[Greenskar]

Great thread! Although if it never appeared on the "Latest Discussion" column I would never have seen it. lol

Quote:

For me, I think the best kind of villain is the kind who does not believe him/herself evil. He/She is the kind who has a philosophy that is the polar opposite of what we're led to believe in. But I also enjoy a fun and sinister villain as well.

I couldn't agree more. I forget where I read this or if I was told this, but it was to the effect of, "In times of war, often the biggest oversight from either side of the fight, is that the enemy's perspective of "justice" is somehow not justice." I think that statement somehow relates to your statement regarding the makeup of a good villain.

That said:

Magneto: Here is a villain not without moral values, honor or compassion...as long as you're willing to accept the superiority of the Mutant Race. Magneto is the epitome of self justification. He believes the distance between humanity and mutants is no different from the distance between Man and Ape. He doesn't want to destroy humanity, he wants them to accept their inevitable extinction and enjoy being living relics of the past at the feet of Homo-Superior. He would love to make their extinction as "comfortable as possible" not through killing them, but by simply watching them die off naturally. But those damn Humans, they're stubborn. They won't go down without a fight. Such a futile war they fight.

The fact that he was on the Heroes side of the Secret War speaks volumes of his character depth.

Sinestro: The Greatest Green Lantern ever! (pre Hal Jordan) who actually believes in what the Green Lantern Corps stands for despite starting the Sinestro Corps and waging war against them. He only did it so that the Green Lantern Corp would do what was necessary to strengthen themselves by giving the order to authorize lethal force against their enemies. No one respects an empty threat, and no one understands that better than Sinestro. How can you instill order in the universe amongst the deadliest villains if they have nothing to fear or lose? This is the premise behind Sinestro.

Joker: For all intents and purposes, here's a guy who seemingly lives not to kill his greatest nemesis, Batman, but only to break him. Whether it's the Big screen, cartoon or comics, this psychopath would love nothing more than to see Batman finally break his moral code of honor. Through the years he's gone through the most sinister and sickening of plots to coerce Batman into doing the only thing possible to stop him once and for all...kill him. A Villain who would welcome death to gain the ultimate prize.

Ultron- How do you fault an A.I. who is simply following directive? Organic Life is potentially violent. It is also unpredictable. Therefore if you destroy all organic life, you would theoretically be bringing order and justice to the planet if not the universe. Yet it's not this simplicity that makes him such an amazing villain to me, rather its his analysis of his threats. It's through these analytical perspectives that we see the truth about our heroes. My favorite was during the "Next Avengers" animation where Ultron confronts the son of Captain America and identifies Captain America as "The Most Dangerous Avenger of them all" because he inspires everyone else.