Some of the best comic book stories are about the villains who nearly won. Watchmen is a 1986 event comic that is still just as important today. The villain in that comic, Ozymandias, won at the expense of the heroes and at a horrific cost. Alfred the Butler is still dead in DC Comics because of a 2019 storyline where Bane broke his neck. Bruce Wayne was technically broke and now, technically on a budget, because of a 2020 storyline where the Joker stole all his money.
Some fans consider Avengers: Infinity War one of the greatest comic book films because Thanos, the bad guy, actually won.
It gets kind of boring when the heroes win all the time. Here is a list of eight stories where the villains who nearly won changed the dynamics of their universes, sometimes forever.
1. Norman Osborn “Dark Reign”
In 2008, the Skrulls were the villains who nearly won. The shapeshifting Skrulls had infiltrated and replaced major world leaders, heroes, and villains globally. Norman Osborn, the mentally unstable tycoon and villainous Green Goblin, uses his connections, deception, and luck to defeat the Skrulls. Osborn wins public favor and becomes the new director of S.H.I.E.L.D., which he later renames H.A.M.M.E.R.
Then, Osborn forms a secret society, the Cabal, with Dr. Doom, Loki, Namor, the Hood, and Emma Frost, to coordinate their control of the world. Osborn dons the Iron Patriot armor and forms his own Dark Avengers. He changes the entire world order and controls it on his terms. However, it turns out that Loki was mentally manipulating him all along. Osborn soon loses his power and influence.
2. Emperor Doom
In the 1980s, Marvel Comics would publish graphic novels that were canonical or non-canonical, along with comic books. “Emperor Doom” is a forgotten gem and one of the best examples of stories where villains who nearly won change everything. Dr. Doom kidnaps and imprisons the Purple Man, a villain who has the power to control minds. Doom places the Purple Man into a prison that amplifies his powers globally.
Doom changes the world into a utopia. People have no free will, but there is no crime, hunger, or war. People want for nothing, but are under the mental control of Doom. Wonder Man, who escapes Doom’s mental influences, helps other heroes break free of their mental control. They form a rebellion, but it is too late. Doom gets bored controlling the world and frees everyone. However, the world goes back to the way it was before Doom’s Utopia; is that a good thing?
3. House of M
In the 2004 comic book event Disassembled, the Scarlet Witch has gone insane. She fully accepts that her lover, the Vision, is not human. Her children are magical constructs and not real. She feels her colleagues mock her. Wanda has begun killing Avengers and letting her reality-warping powers get out of control. The Avengers and X-Men got into fierce debates about what to do with Wanda; some members suggested killing her to solve the problem.
Quicksilver overhears this and tells Wanda. Wanda creates House of M, a world where mutants are the dominant race. All of the superheroes are living out imaginary lives based on their deepest desires. Only Wolverine remembers the Old World and slowly convinces his allies to help him stop Wanda. In the end, Wanda restores the Old World by uttering “No more mutants.” Millions of mutants disappear on Earth; less than 200 remain after Wanda’s utterance.
Of the villains who nearly won on this list, Scarlet Witch won. Mental imbalances do not excuse her actions. She is responsible for the attempted genocide of the mutant race, an action still affecting the 616 universe today. The fact that Scarlet Witch is still seen as a hero, and not the Nazi equivalent for mutants, is mind-blowing. I love Wanda, but she should be a full-blown villain today.
4. City of Bane
2019’s “City of Bane” storyline is one of the most tragic examples of how villains who nearly won change their universe forever. Batman and the Batman family are in exile. Bane rules Gotham with an Iron Fist. Bane has even brought in Flashpoint Batman, Thomas Wayne from the Flashpoint universe, as his top goon. Bane says if one “bat” enters Gotham, then he will kill Alfred, who he has imprisoned.
Damian Wayne, Robin, and Bruce Wayne’s son, ignore the warning and try to save Alfred. Damian fights his grandfather, Flashpoint Batman, and loses. Then, Damian awakens tied to a chair with an equally bound Alfred in front of him. With his grandfather nearby, Bane snaps Alfred’s neck, killing him in front of the child. Alfred is still dead to this day in DC Comics. Alfred now only appears as a J.A.R.V.I.S.-like AI to help Batman in his investigations.
