Highlights
- Swamp Thing, a hero who protects his swamps, is what nightmares are made of with his terrifying appearance as a plant-man hybrid.
- Darkseid, the biggest bad in DC, presides over a scary civilization and poses a threat to the Justice League with his quest for ultimate power.
- Nekron, the creator of the Black Lantern Corps, embodies death and can control the dead, making him one of the scariest villains in DC.
DC Comics unveiled hundreds of characters over the years. While some are kid-friendly to the point of being boring, others personify the definition of spooky. These characters, whether heroic or villainous, can induce nightmares in readers.
Some DC Comics characters may tap into the magical realm while others feed on fear and suspense. Others are created from some other supernatural phenomenon which leads to their existence for good or bad. What is common is that all of these characters can be deadly. As the spooky season ramps up, which of these DC Comics characters is the spookiest?
10 Swamp Thing
While a true hero and a good guy, Swamp Thing is still exactly what nightmares are made of. The green blob lives in a swamp and looks to be a combination of plant and man. He's a swamp monster that would frighten anyone who stumbled upon him.
Swamp Thing protects his swamps and humanity from threats, both natural and supernatural. He stops eco-terrorism at every turn. Still, no one wants to run into Swamp Thing on their own.
9 Darkseid
Arguably, the biggest bad that DC has ever created, Darkseid presides over one of the scariest civilizations ever created on Apokolips. This villain can hold his own in a fight with Superman. He is also determined to find the "anti-life equations" to rule the universe with an iron fist.
On top of his truly villainous beliefs and quests as a conqueror, he's also a giant monster with no fear. He cares nothing for humanity and has even forced the Justice League to abandon their core beliefs to beat him.
8 Trigon
Trigon may be the DC villain that most resembles nightmares straight out of The Bible. This powerful being seeks to kill as many as possible. Anyone who survives becomes his slave. Trigon is a giant and horrible-looking creature whose power is almost unlimited.
Trigon is also the father to Raven, which often puts him at odds with the Justice League and the Teen Titans. A powerful and evil killer targeting teens is scary beyond belief.
7 Solomon Grundy
A zombie born out of a mystical swamp, what more does one need to consider someone "spooky?" Solomon Grundy is partly decomposed and made from swamp matter from that same swamp outside Gotham City where he was spawned. Grundy is undead, which means he really can't die.
While heroes are often able to defeat Solomon Grundy, he is always able to regenerate. He has super strength and no moral compass. Solomon Grundy is a vicious monster and one of the spookiest ever created by DC Comics.
6 Batman
While Batman always targets evil people, he is still one of the most terrifying DC Comics characters. He becomes spooky himself as he faces off against some of the scariest villains. His villains can either resemble characters from wilder literary stories right up to an evil and sadistic killer clown.
Being the opposite of Superman when it comes to how he protects civilians, Batman has the ability to be a beacon of light for the people of Gotham. However, he chooses to instill fear in the criminal underworld. It's effective, to say the least.
5 Joker
While an evil clown can be scary on its own, the Joker being able to be Batman's biggest foe vaults him higher on the totem pole of spookiest DC Comics characters. The Joker is a sadist who has thrown a live baby at Sara Essex, killing her, and paralyzing Barbara Gordon with a gunshot.
He appears to be the yin to Batman's yang. Batman may be a Dark Knight who is willing to cross a lot of lines for justice, but the Joker makes Batman look sane and rational with his actions.
4 Victor Zsasz
While some of these scary villains are something that can only be seen in fiction, what makes Victor Zsasz so frightening is he's a person who can be seen in the real world. He's a serial killer with no true superpowers, but he marks himself after every murder. It's unnerving, violent, and completely realistic.
While he doesn't have a specific type of victim, Zsasz has shown an affinity for killing women. He's also able to constantly break out of Arkham Asylum on his own, making him even more threatening.
3 The Batman Who Laughs
This newer Batman villain answers the question of what happens if Batman and the Joker are the same person. As the main villain of the DC Metal series, The Batman Who Laughs wreaked havoc not just in that realm, but in the Multiverse as well.
This is the most unnerving portrayal of a twisted Batman. His backstory is horrifying, and his abilities lead him to be pure nightmare fuel.
2 Doomsday
What happens when an unthinking killer born in the depths of pre-historic Krypton crashes on Earth? He carves a path of destruction that leads to the death of Superman. He is as powerful as the Man of Steel. Superman had to give up his own life to stop Doomsday.
Both Superman and Doomsday have been resurrected, but that creates a terrifying question. What happens if Doomsday is able to kill Superman and survives the battle himself? Who would stop him then?
1 Nekron
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The Black Lantern Corps is one of the most evil supervillain teams ever created, and its creator, Nekron, is one of the scariest villains DC has ever imagined. Nekron embodies death and was responsible for one of the most violent DC crossover events with Blackest Night. His Black Lantern rings were able to turn Superman and Wonder Woman evil.
Besides being physically terrifying, Nekron is also a necromancer, meaning he can control the dead. This makes him more terrifying than most and can strike fear in the bravest people.