10 Most Brutal Comic Book Villains

3. The Joker

Sin City
DC Comics

The Clown Prince of Crime is the perfect example of how you don't to be an all-powerful intergalactic being, you don't have to be a god-like figure, and you don't even need any discernible superpowers, to be a truly brutal, clinical villain.

Depending on what canon you're sticking to, the Joker has a rap sheet that reads like very few others.

From skinning a man alive, to blowing up a school full of children, to crippling Barbara Gordon, to murdering Jim Gordon's wife Sarah Essen, to destroying Metropolis and sending Superman into a spiral of hate.

There is also, of course, the case of him brutalising poor Jason Todd with a crowbar before exploding a building and sending the second Robin to the afterlife - they don't come more vicious, vindictive, and violent that the Joker.

Those moments? they're just a select few shocking acts of terror that jump to mind at the drop of a hat. Make no mistake about it, there are so many other heinous acts that have been carried out by the Jester of Genocide over the decades - and all with no special powers or abilities, per se, to speak of.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.