The classic deconstructionist graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons purports to tear down a lot of the silly tropes and tricks of superhero comics, including the ending revelation that the villain behind the whole plot is rich former good guy Ozymandias and as he explains his scheme to Night-Owl and Rorschach, they're powerless to stop it. Because, as Ozy himself opines, he's not an idiot Bond villain who would tell him his plot so that they could then stop it. No, his plan already went into action before they'd got to his Arctic base. Genius! Except his plan is a singularly ridiculous attempt to unite the warring Cold War nations against an enemy from the stars. A plot which involves forcing the god-like Doctor Manhattan off Earth, killing anti-hero The Comedian, and teleporting a giant squid monster into New York City whose psychic energy kills hundreds upon thousands. Erm, would that work? Surely the lack of further alien invaders would tip people off? Or Ozymandias being one of the only living heroes left? The Ozymandias plot is a classic villain scheme. It is full of planning for seemingly absolutely everything and yet, as the last pages of Watchmen reveal, it could be totally undone by one diary in a chubby dude's hands. What classic villain plots did we miss? Let us know in the comments!
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
