The All-Time Greatest Super-Villain - You have decided!

Over the bank holiday, those of us lucky enough to live in Perfidious Albion have been thrilling to the clacking and thunking of the World Snooker Championships.

But Steve Does Comics has played host to a contest far more exciting than even a game of snooker - and that's the poll to decide just who is the greatest super-villain of them all.

Two made the final; Dr Doom and Darkseid. They're both men of ambition but which of them was to leave the table with a maximum break and which was to depart empty handed?

After a hard-fought contest involving thirty two votes, I can announce...

...that Dr Doom is the greatest super-villain of them all, with a mighty twenty seven votes to Darkseid's five.

So, well done to Doomy and hard luck to Darkseidy.

As always, thanks to all who voted. It just goes to show democracy can work.

It's the all time greatest super-villain of all time, time.

They say the English Premier League is a marathon, not a sprint but even the doings of Manchester City vs Manchester United pale into insignificance beside Steve Does Comics' quest to find the greatest super-villain of them all.

In a series of polls that stretched the internet to its very limits, many were called but few were chosen.

In fact, two were chosen.

Incredibly, neither of them were Crazy Quilt or the Masked Marauder. Instead, Marvel's victor was Victor - otherwise known as Von Doom. DC's winner was Darkseid - otherwise known as Darkseid.

That means it's time for us to pitch them head-to-head and vote for the all-time greatest super-villain of them all. Both are evil. Neither of them would've existed if not for Jack Kirby but, of the two nefarious nogoodniks, which is best?

Remember, only you can decide.

DC Comics' all-time greatest villain - Poll Results!

The French elections to find their exciting new president may be under way but how can even they compare in importance to the Steve Does Comics poll to find the greatest DC super-villain of them all?

They can't.

And that's why I'm talking about this and not that.

But what a poll it's been, with a walloping thirty five votes - which may well be the highest turnout a poll on this site's ever managed.

Joint eighth were Crazy Quilt and Starro, with one vote each.

Joint sixth, with two votes apiece, were the Anti-Monitor and Dex-Starr.

Fifth, with three votes, was Lex Luthor. I suspect he'll be pulling his hair out at such a disappointing finish.

Fourth, with four votes, were DC Comics Themselves.

Third was Dan Jurgens, with six votes.

It's no laughing matter for the Joker as he finds himself relegated to second place, with seven votes.

Which means the winner - and possibly a surprise to many - was Jack Kirby's very own Darkseid, with nine votes.

So, congratulations to Darkseid, commiserations to the plucky losers and, as always, thanks to all who voted.

DC Comics' all-time greatest villain.

As long-suffering readers'll know, this blog recently conducted a series of polls to discover just who is the greatest Marvel villain of all time.

But that's not enough for the world's most over-ambitious blog. It must also discover the identity of the greatest DC villain of them all.

Now, I could do what I did last time round and launch a poll to find the greatest enemy of each major DC hero, before putting together a final poll. The only problem is that doing it for the Marvel villains took so long that I - and I suspect everyone else - was losing the will to live by the time we actually got round to the final. Thus, like Giant-Man biting off the Blob's head, I'm going to get it all done in one go.

Therefore, nominate your favourite DC villain and, in a couple of days from now, I'll put it all together in a poll.

Once that's done, I'll pit DC's greatest villain against Marvel's and, at last, we'll know just who is the greatest comic book villain in history.

Marvel's all-time greatest villain. The Grand Final - Poll Results!

A wise man once declared that everything must end. In fact it was Dr Who. He said it just before exploding a villain. And such talk of villains and endings can mean only one thing because at last Steve Does Comics' bid to name the greatest Marvel villain of them all's reached its senses-shattering conclusion.

Fittingly for such an important event, it was the most voted-on poll in Steve Does Comics' history, with a mammoth 45 votes.

All the villains featured were of course legends in their own right - and role models to us all - but someone had to lose out, so, just how did your favourite do?

In joint fifth, with one vote each, were those fiends who share a U, the Red Skull, Dormammu and Ultron.

In fourth, with two votes, was the man who's not safe to be let loose with iron filings and a sheet of paper  - Magneto.

In third place, with five votes, was the that dastardly slayer of girlfriends; the Green Goblin.

