10 DC Villains With the Coolest Civilian Jobs

DC Comics features a colorful cast of villains and heroes locked in conflict, and they often strive to make those characters feel more real by giving them realistic backstories. Some baddies, like Black Manta and Captain Cold, get their gear and tech through hard work, but not the kind of work that comes with health benefits or any regularity. Others, like Condiment King, don’t come with any real explanations.

There are a few DC villains who are known for having really cool civilian jobs. Their careers lead readers to question what horrible choices led them to push too hard and finally snap into a life of crime. Entertainers, pioneers, and dreamers who followed their passions and found disappointment can all become supervillains in the pages of a comic book.

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10 Toyman Had An Incredible Toy Shop

First appeared in Action Comics #64 by Don C. Cameron

Winslow Schott is a very sick individual, but his talent for making toys is unmatched. Later versions of the Toyman used his whimsical powers for good, but Schott was driven to a life of crime after his robot wife died, and he lost his toy business. His designs were legendary, which is why he was such a problem for the Man of Steel.

Schott’s expertise with toys makes him one of the worst villains in Superman’s rogues gallery since he commonly targets children. When he’s lucid, he remembers how much he genuinely likes kids and wants them to be happy, which is why he started making toys in the first place. His gadgets are revolutionary, and his ability to bring his imagination to life through constructs without any superpowers is an incredible skill earned from a long and relatively successful career.

9 Cheetah Was A Brilliant Archaeologist

First appeared in Wonder Woman #7 by Len Wein and George Perez

Poking around in ancient ruins is a recipe for disaster in any world with magic or aliens, and Cheetah is a great example. Barbara Minerva was an archaeologist specializing in Greek mythology. She worked hard to prove her theories to her colleagues and the world, discovering untouched ruins and nearly uncovering the secrets of the Amazons until Wonder Woman came along to steal her thunder. Not only was Dr. Minerva, the leading expert in a field most people didn’t believe in, was right about it.

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Readers probably don’t consider how uncool it would be if someone’s life’s work were dedicated to solving a mystery, and then that mystery showed up, solved itself, and indirectly led them to become a monster against their will. Barbara’s knowledge of the Amazons comes in handy when she’s up against Amazonian threats, but her monstrous form and criminal record mean she doesn’t get to return to her former passions often, much less in a professional capacity.

8 Double Down Was A Professional Gambler

First appeared in The Flash: Iron Heights by Geoff Johns

The Central Keystone area has many casinos, including the riverboats that run the Mississippi River between the cities. Jeremy Tell was a professional gambler born and raised in the area until a bad hand drove him to murder and a magic deck gave him gross superpowers. Apart from the murder and ripping magical projectile cards from his flesh, Double Down’s career was pretty cool.

Not everybody has the skills to make a living on gambling alone, and tables where some players have magically cursed cards probably aren’t for beginners. Tell’s compulsive gambling habit meant that he was bound for tragedy, but it’s pretty cool when someone can healthily and sustainably make a career out of it.

7 Shade Is An Immortal Adventurer

First Appeared in Flash Comics #33, by Gardner Fox and Harold Wilson Sharp

The DC Omniverse has no shortage of immortal humans who move through the shadows, but Richard Swift is a special case. The Shade was originally a Jay Garrick villain with a magical cane. After his backstory changed, he started stalking Opal City, home of Starman, and his history grew to include tales of business and adventures through the ages.

Split image of Jax-Ur, Wotan and Volthoom from DC Comics

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Swift met historical figures and traveled the world before he involved himself with the world’s heroes and villains. His connections led him to a life of crime, putting him in contact with Simon Culp, another version of Shade. Adventurer isn’t a very concrete job title, but Swift’s powers mean he doesn’t have any expenses, so he’s not doing it for the money anyway.

6 Livewire Was A Shock Jock

First appeared in Superman: The Animated Series, Season 2, Episode 5

Leslie Willis first appeared in Superman: The Animated Series, with the same backstory as her later comic-book counterpart. As a radio DJ in Metropolis, she constantly talked about her negative opinions on Superman and hated her coworker, Billy Batson. After her boss fired her for bashing Superman too often, her rage led her to the top of the station, where she gained her powers in a storm.

