The DC universe is filled with a plethora of excellent baddies. The problem is that most of the well-known DC villains are either already in Injustice, or simply wouldn’t work in a fighting game for a multitude of reasons. Despite this, I was able to come with a list of five obscure villains who’d both add diversity to the game, while also being a blast to play.
The Dead King
The majority of my favorite DC characters are ones that the average comic book reader or gamer has never heard of. (A cookie for anyone whose ever heard of Gates.) I’m not a complete hipster, though, and among my favorite heroes there is one mainstream character: The king of the seas – Aquaman.
Being a founding member of the Justice League and a major player in the Injustice games, it’s surprising to me that none of his villains have been made playable. In early trailers for Injustice 2, we saw Black Manta, Aquaman’s primary nemesis. However, it was later confirmed that he wasn’t playable.
The next logical choice would probably be Aquaman’s brother, Ocean Master. However, if not Black Manta, I think the best choice to represent Arthur’s rogues gallery would be that world’s strongest villain, The Dead King
The Dead King, AKA Atlan, is very much a tragic villain. Hundreds of years prior to his first appearance in the comics, he was the king of Atlantis. All he wanted was to live a happy life and to unite many of the Earth’s races.
Things did not go well for Atlan, as his brother, Orin, usurped the his power. And just to make things worse for Atlan, Orin also murdered Atlan’s wife and kids. In his rage, Atlan did what any rational thinking person would do: He hit Atlantis with his scepter…and sank it.
In addition to having unfathomable strength, Atlan is also a cryokinetic. So, if included as a playable fighter in Injustice 2, he could serve as a slow and powerful fighter, much like Doomsday in the first game – but with the added bonus of having ice-based attacks.
For his ultimate attack, I think NetherRealm should take inspiration from his greatest feet: Sinking Atlantis. He could take out his scepter, strike the stage, and send his opponent plummeting into nothingness.
In the comics, Atlan met his end being melted in an underwater volcano by Aquaman. In the Injustice universe, though? He might just fare better.
Goth
While I have different reasons for wanting to see each of these characters in Injustice 2, Goth is a character I want to see again in ANY medium because he’s just really interesting.
A demon from the world of Dis, Goth lives the day-to-day life of a horror movie star, claiming to those he meets that he never takes his make-up off. Intrigued by the concepts of mortality, chaos, and death, Goth’s plans involve bringing all of his fans to Hell.
Goth isn’t actually evil though. He’s motivated fully by his love for his fans. Yes, he genuinely believes that his fans will live better lives if they live in the Hell dimension of Dis instead of Earth.
What’s more, he has a wide variety of powers he could utilize in Injustice 2. He has the standard super strength and flight you’d expect from a demon, but his capabilities are far beyond those. He has sharpened claws, he can generate fire, and, most interestingly, he’s a hypnotist.
I’m not too sure how hypnotism could be implemented in a fighting game, but I’m sure the good folks over at NetherRealm could come up with something.
Superboy-Prime
“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you to DEATH!”
The main antagonist of Injustice: Gods Among Us was a Superman who’d turned evil. While Superboy-Prime is similar in concept, he’s much more terrifying.
Haling form Earth-Prime, DC’s version of “The Real World”, a young Clark Kent was the only superhero on this Earth. He had all the powers of the Superman from the main DC Earth, and, inspired by all of the square jawed heroes in his comic books, he became Superboy.
Then, in the 1985 event, Crisis on Infinite Earths, Earth-Prime was destroyed by a wave of anti-matter. This left him without a home. So, at the end of the story, Superboy, and several other characters, went to go live in a Heaven dimension where they’d live happily ever after…
And then Infinite Crisis happened…
As it turned out, in between the events of the two Crises, Superboy-Prime had been watching the main DC Earth alongside the reader. And he was very displeased by the fact that his heroes were no longer perfect. No, they had flaws and struggles. They didn’t always do the right thing, and they didn’t always win.
For Superboy-Prime, this was unacceptable.
And, among all the heroes who didn’t live up to his standards, none was more reprehensible than the current Superboy, Connor Kent. Superboy-Prime went to Kansas to confront him, and in response, was met by the Teen Titans.
As you can see from the above image, things did not go well for them.
You see, since Superboy-Prime existed before Crisis on Infinite Earths, he has the powers of a Pre-Crisis Superman. And Pre-Crisis Superman could juggle planets with his pinkie finger.
He ripped off Risk’s arm, he punched off Pantha’s head, and he proceeded to go on to slaughter dozens of other heroes.
And the whole time he maintained the attitude of a spoiled child. He blamed everyone else for making him “like them”, and became determined to do whatever it takes to bring back his Earth where everything was “better”, and become the new Superman.
For his moveset, Superboy-Prime could be very similar to Superman. However, he would be far more vicious, and much less refined. He could be much more about brute force, instead of finesse, like the more technical Superman.
For his ultimate attack, he could re-live his most famous moment: The time he punched reality. His punch would be directed toward the player, and, in addition to inflicting massive damage, he could possibly also cause changes to the stage.
To be honest, if put into the game, I would never play as Superboy-Prime. But I would have a great time beating him up.
Onomatopoeia
There isn’t a lot I can say about Onomatopoeia because we don’t know a lot about the Green Arrow and Batman villain. He’s an incredibly skilled assassin, and his main gimmick is that he only speaks in sound effects.
It may not sound like much, but he’s actually a really cool character. His playstyle could be based around gun kata, and frankly, I just hope that an appearance in Injustice 2 would lead to Onomatopoeia’s return to the comics.
Captain Tortollini
Despite all appearances, Wally Tortollini is possibly the greatest villain in the history of fiction.
Originally just a tabloid reporter looking for a break, Wally would hit the big time after winning a poker game against a bunch of D-list super villains. As his winnings, he received a plethora of their technology.
Whereas any other person who probably either sell this technology or hand it over to the police, Wally decided to use it to achieve his life long dream of becoming a super villain.
And, to prove himself, he took on the Justice League.
No, I’m not talking about Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. You see, Wally was a villain in the 90’s. So, at the time, the Justice League was made up of members like Booster Gold, Fire, and Guy Gardner.
While I do love these guys, they weren’t exactly the most competent bunch. So, it’s probably a good thing that Wally didn’t even get the chance to take them on.
No, he was taken down by the same super villains whose technology he stole – after the cops went after them because they were blamed for the crimes Wally was committing.
The tragedy of Wally Tortollini is Shakespearean in nature. He could have lived his life as a good man, had his desire to be a villain not gotten the best of him. He may have only ever been a villain in one comic, but he changed the industry forever.
If that weren’t enough to make you love Captain Tortollini, his technology would be very fun to play around with in Injustice 2.
Wally packs a vast arsenal, with a power stone that grants him incredible strength. In addition, he has a special helmet that both fires star bolts and mentally controls people. Like Goth, the idea of using hypnosis in a fighting game could be very interesting.
Captain Tortollini also has bullet shooting wristbands, a crowbar, a tuning-fork gun, and even a jackhammer. If you don’t think that a great move set could be made out of these weapons, I don’t know what to tell you.
Which of these villains would you most want to play as? What other obscure villains would you like to see in Injustice 2? Let us know in the comments!
