Prankster V Superman?
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00So, Superman is undeniably one of the most popular superheroes in the world, having starred
00:05in multiple films and headlined several comics every month for absolutely decades.
00:09And as you might expect, being as popular as that, there are numerous supervillains
00:13just lining up around the Bureau de Change who want to knock his bloody block off.
00:17But many of them are going to be waiting a fair while, because let's face it, they're
00:20not that great.
00:21And some of them are just way too crazy to ever appear in any mainline upcoming Superman
00:26film.
00:27So let's take a look at them as I'm Jules, this is WhatCulture.com, and these are 10
00:29Superman Villains Way Too Crazy For Superman.
00:3210.
00:33Bloodsport
00:34The first version of Bloodsport was Robert Dubois, a Vietnam draft dodger who went crazy
00:39and imagined himself to be a hardened war veteran.
00:42His role was succeeded by Alexander Trent, an angry white supremacist who wanted to wreak
00:46havoc on the world.
00:47The common bond between them was an advanced teleporter in their armour which they used
00:51to bring futuristic weaponry to themselves at a moment's notice.
00:54Sounds cool, right?
00:55But you know what, apart from that, he's pretty unremarkable in all of the important
00:59ways, and notable in all of the wrong ones.
01:01His modus operandi consists of having just some guns and kryptonite weapons.
01:05It's incredibly unoriginal, and there are hordes of Superman villains who have similar
01:09gimmicks.
01:10Conversely, on a personal level, he's completely unlikable and rather ridiculous.
01:14Both incarnations are crazy, with one being completely unstable and the other being, well,
01:18an unstable racist.
01:19As a character, he lacks any sort of compelling motive or characterization to go with his
01:23rather bizarre theme, so in a movie, he'd amount to little more than a disposable henchman.
01:289.
01:29Terror Man
01:30When cowboy Toby Manning was a boy, he was abducted by aliens.
01:33They taught him how to use their weapons and sent him back to the present day with their
01:36own guns, who were modified to look like old west revolvers.
01:40To top off the ensemble, he would often ride around on a flying horse and try to lasso
01:43Superman.
01:44Now, the updated version of his origin was a little less ridiculous, but still not exactly
01:48memorable.
01:49Like a version of Poison Ivy, he fought to protect the Earth with the same futuristic
01:52revolvers and cowboy gimmick as before.
01:56Now, why he wouldn't work in a film is because Terror Man's identity is built around two
02:08concepts that haven't really played well on film in recent years, cowboys and aliens.
02:13And that's about the extent of his character.
02:15His personality is undefined, and his exploits aren't very special.
02:18If Superman needed to fight some type of hired gun, using the one who completely reads like
02:23a useless and unmarketable gimmick would seem like a rather poor choice.
02:268.
02:27Encantadora Lord Lucero's father finally acquired the
02:31fantastic mists of Ibella, only for them to drive him utterly insane.
02:35His daughter would instead embrace their power and become Encantadora.
02:40Though she would occasionally help Superman, this femme fatale's most memorable enterprise
02:44was selling fake kryptonite to criminals.
02:46But here's the real problem, she feels like a ton of wasted potential.
02:50She was given an immense amount of power, but chose to use it for the most mundane and
02:53impractical purposes.
02:55But more than that, selling fake kryptonite in a city where the real thing seems to be
02:58pretty easily acquirable, makes her out to be a fairly inept criminal.
03:02Beyond the failings of her character, magic has never really had much place in Superman's
03:06world.
03:07Sure, it can weaken him, but it doesn't really fit with who he is as a character.
03:10And this is all the more true for the movies, where the more comic book style elements of
03:13his character seem to be tolerated rather than embraced.
03:177.
03:18Microwave Man
03:19One of Superman's first supervillains, Lewis Paget, found his way to harness microwaves
03:23and use them for crime.
03:25Before his initial spree of robberies could continue, though, aliens took notice of his
03:29creations and invited him to travel the universe with him.
03:32Returning to Earth as an old man, he used the alien's power to have one final fight
03:35with Superman before he died.
03:38Though he only appeared in two issues, the story of Microwave Man is so stupendous and
03:42memorable that his legacy still carries on.
03:44Because it's important to remember that even though Superman himself is an alien,
03:48it's still a fairly silly notion for the villain to gain his superpowers via alien
03:52abduction.
03:53Now, in fairness, Microwave Man is exactly why comics exist – they belong in a more
03:57fantasy-orientated world.
03:59Unfortunately, though, he hasn't really aged all that well, because at the time of
04:02his creation, microwave technology was still a novelty.
04:05Now, it's an old, familiar discovery that would seem so stupid to see highlighted in
04:09a film, especially if it required aliens to make it a serious threat.
04:126.
04:13Silver Banshee
04:14After a failed supernatural ritual, Gatelit clan leader Shabar McDougal was sucked into
04:19the Netherworld and transformed into something inhuman.
04:22She's offered a chance to return to the world, but only if she can deliver an occult
04:26book to her demon captors – naturally, that book in question now resides in Metropolis.
04:30Under the guise of the Silver Banshee and sporting an otherworldly shriek, she would
04:34repeatedly plague Metropolis while trying to retrieve the book and restore herself.
04:38But it wouldn't work in a film because, well, she's already appeared on TV, and
04:42it didn't really work out that well.
04:45And the character looks simply unbelievable in real life, and her ancient Gaelic origins
04:48in no way fit with Superman's mythology or the types of films that he stars in.
04:52And when you think about it, Superman already has a huge roster of female villains which
04:56he could fight off against on the silver screen, so the Silver Banshee is probably going to
05:00be very far back in that queue.
