10 Least Threatening Comic Book Supervillains

You may think Batman's most fearsome enemy is the Joker, but it's actually... the Eraser?!

Egghead Batman
Warner Bros. Television Studios

Even though comics are littered with thousands of supervillains, only a handful have stood the test of time. A truly great adversary can't just have a cool design or a catchy name - they need to leave an impact.

A good villain is capable of breaking their nemesis, not just physically but psychologically. The best villains aren't necessarily the most powerful but the most threatening. The Joker and Lex Luthor have no superpowers whatsoever and aren't particularly strong and yet, they are absolutely terrifying.

Because the heroes of the world are expected to face global or cosmic threats every fortnight or so, it's a bit degrading when they battle bottom-of-the-barrel criminals. Now, we all know comic books are filled to the brim with silly supervillains. But the guys on this list aren't just silly - they're not even intimidating.

A gangster modelled after an eraser. A banjo-wielded assassin. An egg-obsessed mastermind. Because of their absurd names, non-sensical gimmicks, preposterous costumes, or hilarious weaknesses, it's impossible to take any of these baddies seriously.

This bunch may be considered supervillains but they cannot be classed as super-threatening.

10. Turner D. Century

Egghead Batman
Marvel Comics

Clifford Michaels' father was worried his son would be tainted by the modern world's "degeneration of manners". As a result, he raised him in seclusion and forced him to embrace the morals of the early 20th century. After spending decades in isolation, Michaels ventured outside for the first time and was mortified by how "uncultured" the rest of the world seemed to be.

Michaels believed the only rational thing to do was to lead a movement to inspire humanity to embrace tradition. When that failed, he moved onto Plan B: become a supervillain called Turner D. Century, ride a flying tandem bicycle with a female mannequin, and attack nightclubs and bars with a fire umbrella.

The outdated outlaw tried to eliminate the corrupt youth by inventing a device that (somehow) kills anyone under the age of 65. In comics, there are countless examples of a villain preparing to activate a doomsday device, only to be stopped at the last second by a superhero.

But not Century. When the old-fashioned criminal turned on his machine, it... just didn't work, meaning he was defeated by his own incompetence. Maybe if he embraced 21st century tech, he could've built something just a little more threatening.

Contributor

James Egan has been with Whatculture for five years and prominently works on Horror, Film, and Video Games. He's written over 80 books including 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts About James Bond 1000 Facts About TV Shows