10 Pathetic Comic Book Villains You Just Feel Sorry For
4. Toyman
Despite Winslow Percival Schott's talent for crafting toys, he was fired by his employer, Lex Luthor, which drove him insane. Modifying his toys into weapons, he turned himself a supervillain called Toyman.
As far as Superman enemies go, Toyman sets the bar pretty low. In his debut, he battled the Man of Steel on a pogo stick for crying out loud.
However, Toyman's origin is depressing and genuinely disturbing. As a child, Schott dreamed of being a toymaker, believing it would allow him to make friends. He became so lonely over the years, he built a female companion called Mary and convinced himself she was his wife. When she "died", his delusion compounded, causing him to regularly hallucinate his dead mother. His psychosis got so bad, he captured children and convinced himself they were willingly playing in his toy store.
Although Schott is obsessed with kids, he ironically neglected his own son, Anton. Terrified of being abandoned, Anton kidnapped children and turning him into his "dolls" to play with. Schott may be a criminal and a murderer but it's hard not to feel bad for him since he's clearly a victim of mental illness.