Second, with twelve votes, was the man who has a lovely rockery - on his face - Thanos.

But the winner, with a mammoth twenty three votes and 51% of the poll, was Dr Victor Von Doom. I like to feel it in some way makes up for him having blown himself up in that university experiment all those years ago.

So, congratulations to Vic, and commiserations to our plucky losers. As always, thanks to all who voted and helped make this glamorous occasion the triumph it is.

Marvel's greatest villain - The Grand Final!

It's been an ordeal that's dragged on longer than the Clone Saga but at last it hits its conclusion as we reach the Grand Finale of Steve Does Comics' quest to find the greatest Marvel villain of them all. Many were nominated and many fell but, after what seems like endless years of voting, we have eleven men standing.

And what a sinister melange of menace we have, with some of the finest role models any of us could ever demand. Like Dr Doom, I hide my face behind a mask of steel. Like the Mandarin, I have the power to fire black light at my enemies. Like Ultron, I am made entirely of metal. And, like Paste Pot Pete, I didn't make the list.

The poll's now up, so don't forget to vote - you never know when you may again be granted such power over so much evil.

Marvel's all-time greatest villain. Those who fall between the cracks - Poll Results!

First of all, a big thanks to Booksteve, over at Super I.T.C.H, for linking to my Herb Trimpe all-time Top Ten Hulk Covers post. Thanks to such sterling efforts, that post's become a runaway success and is already challenging John Romita's all-time Top Ten Spidey Covers for most viewed post of the week.

But now, on with the breathtaking action that awaits us, as I'm proud to announce the results are in from our poll to discover just who is Marvel's greatest super-villain who fell between the cracks of our other polls.

With so many fiends to choose from it was as hotly contested as you'd expect; and joint 5th, with one vote each, were Mephisto, Baron Zemo, Maximus the Mad, the Abomination and Dracula.

In 4th place, with two votes, was that man who never hesitates to get stuck in - Paste Pot Pete.

In joint 2nd, with three votes each, were the Yellow Claw and Doc Ock.

But the grand winner, with five votes, was that lovely man who just wants a bit of peace and quiet for us all - Thanos.

So, at last it can be officially confirmed that Paste Pot Pete is a greater super-villain than Mephisto, Dracula and the Abomination. How could anyone ever have doubted it?

As always, thanks to all who voted, and a big congratulations to our winner.

Marvel's all-time greatest villain - Those who fall between the cracks!

Over the last couple of days, the people of Russia have been busy with the election to find their new president. With Vladimir Putin yet again claiming victory, many have been the protests against the result, and many have been the protests in favour. But what does that matter when there's a far bigger vote taking place right here on Steve Does Comics?

That's right, after what feels like an eternity, our quest to find Marvel's greatest super-villain of them all's finally approaching its climax.

So far we've conducted polls to find the #1 enemy of each of Marvel's main heroes - and these're the villains who've so far made our short-list:

The Red Skull.
Loki.
Dormammu.
The Gladiator.
The Mandarin.
Magneto.
The Leader.
Ultron.
Dr Doom.
The Green Goblin.

But with super-villains, nothing is ever simple because there're villains who're enemies of not-major-heroes or of no one in particular. Some, like Mephisto, are so clearly the main enemy of their allotted hero that there seemed no point having a poll for them.

So, which Marvel villains who didn't make the above short-list would you nominate as your favourite? As well as Mephisto, there're obvious absentees from that roll-call, such as Thanos, the Magus, Attuma, the Sphinx, Dr Sun and, erm, Maa-Gor.

As always, a couple of days from now, I'll put your nominations in a poll - and then at last we'll be able to conduct the ultimate vote to find Marvel Comics' greatest super-villain of them all.

Captain America's greatest ever foe - Poll Results!

It might be the Hollywood Oscars tonight but all eyes are on a far more glittering occasion, as it's time for evil to duck once more beneath the Table of Justice and the results to be announced from our poll to find Captain America's greatest ever foe.

It has to be said it wasn't the most vote-heavy of occasions but still it mustered enough responses to give us an unequivocal answer.

In joint third, with one vote each, were Madame Hydra, the Sleepers and Modok.

Second, with two votes was Baron Zemo.

