100 Greatest Comic Book Villains Of All Time

73. Sebastian Shaw

Sebastian ShawFIRST APPEARANCE: UNCANNY X-MEN #129 (1980) One of the X-Men's more fascinating enemies, Sebastian Shaw's main ability is the power to absorb energy and transform it into various enhancements for himself, such as strength, speed and regenerative faculties. Though by all exterior appearances he seems to be a regular human being, he is a mutant and member of the shady Hellfire Club, capable of taking any damage dealt to him and transforming it into damage to be reflected back at his attackers. However, a major weakness of Shaw's is that if he absorbs too much energy, he will pass out, making him extremely vulnerable in the thick of an intense fight. Also, when not absorbing energy, Shaw is simply a strong human being in peak physical condition, so he has to "work out" in order to build up his superhuman strength, agility and so on ahead of a fight. He was played superbly in 2011's X-Men: First Class by Kevin Bacon.

72. Kevin (Sin City)

Sin City Elijah WoodFIRST APPEARANCE: THE HARD GOODBYE (1991) The mute, cannibal serial killer Kevin appears most memorable in Frank Miller's Sin City volume The Hard Goodbye. He gives off a totally inoffensive exterior, resembling any regular, slight young man, but he's an extremely skilled martial artist, generally preying on Old Town's prostitutes, killing and eating them before mounting their heads on his wall (and feeding anything he doesn't eat to his pet wolf). Kevin is also a mute of his own volition, and his good friend Cardinal Roark claims that he in fact has "the voice of an angel". Kevin ends up taking on protagonist Marv, who subdues Kevin and then slowly dismembers him, feeding him to his own wolf, though Marv's satisfaction is stymied by the fact that Kevin doesn't make a single sound throughout the process, and even smiles as he approaches death. He was played with extremely effective creepiness by Elijah Wood in the 2005 Robert Rodriguez-directed movie.

71. Mastermind

MastermindFIRST APPEARANCE: X-MEN VOL. 1, #4 (1964) Mastermind is pivotal character in the history of the X-Men, as he was a founder of the original Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. His major power is the ability to cast illusions to confuse and disorientate his enemies, causing people to see, smell, taste, feel and hear things that, in fact, are not actually there. Though the recipient has to be in close to proximity to Mastermind for the illusion to be effective, it can ultimately render him invisible to potential enemies, and in addition to this, he can focus his powers very specifically, such that only desired people will feel the effects in a crowded room. He is also among the few supervillains able to manipulate the most powerful characters in the X-Men universe, such as Professor Xavier and Jean Grey. Mastermind eventually dies in the comics from the catastrophic Legacy Virus, and leaves behind three daughters, Martinique Jason (who adopts his pseudonym), Regan Wyngarde (who fashions herself as Lady Mastermind), and Megan Gwynn (aka Pixie).
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