Some people say a hero is only as good as his villain, and the more memorable ones sometimes even outshine the protagonist. People didn't leave The Dark Knight thinking, "Man, Bale blew it out of the water!" Villains need a really memorable name that invokes fear and mystery. Sephiroth. Voldemort. Darth Vader. Hannibal. Sauron. You get a feel of the character simply by hearing his name. Even if their name isn't particularly intimidating, a good villain name still fits the character. Like Joffrey from ASOIAF/Game of Thrones. Joffrey is a stupid sounding name that some asshole nobody likes would have, so it's perfect. Joker isn't scary, but there could be no better name for such an antagonist (Captain Clown?).
However, sometimes writers completely miss the mark with villain names and give them something completely unremarkable/silly/tryhard. I nominated PROFESSOR ZOOM.
Now, if he was like a joke character similar to Polka Dot Man, the name would be fine. But he's one of the Flash's principal antagonists and perhaps the most famous. Many villains have a title, like Doctor or Master, but Professor is the least scary of them all. Doctor conveys the idea that maybe he dissects people and sews them back together, or that he's a mad scientist who can create terrifying inventions. A villain who only has "professor" makes me think his origin story involved poisoning a rival teacher to ensure tenure. "Zoom" is something a five year old would say as they run past you, perhaps pretending to a be a much cooler-sounding villain. I wouldn't be shocked if his origin story involved him being a college professor, and kids started mispronouncing his foreign last name as "Zoom" when it was really Zumopolous and he eventually snapped. He also goes by Reverse Flash, which is also pretty stupid. You're giving all the power to the hero in the relationship, you are merely a shadow of him and not your own creation.
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However, sometimes writers completely miss the mark with villain names and give them something completely unremarkable/silly/tryhard. I nominated PROFESSOR ZOOM.
Now, if he was like a joke character similar to Polka Dot Man, the name would be fine. But he's one of the Flash's principal antagonists and perhaps the most famous. Many villains have a title, like Doctor or Master, but Professor is the least scary of them all. Doctor conveys the idea that maybe he dissects people and sews them back together, or that he's a mad scientist who can create terrifying inventions. A villain who only has "professor" makes me think his origin story involved poisoning a rival teacher to ensure tenure. "Zoom" is something a five year old would say as they run past you, perhaps pretending to a be a much cooler-sounding villain. I wouldn't be shocked if his origin story involved him being a college professor, and kids started mispronouncing his foreign last name as "Zoom" when it was really Zumopolous and he eventually snapped. He also goes by Reverse Flash, which is also pretty stupid. You're giving all the power to the hero in the relationship, you are merely a shadow of him and not your own creation.
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