Top 5 Evil Counterparts

Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall

[Owlman has set a bomb to kill an army of evil Batmen]
Bat-Baby: “Shut up! You don’t get to laugh!”
Owlman: “Sure I do. You see… I’m going to live forever. As long as there’s a Batman in the multiverse, there will be an Owlman, his true dark reflection. I’m too good an idea. But you… you evil Baby Batman from the Dark Multiverse with your stupid Rainbow Batmen? You’re a dumb idea. And nobody is going to remember you.”

Dark Knights: Multiverse’s End

Heroes are defined by their enemies. Many villains have connections to a hero, be it their fighting skills, personal lives, or views. But what about those villains who are complete reflections? All of the hero’s strength, skills, and willpower, but on the side of evil? An evil counterpart.

Evil counterparts are often the most popular villains. They show what would happen if the heroes finally let loose and turned to the dark side. Sometimes they are even stronger than the good guys and force them to fight smarter instead of harder. So who are the Top 5 evil counterparts? Let’s find out.

#5 Bizarro

Played by: Tim Daly, Tom Welling
Counterpart: Superman

[Lois is waiting for a date with Superman]
Lois Lane: “I wasn’t sure you’d really come.”
Bizarro: [exits shadows to Lois’ horror] “Me remember. Me need Loizz help. Don’t be afraid, me never hurt you.”
Superman: “I heard about our date, Lois. Problem is you’ve made it with the wrong guy.”
Bizarro: “Imposter! Stay back, Loizz! Me protect you!”

Superman the Animated Series “Identity Crisis” (Season 2, Episode 5)

Not all evil counterparts are driven by malice. Some simply want to be like the hero, even if they don’t know how to do that, like Bizarro.

Lex Luthor stole a sample of Superman’s blood and experimented to clone his own subservient Man of Steel. The experiment failed, resulting in a Frankenstein-esque imperfect clone called Bizarro. Luthor ordered the creature’s destruction, but Bizarro escaped.

Bizarro tried to act as Superman, but often caused disasters because of a lack of control and his warped view of the world. Superman reluctantly killed Bizarro because he was too dangerous to let live. New versions of Bizarro have been created by various villains.

Bizarro’s mind was damaged during the cloning process. He treats bad things as if they were good, good as bad, and often speaks backwards in broken English. It no am hard to misunderstand. Bizarro also has cryo-vision and fire breath to parallel Superman’s heat vision and freeze breath.

#4 The Maestro

Played by: Fred Tatascoire
Counterpart: The Hulk

Maestro: “You don’t know what lies ahead. I do. Listen to me, Bruce… they’re gonna take it all away. You’re going to end up with nothing and no one. Persecution, hatred, betrayal… these things don’t change.”

Hulk: Future Imperfect

Many heroes struggle with fear and doubt. No matter how good their self-control or morals are, there’s always a risk that they’ll be pushed too far and become a villain. So what happens when The Hulk travels into the future and meets our number four evil counterpart: The Maestro?

In a possible future, Mankind destroyed itself through nuclear war. Hulk survived the apocalypse and grew stronger by absorbing the radiation, allowing him to use Bruce Banner’s intelligence and his newly heightened strength. He found an enclave of survivors, became their leader, and killed anyone who opposed him. Hulk named his new kingdom Dystopia and adopted the title of Maestro.

Rebels discovered Dr. Doom’s time machine and brought The Hulk into the future to fight the Maestro. The young hero was no match for his older counterpart and was paralyzed from the neck down during their battle. The Maestro had Hulk stabilized so he wouldn’t cease to exist and tried to corrupt the hero into becoming him, even ordering several of his slaves to rape The Hulk. The Maestro is not a nice guy.

The rebels rescued a furious Hulk and healed him while he planned his attack. During a grueling rematch, the Maestro was lured into the time machine and sent back in time, landing in front of the gamma bomb that created Hulk. Banner was traumatized by his encounter with The Maestro and terrified by the thought of becoming him. Even worse, The Maestro is from a possible future, so he can never be permanently defeated.

#3 The Psycho Rangers

Played By: Patrick David, Michael Maize, Wally Wingert, Kamera Walton, and Vicki Davis
Counterparts: The Power Rangers

Psycho Red: “We’re the Psycho Rangers!”
Psycho Black: “We’re faster than you…”
Psycho Blue: “Smarter than you…”
Psycho Yellow: “Stronger than you…”
Psycho Pink: “But we’re evil!”

Power Rangers in Space “Rangers Gone Psycho” (Season 1, Episode 31)

One evil counterpart is a dangerous threat, but a team of them can push any heroes to the breaking point. Our number three pick is the first team of evil Power Rangers: the Psycho Rangers.

