History Monster / DCLiterature

* ''[[Characters/HellblazerJohnConstantine John Constantine]], ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}}'' novels by John Shirley:

* ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'', by Dennis O'Neil (''Film/BatmanBegins'' & ''Film/TheDarkKnight'') & Greg Cox (''Film/TheDarkKnightRises''): [[PsychoPsychologist Jonathan Crane]], aka [[Characters/BatmanTheScarecrow the Scarecrow]], started out using several of his students as test subjects, [[DrivenToMadness driving them mad]] in the process. In the present, Crane allies with the [[Characters/TheDarkKnightTrilogyLeagueOfShadows League of Shadows]], creating and supplying them with [[IKnowWhatYouFear Fear Gas]] so as to unleash it onto Gotham and drive the city to tear itself apart. Along the way, Crane [[PlayingWithSyringes performs more experiments in fear]] on his hapless patients at Arkham; orders the murder of a nosy attorney; and drives his partner, Carmine Falcone, insane to silence him. During the attack on Gotham, Crane led a prison riot, murdered a police officer, and tried to run down Rachel Dawes and a child she is protecting. Crane then becomes a drug dealer and kills a junkie as a test run for a lethal hallucinogen. In his final appearance, Crane takes a spot in [[Characters/TheDarkKnightTrilogyBane Bane]]'s conquered, anarchy-filled Gotham, presiding over a KangarooCourt where everyone from corrupt politicians to innocent people are forced to walk across the icy river of Gotham, invariable leading to their deaths as they break through the ice, much to Crane's delight.

* ''Film/{{Shazam|2019}}!: The (Deluxe) Junior Novel'', by Calliope Glass: [[Characters/DCEUDoctorSivana Dr. Thaddeus Sivana]] is [[AdaptationalVillainy portrayed worse in the novel than in the film]]. Bullied and disrespected as a child by his family, Sivana was offered a chance at heroic power by the Wizard, but instead tried to embrace the Seven Deadly Sins for their darker, more ambitious power. Rejected by the Wizard for this evil in his heart, Sivana grew up scouring for ways to return to the Sins, and upon finding a way, he immediately embraces the Sins into himself to become a [[PhysicalGod god]]. Sivana proceeds to slaughter the dozens of people at a Christmas party held by his family, and then tears his way through a mall, endangering many civilians while trying to kill Shazam. Taking [[Characters/DCEUBillyBatson Billy Batson]]'s, aka Shazam's, foster siblings hostage and threatening them with torture and death, Sivana hopes to drain Shazam of his powers and then run rampant on Earth as an all-powerful being. Sivana is fully onboard with the Sins's plans to wipe out mankind, and even when Billy tries to empathize with Sivana's past, Sivana just [[RedemptionRejection cruelly taunts the boy]] and reiterates that he was never a "good" person, just one who wanted power.

* ''[[Literature/TheForensicFilesOfBatman The Forensic Files of Batman]]'''s "Cutting and Culling", by Creator/DougMoench: [[AdaptationalNameChange Anton]] Zsasz is a sadomasochistic SerialKiller obsessed with pain and blood. A [[AxCrazy maniac]] who has butchered over 60 confirmed victims--with hundreds more implied--Zsasz's method involves torturously suspending his victims in the air for days, then stabbing them to death and [[BloodBath showering in their blood]] before carving a [[KillTally tally mark]] into his body. Having carved a path of death across the country, Zsasz continues his spree in Gotham to claim half a dozen more women before Batman catches him, set to become one of Batman's most depraved villains in the coming future.

** ''Literature/HarleyQuinnReckoning'': [[SerialRapist Dr. Aaron Nelson]] seems to be a [[BitchInSheepsClothing kindly professor]] at Gotham University who encourages a young [[Characters/HarleyQuinnTheCharacter Harleen Quinzel]] and other young women to excel in science, but is actually a [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil repulsive]] sexual predator. Dr. Nelson has been receiving fear gas from an unknown party at Arkham Asylum in exchange for blood samples. Nelson schedules interviews with young female co-eds, promising to help them with scholarships, then in private, Nelson sprays them with fear gas and rapes them. The fear gas leaves Nelson's victims too scared to testify against him, with the fear gas causing permanent [[MindRape psychological damage]].

* ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'' by Dennis O'Neil (''Film/BatmanBegins'' & ''Film/TheDarkKnight'') & Greg Cox (''Film/TheDarkKnightRises''): Unlike his more passive film counterpart, the novel version of [[PsychoPsychologist Jonathan Crane]], aka [[Characters/BatmanTheScarecrow the Scarecrow]], is presented as a [[AdaptationalVillainy terror-loving maniac]]. Starting out using several of his students as test subjects, [[DrivenToMadness driving them mad]] in the process, Crane allies with the League of Shadows in the present, creating and supplying them with [[IKnowWhatYouFear Fear Gas]] so as to unleash it onto Gotham and drive the city to tear itself apart. Along the way, Crane performs more experiments in fear on his hapless patients at Arkham, orders the murder of a nosy attorney, and drives his partner, Carmine Falcone, insane to silence him. During the attack on Gotham, Crane led a prison riot, [[CopKiller murdered a police officer]], and tried to run down Rachel Dawes and [[WouldHurtAChild a child]] she is protecting. Crane then becomes a drug dealer and kills a junkie as a test run for a lethal hallucinogen. In his final appearance, Crane takes a spot in Bane's conquered, anarchy-filled Gotham, presiding over a KangarooCourt where everyone from corrupt politicians to innocent people are forced to walk across the icy river of Gotham, invariable leading to their deaths as they break through the ice, much to Crane's delight.

