Villains United (Countdown to Infinite Crisis) [Paperback]

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

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2006

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

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
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Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (January 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140120838X
• ISBN-13: 978-1401208387
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 0.2 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #52,742 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 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 (South Euclid, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Villains United (Countdown to Infinite Crisis) (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.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

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

By 

Johnny Heering "trivia buff" (Bethel, CT United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Villains United (Countdown to Infinite Crisis) (Paperback)

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.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just Awesome!, August 9, 2006

By 

D. Hallberg "Geek of all Trades" (Goshen, IN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Villains United (Countdown to Infinite Crisis) (Paperback)

This book is sooooo much better then all the other countdown books. I never liked Deadshot, but I do now. I didn't know who Catman was, but I do now. This is a perfect example of taking the Identity Crisis issue and using it to move a story, but not be the only focus, unlike that stupid Crisis of Conscience book. If you're a fan of comics, you'll be a fan of this.