No one knows where the Psycho Rangers came from. A villain called Astronema discovered these evil counterparts and sent them to kill the Power Rangers, a task made easier by their ability to absorb the Rangers’ memories and fighting styles. 

The Psycho Rangers were more powerful than the Power Rangers in every way, often forcing the good guys to retreat. The Rangers had to rely on trickery, capitalize on the Psychos’ insanity, and pick them off individually. The Psycho Rangers were eventually destroyed.

The Psycho Rangers returned for a crossover in Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy, but Psycho Pink got the lion’s share of screen time. Actor Valerie Vernon needed to be written out of the show so that she could begin chemotherapy. The writers allowed Psycho Pink to kill her character, but resurrected her in the final episode once Vernon had completed her treatment. Valerie recovered and was still making fan appearances years later.

#2 The Darkest Knight

Played By: N/A
Counterpart: Batman

The Darkest Knight: “Now understand this: I know I am not a Batman of any kind. Not a Batman Who Laughs, not a Batmanhattan, not even a culmination of all evil Batmen. I am more. And to be more, I must not be a reaction. I must be the thing that creates the reaction. I will be the bullet. The multiverse will be the dark alley. And worlds will fall like pearls before me.”

Dark Knights: Death Metal

The brighter the light, the darker the shadow. Our penultimate evil counterpart is one of the most dangerous villains out there. He was once the Batman Who Laughs, but now all shall fear The Darkest Knight.

In the corrupt and twisted Dark Multiverse, a version of Batman murdered The Joker. The clown had the last laugh by infecting Batman with Joker Venom, transforming him into a new Joker. Within weeks, the Batman Who Laughs destroyed his world and traveled the Dark Multiverse to form a faux-Justice League of Dark Batmen.

The Batman Who Laughs launched an unsuccessful attack on the DC Universe. He later discovered a version of Bruce Wayne who had become the god-like Doctor Manhattan and possessed his body, transforming into The Darkest Knight.

The Darkest Knight ravaged the multiverse with his armies, forcing everyone to unite and fight him. He planned to enter the omniverse and destroy every multiverse along with everything that could ever exist. The Darkest Knight was eventually killed, allowing the heroes to repair what he had destroyed.

The Darkest Knight makes a strong argument to be our number one evil counterpart, but missed out for a single reason. His final winner-take-all battle for the omniverse was against… Wonder Woman. She’s a fantastic character, but the overarching story misses the poignancy of Batman being the one to overcome his darkest reflection. Close, but no cigar.

#1 Strange Supreme

Played By: Benedict Cumberbatch
Counterpart: Doctor Strange

O’Bengh: “Is she worth the pain? [Strange looks at him] A man does not suffer like this for his own glory.”
Strange: “Every moment of it.”
O’Bengh: “There is a fine line between devotion and delusion. Love can break more than your heart. It can shatter your mind.”
Strange: “Uh-huh, and in what book did you read that?”
O’Bengh: “No book, Armani. Life taught me that.”

What If? “What If Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?” (Season 1, Episode 4)

You’ve heard the old cliché about Hell’s pavement a thousand times, but it applies perfectly to our number one evil counterpart: Doctor Strange Supreme.

In another world, Dr. Christine Palmer was in a car accident with Dr. Strange. The impact killed her, leading Strange to search for a way to bring her back. He underwent the same journey as his MCU self, but chose to use the Time Stone to travel back and save her.

No matter how many times Strange tried, Christine always died. Strange realized he needed more power to save her. With the help of a reclusive wizard, Strange studied the dark arts, consumed countless magical beings to steal their powers, and transformed into Strange Supreme.

Strange Supreme tried one last time to save Christine and fought a version of himself who didn’t become a villain. He defeated his good counterpart and resurrected Christine, at the cost of his universe being destroyed and Christine dying seconds later. 

Strange Supreme survived the destruction and was given a chance to redeem himself. He was recruited by The Watcher to lead a team of Avengers against an Ultron who had claimed The Infinity Gauntlet. Strange Supreme did most of the heavy lifting in the fight, eventually helping seal Infinity Ultron away.

There are rumors that Strange Supreme will appear in 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. If so, how will the normal Doctor Strange react to his evil counterpart?

Who is your favorite evil counterpart? Is there one worse than these? Tell us in the comments.

Image: (L-R): Doctor Strange and Doctor Strange Supreme in Marvel Studios’ WHAT IF…? exclusively on Disney+. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.

Jared Bounacos

Jared Bounacos has written for Movie Rewind since 2016.