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End of the Unviverse!

emnmnmeemnmnme Registered User regular
edited November 2009 in Graphic Violence
There's nothing wrong with a villain who can lift boulders or control dozens of minds simultaneously - a good supervillain has to put up a good fight, right? - but I think comic book writers in general get a little goofy when they whip up villains that can destroy/devour/alter all of existence. Usually, these almighty evildoers pop up for big events that are pretty damn weak compared to normal stories and, of course, these cosmic baddies are destined to fail because, obviously, no more comic book universe means no more comic book characters from that universe.

In my opinion, the industry shouldn't invent anymore of these all-powerful types for a number of reasons. For starters, threatening galaxies passes some unmarked threshold for readers where they can't wrap their heads around how much destruction is happening. There's not much of a difference when a god-villain waves his hand and snuffs out ten planets versus another who snuffs out fifteen besides numbers. Also, these guys tend to be clones of one another, all driven in purpose yet slightly mad. The story's been told and retold - the formula is perfected. Finally, do all these galaxy smashing fiends tolerate each other? Does Mephisto play golf with Galactus on Tuesdays? Does the Specter not care that Imperiex Prime is attempting to end everything? Even when these big guys do fight one another, the fights are lame, usually seen from the perspective of a regular hero. It reminds me of how the climactic fight in Clash of the Titans was a disappointment with just one 'punch' thrown.

To make a point, help me out and let's list all the Big Fish out there that threaten the universe. There not as rare as you'd think. If they can crack more than a few planets in half, they belong on the list.

You've got Parallax, Thanos with his magic glove, and Galactus to start.

emnmnme on

Posts

  • Psychotic OnePsychotic One The Lord of No Pants Parts UnknownRegistered User regular
    edited November 2009
    Annihalious and Ultron were rather well used for the Annihalation stories. Granted they had armies at their beck and whim. Giving them soldiers made them much stronger effects. But they were not shown weak at all. Annihalious took out Captain Marvel and injured Nova. The problem is not many writes are willing to write a large epic. They want to wrap it up in 6 issues or less. I think Annihalation worked so well was it spanned 3 volumes and was shown from diffrent perspectives from across the universe. It felt like something was happening.

    Psychotic One on
  • TexiKenTexiKen Dammit! That fish really got me!Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    Off the top of my head:

    Kevin Thorn
    Phoenix
    Imperiex

    TexiKen on
  • Psychotic OnePsychotic One The Lord of No Pants Parts UnknownRegistered User regular
    edited November 2009
    I suppose Psilocke's insane brother should be on this list. He can control Reality. And by the same measure I guess Proteus if he ever put his mind to it.

    Psychotic One on
  • emnmnmeemnmnme Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    Can Superman and the Sentry bust up planets or are they at 'moving mountains' on the strength-o-meter.

    EDIT: Oh, is that purple guy that popped out of Adam Warlock still around? He stole the Infinity Gauntlet but I only remember him from a comic I bought back in middle school.

    emnmnme on
  • TexiKenTexiKen Dammit! That fish really got me!Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    Superman ripped a planet in half when Luthor became President, so yeah.

    edit: it was a moon, but still, dude can do it:

    supermankewllol.jpg

    TexiKen on
  • Golden YakGolden Yak Burnished Bovine The sunny beaches of CanadaRegistered User regular
    edited November 2009
    emnmnme wrote: »
    Can Superman and the Sentry bust up planets or are they at 'moving mountains' on the strength-o-meter.

    EDIT: Oh, is that purple guy that popped out of Adam Warlock still around? He stole the Infinity Gauntlet but I only remember him from a comic I bought back in middle school.

    The Magus, yeah, he just showed up again recently in Guardians of the Galaxy...
    ...but was immediately killed. With time travel.

    So, yeah, dunno if he'll ever come back.

    Golden Yak on
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  • Bloods EndBloods End Blade of Tyshalle Punch dimensionRegistered User regular
    edited November 2009
    darkseid2.gif

    Bloods End on
  • sportzboytjwsportzboytjw squeeeeeezzeeee some more tax breaks outRegistered User regular
    edited November 2009
    Haven't they toned down Big Blue's power though?

    sportzboytjw on
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  • TexiKenTexiKen Dammit! That fish really got me!Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    Haven't they toned down Big Blue's power though?

