Top 100 Villains 60-51

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Everyone knows nothing makes a good hero like a great villain. Sherlock Holmes needed Moriarty, G.I. Joe needed Cobra, the rebels needed Darth Vader, etc. Nothing makes a story better quite like an interesting, intriguing, and yet hated adversary. Readers tend to flock to the villains they love to hate. The best villains bring something out of the hero that nobody else does, or force the hero to push themselves further than before to find a way to win.

We wanted to make a top 10 list, but that’s impossible. There are just too many good choices, and we couldn’t agree on any of it. So we increased the list, and increased it, and increased it (honestly we probably could have kept going, too). So, before it gets too out of hand, here are our choices for the 100 best villains in comics.

(Click here for our Top 100 Heroes List!)

(Also click here for parts 1, 2, 3, and 4 of our list so far!)

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Top 10 Animated Comic Book TV Shows

While comic books and animation seem to go hand in hand, for some reason there are so, so many more bad animated shows based on comics than there are good. Maybe because so many are aimed at children, or maybe there are so many variables that come with even getting a show off the ground, let alone having and audience to keep it around and also having the right people to keep elevating the material, and ALSO having a studio that has faith in the production team and can stay out of the way.

For every successful show, there’s a Savage Dragon, WildC.A.T.S., or multiple failed adaptations of the likes of Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, or the Avengers. But when all of the right circumstances come together, sometimes you get something special. While a lot of how ‘good’ a show is can come down to personal taste and preferences, below are 10 animated shows based on comics that, regardless of order, everyone can agree are among the best!

Honorable mention goes to MTV’s The Maxx, based on the Image Comics series by Sam Keith, Superman: The Animated Series, and Wolverine & The X-Men!

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Comic Zombie Podcast #8: “Invincible” *and* “Falcon and the Winter Soldier”!

COMIC ZOMBIE – Issue #8: Invincible and Falcon and the Winter Soldier!

Chris and Erik discuss more Immortal Hulk comics, rumors surrounding the new John Stewart “Green Lantern” film as well as the HBO Max live action ‘Green Lantern Corps’ series, the “New Mutants” movie, the new “Mortal Kombat” movie, and finally we do a deep dive into both “Falcon and the Winter Soldier” (Disney +) and the all new “Invincible” animated series (Amazon Prime) based on the comics by Robert Kirkman!

*NOTE: We are painfully aware that Peyton Reed is NOT directing the upcoming MCU Fantastic Four feature film; at one point he was rumored for the position which excited us, but the actual director for the upcoming film is the director of the newest Spider-Man films, Jon Watts. For shame.

(Episode edited by Erik Slader and Chris Carroll)  

For more random shenanigans (like Erik’s Invincible reviews and our recent MK character breakdowns), check out our blog at ComicZombie.net and GeekToGeekMedia! *Also listen to us on Podcasters Assemble: MORTAL PODKAST!

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“INVINCIBLE” – Season 1 Finale Review (Spoiler Alert!)

Check out my previous recap here!

Episode 8: “Where I really come from”

I was not emotionally ready for this one…

(Spoilers Ahead)

Seriously, stop reading if you haven’t seen this show.
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“INVINCIBLE” Episode 7 Recap (Spoilers!)

Check out my previous recap here!

Episode 7: “We Need To Talk”

There is just so much to unpack here…

(Warning: Spoilers Below!)

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“INVINCIBLE” Episode 6 Recap (Spoilers)

Check out my previous recap here!

Episode 6 : “You Look Kinda Dead”

This one’s a pretty by the numbers episode with a dose of pretty serious personal stakes. It’s yet another one that takes a comic storyline that was spread out over several issues and compresses it into one. The ‘Reanimen’ first appeared in Issue 6, whereas their creator didn’t officially show up until Issue 20. While I do enjoy the slow burn of the comics with all the mystery, revelations and build up, for this show it totally makes sense to not do that for pacing.

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“INVINCIBLE” – Episode 5 Recap (Spoilers!)

Check out my previous recap here!

Episode 5: “That Actually Hurt”

WOW! Ok, just… wow, that was unexpected.

So far every single episode of this season has had a gigantic wtf moment, but that last one was truly insane! I swear, I was yelling at the TV for the entire last half of this episode. When it was all over I just looked over at my fiance and said “I seriously can’t believe they did that, that episode was so crazy!” – to which she responded, “You say that every episode.”

Ok, yeah, fair point.

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“INVINCIBLE” – Episode 4 Recap (Spoilers)

(Recap by Erik Slader)

Check out my review of INVINCIBLE Episode 1: “It’s About Time” and Episodes 2 and 3 recaps here!

Episode 4: “Neil Armstrong, Eat Your Heart Out”

Episode 4 gives us in an interesting one, it contrasts Nolan and Debbie’s marital troubles with Mark and Amber’s first date jitters. One thing I really appreciate from the show so far is that we get a lot more of Debbie’s perspective than we did in the comics. We see her trying to sell Olga’s house, and she starts to become more suspicious of her husband’s unusual behavior. Nolan’s putting on a good show, but it’s pretty clear that he’s cracking under the pressure. We get a really disturbing moment while they’re on a date in Rome, when a dragon randomly attacks the city and he refuses to stop it!

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“INVINCIBLE” – Episodes 2 & 3 (Spoiler Alert)

(Review by Erik Slader)

If you haven’t already, go check out my review of INVINCIBLE Episode 1: “It’s About Time”!

Warning: This recap/review will inevitably contain spoilers (especially for Episode 1), so proceed with caution…

Atom Eve and Invincible

Episode 2: “Here Goes Nothing”

Right off the bat, this show continues to impress me – the visuals are stunning, the music is really unique, the sound design is mind-blowing, the story is fast-paced, and the characters are all cast perfectly and fully realized! The animation is so glossy and smooth throughout, all the cityscapes are breathtaking, there are entire sequences that feel like they were ripped directly from the comic with just how well the art-style was emulated, and… seriously, I just can’t get over how good this show looks and sounds! (Have I mentioned how awesome and different the music is?)

Ok, so this episode immediately starts with two extremely clever call backs to the first one – we see the guard from the opening of the first episode with his stepson in London where we see the result of Mark accidentally launching a trash bag into orbit as it explodes around them!

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Comic Zombie Podcast #7: “Wandavision” and “Zack Snyder’s Justice League”!

COMIC ZOMBIE – Issue #7: Wandavision and Zack Snyder’s Justice League!

Chris and Erik spend two hours (after midnight) raving about Marvel’s “Wandavision” (Disney+) and Zack Snyder’s “Justice League” (HBO Max)! Side note: much like Batfleck in the Snyder Cut, there’s a lot more cursing than normal. #RestoreTheSnyderVerse

Also on this episode: our first impressions of “Falcon and Winter Soldier” – Episode 1, “The Immortal Hulk” by Al Ewing and Joey Bennett, “Non-Stop Spider-man” by Joe Kelly and David Finch, the new “Eternals” comics by Kieron Gillen and Esad Ribic, and a brief discussion on what we’re looking forward to soon, including James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad”, “Black Widow”, “Godzilla vs Kong”, “Mortal Kombat”, and the brand new “Invincible” series!

(Episode edited by Erik Slader)

*Also listen to us on Podcasters Assemble!