless greed, escaping the scars of a terrible past by trying to take everything he wants. He’s a great character in his own way, but he never really had any charisma to speak of. His entire character was looking at things and wanting them, then fighting anyone who stood in the way of what he wanted. His stories could be exciting and learning the secrets of his origin made him a better character but there’s a reason he rarely shows up anymore. He’s a character completely without charisma. He has everything else, though, so that makes up for it in small doses.
5) Sinestro
Sinestro is Hal Jordan’s best friend and sworn enemy, the two of them having one of the most interesting rivalries in comics (my favorite little tidbit is that in the antimatter universe, the two of them are lovers, fueling speculation about their relationship in the positive matter universe). Sinestro is a character who when done right can be one of the most charismatic villains ever. The proof, as they say is in the pudding; go back right now and start with Green Lantern: Rebirth and read all the way to the end of Geoff Johns’s run with Hal and you’ll see exactly how charismatic Thaal Sinestro is. There’s something about him, that core of surety, the strange little bursts of affection, his indomitable will, his ability to lie to himself (that is one of his most used traits). He can draw in and lead anyone, able to forge the disparate monsters of the Sinestro Corps into one of the most dangerous forces imaginable. He’s the real deal and always has been.
4) Talia al Ghul
Talia al Ghul is the daughter of the Demon’s Head and one of the most dangerous women on Earth who isn’t from Themyscira (and there’s a good chance that she’s more dangerous than a lot of them). She’s been by her father’s side her entire life, learning to rule, to use her natural skills and everything she’s learned to keep the legacy of their family going into the future. She has been the leader of both the League of Assassins and Leviathan, bending those beneath her to her will with her unique blend of charm and ruthless efficiency. She’s a woman who commands respect from the moment she enters anywhere, every eye turning towards her, ears ready for her every utterance. She has the regal bearing of a queen, with the loving manner of a woman of culture, a mother. Cross her and all of that turns to ice and fire, reading to freeze you in place so she can slowly watch you burn.
3) Glorious Godfrey
Darkseid is the most dangerous force in the DC Multiverse, an all-powerful force of entropy and despair ready to devour all of the light of creation. Along with him come many servants, from his legions of Parademons to his powerful Elites. They do his bidding, spreading his twisted message to the stars and preparing the peoples of the multiverse for the truth of Anti-Life. Always in the van is Glorious Godfrey, Darkseid’s chief propagandist. Godfrey is all about the charisma. He could convince a Satanist to follow Christ, a vegan to eat meat, and a Democrat and Republican to agree just with his words. He’s had rallies and TV shows, doing everything he could to spread the message of his dark master to the most ears. He has no powers; he wasn’t forged in the fires of Apokolips in the same ways as some of his compatriots. However, he’s no less tainted and no less a monster, helping people damn themselves for Darkseid.
2) The Joker
The Joker has starred in numerous amazing stories and is one of DC’s most feared villains. By now, everyone knows the MO of the Clown Prince of Crime – he’s an agent of chaos, a monster of the highest level. He can’t be trusted because he lives in each moment and there are some moments where he wants to kiss you and others where he wants to carve a chuck of flesh from your cheek. Everyone knows this about him. However, he can always find underlings. He can always bring back one of this old favorites as long as he didn’t kill them. He was able to talk Harleen Quinzel into abandoning her old life and joining his, able to keep her in love with him despite years of horrific abuse. There’s one word for all of that: charisma. He’s a charismatic monster, a devil who can talk into anyone into joining him.
1) Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor is DC’s most unhinged genius, a man who has been able to create an empire through his brilliant mind. Lex is without a doubt the most charismatic villain of them all. This is someone who can put on his green and purple Superman-fighting armor, fight the Man of Steel in the middle of street while screaming about how the world should genuflect before him, get beaten and arrested, and then gets out and convinces everyone that he didn’t do anything of those things, he didn’t say any of those things, and it is just the lies of the alien, jealous of the kinship of humanity or some such. And it would work. He’s actually gotten people to vote for him to become president. He’s able to gather all of the most powerful, contentious villains in the universe in one room and they all listen to him. He can then betray them all and yet the next time he needs their help, they show up again. That’s charisma. That’s Luthor.
Who’s your favorite charismatic DC villain? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
