Reviews by Kyle Ellis

"I did it 35 minutes ago." With that simple line, Ozymandias cemented his place as a comic book villain to remember. The fact that he himself, and perhaps many reading this, would argue he's not even a villain in the first place makes him all the more fascinating. The Smartest Man in the World, Adrian Veidt felt that the normal kind of physical super heroics he'd engaged in for years were not enough to truly change the world. No, he plotted to do something much grander.

The fact that this grand plan involved killing millions of people is of course what makes him such a chilling character. From his perspective, what he did - faking an alien attack in New York that killed all in the path of its psychic shockwave - was the ultimate example of doing something for the greater good. Veidt felt that this kind of horrific attack from a perceived outside threat was the only thing that could unite a world on the brink of nuclear war. And notably, Veidt appeared to be correct, and would argue that this act of forced sacrifice stopped billions more from dying in the long run.

Brilliant and able to deal with almost every curve ball thrown his way, Veidt succeeds in his plan at the end of Watchmen, only explaining the details to Rorschach and Nite-Owl after he's sure it's gone off without a hitch. But as noble as Veidt may say he is, the fact is that he has the blood of millions on his hands…

First Appearance: Avengers #54
Best Writer: Roy Thomas
Best Artist: George Perez

The living antithesis of Superman is more than just backwards talk and an inverted "S" shield on his chest. Bizarro and the reversed world he hails from have become vernacular for anything flipped or not how it should be for novice comics fans.

Fans know that at the core of his brute is a tragedy, most recently explored to entertaining and dramatically satisfying effect in Last Son. A brief appearance, yes, but a near-perfect encapsulation of who the character is, constantly fighting that which he will never be.

Bizarro is a very popular villain, in terms of those that regularly challenge Superman. He is not Lex Luthor, and he doesn't have to be. His range might be limited, and his fight first, think later approach to things might get tiresome, but his story never ceases to provide conflict for Kal-El. As long as he delivers, we hope DC will keep the blue kryptonite away.

Despite being a character surrounded by protracted legal battles outside the panels we read, Miracleman is another DC character made all the more interesting with the help of Alan Moore and others.

AKA Marvelman, AKA Micky Moran, AKA Johnny Bates, number 26 on our list had quite the rise to his villainous ranks. Starting off as a hero of sorts, Kid Miracleman turned a darker corner with the help of Alan Moore taking the character way past the point of no return.

Whether the character is penned by Moore or later by Neil Gaiman, Kid Miracleman's violent streak remains intact, and moreover, something to fear. If only we could find his books to help others see our point…

Leonard Start began his criminal career like most do: Come up with an evil weapon of evil, aim it a superhero, and see what happens. Well, what happened was said weapon, originally designed to cripple the Flash's super speed, accidentally wound up freezing air molecules instead.

The poor man's Mr. Freeze Captain Cold is not, although we understand why some would and do write him off as such. Get past the stylized parka of doom, and you will see a cold-hearted, murder-motivated baddie. He even managed to survive the 1990s The Flash TV series relatively unscathed, so that has to say something.

But what may speak louder than that resume filler are his contributions to plaguing the Barry Allen Flash and helping kill the Bart Allen Flash. Once he assumed the role of leader for Flash's Rogue's Gallery, Lenny found his thirst for power, money, women and more power becoming all-encompassing, and a bit too much for even his biggest fans to handle. But that's also why we love to hate this villain; he keeps things simple and maintains the pole position as the primary cause of doom for guys named Scarlet Speedster. Not bad for a guy in a parka, huh?

It began with a slap to the face. Spider-Man was feeling pretty confident early in his career, when he first encountered Otto Octavius, a scientist whose invention of robotic arms had become fused to his body - in an accident that also took his sanity. Very quickly, Spider-Man learned that the heavyset man with poor eyesight was not to be underestimated, and in a memorable moment, Dr. Octopus grabbed Spider-Man with his mechanical limbs and effortlessly subdued the young superhero - and then slapped him hard in the face with his very human hand. Tossing Spider-Man aside (and out a window) like he was absolutely nothing to him, Dr. Octopus instantly had a physical and mental impact on his foe and this encounter led to Spider-Man's first real occasion of self-doubt and fear, so shaken was Peter Parker by this encounter with a villain who truly was his match.

Along with Green Goblin and Venom, Doctor Octopus has secured his place as one of Spider-Man's greatest and most dangerous foes. From organizing the Sinister Six, to causing the death of George Stacy, to his vicious (and nearly fatal) assault on Black Cat, Doctor Octopus has a long legacy in Spider-Man stories, which Peter Parker would like to forget. Though how can he forget the man who very nearly married his Aunt May?!

