Part 3 of Iconic Male Villain Costumes in DC Comics

By Esteban Cepero

There's something unique about a costume that can perfectly represent an iconic villain like no other possible costume can. It's the perfect way to give a first impression and permits you to judge a book by its cover. Villains can have some of the most iconic costumes ever designed in comics. The villain's costume plays a huge part in making that specific villain unforgettable and classic. As you may know from my previous blogs on this subject, I'm taking a look into the past of iconic DC villain men's costumes. Many fans may know that DC has some of the most famous villain costumes known to man. In my two blogs before, we've only looked at six, but there's a whole lot more to see. So let's look at the most iconic men's villain costumes in DC Comics!

Vandal Savage!

DC Comics

It's a struggle to be a villain and live forever! Vandal Savage has been around supposedly since before recorded human history. While he's roamed the Earth for quite some time, Vandal Savage did it with such ruthlessness that he could be the oldest villain ever. So old that some of his notable aliases are Genghis Khan and even Alexander the Great. He's ruled many different civilizations under a whole array of names. Vandal Savage has gone up against hundred of heroes throughout many years, way before the "super" began to show up. Vandal Savage may not have the greatest abilities other than immortality and superhuman physical attributes, but with him being so involved in the history of war itself, he grew a genius level intellect and excellent combat skills. Vandal's villain costume has evolved many times over the centuries he's been alive. His villain costume always fitted the time period he was in; if he was alive in the time of Ancient Egypt, than he dressed in Egyptian attire. Nowadays, Vandal Savage's villain costume has an assassin vibe to it; there is never a time where Vandal doesn't have some kind of weapon on him.

Professor Zoom!

DC Comics

The Flash isn't the only fastest man alive! Eobard-Thawne(Reverse-Flash) is from all the way into the far future, the 25th century. Eobard discovered a time capsule that held the Flash's costume. He wanted to be exactly like the Flash but knew that he didn't have the speed force in him as Barry Allen does. With this in mind and Eobard being an absolute genius; he used a Tachyon device to augment the speed energy on the suit. This way, whenever Eobard wears the costume, he becomes a speedster that is as fast and sometimes faster than the Flash. Eobard may be very similar to the Flash but uses his abilities for the wrong reasons. Instead of using his abilities to fight crime, he commits it under the alias "Professor Zoom." Professor Zoom is the complete opposite of the Flash and this clearly shows in the design of his villain costume. Professor Zoom's villain costume has the exact same concept as the Flash's, since he based it off of the costume he found in the time capsule. Instead, the color's are completely reversed. The suit became yellow, the boots and lightning bolt were red, and the chest symbol's white circle became black. This is how he also earned the alias "Reverse-Flash".

Black Adam!

DC Comics

Shazam! Black Adam, similar to Vandal Savage, comes from a long time ago, in the ancient Egyptian times. Black Adam was an Egyptian prince know as Teth-Adam, he was chosen by the wizard Shazam to be his successor. Whenever Teth-Adam says the magic word "Shazam" he is transformed into a powerful being with abilities attained from Egyptian Gods. His powerful-self soon gets to his head and he becomes corrupted. Black Adam overthrows the Pharaoh and decides to try to take over the world. The angered Shazam discovers this and then banishes Black Adam to the farthest star in the universe. It takes Black Adam almost 5,000 years to fly back and in that time, Shazam commissions three new successors in 1945. The Marvel's have an all-out battle with Black Adam that goes ultimately nowhere until Black Adam is tricked into saying "Shazam" allowing 5,000 years of aging catch up to him, killing him. Though later, Black Adam is resurrected and continues to feud with Marvel's, especially Captain Marvel. Black Adam's villain costume is specially designed for him to be the villain to his counterpart, Captain Marvel. If you look at both of the costumes of Captain Marvel and Black Adam, you can point out a couple of similarities. The concept of the costumes are the same, the only real difference are the colors and the missing cape. With Black Adam being ranked one of the greatest villains of all time in comics, his villain costume will go down as one of the most iconic.