The Things I Think About
So, who are the best comic book and cartoon villains to work for? Consider pay, job security, and likelihood that the boss might kill you for looking at him funny or throw you at Superman when his scheme turns to shit. Use a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the ideal. Explain your answer.
Hank Scorpio has a 10 rating.
Hank gives his employees fantastic benefits, corporate housing, and room for advancement. He's also a great guy, when he's not trying to kill James Bond, overthrow the government, or take over the world.
Darkseid has a 1 rating.
Darkseid pays poorly, offers sadistic on-the-job training, and engages in nepotism. He will not only kill you painfully but erase you from existence if you even HINT that he like puppydogs.
Dr. Doom gets a rating of 5. He's not so much a boss as he is a monarch who expects undying fealty from his literal subjects. Low-level workers are likely Latverian peasants. Persons in management or technological positions are most likely motivated through torture and threats to kill their entire family. Pay you? You're lucky he doesn't kill you for not smiling while you work on the Doomsday Bomb. On the other hand, if you keep your head down and your nose to the grindstone, Doom generally won't cut off your head or shove your nose against a grindstone. Don't expect a profit-sharing plan though.That's okay, because, as ludickid points out, you have universal healthcare and live in a Utopian society, so long as you accept that your sole purpose is to serve Doom.
As has been discussed, the Joker's ability to hire countless henchmen, even in the face of his obvious insanity, penchant for mayhem without profit potential, and the likelihood that he'll kill you horribly just because he thinks it's funny, confuses me. In the 30s through the 60s, while murderous, he rarely turned on his own employees, who usually looked like Untouchables extras in their suits and fedoras. Come the 1970s, the Joker would whack you for not laughing at his creepy jokes, usually with an electrified hand buzzer, BANG! dart gun, Joker venom, or simply by pushing you into the path of an oncoming car. It's been pointed out to me that Mr. J. currently hires the mentally handicapped, insane, and, apparently, random psychopaths who don't give a damn where the money is coming from. This makes it tricky to rate him as an employer. I'd say he gets a 2 for regular, non-crazy workers, but until he whacks a retarded henchman-which I think he has yet to do-he gets a 3. If he asks though, tell him he's an 11, otherwise he'll fry your face off.
Lex Luthor must be pretty decent to work for because he treats crime like a business. While murderous, he's not random or even that unfair in his killings of workers who have disappointed him. If you led the Kryptonian to his lab or try to reveal the truth about his past, what do you expect? At least you know where you stand with the man. On the other hand, he's a Type A freak who expects you to work yourself as hard he does. Also, he's a sexual harassment suit that will never ever happen. Look out if you're a hot lady scientist. Those lab coats drive him wild. Otherwise, I'm guessing he pays well, and you even get medical/dental and vacation time. To stay on the up and up, he no doubt takes care of social security, etc. as well. While not boss of the year, Lex gets a 7.
Hank Scorpio has a 10 rating.
Hank gives his employees fantastic benefits, corporate housing, and room for advancement. He's also a great guy, when he's not trying to kill James Bond, overthrow the government, or take over the world.
Darkseid has a 1 rating.
Darkseid pays poorly, offers sadistic on-the-job training, and engages in nepotism. He will not only kill you painfully but erase you from existence if you even HINT that he like puppydogs.
Dr. Doom gets a rating of 5. He's not so much a boss as he is a monarch who expects undying fealty from his literal subjects. Low-level workers are likely Latverian peasants. Persons in management or technological positions are most likely motivated through torture and threats to kill their entire family. Pay you? You're lucky he doesn't kill you for not smiling while you work on the Doomsday Bomb. On the other hand, if you keep your head down and your nose to the grindstone, Doom generally won't cut off your head or shove your nose against a grindstone. Don't expect a profit-sharing plan though.That's okay, because, as ludickid points out, you have universal healthcare and live in a Utopian society, so long as you accept that your sole purpose is to serve Doom.
As has been discussed, the Joker's ability to hire countless henchmen, even in the face of his obvious insanity, penchant for mayhem without profit potential, and the likelihood that he'll kill you horribly just because he thinks it's funny, confuses me. In the 30s through the 60s, while murderous, he rarely turned on his own employees, who usually looked like Untouchables extras in their suits and fedoras. Come the 1970s, the Joker would whack you for not laughing at his creepy jokes, usually with an electrified hand buzzer, BANG! dart gun, Joker venom, or simply by pushing you into the path of an oncoming car. It's been pointed out to me that Mr. J. currently hires the mentally handicapped, insane, and, apparently, random psychopaths who don't give a damn where the money is coming from. This makes it tricky to rate him as an employer. I'd say he gets a 2 for regular, non-crazy workers, but until he whacks a retarded henchman-which I think he has yet to do-he gets a 3. If he asks though, tell him he's an 11, otherwise he'll fry your face off.
Lex Luthor must be pretty decent to work for because he treats crime like a business. While murderous, he's not random or even that unfair in his killings of workers who have disappointed him. If you led the Kryptonian to his lab or try to reveal the truth about his past, what do you expect? At least you know where you stand with the man. On the other hand, he's a Type A freak who expects you to work yourself as hard he does. Also, he's a sexual harassment suit that will never ever happen. Look out if you're a hot lady scientist. Those lab coats drive him wild. Otherwise, I'm guessing he pays well, and you even get medical/dental and vacation time. To stay on the up and up, he no doubt takes care of social security, etc. as well. While not boss of the year, Lex gets a 7.