History Monster / DCAnimation

* [[Characters/TeenTitans2003Slade Slade]] was a manipulative [[DiabolicalMastermind mastermind]] who sought an apprentice he could mold into being just as cruel and ruthless as him. First targeting [[Characters/TeenTitans2003Robin Robin]], Slade tested him with various schemes before infecting Robin's friends with [[{{Nanomachines}} nanobots]] that would destroy them from the inside out should Robin not follow Slade's every command. When his plans for Robin were thwarted, Slade switched to [[Characters/TeenTitans2003Terra Terra]], taking advantage of her as an outcast with uncontrollable powers. Slade got her into the Titans' ranks to betray and finally try to kill them. When Terra retreats after being overwhelmed, Slade [[WouldHitAGirl physically abuses her]] for defying his orders. When Terra tries to quit her apprenticeship, Slade reveals that the suit he gave her to enhance her powers also gave him complete control over her body and vowed to never let her go. Though dying when Terra rebels, he is eventually resurrected by Trigon to act as an aide in exchange for getting his soul back. Slade took a vicious pleasure stoking the ensuing apocalypse, [[MindRape mind raping]] Raven with visions of her destiny and selling out all of humanity to Trigon. Even when Slade rebels against Trigon, it is solely because he refused to honor their bargain.
* [[BigRedDevil Trigon the Terrible]] fathered [[Characters/TeenTitans2003Raven Raven]] solely to have a human portal into the mortal realm, invade Earth, and destroy all life on it as he did Raven's homeworld of Azarath. Despite Raven's attempts to repress her powers and emotions to avoid this fate, [[ArchnemesisDad Trigon]] haunts her in visions, [[AbusiveParents emotionally abusing her]] in cruel attempts to break her will. Resurrecting Slade to serve as a proxy for his conquest, Trigon ultimately betrays Slade because he manipulated Raven into submitting willingly, incinerating him on the spot. His arrival heralds a HellOnEarth with human life petrified and desolation amok, and Trigon plots to [[OmnicidalManiac expand his destructive campaign to the rest of the universe]]. A conqueror and devil in one, Trigon torments the Titans with their dark sides for his own amusement and openly deems his daughter worthless.

Examples relating to video games can be found [[Monster/DCVideoGames here]].

* [[Characters/TeenTitans2003Slade Slade]] was a manipulative [[DiabolicalMastermind mastermind]] who sought an apprentice he could mold into being just as cruel and ruthless as him. First targeting Robin, Slade tested him with various schemes before infecting Robin's friends with [[{{Nanomachines}} nanobots]] that would destroy them from the inside out should Robin not follow Slade's every command. When his plans for Robin were thwarted, Slade switched to Terra, taking advantage of her as an outcast with uncontrollable powers. Slade got her into the Titans' ranks to betray and finally try to kill them. When Terra retreats after being overwhelmed, Slade [[WouldHitAGirl physically abuses her]] for defying his orders. When Terra tries to quit her apprenticeship, Slade reveals that the suit he gave her to enhance her powers also gave him complete control over her body and vowed to never let her go. Though dying when Terra rebels, he is eventually resurrected by Trigon to act as an aide in exchange for getting his soul back. Slade took a vicious pleasure stoking the ensuing apocalypse, [[MindRape mind raping]] Raven with visions of her destiny and selling out all of humanity to Trigon. Even when Slade rebels against Trigon, it is solely because he refused to honor their bargain.
* [[BigRedDevil Trigon the Terrible]] fathered Raven solely to have a human portal into the mortal realm, invade Earth, and destroy all life on it as he did Raven's homeworld of Azarath. Despite Raven's attempts to repress her powers and emotions to avoid this fate, [[ArchnemesisDad Trigon]] haunts her in visions, [[AbusiveParents emotionally abusing her]] in cruel attempts to break her will. Resurrecting Slade to serve as a proxy for his conquest, Trigon ultimately betrays Slade because he manipulated Raven into submitting willingly, incinerating him on the spot. His arrival heralds a HellOnEarth with human life petrified and desolation amok, and Trigon plots to [[OmnicidalManiac expand his destructive campaign to the rest of the universe]]. A conqueror and devil in one, Trigon torments the Titans with their dark sides for his own amusement and openly deems his daughter worthless.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Vixen}}'': [[ScaryBlackMan Benatu Eshu]] is a ruthless Zambesi warlord and season 2's BigBad. Desiring the Totems of Zambesi, Eshu led a raid on [[TheHero Mari]]'s village when she was an infant, massacring scores of innocents, upon learning that the village possessed the Anansi Amulet; among those killed was [[YouKilledMyFather Mari's father]], who Eshu callously executed when he attempted to stand against the [[AxCrazy madman]]. In the present, Eshu arrives in Detroit under the guise of an ambassador and continues his quests to find the Totems. To achieve his goals, Eshu bribes a thief into stealing the Fire Totem for him, then [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness promptly kills the man once he's no longer of any use]]. With the Fire Totem in his possession, Eshu attempts to kill Mari to steal the Anansi Amulet. Failing in this, Eshu goes on a city-wide rampage in a fit of homicidal rage, [[PlayingWithFire burning down]] a massive portion of Detroit in an effort to draw Mari out. When Mari and her allies attempt to stop him, Eshu incinerates Mari's sister Kuasa right before her eyes before trying to kill Mari herself. Even when [[BroughtDownToBadass he is stripped of the power of the Fire Totem]], Eshu continues his attempt to murder Mari in order to steal her amulet and harness its powers for his own purposes.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Vixen}}'': [[ScaryBlackMan Benatu Eshu]] is a ruthless Zambesi warlord and season 2's BigBad. Desiring the Totems of Zambesi, Eshu led a raid on [[TheHero Mari]]'s village when she was an infant, massacring scores of innocents, upon learning that the village possessed the Anansi Amulet; among those killed was [[YouKilledMyFather Mari's father]], who Eshu callously executed when he attempted to stand against the [[AxCrazy madman]]. In the present, Eshu arrives in Detroit under the guise of an ambassador and continues his quests to find the totems. To achieve his goals, Eshu bribes a thief into stealing the Fire Totem for him, then [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness promptly kills the man once he's no longer of any use]]. With the Fire Totem in his possession, Eshu attempts to kill Mari to steal the Anansi Amulet. Failing in this, Eshu goes on a city-wide rampage in a fit of homicidal rage, [[PlayingWithFire burning down]] a massive portion of Detroit in an effort to draw Mari out. When Mari and her allies attempt to stop him, Eshu incinerates Mari's sister Kuasa right before her eyes before trying to kill Mari herself. Even when [[BroughtDownToBadass he is stripped of the power of the Fire Totem]], Eshu continues his attempt to murder Mari in order to steal her amulet and harness its powers for his own purposes.