5. Joker War
In 2020, after the City of Bane storyline, things only got worse for Batman. Like Bane, the Joker knows that Batman and Bruce Wayne are the same person. So, instead of revealing Batman’s secret identity, the Joker destroys Bruce Wayne’s public identity for fun. The Joker hires an unwitting Catwoman to steal the bank codes to the estimated $100 billion Wayne fortune. Bruce Wayne becomes penniless overnight.
Then, the Joker steals all of Wayne’s gadgets and tech to give to his goons, who terrorize Gotham City. Joker gives Deathstroke a portion of Wayne’s money to distract Batman while this is going on. The Joker vandalizes Wayne Manor and burns through tens of billions of Wayne’s fortune. By the time Joker is stopped, Wayne’s business reputation is ruined. While Bruce gets his fortune back, it is now in a trust under the strict control of Lucius Fox.
Because of the Joker War, Bruce Wayne can no longer burn money any way he wants to as Batman.
The Joker War Saga is a 336-page hardcover that collects the entire storyline. Get it now on Amazon for $35.99.
6. Watchmen
Watchmen is a 1986 dystopian superhero epic that deconstructed the traditional superhero epic in ways that still affect modern comics. We have antiheroes and gritty superheroes because of this comic. It’s 1985, and Richard Nixon has been president for multiple terms. A nuclear Cold War is very close to becoming an all-out nuclear war. Most of the world’s heroes are dead, retired, or under the control of the government.
Billionaire Ozymandias develops a hoax that will trick the world into stepping back from nuclear war. He instantaneously transports an alien-looking squid creature he bio-engineered to New York City. After teleportation, the creature sends out a psychic attack that kills millions. The world reels in shock, and nuclear war, which was imminent in mere moments, is averted. All of the heroes, except Rorschach, a moral absolutist, agree to keep Ozymandias’ secret.
If they reveal it, the countdown to nuclear war will start anew. Dr. Manhattan kills Rorschach to keep him from telling the world. However, Rorschach sent a diary detailing these events to a fringe, right-wing newspaper beforehand.
7. Superior Spider-Man
In 2012, Marvel Comics published the Amazing Spider-Man #700. It took 50 years after Spider-Man’s debut in Amazing Fantasy #15 in 1963. So, Marvel cancels Amazing Spider-Man and kills Peter Parker. Otto Octavius, Dr. Octopus, learns he is dying. So, he swaps bodies with Peter Parker. Octavius becomes the Superior Spider-Man. He is a more brutal vigilante who does not hold his punches as Parker did.
Octavius becomes a rich CEO. He fights crime in a way that Parker never did. Criminals begin to fear Spider-Man as if he were the Punisher. However, after a popular run, the status quo reverts. Peter returns, and Octavius goes back to being Dr. Octopus. While fans love Peter Parker, it’s ironic that the best, strongest, and most popular version of Spider-Man was Dr. Octopus.
8. Irredeemable
This story is a parable about what would happen if Superman went insane and took his anger out on the world. Dan Hartigan is the Plutonian, a Superman analogue, and suffers from depression and anxiety. He is unable to maintain a secret alter ego, since people are not stupid. He tells a woman he likes his secret, which causes her to have a near mental breakdown. His inexperience as a superhero causes him to cause as many problems as he solves.
People see him as a God and want him to solve their problems. Worse, no matter his good intentions, if he makes a mistake, people blame him for not being perfect. The Plutonian goes insane and kills millions of people. He destroys Singapore and Sky City. His old superhero allies stop him at great cost and not without further damage to the world.
The Plutonian is not a story about villains who nearly won; he’s a villain who actually won.
Villains Who Nearly Won
The Joker, Bane, Ozymandias, and Plutonian, these characters are not heroes. They are not meant to be glorified. Writers usually inject the worst aspects of human nature into comic book villains to contrast with the ideals of the heroes. Villains represent the worst of humanity to make readers think and real-world social issues too.
I think it is OK to root for the villain or thrill at how they make the hero suffer. Heath Ledger was the best thing in 2008’s The Dark Knight, in my opinion. I’m entering older age, and I still remember the jolt of incredulity I got as a teen reading Watchmen #11, when Ozymandias reveals his master plan. He told Rorschach and Owlman they were 35 minutes too late, and he would not have monologued his plan if they could stop him.
It’s OK to root for the bad guy, sometimes, as a comic book fan. Just remember, they are the bad guys and nothing to emulate.
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