10 Widely Mocked Comic Book Villains That Get A Bad Press

8. Toyman (DC)

First Appearance: Action Comics #64, 1943 Back to the DC universe again and Superman rogue Toyman. Toyman is Winslow Schott, a man introduced as an unemployed British toymaker who blamed LexCorp (and its owner, Lex Luthor), for the fact that he had been fired by the toy company he was working for. As a result, he used his toymaking expertise and his mechanical genius to create dangerous devices to seek revenge. His toys would steal for him, destroy anything in his path and even abduct children - this kind of activity brought him to the attention of Superman when he attempted to carry it out in Metropolis. Of course, Superman is the man of steel. He can't really be harmed by the conventional style weaponry that is built in to Toyman's devices, but if he wasn't a Superman villain - a man against whom he is, undoubtedly, painfully outmatched - he could be portrayed as much more of a threat. Of course, he has proven to be a thorn in Superman's side on certain occasions - such as when his toys put innocent children and/or Superman's human friends in danger - but he gets a bad rap thanks to the fact that he is largely presented as a joke. As a Batman villain (for example) - particularly given that he has a pretty sick obsession with children - he could be presented as being far more threatening. And, in general, when you actually think about what he does, he really isn't as much of a light-hearted joke character as he is made about to be - he's a danger to children and, while he deserves mocking for it, he should certainly be taken more seriously.