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Mike Norris
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Posted: 15 June 2019 at 1:32pm | IP Logged | 1 post reply


Lex Luthor and Dr Doom in a chess match. Who wins?

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I see them playing with living chess pieces. 
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Adam Schulman
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Posted: 15 June 2019 at 5:18pm | IP Logged | 2 post reply

I suspect Luthor has more patience. I could be wrong.
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Steven Myers
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Posted: 15 June 2019 at 8:46pm | IP Logged | 3 post reply

Fantastic Four
Spider-Man
Avengers
X-Men
Dr. Strange

Only Batman's foes come close to the level of the Marvel villains, and some of his rogues gallery are rather weak.

I do love the villains from the 4th World! They have become classics, and all seem a little too over-the-top to fit at Marvel, making Kirby's move to DC seem just perfect timing!
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Peter Martin
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Posted: 15 June 2019 at 10:02pm | IP Logged | 4 post reply


Only Batman's foes come close to the level of the Marvel villains, and some of his rogues gallery are rather weak
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Please name me one character who does not have a weak member of their rogues gallery. 

The thread is about the strength of a character's rogues gallery; what relevance is the weakness of 'some'?

Personally, I'd place Thor above Dr Strange as having better villains, and the notion that either Thor or Dr Strange had better villains than Batman... Well, it's a novel idea.

The FF do certainly have a long list of quality villains, as does Spider-Man, and Batman. Those would be my top 3 (no ordering implied) and I would have to think long and hard to round it out to 5.




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Brian Hague
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Posted: 16 June 2019 at 2:36am | IP Logged | 5 post reply

The fact that Greg asks us for our favorite Rogues Galleries makes this a more subjective exercise than if he'd asked us which were actually the best or most formidable.

I have an enormous amount of affection for Superman's villains, having grown up reading their stories. I find their motivations varied and their backgrounds diverse and interesting. I like those characters overall, whereas Spidey's, despite their general inventiveness and slick appearances, mostly leave me cold. Most of them just wanna kill the webhead, so who cares? Not me. 

There is a story with the Vulture I recall fondly, and I remember liking the Lizard on more than one occasion, but Doc Ock, Kraven, and co...? Couldn't care less. I've read their stories since and am familiar with them. I appreciate an in-character appearance by them vs. a more fly-by-night, seat-of-the-pants one, but still, by and large, I don't like them and don't care about them. 

Same goes for most FF foes. Annihilus. Blastarr. Gaudy designs, absent any real charm or subtlety. They just... blow stuff up and hate the FF. Big whoop. Gimme a well-imagined Mr. Mxyzptlk story with a charming set-up and clever twist at the end over all that bombast and thin-to-thick force lines radiating outwards from a central sound effect. Oh, hey, someone zapped Johnny. I wonder if he'll... yawn... be okay. 

Don't get me wrong. I like Johnny just fine. Ben, too. I especially like Ben, in fact. But I really don't care who they're fighting this month. There never seems to be any "there" there, Doc Doom notwithstanding. And Galactus is interesting. But Gideon? The Invincible Man? The Mad Thinker? Whatever, guys...

I have enormous affection for Dick Tracy's Rogues. I just got into them as a kid and the fact that my dad read them back in the day made them extra-special. Do I think Influence or 88 Keys could take Torgo the wrestling robot or even the Creature From the Lost Lake and his bride? No, but they do seem like far better characters. I like reading about them more. They seem somehow genuinely relevant and seedy rather than, y'know, cosmic or malevolent. You might run into someone like them. Hell, I've worked for people like them. 

So... I'm not on board with arguments like "The Green Goblin could finger-laser the Joker to death from far away, so the Joker just sucks!" By and large, the Green Goblin is kind of, well, dumb. Just really a walking case of convenient amnesia waiting to kick in for the first few years, and now? He's just a by-the-numbers corporate moron. "Lookit 'im sneer! Dontcha just hate that guy?" Not really. I barely care that he's there at all. 

I still like the Green Goblin, mainly because I had his Comic Action Hero way back when. Of Spidey's foes, I might like him better than the Vulture or Lizard. But he's not a favorite character overall. Cool visual. Really nice Mego figure. Key player in the whole Gwen Stacy story. Not much else. 

So... with the understanding then that I'm listing personal favorites and not pre-eminent literary achievements or super-charged "my guys can beat up your guys" contenders...

1.) Superman's Rogues Gallery
2.) The Flash's.
3.) Batman's.
4.) Dick Tracy's.
5.) Captain Marvel's. (Sorry, "Shazam's" for you ahistoric, illiterate youngster-types.) 

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Doug Centers
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Posted: 16 June 2019 at 5:38am | IP Logged | 6 post reply

1. Spider-Man- From Dr. Octopus to Hammerhead there always seemed to be a fun rival in most issues.

2. Batman- With nary a "super power" between most of them, it allowed writers to come up with some enjoyable stories.

3. Flash- Rogues Gallery personified.

4. Daredevil

5. Doom Patrol- I recently read thru the original series and had loads of fun with their rogues.

I seem to be writing in the past tense here, so I guess it's foes from the sixties thru the seventies for me.
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Wallace Sellars
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Posted: 16 June 2019 at 8:06am | IP Logged | 7 post reply


 QUOTE:
I have enormous affection for Dick Tracy's Rogues.


Yikes! I forgot about those guys!
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Brian Floyd
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Posted: 16 June 2019 at 9:23am | IP Logged | 8 post reply

The thing about Daredevil is, I cannot name many of his enemies, other than Bullseye, Jester, Mr. Fear, the Owl and Gladiator. Death-Stalker and Stilt-Man are dead. The original Leap-Frog is reformed AND retired. And certain villains, such as Kingpin, aren't linked to just one hero. Kingpin has fought almost everyone, and started out as a Spider-Man foe.


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Adam Schulman
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Posted: 16 June 2019 at 2:46pm | IP Logged | 9 post reply

True, Brian. But Wilson Fisk had no depth as a character until Frank Miller made him a Daredevil foe. So he really does "belong" to Daredevil.

Certainly, Fisk has never been able to make Spider-Man's life a living hell the way he has with Daredevil, over and over again.
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Robert Bradley
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Posted: 16 June 2019 at 11:24pm | IP Logged | 10 post reply

Spider-Man
Batman
Fantastic Four
Thor
Superman

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