Mercenary Supervillains

[MilkmanDan]

Re: Mercenary Supervillains

 

It makes sense for anyone (A) not smart enough to be able to make detailed enough plans to outwit the authorities and ( smart enough to realize "A". Ripping ATMs off the wall would be small change. The opportunity to make a huge payday for one day's work would be more efficient.

[Clonus]

Re: Mercenary Supervillains

 

It makes sense for anyone (A) not smart enough to be able to make detailed enough plans to outwit the authorities and ( smart enough to realize "A". Ripping ATMs off the wall would be small change. The opportunity to make a huge payday for one day's work would be more efficient.

 

Then of course there are the people who are smart enough to plan and execute thefts, but still want an easy way to dispose of what they steal and thus are open to contracted jobs. A lot of the biggest targets suffer from the problem that it isn't actually possible to unload, say, the Mona Lisa or the Hope Diamond on the open market, but if some criminal mastermind or unscrupulous collector wants to hire Catwoman to collect it for them...well why not. Guaranteed buyer, no cluttering up your lair with priceless and unsellable junk.

[Nagisawa Takumi]

Re: Mercenary Supervillains

 

And some crooks are HAPPY with the role of 'muscle'. Take Marvel's Taskmaster, he's a thug for hire, and although he has considerable abilities and skills, he's both happy with his line of work, and knows his own limitations.

[wcw43921]

Re: Mercenary Supervillains

 

My thanks to everyone who responded. Apparently the idea of a superpowered criminal working for someone else isn't as implausible as I thought.

 

I guess I was thinking of the comics I read when I was younger--much younger. To my mind, many of the Champions Universe villains, especially the 350-pointers, are like the enemies Batman, the Flash and Spider-Man used to encounter. They'd usually start as non-costumed criminals, acquire superpowers/super-gadgets/an aggravated sense of megalomania, put on a costume and attempt to terrify the world and get rich at the same time. The heroes stop them, of course, but they always come back for more. But rarely, if ever, do they throw up their hands and say, "Forget this. I'm going to work for the Paluzzi mob/Mr. Mastermind/Dr. Despair. It's the only way I'll ever get ahead." If they do that at all, they're more likely to go legit rather than hire themselves out to some other criminal's agenda.

 

(That may be the one thing villains have in common with heroes--rarely, if ever, do they give up. No matter how hard they get punched, no matter how thoroughly their schemes are foiled, they're always ready to try again--and this time, they will win! They will have their revenge! BWAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH!)

 

And again, I refer to the example of major-prize lottery winners. Just as the term "saving for a rainy day" tends to fall out of the vocabulary of some of those who happen to find themselves nine figures richer overnight, so does the concept of "knowing one's limitations" fall out of the mindset of some of those who discover they can bench press a garbage truck, or walk through walls, or level a building just by glaring at it really hard. "Limitations? Yesterday I had limitations! Today--I have POWER!"

 

But everyone here has made some good points. I especially liked Clonus's sample characters--the Mule is a very nifty niche figure. Obviously I need to rethink my point of view on this subject--and by "rethink," I mean "sleep." I'll see you later on, and once again, Thank You for your responses. Very much appreciated.

[bigbywolfe]

Re: Mercenary Supervillains

 

I guess I was thinking of the comics I read when I was younger--much younger. To my mind' date=' many of the Champions Universe villains, especially the 350-pointers, are like the enemies Batman, the Flash and Spider-Man used to encounter. They'd usually start as non-costumed criminals, acquire superpowers/super-gadgets/an aggravated sense of megalomania, put on a costume and attempt to terrify the world and get rich at the same time. The heroes stop them, of course, but they always come back for more. But rarely, if ever, do they throw up their hands and say, "Forget this. I'm going to work for the Paluzzi mob/Mr. Mastermind/Dr. Despair. It's the only way I'll ever get ahead." If they do that at all, they're more likely to go legit rather than hire themselves out to some other criminal's agenda.[/quote']

But I think even your evaluation of the source material may be incorrect I mean, how many of Spiderman’s foes have worked for the Kingpin? Around a dozen? Many of the villains that have become part of his particular “rogues gallery” started out working for someone else and then just kept coming back on their own for revenge. And that’s not including team-ups where the villains don’t necessarily work for someone but do work together (despite having “successful” careers of their own) to take down a common enemy (how many versions of the Sinister Six have there been?). It’s true that there are more ‘self-employed’ supervillains than mercenary ones in the source material, but that doesn’t make the ones that hire out their services unbelievable. If anything, it makes the small timers that keep trying to make it on their own seem that much more ridiculous.

[Nagisawa Takumi]

Re: Mercenary Supervillains

 

That's a good point, Bigby. I can think of at least two Spidey villains that are complete mercenaries.

 

The Green Goblin.

 

The Scorpion. In fact, wasn't Scorpy originally hired by J.J.J. to help discredit Spidey?

[bigbywolfe]

Re: Mercenary Supervillains

 

Let’s see. Off the top of my head I’m pretty sure most of what Rhino has done has been as hired muscle (except for a stint in the Sinister 6). Hobgoblin was a mercenary. Tombstone started as a hired hitman. Beetle started as a solo supervillain but was so bad at it he started hiring himself out. Boomerang started out working for an illegal organization that gave him his shtick in the first place. That’s all I can think of offhand without mixing up the cartoons and various alternate versions, but there are many more.

[Clonus]

Re: Mercenary Supervillains

 

That's a good point, Bigby. I can think of at least two Spidey villains that are complete mercenaries.

 

The Green Goblin.

 

The Scorpion. In fact, wasn't Scorpy originally hired by J.J.J. to help discredit Spidey?

 

The Green Goblin wasn't even a little bit a mercenary. He was a corporate CEO who went insane and decided to take over all organized crime in New York City. The Scorpion was created by Jameson, but after taking on Spider-Man the first time, I don't recall him ever being up for hire. Oh, wait a second. He did agree to work for an evil scientist to fight Ms Marvel.

[Logan D. Hurricanes]

Re: Mercenary Supervillains

 

There are also villains that aren't truly mercenary but will do a job for someone if the pay is right. The Riddler has taken jobs if someone approaches him with a proposal he likes. So has The Penguin, Captain Cold, etc. Most of the Flash's rogues fall under this heading, in fact. It's the old adage that everyone has a price, though there are certainly those that will be 'above' such things.