10 Widely Mocked Comic Book Villains That Get A Bad Press

3. The Top (DC)

First Appearance: The Flash #122, 1961 It's fair to say that, when the Top first appeared, he really was nothing more than a joke Flash rogue. However, after he gained superpowers, he was far from being a joke, but the initial opinion of the character seems to have endured and he now gets a very raw deal, despite the fact that he is actually pretty cool. While the Top's initial schtick was a sort of watered-down version of Toyman (he built spinning tops with gimmicks to them, like glue-based devices, explosive-based devices, oil-based devices and gas-based devices). It sounds pretty dull (and it was), but he did once build a huge and dangerous "atomic grenade top" that was said to be capable of destroying half of the world. However, given that he often spun around inside his devices, he developed superpowers (which were explained as being due to the stimulation of his brain cells when he spun). He gained incredible telepathic and telekinetic powers, enabling him to control people and move objects with his mind - and he later developed an additional mental power that enabled him to disorientate people with his mind, bringing on dizziness in his opponents. You can imagine what dizziness does to a guy who moves as fast as Flash. So, while he does still have a somewhat silly and dated name, the Top is not the joke character that people so often think he is thanks to his earlier appearances on panel.