** ''[[Literature/SupermanDawnbreaker Superman: Dawnbreaker]]'', by Matt de la Peña: [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Corey Mankins]] is the heir to the powerful Mankins Corporation, and Dr. Wesley is the company's [[MadScientist lead scientist]]. Though the Mankins Corporation [[VillainWithGoodPublicity seems benevolent]] and seems to be adding to Smallville's economy and performing charitable deeds, Corey Mankins and Dr. Wesley are secretly engaged in sinister deeds. They have been buying farms to collect the kryptonite meteors beneath them. They have also been secretly kidnapping Mexican immigrants and [[PlayingWithSyringes experimenting on them]] with a combination of kryptonite and a steroid called Dawnbreaker. Corey Mankins and Dr. Wesley want to turn their victims into SuperSoldiers so they can sell them to the highest bidder, using drugs and propaganda to break their free will. When Lana Lang confronts Corey Mankins about this, Corey kidnaps her and plans to set off a bomb during a festival at Smallville's town square, willing to kill hundreds to distract authorities from their human experimentation operation.

-->-- '''Rhama Bgyn''', to '''William X. Malady''', ''Batman: The Ultimate Evil''

* ''The Batman Murders'', by Craig Shaw Gardner: [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker The Joker]] is once again Batman's ArchEnemy and a cruel psychopath. Joker has been kidnapping civilians and has a scientist [[ColdBloodedTorture torture]] and [[BrainwashedAndCrazy brainwash]] them until they think they are Batman. Joker than has the fake Batmen try to stop a robbery and die in the process and is keeping several of his victims imprisoned in a makeshift prison until he is ready to use them. Joker also sets up a cult to help generate money, with the cult [[MindRape psychologically torturing]] its members until they become mind-warped zombies. Joker, growing bored, decides to turn people into Jokers, transforming some of his goons into Jokers. After failing to capture Commissioner Gordon, Joker captures Dick Grayson, transforms him into a Joker, and has him fight Batman.
* ''The Ultimate Evil'', by Andrew Vachss: [[BigBad William X. Malady]] is the leader of a [[WouldHurtAChild child pornography ring]]. When Thomas and Martha Wayne started investigating his crimes, Malady hires a killer to gun them down, after which he fled to Gotham City. Taking up residence in the foreign country of Udon Khai, Malady immediately installs a private military group that he uses to regularly kidnap innocent children from poor villagers to use them as {{sex slave}}s and selling them to pedophiles all across the world. In order to prevent moles from infiltrating his organization, he has instituted an initiation protocol where, if one wishes to gain access, they must rape a child on film.
* ''The Stone King'', by Creator/AlanGrant: [[AntagonistTitle The Stone King]] was an ancient shaman from neolithic times who became obsessed with power. Forsaking the ways of his people, the Stone King demanded they worship him as {{a god|Am I}}, [[HumanSacrifice sacrificing]] innocents to his name and even demanding they sacrifice [[WouldHurtAChild children]] to him. After being entombed, his spirit is awakened and goes on a killing spree, even paralyzing members of the League with pure fear. It is revealed the Stone King plans to cleanse the earth of all he sees as unworthy, using primordial energies to trigger earthquakes, volcanoes and more that will [[OmnicidalManiac kill every living thing on the planet]] in order to reclaim his lost godhood.
* "Cutting and Culling", from ''The Forensic Files of Batman'', by Creator/DougMoench: [[AdaptationalNameChange Anton]] Zsasz is a sadomasochistic SerialKiller obsessed with pain and blood. A [[AxCrazy maniac]] who has butchered over 60 confirmed victims--with hundreds more implied--Zsasz's method involves torturously suspending his victims in the air for days, then stabbing them to death and [[BloodBath showering in their blood]] before carving a [[KillTally tally mark]] into his body. Having carved a path of death across the country, Zsasz continues his spree in Gotham to claim half a dozen more women before Batman catches him, set to become one of Batman's most depraved villains in the coming future.

** ''Dead White'', by John Shirley: [[BigBad White Eyes]], also known as "Big White", real name Hiram Bunch, is the absolute leader of the [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain supremacist Bavarian Brotherhood]] in Gotham. A steroid-abusing brute of a man who fancies himself the avenger of UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler, White Eyes proceeds a wave of crime violence, arms dealings, and murders through Gotham to unsettle the nation before unveiling his real goal: destroying key points all over America to throw the country into chaos and allow him to take over as supreme dictator, before spreading out to the rest of the world with the intention of [[FinalSolution erasing all of the "mud-races" from the planet]]. In preparation for this, White Eyes keeps a gallery of enslaved minorities and forces them into grueling and inevitably fatal work for months at a time in an abandoned gold mine; [[BadBoss executes his own minions]] for reasons as varied as simple failure to simply use them as test subjects for his weapons; and kidnaps a young woman named Beth, intending to use her as "breeding stock" and [[AttemptedRape attempting to rape her]] out of frustration once his base is infiltrated by Batman. Once his plan is toppled, White Eyes simply elects to abandon the rest of his men and blow up the capitol himself, murdering his most trusted henchman once he refuses to abandon the others and taking an entire family hostage to deter Batman from pursuing him.
** ''Inferno'', by Alex Irvine:

* ''ComicBook/HarleyQuinn: Mad Love'', by Creator/PaulDini & Pat Cadigan: [[TheDon Bruno Delvecchio]] is a particularly brutal mob boss who helped shape [[Characters/HarleyQuinnTheCharacter Harleen Quinzel]] into the supervillain she becomes. After Harleen's father steals from Delvecchio, Delvecchio has him beaten and tortured before leaving him to be locked in prison, after which he kidnaps his daughter Harleen. Delvecchio plans to lure Harleen's mother to him with her fortune, kill the woman, then sell Harleen to a pedophilic criminal, something [[WouldHurtAChild Delvecchio]] reveals he has done before to other children.

