7 DC Villains Who Deserve to Become Heroes

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Today, we’re going to be taking a look at seven DC villains who deserve to become heroes, at least for a little bit. We’re going to define deserve as a mix of villains who have proven that their hearts yearn for justice but are misguided, and as villains who could prove to be very, very interesting if they walked the right path, even if just for a moment. From Catwoman to Black Adam, some villains’ best stories are told when they’re heroes. So, without further ado, let’s speculate about some villains’ heroic careers.

7) Poison Ivy

Poison Ivy is one of those characters that you want to be a good guy. For decades, she’s cried for feminism and protection of wildlife, two topics that are always resonant, but she’s ultimately always been an extremist who put her selfish feelings above what was actually right. Over the last decade, especially, she started a journey from villain to an anti-hero, taking action to help the world, even if she still doesn’t act much like a hero. Poison Ivy ties these issues together like nobody else in DC does, so it could be very interesting to see her truly reformed and fighting to save the world like a hero. Instead of parroting issues with evil intent, she could fight and make real, heroic change.

6) Blackfire

Starfire’s older sister has long been a tragic, if not despicable, character. She went to unimaginably evil lengths to secure her position on the Tamaranian throne, but thought it all had longed to reconnect with the sister she pushed away so often in pursuit of her goals. She could easily be inspired by Starfire to finally look at herself and take action. The only thing that’s ever held Blackfire back from being a better person has been her refusal to forgive herself or believe that she could change, but if she finally accepted that and wanted to do good, she could easily become a hero alongside her sister.

5) Captain Cold

Leonard Snark has always been a criminal with a code. The Rogues follow a very strict code of honor that separates them from other criminals, even earning them respect from the hero community. All Captain Cold needs to bridge that gap from respectable villain to true hero is the incentive to do the right thing. He’s been burned by villainy more times than anyone can count, and despite his complicated rivalry with the Scarlet Speedster, if he ever let that go, then he could embrace a better tomorrow. Genuinely, if someone paid him to be a hero, then Captain Cold and the Flash could protect their city together, and that’d make for a very fun story.

4) Reverse-Flash

Keeping on with another Flash villain, Eobard Thawne is easily the pettiest man in all of comic books. His obsession with Barry has driven him to insanity, back, and to insanity again, and while he would never be a hero under normal circumstances, he’s in a unique position to become one now. His timeline was reset in the Flash (2016) storyline “Finish Line,” making it so he never became a villain at all, though he still held a love for the Flash. This new, happy Eobard could follow the original’s footsteps and recreate the experiment that gave Barry his powers, but actually use them to do good as his idol would have wanted. He could be his century’s Flash, if he actually wanted to be.

3) Cheetah

Cheetah has always been a tragic figure. Barbara Minerva considered Wonder Woman one of her closest friends and deepest enemies, and still blames the Amazon for her fall into what she is. Her self-pity has kept her trapped in a cycle of villainy, even as she wishes to become something more than her curse. Wonder Woman was introduced with the idea of restraining and redeeming villains, so Cheetah being given the chance to actually be a hero would be the ultimate follow-through on that idea. Cheetah would be Wonder Woman’s ultimate success story, and show that her way of peace works, even in the dark reality of Man’s World.

2) Ultraman

Ultraman is Earth-3’s Superman, and like everyone else in that reality, his morality is totally flipped. He’s one of the original evil Supermen, and he’s easily one of the most despicable of them all. He’s done nothing to deserve redemption, but that’s what would make a change of heart so interesting. Ultraman is truly pathetic and alone, seeing himself as a god but also indescribably lonely. Superman finding a way to break through this villain’s shell and finding the humanity inside could be a wonderful exploration of what it means to be powerful. Ultraman is a selfish, near irredeemable monster, but he’s also his world’s Superman, and Superman is nothing but a symbol that things can get better, no matter how dark they seem.

1) Joker

The Joker is practically the face of evil in DC, but Matt Fraction’s Batman run reinvented him. His sanity and morality were restored by an experimental Arkham device, and for the first time, it seems like the Joker being good for more than a brief moment is possible. Everyone is tired of big, dramatic events where the Joker takes over Gotham or murders droves of people. The Clown Prince of Crime becoming a hero would be the perfect remedy to that. It would give him a chance to do something entirely new, and when he eventually returned to villainy, it would be all the more tragic. The Joker will always be a villain, but if he were a hero for just a little bit, it would make everyone appreciate that all the more.

Which DC villain do you think should take the leap to heroism? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!