7 Comic Book Movie Villains We Can’t Help But Love

I have to admit that I love comic book movies. Whether it’s my inner-geek or my longing for superhuman abilities, I just think they’re pretty cool. I see the appeal. I contribute to the box office success, the hits on YouTube and forums on IMDb. I love the epic heroes, but what I love more are the epic villains. While we are supposed to hate them, sometimes we can’t help but love them.

Harley Quinn

Why we should hate her: She foils Batman’s attempts to foil The Joker’s schemes. She’s got a whiney voice and only exists (as a villain) because she wants to be appreciated and loved by the Clown Prince of Crime – which is kind of pathetic.

 “Oh, come on, Puddin’! Don’t you wanna rev up your “Harley”? Vroom vroom!”
– Harley Quinn

Why we love her: She’s insanely hot and insanely insane – which makes her quite entertaining. She hangs out with The Joker (which is something I imagine most people want to do) and has a sick sense of humour and loyalty to her ‘Puddin’ Mr. J. Plus that outfit is weirdly attractive. Or is that just me?

Magneto

Why we should hate him: He does not like the human race – which sucks for us. He has a God complex. He used to be a good guy, but left because he had a different vision. He’s got a weird looking helmet and a stupid name – seriously, think about it. Mag-ne-to. Like a magnet. Ugh.

“You are a god among insects. Never let anyone tell you different.” – Magneto

Why we love him: He’s got a tortured past and is vengeful, which makes us feel sorry for him and also cheer him on. He is a badass and wants all mutants to embrace their superiority. Plus he can manipulate metal and pretty much own Wolverine. Like, whenever he wants to. I like Wolverine but sometimes he just needs to be owned.

Catwoman

Why we should hate her: She’s a cat burglar and often teams with the other obvious bad guys. She looks out for herself only. She is pretty much a cat. So she does cat like things, including licking her paw – which is slightly ridiculous, right?

As I was saying, I’m a woman and can’t be taken for granted. Life’s a bitch, now so am I. – Catwoman

Why we love her: Skin tight leather. Flexibility. Attractive and has the tendency to be less of a villain and more of an anti-hero. She has an attitude and is feisty but she has the tendency to do some good. See – The Dark Knight Rises. She was even the hero in the Halle Berry movie. Please DON’T see – Catwoman.

The Riddler

Why we should hate him: He has a mental superiority complex and needs to be the smartest person in the room. He designs death traps with riddles so that there is a chance for survival. He wears green – lots of green. He has question marks all over him and has a cane – also shaped like a question mark.

“A crime is no fun without riddles. I’ll have you know that’s the main reason I took up this crime game.” – The Riddler

Why we love him: He is insanely brilliant. And when played by Jim Carrey: over-the-top and entertaining as an insanely brilliant insane person, event though Batman Forever was not very well-received. He longs for bringing down Batman using his intelligence and people love brainteasers devised by mastermind villains.

The Governor

Why we should hate him: Dude has it in for Rick and the crew in The Walking Dead. He genuinely hates them. He’s got an eye-patch – which, unless you’re Nick Fury, usually means you’re a bad guy. He’s devious and will double cross anyone. Oh, and he kept his Zombie daughter on a leash and would stroke her hair at night. Or is that sweet?

In this life now you kill or you die. Or you die and you kill. – The Governor

Why we love him: For a dude with an eye-patch, he gives off quite a reassuring vibe and seems like a true leader. He is really smart, charming and in AMC’s The Walking Dead, he has a voice that makes it impossible to ignore him.

The Joker

Why we should hate him: He’s unpredictable and loves introducing chaos into Gotham. He is a pure anarchist who lives for watching things crumble. He’s got a warped sense of humour. He’s a clown (never been a fan of them) and loves terrorizing Gotham.

“It’s all a joke! Everything anybody ever valued or struggled for… it’s all a monstrous, demented gag! So why can’t you see the funny side? Why aren’t you laughing?” – The Joker

Why we love him: He is the perfect villain in that he just loves making trouble. He doesn’t care about money or power or fame or love. He cares about amusing himself at the expense of others, which makes him memorable. Well, that and the clown suit, bleached skin, red lips and green hair. And that laugh, who doesn’t love that sick, demented laugh?

Loki

Why we should hate him: He’s the very jealous brother of our favourite blonde-haired Avenger, Thor. He wants to rule those he feels are inferior to him – which to him is pretty much everyone. He loves deception and is all about illusions and mischief. He wears weird-looking headgear.

It’s the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life’s joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel.  – Loki

Why we love him: He’s the quintessential anti-hero in comics. He’s bad, sure. But with the right motivation he can fight for the morally “good” cause. Despite him constantly collaborating with other villains, he tends to be a loner who looks out for only himself. He’s got a silver tongue and a charming persona. But most of all, because of him, we got The Avengers.

About the author: Dean is a co-founding member of BTG Lifestyle. Also, he is Batman.