Starter Villain / Comic Books

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:
  • In the original series, the Shredder was a starter villain, getting himself killed rather humiliatingly at the end of the very first issue. A colony of intelligent worms would later assume the mantle of the Shredder, but even they only appeared in a few issues and played a fairly minor role in the comics' plot. However, due to his status as the first villain the Turtles fought and his It's Personal ties to their backstory, all subsequent versions (namely all four cartoon series and the first two movies) went and made him the long-running Big Bad.
  • Old Hob and his gang serve this role in the IDW TMNT series. A cat mutated in the same incident that created the protagonists, he serves as a personal menace to the Turtles for their early days, but was little more than an aggressive thug hired by a significantly more dangerous villain. At least, he was at first...
• Scott Pilgrim: Matthew Patel is the first Evil Ex-Boyfriend of Ramona that Scott encounters. He's mostly the equivalent of a Warm-Up Boss (something that is also very much the case in the video game), because while he's the first obstacle he's a kind of pathetic manchild who nobody really cares about or considers threatening, despite having some magic powers. Scott defeats him in their first encounter using nothing more than brawling ability, whereas with every one of the other exes Scott will either need multiple encounters with them or some sort of trick or power-up before he can prevail against them. In the movie, he has the lowest point value of any opponent short of out-and-out mooks.
• X-Men: In Grant Morrison's New X-Men, John Sublime fits this, despite being the second Arc Villain rather than the first. He's the least-powerful (a non-powered Corrupt Corporate Executive), has the least far-reaching scheme (selling mutant organs on the black market) and is defeated in the shortest amount of time (three issues) of all the major villains in the series, and he and his henchmen pretty much exist for the main characters to demonstrate their powers on. As well, the first Arc Villain, Cassandra Nova, actually wins in that arc (though neither the readers nor the characters know it at the time) and has to be brought down in a later one. This, of course, makes it a particularly effective twist when the final arc reveals Sublime to have been the Big Bad behind everything, and possibly, with a bit of Alternate Character Interpretation, the Greater-Scope Villain behind everything bad that had ever happened in any X-Men comic ever.
• Batman: Batman usually starts in adaptations and reboots by butting heads with the Gotham mob bosses or the corrupt police force which is (minus Jim Gordon) more than happy to blame all of the city's troubles on him. As Batman takes them down, maniacal super villains like The Joker then step up to the plate. The actual first villain Batman faced in his very first issue was crooked chemical baron Alfred Stryker, who fits this trope as he is non-powered, out of shape, and dead by the end of the issue. His first supervillain arrived a few issues later, in the form of Doctor Death.
• Captain America: In Captain America's first Golden Age appearance, he battled Heinz Kruger, the Nazi spy who had murdered the scientist who gave him his powers. In a later story in the same issue, he faced his first supervillain in the form of Allied traitor George Maxon, alias the Red Skull, who would, of course, be revealed in time to be merely a decoy for the REAL Skull, top-ranked Nazi Johann Schmidt.
• The Incredible Hulk: The Hulk's starter villain was The Gargoyle, the spy who arranged the sabotage of the gamma bomb test that turned Bruce Banner into the Hulk.
• Iron Man: Iron Man's starter villain was the Vietnamese warlord Wong-Chu, who captured Tony and attempted to force him to develop weapons for him. It backfired.
• Tintin: Tintin has many, depending on the adventure. A few that come to mind are the fakir in the Indian portion of Cigars of the Pharaoh, Mitsuhirato in The Blue Lotus, Puschov in The Black Island, or Bab el-Ehr in Land of Black Gold and The Red Sea Sharks.
• Fantastic Four:
  • The titular team fight the Mole Man in the first issue before encountering their Big Bads Namor and Doctor Doom. Naturally, due to the nature of comic books, they proceeded to encounter Mole Man many times afterwards.
  • Subverted in the stand-alone Fantastic Four: Season One graphic novel, wherein Mole Man shows up as a threat- and is then promptly, almost immediately defused by Sue Storm's gentle reassurance that he doesn't have to live the way he does. After that point, he becomes the team's ally, eager to use his scientific genius in helpful ways and in a special darkened lab.
• Daredevil: Daredevil starts off battling the Fixer, the gangster responsible for the death of his father. He doesn't survive the issue.
• Ms. Marvel: In Ms. Marvel (2014), the first enemy Kamala faces is The Inventor.
