What is the lamest/worst motivation for a villain you've ever seen?

[ATOM HOTEP]

While listening to Chris Eckert describe Mirror Master's revamped Geoff Johns origin on the Fanboy Babylon podcast, it caused me to want to reread some of my collected Johns Flash issues to soak up some of the ridiculousness, and I'm reading the Zoom arc right now.

This has got to be up there with THE most ridiculous motivations for a villain I have ever seen - even crazy Silver Age theme/gimmick gangs' motivations have a bizzarre dream-logic going on in them. But Hunter Zolomon Zoom as a supertherapist is just about the goofiest thing I have ever seen. I mean "I'm trying to make you a better hero?" What? That's your motivation? That isn't badass, that's just annoying.

It's like that killer Monitor from the early issues of Countdown blathering about "removing anomalies from the timestream" or whatever. Do writers just not know how silly that looks in print? Removing confusing characters from continuity or whatever is a legitimate concern of a DC editor. But to have characters repeating that and referencing that in a completely straightforward way "YES. I AM FROM EARTH 4! I SHOULDN'T EVEN EXIST! CRAZY HUH?" is silly as hell and just bad storytelling.

[Omar Karindu]

But Hunter Zolomon Zoom as a supertherapist is just about the goofiest thing I have ever seen. I mean "I'm trying to make you a better hero?" What? That's your motivation? That isn't badass, that's just annoying.

Erm...Hunter's motivation is pretty clearly that a) he's inherited his serial murderer father's insanity b) he refuses to take responsibility for the rookie mistake that got him crippled, destroyed his marriage, and resulted in his mentor and father-in-law being killed and c) that he deals with all of this by constructing an insane rationalization to justify blaming and torturing superheroes, and the Flash especially. Did you simply not pay attention to the other 21 pages of Flash v.2 #197?

As to genuinely crappy motivations for characters, you don't get much more in the way of unintentional goofiness than the Kangaroo, an apparently dead-serious Spider-Man villain created by no less than Stan Lee and John Romita, Sr. He was an Aussie who wanted to be able to jump like kangaroos, so he spent months in the Outback runnign around with them and eating what they ate. Naturally, this actually gave him super-jumping powers, which he used to become a boxer. And then he drop-kicked his first opponent to death and fled the country upon figuring out that he might go to jail for this. Once in the states, he immediately became the most directionless supervillain ever.

There's also the old Marvel Team-Up villain the Basilisk, who decided to destroy and/or conquer the world after gaining superpowers because other criminals had once made fun of him in prison by nicknaming him "basilisk." That was his entire motivation and the reason for his choice of codename.

Another might be -- sacreligious as this might seem -- the original version of the Green Goblin's origin, in which a chemical blew up in his face after turning green and somehow inspired Norman Osborn to become a Halloween-themed supervillain. In recent years, J.M. DeMatteis and Paul Jenkisn have loaded in some child abuse backstory to help matters, but as portrayed in the early days...

[Pól Rua]

Thomas Oscar Morrow becoming obsessed with the future because he's called T.O. Morrow has always been a good one for mine, but the grand-daddy of all of them though is Lex Luthor deciding to kill Superboy for making him bald while saving his life.

[Jack Zodiac]

Whatever, munkee. That's, quite possibly, one of the awesomest motivations in comic book history.

I think the lamest motivations are the villains who are just petty criminals who happened to gain superpowers. Sandman, Killer Croc, The Rhino. Just superpowered bankrobbers. They're fun to watch your favorite superheroes knock around, but they don't have the motivation necessary to create long-lasting arch-villains.

[ATOM HOTEP]

"Erm...Hunter's motivation is pretty clearly that a) he's inherited his serial murderer father's insanity"

Inheriting insanity is something you have to treat really broadly and goofily because I cannot buy that at all unless you handle it

"b) he refuses to take responsibility for the rookie mistake that got him crippled, destroyed his marriage, and resulted in his mentor and father-in-law being killed and"

I just feel like the need to make Zoom tragic is kinda lame. Not a fan of the "rape it up, let's throw some child abuse in there" backstory for larger than life supervillains

"c) that he deals with all of this by constructing an insane rationalization to justify blaming and torturing superheroes, and the Flash especially. Did you simply not pay attention to the other 21 pages of Flash v.2 #197?"

I couldn't pay too much attention, it was ghastly. It is kind of perversely entertaining to read the kind of stuff Johns would come up with for the Rouges, but that's only because it was so wrongheaded. He does handle Sinestro extraordinarily well, maybe it's because the scope of the character is a little more grandiose?

" Thomas Oscar Morrow becoming obsessed with the future because he's called T.O. Morrow has always been a good one for mine, but the grand-daddy of all of them though is Lex Luthor deciding to kill Superboy for making him bald while saving his life."

Lex Luthor's original motivation is sublime, in my opinion. It really does strike the perfect chord of pettiness.

I think I dislike a lot of modern villains and their motivations because they try so hard to be "realistic" and poignant.

