My good friend Autobot was kind enough to loan me some Aquaman comics before Justice League came out, so thanks man.
We begin our stories with Arthur Curry dealing with his rule of the oceans and trying to protect those land. People are weary of him on the surface after Orm, the Ocean Master, nearly brought a massive flood on them. In Atlantis, people aren’t trusting him because he still tries to help the surface dwellers, who damn near kill themselves by accidentally uncovering a titanic Atlantean beast that causes further devastation on land, nearly kills Aquaman, and sours the favor of the Atlanteans even further because it was an ancient protector meant to serve the reigning king, not try to murder it. Arthur couldn’t stop it. A idiot named Daniels, who has been pursuing Arthur finds his trident and accidentally sets free a race of Giant-borns from a makeshift hell created by a past Atlantean king, which forces him to fight a crazed Hercules and team up with Wonder Woman to finish this, all while stressing over his high school reunion. While Mera is hunting some failed assassins who tried taking her life, Aquaman finds himself face to face with the fabled Swamp Thing in our last story.
Essentially the book is three stories in one and that was really cool. Of the three, the last was my favorite just because it was cool to see Swamp Thing kick his ass. Something I have to say for the series itself, the artwork always catches my eye and makes me take in the details and colors. There are a lot of great, epic fights and I was glad to get time with Wonder Woman and Swamp Thing, who neither I’ve experienced much. Overall, it’s a fun book to pick up in sections and definitely gorgeous to look at. Best wishes all, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.
5. Shazam (volume 1)- I’m not a magic fan but I do love Black Adam, who stole every panel he appeared in for me. Menacing, intelligent, and powerful, he was a great way to start Shazam’s origin. After reading this, Adam became a favorite of mine.
4. Suicide Squad: Kicked in the teeth (volume 1)- I borrowed the first 3 volumes of the new 52 a year before the movie came out and absolutely devoured them. I loved a story based primarily of villains kicking ass and spouting dark 1 liners. Also, King Shark rules!
3. Flash: Gorilla Warfare (volume 3)- I love Grodd. I love the Rogues. This book boils down to Flash and the Rogues teaming up to stop Grodd and his ape army. It’s badass and ends with a awesome fight and a Easter egg I loved.
2. Aquaman: The Trench (volume 1)- Like many people, I never thought into Aquaman much. To quote Batman, “Arthur Curry, I hear you can talk to fish.) But the gorgeous artwork and epic fight got me on board instantly. 1 superhero vs a army of mutated piranha people, what’s not to love?
1. Batman: Court of Owls/ Night of the owls (volumes 1 and 2)- It’s not everyday a great Batman story comes out that has nothing to do with Joker. In fact, this story brings the history we thought we knew deeply into question and not only is Batman and the Bat-family at match by these creepy, damn near unstoppable assassins but they truly test what Batman stands for and that is the sign of a great story.
6. Black Adam (Shazam)- Before Billy Batson acquired the powers of Shazam, there was another from another time. Much like Marvel’s Dr. Doom, Adam uses his power to “protect” his people, even if that makes him a tyrant amongst them. I read the first book of Shazam’s new 52 and Black Adam stole the show every time he appeared. He was one of my top 3 favorite characters in Injustice to play as. Possessing super strength, speed, durability, magical lightning, and a vast intelligence, Adam is a good example of the road to hell being paved with good intentions.
5. Gorilla Grodd (Flash)- Another tyrant, Grodd believes he is the rightful ruler of his dimension of intelligent apes, and in New 52, believes himself the rightful bearer of the Speed Force; in the CW show he is test animal subjected to the particle accelerator. Either way, Grodd believes man is an inferior species meant to serve ape in a interesting play of reverse Darwinism. Besides being very intelligent, strong, and agile like most common apes, Grodd has telepathic and telekinetic abilities and is a cruel military strategist. Grodd’s brutal and badassness earn him this spot…and he blocked the Supersonic Punch Man! How much more pimp do you get?
