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Superheroes may rely on supervillains for action and drama, seeing their powers turned
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against them or pushed to their limits, but you don’t need heat vision or super-strength
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to be truly terrifying. Sometimes, all it takes is a criminal blessed with determination,
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and an opponent pushing them to their true potential. Here are Screen Rant’s 10 Most
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Dangerous Comic Book Criminals.
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The Joker
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No one knows his story, his motivations, or his endgame - but everyone knows his name:
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Joker. Over the years, Batman's arch-nemesis has been portrayed as a serial killer, a crime
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boss, a madman, and an agent of chaos, in nearly every form of entertainment. Every
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fan may have their favourite, but The Joker is so fragmented and crazed, it's impossible
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to even call one version more faithful than any other. Without any superpower, super weapon,
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or even backup, Joker's calculated mayhem hasn't just made him a comic book icon, but
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one of the most complicated and terrifying villains in history. Not bad for a guy with
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nothing but a knife, a pistol, and a plan.
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Kingpin
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He may not be much to look at, but Wilson Fisk has proven to be not only one of the
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most brilliant and ruthless crime bosses the comic book world has ever seen, but a physical
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threat capable of fighting some of Marvel’s most impressive heroes. Bullied in his childhood
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because of his weight, Fisk hit the gym, turning his former bullies into henchmen, and beginning
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his rise to the top of Hell’s Kitchen’s underworld, letting his fists and wits do
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the talking, eventually becoming the Kingpin of Crime. Don’t be fooled by the lack of
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a gun or club, either: The Kingpin prefers to kill with his bare hands, and whatever
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furniture is nearby. He may not be a supervillain, but a man with his talents for organized crime
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who can beat Daredevil and Spider-Man in a fight deserves more credit than he’s usually
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given.
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Killer Croc
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Born with a rare genetic condition that caused his skin to grow hard and scaly like a reptile,
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Waylon Jones was an outcast, bullied by schoolmates and abused and abandoned by an alcoholic aunt.
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As he grew bigger and badder, a job wrestling alligators for the circus seemed a waste of
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his talents. Waylon knew how to be tough, and knew a life of crime was his destiny.
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Taking the name Killer Croc, he set out to organize and rule the criminals of Gotham
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City, proving a serious player even without his bulletproof skin and superstrength. He
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would do battle with Batman too many times to count, but what he lacked in brains, he
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made up for in brutality. Did we mention he's also a cannibal?
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The Darkness
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As one of the few comic criminals who is neither good or evil, Jackie Estacado began his life
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as an orphan, adopted into the Franchetti crime family at the tender age of 6. Making
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his first kill at the age of 16, Jackie would become the family’s most skilled and ruthless
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hitman, doing more than just killing his targets to send a message. But on his 21st birthday,
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he learned that his induction into the mafia was no coincidence: he was the latest in a
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long line of men entrusted with The Darkness: an ancient force granting its host nearly
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limitless power. In the hands of Jackie, the power to create any weapon or creature as
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long as he stayed in the shadows was a perfect fit, seeking vengeance on all who had wronged
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him in the past. With the power to take on Superman himself, Jackie took over the crime
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family with ease, putting his skills learned on the streets to work taking over an entire
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country.
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The Riddler
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Unlike most criminal masterminds, the Prince of Puzzlers can't resist telling the absolute
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truth. But his need to prove he's the smartest person in the room means The Riddler can't
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do anything simply. His green costume and obsession with riddles and brainteasers made
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Edward Nigma a bit of a joke to mainstream audiences, but comic fans have seen him develop
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into a twisted, terrifying and truly dangerous criminal over the years. The well-known "Hush"
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storyline saw Riddler pulling the strings behind every single Batman villain as part
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of his plan to bring down Bruce Wayne once and for all. More recently, "Batman: Zero
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Year" saw Riddler take complete control over Gotham, turning the city to ruins until a
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citizen could solve his riddles. Puzzles aren't too scary, but in the hands of The Riddler,
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they can be fatal.
