Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-2175012-20170823181810/@comment-15895329-20170925020741

Grizzhly wrote: I don't know all the candidates, so I'll only comment about those I'm confident about. The thing is, in most cases I just don't find them evil enough to warrant the title "Pure Evil". Yes, most of them commit grave crimes, plot immense destruction and are gargantuan assholes, but - in my opinion - they just don't stand out enough. This is what villainy has become nowadays and I don't find these villains are that much different from almost any other villain.

DECU's Luthor: Yes, he has evil plans and is ruthless in their pursuit but I really don't see the point here. He is on a personal crusade and while he accepts collateral damages and death, the sheer scale of his plans are limited. And, from what I remember, his father abused him in the past so that might facture in his perception of powerful figures. I don't really see him as pure evil.

While Ludendorff willingly unleashed gas that would have eradicated the entire city in minutes, I doubt that Luthor thought further in his creation of Doomsay than: "This thing is gonna kill Superman for sure".

The Ogre: Basically a standard serial killer who does not stand out in the slightest. Other villains in the show have set the standard far higher, like Galavan or Jerome.

Prometheus: Definitely not. His entire crusade is based on loss. His loss- the death of his father basically destroyed him and took everything from him. Of course, he is far from being the victim of the story but given how he is portrayed in the show, I think that he is not suitable for "Pure Evil". He wants to let Oliver feel the pain and loss that he has felt and while he is a sadistic, cruel, emotionless and deranged bastard, I think he does not fit the Pure Evil category due to the reason behind his motivation. I also don't think that the fact that he is a hypocrite factors into the Pure Evil thing.

Andrew Diggle: I know that hardly counts as an argument but I think he is far to uninteresting and unimportant to be a Pure Evil candidate. Yes, he betrays his family twice and is absolutely loyal to his organization but yeah, I just can't point him out as a purely evil.

Riddler: Just because Telltale delivers a different spin on the character than most shows or games, I don't think that he is Pure Evil. These murderboxes are not new either, they remind of the traps and puzzle rooms in the Arkhamverse. Again, he does not really stand out as a pure evil character, nothing about his villainy is special or extraordinary. If we accept characters like that as Pure Evil characters, we can put half of this wiki's articles into the category.

Simon Stagg: Similar to the others. Just doesn't stand out. A ruthless businessman, no more. Luthor: That's just it though: the fact that he wasn't thinking when he unleashed Doomsday shows just how heedless to the lives of others he really is. We only have his word to go on regarding his supposedly abusive father, and in any event, Darth Bane, Alex Merkel Jr., and Rise of the Technovore Ezekiel Stane all had bad fathers, and yet...they're all still considered Complete Monsters. He should be vile enough.

Ogre: Except Ogre tortured at least some of his victims too, makes Barbara go evil and kill her own parents, AND threatens to kill the families of policemen who try to stop him. That is all much more than "a standard serial killer", and comparing him to Jerome and Galavan rings hollow, because Ogre was a loner, and had nowhere near the resources of those two (not to mention not having their screen-time either).

Prometheus: Zander Rice's father was killed by Wolverine, and from that he vowed revenge on all Mutants. He is considered Pure Evil. Why should Prometheus be any different? The "you killed my father" bit didn't save Rice, why doe sit save Prometheus? Not to mention that his being a hypocrite DOES make him more evil, because it shows how hollow and worthless his moral posturing and self-righteousness towards Oliver Queen really is. Also, given that he murdered his own wife when she became too inconvenient to let live, the idea that he cares about his family is difficult to believe.

Diggle: Yeah...being "uninteresting" is not a good enough reason to me. He strikes me as Pure Evil, because if he had his way, most of the planet's population would be dead, and his own family along with them. That's more than heinous enough.

Riddler: Not really, because within the context of that Batman universe, Riddler is easily the most evil villain in the series so far. Consider that in just ONE episode, he did so much harm. More harm, in fact, than what other villains in Season 1 did with multiple appearances. In just one episode he murdered/tried to murder/tortured more people than Penguin did during the whole of Season 1. The only villains who rival him in terms of sheer evil are Two-Face and Lady Arkham, and both of them had far more screen time and arguably better resources too, so it's telling that Riddler rivaled them in evil deeds with comparatively less than what they had. And again, he lacks their tragic qualities.

I think I have to stick to my guns on these. I can at least give you credit/praise for doing an argument though. You're doing EXACTLY what I've been asking for from the start. So, even though I don't agree with you overall, I'm really, really, really grateful that you're at least making arguments.