Monday, July 24, 2017

Chew the Fat: Spotty Villains!



Martinex1: It has been said that the villain makes the hero.   Could Batman be Batman without the Joker?   Perhaps not.   The better the rogues gallery, the better the adventure.   The bigger the threat, the more challenging the conflict.   I think we can agree that is true to some degree.   Spider-Man has a plethora of crazy and iconic villains from Doc Ock to the Green Goblin.  On the DC side, Flash has a cool collection of baddies with Captain Cold, the Top, Weather Wizard, Heat Wave, Gorilla Grodd and the rest.


But today we are not going to talk about the "good" villains (the villains who you look forward to seeing).  No, today we are going to discuss villains that make you scratch your head - but you like them anyway.  In other words, with new villains created throughout the Silver and Bronze ages there were a lot of dogs.  But some of those "misses" stay near to your heart because of nostalgia or theoretical untapped potential. Who are the third stringers and the D-listed creeps that you have enjoyed over the years?  


Here are a few of my favorites from the past, that almost nobody would include in top tier lists.  I am curious what you have to say about other "enemies" that we should be more welcoming towards.


My first example is the Spot.  He appeared first in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man issue #99.  While I am not always a fan of Al Milgrom's art or writing, I really enjoyed his work here.  The Spot is a scientist who was trying to find a path to Cloak's (of Cloak and Dagger fame) dark dimension.  Things went a bit haywire and  Dr. Jonathan Ohnn emerged with some of the funkiest powers I've ever seen.  The myriad of dark spots on his body are actually holes in and out of another dimension.  The character has a great sense of humor and was a good rival for Spidey.  The first time they met, Spider-Man couldn't control his laughter after hearing the villain's name, but he quickly got his comeuppance as the Spot showed him a thing or two in defense of the Kingpin.  A fun story, a fun character, and there should be a lot more of him in the books.







My second example harkens back to the Silver Age.   Daredevil was modeled somewhat after Batman in terms of his nighttime crime-fighting and athletic skillset.   So who was Daredevil's Joker in the early days?  It was none other than the Jester.  Jonathan Powers was a washed up actor who took on a criminal assassin's role in Daredevil #42.   While not ultra powerful, he was a good foil for the serious Daredevil and really gave him a run for his money.  Much of my liking of the Jester is nostalgic.   Some of the first comics I received were part of the first Jester arc and I particularly liked when he teamed with Cobra and Mr. Hyde in Daredevil #61. The Gene Colan art helped as he portrayed the villain as cagy, wiry, and quirky.   He made a few appearances in "modern" times, but never really caught fire.  There should be room for a deadly swashbuckler loaded with dangerous yo-yos, puns, and yuks. (And that cover with the Statue of Liberty photo is top notch).
Another character I like is Blackout.   He originated as a villain for Nova and has a strange dark dimension origin that is slightly similar to the Spot's (go figure).   He was a lab assistant caught in an accident falling into the void and emerging with light absorbing powers along with the dark force.  He goes a bit mad and is very paranoid.  I really began to admire the strangeness of the character when he was manipulated and controlled by Moonstone in the Avengers' "Under Siege" arc.   In Roger Stern's story, he was essentially used and abused by Zemo and the Masters of Evil and had a truly tragic end at their hands.  Despite the whacky mask and the limited early characterization, I found myself wanting more of Blackout.
On the DC side of things, as a kid I stumbled across an issue of Detective Comics at a school White Elephant sale.  On the cover it looked like Batman was fighting a purple and orange Spider-Man.   In fact the character was the ruthless killer Black Spider who hunts down druglords.   He sees himself as serving a brutal justice to the evildoers who got him addicted and sent his life into turmoil.  Gerry Conway and Ernie Chan created the character.   I think his costume is very sharp looking.  It is interesting that Conway brought a Punisher-type character with a spider motif to DC.  I like how Black Spider's motivations are not that much different than Bruce Wayne's, but Eric Needham (Black Spider) does not share Batman's reluctance to kill.

Those are my picks for underappreciated villains.  Who are your favorites; what is their potential; and why don't others see it like you do?   Villains who never really made the mainstream cut, but remain personal favorites is the theme of today's post.  Cheers!




11 comments:

Rip Jagger said...