• Superman:
  • Superman's first foe was Bea Carroll, a murderess who framed one of her rivals. She's taken care of less than halfway through Superman #1.
  • Supergirl's first enemy were the Dales, a couple of swindlers who sold a so-called "power tonic" which supposedly granted Super-Strength in Action Comics #254. Supergirl quickly -and stealthily- destroys their racket and ensures their victims get their money back. Kara would fight crooks, swindlers and bullies for several issues until The Unknown Supergirl introduced her first real villain.
• 100 Bullets: The first antagonists to appear are Officers Swirski and Morgan, a pair of Dirty Cops who wanted in on a Latino gang's heroin racket. When the gang leader refused, as he had been trying to go straight to support his son, the pair murdered him and his son too. Their luck runs out at the hands of Isabelle "Dizzy" Cordova, the dead man's vengeful widow, with a little help from Agent Graves and the titular hundred untraceable bullets; the two officers' ultimate role in the plot is to introduce this element and these two characters.
• Spider-Man:
  • The starter villain was Uncle Ben's killer, and The Reveal that he's the same robber who Spidey let off earlier ties into the moral of the story. His first supervillain threat is the Chameleon, a character who would go on to be a regular member of his rogues gallery. The Vulture was the second villain he fought, but the first to re-appear.
  • His Ultimate counterpart starts off fighting the Enforcers and Electro, all of whom are working for Wilson Fisk.
• Man-Thing: Ellen Brandt, Ted Sallis's conniving ex-lover. Brandt's betrayal of Sallis to steal his prototype Super Serum led to her mark transforming into the titular Swamp Monster. She survived, but was left disfigured by his infamous touch, and depending on the continuity, either sought to atone for her evil deeds or became an even worse villain.
• The Flash: Back in his solo days at Quality Comics, DC speedster Max Mercury (then called "Quicksilver")'s first one was von Lohfer, a Mad Scientist who mind controlled the local police department to destroy an industrialist who called him a fake in a Noodle Incident. Given his diminutive stature and Non-Action Guy status, Max made short work of him.
• Martian Manhunter: Interestingly, the debut story has No Antagonist. The main conflict is that J'onn J'onnz is trapped on Earth by the well intentioned scientist Saul Erdel, who dies of a heart attack shortly after. J'onn then impersonates a human police detective and most of the ensuing cases are with nondescript mobsters who the Martian plows through. The first crook who actually posed a threat to him was Alex Dunster, a thief who used a teleportation machine to steal technology from other planets.
• The Invisible Terror: We first see the Invisible Terror battling De Pix, an international criminal out to get the formula that gives the Terror his powers. He's arrested at the end, and taken to serve a life sentence.
• Kismet: Man of Fate: The first foe we see is Colonel Freydrich, a Nazi official so cruel he's called "the Headsman." He doesn't even survive halfway through the issue.
• Pat Patriot: America's Joan of Arc: We first see Pat fighting an unnamed factory foreman who fired her for protesting harsh working conditions and is running a smuggling operation for the Nazis. He's taken down in the first issue and presumably never leaves prison.
• K-Bar Kate: The first Big Bad Duumvirate are Shorne and Hinson, who are plotting to divert water away from the Slocum ranch to Shorne's.
• All-Star Squadron: Obscure DC hero Air Wave had as his first foe Snake Scalotti, a local crime boss whom the DA was having difficulty gathering evidence on. He's taken to prison at the end of the first issue and never seen again.
• The Atom:
  • Al Pratt's was an unnamed crime boss who held his girlfriend as ransom against her rich father. He's clobbered and arrested at the end of his first appearance.
  • Ray Palmer had Carl Ballard, who captured a tiny, teleporting alien and forced him to rob banks, being arrested at the end of the issue.
• The Sandman: The Wesley Dodds version had Boris Leland, a spy who stole plans for a device Wesley was planning to show at the New York World's Fair. He's taken to prison by the end of the first issue.
• Golden Age DC hero the Gay Ghost's first foe was the unnamed leader of a group of footpads who tried to rob the Ghost in life. He manages to kill our hero and is defeated by a minor character.
• Gunsmoke: The first foe we see is Ringo Moody, a cattle rustler and gambler trying to force a rancher to give him his property. He's gunned down within eight pages of his introduction.
• Yellowjacket: The first foe we see is Jake Mallon, a jewel thief who chased a girl into Vince's house.
