There’s a saying that all good heroes exist because they have great villains, and whether that statement is true or not, there are few things more entertaining than great heroes clashing with great villains. The best hero and villain combos bring out the best and worst traits in each other, which is always entertaining. This is especially true in comic books. Some of DC and Marvel’s most popular characters are their villains, from Joker to Doctor Doom. Seeing these crazed, maniacal villains try to tear down the heroes, challenging them physically and spiritually, is the backbone of practically every successful comic.
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Of course, while villains generally belong to the hero they have the best rapport with, that doesn’t mean that they can only be that hero’s villain. The Riddler has fought the Flash, and Loki has fought Doctor Strange. Sometimes, having villains go up against heroes they’ve never met before opens the door to a brand new world of entertaining interactions. Today, we’re taking that a step further and asking what would happen if heroes from DC and Marvel swapped entire rosters. Rogues galleries are one of the most important parts of heroes, and today, we’re satisfying our inner-crossover-loving kids and picturing what it would look like if these villains hopped dimensions.
7) Batman/Wolverine
These two are the best there is at what they do, and what they do isn’t very nice, but it is cool. Batman is widely regarded as having one of the best rogues galleries in comics, and they would make great opponents for Wolverine to go up against. Many Batman villains stick out so much because they are loud and bombastic, while Batman is stoic and dark. Wolverine would be a wrench thrown into that usual dynamic, as while he has a bright yellow suit, he can be just as brooding as Batman. On top of that, while Batman is the ultimate control, Wolverine can lose himself to feral instincts. It would swap ultimate calculated control to bloody, animalistic chaos.
The same is true in reverse, as Batman would dismantle Wolverine’s typical villains with brutal efficiency. Sabretooth is a fantastic example. While Wolverine’s archenemy is used to limb-tearing brawls with tooth and claw, Batman would instead take him down with unmatched precision and skill. The two heroes have similar enough skillsets and exist in close enough stories that their villains can overlap a bit, but are distinct enough that swapping rosters would make for very unique interactions.
6) Wonder Woman/Thor
The two biggest divine names in DC and Marvel swapping villains would make for a clash of titanic proportions. Wonder Woman is known for villains that are considered too weak for her, either physically or narratively, so giving her access to the Norse pantheon from Marvel would open plenty of doors for fights on the level a heavy-hitter like Diana deserves. Wonder Woman fighting Gorr the God Butcher or Mangog would be universe-shaking, and even enemies like the Enchantress and Loki would perfectly slot into the roster Wonder Woman usually goes up against.
While Wonder Woman’s normal rogues gallery might be slim pickings, the best villains still stand to be great challenges for the God of Thunder. Thor battling a brand new version of the Greek pantheon, Ares especially, would challenge him in new ways while feeling right at home, given he’s fought Marvel’s interpretation of them before. At the same time, Cheetah presents a fast threat that’s unlike anything Thor’s fought, and Angle Man’s manipulation of time and space could push Thor like nothing else. It’d also be funny to see Angle Man bend the angle of Thor throwing Mjlnir so the hammer hits the god in the face. Honestly, that’s half the reason he’s here.
5) Green Arrow/Daredevil
These two heroes recently teamed up in Deadpool/Batman and demonstrated that they definitely have the chops to duke it out with each other’s bad guys. They have a lot of similarities with their villains, since both fight a lot of ninja assassins and corrupt officials, but seeing them specifically battle each other’s villains would be so interesting. Daredevil would meet Count Vertigo and Onomatopeia, two villains whose skillsets hard counter his radar sense. They would turn Matt’s greatest strength into his biggest weakness, and seeing the Man Without Fear have to overcome his own enhanced senses is a concept worth exploring.
On the other hand, Green Arrow would utterly despise Punisher, Bullseye, and Kingpin nearly as much as Daredevil does. Oliver needing to overcome the resources and political influence under Fisk’s thumb would make for a quintessential Green Arrow story. They would instantly spark a hatred at least on the same level as Daredevil and Kingpin’s, and that alone is worth its weight in gold. Unlike Matt, Ollie would specifically call out Fisk’s social crimes while kicking his butt in the most political terms possible, which the world always needs more of.
