Villains in Current Continuity That Are Dead

The current continuity of DC Comics is as expansive as ever, and with constant stories involving a myriad of superheroes and supervillains, it’s no surprise that some of them might fall. There have been a great amount of DC villains over the years that have died in the central continuity of Prime Earth and they are still yet to return to commit to their evil.

Whether they have been dead for years or more of a recent thing, resurrection has not come for these villains to gift them further life to torment their favorite heroes in the DC Universe. Yet, of these villains who are currently dead, who will mourn for them?

7 Failsafe

His Energy Levels Were Depleted to 0% by Green Arrow

• First Appearance: Batman #125 (September, 2022)
• Created by: Chip Zdarsky, Jorge Jimenez
• Appearance of Death: Absolute Power #4 (October, 2024)

Batman has fail safes for every member of the Justice League, so it’s no surprise that his back-up personality of Zur-En-Arrh would create a literal Failsafe for Batman. An android that could absolutely kill and stop Batman when it needed to, this great threat would plague Batman for years until his first death at the hands of the Bat-Family.

Failsafe is never truly gone, and with his android body in the possession of Amanda Waller, his data would be restored, and thus, he became a servant to Task Force X. Failsafe created an army that was able to depower the world’s heroes, but what neither of them expected was that the great Green Arrow was working for them as a rat, and managed to deactivate Failsafe and deplete all his energy reserves.

6 Floronic Man

Burned to Death by Harley Quinn

• First Appearance: The Atom #1 (July, 1962)
• Created by: Gardner Fox, Gil Kane
• Appearance of Death: Poison Ivy #23 (August, 2024)

It’s odd to think that Poison Ivy could have a nemesis that isn’t Batman, but that’s where Dr. Jason Woodrue comes in. Known to some as Floro and to others as the Floronic Man, Jason Woodrue would be a fanatic for plant life, and experimented on it greatly to the point where his experiments would see Pamela Isley become his subject, and thus, Poison Ivy was born.

Woodrue was a manipulator and managed to scam and scheme his way into becoming an avatar for the Parliament of Flowers, providing him with intense powers of the Green that would eventually be his undoing. With his reach extended past what nature allowed, Woodrue would be eaten by his own zombified-plant humans and then finished off with flame from Harley Quinn.

5 Deathstroke

His Abilities Were Lost to the Great Darkness, and His Life Support Was Pulled Offline

• First Appearance: New Teen Titans #2 (December, 1980)
• Created by: Marv Wolfman, George Perez
• Appearance of Death: Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 (February, 2023)

One of the more recent deaths to hit the DC Universe was that of Deathstroke, the beloved assassin and Terminator who might have a controversial past best left unsaid (fine, it’s his relationship with Terra). Outside of that, Deathstroke is an incredible assassin who has been heard of by everyone due to how dangerous and skilled he is.

When the Justice League was killed, Deathstroke led a supervillain army to take out all the heroes that they could. Deathstroke’s cunning made him a great catalyst for the Great Darkness, which would infect his mind and body – until it would eventually be his undoing in battle, expunging from him and leaving him for dead. Deathstroke was left weak and dying, deprived of the serum that gave him his terminator abilities in the first place. While he was placed on life support, a mysterious figure would deactivate it, and Deathstroke is no more.

4 Mongul

Killed by Kryl-Ux After Being Empowered by the White Sun

• First Appearance: Superman: Villains #1 (May, 2020)
• Created by: Peter Tomasi, Scot Eaton
• Appearance of Death: Superman: Warworld Apocalypse #1 (October, 2022)

While the original Mongul was created by Len Wein and Jim Starlin back in 1980, Mongul has been dead for quite some time after his own son murdered him for the throne of Warworld. The line of Mongul runs deep with regicide, and yet it seems that that cycle ends here with this more recent Mongul who died over 2 years ago.

Mongul was murdered by a Phaelosian named Kryl-Ux, who had more than enough reasons for wanting the tyrannical tyrant ruler of Warlord dead. Kryl-Ux was a slave, and his chains would be no more bound to Mogul after he killed him when his people revolted and restored the powers of their sun.

3 David Cain

Killed Himself in Front of His Daughter

• First Appearance: Batman #567 (July, 1999)
• Created by: Kelley Puckett, Damion Scott
• Appearance of Death: Batman & Robin Eternal #26 (May, 2016)

David Cain was a ruthless assassin that could rival Deathstroke. David’s abilities and cunning mind had him calculate that to create the perfect soldier, he needed to father it, which is why he sought out the perfect mate with Lady Shiva and thus Cassandra Cain would be born. A torturous regime that would turn Cassandra Cain into a killer would be one that David himself went through under the control of Mother.

David hated Mother and hated not having his own name. When Mother was finally cornered and defeated by the Bat-Family, David stabbed Mother in the back – filled with regret over the life he stole from his daughter, he thrust himself into the fires below, killing himself and Mother.

2 The Batman Who Laughs

Thrown Into the Future Death Sun by Wonder Woman

• First Appearance: Dark Days: The Casting #1 (September, 2017)
• Created by: Scott Snyder, Gregg Capullo
• Appearance of Death: Dark Nights: Death Metal #7 (March, 2021)

The Batman Who Laughs was a true menace to the DC Universe, and the multiverse as a whole. He’s a man who has the strengths and willpower of Batman but with all the twisted lack of morality of the Joker. The Batman Who Laughs has failed a few times to plunge the multiverse into infinite chaos, but his last effort would be his undoing.

The Batman Who Laughs was close to his final goal of recreating the multiverse in his own image of the Last 52, but not even someone with Batman’s intellect could predict the unpredictability and resilience of Wonder Woman, who battled him across time and space itself until he was thrown into the sun to be forever forgotten.

1 Reverse Flash

Accidentally Erased Himself from Existence and Became a Curator of the Flash Museum

• First Appearance: The Flash #139 (September, 1963)
• Created by: Garth Ennis, John McCrea
• Appearance of Death: The Flash #762 (November, 2020)

There is perhaps no bigger hater in the DC Universe than Reverse Flash to Barry Allen. Reverse Flash has done some unspeakable things. From killing Barry’s mother, erasing any friend he had from existence, and guiding him to reboot the DC Universe. This man is an unrelenting menace.

Reverse Flash has even withstood new timelines and death itself due to his entire being as a paradox on Earth. That was until Barry Allen forgave Eobard Thawne and took his powers, forcing Eobard to cease to exist. While Eobard may have lived as the curator of the Flash Museum in the 25th Century, he has no knowledge that a previous version of himself was Reverse Flash, and Barry’s nemesis is dead.