I found it odd that writers have forgotten about Scorpion's detective skills. Mac Gargan was an accomplished private investigator before he got powers. He should be a cunning killer, not a crybaby.
I feel like the last time Mac Gargan did anything even remotely intelligent was during Dark Reign. Like when he sold some old Iron Man armor to make money, or frame J Johna Jameson for murder.
The problem is in most of the time Mac Gargan is portrayed as a thug who got the suit and not as a former private investigator although in the comics you could also chalk Donald losing his intelligence to the experiments which drove him insane.
@@adambump5297 Except in Scorpion's very first story, it specifically says the procedure made him smarter. I don't think Gargon should be a mad scientist genius but he should be Spidey's most cunning foe. Average INT, high WIS.
They actually touch up on that in the Dark Reign: Spiderman he featured in. That story is hilarious, he uses his status as Spiderman to nail strippers, frame J Jonah, and generally be a menance to NYC all the while being careful as to not piss off Norman Osbourne. But he does use his aquired Detective and Investigation talent.
Comic writers clearly shows that comic is a Battle Royal reference on the covers. Its annoying how people think hunger games created the genre and that everything is derived from it.
Just to be clear, they DONT think that. I think you're confused about what they're saying. They're not acting as if Hunger Games created the battle royal genre, they're saying they shoved it back in to relevance and that is when others started copying it. When Hunger Games came out, the battle royal genre wasn't doing anything, and then it got popular, and now tons of other games/books/comics/movies have used its popularity
Pretty strange not to see Kraven the Hunter on the list. He was a joke until Kraven's last hunt made him one of the most recognizable Spider-Man foes. Also, I'd add Kite Man (thanks to Tom King's War of Jokes and Riddle)
There is no such thing as a terrible villain, just bad writers and poor excecution. Maxie Zeus, Arcade, and Scorpion were never jokes to begin with, but became jokes when writers didn't know what to do with them.
@@connordanielson8833 If they wanted to do that, I can see them doing another body horror route very easily. Just have him do something ridiculous like fall into radioactive materials while on his lunch break and then subvert expectations by having him horribly mutate into a monster of a man that oozes ketchup, mustard, relish, etc from any part of his body.
There should be a follow up video about villains TV shows redeemed. Riddler is a good example of this, he was a very minor league character until the 60’s Batman series where he was made famous by Frank Gorshin!
One of my favorite examples of stupid villains turned great was Batman Eternal, where the lesser villains of Gotham became big enemies and were involved in a huge conspiracy that included Lincoln March, Hush, and a lot of other well-known villains. I also like what Tom King did with Kiteman, making him more depressing and sympathetic to further the War of Jokes and Riddles plot.
I kind of like what they did with kiteman in the harley quinn series. While he never really leaves the whole gag villain title behind, they gave him character development and a love story subplot where he actually becomes respectable.
Fun fact: a lot of people think Dr. Destiny is modeled after Skeletor from He-Man, but it's actually the other way around. Destiny is so old he predates Skeletor for _20 years._
I'll have to say the Best example I can think of is Steve Gerber's miniseries that centered around The Foolkiller. Before that series, he was a basically a joke character, and after it he was all but forgotten....But that ten issue story of Kurt Gerhardt going from a well off member of society, to a bottom rung in the ghettos, to a hyper-logical murderous vigilante. It's a fantastic look at the downward spiral that can make a man a monster, and that one book cemented The Foolkiller as a favorite Marvel character
loved Calendar man’s cameo in Arkham city. Changing the dates in my Xbox to hear a way he killed someone on a holiday was so fun. Then him just breaking out just to appear at the end of akrham knight. *chef kiss*
Avengers Arena was inspired by the Japanese novel, Manga & film, Battle Royale. Even some of the comic book covers are references to the manga. Along with the AA icon they had.
Considering the title, I expected something along the line of "villains that sound lame but are actually terrifying", like "That guy has the power of mushrooms. You may laugh now, but when you'll got turned into a litteral pile of morels he'll be the one laughing. Morel is an edible mushroom BTW..." (this is a manga reference, weeb cheers to anyone getting it)
Ah, the Calendar Man in "The Long Halloween" actually loses his identity and becomes your atypical serial killer- like a buff Hannibal Lecter, and it's the film suffers because of it.