I'm of mixed minds on weirdo villains. Part of me wants to say if they were oddball enough to remember then they cannot have been that "bad" as a villain, there must have been distraction if not entertainment there. Another part says that even the lamest of bad guys can be retooled and become something pretty fascinating if handled right. The Owl comes to mind in DD as an example of a baddie who seemed pretty offbeat but got a little more convincing when his murderous aspect were enhanced (maybe Gene Colan just drew him better).

What convinced me of this was the wonderful Scourge of the Underworld story line in Captain America which had lots of lame villains getting offed by the mysterious Scourge. Love how that story developed and will never forget the "Bar With No Name" where the lame villain hung out. What a concept -- a Marvel island of misfit baddies! When Scourge knocked off a baddie, I always wondered if more could have been done with them. Probably not, but who knows.

Rip Off

Selenarch said...

This topic could really invite a flood, but what jumps to mind are not the villains who are bad but somehow love, but more like villains who are bad, but also kind of make sense. And in that category is pretty much everything the Mad Thinker ever created. I remember the Triumvirate of Terror from Marvel Triple Action (no relation), and thinking that they were all pretty lame, like Thunderboot, but he had the same attributes which were sometimes kind of cool (Gorgon the Inhuman) and sometimes not so much (Poundcakes).Then there was Quasimodo. I still don't know what was up with that, but reading his bio on the Marvel Wiki, he doesn't sound nearly so lame as I found him at the time. But there are so many others like Red Ghost. "Red" because he's a commie, "Ghost" because sometimes you can't touch him.

And he controls apes.

Then there's Melter. Melter! The name says it all. He melts stuff. Original member of the Masters of Evil, that one. And I loved him.

On the DC side, there's so much, but I have to go with Funky Flashman. I have no idea what Kirby had in mind with that, and I think that's why I kind of dig him.

Unknown said...

Two words: Hypno Hustler

Killraven said...

First one's to come to mind were the Beetle, just really loved his costume . Using those hard shelled wings as a shield and suction cup fingers that could pull walls down, what's not to love.
And...Stilt Man ,seems easy to beat right, just knock him over. But if written with some creativity like in a certain Champions issue he can be a menace.

As for DC, yikes....

Mike Wilson said...

Oh god, the Spot; why did you have to mention him? I'd almost managed to forget that he existed.

My first thought was Hypno Hustler too, but Luther Manning beat me to it. Spidey's had some pretty weird villains overall: Gibbon, Grizzly, Kangaroo, Slyde, Iguana, and let's not forget Red Nine. I didn't mind Black Spider that much; I thought his "mission" to kill drug dealers to avenge his brother was a pretty good motivation. I always thought Crazy Quilt or Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee were a lot goofier, as Batman villains go.

@Selenarch: Funky Flashman was Jack Kirby's swipe at Stan Lee's hucksterish personality (or image, at least); Flashman even looks like Stan did back in the 70s, beard and all. Flashman's sidekick, House Roy was meant to be Roy Thomas, and apparently Roy was kind of hurt by it at the time.

Redartz said...

You named a couple of my favorites- Spot and Jester. Those Spectacular Spider-man issues were most enjoyable, Milgrom did some fine work on the title. As for the Jester, yes- obviously derivative of the Joker, but liked him anyway. Seems like eons since he last appeared anywhere...

Let me add in the Impossible Man. Many fans despised him. This fan found him amusing and fresh. Loved how the FF would get stymied by his powers. Poor Ben just wanted to "Clobber" him, but Impy required with and imagination to overcome.

Charlie Horse 47 said...

Red - Impy is a good one!

I'd like to add another one I recall from my comic-reading days who only had one appearance... Diablo. I think around FF 117 -118? Not a particularly powerful guy. Just offbeat with a wild mustache and a purple uniform and a heap of braggadociosesness!

And, (thanks to Red, Marti, and Doug) I read an appearance of him in a TBP featuring John Byrne's FF a few months ago.

I would have added Titanium Man since I think he only had 1 -2 appearances as well during my time. The whole cold-war theme (like Olympic boxing back at that time) grabbed me. The big but clumsier armor.. like USSR technology. But a wikimarvel suggests he's actually had several dozen appearances so...

Anonymous said...

I always thought the Stilt-Man was cool. I first saw him in a reprint of an old Daredevil comic when I was a kid. He was teamed up with the Masked Marauder, and defeated Spider-Man with a stun-gas grenade! (Whatever the heck that is.)
I thought he was genuinely scary, but his suit shorted out in the Hudson River.
I liked Black Spider, too!
And the Ringer. That poor guy got no respect.