05:015.
05:02Titano
05:03Now, the DC Universe is no stranger to super-powered apes, but thanks to his special powers, Titano
05:09stands apart.
05:10Once a normal chimpanzee, he was experimented on and became super-sized, as well as gaining
05:14the power to shoot kryptonite beams out of his eyes.
05:17Now, his exact origins have been altered somewhat over the years, but he's regularly portrayed
05:21as a mindless ape that's been granted super-strength and other various powers.
05:25In every incarnation, his immediate reaction always seems to just go around just mindlessly
05:29destroying the city.
05:30And as much as Superman fighting King Kong could be a sight to behold, it's not exactly
05:34something that fans are clamouring to see.
05:37Somehow a giant, super-powered gorilla just doesn't seem to fit in with Superman's
05:40story in any realistic or meaningful way.
05:43On top of that, because the DCEU is already struggling as it is, introducing a super-powered
05:47gorilla might set things back just a little bit.
05:504.
05:51Composite Superman
05:52After being saved by Superman and given a job in his museum, Joseph Meech quickly became
05:57resentful of the Caped Crusader.
05:59One night, while cleaning up, he was struck by a bolt of lightning and given superpowers.
06:03Choosing to shapeshift into a green monster, he came up with a costume that was half Superman
06:07and half Batman, with the goal of seeking out and humiliating both heroes.
06:11Over the years, his identity has been inhabited by other entities, but each one remains as
06:15unbelievable as the next, all the while sporting that same over-the-top costume.
06:19And, I mean, the reason why he just wouldn't work on film is just look at him.
06:22There's no possible way something as far-fetched as this could ever exist in the rather hyper-serious
06:27world that Superman now finds himself in.
06:29There's so many villains based on variants of Superman that if they really wanted to
06:33use his opposite, they could easily turn to the likes of Bizarro or Cyborg Superman
06:37before they had to stoop as low as possible to use Composite Superman.
06:413.
06:42Cancer
06:43When Superman became poisoned with kryptonite, a team led by Dr. Emil Hamilton was quick
06:47to save him by removing the main malignant tumor inside of him.
06:50Some time later, General Zod, then a Russian despot, acquired the tumor and brought it
06:55to life.
06:56The creature he created was massive, gifted all sorts of superpowers, and hated his former
06:59father, Superman, for rejecting him.
07:02Cancer would then use his toxic touch to seek revenge on Superman and all of his allies.
07:06And the reason why this wouldn't work on film is because Cancer isn't exactly super-marketable,
07:10is it?
07:11I mean, just listen to that origin story and tell me that that would work as a film.
07:15No it would not.
07:16It's incredibly, incredibly insensitive.
07:182.
07:19Prankster
07:20So when his children's show was cancelled, Oswald Loomis sought out revenge of the executive
07:24who pulled the plug.
07:25Eventually, his plots of vengeance would expand as he took to all of Metropolis to stage pranks
07:29and acts of chaos and crime.
07:31Over the years, his enterprises have evolved, operating as a distraction for other criminals,
07:35as well as a cyber-criminal.
07:36Nevertheless, he always read like a kind of non-threatening knock-off of the Joker.
07:41To his credit, the character has been steadily improving over the years, but he's still
07:44never really been a real match for Superman.
07:47I mean, acid pies and electronic buzzers against the Man of Steel?
07:50Really?
07:51Prankster's more of an annoyance that acts like a light breath of a Superman while he's
07:54going between stopping aliens from destroying planets.
07:57Prankster's function is important in a monthly comic, but films need to go all out
08:00each time.
08:01There's no desire for Superman to have some downtime during a movie, and thus Prankster
08:05feels just useless.
08:061.
08:07Mr. Mixleplick
08:08So if the Prankster is a thorn in Superman's side, then Mr. Mixleplick is the ultimate
08:13nuisance.
08:14Everyone's favourite imp from the fifth dimension, he shows up on a whim to challenge
08:18Superman with his world-bending, albeit light-hearted, games from time to time.
08:22Despite his preposterous nature, he's been one of Superman's most recurring foes and
08:26is beloved by many fans for his fun-loving attitude when compared to Superman's usual
08:30foes.
08:31But it wouldn't work on film, because realistically, there seems to be very few ways to portray
08:34this character in a successful way that wouldn't involve completely overhauling who he actually
08:39is.
08:40His appeal is how unbelievable and over-the-top both his personality and his powers are, and
08:44that just doesn't work on multiple fronts.
08:46It would be very tricky to convey his vast powers in live action, and his bombastic attitude
08:50isn't really suited for a more serious film.
08:53Despite all of this, though, the character was very nearly included in Superman 3, so
08:57I guess anything is possible, but you know what, we're not holding our breath here.
09:00And there we go, my friends, those were 10 Superman Villains Way Too Crazy For Superman
09:04On Film.
09:05I hope that you enjoyed that, and please let me know what you thought about it down in
09:07the comments section below.
09:08As always, I've been Jules, you can go follow me over on Twitter at RetroJ with a zero,
09:12or you can swing by Live and Let's Dice, where I do all my streaming outside of work,
09:16and it'd be great to see you over there, my friends.
09:18But before I go, I just want to say one thing.
09:20Hope you're treating yourself well with love and respect, my friends, because you deserve
09:22all of the best things in life, and do not let anything or anyone else tell you otherwise,
09:26alright?
09:27You are the hero of your own story, now go out there and absolutely smash it today.
09:31As always, I've been Jules, you have been awesome, never forget that, and I'll speak
09:34to you soon.
09:35Bye.