Superheroes are heroic. Superheroes have moral codes. They are great role models. However, the most interesting thing about superheroes is their villains. The greatest superheroes are ultimately defined by the villains they face in battle. What is Batman without the Joker? What are the Avengers without Ultron? We live in an era where the chaos villains cause thrill fans as much as superheroics. The greatest thing about reading comic books is the exploits and crazy plans of villains and the chaos for the world they create.
Chaos For the World
It is not enough for Lex Luthor to make a bad day for Superman. What enthralls readers is the crazy plots that endanger the country, world, or universe. Did you know that the Joker once made Bruce Wayne bankrupt and then used his money to cause chaos in Gotham? The Spider-Man villain Carnage once made everyone in New York City homicidal maniacs.
Here are nine characters who live for nothing but to bring chaos to the world.
1. The Joker
The Joker tried to create nothing but chaos for the world and particularly Gotham in 2020’s Joker War. After Superman had revealed his secret identity to the public, one of Joker’s goons suggested finding out Batman’s real name. Joker kills the goon. Joker knows Bruce Wayne is Batman and does not want anyone else to know. He does, however, decide that completely destroying the reputation of Bruce Wayne is a better idea.
The Joker hires an unwitting Catwoman to steal the Wayne fortune. He then hires Deathstroke to distract Batman while he is doing this. Joker burns tens of billions of Wayne’s fortune and desecrates Wayne Manor. For a while, Joker succeeds and makes Bruce Wayne penniless for a short time.
2. Ultron
Ultron is a sentient A.I. with the ability to upgrade and improve itself. Worst of all, Ultron also has a God complex; it thinks humanity is akin to vermin in need of extermination. The Avengers have to deal with Ultron regularly. No matter how many times they defeat Ultron, it comes back smarter and stranger than before.
In the Age of Ultron comics event, Ultron succeeds in wiping out humans. The Avengers must use time travel to undo Ultron’s victory. Ultron once merged with Hank Pym and became PymTron. PymTron would then attack an alien world, trying to provoke an intergalactic war to destroy Earth. Ultron wants nothing but chaos for the world.
3. Carnage
Serial killer Cletus Kasady is a murderer and anarchist who believes human life has no value. He is the host for the alien symbiote Carnage, which was a former symbiote fragment from Venom. During the “Maximum Carnage” event, Carnage uses symbiote minions and mind control to create psychic mass hysteria in New York City. Innocent people fell into homicidal insanity and killing sprees on a city-wide scale.
In the 2020 comic Absolute Carnage, Carnage tries to kill every person who was a Venom symbiote. It’s a 200-page paperback that collects the first five issues of the event. Get it now on Amazon for $29.99.
4. The Riddler
In the “War of Jokes and Riddles,” Batman and Catwoman are discussing their potential wedding. Weary of the chaos they deal with, Batman first talks about his early career. The Riddler tried to form a pact with Joker to kill Batman. Since Joker thinks he needs Batman to give meaning to his crimes, he takes offense and goes to war with the Riddler. Their war causes a lot of death and carnage and only ends when Joker laughs, something he was unable to do for a while.
5. Thanos
In the MCU, Thanos comes off as a genocidal, charismatic, and philosophical maniac. MCU Thanos is almost a sympathetic figure when you consider his willful sacrifices during the Infinity Saga. However, Marvel Comics’ Thanos was a simp who wanted nothing but chaos for the world and the universe.
In the Infinity Gauntlet Saga, Thanos made the Marvel heroes and villains fight each other as he collected the Infinity Stones to erase half of life in the universe. Marvel Comics’ Thanos was not trying to restore balance to the universe. All Thanos wants is to kill half the universe to impress his crush, Lady Death.
6. Ozymandias
Adrian Veidt is a billionaire and adventurer Ozymandias in the Watchmen universe. In the story, President Richard Nixon oversees a dystopian world where nuclear World War 3 is imminent. Ozymandias takes it upon himself to find a solution and uses everyone he knows like pawns. He hires artists, genetic engineers, and scientists, and secludes them on an island to create a psychic squid monster.
He kills all the experts to keep his plan secret. Ozymandias then digitally transports the monster to New York City. The creature sends out a psychic death wave that kills millions. The world thinks a creature from another dimension is attacking. After the attack, WW3 was averted. However, the other Watchmen, especially Rorschach, disapprove of Ozymandias’ methods.
Dr. Manhattan has to kill Rorschach, a moral absolutist, from revealing Ozymandias’ plot. Ozymandias saved the world using chaos and deception, even if it brought chaos to the world too.
7. The Church of Humanity
The Church of Humanity is a deeply anti-mutant group that thinks mutants are an abomination on humanity and Christianity. They also believe that if humanity did not erase mutants, then mutants would eventually surpass and erase humanity and then Christianity. So, it is the solemn mission of the Church to eradicate mutants, even if it brings chaos to the world.
In a very controversial 2001 X-Men story, “Holy War,” the Church plots to use the blue-skinned and demonic-looking Nightcrawler, a devout catholic, to take over the world. They plot to use an image inducer to make the world think Nightcrawler was the Pope and reveal his real form. The hope was to invoke global genocide against mutants.
8. Loki
After the Secret Invasion comics event, Norman Osborn reveals to the world that the Skrulls have infiltrated world governments. Osborn is made head of S.H.I.E.L.D. and renames it H.A.M.M.E.R. He is given his one Dark Avengers to lead. He becomes an overnight household name in global politics. However, it is soon revealed that Loki was subtly manipulating Osborn the whole time and causing global chaos.
9. Superior Spider-Man
In 2013, Otto Octavius, Dr. Octopus, takes over the body of Peter Parker. He becomes more savage, efficient, and never holds back his punches or full power as Superior Spider-Man. Although Otto wants to do good, he brings chaos to the world as the Superior Spider-Man. He kills criminals, maims them, or beats them severely. The Avengers think he is an imposter and test him.
Otto launches Spider-Drones to monitor the city. While he is a more savage and efficient Spider-Man, he causes chaos in the life of Peter Parker. Parker still exists as a consciousness in Otto’s mind, causing even more internal chaos.
Chaos For The World
One of the oldest tropes in comic books is the villain who wants to destroy the world. It is now a well-worn trope in comic book films, since every film seems to have a world-ending event. It is the reality of superhero comics, and a challenge for creators.
Superheroes are ultimately defined by their villains. It is up to the writers and artists to brainstorm new and interesting ways for bad guys to threaten the world, and for the heroes to stop them, and keep us entertained.
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