Let me start by apologizing to my friend Rayhab if she’s reading this before watching the Iron Man 3 movie. My argument is that Iron Man 3 for me was a bit of a bit of a disappointment for the simple reason that it lacked a good villain. I believe that you can have all the awesome super powers but what makes a good hero is not his or her strengths but the villain they have to face. So here is a list of my top 4 villains.
1. Joker
The joker has to be top of this list. As Batman’s archenemy I don’t think there has ever been a bigger villain in the history of comics – this being subject to debate. Joker is the ultimate master criminal and always finds a way to tread the fine line between genius and insanity. There have been several different tales of his origin but the most common has been falling into a tank of chemical waste which bleaches his skin white and turns his hair green and his lips bright red.
2. Lex Luther
Lex is Superman’s archenemy and one of comics leading super villains. He is described as “a power-mad, evil scientist” of high intelligence and incredible technological prowess. We had an argument with some friends over the weekend as to whether Lex should be black or white or somewhere in the middle since different movies, series and cartoons portray him differently but that’s a subject for another post.
3.Magneto
Magneto is the primary villain to the X Men though he has also been portrayed as an ally or even a member of the X Men. He is a powerful mutant with the ability to generate and control magnetic fields. Magneto desired mutants to eventually dominate the human race as he viewed humans as an outdated species that no longer deserves its continual domination over the world. It’s kind of a fine line to describe him as a villain as he has also been portrayed as a holocaust survivor whose fight is to ensure the mutants do not surfer the same fate.
4. Bane
For me Bane is one of the reasons The Dark Knight Rises still ranks as my best movie this year. Despite spending most of his childhood and life in prison, his natural abilities allowed him to develop extraordinary skills while in prison and he has to be one of Batman’s best villains – second only to the Joker of course.
Anyway my point is that if you’re going to make a movie out of a comic hero please ensures that the villain lives up to the billing. Next up is the debate between The Avengers and Justice League so drop me your suggestions on @azizmola.