10 DC Villains Fans Totally Forgot Were In Live-Action, Ranked

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DC Comics has an incredible lineup of villains in its long history. With so many incredible heroes and so many incredible comic series, there are bound to be villains just as compelling as the superheroes they come up against. Over the years, there’ve been endless live-action interpretations of some of the publisher’s greatest characters, and while many contain excellent villain portrayals, there are a few instances where the live-action villains are completely forgotten by viewers.

Because of the vast number of live-action DC projects that have been released over the last few decades, no fan is capable of keeping track of every villain that has appeared in live-action. Forgettable interpretations happen, and sometimes, characters just don’t stick in audiences’ minds as well as others. Small cameos, inaccurate portrayals, or barely-recognizable interpretations are all examples of how and why certain villains are forgotten, and it is a real shame.

10

KGBeast Was Nothing More Than a Henchman for Lex Luthor

Seen In: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

Zack Snyder’s work in the DC Extended Universe is some of the most controversial superhero or comic book filmmaking of all time. Though the director has been responsible for some of the best changes from the comics to the screen, he’s also had his fair share of misfires. For many fans, one of the most disappointing aspects of his 2016 film, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, was how he treated certain side characters.

KGBeast, also known as Anatoli Knyazev, was relegated to being a henchman completely devoid of depth or character. The character is played by Callan Mulvey, who is fine in the role but doesn’t have much of a connection to his comic book counterpart. Hopefully, comic fans will have the chance to see a comics-accurate version of KGBeast in James Gunn’s DCU.

9

AmazoBattled the Heroes of the Arrowverse

Seen In: The Flash (2014-2023)

A supervillainous android with the ability to mimic and utilize the powers and abilities of anyone he comes into contact with, Amazo is one of the most dangerous villains in the DC Universe. Often facing off against the entire Justice League, the android villain is incredibly powerful, and it takes more than brute strength to defeat him.

Featuring in the Elseworlds crossover event on The Flash series, The CW’s interpretation of Amazo saw the terrifying bot facing off against the DC heroes of the Arrowverse. This included the Flash himself, Green Arrow, and Supergirl. Though the crossover events on The CW were popular, not many people remember Amazo’s live-action iteration.

8

Mongal Was Killed Off Quickly

Seen In: The Suicide Squad (2021)

James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad film was one of the freshest and most comic-accurate interpretations of the DC Universe in years, and his dedication to campy, silly goodness mixed with genuine emotion gave fans a real connection to the film. With one of the most insane and hilarious openings in comic book movie history, Gunn’s film killed off some major (but mostly minor) DC villains.

Among those villains was Mongal, the daughter of the iconic Superman foe, Mongul. Mongal joined the Suicide Squad on a mission of distraction in Corto Maltese, and, in the ensuing battle, was brutally killed alongside most of her teammates. Though she was accompanied by many other obscure DC characters who died just as quickly, Mongal is among the most forgettable members of Gunn’s Suicide Squad lineup.

7

The Floronic Man Gave Poison Ivy Her Live-Action Origin

Seen In: Batman & Robin (1997)

Batman & Robin is one of the most delightfully campy, self-aware comic book movies ever made, and it unfortunately has a reputation for being terrible. While the film is far from perfect, it absolutely understands what it is, and everything it is doing is intentional. It’s an ode to many aspects of DC Comics history, and that is proven by the inclusion of Jason Woodrue, aka the Floronic Man.

Played by beloved character actor John Glover, Woodrue is the character who quite literally pushes Pamela Isley into becoming the villainous Poison Ivy. In the comics, Woodrue is the Floronic Man, a monstrous enemy of Swamp Thing and other DC heroes. Though he doesn’t get powers of his own, this small appearance proves that director Joel Schumacher was in tune with the comic book source material, and many fans forget that.

