DC’s supervillains tend to be some of the most absurdly powerful people in the universe, often requiring multiple heroes to bring them down. Of course, it’s not just the villains with incredible powers that you need to worry about. In fact, most of the time, it’s the villains without any powers that are the most dangerous. They are always the ones who are most dedicated to bringing down the heroes at any cost, and who have traded so much of themselves to their craft that there’s nothing left. Non-powered villains can be just as, if not more, dangerous than their super-charged counterparts.
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Today, we’re going to see exactly how deadly powerless villains can be by taking a look at seven of the deadliest villains who are still nothing more than human. None of these criminals has a single power, and none have access to any magical artifacts or enhancements. They are pure skill, intelligence, and determination, and they’ve each shaken the superhero community and the world up more than their fair share of times. So, without further ado, let’s detail some dangerous villains.
7) Deadshot
Deadshot is one of the world’s greatest assassins. His marksmanship is so next level that you wouldn’t be remiss to assume he has some kind of special ability, but that’s all the result of hard work. He’s the world’s best shot, so skilled that he literally never misses his target. He’s the number one in-demand assassin because when he pulls the trigger, the target is dead unless they have someone like Superman or the Flash watching over them. There’s no target that he can’t hit, and no power that can stop him from completing a mission.
6) T. O. Morrow
T. O. Morrow is one of the smartest scientists in the universe and is easily the leading expert in robotics. His magnum opus is, of course, Red Tornado and Tomorrow Woman, both of whom are androids capable of standing against and beside the Justice League’s heaviest hitters. Morrow is the one who tutored Will Magnus and helped him develop the technology to create living robots. Heck, his genius is so respected that even time travelers like Rip Hunter and Booster Gold have turned to him for help with technology that is advanced for them, which Morrow can figure out on his own. Morrow can’t put up much of a fight himself, but his creations are some of the strongest around.
5) Joker
The Joker might just seem like a man with permanent clown makeup on, but he’s evolved to be one of the deadliest forces in the world. He’s capable of elaborate, unpredicated plans that regularly catch the World’s Greatest Detective off guard, and can create poisons that can destroy people in an instant. To add on to his insane charisma and natural aptitude for crime, he’s also able to keep up with Batman in a fight, thanks to his impossible-to-understand fighting style. Whenever he’s done with a crime, he simply vanishes into the wind, where even heroes like Superman can’t find him. The Joker’s plot armor only gets more obscene as time goes on, and in turn, he only grows more dangerous.
4) Lady Shiva
Lady Shiva is one of the world’s greatest martial artists, to the point where she regularly decimates even legendary heroes like Batman. In a one-on-one fight, she’d easily be able to take anyone else on this list, and the majority of heroes who don’t have a significant power advantage. She was chosen by Ra’s al Ghul to lead the League of Shadows, and was even asked by Batman to retrain him after his back was broken by Bane. Anyone with a resume half that good could only be one of the deadliest women alive, and Shiva has done far more. She’s a force of nature and has brought down opponents far above her weight class.
3) Amanda Waller
Waller isn’t your typical villain, often operating on the side of the law and even working with heroes on occasion, but she’s more than crossed into supervillain territory when she tried to take over the world in Absolute Power. She doesn’t need impossible fighting skills or advanced technology to be a threat. Waller’s greatest weapons are her mind and her connections, which she’s used to control hundreds of heroes and villains like chesspieces to fulfill her goals. She’s utterly ruthless, regularly planting bombs in her operatives’ necks and taking their families hostage. Waller is the ultimate shadow-puppeteer. If you’re on her radar, odds are she has a plan to get you to work for her, whether you want to or not.
2) Prometheus
Prometheus’s identity might be unknown, but he’s made sure that he is a legendary figure regardless. His special helmet lets him download any information he has access to directly into his brain, also letting him instantly master any skills he downloads. He also has a veritable arsenal of advanced weaponry, some of which are even capable of stunning or temporarily taking down Kryptonians and Martians. Prometheus established himself as a threat that the entire Justice League needs to work together to stop, and while he might just be a man, there is nothing normal about him.
1) Lex Luthor
Of course, the most dangerous powerless villain of all is the one and only Lex Luthor. Lex is one of the smartest people to ever live, and regularly funnels that intellect into taking down the Man of Steel. The only reason Lex has not conquered the world is that his vendetta against Superman blinds him, as Lex has shown himself capable of taking down nearly every other superhero out there. In Swamp Thing (1982) #52, he deduced the perfect way to kill the seemingly immortal Swamp Thing in under a minute, and has regularly shown that he can do the same to just about everyone else. Lex is the smartest criminal around, so be very, very careful about getting on his bad side.
Which powerless villain do you think is the deadliest? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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