50 Fun Facts About DC Villains

Which New God rules Apokolips and hunts for the Anti-Life Equation?

Jack Kirby created him for his Fourth World saga; Ray Porter played him in Zack Snyder's Justice League.

Which android from the planet Colu shrinks cities, including Kandor, into bottles?

He is even blamed for Krypton's destruction in some continuities.

Black Adam's homeland Kahndaq sits at the southern tip of which peninsula?

Dwayne Johnson played him as an antihero who liberated Kahndaq from slavery.

Which helmeted underwater mercenary murdered Aquaman's infant son?

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II played him in both Aquaman films; his bug-eyed helmet is the visual motif.

Leonard Snart, leader of the Flash's Rogues, operates under which name?

Wentworth Miller played him in the Arrowverse; in the New 52 his Rogues live by a no-killing code.

Archaeologist Barbara Ann Minerva is the best-known version of which Wonder Woman foe?

A plant god named Urzkartaga transformed her, making her the third woman to use the codename.

Which never-missing marksman, Floyd Lawton, did Will Smith play in 2016's Suicide Squad?

He debuted in 1950 in a tuxedo and top hat and was meant to be a one-off Batman villain.

Slade Wilson, archenemy of the Teen Titans, is better known as whom?

He debuted in 1980 as 'Deathstroke the Terminator'; Joe Manganiello played him in Justice League.

Which pink-skinned, three-eyed alien debuted in Justice League of America #1?

Tony Curran played him in The Flash's 'Armageddon' crossover.

Which monster killed Superman in the 1992 storyline 'The Death of Superman'?

Editor Mike Carlin scribbled 'doomsday for Superman' on a planning chart, and the name stuck.

Which telepathic super-intelligent ape plots conquest from a hidden African city?

A crashed alien spaceship gave his whole troop sapience; he has fought the Flash since 1959.

Which Batman foe is a former sideshow wrestler with a reptilian genetic condition?

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje played him in 2016's Suicide Squad.

Which Superman foe, lord of Warworld, takes his name from the Mongol Empire?

He debuted in DC Comics Presents #27 in 1980, created by Len Wein and Jim Starlin.

Aquaman's half-brother Orm Marius goes by which villain name?

In the New 52 he is a full-blooded Atlantean royal who wants to punish humans for polluting the sea.

Rudy Jones, who drains powers and memories by touch, is which Superman villain?

Creator Jim Shooter, who started at DC aged 13, got the idea from ninth-grade biology.

Which Grant Morrison-created Batman foil was killed at the end of Justice League: Cry for Justice?

He first appeared in New Year's Evil: Prometheus in 1998; Josh Segarra played him on Arrow.

Which discharged Green Lantern, modeled on David Niven, founded his own yellow-ringed Corps?

Mark Strong played him in 2011 and Ulrich Thomsen takes over in the DCU series Lanterns.

Which swamp-born revenant, Cyrus Gold, is named after a 19th-century nursery rhyme?

He began as a foe of Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern; Butch Gilzean became him on Gotham.

Which giant starfish was the first villain ever faced by the Justice League of America?

The Brave and the Bold #28 (1960) introduced both; The Suicide Squad (2021) finally put it on screen.

Which world-conquering demon is the father and arch-enemy of the Titan Raven?

He cameoed in New Teen Titans #2, the same 1980 issue that introduced Deathstroke.

Which immortal Cro-Magnon warrior gained eternal life from a prehistoric meteorite?

He debuted in Green Lantern #10 in 1943 and has fought Hawkman across 50,000 years.

Who is the main antagonist of 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths?

He stayed in shadow until issue #5; LaMonica Garrett played him and the Monitor in the Arrowverse.

Which 'mirror image' of Superman debuted in Superboy #68 in 1958?

Otto Binder wrote him as a Frankenstein's-monster pastiche who does everything backwards.

B-list actor Basil Karlo was the original version of which shapeshifting Batman villain?

Bob Kane said the 1940 character was partly inspired by Lon Chaney's Phantom of the Opera.

Bandage-wrapped neurosurgeon Tommy Elliot, Bruce Wayne's childhood friend, is which villain?

Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee introduced him in Batman #609 in 2003.

Jervis Tetch, who builds mind-control devices, is which Lewis Carroll-inspired villain?

Roddy McDowall voiced him in the animated series; Benedict Samuel played him on Gotham.

Botanist Pamela Isley, empowered by 'the Green', is which Gotham villain?

Uma Thurman played her in 1997; in recent comics she is Harley Quinn's primary love interest.

Psychologist Jonathan Crane, the self-styled 'Master of Fear', is which villain?

Gardner Fox's 1967 revival introduced his fear toxin; Cillian Murphy played him in all three Nolan films.

What does Ra's al Ghul's name mean in Arabic?

Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams introduced him in 1971's 'Daughter of the Demon'.

25th-century scientist Eobard Thawne is best known under which villain name?

He idolised the Flash, copied his accident, then learned he was destined to be his greatest enemy.

Which Kryptonian military villain did both Terence Stamp and Michael Shannon play on film?

Stamp's look was so definitive that the comics gave the once-bald character black hair and a goatee.

Which villain, played by Tom Hardy in 2012, broke Batman's back in the Knightfall storyline?

He was raised in Santa Prisca's Peña Duro prison and juiced on the super-steroid Venom.

In what year did the Joker first appear?

He was meant to die in his debut story but an editor stepped in.

In which 1988 story did the Joker paralyse Barbara Gordon?

Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's book also gave him a possible origin as a failed comedian.

Which Robin did the Joker murder in 'A Death in the Family'?

Readers voted by phone on whether he lived or died; Todd later returned as the Red Hood.

Alongside Bill Finger and Bob Kane, who is credited with creating the Joker?

Kane and Robinson both claimed the design; the credit remains disputed to this day.

Who played the Joker as an 'agent of anarchy and chaos' in 2008's The Dark Knight?

He won a posthumous Academy Award for the role.

Harley Quinn was created for which show before she entered the comics?

Paul Dini and Bruce Timm intended her for a single episode in 1992.

Harley Quinn's name is a play on which stock character of Italian commedia dell'arte?

Her real name is Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel, a former Arkham psychiatrist.

In which 1992 animated episode did Harley Quinn make her debut?

It was the series' 22nd episode, aired 11 September 1992; she reached the comics seven years later.

Catwoman disappeared from print from 1954 to 1966 because of what?

The Code's rules on portraying female characters kept her out for 12 years.

What is the name of the Penguin's nightclub?

Batman occasionally uses it as a source of underworld information.

Who played the Penguin in 1992's Batman Returns?

Meredith was the 1960s TV Penguin, Taylor played him on Gotham and Farrell in The Batman.

What is the Penguin's middle name?

Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot styles himself the 'Gentleman of Crime'.

Mr. Freeze debuted in 1959 under which original name?

The 1966 TV series renamed him, and the comics followed suit.

Mr. Freeze turns to crime to cure his terminally ill wife, named what?

The tragic origin came from the 1992 animated series and was adopted by the comics.

Which Hellboy artist helped reinvent Mr. Freeze for the 1992 animated series?

Paul Dini and Bruce Timm wrote and produced the acclaimed episode 'Heart of Ice'.

Which mob boss threw the acid that scarred Harvey Dent into Two-Face?

Modern stories portray Two-Face as an alternate personality born of childhood abuse.

Before becoming Two-Face, Harvey Dent held which Gotham job?

He was an ally of Batman and Gordon, which makes his fall the tragedy of the rogues gallery.

Lex Luthor made his debut two years after Superman in which title?

Issue #23, two years after Superman's own debut in Action Comics #1.