* ''[[{{Gamebooks}} Super Powers Which Way Books]]'':

** ''War Lord'': [[BigBad Dyzigi]], actually the demon G'Broag'Fram, fosters much of the conflict of the Servants of Transfiguration in his bid to cause a global war. Keeping the owner of the body he possesses [[AndIMustScream in constant torment]] within him, Dyzigi orders wide bloodshed and terrorism as one of the heads of the SOT, and furthermore captures and abominates [[MadDoctor Josef Mengele]] into a psychic abomination he keeps in a jar, feeding it with severed heads. Dyzigi initially captures a young woman named Mercury for her psychic powers, [[MindRape tormenting her]] with apocalyptic visions--before deciding to have her killed when she becomes a liability, allowing his compatriot to rape her beforehand before tracking her down when she escapes and massacring an entire camp of Sudanese soldiers. Dyzigi's ultimate goal is to kickstart a [[WorldWarIII third World War]] and devastate the planet, killing billions, all for the prospect of a subrealm as a reward from his master Nergal.
** ''Subterranean'': [[BigBad Iain Culley]], a [[EvilSorcerer centuries-old sorcerer]] known as the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Gloomlord]], captured and tortured a powerful elemental known as Lord Stone to master an underground kingdom. Keeping humans enslaved below ground, used as labor and eventual food when their use runs out, Culley intends on expanding the kingdom. Starting by sinking the village Tonsell-By-The-Sea, Culley reveals he powers his kingdom and fuels his eternal youth by [[HumanResources locking victims in devices that leech off their power and vitality]], [[AndIMustScream keeping them alive and in horrible pain]]. Not content with this kingdom, Culley intends to develop a plague to poison the earth's oceans, killing countless millions while forcing everyone else underground to be his slaves.

** ''Franchise/{{Superman}}: Dawnbreaker'', by Matt de la Peña: [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Corey Mankins]] is the heir to the powerful Mankins Corporation, and Dr. Wesley is the company's [[MadScientist lead scientist]]. Though the Mankins Corporation [[VillainWithGoodPublicity seems benevolent]] and seems to be adding to Smallville's economy and performing charitable deeds, Corey Mankins and Dr. Wesley are secretly engaged in sinister deeds. They have been buying farms to collect the kryptonite meteors beneath them. They have also been secretly kidnapping Mexican immigrants and [[PlayingWithSyringes experimenting on them]] with a combination of kryptonite and a steroid called Dawnbreaker. Corey Mankins and Dr. Wesley want to turn their victims into SuperSoldiers so they can sell them to the highest bidder, using drugs and propaganda to break their free will. When Lana Lang confronts Corey Mankins about this, Corey kidnaps her and plans to set off a bomb during a festival at Smallville's town square, willing to kill hundreds to distract authorities from their human experimentation operation.
** ''ComicBook/BlackCanary: Breaking Silence'', by Alexandra Monir: [[VillainousLegacy Chester Cobblepot]] is the nephew of the criminal mastermind [[Characters/BatmanThePenguin the Penguin]] and is even viler than his uncle. Twenty years ago, Cobblepot assisted the Court of Owls in a coup, killing most of the superheroes and transforming Gotham City into a dictatorship, with Cobblepot being made [[MayorPain mayor]] for life. Cobblepot is an [[StrawMisogynist extreme misogynist]], denying women any sort of rights, even making it illegal for women to play music. Cobblepot has anyone who defies the Court of Owls arrested and sent to Arkham Asylum, where they are tortured to death. Cobblepot has several of the corpses displayed in a secret room under Arkham and experiments with the dead bodies, transforming them into the Court of Owls's [[NightOfTheLivingMooks undead soldiers]], the Talons, forcing his dead victims to become instruments of his will.

** ''Franchise/{{Superman}}: Dawnbreaker'', by Matt de la Peña: [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Corey Mankins]] is the heir to the powerful Mankins Corporation, and Dr. Wesley is the company's [[MadScientist lead scientist]]. Though the Mankins Corporation [[VillainWithGoodPublicity seems benevolent]] and seems to be adding to Smallville's economy and performing charitable deeds, Corey Mankins and Dr. Wesley are secretly engaged in sinister deeds. They have been buying farms to collect the kryptonite meteors beneath them. They have also been secretly kidnapping Mexican immigrants and [[PlayingWithSyringes experimenting on them]] with a combination of kryptonite and a steroid called Dawnbreaker. Corey Mankins and Dr. Wesley want to turn their victims into SuperSoldiers so they can sell them to the highest bidder, using drugs and propaganda to break their free will. When Lana Lang confronts Corey Mankins about this, Corey kidnaps her and plans to set off a bomb during a festival at Smallville's town square, willing to kill hundreds to distract authorities from their human experimentation operation.

** ''Franchise/{{Superman}}: Dawnbreaker'', by Matt de la Peña: [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Corey Mankins]] is the heir to the powerful Mankins Corporation, and Dr. Wesley is the company's [[MadScientist lead scientist]]. Though the Mankins Corporation [[VillainWithGoodPublicity seems benevolent]] and seems to be adding to Smallville's economy and performing charitable deeds, Corey Mankins and Dr. Wesley are secretly engaged in sinister deeds. They have been buying farms to collect the kryptonite meteors beneath them. They have also been secretly kidnapping Mexican immigrants and [[PlayingWithSyringes experimenting on them]] with a combination of kryptonite and a steroid called Dawnbreaker. Corey Mankins and Dr. Wesley want to turn their victims into SuperSoldiers so they can sell them to the highest bidder, using drugs and propaganda to break their free will. When Lana Lang confronts Corey Mankins about this, Corey kidnaps her and plans to set off a bomb during a festival at Smallville's town square, willing to kill hundreds to distract authorities from their human experimentation operation.

* DC Icons series:

** ''ComicBook/HarleyQuinn: Reckoning'', by Rachael Allen: [[SerialRapist Dr. Aaron Nelson]] seems to be a [[BitchInSheepsClothing kindly professor]] at Gotham University who encourages a young [[Characters/HarleyQuinnTheCharacter Harleen Quinzel]] and other young women to excel in science, but is actually a [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil repulsive]] sexual predator. Dr. Nelson has been receiving fear gas from an unknown party at Arkham Asylum in exchange for blood samples. Nelson schedules interviews with young female co-eds, promising to help them with scholarships, then in private, Nelson sprays them with fear gas and rapes them. The fear gas leaves Nelson's victims too scared to testify against him, with the fear gas causing permanent [[MindRape psychological damage]].