I really wanna see a "pathetic" super villian who spends years making everyone think hes the worst villian so that when he does implement his plans, even batman has to struggle to fix it
"inspired by a certain series of young adult novels" No, you mean Battle Fucking Royale. The symbol on the book is ever MODELED AFTER IT. *internal screaming*
Personally I felt that Mac Gargan Venom was a mistake. Mac Gargan is just better as his own character than an excuse to make Venom a villain again imo. It didn’t make him any more interesting like it did for Flash, and it would cause Marvel to scramble to figure out wtf they were gonna do with Eddie Brock. They made him Anti Venom to make him interesting, but Anti Venom is too OP so get rid of him in the resolution to Spider Island, but wait Eddie is irrelevant again so let’s make him hunt down symbiotes, actually Blackheart killed Patrick Mulligan off panel for no reason so let’s make Eddie Toxin, wait we wanna reestablish the status quo so let’s get rid of Toxin in a Carnage story that is in limbo of retconned/not retconned and find a convoluted way of giving Eddie Venom back. It was such a mess and the symbiotes went for entirely too long being underutilized as a result. I apologize for my rant being slightly incoherent.
For real it was so funny how no one understood Callender man🤣Its like partly no one was very interested in what he had to say despite needing his help solving the crime,he even gets a seen where he can tell Batman and the cops didn't figure it out LMAO.
As someone who grew up watching 'The Batman Brave and the Bold' I'm really happy to see calendar man get the respect he deserves. Albeit with some character changes
The Orb and Catman were the first villains that I encountered as a kid, I always loved how silly the are them came when they became serious. I gotta say I went through a crisis that time 😅
Reminds me of The Calculator in the Teen Titans comics a low tier and unheard of villain, but when Wonder Girls Dad sends a HellHound to the Titans Tower and they let it in (playing as a normal dog) it kills the house keepers which were The Calculators kids, and he goes killer mode, he kills like 3 Titans, and mentally and physically tortures the Titans with his plethora of plots and calculations ahead, shit was actually a really good comic issue
The Monarch: Yes, Mr Monday. Mr Monday: What will my title be in this new criminal syndicate of ours? The Monarch: I dunno... Mr Monday: I want to be president of calendars!
There was a wonderful Punisher storyline where he single handedly murders 75% of Spidey's villain's gallery by bazookaing Stiltman and then poisoning his funeral. Nearly got Spidey too.
If you haven’t read Secret Six (in either universe), it’s indeed hard to understate how great it is and how well it convinces you Catman is a badass. Great list though, legit impressed by some of the deep cuts! Arcade in Arena was a really great one too, the flashback issue is haunting. A recommendation of my own might be the Human Flame in Final Crisis and Run! Basically in the former to be a loser desperate for validation, the latter displays just how dangerous a person like that could be in a setting like DC where powers beyond one’s control can be grabbed up by pathetic human garbage like him when motivated enough to grasp for it
Sorry but did the person that did the research/script for this completely miss that the cover of avengers arena is based entirely on BATTLE ROYALE!!!!! only reason can think they would say its inspired by hunger games and not on the one that is clearly what the cover is based on.......
"However Arcade would become much deadlier in Avengers Arena by Dennis Hopeless inspired by a certain series of young adult novels" I'm guessing you're either too young or didn't do your research (I'm going to guess it's this) but Avengers Arenas cover is literally a carbon copy of the Battle Royale cover which inspired "a certain series of young adult novels" but this is WhatCulture so what did I expect.
I was thinking Arcade’s look and story seemed so familiar, even his death… Syndrome is almost an exact copy! Think about it, the island, the hunger games like death battle (against an evolving robot). They are just too similar
Deadshot, Deathstroke and Peacemaker all have the same abilities. nothing like DC ripping itself off to make a buck or two. The only difference I can tell is their back storys. But they all have deadly accuracy when using firearms.
Avengers Arena's cover is an obvious homage to the Japanese book, movie, and many other forms of media, Battle Royale, then they reference the other copycat Hunger Games as the homage...right.