Leslie was born with electrical manipulation powers, which didn’t factor into her professional career. Her powers didn’t manifest strongly until lightning struck her, but her ability to hurt Superman was probably far greater as a radio host. Livewire attacked Metropolis many times and lost every time, so she was a much bigger risk as a cool personality whose opinions mattered to people.

5 Lex Luthor Makes Whatever He Wants

First appeared in Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s Action Comics #23

Lex Luthor was born into privilege, which he used to become one of the most powerful people in the world. Lexcorp is a company like no other, equipped with near-limitless resources and focused entirely on its CEO’s whims. Lex is a genius in his own right, but his obsession with Superman can cloud how cool and easy his job would be otherwise.

Split image of Superman and Lex Luthor during tense moments from DC Comics

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When he’s not messing with Superman or running for office, Lex uses his status and position as an outlet for his immense creativity. He dumps truckloads of money into researching the depths of the cosmos, creates lifelike android body doubles, and other neat feats of science-fiction. He employs the most brilliant scientists from every field which attracts his interest, enabling him to make ludicrous amounts of money by passively learning and preparing.

4 Star Sapphire Was A Professional Pilot For Fun

First appeared in Showcase #22 by John Broome and Gil Kane

Before she or Hal Jordan wielded alien power rings fueled by emotion, Carol Ferris was heir to the successful Ferris Aircraft company. After her father retired, she was left completely in charge of the company and sometimes chose to pilot new, experimental planes herself. Through her work, she met Hal Jordan and fell in love, which means her career is partly responsible for her transformation into the Star Sapphire.

Being rich and owning a company sounds cool to a lot of people, but the responsibilities that come with organizing government contracts and managing so many employees are inherently stressful and intense. Carol dealt with her share of professional headaches, but the straightforward nature of her plane-building company and the option to let off steam by test-piloting experimental jets makes her busy career a little cooler than other business-owning villains.

3 Javelin and Sportsmaster Were In The Big Leagues

From Len Wein and Dick Giordano’s Green Lantern #173 and John Broome’s All-American Comics #85

So many young readers dream of becoming professional athletes, idolizing superheroes like Cyborg and Guy Gardner, who played football before they became superheroes. It’s hard for villains in the DC Universe to make names for themselves based on non-powered physical feats, but that doesn’t stop Sportsmaster and Javelin from trying.

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Several wayward athletes have used the name Sportsmaster, but Lawrence Crock was the most well-known. Victor Gover was another, more recent version who specifically played professional American Football and possessed metahuman reflexes. Javelin wasn’t a football player. Instead, he was a deranged German Olympian who loved chucking spears at Green Lantern. His motives are unknown, and one has to wonder how good an individual has to be at throwing javelins for them to quit the Olympics to pursue even higher-level javelin throwing.

2 Goth Is A Demonic Actor

First appeared in Devin Grayson’s Titans #3

The Teen Titans have many strange and underrated villains with cool backstories. Goth was a demon posing as a rock star and actor. His main goal was to lure unsuspecting children to his domain in Hell by instilling the youth with apathy. Thanks to the Titans, he never fully succeeded, but that didn’t stop Goth from trying multiple different personas across different eras. His preferred genres aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but his job choice is undeniably cool.

Limbo, Grunge, and Rave were all facades used by Goth to get to the youth of different eras. As Goth, his main focus was acting, spreading his somber philosophy through horror flicks more than music. He mostly works for evil human sorcerers, seeking means of immortality or power for them, but his commitment to his vocational methods makes him unique among demons. Most evil monsters from far-off realms aren’t willing to spend so long on set or at dress rehearsals, regardless of how cool the job is.

1 Most of Gotham’s Villains Had Cool Careers

Appearing in Batman comics

Gotham is among the worst cities on any Earth in the DC Omniverse in terms of quality of life. Most of the wealthy people are either criminals or crime fighters like Batman, perpetuating a cycle of violence and destruction by giving each other something to fight against. Things are so bad in Gotham, that the people with the coolest civilian jobs succumb to the city’s darkness eventually.

Pamela Isley was a botanist working with incredible exotic plants before she became Poison Ivy. Kirk Langstrom had a similarly cool gig as a zoologist before he became Man-Bat. Basil Karlo was an actor before he became Clayface, and Selina Kyle turned cat burglary into a full-time gig before she was a supervillain. Some people might argue that being a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum is an undeniably awful job. Still, pop culture’s obsession with true crime continues to make Harley Quinn’s professional background integral to her character.