** [[BigBad Sin Tzu]], unlike the original, more generic video game iteration, is [[AdaptationalVillainy portrayed in the novel]] as a sociopathic mass murderer who [[LoveIsAWeakness views compassion and love as weaknesses]], abandoning and possibly murdered the only woman he ever loved to prove his point. An assassin who takes joy in his various atrocities, Sin Tzu eventually betrayed his own cult and drove them all to tear each other apart upon gaining power of his own. Becoming a warlord and tyrant obsessed with nothing more than conquest and destruction, Sin Tzu has killed thousands across Asia in his march towards domination, enslaving and "reeducating" entire countries at a time. Upon arriving in Gotham City, Sin Tzu unleashes thousands of criminals onto the streets, using his power to make them even more vicious so as to spread mass death and destruction. Siccing some of Batman's worst foes on him, and turning the rest into [[AndIMustScream living trophies]], Sin Tzu ultimately plans to murder Batman and ensure that every last one of his thousands of minions are killed in a blaze of glory just to illustrate the latest chapter of his self-written book.

%% NOTE: Due to the controversial nature of this trope, any changes (additions, removals, edits) should be discussed [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=6vic3f9h1cy5qivsenw8llok here]].

-->--'''Rhama Bgyn''', to '''William X. Malady''', ''Batman: The Ultimate Evil''

* ''Film/{{Constantine|2005}}'', by John Shirley: [[AdaptationalVillainy Mammon]], [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils son of Satan]], decides to kick-start [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the apocalypse]] and bring HellOnEarth. To do so, he takes possession of the scavenger Francesco, corrupts him with false promises of power and luxury, and drives him into a killing spree, claiming the life of ten people. He also sends assassins after Constantine and his allies. Abducting the psychic Angela Dodson, Mammon attempts to break her will by forcing her to watch human misery and crimes, and when this fails, offers her to be [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raped]] by Francesco. Eventually to rise on Earth, he takes possession of her body and attempts to have her sacrificed by his accomplice Gabriel.

Given [[Monster/TheDCU the source material]], it comes as no surprise that literature based on Franchise/TheDCU feature [[CompleteMonster heinous villains]].\\

[[AC:Others]]

* ''Literature/LastSonOfKrypton'': Towbee the Minstrel is [[BewareTheSillyOnes a seemingly harmless and obnoxious villain]], who is secretly TheMaster, a [[PlanetLooters powerful intergalactic real estate tycoon]]. The Master steals a time snatcher device from a scientist and uses it to take planets from the future so that he can sell them in the present. The planets are fundamentally unstable and will disappear in 100 years, eventually killing anyone who has settled on those planets. The Master hears of a prophecy of a tyrant taking over part of the galaxy and [[GalacticConqueror plans to be that tyrant]]. The Master plans to use the time snatcher to harness the power of black holes to separate a large part of the galaxy called the Galactic Arm from the rest of the universe, so that the [[Franchise/GreenLantern Guardians of the Universe]] cannot stop his plans for conquest. Eventually, the Master arrives on Earth and plans to take over Earth's telecommunications systems and use it to mind control humanity, wanting to make humanity into an army of conquest that will help conquer the Galactic Arm.
* ''[[Literature/MiracleMonday Superman: Miracle Monday]]'': [[TheHeavy C.W. Saturn]], a demon from Hell and the chief servant of [[{{Satan}} Samael]], is [[EstablishingCharacterMoment introduced]] torturing 666 condemned souls. Samael tasks Saturn with breaking Superman's spirit, for if he succeeds there will be nothing to stop Samael from conquering the universe and allowing evil to rule over the cosmos. Saturn comes to Earth and decides to test Superman by causing various disasters for Superman to deal with. He creates an earthquake that causes a tidal wave to head towards to Metropolis; causes trains to crash; causes a chemical plant to caught fire; and nearly explode and causes a building to start collapsing. After that, he [[DemonicPossession posseses Kristen Wells]], Clark Kent's new coworker. In Wells's body, at first Saturn just commits cruel pranks, though some are deadly. After Superman spoils some of Saturn's fun, he decides to get serious and uses his powers to make all the nuclear weapons in the world launch. Saturn's ultimate goal is to force [[SadisticChoice Superman kill Wells in order to stop him]], knowing that will break Superman's spirit and allow evil to win.
* ''[[{{Gamebooks}} Super Powers Which Way Books]]'':
** ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}: The Girl of Steel'': [[Characters/SupermanBrainiacCharacter Brainiac]], an evil android that wants to [[GalacticConqueror conquer the universe]], is a [[VileVillainSaccharineShow dark presence in an otherwise lighthearted book]]. Brainiac captures Superman and lures Supergirl to a planet he is slowly cooking with red sun radiation rays. If Supergirl confronts Brainiac in his ship, he plans to capture Supergirl and experiment on her and Superman. If Supergirl frees Brainiac's alien prisoners and lets them bring her to him, Brainiac kills them without a second thought. If Supergirl confronts Brainiac on the planet, Supergirl finds that the population of the planet, a race of sapient rat creatures called Ridents, are being starved due to Brainiac's experiments destroying most of the food and the water on the planet. Brainiac is also capturing some of the Ridents and is using them as [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil slaves]], forcing them to work in a mine and dig up a jewel that could grant him untold power.
** ''Franchise/{{Batman}}: Doomsday Prophecy'':
*** [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker The Joker]] is as deadly as ever. In one story path, Joker sends Batman threatening messages through the Gotham Gazette newspaper, announcing his intentions to kill Batman and destroy Gotham City, by killing half the city's population. Joker attempts this by delivering enough poison to the citizens of Gotham City, either by dumping chemicals into the city's [[WaterSourceTampering water supply]]; adding poison to the Gotham gas line; or using planes to spread poison across Gotham City.
*** [[Characters/BatmanTheRiddler The Riddler]], threatening to "end Batman", kidnaps Commissioner Gordon and attempts to use a CarBomb to kill him and Batman. Later, Riddler lures Batman to Washington DC, where he kidnaps an actor dressed as Batman and threatens to drop him from a great height if Batman does not reveal his secret identity. But his worst act is luring Batman to a puppet show called ''The Riddle'', held in a children's theater. Riddler sets the theater on fire, willing to let the [[WouldHurtAChild children in the audience die]], just to get the better of Batman.