** [[Characters/DCAUJoker The Joker]] is Batman's ArchEnemy. Before becoming a MonsterClown, the Joker was a mobster and hitman who murdered Andrea Beaumont's father, Carl, over money owed to the latter's employers; a murder he committed even after the debt was repaid. This set in motion Andrea becoming the supervillain [[WesternAnimation/BatmanMaskofthePhantasm Phantasm]] and took away Batman's one chance of a normal, happy life. Following his transformation into the utterly psychotic Joker, he now commits crimes more often for fun than he does for any profit. Samples of his crimes include repeatedly abusing his girlfriend Harley Quinn; trying to bomb a child's birthday party; setting up Catwoman to go through a grinder; psychologically tormenting Charles "Charlie" Collins for two years, before using him in a scheme to blow up much if not all of the entire Gotham Police Department, which would kill Charlie as well; murdering countless people with Joker venom; [[Recap/JusticeLeagueS2E21And22WildCards using Ace]] in an attempt to drive 70 million people insane; attempting to nuke Gotham City; and going on a rampage with a KillSat. Perhaps his [[WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyondReturnOfTheJoker most infamous crime]] was when he brutally tortured Tim Drake into insanity and implanted a microchip in the child so that the Joker could take over Tim's body and perform a PostMortemComeback.

*** This top threat of the entire DCAU is the [[PlanetBaron tyrannical ruler]] of the [[CrapsackWorld wasteland planet Apokolips]], and ultimately desires [[GalacticConqueror total dominion over all life in the universe]]. To achieve this end, he forever seeks the cosmic power of the Anti-Life Equation to use as the ultimate weapon. Incapable of love or empathy, [[AbusiveParents he abused his loyal son Kalibak]], handed over his adopted son Scott Free to be tortured and brainwashed by Granny Goodness, and attempted to [[OffingTheOffspring murder his other son]], Orion, for opposing him. His [[BadBoss servants are likewise subjected to torture or death]] should they fail or even question him. Setting his sights on conquering Earth, Darkseid launched a full-scale invasion, only relenting when the planet was declared off-limits by Apokolips's sister planet, New Genesis. To compensate, Darkseid [[KickTheDog murdered Dan Turpin solely to spite Superman]]. He would make numerous more attempts to conquer or annihilate the planet, including attempting to destroy it with a comet and brainwashing Superman into leading an attack on his adopted world. These events led to [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil Superman being taken advantage by Darkseid's Female Furies while in his altered state of mind]], and eventually turned Superman into a pariah for years. He later attempted to use Brainiac's programming to collect the Anti-Life Equation, planning to destroy the entire universe and recreate it in his own image, leading to his death in a battle with Superman. [[BackFromTheDead Upon his resurrection]], Darkseid immediately launched another invasion on Earth, not out of a desire for power, but solely to make Superman suffer. Ruthless and tyrannical, Darkseid is Superman's greatest enemy, and [[BatmanGrabsAGun one of the few villains he has outright tried to kill]].

* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueTheNewFrontier'': [[GeniusLoci The Centre]] is a malevolent EldritchAbomination and one of the first living beings to emerge from the Earth. Growing to fear the danger humanity presents to it in the wake of the atomic bomb, the Centre decides that [[KillAllHumans they must be "cleansed" from the planet]] and begins reaching out with its PsychicPowers, radicalizing numerous innocents into crazed murderers or doomsday cults who worship the Centre and sacrifice children to the monstrosity. Upon finally revealing itself to the world, the Centre unleashes unending hordes of mutated dinosaurs to bring about mass death and carnage, and after being exposed to Ray Palmer's fatal ShrinkRay, makes a mad charge to [[TakingYouWithMe take as many "lesser beings" out with it]] as possible in the ensuing explosion.

* [[TheEvilPrince Orm the Ocean Master]] is the [[CainAndAbel treacherous younger brother]] of Aquaman, King of Atlantis. Masquerading as a loyal brother and supporter of the crown, Orm participates in the evil activities of the council known as [[Characters/YoungJustice2010TheLight the Light]], while attempting to seize Atlantis. Using a racist group of Atlanteans known as the Purifiers against the "impure" Atlanteans, Orm attempts to inspire them to wipe out anyone they deem as impure, knowing it will cause a civil war, after which he will take over what's left. He also kidnaps his sister-in-law Mera and tries to drain her powers, slowly killing her, despite knowing that she is pregnant. After the attempted genocide and civil war fail, Orm is eventually exposed and imprisoned for six years until he escapes. [[Recap/YoungJusticeS3E9HomeFires Seeking revenge]], Orm intends to enact the "nuclear option": finding where the heroes' loved ones have their play dates, Orm waits until 18 of them have arrived, including [[WouldHurtAChild babies and children]] alike, before planning to blow the house up and kill them all solely out of spite for being deservedly punished for his crimes.
* [[AristocratsAreEvil Count Werner Vertigo]] is always second-in-line to the throne of Vlatava. Having [[SiblingMurder murdered his brother]], Vertigo also assists the Injustice League in destruction to gain a hefty ransom with no regard for the lives of the innocents in the cities he would see leveled. [[WouldHurtAChild Trying to murder]] his 10-year-old [[EvilUncle niece]] Queen Perdita, Vertigo is eventually bested, only to later return as a major figure in the [[SuperhumanTrafficking Bedlam Syndicate]]. Vertigo happily captures teenagers with the metagene, subjecting them to experimentation with a massive fatality rate, all to eventually take the throne of Vlatava, whoever he needs to murder along the way.

