A "Supervillain" is a villain who goes up and beyond the call of regular villainy to distinguish themselves in some way. They act as counterparts to "superheroes", and provide frequent conflict with them. A supervillain may be someone with enhanced superhuman or magical powers, enhanced intellect allowing them to devise schemes or contraptions capable of thwarting a hero, enhance regular human abilities such as physical performance, and very often much higher ambitions than the garden-variety villain.
History
Teaming Up
Injustice Society
The first recorded massive Supervillain team-up, where a group of villains banded together under a new name to take on their heroic counterparts, was the first Injustice Society of the World. Originally consisting of The Wizard, Brain Wave, The Gambler, Per Degaton, The Thinker and Vandal Savage, the Injustice Society fought their original namesakes, the Justice Society of America, on Earth-Two.[1] Despite eventually adding new members to their roster, such as Solomon Grundy, the Shade and the Fiddler, the Injustice Society were defeated countless times. Although they were the first example of a group of supervillains with almost nothing else in common coming together to achieve common goals, they wouldn't be the last.
Rogues
Another popular frequent team-up example is the Flash's Rogues Gallery, a sort of "boy's club" of different supervillains operating out of and around Keystone and Central City. While often lauded for their seemingly silly gimmicks and usual lack of success, the Rogues remain one of the only supervillain teams ever to actually accomplish the goal they set out to when they murdered the fourth Flash, Bart Allen. They would later grow to regret this, and became one of the only villain groups willing to stand up to Libra and his incarnation of the Secret Society of Super-Villains during Final Crisis.
Secret Society of Super-Villains
Main article: Secret Society of Super-Villains I
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Injustice Gang
Main article: Injustice Gang
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Injustice League
Main article: Injustice League
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The Society
Main article: Secret Society of Super-Villains III
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Trivia
- The first supervillain ever to actively battle a superhero on a recurring basis was the Ultra-Humanite, who frequently fought Superman during the Golden Age, and first appeared in Action Comics #13.
Related Articles
Links and References