* ''The Franchise/{{Batman}} Murders'', by Craig Shaw Gardner: [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker The Joker]] is once again Batman's ArchEnemy and a cruel psychopath. Joker has been kidnapping civilians and has a scientist [[ColdBloodedTorture torture]] and [[BrainwashedAndCrazy brainwash]] them until they think they are Batman. Joker than has the fake Batmen try to stop a robbery and die in the process and is keeping several of his victims imprisoned in a makeshift prison until he is ready to use them. Joker also sets up a cult to help generate money, with the cult [[MindRape psychologically torturing]] its members until they become mind-warped zombies. Joker, growing bored, decides to turn people into Jokers, transforming some of his goons into Jokers. After failing to capture Commissioner Gordon, Joker captures Dick Grayson, transforms him into a Joker, and has him fight Batman.
* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}: The Ultimate Evil'', by Andrew Vachss: [[BigBad William X. Malady]] is the leader of a [[WouldHurtAChild child pornography ring]]. When Thomas and Martha Wayne started investigating his crimes, Malady hires a killer to gun them down, after which he fled to Gotham City. Taking up residence in the foreign country of Udon Khai, Malady immediately installs a private military group that he uses to regularly kidnap innocent children from poor villagers to use them as {{sex slave}}s and selling them to pedophiles all across the world. In order to prevent moles from infiltrating his organization, he has instituted an initiation protocol where, if one wishes to gain access, they must rape a child on film.
* ''Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica--Franchise/{{Batman}}: The Stone King'', by Creator/AlanGrant: [[AntagonistTitle The Stone King]] was an ancient shaman from neolithic times who became obsessed with power. Forsaking the ways of his people, the Stone King demanded they worship him as {{a god|Am I}}, [[HumanSacrifice sacrificing]] innocents to his name and even demanding they sacrifice [[WouldHurtAChild children]] to him. After being entombed, his spirit is awakened and goes on a killing spree, even paralyzing members of the League with pure fear. It is revealed the Stone King plans to cleanse the earth of all he sees as unworthy, using primordial energies to trigger earthquakes, volcanoes and more that will [[OmnicidalManiac kill every living thing on the planet]] in order to reclaim his lost godhood.
* "Cutting and Culling", from ''The Forensic Files of Franchise/{{Batman}}'', by Creator/DougMoench: [[AdaptationalNameChange Anton]] Zsasz is a sadomasochistic SerialKiller obsessed with pain and blood. A [[AxCrazy maniac]] who has butchered over 60 confirmed victims--with hundreds more implied--Zsasz's method involves torturously suspending his victims in the air for days, then stabbing them to death and [[BloodBath showering in their blood]] before carving a [[KillTally tally mark]] into his body. Having carved a path of death across the country, Zsasz continues his spree in Gotham to claim half a dozen more women before Batman catches him, set to become one of Batman's most depraved villains in the coming future.
* ''[[Characters/HellblazerJohnConstantine John Constantine]], ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}}'' novels by John Shirley:
** ''War Lord'': [[BigBad Dyzigi]], actually the demon G'Broag'Fram, fosters much of the conflict of the Servants of Transfiguration in his bid to cause a global war. Keeping the owner of the body he possesses [[AndIMustScream in constant torment]] within him, Dyzigi orders wide bloodshed and terrorism as one of the heads of the SOT, and furthermore captures and abominates [[MadDoctor Josef Mengele]] into a psychic abomination he keeps in a jar, feeding it with severed heads. Dyzigi initially captures a young woman named Mercury for her psychic powers, [[MindRape tormenting her]] with apocalyptic visions--before deciding to have her killed when she becomes a liability, allowing his compatriot to rape her beforehand before tracking her down when she escapes and massacring an entire camp of Sudanese soldiers. Dyzigi's ultimate goal is to kickstart a [[WorldWarIII third World War]] and devastate the planet, killing billions, all for the prospect of a subrealm as a reward from his master Nergal.
** ''Subterranean'': [[BigBad Iain Culley]], a [[EvilSorcerer centuries-old sorcerer]] known as the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Gloomlord]], captured and tortured a powerful elemental known as Lord Stone to master an underground kingdom. Keeping humans enslaved below ground, used as labor and eventual food when their use runs out, Culley intends on expanding the kingdom. Starting by sinking the village Tonsell-By-The-Sea, Culley reveals he powers his kingdom and fuels his eternal youth by [[HumanResources locking victims in devices that leech off their power and vitality]], [[AndIMustScream keeping them alive and in horrible pain]]. Not content with this kingdom, Culley intends to develop a plague to poison the earth's oceans, killing countless millions while forcing everyone else underground to be his slaves.
* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' trilogy (Del Rey Books):

* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}: Dawnbreaker'', by Matt de la Peña: [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Corey Mankins]] is the heir to the powerful Mankins Corporation, and Dr. Wesley is the company's [[MadScientist lead scientist]]. Though the Mankins Corporation [[VillainWithGoodPublicity seems benevolent]] and seems to be adding to Smallville's economy and performing charitable deeds, Corey Mankins and Dr. Wesley are secretly engaged in sinister deeds. They have been buying farms to collect the kryptonite meteors beneath them. They have also been secretly kidnapping Mexican immigrants and [[PlayingWithSyringes experimenting on them]] with a combination of kryptonite and a steroid called Dawnbreaker. Corey Mankins and Dr. Wesley want to turn their victims into SuperSoldiers so they can sell them to the highest bidder, using drugs and propaganda to break their free will. When Lana Lang confronts Corey Mankins about this, Corey kidnaps her and plans to set off a bomb during a festival at Smallville's town square, willing to kill hundreds to distract authorities from their human experimentation operation.
* ''ComicBook/BlackCanary: Breaking Silence'', by Alexandra Monir: [[VillainousLegacy Chester Cobblepot]] is the nephew of the criminal mastermind [[Characters/BatmanThePenguin the Penguin]] and is even viler than his uncle. Twenty years ago, Cobblepot assisted the Court of Owls in a coup, killing most of the superheroes and transforming Gotham City into a dictatorship, with Cobblepot being made [[MayorPain mayor]] for life. Cobblepot is an [[StrawMisogynist extreme misogynist]], denying women any sort of rights, even making it illegal for women to play music. Cobblepot has anyone who defies the Court of Owls arrested and sent to Arkham Asylum, where they are tortured to death. Cobblepot has several of the corpses displayed in a secret room under Arkham and experiments with the dead bodies, transforming them into the Court of Owls's [[NightOfTheLivingMooks undead soldiers]], the Talons, forcing his dead victims to become instruments of his will.