But the winner, with a walloping 58% of the poll, and seven votes, was the man whose head's as crimson as that carpet the stars walk on - the Red Skull.

Sadly, the Red Skull can't be here tonight to collect his award, what with him not existing, and there're those who'll say he rigged the voting, using his Cosmic Cube but I know he'd never pull such a stunt. So, congratulations to the Red Skull, commiserations to the plucky losers, and thanks as always to all who voted.

Captain America's greatest ever foe.

A wise man once said that when Captain America throws his mighty shield, all who choose to oppose him must surely yield.

And yet still those opposers keep opposing.

What fools they be.

But what's bad news for them is good news for us, as it's time to ask the question of just who is Captain America's greatest ever foe.

Being a veteran of World War Two, Cap's been around a long time and has had plenty of opportunities to make enemies. There's Baron Zemo, a man with a paper bag stuck to his face, the Red Skull, a man with a rubber skull stuck to his face, and Modok, a man with a flying chair stuck to his face.

But, in all this face-happy action, we shouldn't forget those with other body parts, such as Batroc Ze Leapair, the Super-Adaptoid and Dr Faustus.

And who could forget the Human League haired beauty that was Madame Hydra?

But that's enough of my thoughts. Nominate your own favourite, in the comments box, and, as always, in a couple of days from now, I'll compile it all into a poll.

And then, at last, the world shall decide just who is Captain America's greatest ever foe.

Thor's all-time greatest enemy - Poll Results!

By the malleting majesty of Mjolnir, the results are in from our poll to find Thor's greatest ever foe!

And what results they are. Why, they threaten to shake the foundations of fair Asgard itself.

In joint fourth, with one vote each, are the Destroyer, Mangog, the Enchantress and Zarrko the Tomorrow Man.

In joint second, with three votes each, are Hela and the Absorbing Man.

But the runaway winner - appropriately, given that he's no stranger to running away -  is none other than Thor's half-brother Loki, with a mighty fifteen votes.

Verily, the people of the Internet hath spoken.

Sadly, Larry the Lava Man got no votes at all. Oh the cruel injustice.

But, regardless of such unfairnesses to the sneaky subterranean, thanks to all who voted - and commiserations to those plucky villains who didn't quite make the grade.

The Norse Poll. Who is Thor's all-time greatest enemy?

With his flowing blond locks, fluttering cape and wingy helmet, who doesn't love Thor: God of Thunder?

Well, plenty of people it'd seem as, over the years, he's managed to acquire more foes than you can shake a hammer at. But just who is the thunder god's greatest ever enemy?

There's plenty of contenders. There's Loki, Mangog, the Absorbing Man, the Wrecker, Ulik the Unstoppable, the Stone Men from Saturn and, of course, Odin.

I'll always have a soft spot for Hela thanks to the fact she's managed to kill him on more than one occasion.

But who can forget such foes as Mr Hyde, the Cobra, and that lava man bloke? I can't remember what his name was; so, given Stan Lee's love of alliteration, I'll assume it was Larry the Lava Man.

Regardless of such well-informed musings, put forward your favourites and, in a couple of days from now, I'll put the poll up.

And at last the world can decide just who is Thor's greatest ever enemy.

Dr Strange's all-time greatest foe - Poll Results!

A wise man once said there's nothing in this life quite as magical as magic. He then went on to say there's nothing quite so circular as circles, and nothing quite so blue as blue. What a sage and a wit he was.

Reader, that sage was me. And that's why I took his advice and now make a point of arriving everywhere by hanging from a flying umbrella while trilling that a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down.

But all this talk of magic can mean just one thing.

That it's time to announce the thrillsome-tastic results of our poll to discover just who is Dr Strange's greatest ever foe.

Many as the Moons of Munnopor were the votes, and many were the recipients:

Joint fifth, with one vote each, were Dracula and Nightmare.

Fourth, with three votes, was Baron Mordo.

Third, with four votes, was, "Marvel Editors."

Second, in what I see as a turn-up for the books, was Silver Dagger, with five votes.

But, to perhaps no one's surprise at all, the winner, with a walloping twelve votes, was that inflammable fiend of  infamy the Dread Dormammu. So, congratulations to the master of the Dark Dimension, and let's hope his success doesn't go to his head.