Whether his plans involve his brilliant knowledge of science or his desire to become a gang leader, "Doc Ock" has proven to be remarkably versatile in his talents, which has been bad news for Spider-Man over and over again. Like many great Spider-Man characters, there's tragedy to this villain too, as we, and Peter Parker, sometimes get a glimpse at the good intentioned man he once was, only for his dark side to take over once more.

Like Apocalypse, who made him into the super powered menace he is, Mr. Sinister is obsessed with the Darwinian idea of survival of the fittest - but this genetic manipulator goes to some extremely dark and cruel places to further his beliefs and experiments, sometimes outdoing Apocalypse himself when it comes to truly evil acts.

Once upon a time he was a 19th century scientist named Nathaniel Essex, who had no quibbles experimenting on the homeless and those he saw as societies (and humanities) refuse. Transformed by Apocalypse and now known as Sinister, he's now lived decades past what should have been the end of his life, continuing to manipulate and destroy mutants and humans as he sees fit.

While he wouldn't physically appear for another year, the first time his name was mentioned was during one of the darkest times in X-Men history - the Mutant Massacre, in which he sent his team, the Marauders, on a merciless mission to kill the Morlocks, which also resulted in severe injuries for Kitty Pryde, Colossus, Nightcrawler and Angel. Later, we'd learn of Sinister's obsession with Scott Summers and the Summers genetic line, which led to him creating a clone of Jean Grey - Madelyne Pryor - with the sole purpose of breeding with Scott. The result of that successful quest led to the birth of Nathan Summers, AKA Cable.

Having survived seeming death multiple times, Sinister has most recently been reborn in a female body, Miss Sinister. But regardless of his/her exact name or genetic makeup, this is a twisted individual you don't want to turn your back on.

Let's get this out of the way: Terrance Stamp is Zod. His interpretation of the Phantom Zone's most repeat offender in Superman II is an underlining force for folks giving a damn about the General. But outside of the Donner-directed sequel and an inspired rebirth of sorts in Last Son, Zod remains a character with some potential still left untapped.

Whatever your thoughts on his new look (the goggles and such), there is no denying that Zod's offensive upon Metropolis and its hero was one for the books. It gave Superman something to do other than, well, whatever it is he does when not engaging in yellow-sun fueled CQC with Zod, Ursa and Non. Zod even used his own son as a pawn in his campaign to turn Earth into New Krypton - we're not even sure Stampy could pull that one off.

Luthor, Zod and Bizarro are what it boils down to when trying to figure out a serious triple threat for Superman, and Zod's contribution is one that seems on target to receive its due. Zod's arc in the "New Krypton" books continues where "Last Son" left off, furthering the notion that this Zod is welcomed thorn in Superman's side. Kneel before Zod, indeed.

Super speed for Reverse Flash Eobard Thawne may be his only superpower, but Zoom has not let that slow him down. Obsession drove him quickly to developing a plot to "become" and replace Barry Allen. He was so committed to taking over Allen's duties as Flash, he decided to play house with Allen's wife, Iris. When she didn't take to it, Zoom did what any man in his situation would have done: Vibrate his hand into her head, killing her.

Subtlety is not one of Zoom's strong suits (he is a member of the Secret Society of Super Villains, after all), but he does get results. Also, his time traveling ways help him get around certain things like schemes not going according to plan, or even his own death.

Zoom may be a villain too localized for his own good, but his murdering of Iris is an event people still talk about. We can see him getting an arc just as good as his turn as Barry Allen's nemesis, and we hope it happens sooner rather than later.

Assassin and mercenary Slade Wilson, born of humble New Teen Titans beginnings, has proven to be a force to reckon with. Ranking 32 on our list, Deathstroke the Terminator is a product of secret army experiments that managed to survive without suffering from being a one-note cliché of a villain.

Family man and assassin by day, the Teen Titans' threat and sometimes anti-hero fighting on the side of quasi-good proves to be a fascinating character -- one made of darker parts fans of DC don't usually get such generous helpings of.

Deathstroke's appearances in both Identity Crisis and Infinite Crisis are quick and to the point, providing further evidence that his popularity can only get better with age. Any guy who can go hand-to-hand with Batman, and leave the Dark Knight with a stalemate and not a victory, is clearly not a force to take lightly. The character's appeal stretches into the animated series realm as well, and one day, we hope, onto the big screen.