6

Granny Goodness Made a Silent Appearance Alongside Her Master

Seen In: Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)

Though many fans were disappointed by Zack Snyder’s other DC films like Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, it’s hard to deny that most viewers were pleased with 2021’s Zack Snyder’s Justice League, which was the ultimate version of Zack Snyder’s vision of the DC Universe in live-action. Packed to the brim with character cameos, epic action, and enough slow-motion to satisfy die-hard fans of 300, Zack Snyder’s Justice League also gave fans their best look at a live-action version of Granny Goodness, the terrifying and evil leader of the Female Furies of Apokolips, the homeworld of Darkseid.

Granny doesn’t speak in her short appearance, leading many fans to forget she was even featured, but the small cameo was still satisfying for eagle-eyed fans. The version of Granny Goodness that appears in Zack Snyder’s Justice League is CGI and was modeled after the aunt of one of the film’s FX artists.

5

Mister Mind Was Teased in a Silly Way

Seen In: Shazam! (2019)

First appearing all the way back in Captain Marvel Adventures #26 in 1943, Mister Mind is one of the longest-running antagonists to the iconic character of Shazam. A two-inch alien caterpillar with incredible intelligence and telepathic abilities, Mister Mind is one of the most bizarre and unique villains in DC history.

Appearing in the end credits scene of the first Shazam! film, Mister Mind was teased as a potential villain for the future of the character in live-action. Although he made another brief appearance in the film’s sequel, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, most audience members have completely forgotten Mister Mind’s live-action appearances.

4

White Dragon Was Revamped for Live-Action

Seen In: Peacemaker (2022-Present)

Following in the aftermath of The Suicide Squad‘s success, James Gunn created a live-action television series focused on one of the film’s main characters, Christopher Smith, aka Peacemaker. In the series, Peacemaker faces off against an alien threat, as well as his own past and his villainous father, played by Robert Patrick.

In the series, Peacemaker’s father is the White Dragon, a terrifying neo-Nazi supervillain. However, the comic book version of White Dragon is nothing like the live-action version, serving mostly as a throwaway antagonist to Hawkman. Though Peacemaker‘s interpretation of the character was compelling, he was forgettable to many fans as an adaptation of a comic character that nobody really even remembered to begin with.

Seen In: Batwoman (2019-2022)

The Batwoman TV series was not exactly beloved by comic book fans, but it was popular enough to last for three whole seasons, all of which featured appearances from some of Batman and his allies’ most fearsome foes. One of these enemies was Tommy Elliot, aka Hush, who was played by both Gabriel Mann ​​​​​​and Warren Christie during the show’s run.

Hush is typically associated on a personal level with Bruce Wayne, which is what makes his appearance on Batwoman so bizarre. Though the series adapted the character well enough, the lack of Batman’s involvement, as well as the general disregard for the series as a whole, kept the interpretation of Hush from becoming anything fans would remember.

2

Music Meister Was An Animated Creation Brought to Life

Seen In: The Flash (2014-2023) and Supergirl (2015-2021)

Originally introduced in the beloved Batman series, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, the Music Meister was one of the goofiest, most enjoyable additions to the Caped Crusader’s rogues gallery in decades. With the ability to hypnotize victims through the power of song, his appearances over the years have been musical in nature.

A rare character that works better in animation or live-action than he does in comic form, Music Meister made the jump from animation to live-action with the Supergirl / The Flash crossover episodes titled Duet and Star-Crossed. While the appearance of the character in live-action was enjoyable, it didn’t top his first appearance in animation, and it didn’t leave much of a mark on viewers at the time or since.

1

Doctor Destiny Faced Off Against the Lord of Dreams

Seen In: The Sandman (2022-2025)

The Sandman comic series is one of the greatest stories ever produced for the medium, and its live-action adaptation on Netflix was certainly a noble effort at capturing the magic of the source material. While the live-action series featured fewer ties to the greater DC Universe as a whole, the comic storylines it adapted did feature some familiar DC faces.

Notably, the villain of the first storyline in The Sandman was John Dee, aka Doctor Destiny, a dream-based villain of the Justice League and other heroes. The live-action iteration of the character obviously didn’t have any connections to the superheroes of the DCU, and as such, left many viewers totally forgetting that he was an interpretation of that comic book character at all.

“}]] DC Comics has tons of recognizable villains who have appeared in live-action, but over the years, some have been completely forgotten.  Read More