The Villain Bracket: First Round Breakdown

Please note, the names in italics are the movie/comic/cartoon/game that the villain appears.

Comic Book Region:

Dr. Doom Fantastic Four (1) v. 

Kingpin Spider-Man/Daredevil(16) 

Matt- No contest here.  Kingpin has a corporation but Doom is the ruler of a country, add to that the elements of magic and brains that Kingpin just doesn’t possess and it should be a runaway.

Nik- Dooooooooooom.

Sinestro Green Lantern (8) v. 

Loki Thor (9) 

Matt- While a nine over an eight is far from an upset, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Loki win this, especially given the higher profile he has received since the Marvel movies put him in the spotlight.

Nik- Loki will absolutely take this one. With how much everyone loves him from the movies? No chance. Everyone’s saying “Who’s Sinestro?” already.

Galactus Fantastic Four (5) v. 

Green Goblin Spider-Man (12) 

Matt- Galactus eats planets, Green Goblin throws pumpkins…need I say more?

Nik- Yeah. Not much can take on Galactus.

Magneto X-Men (4) v. 

Red Skull Captain America (13) 

Matt- This is quite the first round match-up.  The concentration camp survivor versus the right hand of the Third Reich.  As impressive as the backstory would be, I have to say Magneto wins this one because of the simple fact that he has the mutant ability to control the force of magnetism, while Red Skull is more or less a Hitler cronie.  

Nik- Just from movie exposure alone, Magneto takes it. Also, way more bad ass. 

As cool as Hugo Weaving was as the Red Skull in the movie.

Thanos Various Marvel Comics (6) v. 

Ra’s Al Ghul Batman (11) 

Matt- Thanos is a huge cosmically powerful being that loves death (literally, look it up) while Ra’s Al Ghul, by way of his Lazarus Pit, can’t die.  Freaky how these matchups wind up, but I would have to give this one to Thanos.

Nik- In terms of a fight, Thanos would kick ass. But if we look at popularity, people won’t know who Thanos is for another year… 

I’m thinking Ra’s Al Ghul wins.

Lex Luthor Superman (3) v. 

Rasputin Hellboy (14) 

Matt- Rasputin was the token “non big-two” villain, but I don’t see him lasting past this round as even without his exo-skeleton, Luthor is one bad mother.

Nik- Agreed. Luthor, in almost any iteration, is pretty rockin’.

General Zod Superman (7) v. 

Apocalypse X-Men (10) 

Matt- Apocalypse.  Definitely.  He’s got four horsemen and constantly makes things difficult for all of the Marvel universe, not just the X-Men.

Nik- Despite his silly stint in the X-Factor comics in the 80s, I really dig Apocalypse. But, Zod may have some serious fans out there. He’ll win this one.

Joker Batman (2) v. 

Venom Spider-Man (15) 

Matt- The Joker could have been #1 on this list.  Something about a sadistic psychopath that just makes people love him as a villain, and I agree.  Look for a deep run from Batman’s arch enemy.

Nik- Joker. To the top.

Cartoon Region:

Megatron Transformers (1) v. 

Boris & Natasha Rocky & Bullwinkle (16) 

Matt- Even the combined might of Boris and Natasha can’t save them from Megatron.

Nik- Agreed. Boris & Natasha are a little too silly to stand up to Megatron.

Mr. Burns The Simpsons (8) v. 

Aku Samurai Jack (9) 

Matt- Mr. Burns is like the Lex Luthor of Springfield, just incredibly old and frail.  Regardless, I think that his schemes would best those of Aku, plus if I get to hear him sing “See My Vest” again that would be a bonus.

Nik- Mr. Burns. Way too popular compared to Samurai Jack, unfortunately.

Mumm-Ra Thundercats (5) v. 

Doofenschmirtz Phineas and Ferb (12) 

Matt- While Mumm-ra is one of those classic, creepy 80’s villains, Doofenschmirtz may just have enough current name recognition to take him out.

Nik- Never heard of the second schmoe, so I’m picking Mumm-ra 

on this.

Skeletor He-Man (4) v. 

Bluto Popeye (13) 

Matt- Skeletor is one of my all-time favorite villains.  He has to be given a lot of credit for his scheming ability, even though they are consistently foiled by He-Man as well as Skeletor’s own bumbling lieutenants.  What does Bluto have?  A beard and a bad attitude?  Skeletor wins to scheme another day.

Nik- Skeletor. Although, this might be an upset, to be honest, 

I think Bluto might not be as helpless as we think.

Unicron Transformers (6) v.  

Gargamel Smurfs (11) 

Matt- Unicron is a lot like Galactus and for that reason, not only will he steamroll Gargamel, but he may give Shredder a run for his money in the next round.

Nik- I abstain. Because I’ve never heard of Unicron (I read it as Unicorn the first 5 times I looked at it), and I kinda just don’t like the Smurfs.

Shredder Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (3) v. Mojo Jojo Powerpuff Girls (14) 

Matt- Come on, really?  Shredder all the way.

Nik- I love the Powerpuff Girls, so I want to vote Mojo Jojo for this. But I see Shredder going far in this region.

Krang Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (7) v. Hordak She-Ra (10) 

Matt- I like Hordak as a character, he’s a more ruthless version of Skeletor, one that actually won, so I can see him winning this round, but I wouldn’t put it past Krang to make a game of it.

Nik- Krang. No one knows who Hordak is.

Cobra Commander GI Joe (2) v. 

