The DCEU’s roster of villains was a massive-mixed bag. Most of them were incredibly forgettable, yet there were a few that stood out from the rest, that could potentially compete against the best MCU villains. Something we never thought we would say. The DCEU may not have done many things right, but when the failed cinematic universe produced a great villain, it made us forget about the awful villains that the DCEU produced. At least for a little while. So, with that, here are the best DCEU villains.
10Dr. Sivana
Shazam!is one of the DCEU’s better movies, that reallydoesn’t get the praise it deserves. The film delivered an incredibly fun superhero tale that was only elevated by its great villain. As a child, Dr. Sivana (Mark Strong) was summoned by the wizard Shazam, but inevitably wasn’t chosen to be his new champion. This led Dr. Sivana to spend his entire life trying to unlock the secrets of magic. Once discovering that Billy Batson was Shazam’s new champion, however, Sivana, with the help of the terrifying seven deadly sins, attempted to steal Billy’s powers.
Dr. Sivana is a pretty great villain, with a compelling backstory, an awesome power set, and a great performance by Mark Strong, that cements him as one of the DCEU’s better villains.
Darkseid, DC’s big bad, is a character that fans were anticipating seeing make his live-action debut in the DCEU. Thankfully, in the equally anticipatedZack Snyder’s Justice League, fans finally got their wish, and it was much better than anyone could have expected. Darkseid (Ray Porter) is incredibly powerful and indestructible, whose ambition to enslave all life throughout the multiverse makes Darkseid so much more terrifying. Sadly, however, we didn’t get to see too much of the iconic villain, but hopefully, James Gunn’s new DCU will give his version of Darkseid more of the screen time the tyrannical ruler of Apokolips deserves.
Related:The Snyder Cut “Never Should’ve Happened”, Warner Bros. Insider Says
8Maxwell Lord
Wonder Woman 1984was ahuge disappointmentthat failed to deliver on everything we loved about the first movie. But one aspect that we can’t deny, was how great of a villain Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) was. Maxwell Lord was an incredibly flawed character, who we immediately connected with. This was mostly due to Pascal’s charming performance, as well as Lord’s unintentionally villainous plan.
All that Maxwell Lord really wanted was to not be considered a failure anymore, and to grant his son everything that Lord never had. But with the power of the dream stone, increasing Maxwell Lord’s power with every wish that he grants, his greed gets the better of him, as he quickly wants to become the most powerful person in the entire world.
7General Zod
Bred for battle, the uber-powerful Kryptonian General Zod (Michael Shannon), was the perfect villain to kick-start the DCEU. Attempting to save Krypton by destroying Earth, Zod was a meticulous leader with powers that match, if not, exceed those of Superman, making him the first worthy opponent for the Man of Steel. Zod was a surprisingly layered supervillain, and withMichael Shannon’s powerful performance, Zod still cements himself as one of DCEU’s best villains.
To pretty much everyone’s surprise, Zod will make an incredibly exciting return in DCEU’sThe Flash, and we can guarantee we will love his character even more.
Ares (David Thewlis), the Greek God of War, appears as the underlying main antagonist of the firstWonder Womanmovie. Throughout the movie, Ares was hiding in the shadows allowing men to wreak havoc on themselves, and it’s this philosophical theme and his behind-the-scenes' nature of it that makes Ares an unforgettable villain.
Sadly, his final battle with Dianna was a little lackluster, surrounded by CG and explosions, but it was David Thewlis’ raw performance throughout the movie and the final battle, that made Ares feel much more nuanced and unique compared to many of the other villains in the DCEU roster.
Related:Best Sci-Fi Movies Directed by Women, Ranked
5Starro The Conqueror
James Gunn’sThe Suicide Squadis fantastic, period. Delving into the obscurities of DC’s team of criminals and supervillains. But nowhere isThe Suicide Squadmore obscure than with its villain, Starro The Conqueror. Starro is a giant extra-terrestrial starfish, who just wanted to be left alone to float freely through space. But instead, America captured the poor starfish to conduct experiments on it, forcing Starro to hate humans, which you may’t really blame it for.
Starro may seem like a cute, giant, and colorful starfish, yet his abilities are incredibly deadly. With Starro being giant, he is inherently strong, but on top of that, Starro can shoot out long tentacles that horrifyingly look like intestines, in order to grab his prey and rip them apart. Most notable, however, is Starro’s ability to spew out mini versions of himself, latching onto human victims to turn them into mindless slave zombies.
4The Butterflies
Once again, James Gunn presents a fully strange character, or in this case, species, and makes us fall in love with them. The Butterflies, as featured in James Gunn’sPeacemaker, are exactly what the name suggests, Butterflies. However, these parasites are drastically different from the harmless and elegant butterflies we know. Instead, these butterflies are a deadly species of parasitic aliens, capable of disguising themselves as humans by lodging themselves into the brains of the human hosts.
With this, the Butterflies are able to infiltrate and easily live among humans. On top of that, The Butterflies grant their human host enhanced speed and strength, making them an incredibly tough antagonist for Peacemaker and the gang.
3The White Dragon
Alongside the deadly Butterflies, comes the incredibly racist, sexist, homophobic, and all-around bigoted supervillain, the White Dragon (Robert Patrick). The White Dragon serves as the leader of a white supremacist organization known as the Aryan Empire. To add to the already loathsome character, the White Dragon is actually Peacemaker’s cruel father. There is nothing likable about the White Dragon, but our hatred towards him, plus his awesome suit makes for a great villain, and personal foil to Peacemaker.
2Roman Sionis
The DCEU’sBirds of Preyis without a doubt amongDC’s better movies, which is mostly due to the movie’s entertaining, terrifying, and deranged villain, Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor). Roman Sionis, also known as Black Mask, is a ruthless Gotham City crime lord who gains sadistic pleasure from torturing individuals, and has an over-fascination with masks. Black Mask is a character that fans have been wanting to see in live-action for some time, andBirds of Preydid not disappoint.
Ewan McGregor gives one of the best and most entertaining performances of his career, chewing up every last bit of scenery with Sionis’ deranged and sadistic personality, allowing Ewan McGregor to have an absolute blast.
1Amanda Waller
Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) isn’t necessarily a villain, yet her intentions and lack of remorse for pretty much anyone certainly makes her a villain in our eyes. As the leader of Task Force X or, most notably, The Suicide Squad, Waller is ruthless, showing no regard for the lives of criminals and super villains among her team, occasionally flipping the switch to blow up the chip inside their heads with zero remorse or empathy. Waller’s Stoic and deeply intimidating character is only elevated by the phenomenal performance by the legendary Viola Davis.
Amanda Waller is among the DCEU’s most recurring characters, appearing in three movies and one TV show. Thankfully, her character will return to James Gunn’s DCU, played once again by Viola Davis, in the live action TV show Waller.
