Hero teams and partnerships are big business in comics but that doesn't the villains have been left out. While everyone knows teams like the Justice League or the Teen Titans, DC actually has a lot of partnerships between its various dangerous and intimidating villains, groups that have stood the test of time and challenged the might of the heroes of the DC Multiverse in new and frightening ways.
While villain partnerships aren't the most stable, these have stayed together for a variety of reasons, whether it be success or merely convenience. They've each brought something special to their battles, becoming legendary in their time.
10 Lex Luthor And Brainiac Keep Teaming Up Regardless Of Their Last Betrayal
Lex Luthor and Brainiac are an interesting team. Luthor is considered Superman's greatest foe and Brainiac is one of the beings that frighten the Man of Steel the most, so them teaming up makes a lot of sense. The bizarre thing about their team-ups, though, is that they constantly betray each other and yet they always team up again.
Each of them knows the other is going to try something but the team-up has proven their best chance to do damage to the Man of Steel, so they keep doing it, presenting a dangerous threat to Superman and each other.
9 Ra's al Ghul Would Be Nothing Without The League Of Assassins
Ra's al Ghul has proven to be one of Batman's most dangerous villains, with his schemes endangering both Gotham and the world. As intelligent as Ra's is, none of those plans would get anywhere without the League of Assassins behind them. With the help of servants like Ubu, Lady Shiva, and Merlyn, Ra's al Ghul and the League have been a constant thorn in the side of Batman.
The League is the center of al Ghul's power. Without it, he would still be dangerous but he would just be one man. With the power of the League behind him, he has the ability to enact schemes that few can handle.
8 Darkseid Holds The New Gods Of Apokolips In-Line Through Fear And Ambition
The saga of the New Gods is one of comics' most interesting and nowhere is that more apparent than with the New Gods of Apokolips. Led by Darkseid, these powerful and contentious beings do his bidding, battling the forces of New Genesis and the heroes of the Earth. Darkseid holds them together through the power of fear while playing them against each other through their petty ambitions.
He gives them just enough power to keep them happy and when they get too ambitious, he brutally smacks them down. None of them leave his service, as on Apokolips they have power and can throw their weight around enough to justify their self-importance.
7 The Sinestro Corps Has Formed A Villainous Counterpoint To The Green Lantern Corps
There was a time when the various Lantern Corps were all the rage but only one has truly stood the test of time, the Sinestro Corps. Powered by the yellow light of fear, the Sinestro Corps is a unique counterpoint to the Green Lantern Corps. They exist to enforce Sinestro's fascist idea of order on the DC Universe, using fear while also spreading it.
While the Corps was once wrested from Sinestro's clutches by Mongul, it has been an extant entity and power in the DC Universe since its founding, which is more than can be said for other Lantern Corps and is still bedeviling the GLC to this day.
6 The Fearsome Five Have Battling The Titans For Years
The Fearsome Five consists of Psimon, Mammoth, Shimmer, Gizmo, and Jinx and they've been a thorn in the Titans' side since they were teenagers. What makes this all the more impressive is the Machiavellian nature of team leader Psimon. He often treats the other four like his personal playthings, using and discarding them as he sees fit.
No matter what machinations Psimon puts the group through, they always come back together to attack the Titans again. They're a rather formidable villain group and have stood the test of time better than most.
5 The Crime Syndicate Is One Of DC's Most Prolific Villainous Partnerships
Earth-3's Crime Syndicate is one of DC's longest-running villainous teams, if not its longest running. The twisted inverse of the Justice League from the Earth where evil wins, there have been as many versions of the team as there have been iterations of the Multiverse but they stick together through thick and thin. The New 52 iteration almost conquered the DC Universe, one of the group's most impressive feats.
The Crime Syndicate is an institution in the DC Multiverse. Kept together as much by each members' greed as a fear of losing their power, the Crime Syndicate is always waiting in the wings with a new plan to attack their heroic counterparts.
4 Intergang Has Been A Thorn In Superman's Side For Years
Intergang is an interesting footnote in Superman history. Run by crime boss Bruno Manheim, Intergang seems like a run-of-the-mill criminal organization, albeit one with better tech than the average Mafia family. That's because Intergang isn't just a gang with ties to a super-science organization or anything like that: they're allied with Darkseid.
The New Gods of Apokolips have shared their technology with Intergang, sometimes using the group as a wedge against Superman and his fellow heroes. It's been fruitful for both sides, as Manheim's gang gets a leg up on their competitors and Darkseid has yet another attack vector against the Earth.
3 The Legion Of Supervillains Is The 31st Century's Greatest Villain Team
The Legion Of Superheroes is a massive, powerful team and just because they're teenagers doesn't make them any less efficient. In order to battle them on any kind of fair level, the villains of the 31st century have teamed up to form a dark mirror to the team, the Legion Of Supervillains. Consisting of the greatest villains of the 31st century, they have the numbers and power to take on the LoSH head-on.
The Legion Of Supervillains is a devastatingly powerful group. Few villain teams could stand up to them and even though they squabble amongst themselves, they always come back to bedevil their foes under the leadership of Saturn Queen, Lightning Lord, and Cosmic King.
2 The Legion Of Doom Has Went Through Several Iterations And All Of Them Have Plagued The Justice League
The Legion Of Doom consists of some of the most powerful villains in the DC Universe. Brought together as a villainous counterpoint to the Justice League, the team has had many names over the years, the Secret Society of Supervillains, the Injustice League, and the Injustice Gang. Despite these different names, one thing is always the same and that's the mission.
The LoD exists to destroy the Justice League, bringing together the various League members' greatest foes to do so. Like most villain teams, they have their fights but they always come back together to strike at their heroic foes.
1 Flash's Rogues Are The Epitome Of A Supervillain Partnership
The Rogues are the closest a team of villains has ever come to acting like a team of heroes. Consisting of the Flash's greatest villains, the Rogues work together in a way that is foreign to most villainous assemblages and even some heroic ones. The team has rules and each member has mutual respect for their fellow members.
The Rogues have stayed together through thick and thin and are one of the most cohesive groups, heroic or villainous, in the DC Universe. Fighting the Flash isn't easy and these villains discovered that by working together as friends, they could be more successful than working alone and betraying each other.
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