Patrick’s Pop Culture Spotlight: The Legion of Regrettable Super Villains

Since the Golden Age of Comics heroes have been plagued by an army of unusual and bizarre foes. Jon Morris has collected the best of the worst in The Legion of Regrettable Super Villains. These rogues are organized by era, running from the Golden Age to Modern Age of Comics. If you are thinking about what to wear for Halloween or an upcoming convention here are a few suggestions.

Golden Age

Brickbat

First Appearance: Police Comics #5, 1942.

The Character

During the Golden Age of Comics it was common practice for publishers to plagiarize popular characters. While Brickbat’s mask is modeled on the Dark Knight of Gotham city, his lime green suit and toxic bricks put him into another category. Characters like this give the Golden Age of Comics an improvised feel.

The Cosplay

A Brickbat costume is fairly easy to throw together. All that is needed is a Batman mask, green suit, and a foam brick or two (no real bricks please).

Modern Age

Generic Man

First Appearance: The Heckler #2. 1992

The Character

This villain manages to be terrifying despite his generic nature. The Generic Man represents the utter absence of individuality. With a touch people, animals, and objects are rendered into abstract forms under his control.

The Cosplay

Like Brickbat, this is an easy costume to put together. A white suit, pink gloves and a mask are all that you need. In order to represent the character’s unique emotive quality, a small dry erase board and marker may suffice.

The Legion of Regrettable Super Villains is available at the Peabody Institute of Danvers or through interlibrary loan.