Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and DC Entertainment’s new documentary Necessary Evil: Super-Villains of DC Comics made its world debut today at New York Comic-Con. The film, narrated by legendary screen baddie Christopher Lee (Lord of the Rings, the Star Wars prequels, and Hammer horror classics), features interviews with many comic book icons who have played a role in making super-villains such as Joker, Lex Luthor and Sinestro so infamous.
These interviewees include DC Comics and animation veterans such as Geoff Johns, Jim Lee, Paul Dini, Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, Neal Adams, Scott Snyder, James Robinson, Dan Didio, Brian Azzarello, Doug Mahnke, Mike Carlin, Bob Harras, Tony S. Daniel, Brian Buccellato, Peter J. Tomasi, Paul Levitz, Glen Murakami, Andrea Romano, Marc Guggenheim, Ed Boon, and Bobbie Chase.
There were also interviews with Man of Steel director Zack Snyder and actor Michael Shannon, as well as veteran Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy, Batman film series executive producer Michael B. Uslan, DC video game exec producer Ames Kirshen, actor Scott Porter, WWE superstar CM Punk, and intellectuals Dr. Andrea Letamendi and Dr. Travis Langley.
The documentary covers all the usual suspects — Joker, Luthor, Catwoman, Sinestro, Two-Face, Penguin, Braniac, Darkseid, Black Adam, Bane, General Zod, Mr. Freeze, Riddler, Scarecrow, Star Sapphire, Captain Cold, Ra’s al Ghul, Doomsday, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Cheetah, Red Hood, Dr. Sivana, Deathstroke, Bizarro, Deadshot, Black Manta, Metallo, Parallax, Solomon Grundy, Amanda Waller — as well as less than celebrated heavies such as Starro, the Anti-Monitor, Atrocitus, and the Ultra-Humanite. Relatively recent creations such as the Court of Owls, First Born, and The Trench are also discussed.
The documentary covers the traits and tropes of super-villains, and breaks them down into categories such as monsters (e.g., Man-Bat, Clayface), mad scientists (e.g., Luthor, Sivana), overlords (e.g., Zod, Sinestro), femme fatales (e.g., Catwoman, Poison Ivy), and criminal masterminds (e.g., Penguin, Black Mask). There’s also sections on henchmen and super-villain teams such as the Rogues, the Legion of Doom, Suicide Squad, and The Secret Society. Even the Guardians of the Universe are depicted as villains.
The documentary doesn’t exactly cover any ground that any passionate DC fan wouldn’t already know about or cover anything thematically or psychologically about these villains that informed fans wouldn’t already understand so in that regard it’s really works best as a primer for the uninitiated. By collecting such an array of articulate, intelligent and passionate interview subjects and letting them speak at length, Necessary Evil provides the layperson viewer with an understanding of not only who these characters are but why they have such lasting appeal. Check out a trailer below.
