By Patrick Thomas
I always wondered why super- villains were so dumb, even when coming up with a plan to take over the world or at least the Tri-State area. I love a good super-powered knock-down drag-out fight as much as the next guy, but why do the superheroes and super-villains always have to fight? Why is it superheroes always have to slug it out when they first meet? No talking, just fists and laser beams.
Super-villains have powers and sometimes they’re even cooler than the heroes. When you have the power of magnetism, super strength, speed, are invulnerability or have the power to control elements why waste your time robbing a bank? Isn’t there some other way they could use their powers to come up with money legitimately? Or even become incredibly rich?
In my story for the Crazy 8 Press Love, Murder & Mayhem anthology “As Time Goes By”, I explore this trope. My main character starts off as a super villain getting out of prison. He’s met by the hero put him there and instead of threatening him the hero actually encourages the villain to do something with his power to earn money without going outside of the law and maybe even help humanity. Thanks to the love and support of his wife he rises to the challenge. The guy is an old school super villain. He’s never killed, only robbed banks and jewelry exchanges and such. The truth is he’s not a bad guy, just someone who made some bad decisions and never thought through what he could really accomplish with his abilities.