I don't agree with making characters more of a 'threat' just by washing up all of their traits and making them a serial killer or rapists or something. Like, take for example Dr. Light. Sure the guys was goofy and not particularly threatening, but he still was a dangerous mad scientist who could tangle with the Titans on his own and nearly took over the world! His pathetic behavior was acknowledged even in the old issues, but that had more to do with the fact that he was an unlucky man searching respect in the wrong places. He even had a rather tragic backstory! And suddenly the guy is turned into a rapist, his powers allow him to trounce a team of THIRTY Titans in a rather unfair and ridiculous attempt at recovering his villain rep. Oh and his whole deal now is that he wants to kill and/or rape people. Is that how you make a villain 'badass'? By depriving them of their enjoyable factor and turning them into depraved and disgusting monsters with no ambitions or goals whatsoever but EXTREMELY petty revenge? Same deal with Arcade. Sure, he wasn't a particularly effective hired assasin, but you still had fun reading his stories and how he came up with clever traps that put even veteran heroes on peril! Very creative stuff. And then he suddenly makes a washed up Hunger Games plot and becomes a child killer.
Actually Avengers Arena is based on the Japanese movie series BATTLE ROYALE(hell the cover art was pretty much taken from the film and the title logo). Also…..Hunger Games is BATTLE ROYALE W/CHEESE.
I found it odd that writers have forgotten about Scorpion's detective skills. Mac Gargan was an accomplished private investigator before he got powers. He should be a cunning killer, not a crybaby.
I feel like the last time Mac Gargan did anything even remotely intelligent was during Dark Reign. Like when he sold some old Iron Man armor to make money, or frame J Johna Jameson for murder.
The problem is in most of the time Mac Gargan is portrayed as a thug who got the suit and not as a former private investigator although in the comics you could also chalk Donald losing his intelligence to the experiments which drove him insane.
@@adambump5297 Except in Scorpion's very first story, it specifically says the procedure made him smarter. I don't think Gargon should be a mad scientist genius but he should be Spidey's most cunning foe. Average INT, high WIS.
They actually touch up on that in the Dark Reign: Spiderman he featured in. That story is hilarious, he uses his status as Spiderman to nail strippers, frame J Jonah, and generally be a menance to NYC all the while being careful as to not piss off Norman Osbourne. But he does use his aquired Detective and Investigation talent.
Comic writers clearly shows that comic is a Battle Royal reference on the covers. Its annoying how people think hunger games created the genre and that everything is derived from it.
I'll say it, it's crazy that a majority of Americans think hunger games created this genre.
The worst part is that WC literally shows the Battle Royale homage cover literally right before they posit that Arena is inspired by HG
CLEAR BATTLE ROYALE COVER!
Just to be clear, they DONT think that. I think you're confused about what they're saying. They're not acting as if Hunger Games created the battle royal genre, they're saying they shoved it back in to relevance and that is when others started copying it. When Hunger Games came out, the battle royal genre wasn't doing anything, and then it got popular, and now tons of other games/books/comics/movies have used its popularity
@@effu9375 what culture is British so it's westerners in general.
Pretty strange not to see Kraven the Hunter on the list. He was a joke until Kraven's last hunt made him one of the most recognizable Spider-Man foes.
Also, I'd add Kite Man (thanks to Tom King's War of Jokes and Riddle)
Hell ya!
Hell yeah! 😢
H E L L Y E A H
There is no such thing as a terrible villain, just bad writers and poor excecution. Maxie Zeus, Arcade, and Scorpion were never jokes to begin with, but became jokes when writers didn't know what to do with them.
Condiment king?
@@connordanielson8833 Condiment King was always intended as a joke villain. He's the exception, not the rule.
@@umbrella3235 fair, I mean... they could take the polka dot man route with it and make him not a joke character. So yea ur point stands
@@connordanielson8833 If they wanted to do that, I can see them doing another body horror route very easily.
Just have him do something ridiculous like fall into radioactive materials while on his lunch break and then subvert expectations by having him horribly mutate into a monster of a man that oozes ketchup, mustard, relish, etc from any part of his body.
@@umbrella3235 mustard piss
Ketchup blood
.
And mayonnaise...
There should be a follow up video about villains TV shows redeemed. Riddler is a good example of this, he was a very minor league character until the 60’s Batman series where he was made famous by Frank Gorshin!
Mr. Freeze and Batman The Animated Series is a good example too.
