The Six Worst Comic Book Movie Villains

Here is a list of what I think are some of the six worst villains in a comic book movie. I went through my DVD library and I picked out some of the villains that really upset me when I watched them. Some were just awful right out of the gate, while others started out fine and then beat themselves into a state of mediocrity. I’m not stretching back to the 80′s and 90′s. This is more of a modern list. You may agree with some and not with others, but check out my list and see what you think. In no particular order, here we go.

Blackheart- Ghost Rider

Why?

In the film, Blackheart seems to have “daddy issues” that are just unbecoming of a good villain. He attempts to have this swagger about him that just doesn’t come off well. There is nothing lamer than a villain that you can’t be afraid of.

Lame Villain Moment:

When the final battle comes to a head, as Blackheart pulls all these souls into him for power, Ghost Rider uses the penance stare to defeat him. The penance stare normally wouldn’t work on a demon, but because Blackheart absorbed all of those souls, he feels what the humans would have felt. It was a stupid, anti-climactic ending.

My Take:

Wes Bentley’s take on the character was kind of weak. He has a good look in the film, but overacts the character, especially in the final battle. There is definitely hope for the franchise, but they need to avoid using this character again.

Villain Rating: 1

Green Goblin- Spider-man

Why?

The Green Goblin is a great villain in the comics. He’s maniacal and vicious. There is an attempt at this in the film, but it doesn’t happen on screen. To take a character that wears a funny looking green and purple outfit in the comics and make the costume even worse in the film is ridiculous.

Lame Villain Moment:

The Green Goblin sets fire to a building in an attempt to lure Spiderman in. When Spiderman enters he hears a woman shrieking in fear. He then approaches the woman to help her and ‘Surprise!’ it’s the Green Goblin in drag. I laughed out loud at this moment though I’m not sure if it was meant to be funny.

My Take:

Really, the whole thing was off to a bad start with the costume. It looks good as an action figure, but that’s about it. The helmet was awful, but the body armor was ok. Willem Dafoe does a good job of playing both Norman Osborn and his villain alter ego with his voice changing, but I just think that the villain’s appearance would have made all of the difference if it had looked better.

Villain Rating: 4

Absorbing Man aka Bruce Banners Father- Hulk

Why?

There is a laundry list of reasons why this character has made it on to this list. For one, I don’t think that he is named in the film. On IMDB he is just listed as “Father”, though it may have been David. That’s already a bad sign. He kind of lurks behind the scenes during the entire movie and you never expect him to join the main fight in the end, which is disappointing when it happens.

Lame Villain Moment:

Papa Banner uses his technology and mad scientist powers to create the “Gamma Dogs”. He makes these Hulk-like dogs to fight the Hulk to test his abilities. Someone somewhere thought that this would be a great fight scene, but when the Hulk fights a ‘roided out poodle, I just don’t care.

My Take:

They never say the “Father” is the Absorbing Man from the comics, but he has the same powers in the end. And in the comics, the character has no relation to Bruce Banner. In my opinion, actor Nick Nolte doesn’t belong in many films and at his age he shouldn’t have been a main villain in a franchise that was looking to get started.

Villain Rating: 1

Jigsaw- Punisher: War Zone

Why?

This character, like this film, had a lot of potential. Billy “The Beaut “ Russo (Jigsaw) starts out as an interesting villain. He’s calm, cool and well respected. Then he gets disfigured and the whole thing goes south for him. He becomes a very over-the-top kind of character bordering on the absurd. Instead of becoming a villain you can respect, he comes off very comical.

Lame Villain Moment:

Jigsaw and his psychotic brother, Looney Bin Jim, go on a mirror bashing spree in a hotel. Jigsaw is so distraught by his features that his brother Jim starts destroying everything that casts a reflection in the hotel lobby. Laughing manically, Jigsaw joins in and the brothers have a two man circle jerk to celebrate. (Not Really)

My Take:

Again, we have potential for a cool villain that is over shadowed by bad acting. As soon as Dominic West changes from just Billy to Jigsaw, he is just all over the place. His accent gets bad and he oversells every scene that he is in. He is, however, a character that could be revisited in another reboot of this franchise because he is such a heinous villain in the comic. He is willing to go just as far as Frank Castle with less regard for bystanders.

Villain Rating: 2

Howard Saint- The Punisher

Why?

Now this one stung me. This should have been a great villain overall. Saint starts out awesome; he’s not a big time crime boss per se, but has the swagger to be. He obviously controls a lot of men in his network so it was sad to see him be picked apart by the Punisher. Every move the Punisher made, Saint fell for. He was moved around like a pawn with ease.

Lame Villain Moment:

In the final fight, Saint brings out all of his guns, but the Punisher still picks him apart. Had Saint not killed his best friend and most competent right hand man (because the Punisher made that happen) he could have stood a chance. The Punisher makes Saint kill his wife, best friend and kills Saint’s son himself and when the Punisher reveals this, he ties Saint to the end of his bumper and all Saint can do is make moaning noises as he is dragged away into a sea of explosions.

My Take:

Maybe it was too much for him to process, but Saint goes out like a bitch. He gets caught running away and then his last words are lame moaning sounds. It was, however, a good idea getting John Travolta’s star power involved in the character, and he played the part well. It just never made any sense to me that Saint could be so completely manipulated by the Punisher. I get him killing his wife or best friend, but not both.  Also, Howard Saint’s hair was ridiculous.

Villain Rating: 5

Lex Luthor- Superman Returns

Why?

Lex Luthor is one of the smartest men in the DC Universe and you’re telling me that his master plan involves real estate? That just doesn’t seem like the workings of a genius. Plus, he seems like a petty thug when it all comes down to it. When he shanked Superman with the kryptonite knife it seemed so beneath the villain I love in the comic books.

Lame Villain Moment:

For me, it was the beginning of the film that set up the lameness. When Lex Luthor is at the side of his dying wife, who is quite elderly, she says to him something to the affect of never knowing pleasure before meeting Lex. Right there I was almost done. Again, it seemed out of character for Lex to slum it with some old rich lady to get money. Then again, maybe I don’t know Lex as well as I thought.

My Take:

I really liked Kevin Spacey as Lex, and there were moments where he truly shined. Like I said before though, there were just a lot of moments where the Lex on screen seemed way different than Lex in the books. Spacey is one that I would like to see reprise the role, although his age is showing and Lex shouldn’t look that much older than Superman.

Villain Rating 5

I know that Marvel pretty much takes the cake in this category, but you have to remember that DC hasn’t made as many films yet. And don’t get me wrong there are good things about some of these characters, but when you see my later list of the Best Comic Book Movie Villains you will see why even someone like John Travolta couldn’t make the cut.

Do you like my list? Who would you add? Who would you remove? Let us know below.