#3: "The Joker"
The 'Clown Prince of Crime'. His history and origins unsubstantiated. A psychotic mass murderer with a flare for the dramatic in 'comedic' form.
Batman's arch-nemesis, and most deadly foe.
Why do I like him? It's simple: he's free! Free to be crazy. Free to act unencumbered by law or moral expectation. Free to follow his crazy, impulses AND smart enough to envision a prescient plan to execute it. I envy him. I think most people would just like to 'go nuts' every once in a while and not care about the consequences.
That's the 'Joker'. That little bit of 'darkness' in us; he's the existential embodiment of it, played out vicariously in our imaginations.
#2: "Thoth-Amon"
The history of Thoth is sad but epic. Born poor in ancient Stygia ,forced to live with an abusive father who forced him to thieve for the family income, he swore to liberate himself and his sister! His twisted and treacherous path to success is a tale of moral ambiguity many of us might sympathize with. Does one's childhood doom us to a future unavoidable? Is compromising one's morals and conscience worth the gains?
In 'The Book of Thoth' by Dark Horse comics, these elements are explored.
Thoth-Amon's real ambition is to secure the welfare of his life by controlling all that could effect it. A twisted yet interesting concept . What better way to be free of malicious exposure by others in this world than to control the world itself- at least the world within the state of Stygia. Sometimes that sort of thinking makes sense to me.
#1: "Dr. Victor Von Doom"
IMO, never has there been a more misunderstood villain than Doom.
Born as a gypsy to caring parents, he soon learned the cruelty of the world by the untimely death of his mother and then the tragic death of his father. Raised by his father's best friend afterwards, he discovers his mother's dark art artifacts and vows to rescue her from death itself!
Doom is a man of intense conviction. In his own mind he is just and noble- it's the world which he believes is flawed. He is capable a great cruelty and murder while also being self-sacrificial to the point of death to save and/or protect those that he cares about. What a dichotomy!
He's responsible for sending a boy to hell while also being willing to serve as mid-wife to save the life of his hated enemy's wife during labor.
A loving god-father to Valeria(the FF's daughter, who was named by Doom after his first and only true love) to a brutal dictator who hasn't hesitated to kill those he see's as a threat, Doom is a complex 'villain' indeed.
I love em'!
Opinions?