Villains Have Fans Too

Some of us, as fans of comics, have certain characters that we just love. If they show up in a book, we'll buy it*. You've got your Batman fans, your Spidey fans, Deadpool fans, Red Tornado fans (They exist! They do! Right next to the Land of Unicorns that sneeze gold!**), and so on. Usually it's heroes that people follow.

What I'm wondering is if there are villains who you keep an eye out for. Maybe you're a fan of Dr. Polaris***, or Mysterio, or the Living Monolith, or Scarface and the Ventriloquist. Or Iron Man. Right, right, he's not a villain anymore. You love it when they fight their old foe, but heck, you maybe like it even more when they fight someone new. Maybe things will be different for them this time? At the least, it's a new hero to start a feud with, and the more heroes a villain can claim to be an arch-foe to, the more appearances they may be able to garner in the future****.

I'm not sure I truly have one, but if I do, it's Arcade. I know the whole "amusement park of death" is terribly impractical, but it's still so great. He can use it to throw anything at his targets that he can come up with. He has such a zest for life, even if that involves having one day a year where his assistant tries her damndest to kill him! He's got style, and can take his losses with class. He doesn't usually pout if the heroes escape, he doffs his cap (if he wore one), and looks to the next time.

Plus, while once a prisoner of Dr. Doom, he helped himself to one of Doom's fine cigars*****, and lit his match by striking it against Doom's armor. Even Doom was impressed with Arcade's chutzpah and calm in the face of death.

Yes, I like Arcade, and try to keep an eye out for him. Even though I've bought entirely too many comics with Deadpool already this year (I could practically devote one day of my Year In Review posts to Deadpool comics), I still had to order Deadpool Team-Up #899. Deadpool teams up with Hercules to face Arcade (and Nightmare, but I'm not interested in him). I can't pass that up.

That's me, what about you?

* Then complain because the writer doesn't "get" the character, or the character was used as a punching bag to make the Hot, New Thing of the Moment look cool/badass/dangerous.

** You know, considering some of the characters I like, I probably shouldn't make fun of Red Tornado fans. But I did. The little angel can't win every time.

*** And why wouldn't you be? I'm speaking of the true Dr. Polaris of course.

**** See, Dr. Polaris understands this. He wasn't content simply to humiliate Hal Jordan. No, in the early '90s he branched out and started fighting with the new Ray. Kid was just starting out and Dr. Polaris got in on the ground floor of his Rogue' Gallery. Which, admittedly, never grew terribly much, but hey, with Dr. Polaris, do you need any other foes?

***** Of course Dr. Doom would smoke! No, not because he's a villain. He, like Arcade, has style, and understands that you really should accompany a fine sifter of brandy with a high class smokable.