Since everyone is doing one, why don’t we? Kicking off the Classic TV Detective Tournament! Who you got?
Head on over to https://x.com/BaronDestructo to cast your votes!
Our 100 Supervillain Stories continues with…
#7. “The Thanos Quest” (1990)
Thanos of Titan, the mad Eternal, has been released from Death’s domain. In return, he’s pledged to kill half the population of the universe. To do so, he sets out to secure the most powerful weapons in existence: the Infinity Gems!
Writers: Jim Starlin
Penciler: Ron Lim
Inker: John Beatty
Colorist: Tom Vincent
Letterer: Ken Bruzenak
This two mega two-issue story does a bang-up job of setting up The Infinity Gauntlet by laying out Thanos’s obsession with Death and quest for omnipotence while also establishing the infinity gems and their individual powers. Lim’s classic clean-line visuals and Vincent’s bold colors give it a retro cosmic charm while Starlin delivers far-out tale that, for all of its scope, at times, feels a little too compressed, Thanos’s victories a little too easily won. Overall though, a lot fun and an intriguing study of a formidable villain both brilliant and absolutely bonkers.
#8. “Selina’s Big Score” (2002)
Having faked her own death at the hands of her alter ego, Selina Kyle finds herself forced to end her self-imposed exile and return to Gotham for one last heist.
Story & Art: Darwyn Cook
Colors: Matt Hollingsworth
Darwyn Cooke’s noir masterpiece is perfection, a classic heist tale with a Gotham twist. Tense and action-packed with a visual style that echoes Batman: The Animated Series, it is, at its heart, a deep dive into Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman – her motivations and complex relationships; her almost superhuman prowess and her very human vulnerabilities. Doesn’t get much better than this.
#9. “The Child Within” (1991)
Spider-Man’s attempts to contend with a spiraling Harry Osborn and a tortured Vermin force Peter Parker to confront his own buried childhood pain.
Writer: J.M. DeMatteis
Artist: Sal Buscema
Colorist: Bob Sharen
Letterers: Rick Parker, Chris Eliopoulos, Joe Rosen
Hot on the heels of “Kraven’s Last Hunter”, J.M. DeMatteis continues his psychoanalysis of superheroes and villains alike with “The Child Within”. In this case, he explores the daddy issues of no less than three individuals: Peter Parker, Harry Osborn, and the sewer-dwelling Vermin. The tri-narrative approach works well in general, intersecting at times and dovetailing in satisfactory fashion in the final issue, but many of the story beats that get us there feel a little too on the nose, at times a little too emotionally heavy-handed. It culminates in a story that, while admirable in its objective, ultimately fails to land with the same gravitas as its predecessor.
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