Villains United (Countdown to Infinite Crisis) [Paperback]

Gail Simone (Author), Dale Eaglesham (Illustrator), Wade Von Grawbadger (Illustrator), J. G. Jones (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: January 1, 2006

Written by Gail Simone Art by Dale Eaglesham, Val Semeiks, Wade von Grawbadger and Prentis Rollins Cover by J.G. Jones Collecting the intriguing 6-issue miniseries that led into INFINITE CRISIS! Six of justice's deadliest enemies band together to start a revolution. Together, they want to take a stand to stop the super-heroic community from tampering with their minds and to prove how deadly they can be! But not everyone agrees to this agenda. Six rogues are recruited by the enigmatic Mockingbird, charged with opposing the Society and given assignments to thwart their rivals and even help their enemies. Who is Mockingbird? Could it be one of the six? The status quo is rocked by the Society's formation and the revelations along the way make certain that when the Secret Six are done, nothing in the DCU will ever be the same!

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Villains United is one of the four miniseries that lead up to DC's Infinite Crisis. Lex Luthor uses the events of Identity Crisis (as well as the threat of unstoppable force) to persuade nearly every super villain to join his "society," which is led by a core group of himself, Deathstroke, Talia, Black Adam, Dr. Psycho, and Calculator. But a band of relatively obscure villains--Cat Man, Scandal, Cheshire, Deadshot, Parademon, and Ragdoll--organized by a mysterious figure named Mockingbird and calling themselves the Secret Six, defy Luthor, leading to all-out war. It's action-packed and includes some fantastic full-page shots, and is fun for people who like to pick out people from criminal lineups. If you can't recognize everyone, the trade paperback has a guide to the characters as well as a summary of events leading up to the six-issue series (but not the 2006 one-shot issue published during the run of Infinite Crisis). Written by Gail Simone (Birds of Prey) with art by Dale Eaglesham and Val Semeiks. --David Horiuchi

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up–The DC heroes are temporarily out of the picture while the villains take center stage. Lex Luthor recruits hundreds of people to join The Society to get revenge on the heroes of the Justice League of America. The handful of individuals who dare to say no to him become the Secret Six. They are led by the mysterious Mockingbird. This book would be best appreciated by fans of the DC universe as they will understand more of the inside references, but the fact that most of the villains are obscure lower-tier characters means that the story will be accessible to most readers. The volume includes eight pages of background information from the DC universe that led up to this point, including excerpts from the Superman/Batman, JLA, Wonder Woman, Teen Titans, and Countdown to Infinite Crisis comics. A helpful Identifying the Villains section aids readers in keeping straight the more than 75 starring and cameo appearances throughout the book. With its many plot twists and edge-of-the-seat action sequences, this offering will turn readers into Catman fans, even if they've never heard of him before.–Andrea Lipinski, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (January 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140120838X
• ISBN-13: 978-1401208387
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 0.3 x 10.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #140,911 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars One book + 320 villains = a whole lot of fun January 4, 2006

By E. David Swan VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Lex Luthor has assembled the newest incarnation of the Secret Society of Super Villains and this time it's a doozy. The latest Society is legion in number having 314 members including heavy hitters like Black Adam, Sinestro and Solomon Grundy, small timers like Scarecrow and Cheetah II and completely obscure villains like Captain Nazi and Mr. Terrible (whoever that is). This is without a doubt the most impressive line-up of super villains in the history of comics and who stands in their way but a small group of six villains know as the Secret Six. This group, led by the mysterious Mockingbird, includes Deadshot, Catman, the new Rag Doll, Parademon, the daughter of Vandal Savage and some woman named Cheshire. If there seems to be a power disparity between these two groups it's only because there is in fact a massive power disparity. In their first assault on the Society the overmatched six are quickly beaten down, captured and tortured.

Villains United is a much better series than the forgettable Day of Vengeance and it occasionally borders on excellent. Perhaps the most interesting part is the transformation of Catman from bottom tier villain into a credible and formidable fighter. In some ways it seems as if the writer was trying to change Catman into the mirror image of Batman and when he wears his black costume during the middle section of the book he's a dead ringer for the Dark Knight. The other part I thought was well done was the friendship between the new Rag Doll and Parademon. Because of his upbringing on Apocalypse Parademon is the only member of the Secret Six who actually enjoys the torture delivered by the Society. It's these little moments in Villains United that make the series interesting and fun.... There is an actual touching scene at the end of the series between the bizarre Rag Doll and the violent, unstable Parademon that will likely stick with the reader after the book is put away and forgotten.