* ''Literature/TheFurtherAdventuresOfBatman'''s "Bone", by Will Murray: [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker The Joker]] is once again presented as a sadistic SerialKiller. Seemingly wanting to discover Batman's true identity, Joker goes to the house of a millionaire named Archie Bittner, blowing up Bittner's security guard and kidnapping Bittner. Joker takes over the airwaves and [[TearOffYourFace removes Bittner's face]] on live TV, saying he will do this to another person every night till Batman reveals his identity. Joker kidnaps two other people and removes their faces. Joker attempts to do the same thing to Commissioner Gordon, but Batman saves Gordon and drives the Joker off. In the end it is revealed that Joker had no interest in Batman's identity and [[ForTheEvulz went on this killing spree for fun]].

* ''ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}}'' novels (''[[Characters/HellblazerJohnConstantine John Constantine]] Hellblazer'') by John Shirley:

* ''[[Characters/HarleyQuinnAndSupportingCharacters Harley Quinn]]: Mad Love'', by Creator/PaulDini & Pat Cadigan: [[TheDon Bruno Delvecchio]] is a particularly brutal mob boss who helped shape Harleen Quinzel into the supervillain she becomes. After Harleen's father steals from Delvecchio, Delvecchio has him beaten and tortured before leaving him to be locked in prison, after which he kidnaps his daughter Harleen. Delvecchio plans to lure Harleen's mother to him with her fortune, kill the woman, then sell Harleen to a pedophilic criminal, something [[WouldHurtAChild Delvecchio]] reveals he has done before to other children.

Given [[Monster/DCUniverse the source material]], it comes as no surprise that literature based on Franchise/TheDCU feature [[CompleteMonster heinous villains]].\\

* ''Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica--Franchise/{{Batman}}: The Stone King'', by Alan Grant: [[AntagonistTitle The Stone King]] was an ancient shaman from neolithic times who became obsessed with power. Forsaking the ways of his people, the Stone King demanded they worship him as {{a god|Am I}}, [[HumanSacrifice sacrificing]] innocents to his name and even demanding they sacrifice [[WouldHurtAChild children]] to him. After being entombed, his spirit is awakened and goes on a killing spree, even paralyzing members of the League with pure fear. It is revealed the Stone King plans to cleanse the earth of all he sees as unworthy, using primordial energies to trigger earthquakes, volcanoes and more that will [[OmnicidalManiac kill every living thing on the planet]] in order to reclaim his lost godhood.

* ''Harley Quinn: Mad Love'', by Creator/PaulDini & Pat Cadigan: [[TheDon Bruno Delvecchio]] is a particularly brutal mob boss who helped shape Harleen Quinzel into the supervillain she becomes. After Harleen's father steals from Delvecchio, Delvecchio has him beaten and tortured before leaving him to be locked in prison, after which he kidnaps his daughter Harleen. Delvecchio plans to lure Harleen's mother to him with her fortune, kill the woman, then sell Harleen to a pedophilic criminal, something [[WouldHurtAChild Delvecchio]] reveals he has done before to other children.

** [[PsychoPsychologist Jonathan Crane]], aka the [[ScaryScarecrows Scarecrow]], is a fear-loving sadist who becomes one of Sin Tzu's "generals" in his war on Gotham. Locked away in Arkham Asylum for his latest crime of forcing dozens of innocent college students to tear each other apart, Crane escapes Arkham and leads a group of criminals he drives insane to march on Gotham, where Crane sprays countless people with his patented [[SupernaturalFearInducer Fear Gas]], driving them to get into bloodbaths with each other. Spraying and terrorizing Commissioner James Gordon, he [[ForcedToWatch forces Batman to watch]] just because [[KickTheDog the man is Batman's best friend]].

* ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'' by Dennis O'Neil (''Film/BatmanBegins'' & ''Film/TheDarkKnight'') & Greg Cox (''Film/TheDarkKnightRises''): Unlike his more passive film counterpart, the novel version of [[PsychoPsychologist Jonathan Crane]], aka the [[ScaryScarecrows Scarecrow]], is presented as a [[AdaptationalVillainy terror-loving maniac]]. Starting out using several of his students as test subjects, [[DrivenToMadness driving them mad]] in the process, Crane allies with the League of Shadows in the present, creating and supplying them with [[IKnowWhatYouFear Fear Gas]] so as to unleash it onto Gotham and drive the city to tear itself apart. Along the way, Crane performs more experiments in fear on his hapless patients at Arkham, orders the murder of a nosy attorney, and drives his partner, Carmine Falcone, insane to silence him. During the attack on Gotham, Crane led a prison riot, [[CopKiller murdered a police officer]], and tried to run down Rachel Dawes and [[WouldHurtAChild a child]] she is protecting. Crane then becomes a drug dealer and kills a junkie as a test run for a lethal hallucinogen. In his final appearance, Crane takes a spot in Bane's conquered, anarchy-filled Gotham, presiding over a KangarooCourt where everyone from corrupt politicians to innocent people are forced to walk across the icy river of Gotham, invariable leading to their deaths as they break through the ice, much to Crane's delight.

** ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}: The Girl of Steel'': [[Characters/SupermanBrainiac Brainiac]], an evil android that wants to [[GalacticConqueror conquer the universe]], is a [[VileVillainSaccharineShow dark presence in an otherwise lighthearted book]]. Brainiac captures Superman and lures Supergirl to a planet he is slowly cooking with red sun radiation rays. If Supergirl confronts Brainiac in his ship, he plans to capture Supergirl and experiment on her and Superman. If Supergirl frees Brainiac's alien prisoners and lets them bring her to him, Brainiac kills them without a second thought. If Supergirl confronts Brainiac on the planet, Supergirl finds that the population of the planet, a race of sapient rat creatures called Ridents, are being starved due to Brainiac's experiments destroying most of the food and the water on the planet. Brainiac is also capturing some of the Ridents and is using them as [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil slaves]], forcing them to work in a mine and dig up a jewel that could grant him untold power.

