Thank Goodness Supervillains Exist Only In Comicbooks

From the Wikipedia entry on Supervillains:

Common Traits

While supervillains vary greatly, there are a number of attributes that define the character. Most supervillains have at least a few of the following traits:

√ A desire to commit spectacular crimes and/or rule the world or in some cases an entire universe through whatever means necessary.

√ A generally irritable and spiteful disposition and contempt for heroes, ordinary civilians, lackeys, and anyone else who may get in their way.

√ A sadistic nature and tendency to revel in their sociopathic behavior and/or supposed intellectual superiority.

√ An enemy or group of enemies that he or she repeatedly fights.

√ A desire for revenge against said enemies. The method of revenge often goes beyond simply killing them to making them suffer before death, such as using deathtraps.

√ A brilliant scientific mind that he or she chooses to use for evil (see also mad scientist and evil genius).

√ Superhuman abilities or special skills, similar to those of superheroes. Frequently, these skills are gained through selfish (and sometimes foolish) meddling with science as opposed to the "natural" or "accidental" gifts possessed by superheroes. Compare the origin of the Green Goblin and that of his nemesis, Spider-Man.

√ A dark and threatening-looking headquarters or lair, the location of which is usually kept secret from police, superheroes and the general public. Examples include Magnetos headquarters Asteroid M and The Legion of Dooms Hall of Doom. However, some supervillains who feel secure from prosecution live and work in palatial buildings, such as Doctor Doom's castles in his country of Latveria and the office buildings and research facilities of the Green Goblins alter ego Norman Osborn. Others are mobile and do not have one particular base of operations.

√ A theme by which he or she plots his crimes. For example, The Riddler plots his crimes around riddles, puzzles and word games and Mysterio plots his around movie special effects. Furthermore, most themed villains will stubbornly keep with their style even when it seems impractical or ridiculous to others in view of their typical lack of success.

√ Although super villain team-ups occasionally occur and some supervillain teams exist, such as the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and Sinister Six, most supervillains do not collaborate with one another but employ a team of simple-minded and expendable henchmen to assist them. Some supervillains, such as Darth Vader, Berg Katse and Cobra Commander, control entire armies whose troops are considered equally expendable and subject to murderously draconian discipline.

√ Due to a cowardly nature or physical inequality to their foes, some supervillains manipulate events from behind the scenes. For example, the physical inequality of Lex Luthor, a man of human intellectual prowress compared to the sun-powered alien physciality of the character of Superman represents the duality of mind versus body. Also see: Ernst Stavro Blofeld of the James Bond novel and film series.

√ A strong commitment to their criminal profession to the point where they will quickly resume their activities in their favorite area immediately after escaping prison or recovering from serious injury.

√ A refusal to accept responsibility for personal mistakes and setbacks in favor of blaming their enemies or subordinates.

√ A back story or origin story that explains how the character transformed from an ordinary person into a supervillain. The story usually involves some great tragedy that marked the change. In the case of many supervillains, including Two-Face, Magneto, Doctor Doom, Mr. Freeze, and some versions of Lex Luthor, this story involves a one-time friendship with their future foe.