4 DC Villains That Should Actually Be in the Justice League

DC Comics is famous for creating iconic superheroes, and the Justice League brings the very best of them together. What began as a simple team-up of Earth’s greatest heroes has evolved into a massive organization welcoming heroes of all kinds. The League consistently battles incredibly powerful villains from across the multiverse, tackling challenges no other group could handle. Over time, these villains have become legendary, developing into complex and fascinating characters that fans adore. Some of these villains, in particular, deserve even more attention and development.

As a movie critic, I’ve always said that a superhero team is only as good as its villains, and DC’s Justice League has a fantastic collection. Some of these bad guys aren’t just effective antagonists; they’re genuinely compelling characters who could easily carry a lead role. I truly believe giving four of them a shot on the Justice League itself would be a brilliant move, taking them – and the entire franchise – to a whole new level. They have the potential to be so much more than just villains.

4) Bizarro

Superman has battled countless villains, and Bizarro is one of the most entertaining. Bizarro is either a version of Superman from a backwards world, or a distorted copy of the hero himself. Essentially, he’s Superman’s opposite – sometimes portrayed as a sympathetic and comical figure, and other times as a frightening monster. He’s frequently been a villain, joining the Legion of Doom to fight the Justice League, and when his origin is tied to Bizarro-Earth, he’s part of that world’s version of the team. Over the years, we’ve even seen heroic interpretations of Bizarro, and fans really enjoy the character. Seeing this backwards version of Superman join the Justice League could be a fantastic moment for DC Comics, and would open up a lot of exciting new story possibilities.

3) T.O. Morrow

T.O. Morrow is a classic supervillain from the Silver Age of comics, famous for building incredibly advanced robots. Many roboticists, like Will Magnus (the creator of the Metal Men), consider him the best, particularly when it comes to designing the ‘brains’ of artificial intelligence. He created the hero Red Tornado and co-created Tomorrow Woman – both of whom ultimately joined the Justice League after developing empathy and refusing to harm their friends. Perhaps it’s time Morrow joined the League too. While he doesn’t have any inherent superpowers, Morrow is a genius, capable of creating powerful technology or acting as a strategist from the Justice League’s headquarters, the Watchtower. It’s been a long time since villains of his caliber could realistically oppose the League, and adding him to the team would give this iconic DC character a fresh purpose.

2) Prometheus

The Justice League has a number of underrated villains, and Prometheus is one of the most compelling. His origin story is essentially a dark mirror of Batman’s. Unlike Batman, who sought justice after losing his parents to crime, Prometheus’s parents were successful criminals themselves, traveling the country and committing theft and murder until they were killed by the police. This led the young Prometheus into foster care and fueled his desire for revenge against those who uphold the law.

He used the fortune his parents secretly amassed through their crimes to become incredibly skilled, develop technology that could counter superpowers, and discover how to access a mysterious dimension similar to a prison for powerful beings. He nearly defeated the incredibly powerful Pantheon League when they first appeared in JLA #16-17, and remained a significant threat throughout the rest of writer Grant Morrison’s run on JLA in the 1990s. Unfortunately, he’s been underutilized and portrayed poorly since then. It’s time for him to become important again, and bringing him into the League would be the ideal way to do that. He’d be a great disruptor for the team, and could develop in surprising directions.

1) Captain Cold

Captain Cold heads up the Rogues, widely considered the most formidable team of supervillains in comic books. He understood that to thrive as a criminal in Central City, cooperation with other villains was essential. The Rogues became a unique group, functioning as both colleagues and a sort of dysfunctional family, looking out for each other despite personal conflicts (like the one between Captain Cold and Heatwave). After the ‘Forever Evil’ storyline, Leonard Snart briefly joined the New 52 Justice League, but his time was eclipsed by the ‘Darkseid War’ event and the presence of Lex Luthor, another villain on the team.

Captain Cold is a villain perfectly suited to challenge the Justice League. Unlike those seeking world domination or driven by senseless violence, his motives are simple: he wants to make money. He accomplishes this by leading a team of criminals to rob banks in Central and Keystone City. He’s a skilled strategist who understands the importance of teamwork, even putting aside personal conflicts for the benefit of his crew. Clever and resourceful, he’s repeatedly outwitted both Barry Allen and Wally West, and his cold gun is a remarkably advanced device. With the Justice League as a foil, Captain Cold has the potential to become a truly major villain.

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2025-11-10 23:12