M.P.

The Prowler said...

Here's how it played out in my head:

Comic Book Writer: I have a new idea for a Batman foe!!!

Comic Book Editor: Good, what've you got?

CBW: He's a street level vigilante who kills criminals. He's Spider-Man, but darker. Black and white costume... THE BLACK SPIDER!!!

CBE: Run with it! I'll get the guys to come up with a character design.

Time passes...

CBE: Hey, we got the designs for The Black Spider.

CBW: Great, let me see....

pause, pause, pause...

CBW: He's purple and orange...

CBE: Yeah. It tested through the roof. No other design was even close...

CBW: But he's The Black Spider. Black. Spider.

CBE: Yeah, dark, brooding, vigilante. Kids are gonna love it!!!

CBW: He's a purple and orange Black Spider...

CBE: If this is going to be a problem, I could let Tommy write...

CBW: No, no. We're good, it's good. Orange and purple Black Spider...

CBE: Purple and orange.

(

Let's do it

Workin' all week 9 to 5 for my money
So when the weekend comes I go get live with the honey
Rollin' down the street I saw this girl and she was pumpin'
I winked my eye she got into the ride went to a club was jumpin'
Introduce myself as Loc she said "You're a liar"
I said "I got it goin' on baby doll and I'm on fire"
Took her to the hotel she said "You're the king"
I said "Be my queen if you know what I mean and let us do the wild thing

Wild thing
Wild thing
Wild thing

Shoppin' at the mall looking for some gear to buy
I saw this girl she cool rocked my world and I had to adjust my fly
She looked at me and smiled and said "You have plans for the night"
I said "Hopefully if things go well I'll be with you tonight"
So we journeyed to her house one thing led to an other
I keyed the door we cold hit the floor looked up and it was her mother
I didn't know what to say I was hanging by a string
She said "Hey you two I was once like you and I liked to do the wild thing"

Wild thing
She loved to do the wild thing
Wild thing
Please baby baby please

Posse in effect hangin' out is always hype
And when me and the crew leave the shindig I want a girl who's just my type
Saw this luscious little frame I ain't lyin' fellas she was fine
The sweet young miss go gave me a kiss and I knew that she was mine
Took her to the limousine still parked outside
I tipped the chauffeur when it was over and I gave her my own ride
Couldn't get her off my jock she was like static cling
But that's what happens when body start slappin' from doin' the wild thing

Wild thing
She wanna do the wild thing
Please baby baby please

Wild thing

Doin' a little show at the local discotheque
This fine young chick was on my jock so I say what the heck
She want to come on stage and do her little dance
So I said chill for now but maybe later you'll get your chance
So when the show was finished I took her around the way
And what do you know she was good to go without a word to say
We was all alone and she said "Tone let me tell you one thing
I need $50 to make you holler I get paid to do the wild thing"

Say what
Yo love you must be kidding
You're walkin' babe
Just break out of here
Hasta la vista baby

Wild thing
Wild thing
Wild thing).

PS: At the local Wal-Mart with my wife Sunday. We're in the school supplies aisle buying the three subject notebooks that my youngest just loves. There's a young boy, 10-12 years old holding a Magic The Gathering box, trying desperately to convince his mother to buy it for him. The Circle Of Life...

Anonymous said...

Hmm speaking about DD's villains, I always had a soft spot for Stilt-Man; I still have the issue where he takes on Thor in a revamped adamantium suit; likewise for Leap-Frog - after all, nothing strikes fear into men like a man dressed up as a life size Kermit the frog muppet complete with big flippers with springs under them!

I remember reading some classic original X-men and Defenders comics back in the day which featured villains like the Unicorn, the Porcupine and the Eel. Not cosmic level threats like Kang, but somehow I always liked these B-level villains, maybe because they were some of the first villains I can remember reading about, or perhaps they're the everyman villain - normal schmucks who get caught up in the villain role!


- Mike 'waiting for the Gibbon to show up in the next Spidey movie' from Trinidad & Tobago.

Anonymous said...

I remember that issue of the Defenders with the Porcupine and the Eel. Plantman showed up, and tore up the streets of New York City with a giant vine that bore malevolent pods. Luke Cage was never the same after that.
Remember the Eel's brother, the Viper? He was a former advertising executive who manged to give the Falcon a run for his money, but was sadly cut off in his prime by Madame Hydra in the pages of Captain America.

M.P.

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