4. Ozymandias (Watchmen)- I know, I know, I know Watchmen ain’t part of DC canon but it’s still a DC publication. What gets me about Ozymandias is how good he really is compared to the flawed “heroes” of Watchmen. Aspiring to be a modern day Alexander the Great, Adrian Veidt dedicated himself physically and mentally to become the best hero he could be, but at the horrific cost he will go to save the world from itself. Smartest man in the world, only the infinite intellect of Dr Manhattan can challenge him, in physical combat he’s unwatched, even catching a bullet with his bare hand at point blank range, Ozymandias is the rare villain that not only succeeds but actually proves more heroic than our actual heroes, the very definition of a grey character.
3. Sinestro (Green Lantern)- once the greatest of Green Lanterns, mentored by the legendary Abin Sur, mentor to Hal Jordan, and greatest threat to the Green Lantern Corps is Thal Sinestro. Using his green power to retake his homeworld when plunged into bloody civil war by cruel force, Sinestro was cast out by his fellow lanterns. In exile he came across the means to harness there greatest weakness against them, the gold light of fear. Soon he built his own deadly corp of fear mongering maniacs and murderers gifted at instilling fear in others to battle the Green Lanterns. Sinestro is a master of wielding the gold ring as well as having detailed knowledge on his former corps, he is a skilled warrior and strategist, both cunning and cruel. Essentially, he’s DC Vegeta. When examined, he is a fascinatingly deep character I highly recommend reading more into.
2. Joker (Batman)- He had to be here for 1 undeniable reason; I don’t think any villain has ever pushed a hero so far towards a breaking point than Joker has Batman. He crippled Batgirl, beat Jason Todd to death before blowing him up, killed Batman’s parents in the Tim Burton film, murdered thousands of innocents, helped turn Batman’s family against him, and even mentally tortured the shit out of Batman after his death in Arkham City. Crafty, reckless, brilliant, and heartless, Joker is the devil that came from nowhere really. I’ve read several origins for Mr. J, all different which is great, making him scarier and menacing. He’s been portrayed fantastically by Caesar Romero, Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, but mine favorite will always be Mark Hamill. Same with Conroy as Batman before you ask. Yes, 9 of 10 of Batman’s classics are Joker stories, but it’s well deserved.
1. Doomsday (Superman) – plain and simple my friends, for a very simple reason: he killed Superman. With all of Superman’s power, he couldn’t withstand this enigmatic beast, nor could the JSA either for that matter. Doomsday doesn’t have a grudge, he doesn’t want to take over the world or get rich. He just wants to kill and destroy. He’s extremely strong and can take a huge amount of punishment. There’s reason to believe he’s immune to mind attacks, it’s cited in Death of Superman that the inside of his mind is blackness and hate. This creature brutally beats Superman to death fair and square, taking everything Sups had to put him down. I love how simple and brutally torturous Doomsday is, earning him my number one spot. I hope you enjoyed my list, thank you for reading, and may the gaming gods be with you.
10. Hector Hammond (Green Lantern)- This creepy bastard hates Green Lantern Hal Jordan with a passion. The handsome, charismatic, superhero has it so well; Hammond made contact with the power source of Abin Sur’s crashed ship, mutating him drastically. He now has telepathic and telekinetic abilities at the price of cripling physical malformation and delusions. What makes him a favorite of mine is how he feels a creepy desire to be Jordan and wants Carol Ferris sexually, pretty much the super perv of DC.
9. Terra (Teen Titans)- this story is kinda sad. Once a Titan herself and romantically involved with BeastBoy, Terra betrays her friends for Slade. As her name suggests, she can control the ground and rock formations. Terra is a good villain for the simple fact for how much physical and emotional damage she causes the Titans and how she regrets the treason but continues.
