A Study In 3 Parts: Part 1 - The Current State of Super Villainy

So I guess over the course of the last few years, I've become more and more intrigued by comic books, particularly as properties are brought into the major media scene. As almost anyone can tell you, a comic book requires both hero and villain, or better yet, super villain. For the past few days, I've wondered who, if anyone, could be considered a super villain in the world we live in. What constitutes a super villain, in the DC/Marvel sense of the term? Wikipedia has this to say:

• A desire to commit spectacular crimes and/or rule the world—or in some cases an entire universe—through whatever means necessary.
• A generally irritable and spiteful disposition and contempt for heroes, ordinary civilians, lackeys, and anyone else who may get in their way.
• A sadistic nature and tendency to revel in their sociopathic behavior and/or supposed intellectual superiority
• An enemy or group of enemies that he or she repeatedly fights.
• A desire for revenge against said enemies. The method of revenge often goes beyond simply killing them to making them suffer before death, such as using deathtraps.

I think that's fair. It has since occurred to me that there are really only two viable candidates: Osama bin Laden and Kim Jong-Il (particularly if there is any merit to his depiction in Team America: World Police). Think about it. Kim Jong-Il has this sort of Dr. Doom thing going on, except without all of that maniacal genius baggage. OK, well maybe the maniacal part. bin Laden, at least from the point of view of an American, and I would imagine from most other coalition citizens, just seems to be pure evil. And a jackass, but that's kind of beside the point. But I think in order for these two to acheive super villainhood, they need a foil, more commonly referred to as a superhero. I mean Captain America was created to take on the Nazis, albeit fictionally. If nothing else the other side needs a figurehead, a rallying point. As far as I know no such person exists, although if we take a page from the conspiracy theorists' playbook we could postulate that there is some clandestine government program that is implanting alien technology stolen from the Roswell crash into soldiers by use of flu shots. Either that or injecting them with some sort of super soldier serum. I don't know and I don't particularly care.

Still I find it hard to believe that given all of the people in the world, not one is crazy enough to at least make an attempt at being a superhero. You know, cape, tights, mask, who knows? Furthermore, I'm surprised that there's no one operating under the radar more so, someone who isn't a head of state or an international terrorist. It was brought to my attention recently, that Stan Lee made a remark about how taking over the world isn't a crime. You can't get arrested for it, can you? It's just ambitious.

I suppose you may be wondering, saying to yourself, "Where is the idea in all of this? What is this fascination with super villainy?" And these are valid questions. The fact of the matter is that there is no idea to get to, at least not right now. Notice that this is a study in 3 parts. 3. 1. 2. 3. Tres (Spanish), drei (German), trois (French), tatu (Swahili). This is only part one. The ideas will be covered, as best as I can distill thoughts through a $20 keyboard. The fascination with super villany is simply this: the lifestyle intrigues me. Not so much the killing of innocents and insane attempts to either take over the world or crush my enemies, or maybe both. But the lifestyle itself. The great thing is that the majority of the super villains, I'm talking the ones behind the scenes, like Lex Luthor and Kingpin and those guys, all live the life. They have penthouses and mansions and private cars and girl Fridays. Everything. James Bond villains are a prime example. Those guys have some swanky stuff. And the women, my God! Although I'd be hesitant about that, as they always seem to be wooed by the dashing and handsome secret agent. If I could live the life of a super villain, without all the villainy, you know what that would be? Just plain super.

Coming up in parts 2 & 3: Cyborg Armies and Secret Lairs