So is sportsmaster from young justice
I think that the Amazing spider Man tv séries did shocker rlly great
Glad to see Calendar Man on this list. By far one of my favorite minor comic villain
One of my favorite examples of stupid villains turned great was Batman Eternal, where the lesser villains of Gotham became big enemies and were involved in a huge conspiracy that included Lincoln March, Hush, and a lot of other well-known villains. I also like what Tom King did with Kiteman, making him more depressing and sympathetic to further the War of Jokes and Riddles plot.
You almost immediately get a like for showing "Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth." That is my favorite Batman standalone story.
I kind of like what they did with kiteman in the harley quinn series. While he never really leaves the whole gag villain title behind, they gave him character development and a love story subplot where he actually becomes respectable.
Fun fact: a lot of people think Dr. Destiny is modeled after Skeletor from He-Man, but it's actually the other way around. Destiny is so old he predates Skeletor for _20 years._
I'll have to say the Best example I can think of is Steve Gerber's miniseries that centered around The Foolkiller. Before that series, he was a basically a joke character, and after it he was all but forgotten....But that ten issue story of Kurt Gerhardt going from a well off member of society, to a bottom rung in the ghettos, to a hyper-logical murderous vigilante. It's a fantastic look at the downward spiral that can make a man a monster, and that one book cemented The Foolkiller as a favorite Marvel character
He also appeared in live action in Jessica Jones season 3 and I quite enjoyed their take on the character there.
loved Calendar man’s cameo in Arkham city. Changing the dates in my Xbox to hear a way he killed someone on a holiday was so fun. Then him just breaking out just to appear at the end of akrham knight. *chef kiss*
That moment when you realize the Arcade reboot is basically Calypso from Twisted Metal...
Kite Man
He had a great part in the War of Jokes and Riddles.
Avengers Arena was inspired by the Japanese novel, Manga & film, Battle Royale. Even some of the comic book covers are references to the manga. Along with the AA icon they had.
I scrolled down just to see this comment. This is indeed the case. 👍
Dude the Calendar Man is probably killing it in calendar sales if he is posing for it
Considering the title, I expected something along the line of "villains that sound lame but are actually terrifying", like "That guy has the power of mushrooms. You may laugh now, but when you'll got turned into a litteral pile of morels he'll be the one laughing. Morel is an edible mushroom BTW..." (this is a manga reference, weeb cheers to anyone getting it)
Ah, the Calendar Man in "The Long Halloween" actually loses his identity and becomes your atypical serial killer- like a buff Hannibal Lecter, and it's the film suffers because of it.
The film suffers because it's a poorly done adaptation of one of the best Batman stories.
I really wanna see a "pathetic" super villian who spends years making everyone think hes the worst villian so that when he does implement his plans, even batman has to struggle to fix it
Why is this not on the comics channel...?
There truly are no bad characters, only bad writing.
You clearly haven't met the Spider-Man villain Joshua Waldemeyer (AKA The Wall)
3:49 isn’t he just the zodiac killer then😂
"inspired by a certain series of young adult novels" No, you mean Battle Fucking Royale. The symbol on the book is ever MODELED AFTER IT. *internal screaming*
I just want them to realize that research could go a long way
That panel of Shocker doing a jump in a car that looks like him is more hilarious than it should be.
I said this before: Destiny didn't get his ability to dream restored!
The whole making villains cool again started, I feel, with the Thunderbolts.
Nah. Several examples from this video alone predated the Thunderbolts, such as Ostrander's Suicide Squad (a 1980s title).
They did Maxi Zeus really well in Batman: Fire and Ice. Underrated movie
Maximillian Zeus was also portrayed in fantastic fashion when he appeared in The Batman.
The catman guy litteraly is in fairly odd parents lmao. I had no idea he actually was a real DC hero.
Personally I felt that Mac Gargan Venom was a mistake. Mac Gargan is just better as his own character than an excuse to make Venom a villain again imo. It didn’t make him any more interesting like it did for Flash, and it would cause Marvel to scramble to figure out wtf they were gonna do with Eddie Brock. They made him Anti Venom to make him interesting, but Anti Venom is too OP so get rid of him in the resolution to Spider Island, but wait Eddie is irrelevant again so let’s make him hunt down symbiotes, actually Blackheart killed Patrick Mulligan off panel for no reason so let’s make Eddie Toxin, wait we wanna reestablish the status quo so let’s get rid of Toxin in a Carnage story that is in limbo of retconned/not retconned and find a convoluted way of giving Eddie Venom back. It was such a mess and the symbiotes went for entirely too long being underutilized as a result.