* "[[Recap/YoungJusticeS1E15Humanity Humanity]]" & "[[Recap/YoungJusticeS2E14Runaways Runaways]]": [[RoboticPsychopath Red Volcano]] is the ultimate creation of T.O. Morrow and "brother" of Red Tornado. Immediately turning on his creator upon being activated, Volcano continues his plan to erupt the super-volcano under Yellowstone and blanket the world under a cloud of ash, fully aware this will kill billions. When the Team discover Morrow's lair, Volcano sends his brother to [[IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten prove himself]] a "loyal Red" by killing the team, and personally tries to murder the "[[CallAHumanAMeatbag meatbags]]" when Tornado disobeys. Returning after his apparent destruction to attack Star Labs in search of the AMAZO android, Volcano threatens to murder the teenage Runaways when Blue Beetle gets in his way.

* Season 3 (''Outsiders''):
** [[KnightOfCerebus Frederick DeLamb]] is the security chief and brother to the Queen of Markovia; he is also secretly [[AristocratsAreEvil Baron Bedlam]], leader of the heinous Bedlam Syndicate. Bedlam masterminds the capture and [[SuperhumanTrafficking trafficking]] of countless young metahuman children and teenagers, having them torturously experimented on and drowning them in a thick tar of his own creation to awaken their metagene. Killing enough of them to warrant regular mass burials of failed experiments, those who do survive are mutated and auctioned off as living weapons to the highest bidder. In his own grab for power in Markovia, Bedlam has his own sister and the King assassinated before killing the Quraci assassin himself, throwing pressure onto the Quraci populace as a convenient excuse to screen for more metagenes. [[EvilUncle Bedlam even has his own niece and nephew]], Tara and Brion Markov, subjected to the experiments, mocking them later for how he's orphaned them. Bedlam attempts a coup in the season 3 finale, attempting to have his nephew Gregor's loyalists killed while snidely vowing never to stop trying to kill his family and take Markovia's throne--a sentiment that prompts Brion to kill him.
** [[FauxAffablyEvil Granny Goodness]], aka Gretchen Goode, is one of [[Characters/NewGodsDarkseid Darkseid]]'s most powerful followers and a savage sadist underneath her kindly, grandmotherly facade. With a love of "discipline," Granny [[BadBoss abuses and tortures her followers]], conditioning them by forcing them to bear the conditions of her agonizing X-Pits, while operating a massive [[SuperhumanTrafficking trafficking]] business that steals hundreds of young metahumans across the universe to be twisted into slaves for Darkseid. Gretchen uses her persona as Gretchen Goode to further this agenda on Earth by peddling a series of VR goggles that scan wearers for the metagene, repeatedly attempting to torture and break the heroes with a pleasant, cheery smile. Granny, upon discovering Halo is the living personification of the Anti-Life equation, attempts to use her to spread Anti-Life all across the universe, horribly killing off all non-meta life and utterly enslaving the metahuman survivors to Darkseid's will.
* Season 4 (''Phantoms'')'s Zatanna arc[[note]]"[[Recap/YoungJusticeS4E9Odnu Odnu!]]" through "[[Recap/YoungJusticeS4E13KaerbYmTraeh Kaerb Ym Traeh!]]"[[/note]]: The [[HumanoidAbomination Chaos Lord]] known as [[CuteAndPsycho Child]] shows her cruelty by [[CruelAndUnusualDeath mutilating a security guard]] to study his innards, before focusing her attack on the Witch Boy Klarion, believing he is unsuited to being a Lord of Chaos. Child brutally [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals kills]] Klarion's anchor Teekl, before redirecting her ire at everything nearby and trying to murder the heroes set against her. With a free rein over Earth, Child enacts natural disasters all over, trying to melt the polar ice caps and [[OmnicidalManiac wipe out every living thing on Earth]] with sadistic relish.

** [[Characters/SupermanBrainiacCharacter Brainiac]] is an [[AliensAreBastards alien]] artificial intelligence who comes to Earth to miniaturize and [[TheCollector collect]] the city of Stalingrad before [[ILetYouWin supposedly]] being defeated by Superman. In truth seeing an opportunity to gain control over not just a city but an entire world, Brainiac pretends to have been successfully reprogrammed, going on to serve as the Premier's most trusted ally in overseeing the Soviet Empire for over a decade. With the Kryptonian as his UnwittingPawn, Brainiac lobotomizes dissidents into loyal servants of the USSR and constantly attempts to goad his supposed master into an invasion of the United States that will result in millions of deaths, all while never once bringing up his ability to restore the shrunken city. Upon Superman finally deciding to attack President Luthor only to have a change of heart, Brainiac destroys Stalingrad and proceeds with the invasion anyway, throwing away any façade of subordination in his mad designs. The logical conclusion of Superman's subconscious desire to put the whole world in a bottle, Brainiac is a spiteful {{narcissist}} desiring to control everything to sate his egomania, with his ship rigged to self-destruct and [[TakingYouWithMe wipe out the entire planet]] even after his ultimate destruction.

