DC's New 52: Best Villains of Week 5!

To spice things up a bit, I'll be ranking what I thought were the top villains for DC's #2s. Unlike the heroes (except for a handful), almost all of the villains in the new 52 are making their first appearances in comics, so it's a very exciting time for the DCU's rogues gallery. 

And if a villain made it to the list, then the issue is good, too! 

#1: The Hunters Three from Animal Man #2

(Written by JEFF LEMIRE, Art and cover by TRAVEL FOREMAN)

The Hunters Three have been a favorite of mine since Animal Man #1 where they boasted "WE ARE FLESH MADE SICKNESS." In #1, we were just being introduced to them. While their appearance in #2 is about as brief, we get a hint at some of their powers, and it seems they have a gift for ruining the natural order.

Travel Foreman's art does not look awesome in that it's the most realistic. Instead, it feels like you're being dropped into a nightmare you can't wake up from (and, no, you can't put the book down either - it's too gripping). They look exactly like "flesh made sickness." They are a perversion of life. The Hunters Three come off as pure evil and earn this #1 spot by being genuinely terrifying.

#2: Sethe from Swamp Thing #2

(Written by SCOTT SNYDER, Art and cover by YANICK PAQUETTE)

Last month I mentioned Yanick Paquette's art really brought on the horror in Swamp Thing #1. Now we learn that the source of this horror is named Sethe, and everything looks just as bone chilling. Swamp Thing is directly tied into "the green," a cosmic life-force connecting all plant life. "The red" is the life-force for animal life, which is what Animal Man is tied to. Sethe is an enemy of both.

Sethe's powers have not clearly been defined, but  macabre deformation of everything that is alive and wholesome is at the top of its agenda. It leads a parade of the grotesque and disfigured, and when his dysmorphic cavalry starts getting violent, it's downright frightening.

#3: Dollmaker from Detective Comics #2

(Written by TONY S. DANIEL, Art by TONY S. DANIEL and RYAN WINN, Cover by TONY S. DANIEL)

Given Batman's insane (literally) rogues gallery, (Joker, Two-Face, Scarecrow, Rhas al Ghul, Bane, Poison Ivy, and Mr. Freeze, to name a few) it's no easy feat to write a new Bat-villain that really stands out. Dollmaker does that and more. 

Dollmaker seems to love to... sew patches into people's skins. Picture patchwork jeans. Now picture patchwork faces. Tony Daniels's artistic vision really gets a chance to shine in a very creepy aesthetic. Dollmaker also seems to have a wonderful crew of henchmen and women, possibly including a very classic Batman villain everyone knows and loves (I'll give you a hint, I mentioned his name in the list above!). I can't wait to see what madness he next stirs up for Bruce.

#4: Scourge of Worlds from Stormwatch #2

(Written by PAUL CORNELL, Art by MIGUEL SEPULVEDA and AL BARRIONUEVO, Art and cover by MIGUEL SEPULVEDA) 

The Scourge of Worlds is a very strange villain. It is a conscious entity who seems convinced that a terrible evil is on its way to attack Earth. So, to prepare our planet, the Scourge of Worlds is going to make us "stronger through devastation."

It makes about as much sense to me as it does to you. But this bizarre being has some wicked abilities, including mind-reading via some sort of tentacle. The most stand-out one, however, is making the moon come alive and attack Earth. That begins to happen over only a few pages at the end of the comic, but those are amazing-looking panels you don't want to miss.