We are not talking about relatable villains here. They are a dime a dozen within the superhero genre. We are talking about the ‘villains’ that were not actually sinister and villainous. They were just trying to do the right thing but due to a lack of correct perception of their actions, were misunderstood as the bad guys in the good fight. We are in no way justifying their actions but these 5 ‘antagonists’ only had good and noble things in mind when they did what they did. The fact that they have been labelled as super villains is extremely derivative.
The US Government – Civil War
In a world where super humans run unregulated, who should the innocent civilians look up to? The authorities that uphold the law of the land or the heroes who have the power to break them whenever they wanted to! You can all debate over the fact that the world needs superheroes because the world also has super villains. Some people misuse their powers while some people use it to answer a higher calling. As the saying goes, everybody is equal in the eyes of the Law. Not even people that can bench press a mountain escape the long arm of justice!
Also Read: 5 DC Villains You Could Play As in Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad Game
After the Avengers’ debacle led to the death of many civilians, the US Government merely wanted them to start becoming answerable to another body for their actions. Tell us how is that wrong? Vigilantism is illegal in any form. Nobody is allowed to take matters into their own hands. Even superheroes are not exempt from that rule. The Sokovia Accords were an attempt to find a middle ground. It’s a shame that Captain America tried to play cowboy so badly on that one.
The Machines – The Matrix
The machines in the Matrix universe began their life as robotic servants that were created by humanity to serve them tirelessly. The biggest mistake the humans did was giving the machines sentience. Since they were now aware of what was happening with their kind and how openly they were exploited, was it wrong of them to revolt? Literally every nation at some point or another has raised their arms against exploitation. Why should the robots be not allowed to fight for their rights? When the machines mutinied, the humans tried to kill them by the thousands.
In the end, they were allowed to make a nation of their own called Zero One as shown in the Animatrix. Humanity grew jealous with how rapidly the machines were advancing so they used nuclear weapons to annihilate them. They covered the entire skies in smoke just to ensure the machines lose their power source. The robots created the Matrix and harvested human heat because the humans literally left them with no other option.
General Zod – Man of Steel
Okay he was a mass murderer and a dictator. Let us look past that little detail. Zod may have been a tyrant but by the time he had reached Earth, those selfish desires to take over Krypton were out of his mind. All he wanted was for his people to survive. He wanted Krypton to live, his progeny to carry on his and his people’s legacy. If you were in his place, you would have done the same as well. If you had to sacrifice an entire planet of alien beings to make way for your people to come back from the dead, you would do it in a heartbeat.
You May Like: 10 Most Evil Things Done By Comic Book Villains
Zod never knew Earth. He only knew Krypton. He was ready to go to any length to protect it. Superman’s blood had the Codex, the genetic library for the entire future generations of Krypton. And it is not like he had the time or the energy to look for a habitable planet. He knew he had only one cancer. He had to take down Earth and kill Superman for the sake of his race. We do not blame him.
Screenslaver – Incredibles 2
Screenslaver posed the same question that the US Government did in Captain America: Civil War – Does being a superhero means you are not answerable to the law? But there was a twist to her query that we saw in the movie. She was just not asking the legitimacy of superheroes but also the criteria in which they were selected. Sure you are one in a million who was gifted with super powers. But why does that warrant that you have now the God-Given right to prance around as everybody’s savior? Don’t the people have a say in who their guardian should be?
Related: Original Batman The Animated Series Villains – Ranked
Screenslaver’s plan was to show the world how hollow and weak it had become by letting the superheroes take over as peace-keepers. She hypnotized all the superheroes and turned them against the very people they protected. Her objective was to point out the complacency. She showed us that superheroes should never be re-legalized because that is just way too much power in their hands. They have literally no one to regulate their actions and thus they run amok like wild mustangs. Nobody should have that level of freedom in their hands, especially superheroes.
Killmonger – Black Panther
Erik Killmonger was Wakandan royalty. But he was denied his birth-right and left to fend for him-self. He was a self-made man. He traveled the entire world to make something out of him-self and learnt about his legacy and heritage. As he had traveled all around the world, Killmonger’s perspective on how his race was ill-treated was unique but also truer than what the Wakandans believed to be. It was wrong of Wakanda to try and hide their technology form the world when literally the entire world was suffering under the fires of oppression.
It was not just wrong of T’Challa to do so. It was literally inhumane. Part of the reason Killmonger is so well-remembered is because he was one of the few villains that ended up changing the hero’s views. Killmonger chose a violent way to make his point but ask yourself this – would the Wakandan leadership have heard him if he tried to talk to and convince them from across the table like a diplomat?
