10 Pathetic Comic Book Villains You Just Feel Sorry For
They are psychotic, maybe even murderous, but you can't help feel bad for them.
Supervillains are meant to represent everything that the superhero community stands against. Psychopaths like the Joker and Carnage are so utterly malevolent, it's impossible to defend their actions.
But there are some criminals that, no matter how immoral they are, you can't help feel bad for. Most of the time, criminals find themselves on the other side of the law due to a tragic accident, a string of bad luck, or mental illness.
Most of them got screwed over so many times in life, you can't help but understand why they chose a life of crime. Some of them suffer deformities or physical ailments that are so severe, crime is the only way they can make money.
There are also a couple of supervillains you feel sorry for because... they just kinda suck. When you see a genius inventor build an advanced armour or game-changing weapon and the best thing they can think of doing with it is rob a bank, you feel disappointed by their pathetic lack of ambition.
It's clear you're meant to hate these guys, but you just end up feeling sorry for them.
10. Armadillo
A supervillain called Armadillo sounds so silly, you'd assume he was created as a joke. The truth is... he was. Captain America writer, Mark Gruenwald, devised the character to be intentionally stupid. So, Armadillo's entire existence is nothing more than a punchline.
Sadly, his lifestyle is anything but funny. If you thought he is just wearing a costume, he isn't. That's his actual body. (Spider-Man learned this the hard way when he tried to bash Army's face with his "helmet", not realising the carapace was attached to his skull.)
A lifetime ago, Armadillo was normal man called Antonio Rodriguez. When he learned his wife, Maria, was dying, he vowed to work with the nefarious Karl Malus if he cured her. Malus genetically altered Rodriguez, transmogrifying him into an 8ft-tall Armadillo hybrid because... hey, who knows when you need a giant armadillo to help you out?
After Malus cured Maria, Rodriguez learned she had been unfaithful to him. This means that Rodriguez gave up his humane appearance forever for a woman that betrayed him. Devastated, Rodriguez dumped his wife, and has struggled to trust another human being ever since.