*** [[AdaptationalVillainy The Riddler]], threatening to "end Batman", kidnaps Commissioner Gordon and attempts to use a CarBomb to kill him and Batman. Later, Riddler lures Batman to Washington DC, where he kidnaps an actor dressed as Batman and threatens to drop him from a great height if Batman does not reveal his secret identity. But his worst act is luring Batman to a puppet show called ''The Riddle'', held in a children's theater. Riddler sets the theater on fire, willing to let the [[WouldHurtAChild children in the audience die]], just to get the better of Batman.

* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}: The Ultimate Evil'', by Andrew Vachss: [[BigBad William X. Malady]] is the leader of a [[WouldHurtAChild child pornography ring]]. When Thomas and Martha Wayne started investigating his crimes, Malady hires a killer to gun them down, after which he fled the Gotham City. Taking up residence in the foreign country of Udon Khai, Malady immediately installs a private military group that he uses to regularly kidnap innocent children from poor villagers to use them as {{sex slave}}s and selling them to pedophiles all across the world. In order to prevent moles from infiltrating his organization, he has instituted an initiation protocol where, if one wishes to gain access, they must rape a child on film.

** ''Subterranean'': [[BigBad Iain Culley]], a [[EvilSorcerer centuries-old sorcerer]] known as the [[NamesToRunAwayFrom Gloomlord]], captured and tortured a powerful elemental known as Lord Stone to master an underground kingdom. Keeping humans enslaved below ground, used as labor and eventual food when their use runs out, Culley intends on expanding the kingdom. Starting by sinking the village Tonsell-By-The-Sea, Culley reveals he powers his kingdom and fuels his eternal youth by [[HumanResources locking victims in devices that leech off their power and vitality]], [[AndIMustScream keeping them alive and in horrible pain]]. Not content with this kingdom, Culley intends to develop a plague to poison the earth's oceans, killing countless millions while forcing everyone else underground to be his slaves.

* ''Film/{{Constantine}}'', by John Shirley: [[AdaptationalVillainy Mammon]], [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils son of Satan]], decides to kick-start [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the apocalypse]] and bring HellOnEarth. To do so, he takes possession of the scavenger Francesco, corrupts him with false promises of power and luxury, and drives him into a killing spree, claiming the life of ten people. He also sends assassins after Constantine and his allies. Abducting the psychic Angela Dodson, Mammon attempts to break her will by forcing her to watch human misery and crimes, and when this fails, offers her to be [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raped]] by Francesco. Eventually to rise on Earth, he takes possession of her body and attempts to have her sacrificed by his accomplice Gabriel.

** [[PsychoPsychologist Jonathan Crane]], ComicBook/TheScarecrow, is a fear-loving sadist who becomes one of Sin Tzu's "generals" in his war on Gotham. Locked away in Arkham Asylum for his latest crime of forcing dozens of innocent college students to tear each other apart, Crane escapes Arkham and leads a group of criminals he drives insane to march on Gotham, where Crane sprays countless people with his patented [[IKnowWhatYouFear Fear Gas]], driving them to get into bloodbaths with each other. Spraying and terrorizing Commissioner James Gordon, he [[ForcedToWatch forces Batman to watch]] just because [[KickTheDog the man is Batman's best friend]].

* ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'' by Dennis O'Neil (''Film/BatmanBegins'' & ''Film/TheDarkKnight'') & Greg Cox (''Film/TheDarkKnightRises''): Unlike his more passive film counterpart, the novel version of [[PsychoPsychologist Dr. Jonathan Crane]], ComicBook/TheScarecrow, is presented as a [[AdaptationalVillainy terror-loving maniac]]. Starting out using several of his students as test subjects, [[DrivenToMadness driving them mad]] in the process, Crane allies with the League of Shadows in the present, creating and supplying them with [[IKnowWhatYouFear Fear Gas]] so as to unleash it onto Gotham and drive the city to tear itself apart. Along the way, Crane performs more experiments in fear on his hapless patients at Arkham, orders the murder of a nosy attorney, and drives his partner, Carmine Falcone, insane to silence him. During the attack on Gotham, Crane led a prison riot, [[CopKiller murdered a police officer]], and tried to run down Rachel Dawes and [[WouldHurtAChild a child]] she is protecting. Crane then becomes a drug dealer and kills a junkie as a test run for a lethal hallucinogen. In his final appearance, Crane takes a spot in Bane's conquered, anarchy-filled Gotham, presiding over a KangarooCourt where everyone from corrupt politicians to innocent people are forced to walk across the icy river of Gotham, invariable leading to their deaths as they break through the ice, much to Crane's delight.
* ''Film/SupermanReturns'', by Creator/MarvWolfman: ComicBook/LexLuthor is [[AdaptationalVillainy a far more serious, depraved threat]] than in the film. Locked in prison after various crimes against humanity, notably attempting to assassinate the President of the United States and [[Film/SupermanTheMovie nearly wiping California and millions of lives off the map]] just for greed, Luthor escapes confinement and ruins an elderly woman's life before conning her out of her fortune. With his newfound resources, Luthor gets his hands on Krypton crystals, testing them out and causing citywide chaos throughout Metropolis that he giddily enjoys. Ultimately planning to use the crystals to form a new island that will never cease to grow, Luthor proudly brags that billions will die as his "new continent" overtakes and destroys entire countries, remarking that the countless lives lost deserve their fate for not appreciating his genius. Luthor hates Superman with such vitriol that he tries to murder Lois Lane and her [[WouldHurtAChild five-year-old son]] just to spite the hero, and, after depowering Superman, Luthor spends several minutes [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown brutally torturing and beating him to a bloody, broken pulp]], taking sick pleasure out of his coming triumph.