Like the rest of the Crisis books Villains United concludes on a cliffhanger that's meant to be resolved in Infinite Crisis. A few villains die in the series, a few new ones are created and a few emerge as larger players. I'm curious to see how this gigantic assemblage of characters plays out as the Infinite Crisis unfolds. Read more ›

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The Society vs. The Secret Six January 27, 2006

By Johnny Heering

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This was a Countdown to Infinite Crisis tie-in mini-series. Luthor, Talia, Deathstroke, Black Adam, Calculator and Dr. Psycho form a "Society" of super-villains to stand against the super-heroes. But a few villains won't sign up, and those villains are the Secret Six, lead by the mysterious Mockingbird. The real "breakout" character of the Secret Six is Catman, an obscure Batman villain who I always thought had a lot of potential as sort of an "Anti-Batman". Here, he gets made over into the character he always should have been. Anyway, this is a fun series that fans of DCU super-villains should enjoy.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Extremely delighted with Villains United! July 26, 2006

By H. Bala TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback

Having learned of the Justice League's mind-tampering of several of their colleagues - most notably, the deranged Dr. Light - many of the DC universe's supervillains unite and form the Secret Society of Super-Villains for their own protection, under the leadership of Lex Luthor. However, not all the villains are eager to sign up, even with the threat of bodily harm. Six of these non-joiners even go as far as to form their own counter-team. This group, comprising of a lesser caliber of costumed villains and calling themselves the Secret Six, is ramrodded by the mysterious Mockingbird, a figure lurking in shadows who seemingly has his own murky agenda. The Secret Six's main goal is to undermine, combat, and eventually eradicate the Society. Hah! Good luck to them. The odds aren't very good...

There's a Seven Samurai (or Magnificent Seven) feel to this mini-series as the underdog, undermanned and underpowered Six go up against Luthor's Society, which numbers in the hundreds and has on its roster high powered names such as Black Adam, Bizarro and Sinestro, each of whom can singlehandedly wipe out the upstart crew without breaking a sweat. I can almost hear Elmer Bernstein's rousing Magnificent Seven score in the background as the Six go about their way. The Secret Six, by the way, consists of the deadly accurate Deadshot, the duplicitous Cheshire, the new and very odd Rag Doll, the crude and pain-loving Parademon, Scandal (the daughter of Vandal Savage), and the revamped Catman. Only Parademon seems to be on the heavy hitter level.

The Secret Six reminds me of the defunct Suicide Squad, which also takes the premise of banding together several villains to undertake against-odds covert missions.... Unlike the goody-goody superhero titles, there is an escalated level of grittiness and tension here. Members have spats and the reader is never sure that these spats wouldn't lead to serious violence and even death. Most of the group seem to have no compunction against killing, notably Deadshot and Cheshire. Of the six, only Catman seems to be somewhat on the side of the virtuous, the others either ambiguously straddling the fence or being decidedly amoral and villainous. Who lives, who dies? It's really up in the air in this mini-series.

This 6-part offering is of course one of the four limited series in 2005 which led up to the big 7-issue Infinite Crisis saga. The other three are The OMAC Project, The Rann-Thanagar War, and Day of Vengeance. There's also an added four-issue Crisis tie-in series featuring the return of Donna Troy. Villains United is my preferred series out of all of these. Expertly written by Gail Simone and artistically rendered by Dale Eaglesham and Val Semeiks, this is an engrossing story which doesn't necessitate any great familiarity with the characters and urges the reader to empathize and side with the underdog. I'm certainly now a fan of Catman; who knew he had such potential. And I've always liked the unscrupulous Deadshot, way back from the Suicide Squad days.

Apparently artist Dale Eaglesham was ill in the midst of the project and Val stepped in and pencilled issue #3. But, no matter; the terrific quality of the art doesn't flag for one moment.

So for a good PG-13 read, get yourself some Villains United. And here's hoping the Secret Six continues on. There's already another mini-series out about them. Go, Catman!! Read more ›

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly fun April 8, 2007

By N. Durham HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

One of the four mini-series' leading up to DC's Infinite Crisis mega-event, Villains United is definitely the most fun. Lex Luthor has assembled the largest Secret Society of villains ever put together, including heavy hitters like Deathstroke, Talia Al Guhl, Black Adam, Sinestro, and plenty more. However, there is a group standing in their way, and no, it ain't the Justice League. The Secret Six, led by the mysterious Mockingbird and featuring Deadshot and the very Batman-esque Catman, want no part of Luthor's devious plans, and the next thing you know, it's all out war. What's the most surprising about Villains United is how fun it is. It's clear that writer Gail Simone had a blast writing all these villains in one story, and it's refreshing to read something so fun and enjoyable considering how grim and gritty the rest of the Infinite Crisis stories are. The art by Dale Eaglesham and Val Semekis is pretty good too; all of which nicely round out the package. All in all, of all the Infinite Crisis tie-in's, Villains United is the most worth picking up.