    That was before Infinite Crisis around 2000, so they might have.

    Then again, one of the first things Busiek did when he took over after IC was make Superman super-smart again which was something that was a pre-COIE trait.

    He just really didn't want Luthor to win. That's the strongest I've seen him outside of saving reality in Final Crisis (he did save the day in Our Worlds At War but he did so by flying into the sun and sitting there for a bit to be Super-Duper Superman which was really kewl)

    TexiKen on
  • Silver_MageSilver_Mage Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    His powers always fluctuate depending on what the story calls for, so always take superman's power level with a grain of salt.

    Silver_Mage on
  • GreenGreen Stick around. I'm full of bad ideas.Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    Thread needs more Emperor Joker

    Green on
  • kdrudykdrudy Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    Thanos without his glove is pretty powerful as well due to his massive intellect.

    Pretty much any of Galactus' former heralds fall into that category. Tenebrous and Aegis from Annihilation. Celestials. Probably any of the reality shapers can count so Beyonder and Scarlet Witch and Proteus.

    Over in DC we haven't mentioned Monarch.

    kdrudy on
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  • SolarSolar Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    Thanos with Infinity Gauntlet, Beyonder, Molecule Man, Scarlet Witch, any Skyfather, Mephisto, Genis-vell, Galactus, Any Proemial God, Celestials, probably Adam Warlock if he put his mind to it and had an infinity gem or two, Phoenix, possibly Sentry (described as being potentially as powerful as Phoenix/Silver Surfer)...

    Solar on
  • WildcatWildcat Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    And definitely The Void.

    Wildcat on
  • SolarSolar Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    Definately.

    Solar on
  • ThaneThane Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    I prefer my villains to be super smart and Batman-y. With a little planning they can take down anyone/thing.

    Therefor, DOOM.

    Thane on
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  • WildcatWildcat Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    Franklin Richards?

    Wildcat on
  • emnmnmeemnmnme Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    Who is the Beyonder?

    Oh, and this weird Krona guy popped up out of nowhere.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krona_%28comics%29

    And what was the deal with the Monitors and the anti-Monitor? They just wanted to blow shit up?

    emnmnme on
  • MunchMunch Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    I have to say, I'd really like to see comics back away from utilizing so many world-ending threats.

    I really just want a year of nothing but bank robbers, industrial saboteurs, and other working-class villains. I feel like superhero comics have gotten to the point where every confrontation has to be life or death. But by trying to sustain that level of conflict for so long, it seems that the promise of life or death stakes has lost some of its power and oomph.

    One of the very few things I enjoyed about Spider-Man's Brand New Day was the return to villains that wanted things besides murderous revenge.

    Munch on
  • CorporateLogoCorporateLogo The toilet knows how I feelRegistered User regular
    edited November 2009
    You're telling me you don't want Kite Man to be flying around on a giant kite made of human skin?

    CorporateLogo on
    Do not have a cow, mortal.

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  • MunchMunch Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    Does he use the skin kite to rob banks?

    I'm willing to meet in the middle here.

    Munch on
  • wwtMaskwwtMask Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    emnmnme wrote: »
    Can Superman and the Sentry bust up planets or are they at 'moving mountains' on the strength-o-meter.

    EDIT: Oh, is that purple guy that popped out of Adam Warlock still around? He stole the Infinity Gauntlet but I only remember him from a comic I bought back in middle school.

    You're talking about Magus, the future version of Adam Warlock from an erased timeline. He engineered the reformation of the Infinity Guantlet by manipulating the Infinity Watch, Thanos, a whole bunch of cosmic deities, and Earth's super heroes. There was also his opposite number, the Goddess, who used cosmic containment units to try to take over the universe and eliminate all evil. Incidentally, Adam Warlock recently turned into the Magus, and his story is a part of this whole Realm of Kings storyline playing out in the cosmic corner of Marvel.

    wwtMask on
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  • SolarSolar Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    Yeah, Magus is well hard
    However he was comic cubed by Star Lord recently in GotG. Despite that issue #23's cover shows him looking very angry, so maybe he's coming back and Cosmo will return to the land of the living once more. Yay!