8. Black Manta (Aquaman)- Aquaman’s arch enemy, I just find this character fascinating. Through out the years he’s had different origins, each strange and even controversial. A popular origin is Manta began as young autistic boy subjected to a test serum to cure him, succeeding but driving him mad and dangerous. His suit is adapted to deep sea for cold and pressure while increasing his strength and durability; his suit is weaponized with lasers and missiles and Manta is a powerful hand to hand fighter. Seriously, Manta with blades is a epic, bloody sight to see.
7. Mr. Freeze (Batman)- Freeze maybe one of the most tragic villains in all of DC. Victor and Nora Fries loved each other very much until Nora came down with a terminal illness. Victor, a cryo expert, put Nora under and in a sad turn Victor seemed to be killed in a accident. It mutated his body to where he can’t survive in any temperature under sub-zero so he built a armored suit to maintain himself, and designed the infamous freeze gun. Freeze is nearly emotionless, feeling only the desire to cure Nora. Everything he does is to restore Nora. He’s one of the few Batman villains that isn’t nuts or out for wealth or to destroy Batman, he’s there for his wife, almost not even a bad guy at all.
7. Reverse Flash (Flash)- Eobard Thawne is the probably the biggest pain the Flash’s ass ever. In many versions, he’s the Nora Allen’s killer, leading to Barry’s father getting wrongfully imprisoned, setting off the rest of Barry’s life. Then we come to Flashpoint where he allows Barry to stop him, only to make the scarlet speedster responsible for the horrors that come, without the power to fix his mistake. What makes him a favorite is how damn determined he is to ruin Flash’s life, no matter how bad it rapes time and space and that’s badass.
1. Mera- It’s very rare in comics and fiction in general where the female lead is as badass if not more so than her male counterpart. Mera is queen of Atlantis and wife to Arthur Curry- Aquaman. I fell in love with her during Blackest Night, she was strong but vulnerable, overcoming her grief to fight back against the Black Lanterns and watching her acquire a red lantern ring was beyond epic. Besides being able to swim fast and breath underwater she is super strong and durable and can control water to varying degrees. I watched her almost dry a man out by mere contact, only stopping before his blood depleted and he almost wasn’t able to breathe, what’s more badass than that?
2. Jon Stewart- Whereas Hal Jordan is the reckless smartass Green Lantern, Guy Gardner is the average joe, and Kyle Raynor os practically a messiah, Stewart stands out because of his quiet demeanor, darker origin as marine corp sniper, and and his construct preference of guns and more practical weapons. Jon Stewart takes no shit on the battlefield but the man has a heart, and that’s what makes him a great character.
3. Deathstroke/ Slade- Whether you knew him as the diabolical Slade in the early 2000’s Teen Titan cartoon or watched in utter amazement the fight between him and Batman in Arkham Origins or hell even got the little tidbit Deadpool is pretty close to this augmented assassin. A master of several forms of hand to hand combat, marksmanship, and master with an insane amount of weapons, this soldier is imbued with enchanced strength, reflexes, agility, and regenerative capability- except for his missing eye. No comment on that. Whether he’s dicking over the Suicide Squad in the comics or declaring vengeance on Oliver Queen on Arrow, Deathstroke is always a good time.
4. Dex Starr- he’s just as adorable as he is dangerous. This tragic red lantern maybe a former house cat but he still will fry you with his rage; closely associated with Atrocitus, leader of the hateful Red Lantern Corp, they share a sad bond over the rage of loss. Big things really do come in small packages.
5. Red Hood/ Arkham Knight – Jason Todd, Batman’s second Robin, was killed horribly by the Joker when he was a teen. Years later Gotham’s criminal underground is getting wrecked by a man wearing a red hood just as Joker did before the fall, and moves like Batman. Against his mentor he’s formidable, retaining his former master’s fighting skills and know how but not the restraint. He kills without remorse because he feels if Batman would, all the chaos and death his villains cause wouldn’t happen, and so the Red Hood exists to prove such a point.
“there’s enough to go around.”
Savior Gaming 