Do Super Heroes Attract Super Villains

[Talent Name]

Simply put I am a lover of comic books, and I have been thinking does a city having super heroes or a super hero attract the villains, or is it the other way around the super villains attract the heroes

[Hurbster]

That's a very good question. I think it's been used as a plot device whenever someone wants to register superhumans or something.

Were there villains already in Metropolis when Superman moved there to work on the Daily Planet ? In Spiderman I think it was established that there were villians such as the Kingpin, Diamondhead and The Vulture already present.

[Glitch]

The way I see it: the existence of superheroes means that they live in a reality where having powers are a possibility. This means that people who are malevolent are also capable of having powers. With superheroes also comes supervillians. And also vice versa.
If the possibility of making swords and guns exist, both evil and noble people will have them.

[mjolnir]

It's two sides to the coin, for every Joker, there's a Killer Croc. Some were going to be who they are, regardless of whether or not there was someone actually capable of even temporarily slowing them down. Others, they're drawn to the heroes and potentially wouldn't be as dangerous, at least, without that hero around.

[Red Impact]

My question s, if you're a villain, why would you ever operate out of Metroplis, New York, etc., that you know heroes have under their protection?

You'd probably make a killing in that universe if you robbed banks in Omaha, rather than somewhere where Spider-Man, any of the Avengers, Daredevil, the Fantastic 4, and anyone else who operates in the area have a chance to stop you.

[H-Virus]

I've always had to wonder why Batman's (or any other hero's) enemies didn't just pack up and move to some other city that didn't have a superhero defending it 24/7.

I mean, what does Batman do if his entire rogue's gallery suddenly decided to get away from the Bat and scatter themselves out across the country? Does he track them all down himself, or do they become someone else's problem so long as they're not causing trouble in his city?



EDIT: And Impact beats me to the punch...

[Bo Rida]

I think they might cause an escalation issue as you have to be a better villain in order to evade/defeat a super hero.

[Talent Name]

Feb 16, 2013 9:19:20 GMT -5 Bo Rida said:

I think they might cause an escalation issue as you have to be a better villain in order to evade/defeat a super hero.

Or sometimes the worst villains, because they may have the mindset of anyone can do it so why not me, like another poster mentioned in Spider-man there was always the Kingpin and Silvermane and possibly Doc Oc.

[blackmegaman]

I just think it's the world balancing itself out if you a force good or evil which is extremely powerful eventually there is going to be a just a great force on the other side.

[Bub (BLM)]

Batman has always been presented in a way to suggest that the hero attracts the villains. Gotham was a city of mobs and gangs, like a really awful version of 1930's Chigago. Bruce Wayne starts dressing up in a Bat costume to fight these guys, and within a couple of years, mobs and gangs are replaced with Joker, Riddler, Scarecrow, Mad Hatter, Penguin, Catwoman, etc. In "The Long Halloween", there's a great scene with Jim Gordon and Batman walking through Arkham, and Gordon says "This place has really filled up in the past couple of years. Do you ever stop and wonder..." and Batman just says "No".

[Baldobomb-22-OH-MAN!!!]

I think it's just reasonable to assume that in a world with super-powered beings, a majority of them would be colossal douche-bags. that's why for every superhero, they have a huge gang of super-villains.

[Mozenrath]

Batman attracts Catwoman.

[Brother Nero....Wolfe]

Feb 16, 2013 8:59:52 GMT -5 H-Virus said:

I've always had to wonder why Batman's (or any other hero's) enemies didn't just pack up and move to some other city that didn't have a superhero defending it 24/7.

I mean, what does Batman do if his entire rogue's gallery suddenly decided to get away from the Bat and scatter themselves out across the country? Does he track them all down himself, or do they become someone else's problem so long as they're not causing trouble in his city?



EDIT: And Impact beats me to the punch...

Batman basically became Batman to protect Gotham, so he'd be like "Hell yeah, I won." Probably. Depends on the writer. Plus Batman's villains(for the most part) like/hate him too much to go away.