Vengeance is the motivation for many heroes and villains in DC Comics who have suffered terrible tragedies. Some characters, like Batman and Red Hood, are defined by their missions of vengeance. From personal suffering to the loss of loved ones, such tragedies often spark a fire of hate and a desire for retribution towards those who have wronged their victims. Sometimes the need for revenge can twist a person and cause them to commit heinous acts that they wouldn’t do otherwise. Characters who seek revenge often go to great lengths to ensure that their tormenter experiences the same level of pain and anguish that they feel that they had undergone.
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The mentality of “an eye for an eye,” can lead to many egregious acts. From physical to psychological torture, these are the most brutal acts of violence in the name of vengeance ever depicted in DC Comics.
7) Damian Wayne Gives the Joker a Taste of His Own Medicine
The Joker beat the second Robin, Jason Todd, with a crowbar before he killed him with a bomb. Even when Jason was resurrected as the anti-hero Red Hood, the trauma of his murder still impacts him and the rest of the Bat-Family. Years later, when Joker is yet again apprehended by the police, the latest Robin, Damian Wayne, decides to have a private conversation with the Clown Prince of Crime. Damian brings with him a crowbar, which he then uses to savagely beat the Joker to get information regarding the villain’s latest evil plan. The moment is both brutal and gratifying as the Joker experiences the same pain that he put Jason through all those years ago.
6) Captain Cold Serves Ice-Cold Vengeance Against Chillblaine
Revenge is a dish best served cold, and the Flash villain Captain Cold knows that better than anyone. Captain Cold’s sister, Golden Glider, was murdered by her boyfriend, the ice-themed villain called Chillblaine. Captain Cold hunted down his sister’s murderer. Chillblaine was no match for the veteran supervillain with ice in his heart. Captain Cold froze the outer layer of Chillblaine’s body so that he couldn’t move but was still fully conscious and could feel pain — a nightmarish scenario. He then tossed the frozen Chillblaine off the top of a building, before shooting the ground below with his freeze gun to create giant spikes made of ice. Chillblaine was impaled by the spikes, putting an end to the second-rate ice villain.
5) V has His Vengeance Against the Villainous Government
As the name suggests, V for Vendetta is a story about one man’s quest for revenge against the fascist government that experimented on him and rule over the people of the United Kingdom with an iron fist. V leaves a path of destruction and anarchy as he takes his vengeance out on everyone responsible for the inhumane experiments. He psychologically tortures a man until he’s rendered catatonic, murders dozens of people, and blows up multiple buildings to incite a revolution. V’s machinations eventually lead to a disgruntled and impoverished woman assassinating the dictatorial Chancellor, which leads to even more societal unrest and violence. Through brutality and terrorism, V enacts his vengeance and lights the spark of revolution against the cruel regime that created him.
4) Bane Breaks the Bat’s Family
In an ironic twist on an old formula, Batman and Catwoman break Bane’s back, leaving the villain helpless. Once he healed, Bane commits a horrific act to get back at the Dark Knight. However, in true villainous fashion, Bane doesn’t target Batman, but instead the people who he loves. Batman entered the Batcave to find the hanging bodies of Nightwing, Red Hood, and Robin, with the words “I Am Bane” painted onto their chests. Although the three Robins survived the ordeal, they were left broken both mentally and physically. Instead of hurting Batman, Bane attacked his sons in a twisted act of retaliation.
3) Injustice Superman Impales the Joker
The Injustice alternate universe, where Superman becomes a tyrant, is based on one crucial and shocking act of vengeance. Using specialized Scarecrow fear toxin, the Joker tricks Superman into killing Lois Lane and their unborn child. Her death also triggers a nuclear bomb to detonate in the heart of Metropolis, killing everyone. Out of anger, Superman crashes into the interrogation room holding the Joker, and drives his fist through the psychopath’s chest. This act of vengeance starts Superman’s descent into madness as he becomes a ruthless dictator who takes over the world. To see DC Comics’ symbol of hope spiral and deliver such a gory method of execution is incredibly shocking and heart breaking, and demonstrates how vengeance often causes terrible psychological harm to the person exacting vengeance.
2) Flash Traps Zoom in a Mental Prison
Hunter Zolomon, aka Zoom, sought to make Wally West, aka the Flash, a better, more lethal hero by having the Scarlet Speedster lose everyone he loves. Part of his scheme involved an attempt to kill Wally’s wife, Linda, who was pregnant with twins. Although Wally saved Linda’s life, she suffered a miscarriage from Zoom’s attack. In a psychologically brutal act of vengeance, Wally used the Speed Force to trap Zoom in a temporal anomaly. This anomaly left Zoom’s body comatose, but his mind was stuck in a never-ending loop of watching the murder of his father-in-law. For the lives he took, Zoom was subjected to an existence worse than death.
1) Poison Ivy Eats Floronic Man
Pamela Isley became Poison Ivy when her teacher, Dr. Jason Woodrue seduced her and then injected her with dangerous chemicals in a twisted experiment. Later, Jason underwent a similar experiment and became the villainous Floronic Man. When Poison Ivy is infected and dying because of a deadly parasitic fungus, Floronic Man threatens to kill Harley Quinn unless Poison Ivy gives him the fungus so that he can wipe out humanity. Poison Ivy becomes enraged by Floronic Man’s threat against her girlfriend, and she uses her superior abilities to mortally wound him. To heal herself from the fungal infection and ensure that Floronic Man can never return, Poison Ivy devours the remnants of her former abuser to absorb his regenerative powers and obtain her long-awaited vengeance.
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Image courtesy of Stage 6 Films
