Q: Why does EVERY major Marvel villain want to rule the world?

[Fantasyartist]

I may have asked this question before but it's still a valid question. Why does EVERY major league Marvel villain( Dr.Doom, The Mandarin, The Red Skull, Dr Octopus, Magneto) want to rule the world( Granted, some villains such as Magneto wish to do so for basically altruistic reasons, such as making it a safe place for mutants, and others just want to kill off the entire human population such Annihilus or Ultron)? Ruling a single polity is troublesome enough( just as Gordon Brown or Barack Obama!!!), even as a dictator(which simplifies things somewhat) would most likely send the average super-villain( even a Dr.Doom or Magneto) round the bend in a week. Personally I wouldn't wish the role of world ruler on even my worst enemy!!!

Anybody think as I do?

Terry

 

[THANOSRULES]

Becuase in comics this signifys that they want "total control" of Everything..which means the world or universe.

It also forces people to draw parralles to there own real world villians. Guys like Hitler or Stalin wanted to rule the world.

So to be MAJOR...your sights have to be set high.

I disagree with you by the way.

Guys like Kingpin, Bullseye, have seen just as much coverage as many of the villians you mentioned..so have most spidey and DD villians.

 

[GNR]

Every?I don't think so.Your threads are funny FA.

 

[LEGO Spidey]

Ruling a single polity is troublesome enough( just as Gordon Brown or Barack Obama!!!), even as a dictator(which simplifies things somewhat) would most likely send the average super-villain( even a Dr.Doom or Magneto) round the bend in a week. Personally I wouldn't wish the role of world ruler on even my worst enemy!!!

Ever read Emperor Doom?

 

[ZeroCorpse]

It's a psychopathic thing to do. Megalomania is pretty much a prerequisite for arch-villains.

Either that, or they're total nihilists and want to destroy the world.

Arch-villains who are motivated by silly little things, like accumulating money, aren't that interesting. Eventually, they get a lot of money, and then what? They retire?

"IRON MAN! DOOM sends this message to alert you to the fact that Doom has accumulated ONE TRILLION DOLLARS, and is now sufficiently wealthy. There is nothing else for Doom to seek. So Doom retires!"

And we never hear from him again, as Dr. Doom retires and lives the good life in Latveria, drinking appletinis and watching Jim Carey movies on his gigantic home theater system.

But CONQUERING THE WORLD?!?! That's a goal that is almost impossible. Alexander couldn't quite do it. Ghengis Khan fell short. Agustus Caesar didn't make it all the way there. The world is big-- Really, really big. It's tough to rule it. The people on the other side may not even know you're there!

So taking over the world is a good motivator for a villain-- It keeps them around, and makes them a constant threat as they try plan after plan.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Ever read Emperor Doom?

 

[November Rain]

ruling world is cliche i suppose but i would guess they want it all for different reasons...

 

[Franklin Richards]

Welcome to your life
Theres no turning back
Even while we sleep
We will find you
Acting on your best behaviour
Turn your back on mother nature
Everybody wants to rule the world

Its my own design
Its my own remorse
Help me to decide
Help me make the most
Of freedom and of pleasure
Nothing ever lasts forever
Everybody wants to rule the world

Theres a room where the light wont find you
Holding hands while the walls come tumbling down
When they do Ill be right behind you

So glad weve almost made it
So sad they had to fade it
Everybody wants to rule the world

I cant stand this indecision
Married with a lack of vision
Everybody wants to rule the world
Say that youll never never never never need it
One headline why believe it ?
Everybody wants to rule the world

All for freedom and for pleasure
Nothing ever lasts forever
Everybody wants to rule the world

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

Arch-villains who are motivated by silly little things, like accumulating money, aren't that interesting. Eventually, they get a lot of money, and then what? They retire?
.

That's pretty much what Roderick (Hobgoblin) Kingsley did.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I always appreciated the small-time villains who are only interested in robbing banks or whatever. I'm a huge fan of Taskmaster, whose only goal is to do his job and get paid.

 

[Vanguard07]

Me too. I love villains who have realistic goals. Like get rich and retire.

I mean dreaming big is one thing but personally I think being a billionaire is big enough. I dont need to rule the world.

 

[The Question]

I really don't get the vibe that Magneto wants to rule the world specifically. He simply fights for Mutant rights very, very militantly. If he found someone who he felt would be a greater Mutant leader after the fighting was all done, he'd want them to be leader. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Magneto, having finally "taken over the world," immediately hands the reigns over to Charles. Magneto's always said that Charles is the better leader in times of peace. He, unlike Charles, just feels the need to declare war all the damn time.

 

[Franklin Richards]

But Magneto has a great ego. I loved Wolverine's line in the first movie.


"If you were so righteous, it'd be you in that thing."