As always, thanks to all who voted - and commiserations to all those villains who failed to make the grade.

Dr Strange's all time greatest foe.

By the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth and the Flipping Fiends of Fomething-or-other. Our dauntless quest to find the greatest super-villain of them all brings us to that magical master of mystery Dr Strange.

As we all know, the good doctor once had a battle with the bottle but then went on to face even deadlier foes. There was the Dread Dormammu, the Naughty Nightmare, Bothersome Baron Mordo, the Fiddlesticky Faceless Ones, the Sinister Satannish, Umar the Unspeakable and those two hypnotised blokes who beat him up in that Steve Ditko story where he teamed up with Spider-Man.

Those two blokes aside, it's fair to say that, thanks to their mystical bent, most of Dr Strange's foes have been a little more stylish than the run-of-the-mill villain. So, of all the foes Dr Strange has ever come up against, who's been your favourite?

Personally, I've always had a soft spot for Nightmare, possibly because he was the first Dr Strange villain I ever encountered, but also because I too have been known to have had the odd nightmare in my time and can therefore claim that Nightmare is the only foe of any super-hero that I've ever encountered. Needless to say, my mastery of the Eye of Agamotto has kept me safe every time.

But, in the end, it's not my opinion that counts. It's yours. So, give me your favourites and, as always, in a couple of days from now I'll put them in a poll - and at last the world can answer the question; "Just who is Dr Strange's greatest ever foe?"

Daredevil's greatest ever foe - Poll Results!

As Noddy Holder once so famously declared, "It's Chri-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-istmas!" - and that's always an exciting time of year.

But it's just got even more exciting, as the results are in from our sensational poll to discover just who is Daredevil's greatest ever enemy.

There was a wide spread of voting but a surprisingly clear winner.

In joint sixth place, with one vote each, we find Mr Fear, Stilt-Man and the Mandrill.

In joint fourth, with two votes each, we find the bovine-tastic duo of Man-Bull and Bullseye.

In joint second, with three votes each, we find the Kingpin and Death-Stalker

But the winner, with a massive six votes, is the Gladiator, a man who, despite being able to give you a close shave any time he wants, won through by much more than a close shave.

So, congratulations to the Gladiator - even though he doesn't really exist and therefore can't read this message to him - and thanks to all who voted, including myself because it's Christmas and I think one should always take the time at Christmas to appreciate one's self.

Merry Christmas to you, the Reader. And here's looking forward to our no doubt equally thrilling gallery of our all-time favourite covers, which is due to be posted in the next couple of days. It's still not too late to nominate one if you haven't done so already.

Who is Daredevil's greatest ever foe?

Steve Does Comics' endless quest to find the greatest super-villain of them all moves on, as its ghastly gaze settles on the man they call Horn Head.

Clearly, when it comes to villains, Daredevil's always had a blatant problem.

He doesn't really have any super-powers.

It's true he has heightened senses but, for the most part they've barely done more than compensate for him being blind. This has often meant the quality of foe he can be pitted against hasn't always been up to that of Marvel's other crime-fighters, and the man without fear's often found himself in two, or even three, part epics trying to overcome foes Spider-Man could defeat in a single panel.

Sometimes this weakness has become an asset. Daredevil #7, where he found himself getting flattened for page after page by the Sub-Mariner, made his physical feebleness into a selling point, demonstrating his never-say-die spirit in the face of hopeless odds. It's easy to be heroic when you're Superman. It's a whole lot more impressive when you're just some bloke.

However, despite all this, Daredevil still managed to acquire a villain's gallery of his own. Among others, the comic gave us the Owl, Stilt-Man, the Jester, Man-Bull and Mr Fear. Later on, the Kingpin was drafted in from The Amazing Spider-Man, and, of course, the strip eventually gave us a Bullseye deadlier than Jim Bowen could ever have envisaged.

Personally I've always had a soft spot for the Gladiator - mostly for the basic nastiness of his weaponry. But ultimately, when it comes to my favourite, I think I have to go for Death-Stalker. This is probably down to my long-standing desire to be the Shadow and run around in a big hat, laughing for no reason.

But of course, what I think doesn't matter. What matters is what you think. So, nominate your favourite Daredevil villain and, as always, in a couple of days' time I'll construct a poll from your nominations.