    Solar on
  • CorporateLogoCorporateLogo The toilet knows how I feelRegistered User regular
    edited November 2009
    Cosmo
    and the rest of the dudes that Magus killed were on the ship when it blew up

    THEY'RE NEVER COMING BACK

    CorporateLogo on
    Do not have a cow, mortal.

    c9PXgFo.jpg
  • SolarSolar Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    What
    Hey, is Gamora dead?

    Solar on
  • TexiKenTexiKen Dammit! That fish really got me!Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    no. no yet.

    TexiKen on
  • CorporateLogoCorporateLogo The toilet knows how I feelRegistered User regular
    edited November 2009
    Solar wrote: »
    What
    Hey, is Gamora dead?
    They said that the church ships blew themselves up with grief after Magus died

    None of the bodies came back in the teleporter chamber soooo

    Also yes to Gamora being dead

    Magus chopped her head off, it's kinda off to the side by Drax in the panel after Peter shoots Adam

    CorporateLogo on
    Do not have a cow, mortal.

    c9PXgFo.jpg
  • TexiKenTexiKen Dammit! That fish really got me!Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    I must have missed that in that panel, I thought it was just a stab wound.

    TexiKen on
  • FaynorFaynor Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showpost.php?p=12204671&postcount=31

    I actually forgot that too, Texiken. There she is, lying there at the end.

    Faynor on
    do you wanna see me eat a hotdog
  • SolarSolar Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    Well...
    I guess Gamora could be what the Nova #34 solicit is talking about when it says a chance for Nova to save his true love.

    Solar on
  • TexiKenTexiKen Dammit! That fish really got me!Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    Oh. Wow, I'm even more bummed about that issue than before.

    TexiKen on
  • emnmnmeemnmnme Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    Mr. Mxxspqqqlyttzkk, Loki, and Bat-mite aren't galaxy destroyers but they could be. And they're not good guys, either, so they qualify.

    emnmnme on
  • Gabriel_PittGabriel_Pitt (effective against Russian warships) Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    emnmnme wrote: »
    Mr. Mxxspqqqlyttzkk, Loki, and Bat-mite aren't galaxy destroyers but they could be. And they're not good guys, either, so they qualify.

    "Did you _honestly_ believe that a 5th Dimensional sorcerer would resemble a funny little man in a derby hat?"

    Gabriel_Pitt on
  • emnmnmeemnmnme Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    Right now, when comic book writers fall back on using universe destroyers as villains, I get the feeling they stepped back into the 8-bit days of videogaming. You're one guy against legion. You're in your tiny Vic Viper spaceship shooting down endless waves of laser beam spitting super bosses or you're one of the Contra guys gunning down enemies. Where did the enemy armies get all these laser beam weapons? How can they feed all these troops and pilots? They just popped into existence!

    I feel the same way about cosmic beings. As the cliche goes, they were slumbering in an asteroid or an alternate dimension and POP! time to devour the stars.

    emnmnme on
  • Witch_Hunter_84Witch_Hunter_84 Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    Solar wrote: »
    Well...
    I guess Gamora could be what the Nova #34 solicit is talking about when it says a chance for Nova to save his true love.
    Well, he was also in love with Namora before Stamford happened. I'm rooting for Gamora too, but they're not making any promises.

    I wonder how long it will be for Mistress Death to get back into the game. Then again, she and Thanos mighty be . . . busy for the time being.

    Witch_Hunter_84 on
    If you can't beat them, arrange to have them beaten in your presence.
  • SolarSolar Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    It's DnA writing it. They seem to be behind Gamora and weren't even around when he was dating Namora, so I'd bet on the former.

    Solar on
  • WildcatWildcat Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    Namorita, I think; Namora's her clone-mother.

    Wildcat on
  • SolarSolar Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    You're right. Though I think when she turns blue she gets called Kymaera or something.

    Solar on
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