Which comic villains don't get enough credit? Today, let’s look closer at five undervalued comic villains who could be headliners in the proper hands.

Not every creation is destined for greatness, but some characters just need the right creative team to propel them into the spotlight. These five have the potential to make an impact either in the comics or live-action.

Comic Villains THE SPOT

First Appearance (as Jonathon Ohn): Spectacular Spider-Man #97

First Appearance (as The Spot): Spectacular Spider-Man #98

Plagued with an awful name, the Spot is actually a worthy opponent for almost any hero in the Marvel Universe.

With a name like the Spot, it’s fitting that he is often played for laughs, but he has the potential to be a serious threat. He can create portals to an alternate dimension that allows him to travel anywhere. He even has portals attached to his body that he can use to attack from anywhere at any time. Basically, there’s no escaping him. As seen in Amazing Spider-Man #589, those portals are so dangerous that not even Spider-Man's Spidey sense can detect them. If you think about it, that kind of power would allow him to defeat even Thanos with the Infinity Gauntlet since he could steal the glove with little problem.

Now if only he could find himself a better name and costume…

Comic Villains SUPERBOY PRIME

First Appearance: DC Comics Presents #87

"Homicidal Superboy" is one of my favorite villains, and he deserves more time in the spotlight.

The villainous incarnations of Superman always make for a fun time, and there’s none more enjoyable than Superboy Prime. He’s basically a corrupted version of the original Superboy from the Siegel-Shuster Superman era. He comes into his own in Infinite Crisis when he is pulled from his Golden-Age Earth where he believed he was destined to become Superman. Superboy Prime is jealous of the Earth-One Superboy, Conner Kent, and goes into a full rage when he is attacked by the Teen Titans, which is an amazing sequence of panels. We don’t see him again until the Green Lantern epic, the Sinestro Corps War, and he makes for an amazing yellow lantern. Some day, I hope he makes it into either a live-action or animated movie.

Comic Villains THE PHALANX

First Appearance: Uncanny X-Men #305

Powers of X breathed new life into the techno-organic species, but they truly shined in the Annihilation story arcs. With the MCU venturing further into the cosmos, it stands to reason that they could be on Kevin Feige’s list of potential villains in the future. Personally, I love the idea of Ultron making an onscreen return in the same fashion as he did in the comics when it was revealed that he had taken charge of the Phalanx. In fact, I would go so far as to speculate that the Phalanx would make for a great “Thanos-level” threat to the entire MCU.

 

Comic Villains THE VIOLATOR

First Appearance: Spawn #2

With all the Spawn movie talk over the past two years now, no one seems to mention anything about his first adversary, the Violator. We’ve seen him onscreen in the atrocious 1997 Spawn (it wasn't Oscar-worthy, but I actually didn’t mind John Leguizamo’s performance) and in the cult-classic HBO animated series, Todd McFarlane’s Spawn. McFarlane keeps saying he wants Spawn to be a horror movie, and the Violator would make that happen, either in his clown or demon form. Either way, he would be a great addition to the film.

 

Comic Villains CALENDAR MAN

First Appearance: Detective Comics #259

I stand by my prediction that Calendar Man will be featured in The Batman.

With the new film reportedly taking cues from Long Halloween, it makes sense that Julian Gregory Day will be featured in some capacity. In Long Halloween, he and Batman had a Hannibal Lecter/Agent Starling relationship with Batman getting insight from Calendar Man to help him with the case. Ever since I read that comic, I have respected him as a creepy, obsessive villain who could make an impact on the screen.

SO MANY VILLAINS, SO LITTLE SPACE

Did I forget one of your favorite comic villains? Let me know in the comments.

 

 

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