I apologize for my rant being slightly incoherent.
Completely agree, MacVenom was only an attempt to try to restore the symbiote to its “villainous” roots
For real it was so funny how no one understood Callender man🤣Its like partly no one was very interested in what he had to say despite needing his help solving the crime,he even gets a seen where he can tell Batman and the cops didn't figure it out LMAO.
You forgot about eclipso, originally a D list villain, now one of DC's biggest menaces.
Calendar Man also had a cameo appearance in The Suicide Squad, played by Sean Gunn
4:10 Perfectly summed up description of Modern Jeph Loeb 😂
As someone who grew up watching 'The Batman Brave and the Bold' I'm really happy to see calendar man get the respect he deserves. Albeit with some character changes
Nice change of pace my what culture friends
The Orb and Catman were the first villains that I encountered as a kid, I always loved how silly the are them came when they became serious. I gotta say I went through a crisis that time 😅
The superior foes of spiderman is one of the most funny runs ive ever red
Bullseye was a second-rate character until Frank Miller made him a badass, killing Elektra with her own sai.
I thought Catman was a Fairly Odd Parents version of Batman 😂 I didn't know he was legit (he even looks the same as the Fairly Odd Parents one)
I know this is a real common one on similar lists but I have to mention Mr Fear in Daredevil.
Reminds me of The Calculator in the Teen Titans comics a low tier and unheard of villain, but when Wonder Girls Dad sends a HellHound to the Titans Tower and they let it in (playing as a normal dog) it kills the house keepers which were The Calculators kids, and he goes killer mode, he kills like 3 Titans, and mentally and physically tortures the Titans with his plethora of plots and calculations ahead, shit was actually a really good comic issue
The Monarch: Yes, Mr Monday.
Mr Monday: What will my title be in this new criminal syndicate of ours?
The Monarch: I dunno...
Mr Monday: I want to be president of calendars!
There was a wonderful Punisher storyline where he single handedly murders 75% of Spidey's villain's gallery by bazookaing Stiltman and then poisoning his funeral. Nearly got Spidey too.
it does take that one writer to turn jokes into icons, just ask Mr. Freeze
If you haven’t read Secret Six (in either universe), it’s indeed hard to understate how great it is and how well it convinces you Catman is a badass.
Great list though, legit impressed by some of the deep cuts! Arcade in Arena was a really great one too, the flashback issue is haunting.
A recommendation of my own might be the Human Flame in Final Crisis and Run!
Basically in the former to be a loser desperate for validation, the latter displays just how dangerous a person like that could be in a setting like DC where powers beyond one’s control can be grabbed up by pathetic human garbage like him when motivated enough to grasp for it
I don't appreciate that you forgot my bit kite man
Hell yeah
Wait... Is this DnD Shorts? Using the same background tune as on his other videos?
Awesome 🔥
You show Hunger games footage when the artwork is clearly Battle Royale, for shame.
Calendarman is hauntingly terrifying
Sorry but did the person that did the research/script for this completely miss that the cover of avengers arena is based entirely on BATTLE ROYALE!!!!! only reason can think they would say its inspired by hunger games and not on the one that is clearly what the cover is based on.......
The first pictures of Arcade looks like a red headed Dr Psycho from the Harley Quinn show.
You should include Boomerang man
Simone’s Secret Sick is great, well her first run anyway.
I was waiting for Kraven’s Last Hunt
You forgot Mysterio on Daredevil: Guardian Devil.
"However Arcade would become much deadlier in Avengers Arena by Dennis Hopeless inspired by a certain series of young adult novels"
I'm guessing you're either too young or didn't do your research (I'm going to guess it's this) but Avengers Arenas cover is literally a carbon copy of the Battle Royale cover which inspired "a certain series of young adult novels" but this is WhatCulture so what did I expect.
You know I just noticed how many of spider man's villains wear green. Like a lot of them wear green
Bruh, Avengers Arena even has the Battle Royale artwork spoof and y'all saying its inspired by friggin Hunger Games, I'm done-
Now do One where you talk about how they made Terrible Villians from The Comics Great in TV or Movies.