[Pól Rua]

Whatever, munkee. That's, quite possibly, one of the awesomest motivations in comic book history.

I think the lamest motivations are the villains who are just petty criminals who happened to gain superpowers. Sandman, Killer Croc, The Rhino. Just superpowered bankrobbers. They're fun to watch your favorite superheroes knock around, but they don't have the motivation necessary to create long-lasting arch-villains.

See now, those are my faves.
I'm a criminal. I want money. I can tear holes in bank vaults... hrmm...?
Superpowered career criminals. Love 'em.

[Jack Zodiac]

When they get some more character after their first appearances (even Sandman got some decent issues devoted to making him more of a tragic villain than just a schmuck who got powers) I tend to like 'em better. But just a big bastard with superpowers tearing vault doors off, eh. They're fun for a brawl, but they don't make good, personal villains like The Joker and Lex Luthor- insanity and hair envy be damned!

[thehod]

Some of the old Batman villians have just the greatest origins ever.

Guess who these are....


??????? was a noted painter who led a double-life as a master criminal. He gave the plans for his crimes to various henchmen through clues left in his paintings. His criminal empire crashed to a halt when one of his henchmen double-crossed him and set him up to be arrested. Blinded by a gunshot wound, he was sent to prison, until he volunteered for an experimental procedure that would restore his vision with a special helmet fused to his optic nerves.

The procedure worked to a point, but had a tragic side effect; He could see, but the colors were blindingly vivid and disorienting. It drove him mad, and upon release he took on the guise of ???????



Phillip "Phil" Cobb was a gangster with big ideas. He came to Gotham City intent on hiring a gang of his own and making it big, only to be laughed at when he tried to recruit the gang because he had no reputation. Steaming with anger, he vowed to prove himself to Gotham's mobsters, and when he noticed how modern day society was regulated by signs, signals and symbols, he saw the inspiration for his criminal career. Becoming the ????????, he went on a spectacular crime spree using those signs and symbols as his motif. The crimes were actually quite cleverly constructed, at least for the time the stories were written.


Joe Coyne began his career selling newspapers for only a penny, but he was soon caught stealing pennies. He proceeded to commit crimes which centered around pennies. The giant penny often shown in the Batcave is a trophy of Batman's defeat of ???????????. After being captured by Batman, Coyne was sentenced to the electric chair for stealing pennies.

This guy is my favourite though....

http://www.superdickery.com/images/oneshot/kite-man.jpg

[Pól Rua]

Some of the old Batman villians have just the greatest origins ever.

Guess who these are....

#1 is Crazy Quilt.
#2 is The Signalman.

I'm blanking on #3.

[dancj]

There was a colour themed villain in Booster Gold who was getting revenge on the world because he was a colour-blind artists.

Also of course pre-crisis Lex Luthor blamed Superman for his baldness.

[Gingold]

#1 is Crazy Quilt.
#2 is The Signalman.

I'm blanking on #3.

The Penny Plunderer?

[Pól Rua]

The Penny Plunderer?

DAMN! It was on the back of my tongue.
I kept getting caught on 'Penny Pincher' and I knew that wasn't it.

[ATOM HOTEP]

Man, some of this is getting close to dissing the likes of Bizzarro, who as far as I'm concerned has the best motivation of any villain ever.

[Santanico]

Also of course pre-crisis Lex Luthor blamed Superman for his baldness.

A friend of mine refers to this storyline as "Superman Killed My Hair". Never fails to make me laugh.

[Loren]

The worst recent motivation that immediately comes to mind is the new motivation given to Klaw in the pages of "Black Panther."

It amounted to: Your great-great-granddaddy killed my great-great-granddaddy. And all my great-great-granddaddy was trying to do was invade and conquer your homeland in the name of Belgium.

[Kid Kyoto]

Thomas Oscar Morrow becoming obsessed with the future because he's called T.O. Morrow has always been a good one for mine, but the grand-daddy of all of them though is Lex Luthor deciding to kill Superboy for making him bald while saving his life.

Wait till you lose your hair, then you'll understand.

Now imagine it happening to you when you're like 14.

I'd kill the alien snot too.

[The Beast Of Yucca Flats]

Hush's "your Dad couldn't save my Dad, but did save my Mom, so it's on!"

Or however that went.

[Super J.]

Cameron van Cleer (the pre-crisis Killer Moth) I think just wanted to be the "anti-Batman". Poor guy.

[ATOM HOTEP]

That's just crazy. The post-Crisis Killer Moth is lame and makes no sense. The idea of the pre-Crisis Killer Moth is awesome, some rich guy who figures out who Batman is and just gets pissed and decides to be a Batman that helps criminals by fighting the cops, driving the Mothmobile as a getaway car, etc. That is such a cool idea, and turning him into some sort of Brundlefly doesn't make the idea any cooler, it just makes him sort of pathetic and really, just fodder for some gun wielding vigilante.

