Part 2: Iconic DC Male Villain Costumes

By Esteban Cepero

Villains are a major key to the upbringing of every superhero written in comics. Now, in my last "Villain Costumes" blog, we explored the classic background and costumes of iconic DC villains such as Captain Cold, Scarecrow, and Brainiac. Those three villains made a huge impact to the stories of the superheroes they're meant to torment. Though, we're not done yet, there's a whole array of classic villain costumes we have to get to. So with that in place, let's take a look back at some of the most iconic men's villain costumes in DC Comics part two!

Bizarro!

DC Comics

Ever wonder if you had an evil twin? Well, Superman, Superboy, and even Supergirl did! That evil twin was named Bizarro! When Bizarro made his debut in the classic Superboy run, he was written as a teen Frankenstein themed villain that had all the same powers as Superboy. Bizarro wasn't exactly taken serious, since his story was only told in one issue. He did make appearances as an adult in the Superman daily newspaper comic book strip and later in Action Comics. Bizarro's origin has been altered many times throughout the years. From pre-crisis to post-crisis, he's been reintroduced a couple of times; but the concept of the character has always been similar. Bizarro has always been a clone, whether it was of Superboy, Superman, Supergirl, or General Zod. Bizarro is classified as a villain but some may believe that he is just simply misunderstood. Bizarro has a villain costume that's designed specifically to fit his character. With him being the opposite of Superman, his villain costume is designed parallel to that of Superman's. His villain costume has the same look as Superman's with the underwear outside of the pants style, to the cape, with the skin-tight suit; the only real difference is the classic backwards "S" on his chest and the difference in colors. Also, his villain costume always usually has a distort look to it.

Sinestro!

DC Comics

"In blackest day, in brightest night, beware your fears made into light. Let those who try to stop what's right, burn like my power Sinestro's might!" Sinestro was on of the most greatest Green Lanterns in the Green Lantern corp as was the know mentor of the Green Lantern himself. That was until Sinestro was exposed for using the power of the Green Lantern to bring about fear to a planet that he ruled as a dictator. Sinestro was stripped of his ring and banished to the antimatter universe by the Guardians. Sinestro, instead of learning his lesson, grew hatred for the Guardians and had the Weaponers build him his own yellow ring that used fear for power, opposite of the green ring. Sinestro went on to create his own corp, the Sinestro Corps, filled with yellow lanterns. Sinestro's villain costume originated from the Green Lantern Corps costume which was his first outfit. After his banishment, obviously there was a change. His villain costume right after was a simple skin tight black and blue suit. There was a redesign in later years where Sinestro was given a black and yellow suit as his iconic look to represent the Sinestro Corps while wielding the yellow ring. This villain costume is the same for all yellow lantern recruits in later comics.

Deadshot!

DC Comics

Bullseye! Floyd Lawton(Deadshot) is an assassin for hire in the streets of Gotham city that supposedly, never misses a single shot. He began to grow fame when he became a notorious vigilante, attempting to take Batman's place by fighting crime. His plans to become the king of Gotham's underworld was later revealed to the public and Deadshot was finally sent to prison. Deadshot's first villain costume design was basically a classy attire for the 50's which was the time period of his debut. After serving his term in prison, there was a big costume change. Instead of the butler styled tux, Deadshot rocked a red jumpsuit, with a metal faceplate, and an aiming device on his right eye. A perfect villain costume to fit the "assassin" persona! Over time, like any other villain costume, it has been modernized in later years and even adapted in films, especially "Suicide Squad." The villain costume still keeps that same idea.