Snidely Whiplash Dudley Do-Right (Rocky and Bullwinkle Show) (15) 

 Matt- Snidely Whiplash is fun and all, but we’re talking about the Cobra Commander here.  Hail Cobra all the way.

Nik- Snidely may upset here, but I think the Commander will top him.

Movie Region:

Darth Vader Star Wars (1) v. 

Oogey Boogey The Nightmare Before Christmas (16) 

Matt- Sorry Oogey Boogey, someone had to go down first.

Nik- Based on theme songs, it’ll be a wicked close match. But unfortunately, I think Boogey goes down here.

Leatherface Texas Chainsaw Massacre (8) v. 

Freddy Krueger Nightmare on Elm Street (9) 

Matt- This one is tough.  I think it would go to Leatherface based more on the loose adaptation of Ed Gein that created the Chainsaw story, but it could really go either way, as Nightmare was also apparently based on real events (loosely I’m sure).

Nik- Freddy Kreuger takes this one. Dream powers, man.

Voldemort Harry Potter (5) v. 

Hannibal Lecter Silence of the Lambs (12) 

Matt- The only reason Lecter isn’t a higher seed is the fact that he worked with the FBI on numerous occasions.  However that doesn’t diminish his villainy and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him win this one based on sheer evil alone.

Nik- I never saw Lecter as a villain. Whereas Voldemort is nothing but. He who shall not be named takes the taco on this one.

Sauron The Lord of the Rings (4) v. 

Khan Star Trek (13) 

Matt- Choose whichever Khan you like, the old one or the new one, but neither of them beat a being of pure evil that had an all-seeing eye on the top of his tower.  Sure he was apparently beat by a midget with jewelry, but those are just semantics.

Nik- Despite my complaints about the LoTR, Sauron wins this one, with a vengeance.

Dracula Dracula (6) v. 

The Wicked Witch of the West 

The Wizard of Oz (11) 

Matt- This is tough.  While vampires have got a bad rap the last few years thanks to Twilight, the original is still the best.  I’d have to give it to him in a close one.

Nik- The original strigoi, Dracula wins it.

Alien Alien (3) v. 

Gozer the Gozerian 

Ghostbusters (14) 

Matt- The Alien is a ruthless creature, that should win this whole tournament based on how it reproduces alone, it will win this round fairly easily though.

Nik- As much as I love Ghostbusters, the xenomorph, as it’s properly called, shall win easily.

Cruella DeVille 101 Dalmations (7) v. 

Michael Corleone 

The Godfather (10) 

Matt- She wants to skin puppies to make a coat, he ruthlessly had his brother murdered (poor Fredo).  Based on my love of The Godfather, I’m just going to have to pick Michael in this one.

Nik- Oh man, if Cruella DeVille were from a Grimm fairy tale… how cool? But Michael Corleone has to take it for being so bad.

Predator Predator (2) v. 

John Doe Se7en (15) 

Matt- I love the psychological horror that John Doe visits upon everyone, but it’s hard to pick against the Predator.

Nik- The Predator is just too cool to be taken down so soon, despite how awesome Se7en was. This could be an upset, though.

Video Game Region:

Bowser Super Mario Brothers (1) v. 

Pac Man Ghosts Pac Man (16) 

Matt- This should be an easy one for Bowser.  If it’s not then I’ve lost faith in the decision-making abilities of all humanity.

Nik- Agreed. In both instances.

Wario Super Mario Brothers (8) v. 

Donkey Kong Donkey Kong (9) 

Matt- This may be an interesting one as both villains have played hero-type roles in their own games.  I would still give the slight edge to Wario based on his more recent villainy.

Nik- Wario annoys the hell out of me, and I think it’d be a nice nod to DK to acknowledge his roots.

Ridley Metroid (5) v. 

Reapers Mass Effect (12) 

Matt- The Reapers are giant alien machines while Ridley is a Pterodactyl-looking alien.  I give this one to Ridley.

Nik- Yeah, Ridley’s pretty cool for this one.

Eggman Sonic the Hedgehog (4) v. 

Sigma Mega Man X (13) 

Matt- People are likely more familiar with Eggman than Sigma, so that should lead to his solid victory.

Nik- Eggman is a classic. As much as I dislike the Sonic games, I know Eggman will play to a lot of nostalgia.

M. Bison Street Fighter (6) v. 

Shao Khan Mortal Kombat (11) 

Matt- Battle of the end bosses.  I like M. Bison to win a close one on this.

Nik- Yeah, I think Street Fighter takes it, for classic sake. Shao Khan is grittier, scarier, but I think the shoulder pads will rock it.

Dr. Wiley Mega Man (3) v. 

King K. Rool Donkey Kong Country (14) 

Matt- Gotta go with Dr. Wiley.  He utilizes his jealousy of Dr. Light to build and modify robots to dangerous levels while King K. Rool stole Donkey Kong’s bananas.

Nik- Dr. Wiley is one of the first video game villains I ever actually got to on my own. And he was hard. So I’m going with him.

Goro Mortal Kombat (7) v. 

Sagat Street Fighter (10) 

Matt- Goro should easily win this.  He was hands down the coolest thing about the original Mortal Kombat.

Nik- Don’t you mean four hands down? Yeah, he’d win.

Ganon Legend of Zelda (2) v. 

King Dedede Kirby (15) 

Matt- No contest.  Ganon in a landslide. 

Nik- Ganon. Or Ganondorf, either iteration, he’d kick ass.