Then at last the world shall decide just who is Daredevil's greatest ever foe.

Iron Man's greatest ever enemy - Poll Results!

It's time to plug your metal chest plate into the mains, hit the bottle and don a cravat because the results are in for our poll to find Iron Man's greatest ever foe.

Perhaps it comes as no shock that the winner - with a walloping 46% of the votes - was none other than the man with more rings than a nine-year-old sycamore; the Mandarin. The man they call Mandy picked up seven votes.

Second, with three votes, was a surprise to me. It's Man Bull, who, back in the days when I used to read Iron Man, was nowhere in sight. He was always too busy beating up Daredevil.

Third was that perennial wrong-doer Jack Daniels, with two votes.

Joint fourth were Titanium Man, Limited Battery Life and Dr Doom, with one vote each.

Sadly, Hypno-Robo-Neanderthal failed to register a single vote. He wuz robbed I tells ya. Robbed. And if he hadn't exploded, I've no doubt he'd say so too.

Iron Man's greatest ever enemy.

"Iron Man! Iron Man! Does whatever an iron can!"

Now you know why they don't let me write super-heroes' theme tunes.

Still, if this blog takes musical and lyrical incompetence to a level never before seen, that doesn't stop it having an opinion on matters more pictorial.

And that means it's time for Steve Does Comics to tackle the burning question; "Who's Iron Man's greatest ever foe?"

Despite being one of Marvel's most powerful heroes, Iron Man had a surprisingly modest start to his crime-fighting career, coming up against the likes of the Scarecrow, the Red Barbarian and of course the never-to-be-forgotten Mr Doll.

Personally, of these early foes, I always had a soft spot for his first ever super-powered opponent, Hypno-Robo-Neanderthal.

Sadly, after that one classic appearance, Hypno-Robo-Neanderthal never again returned to threaten the world - possibly because of his fatal vulnerability to fridge magnets.

Later, however, Iron Man did start to meet foes that even magnets couldn't stop, as he came up against the likes of Titanium Man, the Crimson Dynamo and the Mandarin.

And of course, technically, Thanos is an Iron Man villain; as rock-face made his first appearance in the pages of that self-same title.

So, who is your favourite ever Iron Man villain? As always, after a couple of days. I'll put your nominations into a poll and at last the world shall decide, just who is Iron Man's greatest ever foe.

The X-Men's greatest ever foe! Poll Results!

It might soon be X-mas but there's a whole heap more X-citement in store for us than that, as the results are finally in from our poll to find the all-time greatest X-Men villain.

I'd like to say it was a close-run thing but the truth is that, to possibly no one's surprise at all, one candidate ran away with it.

Thirteen might be unlucky for some...

...but not for Magneto who came out on top with a mammoth total of exactly that many votes.

Second were the Hellfire Club with four votes.

Joint third were the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Dark Phoenix and the mighty Juggernaut, with two votes apiece.

Joint sixth were Apocalypse and Mr Sinister who scraped together one vote each.

Everyone else got no votes - which is no doubt a comfort to the Toad who can now feel he can look the likes of Deathbird in the eyes as an equal.

So, it's well done to Magnus, or Erik or whatever his real name's supposed to be and, as always, thanks to all who voted.

The X-Men's greatest ever foe!

After a distinctly shaky start, the X-Men went on to dominate Marvel Comics' output to such a degree that the various X-titles practically became a comics company in its own right, and long-standing readers had to suffer the sight of even venerable old scrappers like the Sub-Mariner and Spider-Man suddenly being labelled mutants in an attempt to cash in on that success.

But, of course, no matter how mighty those mighty mutants might be, they'd have been nothing if they'd had no one to smack in the gob.

So it is that the likes of Magneto, Apocalypse, Juggernaut, the Shadow King, Deathbird, Dark Phoenix, the Sentinels and, erm, Unus the Untouchable were foisted on an ever-eager public.

That means it's time for Steve Does Comics to discover just who is the X-Men's greatest foe. And that means I'm inviting you to nominate your all-time favourite X-Men villain.

As always with these things, once the nominations are in, I'll use them to post a poll, in a couple of days' time, and the world can at last decide the issue once and for all.

Or at least until the next lunch-time.