** ''[[{{ComicBook/Supergirl}} Supergirl]]: The Girl of Steel'': [[{{ComicBook/Brainiac}} Brainiac]], an evil android that wants to [[GalacticConqueror conquer the universe]], is a [[VileVillainSaccharineShow dark presence in an otherwise lighthearted book]]. Brainiac captures Superman and lures Supergirl to a planet he is slowly cooking with red sun radiation rays. If Supergirl confronts Brainiac in his ship, he plans to capture Supergirl and experiment on her and Superman. If Supergirl frees Brainiac's alien prisoners and lets them bring her to him, Brainiac kills them without a second thought. If Supergirl confronts Brainiac on the planet, Supergirl finds that the population of the planet, a race of sapient rat creatures called Ridents, are being starved due to Brainiac's experiments destroying most of the food and the water on the planet. Brainiac is also capturing some of the Ridents and is using them as [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil slaves]], forcing them to work in a mine and dig up a jewel that could grant him untold power.

*** ComicBook/TheJoker is as deadly as ever. In one story path, Joker sends Batman threatening messages through the Gotham Gazette newspaper, announcing his intentions to kill Batman and destroy Gotham City, by killing half the city's population. Joker attempts this by delivering enough poison to the citizens of Gotham City, either by dumping chemicals into the city's [[WaterSourceTampering water supply]]; adding poison to the Gotham gas line; or using planes to spread poison across Gotham City.
*** ComicBook/TheRiddler is [[AdaptationalVillainy more sinister than usual]]. Threatening to "end Batman", Riddler kidnaps Commissioner Gordon and attempts to use a CarBomb to kill him and Batman. Later, Riddler lures Batman to Washington DC, where he kidnaps an actor dressed as Batman and threatens to drop him from a great height if Batman does not reveal his secret identity. But his worst act is luring Batman to a puppet show called ''The Riddle'', held in a children's theater. Riddler sets the theater on fire, willing to let the [[WouldHurtAChild children in the audience die]], just to get the better of Batman.
* ''Literature/TheFurtherAdventuresOfBatman'''s "Bone", by Will Murray: ComicBook/TheJoker is once again presented as a sadistic SerialKiller. Seemingly wanting to discover Batman's true identity, Joker goes to the house of a millionaire named Archie Bittner, blowing up Bittner's security guard and kidnapping Bittner. Joker takes over the airwaves and [[TearOffYourFace removes Bittner's face]] on live TV, saying he will do this to another person every night till Batman reveals his identity. Joker kidnaps two other people and removes their faces. Joker attempts to do the same thing to Commissioner Gordon, but Batman saves Gordon and drives the Joker off. In the end it is revealed that Joker had no interest in Batman's identity and [[ForTheEvulz went on this killing spree for fun]].
* ''The Franchise/{{Batman}} Murders'', by Craig Shaw Gardner: ComicBook/TheJoker is once again Batman's ArchEnemy and a cruel psychopath. Joker has been kidnapping civilians and has a scientist [[ColdBloodedTorture torture]] and [[BrainwashedAndCrazy brainwash]] them until they think they are Batman. Joker than has the fake Batmen try to stop a robbery and die in the process and is keeping several of his victims imprisoned in a makeshift prison until he is ready to use them. Joker also sets up a cult to help generate money, with the cult [[MindRape psychologically torturing]] its members until they become mind-warped zombies. Joker, growing bored, decides to turn people into Jokers, transforming some of his goons into Jokers. After failing to capture Commissioner Gordon, Joker captures Dick Grayson, transforms him into a Joker, and has him fight Batman.

* ''ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}}'' novels (''ComicBook/JohnConstantine Hellblazer'') by John Shirley:

*** ComicBook/TheJoker himself gets busy to a new crime spree the instant he's free from Arkham Asylum, previously guilty of having starved over forty people to death after experimenting on them with Joker Juice and establishing himself again by raiding the Batcave and leaving Alfred in a rigged DeathTrap for Batman to find. Dressing up as Batman, the Joker goes for a "joy ride" while running down people in the Batmobile; sets up an ambush whereupon he has almost every officer on the scene killed [[ForTheEvulz for a giggle]]; kills and poses the bodies of five goons harassing a waitress, before driving the woman to broken catatonia for a giggle anyways; and attempts to [[WouldHurtAChild toss a young child off a building]] in front of Batman. Even casually shrugging off the unintentional massacre of an entire family by one of his goons who mistakes his order, Joker ultimately attempts to hijack the late Enfer's scheme by instead employing the Krawlors to gas all of Gotham with his [[DeadlyGas Joker Venom]].

* ''Literature/TheFurtherAdventuresOfBatman'': In the story "Bone", by Will Murray, ComicBook/TheJoker is once again presented as a sadistic SerialKiller. Seemingly wanting to discover Batman's true identity, Joker goes to the house of a millionaire named Archie Bittner, blowing up Bittner's security guard and kidnapping Bittner. Joker takes over the airwaves and [[TearOffYourFace removes Bittner's face]] on live TV, saying he will do this to another person every night till Batman reveals his identity. Joker kidnaps two other people and removes their faces. Joker attempts to do the same thing to Commissioner Gordon, but Batman saves Gordon and drives the Joker off. In the end it is revealed that Joker had no interest in Batman's identity and [[ForTheEvulz went on this killing spree for fun]].

* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}: Dawnbreaker'', by Matt de la Peña: [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Corey Mankins]] is the heir to the powerful Mankins Corporation, and Dr. Wesley is the company's [[MadScientist lead scientist]]. Though the Mankins Corporation [[VillainWithGoodPublicity seems benevolent]] and seems to be adding to Smallville's economy and performing charitable deeds, Corey Mankins and Dr. Wesley are secretly engaged in sinister deeds. They have been buying farms to collect the kryptonite meteors beneath them. They have also been secretly kidnapping Mexican immigrants and [[PlayingWithSyringes experimenting on them]] with a combination of kryptonite and a steroid called Dawnbreaker. Corey Mankins and Dr. Wesley want to turn their victims into SuperSoldiers so they can sell them to the highest bidder, using drugs and propaganda to break their free will. When Lana Lang confronts Corey Mankins about this, Corey kidnaps her and plans to set off a bomb during a festival at Smallville's town square, willing to kill hundreds to distract authorities from their human experimentation operation.