Today in a reprinted and updated POA Countdown, we’re shining a spotlight on some of the greatest and most evil people to ever grace the pages of comic books. What’s not to love about the villains? They ruin our heroes’ days and spoil perfectly good buildings, monuments or planets by blowing something up or killing a ton of innocent people. Hooray for villainy!

#10 - Darkseid
Good old Darkseid’s been ruining the lives of pretty much anything he can get his hands on since he hit the pages of comics back in the 70s. Weather it’s The Legion of Super-Heroes, The Teen Titans, the New Gods or even some of Marvel’s characters such as Thor, Galactus and Thanos. Darkseid’s rocked them all. The highlight of his villainy? Destroying the Fourth World entirely. Sounds evil to me.

#9 - Sinestro
Don’t let Sinestro deceive you. While he may have been a Green Lantern in the past, he didn’t exactly take the most honest path to get into the prestigious group. Not to mention, in more recent times, he created the Sinestro Corps, with the help of the Anti-Monitor, to battle and destroy the Green Lanterns by enlisting the aid of the worst villains the DCU has ever seen.

#8 - The Red Skull
In addition to battling Captain America on numerous occasions, Skull’s also turned Cap’s friend Bucky into his own personal weapon. He’s been killed and has had his mind transfered to new bodies so that he could continue his war against the star-spangled Avenger which he’s been doing for over 60 years. You really have to admire a man who’s that dedicated to his work.

#7 - Venom
Eddie Brock’s hatred for Peter Parker as well as his costumed alter-ego, combined with the same hatred shared by his symbiote costume, created one of the most memorable villains in the history of comics. While the suit is currently worn by Mac Gargon and not Eddie Brock, Venom’s madness continues to haunt the various heroes who have crossed paths with him.

#6 - Lex Luthor
Superman’s polar opposite and greatest enemy. You have to think, at this point, that something is really wrong with this guy for him to be that obsessed with not only the downfall of Superman but also the downfall of all mankind. Like I said before, evil is evil.

#5 - Galactus
The guy eats planets. What else do you have to say? He literally kills millions of people in a matter of seconds and all just because he’s looking for something to snack on. Not to mention, he doesn’t look for planets that are empty. No, no. On Galactus’ menu of pain, the planet must have a healthy supply of occupants. It’s almost like he goes out of his way to be a asshole.

#4 - Magneto
I’m still not entirely sure that Magneto should be on here since he’s still sitting on the fence with his allegiance to one particular side. On one hand, he’s done some pretty terrible things to not only the X-Men but various other characters in the Marvel universe as well. On the other hand, he had a pretty big part to play in the House of M plot being thwarted. Let’s just go with…evil. Sorry Magneto.

#3 - Green Goblin
He had an affair with the love of Peter Parker’s life. He killed Gwen Stacy and has since been killed himself and somehow miraculously returned. He personifies evil better than almost any other villain in the Marvel universe and has been a thorn in Spider-Man’s side since his creation. A list like this just wouldn’t seem right without the Goblin.

#2 - Joker
Joker’s awesome. He’s arguably Batman’s greatest enemy and is probably the most appealing part about the upcoming Dark Knight film in which he appears. After making his debut in Batman #1 back in the 40’s, Joker has become a fan favorite amongst diehard Batman fans and an iconic villain in comics as well as film.

#1 - Dr. Doom
Since his creation back in 1962, Dr. Doom has wished for nothing more than the death or complete annihilation of anything and everything in the comic book world. Not limiting himself to just one enemy, Doom has crossed paths with many different heroes throughout the years including Captain America, The Fantastic 4, Spider-Man and the various incarnations of The Avengers. The ruler of Latveria is a true badass in comics and deserves nothing more than the number one spot on our countdown. Also, death. He probably deserves death.

As always, it’s time to talk a little bit about a few villains who just didn’t quite have what it took to make it into the big leagues. Here’s the honorable mentions of the best villains:

Riddler
After a strong outing in Batman: Hush, Riddler has fallen completely off my maps. With a couple solid outings similar to Hush, I could have seen a guy like him on this list. Sadly, he comes up short.

The Kingpin
Kingpin’s one heck of a multi-tasker. When he’s not busy making Daredevil’s life a living hell, he busy organizing a hit on Spider-Man’s aunt as well as Spider-Man himself. A list like this just wouldn’t be complete without the Kingpin of crime.

Black Adam
He’s done some bad stuff but, at heart, he’s just doing what he thinks is right. Many wouldn’t even call him a villain which makes him a perfect candidate for our honorable mentions list.

Hopefully you enjoyed the list and, as always, if you have any comments or villains that you would have liked to see up here, leave us a comment!