* "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueS1E10And11WarWorld War World]]" & "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueUnlimitedS1E2ForTheManWhoHasEverything For the Man Who Has Everything]]": [[Characters/DCComicsMongul Mongul]], the cruel dictator of War World, [[GladiatorGames forced warriors to fight to the death]] in order to [[BreadAndCircuses take his people's minds off his oppressing them]]. When Superman refuses to kill the former reigning champion, Draaga, after defeating him, Mongul [[SadisticChoice threatens to destroy Draaga's planet if Superman doesn't allow Mongul to defeat him in his next match]]. After his efforts were foiled, Mongul returned for revenge against Superman, using a plant called the Black Mercy to [[LotusEaterMachine trap Superman in a perfect dream world]]. With Superman out of the picture, Mongul planned on turning Earth into a second War World. Superman was eventually able to free himself from the dream world--but not before Mongul delivered a brutal beatdown to Wonder Woman--but the emotional pain of doing so was enough to make Superman actually try to kill Mongul before returning to his senses.

** [[Characters/SupermanBrainiacCharacter Brainiac]] is an [[AliensAreBastards alien]] artificial intelligence who comes to Earth to miniaturize and [[TheCollector collect]] the city of Stalingrad before [[ILetYouWin supposedly]] being defeated by Superman. In truth seeing an opportunity to gain control over not just a city but an entire world, Brainiac pretends to have been successfully reprogrammed, going on to serve as the Premier's most trusted ally in overseeing the Soviet Empire for over a decade. With the Kryptonian as his UnwittingPawn, Brainiac lobotomizes dissidents into loyal servants of the USSR and constantly attempts to goad his supposed master into an invasion of the United States that will result in millions of deaths, all while never once bringing up his ability to restore the shrunken city. Upon Superman finally deciding to attack President Luthor only to have a change of heart, Brainiac destroys Stalingrad and proceeds with the invasion anyway, throwing away any façade of subordination in his mad designs. The logical conclusion of Superman's subconscious desire to put the whole world in a bottle, Brainiac is a spiteful {{narcissist}} desiring to control everything to sate his egomania, with his ship rigged to self-destruct and [[TakingYouWithMe wipe out the entire planet]] even after his ultimate destruction.

[[AC:Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse]]

[[AC:''Franchise/{{Batman}}'']]

[[AC:WesternAnimation/DCUniverseAnimatedOriginalMovies]]

[[AC:''Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'' continuity]]

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'': The [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership Mutant Leader]] is a vicious gang boss who uses his "mutants" to terrorize Gotham City [[ForTheEvulz for the sheer sake of violence]]. Having his mutant gang commit all sorts of massacres, slayings, and crimes across Gotham, the Mutant Leader eventually has his men begin kidnapping young children for ransom, then brutally [[WouldHurtAChild murder the kids]] even when the ransoms are paid. The Mutant Leader's ultimate plan is to march on Gotham and kill countless people in a quest to [[OffWithHisHead decapitate]] Commissioner James Gordon and [[DecapitationPresentation parade his head through the streets]]. When captured by Batman, the Leader responds by ordering his mutants to raze the entirety of Gotham to the ground while he personally tears out the throat of the city's mayor when he tries to negotiate peace talks with the Leader.

** [[Characters/SupermanBrainiacCharacter Brainiac]] is an [[AliensAreBastards alien]] artificial intelligence who comes to Earth to miniaturize and [[TheCollector collect]] the city of Stalingrad before [[ILetYouWin supposedly]] being defeated by Superman. In truth seeing an opportunity to gain control over not just a city but an entire world, Brainiac pretends to have been successfully reprogrammed, going on to serve as the Premier's most trusted ally in overseeing the Soviet Empire for over a decade. With the Kryptonian as his UnwittingPawn, Brainiac lobotomizes dissidents into loyal servants of the USSR and constantly attempts to goad his supposed master into an invasion of the United States that will result in millions of deaths, all while never once bringing up his ability to restore the shrunken city. Upon Superman finally deciding to attack President Luthor only to have a change of heart, Brainiac destroys Stalingrad and proceeds with the invasion anyway, throwing away any façade of subordination in his mad designs. The logical conclusion of Superman's subconscious desire to put the whole world in a bottle, Brainiac is a spiteful {{narcissist}} desiring to control everything to sate his egomania, with his ship rigged to self-destruct and [[TakingYouWithMe wipe out the entire planet]] even after his ultimate destruction.

[[AC:''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'']]

[[AC:Others]]

