Necessary Evil: Super-Villains of DC Comics Page #2

make you a better superhero. "

The question always becomes: What

came first, the hero or the villain?

Did the hero introduce himself

to society to do better good...

...and because they

put on that costume...

...the costumed villain arose to

confront him or to challenge him?

Or did the costumed

villain arrive first...

...and the hero was created in order to

stop that type of villain from succeeding...

...or getting more powerful?

HARRAS:
There are threats

that Superman has to face...

...where I would tend to think

we're grateful Superman is there.

People might say, "if Superman weren't here,

would these menaces be coming to Earth?"

Bane comes to Gotham

specifically to fight Batman.

This is the Riddler as

he originally appeared.

First moved to Gotham because he was

attracted by the challenge of Batman.

They both came there

to challenge Batman...

...to see if he could be a foe worthy of

them, give them something interesting to do.

So the question is which came first?

And I'm not sure if I really

wanna answer that question.

The one thing I can say, one

can't exist without the other.

As long as we have villains,

there will be heroes.

And as long as we have

heroes, there will be villains.

NARRATOR:
But what is it about the

villain that keeps us so entranced...

...that captivates and enthralls us?

What makes us applaud the very

person we want to see vanquished?

The reasons are often as

multifaceted as the villains we enjoy.

What makes a great superviilain

is something that we can relate to.

It's the same thing that

makes for a great superhero.

In the superhero we have this exaggeration

of what our hopes and desires are.

At the same time the

villain has aspects of us...

...that challenge the strengths

that we're admiring in the superhero.

I would like to think that most

people identify with the hero, heh.

But in this day and age there might

be some who identify with the villain.

I understand getting a gun that shoots ice

and going into a bank and trying to rob it.

We understand temptation.

The oldest stories ever told

have to do with temptation...

...whether it's Pandora or Adam and Eve.

This very basic quality in human beings

that runs with us throughout our lives.

JOHNS:
Now, there are villains

like the Joker or Black Hand...

...that are so twisted and dark...

...you love seeing them do their

stuff, but you don't relate to them.

At least, you don't admit you do.

Everyone wishes that they could turn

invisible or fly or have x-ray vision.

And I think what's cool about villains is

everyone wishes that they could break bad.

What's the point of having a villain who can't

act out aspects of ourselves that we repress?

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