• Typhon: The first foe we see is an unnamed ruler of an undersea kingdom who's fond of doing a Forced Transformation to anybody who opposes him. He's rendered into a Living Statue by the end of the issue.
• The Wraith has Silky Weaver, the gang leader who killed the Kennedy brothers and is killed halfway through the first story.
• The first foe of The Green Knight was an unnamed vampire whom Knight saved Lance from, and who's burned alive by issue's end.
• The Steel Fist had Ludlow, the Nazi saboteur who mutilated Tim's hand and is arrested by issue's end.
• The Blue Streak had Scarface, the criminal who killed Jim's brother and is taken out in the first issue.
• The Wasp (Lev Gleason): The Wasp is first seen fighting B-8, a foreign spy trying to steal the military's plans for a stealth plane. He's arrested by issue's end.
• The Eye Sees: We first encounter the Eye fighting Islam Herat, a Corrupt Corporate Executive who stole a giant Middle Eastern trade empire and is arrested by issue's end.
• The Lone Warrior: Herr Kampf, a Nazi spy sent to sabotage the Army base Stan has been stationed in. He causes some damage, but is clearly subordinate to spymaster the Dictator's Shadow and is imprisoned by issue's end, never to be heard from again.
• Mother Hubbard: An unnamed Nazi agent who's sent to torture the formula for a flame gun from its inventor. He's blown up at the end of the first issue.
• The Crusader: Carl Meyer, a Nazi spy masquerading as a ghost to hide his experiments and secure ownership of his base of operations. He's arrested, presumed to be executed later, by the end of the issue.
• Ace McCoy: Captain von Hartmann, the leader of a Nazi shipwrecking operation. He's a formidable threat, but is killed in a U-boat crash at the end of the first issue.
• Ace Powers: Heat Devron, a gangster who robbed a payroll and was working on betraying his gang in order to take all the money for himself. He's arrested at the end of the issue, and never returns.
• Ace of Space: The Slogons, a group of aliens who killed Ace's predecessor and are invading Earth co conquer it. Their fleet is destroyed and they are killed by the end of the first issue.
• The Black Spider: Sol Risko, a crime boss who masterminded a scheme to have the evidence needed to convict him stolen from the DA. His scheme fails, and he's convicted by the end of the issue.
• Captain Flash: The Iron Mask, a megalomaniac who played Criminal Mind Games with the scientists of Atom City under the threat of a hydrogen bomb destroying the city and is knocked out a several-story video at the end of the issue. He's an interesting case, as he's the villain of the second story, but he still qualifies as the first one has No Antagonist.
• The Mad Hatter: Jim Murray, the secret crime boss of the whole city, who spends the first story pursuing a witness who knows his true identity and is arrested at the end of the issue.
• The Masked Marvel: Reno, a ranch foreman and secret cattle rustler who framed one side of a family feud for another side's murder so he could use the distraction to make a killing. He's gunned down at the end of the issue.
• Tomboy (Sterling): The Claw, an escaped crime boss who intends to bomb the docks and use the distraction to rob a museum. He's killed in a plane crash at the end of the issue.
• Adam Strange: The Eternals, a race of aliens who attacked Rann for a rare mineral soon after Adam first teleported there, and are trapped in the Fourth Dimension at the end of the issue.
• Animal Man: An unnamed alien who has similar powers to Buddy and used them to go on a rampage in a small town, only to plummet off a cliff at the end of the issue.
• Aquaman: An unnamed Nazi commander who sent U-boats after civilians, and is killed via grenade at the end of the issue.
• Buckskin: America's Defender of Liberty: Jarg Marsool, a Nazi spymaster who wants to destroy a plane factory and is blown up at the end of the issue.
• Stardust the Super Wizard: The unnamed leaders of a Nazi spy ring who try to destroy the US government upon learning of Stardust coming to Earth. They're arrested at the end of the issue after being forced to look at the skeletons of their victims.
• Aztek: Piper, AKA the real Curtis Falconer, who is forced to commit a robbery to save his daughter and is killed in an explosion at the end of the first issue, but not before tasking Aztek with protecting his daughter.
• Black Lightning: Joey Toledo, an agent of the 100 who pushes drugs at the hogh school Jefferson Pierce works at. He lasts all of two issues before getting killed.