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'':
** [[{{Greed}} Kanjar Ro]] is a power-hungry SpacePirate who has committed attempted mass murder on a planetary scale solely for the sake of profit. Kanjar [[PeopleFarms harvested the Gibbles]] as a source of power, and murdered the first Blue Beetle using a Gamma Gong for trying to protect them. Upon meeting Jaime Reyes, the new Blue Beetle, Kanjar weakens Jaime with the Gamma Gong, forcefully extracting the Blue Beetle Scarab and imprisoning the boy. Kanjar then uses the Scarab on himself, then uses the Blue Beetle suit to attempt to kill Batman. Later, Kanjar attempts to [[EarthShatteringKaboom blow up a planet]] solely for profit. Afterwards, Kanjar attempts to use a neutron bomb to vaporize all sapient life on Adam Strange's homeworld of Rann, so he can then use the empty planet as a base of operations to [[GalacticConqueror conquer the galaxy]].
** [[VengefulGhost James "Jim" Craddock]], aka [[AdaptationalVillainy Gentleman Ghost]], was a notorious highwayman during 19th century England where he made a [[DealWithTheDevil deal with the demon Astaroth]], whereby he would become immortal in exchange for ten human souls. [[YourSoulIsMine Stealing the souls of ten innocents]], Astaroth made it that Craddock's "[[ExactWords soul would never pass from Earth]]" so he would remain as a ghost swearing revenge on Batman. Craddock would return in modern day London where he succeeds in burying Batman alive and summoning an undead army with which he intends to destroy London.
** "[[Recap/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBoldS1E12DeepCoverForBatman Deep Cover for Batman!]]": [[AIIsACrapshoot Silver Cyclone]] is the EvilCounterpart to Red Tornado and the second-in-command of the Injustice Syndicate. Cyclone, much like the Syndicate's leader, Owlman, plans on invading other Earths and conquering them. Upon learning from Batman--who is disguised as Owlman--that the Good Earth is too dangerous to conquer, Cyclone decides to bring up Plan B, which involves [[OmnicidalManiac destroying all life]] on that planet and [[MakeAnExampleOfThem using it as a warning to other Earths]]. During a heist to steal the material needed for the bomb, the Injustice Syndicate captures Red Hood, Joker's GoodCounterpart, and Cyclone tortures him for information. When Batman frees the Evil Earth's heroes and defeats the Injustice Syndicate, Cyclone decides to activate his bomb, planning to kill all organic life on his Earth, including his own teammates, just because he hates humans and wants to rule alone.
** "[[Recap/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBoldS1E26InsideTheOutsiders Inside the Outsiders!]]": [[SoftSpokenSadist Psycho Pirate]], real name Roger Hayden, is a sadistic {{supervillain}} who [[EmotionEater feeds on the emotions of his victims]] until he destroys their minds, standing out even among world conquerors and city destroyers as a despicable predator. Kidnapping three young, rookie superheroes, the Outsiders, as his latest victims, Psycho Pirate invades their minds and [[MindRape mentally tortures them]] with their worst fears and bad experiences. Forcing Katana to relive her master's death over and over, subjecting Black Lightning to constant hate and prejudice from everyone around him, and convincing Metamorpho that his supposed friends see him as a freak, Psycho Pirate severely harms the teenagers' psyches and even gets them to nearly snuff one another out. When Batman arrives, Psycho Pirate subjects him to a horrid illusion of the Outsiders dying, hoping to force the hero to give in to his murderous hatred so Psycho Pirate can devour his emotions and mind for good. In the tie-in comics, Psycho Pirate drives a city to anarchy via making its civilians try to kill each other, with [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Billy Batson]] nearly getting mauled by Tawky Tarny before Batman saves him.
** Season 2's "Starro Invasion" arc: [[TheHeavy Chun Yull]] is known exclusively as [[EgomaniacHunter the Faceless Hunter]]. Originally from the Saturnian moon Klaramar, the Hunter was an outcast among his people for being a violent hunter, and in retaliation, the Hunter made a deal with the planet-devouring being [[EldritchAbomination Starro]] to destroy his homeworld in exchange for being Starro's herald. Spending the following years mind controlling the populations of entire planets then offering them up for Starro to devour, the Hunter arrives on Earth to continue his work; however, he is forced to flee when the heroes of the Earth destroy Starro. Kidnapping the hero B'Wana Beast, the Hunter painfully forces him to use his powers to create a monstrous creature the Hunter plans to use to destroy the Earth, before moving on to [[OmnicidalManiac the rest of the universe]]. Though the Hunter is beaten, B'Wana Beast is forced to sacrifice himself to save the Earth from the Hunter's machinations. Cruel and homicidal for no defined reason, the Faceless Hunter stood out as a [[VileVillainSaccharineShow surprisingly dark villain for this fairly lighthearted series]].
** [[Characters/NewGodsDarkseid Darkseid]] is the ruler of Apokolips, with designs to invade Earth and unlock the Anti-Life Equation. [[CrapsackWorld Apokolips]] is a flaming hellscape where the entire population is used for constant labor and slave work, their spirits broken and hope gone in what is explicitly described as a FateWorseThanDeath. Darkseid hopes to [[Recap/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBoldS2E24DarskeidDescending stage an onslaught of Earth]] so he can transform it into another Apokolips and replenish his slave supply with whatever humans survive his invasion, and he tries to herald his arrival by murdering multiple superheroes with sadistic, drawn-out relish. Darkseid's goals are further detailed in the tie-in comics, where he captures Batman and Mister Miracle to subject them to [[MindRape a series of mental deaths and torments]], all in the hope he can break their minds and use the experience to replicate it on a mass scale, obtaining the Anti-Life Equation and destroying the will of all life in the universe.

