This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Working Title: Hire Villains To Beat The Heroes: From YKTTW
Regarding the Batman The Animated Series example: Uh . . . huh? Pretty sure I don't remember Gordon hiring Bane. (And if the editor meant Thorne, that's not really an example of this trope.)
Not sure if the examples in early Spider-Man of J. Jonah Jameson repeatedly funding the creation of supervillains to beat up the titular hero count here. While he (claims he) saw himself as a solid citizen in a position of authority doing his civic duty, he wasn't specifically trying to make supervillains; he apparently thought that giving anybody who would take money to beat up Spider-Man superpowers would naturally make them a paragon of virtue.
