Every hero in the DC universe has a gallery of villains dedicated to their own evil plans. Without a good villain, a hero has no way to prove their heroic worth, but a villain is only as good as their backstory. The origin of a great antagonist can provide context or motivation that adds depth to their character.
Some villains want power or money, but others may just be misunderstood or even have good intentions that are poorly executed. Hopefully, some of these stories can help fans to understand these iconic DC comic book villains a little better.
6 Dex-Starr
Dex-Starr may not be one of the most famous DC villains, but he certainly has one of the most unique backstories. Dex-Starr was once a common house cat named Dexter. He had a comfortable life with a woman until one day she was murdered during a robbery. Dexter was forced onto the streets, where some hooligans captured him and threw him off a bridge as a cruel joke.
This filled the cat with so much rage he was approached by a red lantern ring as he was near death. The red lanterns use rage to fuel their powerful cosmic rings and each member of the corps is chosen by the rings themselves. After the ring found him, he became Dex-Starr and pursued a life as a space-faring red lantern, eventually earning a place as the right-hand man of the red lantern leader known as Atrocitus.
5 Doomsday
Doomsday is a grotesque monster with no goal other than to kill and destroy. But, even something as animalistic as him has a reason for his ways. He was created in prehistoric Krypton by a mad scientist. The scientist's first creation was killed by the planet's harsh environment, but this didn't deter them from their work.
The scientist used those remains to create another creature and this cycle continued until an ultimate life form was created that could withstand almost anything. Unfortunately Doomsday had all those past deaths still deep inside his consciousness and DNA. This is what gave him a hatred of all forms of life. It's no wonder why he was the one to kill Superman with his bare hands.
4 Joker
Joker may not have an official origin that's canon in the DC universe, but Alan Moore's acclaimed Killing Joke comic gave him what most fans consider his definitive backstory. Once a failing comedian, the man now known as Joker resorted to robbery in order to provide for his pregnant wife. This led to him accidentally falling into a vat of chemicals at the Ace Chemical factory he was robbing.
The chemicals not only turned his skin a pale white, his hair green, and his lips red, but also broke his mind and sent him spiraling into insanity. The Joker, of course, went on to be Batman's most famous and twisted nemesis. What makes Joker's origin great is that it shows how one bad day can cause any man to fall.
3 Cheetah
The vicious Cheetah wasn't always an animalistic foe to Wonder Woman. She used to be a mild-mannered archeologist named Barbara Ann Minerva who once traveled to Africa and met a mysterious tribe protected by a cheetah spirit guardian. Barbara was then tricked by a witch doctor to drink a potion that would supposedly give her immortality.
Unfortunately, the witch doctor failed to tell her that the ritual only works if the host is a virgin. This caused Barbara to be transformed into a cheetah-like creature with a lust for blood. Unable to reverse this curse, Barbara went on to become the villainous Cheetah with an unquenchable taste for human flesh.
2 Bane
Bane is one of Batman's most feared villains. He is a genius with unmatched strength and fighting skills. Bane became the man he is today by being imprisoned as a child for the crimes of his father. This caused Bane to have a truly hellish childhood, where he was forced to fight for his life on a daily basis.
If this wasn't already enough, Bane was experimented on in the prison where he was subjected to a chemical called venom that was created to turn people into super soldiers. The experiments were considered a failure and Bane was left with a crippling addiction to the venom and an even more broken psyche. Bane eventually escaped the prison and lived a life filled with hatred and rage due to his past trauma.
1 Mr. Freeze
Dr. Victor Fries was a successful scientist in cryogenics with a loving wife named Nora. Unfortunately, Nora was terminally ill and Victor became dedicated to saving her life. While trying to steal supplies from a cryogenic lab, Victor was involved in a lab accident that permanently altered his body temperature and color.
Now forced to wear a suit that keeps his body cold, Victor uses his new equipment to find any way to save Nora. His goal tends to lead to him stealing top-of-the-line medical equipment and tech. This, along with the fact that Victor will stop at absolutely nothing to save his wife (including murder), causes him to butt heads with Batman on a somewhat regular basis. Mr. Freeze is one of DC Comics' most sympathetic villains. In fact, his discipline and good intentions are even admired by Batman himself.