Not everyone wearing a costume in DC Comics has superpowers. Many make use of technology to give them an edge. Of course, some of these people are villains using gadgets to rob bans, get revenge on heroes, or try to take over the world. Some villains work with a theme, usually tied to their identity.
This makes for a unique mix of technology employed in crime. This was more prevalent in the Silver Age, most likely to get past the Comics Code Authority or to avoid anyone trying to duplicate villains’ actions with relatively easy-to-acquire weapons. This also made the stories slightly sillier, but each villain became unique. Some even excelled in coming up with fantastic gadgets.
10/10 Killer Moth Is The Anti-Batman
Killer Moth doesn’t get enough credit. In the Golden and Silver Ages, he was the Batman villain who presented the most direct opposition to Dark Knight. Somewhere along the way, he became less the anti-Batman and more of a joke, becoming the first villain Batgirl stopped.
Killer Moth’s lack of status as a Batman villain led to him selling his soul for superpowers. Unfortunately, this resulted in the original character’s death. Perhaps the original should’ve focused on his gadgets, like his Mothmobile and Cocoon Gun, rather than taking the easy way to superpowers.
9/10 The First Mirror Master Developed Several Mirror-Based Gadgets To Vex The Flash
The Silver Age Mirror Master would use various weapons and other gadgets based on the chemicals he mixed in prison. These chemicals were based on the traditional silver coating that mirrors used. The science is questionable, but it’s for 1960s superhero comics, so fans generally allow some slack.
Mirror Master’s gadgets included a gun, a mind-control device, and a device to change his appearance. He frequently made use of a “mirror dimension” that he used to trap people inside mirrors. Mirror Master’s intelligence may have been underrated, but the danger he posed was not.
8/10 Grimbor’s Chains May Be Ridiculous, But They’re Incredibly Effective
Most enemies who face the Legion of Super-Heroes don’t use gadgets, but Grimbor is special. His mastery of binding opponents extends to inventing chains for super-powered foes. He worked as a locksmith and jailer, creating restraints for private use.
Then Grimbor came under Charma’s influence, who could mentally bend men to her will. When their plan to extort money from Legion financier R. J. Brande failed, Charma discovered in a women’s prison that her power had the opposite effect on women, and she was killed. Grimbor then harbored a grudge against the Legion, developing energy chains large enough to bind the entire Earth.
7/10 The Toyman’s Toy-Themed Gadgets Are Deadly
The Toyman is a Superman villain who goes back to the Golden Age. There have been many versions, and all of them have weaponized toys. There are laser-shooting flying action figures, exploding teddy bears, and giant, deadly robotic marionettes.
The Toyman is an exceptional engineer, mastering electronic and mechanical disciplines. As everything he builds is based on children’s playthings, he doesn’t go much past weaponizing toys. He’s created everything from razor-sharp toy birds and acid gum to an exploding hula-hoop and a giant, robotic version of himself.
6/10 The Mad Hatter’s Mind-Control Hats Are Genius Engineering
Jervis Tetch was a brilliant neuroscientist but was also delusional and exhibited obsessive, compulsive behavior. This led to a life of murder and crime. A fan of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, he modeled his criminal persona after the Mad Hatter from those books.
Mad Hatter incorporated mind control technology into his hats and also devised hats to copy someone’s memories. He even designed a hat that made him happier than any illegal drug. Unfortunately, he often chose to use his brilliant devices for nefarious purposes.
5/10 Prometheus Originally Faced The JLA With So Many Cool Gadgets
When Prometheus first opposed the JLA, he made use of several gadgets. The most impressive was a helmet that let him download information on his opponents directly into his brain. This was the one that later versions of the character used the most.
Prometheus also used a baton with several uses, a great melee weapon that enhanced his fighting skills. His gauntlets could fire various projectiles, but his greatest asset was one he took from a stranded alien. It was a ghost key to another dimension where Prometheus based his operations in a crooked house.
4/10 Gizmo Makes Fantastic Gadgets Out Of Practically Anything
The smallest member of the original Fearsome Five was also one of the most dangerous. Mikron O’Jeneus went by Gizmo, since he built anything he needed out of scrap materials. H started supplying these gadgets to other criminals but set out with the Fearsome Five to get richer.
Gizmo once freed the rest of the Fearsome Five from prison using junk assembled to short out the electricity to the prison. He also converted a fire extinguisher to spew a super-hardened foam. Notably, Gizmo created a handheld device capable of reading minds and causing brain damage.
3/10 The Penguin’s Umbrellas Became Legendary For Their Variety
Batman’s enemy, the Penguin, has a reputation for having a deadly arsenal of umbrellas concealing many devices. Some spewed gas, others had hidden blades, and still more shot bullets. If the Penguin stopped there, he’d be effective, but he’s used many others with other special effects.
One umbrella concealed helicopter blades that let the Penguin make airborne escapes. He later upgraded this into one using a jet engine. The Penguin’s even used an umbrella that allowed him to hypnotize people.
2/10 Doctor Sivana Effectively Battled The Marvel Family With His Inventions
Doctor Sivana has been the premiere foe of Captain Marvel, now called Shazam, from the very beginning. He was driven to crime when the industry rejected and laughed at his inventions. Doctor Sivana’s gadgets would be some of the most original and advanced of the Golden Age.
Doctor Sivana developed a machine to cancel radio waves, an atom smasher, and a spaceship thirty years before the first satellite was put into orbit. He created a gadget to scramble memories, a teleporter, and a time machine. Sivana was even awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics for inventions he considered useless.
1/10 Lex Luthor Has Invented So Many Gadgets It’s Hard To Catalog Them All
Before being reimagined as a business mogul, Lex Luthor was a criminal scientist. The one invention most fans remember is his war suit, putting him at a power level to compete with Superman. He’s also created clones and other lifeforms to threaten Superman, like the Galactic Golem and Bizarro.
Lex Luthor’s most evil use of his genius was detailed in the Silver Age “Imaginary story” from Superman #149 by Jerry Siegel, Curt Swan, and Sheldon Moldoff. After discovering the cure for cancer, Luther recounted his tornado-creating Atomic Top while he pretended to reform. Lex then killed Superman with a Kryptonite ray he built in orbit. He tried to barter for his freedom with a way to enlarge the bottle city of Kandor, but Lex’s offer was refused in favor of justice.
