or My Top 5 Comic Book Villains

The first comic book villain I remember from any comic book was Darth Vader. This was the oversized treasury edition. Since this comic book was based off the movie I don't think I can count Palapatine's disciple. Another villain I remember was Two-Face, an arch nemesis of Batman, but I never followed what happened after the only issue I had, #313. I was also introduced to the White Queen in my infamous New Mutants #15 along with her students the Hellions.

New Mutants #16 was the first time I saw two teams mirror each other. Magik vs. Tarot, Thunderbird II (Future Warpath) vs. Sundpot, Catseye vs Wolfsbane, well you get the point. It was the "flyers" that would decide; winner take all, Cannonball vs. Jetstream took to the air in a watered down version of the Danger Room. This part of the story climaxed in issue #17 with the original X-Babies the victors. I was never enamored by the wickedness of Emma Frost. I was interested more in her attire, after all I was 12 and Sal Buscema drew her better than the animators of Jessica Rabbit.

The first villain that began to awe me was the Shadow King. Chris Claremont plotted this way in advance. Karma disappeared at the end of issue six and not did return until issue thirty one as an elephantine bloated mess. The New Mutants pitted themselves against super gladiators for their very survival before Farouk's control over Shan broke. Once Karma regained her composure from the defeated disembodied menace, she and her fellow teammates were whisked away to Asgard. Their attempted escape scattered the team through time and space and forced Shan to sweat it out in a dessert, save a young girl, and regain her svelte physique. By the end of the New Mutants Super Special Loki regretted ever meeting a mutant affiliated with Professor Charles Xavier. Even the Enchantress was taken down a notch and given to S'ym as a play thing.

Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars dominated my influential years. I found Galactus imposing, strong, and indomitable; then treated like a fly by the all powerful Beyonder, a villain or a god like infant? I met Dr. Doom with his keen intellect rivaling Mister Fantastic. Owen Reece, the Molecule Man was also counted among the villains, his control over molecules even had the mighty Victor Von Doom feel fear. Crusher Creele, the Absorbing Man was a bad guy I remember from my coverless issue of Avengers #185. All of them were introduced to me very early into my collecting years, the months when I was must malleable, I could have chosen DC's Brother Blood over Marvels's Frank Dukes, the Blob.

And yet I picked none of these for my #5 spot. It's the Mandarin I finally chose. His imposing being over a kneeling Ray Rhodes as he commands him to slice his neck after having him remove his helmet, a book I still want to acquire in a 9.8. His rings might just have been the prototype for what became the Infinity Gauntlet owned by Thanos, another original villain from Iron Man #55, also not good enough to make the top five spot.

Number four on my Super Villain list was originally my first choice for number five, but my introduction to this celestial being was in one of my first trade paperbacks and not the originals, "The Dark Phoenix Saga". It was the Hellfire club along with Jason Wyngarde, Mastermind that helped Jean Grey snap. The Hellfire club was defeated, Jason became a human vegetable, and the Phoenix, in only a few issues changed from mutant messiah to Galactus' worst nightmare destroying a star and its five billion inhabitants. After returning to Earth her persona was restored, but it was too late, the Shi'ar were ready to judge and execute.

I never had the original series, until well into my teens, and even a few in my early twenties. It came out when I was too young to walk to the 7-11 by myself. The story portrayed by Chris Claremont, Terry Austin, and John Byrne had me captivated from the beginning until Jean Grey allowed herself to be decimated on the Dark Side if the Moon...play Pink Floyd here.

Next on the list at #3 came a long way from walking the street and getting his hands a little dirty is Wilson Fisk. His rise to the Kingpin of crime wasn't punctuated in the Amazing Spider-Man, although first introduced in issue #50. It was when Frank Miller took over Daredevil did you really see how a greedy fat man could wreck havoc among Super Heroes and be the worthy adversary he is today. Both Spider-Man and Daredevil would jump through the hoops that the great importer of fine Asian spices would throw at them.

So how does a man without a conscious and an under active pituitary gland make the #3 spot beat out a man with ten powerful rings wrecking havoc all over Asia and a celestial being snuffing out a sun like a smoker would extinguish a match. I dare say without the Kingpin of crime, other villains like Bullseye, Elektra, Hobgoblin, Jack-O-Lantern, The Rose, Turk (yes Turk), Typhoid Mary, and many others never would have come to prominence without being under the employ of this gigantic man. Both Peter Parker and Matt Murdock would have had a lot more free time on their hands if it wasn't for Mr. Fisk.

Wilson was never evil, just greedy, but his greed was as great as the Dark Phoenix was powerful. That along with his ability to set aside human compassion is what makes the Kingpin of Crime such a great villain for the illusionary power of the almighty dollar and the say whether a man lives or dies.

With two slots left, this will be my longest journal yet. Normally I wonder if you're bored at this point, but I hope as you are reading this that a top five has seeped into your brain and are in fact either agreeing or disagreeing with my choices. I also don't want to make this a two part journal in case you think I changed my mind on my top two choices. So who can win over my first three? What being is envious of snuffing out five billion lives and would kill the other two without a spike in its artificial intelligence?

I was always fascinated by Ultron. His calculated desire to kill all life failed time and time again by the Avengers, a team that was joined by its own creation, the Vision. And now we have the Age of Ultron, a story hinted at earlier on the pages of the Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis. The Marvel universe was finally laid waste by the cold logical hate of Hank Pym's worst failure. The introduction of Ultron (to me) happened the same time I found Galactus to be imposing in the classic Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1. The body of Ultron was smashed up against Galactus by the Molecule Man. The planet eater brought the Adamantium shell to eye level before absorbing the electrical life essence of the robot.

The machine remained un-animated (I can't use the term lifeless, it never had life) until Dr. Doom reprogrammed the machine as his enforcer, one that the Absorbing Man didn't care about as long as he had a bed to sleep in. What would the universe be like if Ultron won the gifts of the Beyonder?

Of course the Age of Ultron would be nothing but an Alternate universes worry if Llrrllllnnllyyrrl didn't consider the head of Ultron to be her dowry, not to mention if Benjamin Grimm would have just left it behind when he returned from Battleworld, leaving it to be destroyed. The Avengers were always there to defeat the A.I. and I'm looking forward

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