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'':
** [[Characters/TeenTitans2003Slade Slade]] was a manipulative [[DiabolicalMastermind mastermind]] who sought an apprentice he could mold into being just as cruel and ruthless as him. First targeting Robin, Slade tested him with various schemes before infecting Robin's friends with [[{{Nanomachines}} nanobots]] that would destroy them from the inside out should Robin not follow Slade's every command. When his plans for Robin were thwarted, Slade switched to Terra, taking advantage of her as an outcast with uncontrollable powers. Slade got her into the Titans' ranks to betray and finally try to kill them. When Terra retreats after being overwhelmed, Slade [[WouldHitAGirl physically abuses her]] for defying his orders. When Terra tries to quit her apprenticeship, Slade reveals that the suit he gave her to enhance her powers also gave him complete control over her body and vowed to never let her go. Though dying when Terra rebels, he is eventually resurrected by Trigon to act as an aide in exchange for getting his soul back. Slade took a vicious pleasure stoking the ensuing apocalypse, [[MindRape mind raping]] Raven with visions of her destiny and selling out all of humanity to Trigon. Even when Slade rebels against Trigon, it is solely because he refused to honor their bargain.
** [[BigRedDevil Trigon the Terrible]] fathered Raven solely to have a human portal into the mortal realm, invade Earth, and destroy all life on it as he did Raven's homeworld of Azarath. Despite Raven's attempts to repress her powers and emotions to avoid this fate, [[ArchnemesisDad Trigon]] haunts her in visions, [[AbusiveParents emotionally abusing her]] in cruel attempts to break her will. Resurrecting Slade to serve as a proxy for his conquest, Trigon ultimately betrays Slade because he manipulated Raven into submitting willingly, incinerating him on the spot. His arrival heralds a HellOnEarth with human life petrified and desolation amok, and Trigon plots to [[OmnicidalManiac expand his destructive campaign to the rest of the universe]]. A conqueror and devil in one, Trigon torments the Titans with their dark sides for his own amusement and openly deems his daughter worthless.
** [[MadScientist Professor Chang]] is an amoral man who specializes in selling his dangerous technology to anyone who will buy it. Chang made Slade's robotic foot soldiers; experimented on a young Red Star; converted Brother Blood into a {{cyborg}}; and provided the Brain the FreezeRay with which the latter used to create a menagerie of captured superheroes. Unsatisfied with merely selling to supervillains and deciding to graduate to real villainy himself, Chang [[Recap/TeenTitansS3E2X attempts to vaporize all of Jump City for fun]] and even tries to turn the ray on Robin's friends [[TargetedToHurtTheHero to hurt him]].
** Season 5: [[BrainInAJar The Brain]] is the leader of the Brotherhood of Evil and the final ArcVillain of the series. Compensating for his lack of a body by being one of the most depraved foes the Teen Titans face, the Brain is [[EstablishingCharacterMoment introduced]] tormenting the Doom Patrol in specialized cages, threatening to slowly crush Elasti-Girl to death while [[ElectricTorture torturing Patrol leader Mento with electricity]]. When his plan to use a quantum generator to wipe out entire cities is thwarted by the Titans, the Brain begins rounding up every young hero across the globe so as to permanently freeze them into trophies, with even powered toddlers not exempt from the Brain's reach. As shown in [[ComicBook/TeenTitansGo tie-in comics]], the Brain also subjects the Titans to horrible MindRape via the villainous Phobia, and threatens the lives of 40,000 people inside a baseball stadium. After the Titans invade his lair to rescue his frozen prisoners, the Brain tries to detonate a bomb and "clear the board completely", willing to murder his dozens of Brotherhood allies while he escapes so long as it ensures the deaths of every last hero who could stop him.
** ''ComicBook/TeenTitansGo'' issue #19--"Song of the Dead": "The Agent" is a demonic, [[DealWithTheDevil deal]]-making entity from outside the mortal realm who seeks to ravage and [[TakeOverTheWorld conquer the world]]. Choosing the delinquent Johnny Rancid as a stooge, the Agent turns Johnny into a rock star so as to use his {{necromancy}}-laden music to [[ZombieApocalypse unleash zombies]] throughout Jump City that nearly devour entire swathes of innocent people across the city. The Agent then hopes to broadcast Johnny's song across the country until the entire planet is overrun by raised undead who will kill and eat an innumerable number of victims and pave the way for the Agent to [[DespotismJustifiesTheMeans assume control of the broken and diminished humanity]].

*** This top threat of the entire DCAU is the [[PlanetBaron tyrannical ruler]] of the [[CrapsackWorld wasteland planet Apokolips]], and ultimately desires [[GalacticConqueror total dominion over all life in the universe]]. To achieve this end, he forever seeks the cosmic power of the Anti-Life Equation to use as the ultimate weapon. Incapable of love or empathy, [[AbusiveParents he abused his loyal son Kalibak]], handed over his adopted son Scott Free to be tortured and brainwashed by Granny Goodness, and attempted to [[OffingTheOffspring murder his other son]], Orion, for opposing him. His [[BadBoss servants are likewise subjected to torture or death]] should they fail or even question him. Setting his sights on conquering Earth, Darkseid launched a full-scale invasion, only relenting when the planet was declared off-limits by Apokolips's sister planet, New Genesis. To compensate, Darkseid murdered Dan Turpin solely to spite Superman. He would make numerous more attempts to conquer or annihilate the planet, including attempting to destroy it with a comet and brainwashing Superman into leading an attack on his adopted world. These events led to [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil Superman being taken advantage by Darkseid's Female Furies while in his altered state of mind]], and eventually turned Superman into a pariah for years. He later attempted to use Brainiac's programming to collect the Anti-Life Equation, planning to destroy the entire universe and recreate it in his own image, leading to his death in a battle with Superman. [[BackFromTheDead Upon his resurrection]], Darkseid immediately launched another invasion on Earth, not out of a desire for power, but solely to make Superman suffer. Ruthless and tyrannical, Darkseid is Superman's greatest enemy, and [[ThouShaltNotKill one of the few villains]] he has [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness outright tried to kill]].

* Season 2/''Invasion'': [[AliensAreBastards Black Beetle]], a member of [[Characters/YoungJustice2010TheReach the Reach]]'s Warrior class in their invasion of Earth, is a thuggish brute who [[AxCrazy revels in the destruction of those he terms as "meat"]]. Black Beetle assists in the abduction and safeguarding of Metahumans for the Reach's experiments; gleefully attempts to murder any hero he comes across; and helps to rig a bomb to wipe out the Team and numerous Kroloteans. When he decides the Ambassador in charge has [[YouHaveFailedMe failed too many times]], Black Beetle usurps his schemes with the singular goal of the [[EarthShatteringKaboom total annihilation of the Earth]] to hide any evidence of the Reach's illegal activities.