I was thinking Arcade’s look and story seemed so familiar, even his death…
Syndrome is almost an exact copy! Think about it, the island, the hunger games like death battle (against an evolving robot).
They are just too similar
I was thinking Mad Mod, foe of the Teen Titans
where is mr.freeze? the animated series really brought him to life to make him one of the best villains
You forget comet man
"Hell yeah!"
Make Terrible Villains Great Again!
^crowd goes wild^
I'm still waiting to get the competent Killer Moth I always wanted. Teen Titans Killer Moth wasn't even a similar character so I can't accept him.
Dr. Destiny was pretty awesome in JL as well.
Why is Whatculture's main channel covering comics?
Where’s kite man he was made into a compelling character in the war of jokes and riddles
Didn't Fairly Odd Parents have a Catman that was a batman parody?
I feel like some villains just need to be changed to show and represent their violence better
Kraven from Kraven's Last Hunt should be top 5 at least.
MaxiZeus was shown in "The Batman (2004)" animated series also
I'm just here to read all the comments from viewers incensed by the Battle Royal-slight.
*unfolds lawn-chair
*commences popcorn mastication
first two were fixed by batman the animated series.
Hey its the dnd shorts guy
Wait catman is real?!? I thought that was a joke by Fairly Odd Parents
I figured Purple Man/kilgrave would be a shoe in for this list. Maybe next time.
All Arcade Needed was to watch Battle Royale a couple of Times, Just like a "Hungrier" author.
Black Hand was a piss take of Bill Finger, creator of Batman
Deadshot, Deathstroke and Peacemaker all have the same abilities. nothing like DC ripping itself off to make a buck or two. The only difference I can tell is their back storys. But they all have deadly accuracy when using firearms.
Good video!
For a Good Time with Dead Shot watch "Assault on Arkham" that's The Suicide Squad you Want.
AA was based on battle royal. Not that other rip off
Avengers Arena's cover is an obvious homage to the Japanese book, movie, and many other forms of media, Battle Royale, then they reference the other copycat Hunger Games as the homage...right.
No. 3, hopefully he's done better in the next trilogy of Spider-Man movies set in the MCU after "No Way Home"
Calendar man is awesome
Avengers Arena is clearly inspired in Battle Royale (look at the covers christ sake) NOT Hunger games.
Pride of lions. A group of lions is a pride, not a pack.
Does Will run D&D shorts?
How is mysterio in webspinners not here
In a world full of Tess holidays be Elgin
kite man is NOT a terrible villain. KITE MAN HELL YEAH
I don't agree with making characters more of a 'threat' just by washing up all of their traits and making them a serial killer or rapists or something. Like, take for example Dr. Light. Sure the guys was goofy and not particularly threatening, but he still was a dangerous mad scientist who could tangle with the Titans on his own and nearly took over the world! His pathetic behavior was acknowledged even in the old issues, but that had more to do with the fact that he was an unlucky man searching respect in the wrong places. He even had a rather tragic backstory!
And suddenly the guy is turned into a rapist, his powers allow him to trounce a team of THIRTY Titans in a rather unfair and ridiculous attempt at recovering his villain rep. Oh and his whole deal now is that he wants to kill and/or rape people. Is that how you make a villain 'badass'? By depriving them of their enjoyable factor and turning them into depraved and disgusting monsters with no ambitions or goals whatsoever but EXTREMELY petty revenge?
Same deal with Arcade. Sure, he wasn't a particularly effective hired assasin, but you still had fun reading his stories and how he came up with clever traps that put even veteran heroes on peril! Very creative stuff. And then he suddenly makes a washed up Hunger Games plot and becomes a child killer.
Wait... What happened with Scorpion?
Actually Avengers Arena is based on the Japanese movie series BATTLE ROYALE(hell the cover art was pretty much taken from the film and the title logo). Also…..Hunger Games is BATTLE ROYALE W/CHEESE.
We all know.
What about the Brick Wall?
with the exception of Venom and Deadshot, all these characters were terrible and should never be brought back.
Why no polkadot man?
top 1 and top 2 starring secret six of Simone, great run , should be in a animated movie,
I’m sure your comic is just crashing the number’s right 🤐