Black Manta

Black superheroes have undergone a necessary evolution over the last 50 years. Luke Cage was originally a jive-talking hero-for-hire, but he's become an altruistic mainstay of the Marvel heroes. Storm leads the X-Men, while Black Panther makes decisions that gravely affect the state of the universe. The growth and variation of black superheroes has brought them out of the shadows. But we're still lacking the same sort of evolution and diversification for great black supervillains. Off the top of your head how many can you name? And of those, how many are iconic?

You voted to see who Aquaman‘s ultimate arch-enemy was, and we’ve tabulated the results and assembled a video counting down the definitive top 10. Did your favorite make this list? There’s only one way to find out!

The DC Universe doesn’t lack for some of the most iconic heroes and heroines in comics. So it’s a good thing for the baddies that the DC Universe also has its share of great and heinous villains. With the DC villains being as colorful as they are, there are plenty of excellent cosplayers out there to offer up the darker side of cosplay. In every cape, cowl, and scar, these cosplayers bring the frightening visages of their favorite villains to life, and make the cosplay world just a little more exciting. These are the best DC Villain cosplays.

Our chief cosplay correspondent Betty Felon was on hand at New York Comic-Con to document as much of the amazing cosplay as she could find. Check out more of the very finest cosplay from New York.

This week I'm doing something a little different. With the DC movie universe expanding, all the talk about Suicide Squad, and the recent announcement that Black Manta will be in the Aquaman movie, I've been thinking about the future of DC supervillains on screen. We've also been doing this fun DC Supervillain Draft, and that's got me thinking in particular about the Legion of Doom, who originated in the Challenge of the Superfriends cartoon, and what an interesting collection of classic DC villains they are. So I decided to cast the Legion of Doom.

There are enough great DC supervillains to fill Belle Reve Prison several times over, so we've asked ComicsAlliance contributors Benito Cereno, Elle Collins, Chris Haley, Emma Lawson, Kieran Shiach, and Tom Speelman to compete in putting together their very best fantasy DC supervillain teams. In part one, several of the publisher's most iconic villains were snapped up, including Lex Luthor, Catwoman, Doomsday, and Darkseid, and Benito locked in two of DC's greatest apes in Gorilla Grodd and Monsieur Mallah. With some of the most obvious choices out of the way, where will our panelists look next?

In honor of the caped crusaders of the convention scene, ComicsAlliance has created Best Cosplay Ever (This Week), an ongoing collection of some of the most impeccable, creative, and clever costumes that we’ve discovered and assembled into a super-showcase of pure fan-devoted talent.

As part of the celebration for reaching 250,000 Facebook fans, DC Collectibles has opened its vaults to showcase some prototyped but never developed figures from the past. What's more, DC's asking for your input to see which figures out of the bunch you'd like to see made the most. If any get made at all. Toy production is a fickle thing, and many times, the concepts and prototypes teased at events like Toy Fair never see the light of day. Whether it's due to a lack of interest at retail, unexpected production costs, or the dissolution of a line dwindling in sales, there are probably just as many ideas collecting dust in a manufacturer's studio as there are actual releases on your shelves. It's rare to get a glimpse into what could have been, but DC Collectibles has given a tiny peek inside its vaults.

Repaints aren't always improvements upon already-released sculpts, but in the case of the re-packaged Aqua Man and Black Manta and Batman and Robin DC Universe Classics 2-Packs at Wal-Mart, the new looks seem appropriate. Aquaman's gold top may bring a little more shine than most of his comics-accurate incarnations, but his boxmate Black Manta seems to be sporting a true-blue costume...