* Season 3/''Outsiders'':

* Season 4/''Phantoms''' "[[Recap/YoungJusticeS4E9Odnu Odnu!]]" through "[[Recap/YoungJusticeS4E13KaerbYmTraeh Kaerb Ym Traeh!]]": The [[HumanoidAbomination Chaos Lord]] known as [[CuteAndPsycho Child]] shows her cruelty by [[CruelAndUnusualDeath mutilating a security guard]] to study his innards, before focusing her attack on the Witch Boy Klarion, believing he is unsuited to being a Lord of Chaos. Child brutally [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals kills]] Klarion's anchor Teekl, before redirecting her ire at everything nearby and trying to murder the heroes set against her. With a free rein over Earth, Child enacts natural disasters all over, trying to melt the polar ice caps and [[OmnicidalManiac wipe out every living thing on Earth]] with sadistic relish.

** [[Characters/NewGodsDarkseid Darkseid]], the top threat of the entire DCAU, is the [[PlanetBaron tyrannical ruler]] of the wasteland planet Apokolips, and ultimately desired [[GalacticConqueror total dominion over all life in the universe]]. To achieve this end, he forever seeks the cosmic power of the Anti-Life Equation to use as the ultimate weapon. Incapable of love or empathy, [[AbusiveParents he abused his loyal son Kalibak]], handed over his adopted son Scott Free to be tortured and brainwashed by Granny Goodness, and attempted to [[OffingTheOffspring murder his other son]], Orion, for opposing him. His [[BadBoss servants are likewise subjected to torture or death]] should they fail or even question him. Setting his sights on conquering Earth, Darkseid launched a full-scale invasion, only relenting when the planet was declared off-limits by Apokolips's sister planet, New Genesis. To compensate, Darkseid murdered Dan Turpin solely to spite Superman. He would make numerous more attempts to conquer or annihilate the planet, including attempting to destroy it with a comet and brainwashing Superman into leading an attack on his adopted world. These events led to [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil Superman being taken advantage by Darkseid's Female Furies while in his altered state of mind]], and eventually turned Superman into a pariah for years. He later attempted to use Brainiac's programming to collect the Anti-Life Equation, planning to destroy the entire universe and recreate it in his own image, leading to his death in a battle with Superman. [[BackFromTheDead Upon his resurrection]], Darkseid immediately launched another invasion on Earth, not out of a desire for power, but solely to make Superman suffer. Ruthless and tyrannical, Darkseid is Superman's greatest enemy, and [[ThouShaltNotKill one of the few villains]] he has [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness outright tried to kill]].

* ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes2023'': The original [[Characters/SupermanBrainiacCharacter Brainiac]] is the secret founder of the Dark Circle. A nightmarish villain responsible for countless atrocities, Brainiac attempts to have his minions [[HeroKiller murder Legion members]] to manipulate [[Characters/SupergirlTheCharacter Kara]] and his clone Brainiac 5 into activating a special device that affects space and time. Having had numerous other clones created to do damage ranging from serial killing to mass destruction, Brainiac has survived by grafting them to his body still alive, [[AndIMustScream conscious and with one still screaming]]. Seizing control of the device, Brainiac plans to erase every hero from existence along with anyone that could ever possibly threaten his reign over existence, plotting to destroy entire worlds to secure his final goal.

* ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes''' "Message in a Bottle" and "Dark Victory" two-parter finale: [[Characters/SupermanBrainiacCharacter Brainiac]] 1.0 was a menace from the past who quickly became one of the most dangerous foes the Legion has ever faced. Brainiac 1.0 was introduced in a flashback, where he shrinks and steals the city of Kandor from Krypton. Within Kandor was a power source that was stabilizing Krypton, but with this power source gone Krypton was soon destroyed. Brainiac 1.0 himself was destroyed long ago, but [[EnemyWithin his programming resided within Brainiac 5]], cut off from the other systems, waiting for a chance to be released. This chance came when Brainiac 5 accessed Brainiac 1.0's programming to gain knowledge to defeat Imperiex. Though Brainiac 1.0's knowledge was useful in defeating Imperiex, every time he used it Brainiac 1.0 was able to gain more control. Brainiac 1.0 slowly [[TheCorrupter corrupted]] Brainiac 5, until eventually he [[GrandTheftMe took control of Brainiac 5's body]]. Then Brainiac quickly [[TheStarscream betrays Imperiex]]--who had [[UngratefulBastard helped Brainiac 1.0 take over Brainiac 5's body]]--[[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness killing him because he was no longer useful to him]]. Brainiac then proceeds with his plan to bring the entire universe under his control, [[OmnicidalManiac by transforming all living beings in the universe into streams of data]]. After digitizing some planets, Brainiac returns to his home planet Colu and reprograms all the inhabitants there to serve as his army and aid in his quest to digitize the universe.

** [[Characters/SupermanBrainiacCharacter Brainiac]] is an [[AliensAreBastards alien]] artificial intelligence who comes to Earth to miniaturize and [[TheCollector collect]] the city of Stalingrad before [[ILetYouWin supposedly]] being defeated by Superman. In truth seeing an opportunity to gain control over not just a city but an entire world, Brainiac pretends to have been successfully reprogrammed, going on to serve as the Premier's most trusted ally in overseeing the Soviet Empire for over a decade. With the Kryptonian as his UnwittingPawn, Brainiac lobotomizes dissidents into loyal servants of the USSR and constantly attempts to goad his supposed master into an invasion of the United States that will result in millions of deaths, all while never once bringing up his ability to restore the shrunken city. Upon Superman finally deciding to attack President Luthor only to have a change of heart, Brainiac destroys Stalingrad and proceeds with the invasion anyway, throwing away any façade of subordination in his mad designs. The logical conclusion of Superman's subconscious desire to put the whole world in a bottle, Brainiac is a spiteful {{narcissist}} desiring to control everything to sate his egomania, with his ship rigged to self-destruct and [[TakingYouWithMe wipe out the entire planet]] even after his ultimate destruction.

* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueTheFlashpointParadox'': [[Characters/TheFlashEobardThawne Eobard Thawne]], aka Professor Zoom, is the [[ArchEnemy Reverse-Flash]] and opposes everything [[Characters/TheFlashBarryAllen Barry Allen]] stands for. Thawne hires various other Flash villains to break into the Flash museum. Thawne straps bombs to the villains he hired after they defeat Flash, planning to blow up the Flash museum and several surrounding blocks, just so the Flash will be tormented knowing that several innocent people will die with him. After his initial defeat, Thawne mocks Flash over the fact his mother died. After Flash uses his speed to travel back in time and save his mother, [[TimeCrash the world is sent to a twisted alternate state]], in which a war between Atlantis and the Amazons has caused massive devastation. Thawne delights in Barry's agony at the new world and enjoys the carnage as it makes his nemesis suffer. When Barry tries to fix the realities, Thawne tries to stop him, meaning he is willing to cause and allow the deaths of countless innocents, as well as himself, solely [[EvilisPetty to satisfy his hatred of Barry]].

%% 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]].

** The [[OmnicidalManiac Anti-Monitor]], the BigBad of the second arc until [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Aya takes over]], is a machine obsessed with nothing less than the obliteration of everything in the universe that isn't himself. [[AIIsACrapshoot Built to be a knowledge-gathering robot]], the Anti-Monitor quickly realized his superiority to all life in the cosmos, and was banished to another dimension soon after his proclamation to destroy everything in his path. The Anti-Monitor proceeded to turn trillions of planets in this alternate dimension into {{antimatter}} which he then [[PlanetEater consumed]] to make himself stronger, and, though making a deal with the last remaining planet's population to not consume them should they build him a portal back to his own dimension, the Anti-Monitor drained their sun of nearly all its life before he left, [[ExactWords ensuring that the planet would still die soon after he was gone]]. Once back in his home dimension, the Anti-Monitor reactivates the Manhunter robots across the universe and orders them to kill everything they see, and, when confronted by Hal Jordan, the Anti-Monitor tries to [[ForcedToWatch force him to watch]] as first his friends, then entire worlds, are consumed before him. Even when beaten, the Anti-Monitor desperately tries to strike a deal with Aya to assist her in her plans to destroy reality itself to save his own hide. A megalomaniac who couldn't stand anything living except himself, the Anti-Monitor's narcissism was only matched by his petty sadism.

* ''WesternAnimation/GreenLanternEmeraldKnights'': [[Characters/GreenLanternAtrocitus Atrocitus]] is a terrorist who has been imprisoned on an abandoned world for 700 years. Killing the first person who crash lands there, he commences a killing spree of [[SpacePolice Green Lanterns]] by making them overuse their [[GreenLanternRing power rings]] so he can butcher them at his leisure. When his fourth target, [[TheHero Abin Sur]], manages to defeat Atrocitus, Atrocitus tries to smash the Lantern's power battery to [[TakingYouWithMe take the planet with him]]. After Atrocitus is captured, he tries to break Abin Sur by prophesying his best friend's fall to evil.

-->--''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueTheFlashpointParadox''

[[quoteright:350:[[Recap/TeenTitansS2E13AftershockPartTwo https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/slade_cm_image.png]]]]

* ''WesternAnimation/GreenLanternEmeraldKnights'': [[Characters/GreenLanternAtrocitus Atrocitus]] is a terrorist who has been imprisoned on an abandoned world for 700 years. Killing the first person who crash lands there, he commences a killing spree of [[SpacePolice Green Lanterns]] by making them overuse their power rings so he can butcher them at his leisure. When his fourth target, [[TheHero Abin Sur]], manages to defeat Atrocitus, Atrocitus tries to smash the Lantern's power battery to [[TakingYouWithMe take the planet with him]]. After Atrocitus is captured, he tries to break Abin Sur by prophesying his best friend's fall to evil.

* ''WesternAnimation/GreenLanternEmeraldKnights'': [[Characters/GreenLanternAtrocitus Atrocitus]] is a terrorist who has been imprisoned on an abandoned world for 700 years. Killing the first person who crash lands there, he commences a killing spree of [[SpacePolice Green Lanterns]] by making them overuse their [[GreenLanternRing power rings]] so he can butcher them at his leisure. When his fourth target, [[TheHero Abin Sur]], manages to defeat Atrocitus, Atrocitus tries to smash the Lantern's power battery to [[TakingYouWithMe take the planet with him]]. After Atrocitus is captured, he tries to break Abin Sur by prophesying his best friend's fall to evil.

* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueDark'': [[BigBad Destiny]] is a [[EvilSorcerer malevolent sorcerer]] with [[AGodAmI a god complex]]. A former man of science, Destiny became consumed by a lust for power and, using a combination of BlackMagic and [[SoulJar his own soul]], created a magical artifact called the Dreamstone, which had the ability to force its victims to live their worst nightmares, often driving them into a murderous rage. Destiny used the Dreamstone to spread fear and chaos across the land until he was defeated by the demon ComicBook/{{Etrigan}} and Myth/{{Merlin}}, but not before he mortally wounded the knight Jason Blood, resulting in him merging with Etrigan to save his life. His physical form destroyed, Destiny's spirit resided in a fragment of the Dreamstone for centuries until it was uncovered by Ritchie Simpson, who was dying of a magical illness. Playing on the man's desperation for immortality, Destiny manipulates Ritchie into spreading the Dreamstone's dark magic across the world, resulting in casualties on a global scale, while Destiny [[EmotionEater fed off of the negative energy]] of the stone's victims. Upon returning to physical form upon the Dreamstone being united, Destiny possesses Ritchie's body and sets off to continue his worldwide conquest. Affecting a nearby city with the Dreamstone's magic to gain power, Destiny causes mass chaos and destruction, and kills Swamp Thing when he attempts to intervene. Even when defeated, Destiny mortally wounds Jason Blood, resulting in the latter's death.