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Carnage
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Spider-Man knew that the Alien symbiotic behind his black suit was bad news, and when it merged
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with Eddie Brock to become Venom, his most popular enemy was born. But not his most dangerous.
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When Brock found himself sharing a cell with serial killer psychopath Cletus Kasady, he
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wanted out - fast. His alien partner came to the rescue, but left its child behind,
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soon entering Kasady's bloodstream - and just like that, Carnage was born. What was most
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horrifying about the murderous rampages that followed wasn't the villain's powers, but
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placing them in Kasady's hands. It was the madman's belief that murder was the mark of
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true courage that made him a menace, meaning he's just as deadly without the suit. He was
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created to show what DC's Joker could do if given superpowers, and Carnage has yet to
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disappoint.
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Bullseye
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Putting his skills with throwing projectiles to use as a baseball player, the pitcher who
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would become known as “Bullseye” found throwing a no-hitter too boring. Killing the
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batter with a ball to the head sent him on his path of murders-for-hire, becoming one
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of the deadliest assassins the Marvel Universe has ever seen. But becoming a soldier of fortune
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for villains like The Kingpin wasn’t enough – Bullseye wanted fame as well. Bragging
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to New York’s Daily Bugle about his many kills and the fact that he “never misses”
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put Daredevil on his tail – and the two have been at war ever since. If his mastery
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of martial arts, guns and blades wasn’t deadly enough. Bullseye can turn toothpicks,
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paperclips, and even his own teeth into lethal weapons. For the right price, of course.
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Arcade
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Who says insanity and homicidal tendencies can’t be profitable? The Marvel villain
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known as “Arcade” learned there’s good money in killing, and as is usually the case,
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bigger is better. When the pampered young man was cut off by his wealthy father, he
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killed him, and took the money for himself. Flush with cash and realizing his love of
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murder, Arcade became a globetrotting assassin. But when the murder game became too boring,
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he hatched a different plan: he’d build his own deathtrap known as “Murderworld,”
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and drop his targets into the fatal theme park to give them a fighting chance. The villain’s
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similarities to DC’s Joker are obvious, but his one-of-a-kind humor and genuine thrill
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at seeing his victims attempt to escape made him a hit, appearing alongside many of Marvel’s
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most well-known heroes. Even if that meant he racked up more failures than kills.
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Two-Face
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What’s more tragic than seeing an embodiment of law and order flipped on its head, embracing
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crime, chaos and violence instead? The answer is a man who can’t even decide between the
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two. Every Batman fan knows the tragic story of Harvey Dent, once an upstanding District
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Attorney who develops a split personality when half of his face is burned with acid.
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Although the darker side of his character may be more than a little crazed, it still
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has access to the brilliant intelligence and knowledge of Gotham’s underworld. The result
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is Two-Face, a crime boss who sees every attack against Gotham as an opportunity. But what
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makes the villain truly dangerous is his signature coin, used to make nearly every decision facing
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his fractured mind. Sure, he may have become predictable over the years, but when the flip
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of a coin means Harvey Dent may help Batman save the day – or commit an unspeakable
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act of violence, he becomes a villain unlike any other the Dark Knight has had to face.
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Prometheus
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If there’s one criminal in the world of DC Comics who is truly underrated, it has
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to be Prometheus. Raised by two criminals, the young boy travelled across America, learning
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the outlaw life until his parents were shot down by police. Just as Bruce Wayne dedicated
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his life to avenging his parents, Prometheus did the same. Spending time in South American
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fighting pits, working as an African mercenary and as an international terrorist, Prometheus
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became a true student of crime and violence, eventually killing the cops who killed his
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parents, and turning his finely-tuned skills to bringing down the Justice League. He may
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have required some gadgets to get the job done, but an everyday criminal who can take
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down Batman, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter deserves some respect.
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So what do you think of our list? Did we miss any of your favorite comic book crooks, killer
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and thieves? Let us know in our comment section and don't forget to subscribe to our channel
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for more videos like this one.