• Blackhawk: Captain von Tepp, a Nazi officer terrorizing Poland, who killed Blackhawk's siblings and inspired him to take up a quest for vengeance before being gunned down at the end of his issue.
• Blue Beetle:
  • The Fox Comics edition of Dan Garret (where he was a cop who got superpowers from a fictional vitamin) has the White Face, a gang leader who kidnapped a banker (and disappointingly, did not actually wear whiteface; he instead had a white handkerchief covering his lower face). The Charlton reboot has Kha-Ef-Re, a giant undead mummy who menaced the now-archaeologist Dan Garrett before he found the scarab that gave him his powers.
  • Ted Kord had his uncle, Jarvis Kord, who tricked him into helping build a series of robots to Take Over the World. Ted brought his friend Dan Garrett over to help stop him, but Dan and Jarvis both died in the ensuing battle, leaving Ted to take over the Blue Beetle title.
  • Jaime Reyes was introduced during the Infinite Crisis event, so the first villain he faced was Brother Eye. His first solo villains were thugs working for La Dama.
• Green Lantern:
  • Alan Scott had Albert Dekker, a corrupt businessman who destroyed a railroad after losing a contract and died of a heart attack when Scott showed up to seek vengeance.
  • Hal Jordan has a group of unnamed saboteurs attempting to destroy an experimental plane, who get arrested at issue's end.
• Green Arrow: Ezra Samson, a Serial Killer targeting members of a historical society, and who dies in a car crash by first issue's end.
• Enemy Ace: A group of unidentified pilots trying to down a zeppelin. Hans manages to shoot down two of them, but one does a kamikaze run into the blimp.
• Jonah Hex: Big Jim, an outlaw terrorizing a town's residents away so he can sell their land, and is killed by throwing knife by issue's end.
• Justice Society of America: Fritz Klaver, a Nazi spymaster plotting to subvert various elements of the US war effort, and is captured by the end of his issue.
• Justice League of America: The JLA first banded together to fight the invasion of the Appellaxians, an alien race of various bizarre types who sent several warriors themed after elements to Earth; whoever conquered the planet first would win the right to rule Appellax. Ultimately, the heroes who fought off some of the Appellaxians themselves teamed up to fight more of them together, forming the Justice League of America. However, thanks to the first published story (which was not the League's origin story in-universe) having the League battling Starro, and the relative few appearances by the Appellaxians in comparison, they're often forgotten and Starro is mistakenly attributed as being the League's first foe. (It doesn't help that various media adaptations and comics reboots have replaced the Appellaxians outright with other, more formidable foes, like Comic Book/Darkseid or the Imperium.)
• Justice League International: John Charles Collins, a terrorist leading an attack on the United Nations, who kills himself upon being thwarted in the first issue.
• Judge Dredd: Dredd has two characters who could be considered this. The first being Randolph Whitley, the first criminal he encountered in the comics. Whitley killed and impersonated a Judge before being arrested, initially nothing special, later stories would Retcon him as a bigger deal, as someone who could escape from the harshest prisons. Second would be Call-Me-Kenneth, a construction robot who led a robotic revolt against humankind and was the first arc villain. Dredd short-circuited and destroyed him at the end of the arc. He managed to returns a couple times until he was Killed Off for Real after his attempt to hijack an oil tanker ended with him blown to pieces along with the ship.
• Mr. Miracle (Holyoke): Sango, a foreign agent plotting to steal the powerful Mind-Ray for his own country. However, he has the bad luck of stealing it right after Miracle is empowered by it, and is promptly thwarted and left for the police by issue's end.
• The Cavalier: Felice Long, who murdered her father figure to cover up forgery and is arrested by issue's end.
• Blacksad: Ivo Statoc is the first villain that John Blacksad faces in the series, being responsible for murdering the woman he once loved. However, while Statoc is a Corrupt Corporate Executive whose vast resources could be a recurring problem for John, he is killed during their first and only meeting in a revengeous Vigilante Execution.
• Usagi Yojimbo: Lord Hikiji is an interesting example, as he has yet to be properly defeated despite ending up a starter villain. The inciting incident of the comic is him killing Usagi's Lord Mifune in battle, and he's set up as the Big Bad from the outset. But as the comic went on and the story's focus shifted elsewhere, his role greatly diminished, though he never exactly left the story. Instead Hikiji settled into the role of a Greater-Scope Villain while Usagi frequently crosses paths with or foils the plans of Hikiji's various allies and pawns.

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