Burpee's Fave-5 Villains  

So I watch a lot of basketball and they constantly do a feature during the half time shows called The T-Mobile Fave-5 where the commentators pick their fave-5 of a certain topic. An example being Barkley's Fave-5 point guards of all time or something of that nature. It's a feature that can be a lot of fun. So I am going to hijack it here!

My fave-5 will have nothing to do with sports though. Instead, I would like to do Burpee's Fave-5 Villains! So i'll list my favorite 5 and give a little info on why they are in my top 5 favorites list. So without further ado let's do!

5. Apocalypse - When I first got into X-Men it was because of the awesome 90's cartoon. During the first season there was a shadowy villain that seemed to be absolutely all powerful and all together badass. His name was Apocalypse. This guy was so evil that characters were so concerned with his far reaching effects on Earth that they came back from the future just to try and eliminate his ass. That would mean he was the biggest threat there was as I didn't see anyone coming back from the future for any other bad guys.

Then when I transfered my love of the X-Men cartoon into comics it was just in time to see the beginning of the Age of Apocalypse. This was such an epic change to the landscape of the X-Titles and who was the baddest mother fucker yet again? Apocalypse that's who. So my love for the character became even greater.

In recent times the character hasn't been well taken care of though unfortunately. Peter Milligan's run on X-Men was an especially low point for the once mightiest ruler of an alternate future. Recently he has been brought into the picture as a piece of the Messiah War crossover. If he will be handled well or not is still in question though.

4. Sabertooth - Stone cold killer without a care. One of the only guys to consistently be able to hand Wolverine his ass on multiple occasions. Plus he used to have a sweet ass costume. What is not to love?!

Sabertooth through the 90's was one of the baddest men on the planet. A mutant who had no alliance to any man, woman or species. He'd just as easily kill another mutant as a human. Point in case being his role with the Marauders who outright slaughtered the Morlocks.

Sabertooth though is another character who as of late has been trashed. A couple years ago in a god awful story by Jeph Loeb he was beheaded by Wolverine and is now supposedly dead to make way for someone even more evil Romulus. This whole storyline for me is a bunch of bullshit. Fuck Romulus it's time to bring back Sabertooth more pissed than ever after having his fucking head loped off like a common loser. Bring him back and put him back in his costume pictured here. Then let him go on a killing spree to get back at Wolvie.

3. Sentinels -Much like Apocalypse I was introduced to the Sentinels during the first season of the 90's X-Men cartoon. I was instantly in love. Giant robots with lasers shooting from their hands that fly around snagging mutants to terminate them. How could any 4th grader not love that shit. I know I was hooked.

Not only were they a cool idea but they had an awesome aesthetic. The giant purple and pink bots should have looked ridiculous but instead they always looked all the more lethal for being able to pull off such a terrible color combo. They have had many interpretations but my favorite will always be the ones from the cartoon.

The Sentinels since I came into comics have done anything but fade away. They have been a continual presence whether it be during Operation: Zero Tolerance with Bastion or even recently as good guy mechs for the O.N.E. program. Their worst offense by far is their role in the destruction of the mutant island Genosha where they annihilated an enormous chunk of the mutant population.The Sentinels are one consistent piece of the X-Men mythos which are for the most part anything but consistent.

2. Magneto - If you like smart conflicted characters. If you like the X-Men than this is a character that undoubtedly is one you enjoy as much as me. A holocaust survivor with so many family issues he makes the entire series of Jerry Springer shows look like a Disney flick.

He is without a doubt the single most important nemesis to the X-Men and the counterpoint to everything they stand for. He is a character that you actually feel for and understand. Had any of us had to suffer through what he did whose to say we wouldn't want to protect our species at all cost. In modern X-Men days with Cyclops in the lead he is actually closer to the current M.O. of the X-Men than ever before. Cyclops has almost adopted the same beliefs as Magneto. Protecting his species at all costs.

Magneto is overall one of the more fleshed out characters in comics. He is a rarity in that depending on how you view it you could almost put him on a heroes list. At times he has even been put in the position of siding with the angels.

Magneto has been staying under the radar as of late but seems to be slowly working his way back into the limelight as he has been seen recently with the High Evolutionary. Interesting to see where this goes as he appears to have his powers back. But is he the mutant messiah he used to be? Is he even considered a mutant anymore? Only time will tell.

1. Joker - This guy is just plain the shit! Growing up I watched many a Adam West Batman and found the Joker to just be wacky and all together amazing. This guys was insane and didn't give a shit. While this was surely a goofier version than most it was still iconic as hell.

Then when I was 5 years old the first Tim Burton/Michael Keaton Batman came out with Jack Nicholson as the Joker. My father took me to see this incredibly twisted version of the character and everything changed for me. What was I seeing? This wasn't my Joker that I knew. This was something darker and more twisted. I didn't quite understand what I was seeing but I knew it was a game changer.

Not long after that the best Joker of all time appeared. The Batman Animated Series came around and Mark Hamil was on vocals. The voice and the character seemed to be an incredible mix between the two iterations of the character that I had loved at different periods in my life. Hamil's laugh is still the best there has ever been for the character.

As time passed I stumbled upon Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's The Killing Joke. This is THE Joker story people. While the Joker's origin has man different versions this is the one that will always be the real one for me. It was an amazing story that firmly placed the Joker as the opposite of Batman. Instead of facing the adversity and loss that was presented to him with hate and dark brooding, like Bruce Wayne chose to, he instead chose to laugh. This established them as Drama and Comedy. With neither really knowing how they would function without the other.

Recently, the Joker has really reached new heights with his role in the movie The Dark Knight. The late Heath Ledger played the character so well that he even placed Jack Nicholson's version in a secondary role which is something I think few could have ever foreseen. Unfortunately, with the death of Ledger we will never get the opportunity to see the character shine quite like that ever again.

What does the future hold for the Joker? Who knows with certainty. The only thing we all know for sure is there are many gags and laughs sure to come. Followed by death with a smile.

There you have it Burpee's Fave-5 Villains! Who are your favorites? Click the rant button and let me know.