[foxley]

There was a colour themed villain in Booster Gold who was getting revenge on the world because he was a colour-blind artists.


That would have been the Rainbow Raider, a member of the Flash's Rogue's Gallery.

[gorosaurus]

That would have been the Rainbow Raider, a member of the Flash's Rogue's Gallery.

I'm familiar with the Rainbow Raider; but wasn't Crazy Quilt a color blind artist enemy of Batman and Robin?

[foxley]

I'm familiar with the Rainbow Raider; but wasn't Crazy Quilt a color blind artist enemy of Batman and Robin?

Crazy Quilt wasn't colour blind. He could only see bright vivid colours.

[The Beast Of Yucca Flats]

There was this early 90s Superman foe who I think was supposed to have been a pretty big deal (he was built up to beforehand, but he never appeared or was reffered to again after his big "reveal"). He was called Bloodthirst, and it was during the Simonson/Bogdanove years on Man Of Steel. Basically, his deal was-- wait for it-- he was this immortal who had influenced much of human history behind the scenes. [YAWN!]

Yeah, yeah, just get back in line behind Ra's Al Ghul and Vandal Savage, ankle-biter.

[Loren]

There was this early 90s Superman foe who I think was supposed to have been a pretty big deal (he was built up to beforehand, but he never appeared or was reffered to again after his big "reveal"). He was called Bloodthirst, and it was during the Simonson/Bogdanove years on Man Of Steel. Basically, his deal was-- wait for it-- he was this immortal who had influenced much of human history behind the scenes. [YAWN!]

Yeah, yeah, just get back in line behind Ra's Al Ghul and Vandal Savage, ankle-biter.

I don't remember him being built up all that much. And while his backstory may not be original, it's not really lame. After all, it works pretty well for Ra's and Vandal.

However, he does rank pretty high in terms of worst villain designs (http://comicbookdb.com/graphics/comic_graphics/1/72/36704_20060509163315_large.jpg). He looks like an ugly wrestler in S&M drag.

[stealthwise]

I don't remember him being built up all that much. And while his backstory may not be original, it's not really lame. After all, it works pretty well for Ra's and Vandal.

However, he does rank pretty high in terms of worst villain designs (http://comicbookdb.com/graphics/comic_graphics/1/72/36704_20060509163315_large.jpg). He looks like an ugly wrestler in S&M drag.

Bloodthirst, and that first storyline in general, were one of the reasons I stopped reading comics for about ten years (along with the clone saga).

Man, I really hated being saddled with the terrible Bogdanove chapters whenever I wanted to read the Superman titles.

[Santanico]

I don't remember him being built up all that much. And while his backstory may not be original, it's not really lame. After all, it works pretty well for Ra's and Vandal.

However, he does rank pretty high in terms of worst villain designs (http://comicbookdb.com/graphics/comic_graphics/1/72/36704_20060509163315_large.jpg). He looks like an ugly wrestler in S&M drag.

Good God. You know, there are some comic characters who lapse into obscurity for really, really good reason, and this guy is king of them all. That truly is one of the worst designs I've ever seen; it's like they were going for a riff on Bane, but ended up with a transgendered Granny Goodness in ill-fitting dominatrix gear.

[The Beast Of Yucca Flats]

I don't remember him being built up all that much. And while his backstory may not be original, it's not really lame. After all, it works pretty well for Ra's and Vandal.

However, he does rank pretty high in terms of worst villain designs (http://comicbookdb.com/graphics/comic_graphics/1/72/36704_20060509163315_large.jpg). He looks like an ugly wrestler in S&M drag.

As I recall, he was referred to by name at least as far back as the start of "Doomsday!," and appeared briefly (in shadows) of some prior issues of Man of Steel and Kesel/Grummett's Adventures. And yes, that motivation does work for Ra's and Vandal, but this guy's just total Secondbananaville. Just an extreme-90s style/Ra's/Vandal-lite.

And I agree about his look; I think a letter written for that issue likened him to a Rocky Horror-reject or somesuch.

[Enda8011]

Thomas Oscar Morrow becoming obsessed with the future because he's called T.O. Morrow has always been a good one for mine, but the grand-daddy of all of them though is Lex Luthor deciding to kill Superboy for making him bald while saving his life.

Had more to do with the lifeform destroyed.

Venom's origin has gotten castigated.

[mgs]

worst motivations? trying to take over the world (exception: Pinky and the brain), and revenge.

clearly the only reasonable motivations should be money and maybe to impress a girl.

[foxley]

worst motivations? trying to take over the world (exception: Pinky and the brain), and revenge.

clearly the only reasonable motivations should be money and maybe to impress a girl.

Impressing a girl was originally Heatwave's motivation for becoming a villain. In his first appearance, Heatwave and Captain Cold are competing to capture the attention of a Central City model. They later added in a more complex backstory.

[pariah-1972]

I don't think Villians actually need a "motivation" other than being bad /evil.
Hush was probably the lamest i have ever read tho i dearly hope someone Retcons that out soon.