4) Green Lantern/Fantastic Four
DC’s number one space cops and Marvel’s premier family of cosmic explorers could swap villains almost seamlessly. The Fantastic Four venturing into the stars and coming into contact with would-be conquerors like Sinestro and Krona sounds like it could happen today. Franklin’s reality-bending powers make him the perfect target for the most ambitious Green Lantern villains, who tend to be incredibly power-hungry. The Thing and Atrocious going blow for blow is a siren call that everyone should listen to.
In the opposite direction, the Green Lanterns dealing with the threat of interdimensional war with Annihilus or, God forbid, the planetary appetite of Galactus, would be right at home in the pages of a normal GL comic. Green Lanterns operate at their best when they go up against cosmic, galaxy-threatening foes, so a couple of Green Lanterns fighting and or teaming up with the Silver Surfer would be perfectly normal. Beyond that, if a Lantern did fight Doctor Doom, you just know he would somehow steal their power ring for himself. Who doesn’t want to see Doom with a power ring?
3) Superman/Hulk
The Incredible Hulk might be the strongest one there is in Marvel, but the Man of Steel’s villains could certainly give him a run for his money. Brainiac is the perfect mix of impossible brain power and physical might that could challenge every variant of the Hulk and force Banner and his various Hulks to work together. Lex Luthor is a petty, manipulative monster whose raw pride would naturally bring him into conflict with Bruce Banner and definitely tick him off enough to go green. Doomsday is DC’s embodiment of raw power, and him trading blows with the Hulk would be enough to shake the multiverse.
For Superman, the Hulk’s villains offer a wide array of challenges as well. Red Hulk is basically what Sam Lane would be if he had superpowers, and that dynamic being invoked could make for a story that hits hard with punches and emotional beats. The Leader’s intellect would challenge Superman just as much as Luthor and Brainiac could. Forcing Superman to combat a psychological, existential monster like the One Below All would undeniably shake the foundations of reality. Superman doesn’t often get to cut loose, but most of Hulk’s villains can take a punch, so we’d get to see Superman give it everything he has.
2) Legion of Super-Heroes/X-Men
This is a strange comparison on the surface, but digging into what these two teams represent provides a lot of thematic parallels. The X-Men are constantly under threat of extinction due to bigotry, but fighting the villains the Legion’s villains could involve the X-Men traveling to a future that would seem like a genuine utopia. Instead of fighting to carve out a niche for themselves, they could fight to keep the peace in a world that has already accepted them. The X-Men deal with dystopian futures all the time, but monsters like Emerald Empress and Validus could have them fight for a future they love, full of hope. It would be a very cool change of pace.
The Legion of Super-Heroes, meanwhile, could fight the deadliest people of the past. Eternal villains like Apocalypse are already in the Legion’s wheelhouse, and dealing with the Phoenix Force seems like something they could handle. The Brood could be an incredibly interesting battle, where the Legion attempts to find a way to avoid bloodshed and work with the aliens instead of going against them. Sentinels made specifically to target aliens instead of mutants could definitely tie into plenty of the Legion’s stories, but at the end of the day, the Legion fighting Magneto to influence people’s opinions in the right way sounds like the most hype moral and psychological battle of all time.
1) Nightwing/Spider-Man
The first Boy Wonder and the neighborhood’s friendliest Web-Slinger switching villains is most definitely not equal, but it could test both heroes in unique ways. Nightwing is DC’s biggest rising star right now, but contrary to his importance in the universe, he doesn’t have many high-tier villains to match blows with. Spider-Man, on the other hand, is rife with extremely popular and engaging villains. The two heroes share enough similarities in personality and acrobatic skillset that Nightwing going up against someone like Green Goblin or Doctor Octopus would be both instantly familiar and decidedly new. A cast of established, iconic villains is exactly what Nightwing needs to go to the next level.
Spider-Man, on the other hand, is a perfect match to go up against threats like Blockbuster and Deathstroke. Assassins and super-powered mob bosses are right in the Web-Slinger’s wheelhouse, after all. Beyond that, Spider-Man fighting some of Nightwing’s more obscure villains, like the Judge, could be exactly what they need to step up their villainy game. Spidey tends to bring out the best worst traits in whoever he fights, and all Nightwing’s villains need is a slight boost to be as monstrous as anyone else’s.
So there we have seven DC and Marvel characters who I think could swap villains, at least for a little while. Do you have any hero and villain matchups from across the Big Two that you would want to see?
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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