 

[Vanguard07]

I think Magneto actually achieved his goal for a while in Genosha. He was the leader of a country which was pretty much a safe haven and paradise for his people.

For a while Genosha was even considered a legitimate world power and was pretty much given equal rights and considerations as any other country.

Assuming the genosha massacre never happened and given the choice I dont think Magneto would have even wanted anything more than that.

 

[Keyser Soze]

Ever read Emperor Doom?

Or what about the Loki mini-series, which starts with Loki having successfully conquered Asgard, and lets things fall apart from there?

 

[The Question]

But Magneto has a great ego. I loved Wolverine's line in the first movie.


"If you were so righteous, it'd be you in that thing."

I don't think Magneto has that great an ego. He's nothing compared to Doctor Doom. I think that line reflected more that Magneto wasn't quite the fearless hero he likes to think of himself as.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Or what about the Loki mini-series, which starts with Loki having successfully conquered Asgard, and lets things fall apart from there?

Another great one. Once he no longer has that whole "if I were in charge" thing to use as a scapegoat, his own inadequacies come into focus and he starts to realize what a pathetic little mini-giant he really is.

 

[Havok83]

I really don't get the vibe that Magneto wants to rule the world specifically. He simply fights for Mutant rights very, very militantly. If he found someone who he felt would be a greater Mutant leader after the fighting was all done, he'd want them to be leader. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Magneto, having finally "taken over the world," immediately hands the reigns over to Charles. Magneto's always said that Charles is the better leader in times of peace. He, unlike Charles, just feels the need to declare war all the damn time.

nah he doesnt want to rule the world. You are right in that he just wants mutants as the dominant species on earth

 

[The Question]

I must say, I tend to prefer Loki being less interested in ruling Asgard and more motivated by a sadistic and slightly self destructive desire to see it burn to the ground. He doesn't want power because he thinks he would run Asgard better, or out of some massive ego where he sees himself as a god-king. He just wants revenge on all of Asgard and sees a position of power as the perfect place from which to make them suffer.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

They're both opposite sides of the same coin, really. He only wants to take over Asgard as a big "f*** you" to Odin and everyone else he hates, who also happen to be the current rulers of Asgard. Everything about Loki reeks inferiority complex, which is what makes him such a fun villain. He's inherently ironic--for all his tremendous personal power and big talk, he's still the impotent kid who got picked on at his core. So sometimes he wants to rule Asgard in order to make his oppressors feel oppressed and sometimes his rage dispenses with the poetic justice and he simply wants to destroy Asgard.

 

[The Question]

They're both opposite sides of the same coin, really. He only wants to take over Asgard as a big "f*** you" to Odin and everyone else he hates, who also happen to be the current rulers of Asgard. Everything about Loki reeks inferiority complex, which is what makes him such a fun villain. He's inherently ironic--for all his tremendous personal power and big talk, he's still the impotent kid who got picked on at his core. So sometimes he wants to rule Asgard in order to make his oppressors feel oppressed and sometimes his rage dispenses with the poetic justice and he simply wants to destroy Asgard.

To be fair, though, it isn't just an inferiority complex. Odin did kill Loki's parents, and later banished Loki's children because of a vague prophecy that Loki's family would help to usher in Ragnarok, which in turn led Loki to go from being the nerdy kid who got picked on to his becoming a true social pariah. Loki's evil, but Odin is a prick.

 

[lowly marvelite]

Well, I suppose that's like a prerequisite to be a major marvel villain, to want to rule the world...or destroy it or something that involves the community of earth...Dr. Doom and the Red Skull want to rule it...Thanos wants to destroy it (along with the rest of the universe). I suppose if their aspirations did not at least include the world, then they would be minor to intermediate threats...like the Green Goblin or the Kingpin or someone like that...

 

[Fantasyartist]

Yes, but have you SEEN some of the people who want to rule the world-some of them can't even balance their (insert expletive here) checkbooks or walk and chew gum at the same time( as then President Lyndon Johnson said of one of his future successors- House Minority Leader Gerald Ford- it may have been a more intimate bodily function)!!!

Terry

 

[TheCorpulent1]

To be fair, though, it isn't just an inferiority complex. Odin did kill Loki's parents, and later banished Loki's children because of a vague prophecy that Loki's family would help to usher in Ragnarok, which in turn led Loki to go from being the nerdy kid who got picked on to his becoming a true social pariah. Loki's evil, but Odin is a prick.

Well, yeah, but no parent's ever perfect. Loki doesn't really seem to have much of a relationship with his own children anyway, and we just saw in Thor #12 that he absolutely despised his own father.

 

[chamber-music]

I always appreciated the small-time villains who are only interested in robbing banks or whatever. I'm a huge fan of Taskmaster, whose only goal is to do his job and get paid.

Thats why I like The Flash rogues. They are just trying to make a buck and have a good time. None of that rule the world, kill as many people as possible stuff.