The Chained, Doctor Hate, Sovereign: These Terrifying New Villains REALLY Challenged DC’s Heroes in 2023

The DC Universe’s heroes have survived another year and a deadly new swath of enemies. Throughout 2023, terrifying new enemies emerged to push DC’s greatest heroes to their limits. While some preferred to operate from the shadows, others took their fights directly to their antagonists and made their lives a living hell. Whether they were criminal masterminds or bloodthirsty killers, these new villains made their mark in the past year. Read on to discover 10 of the most terrifying new villains that truly challenged the DC Universe’s heroes in 2023.

10 Cyborg Superboy is Conner Kent’s Most Dangerous Opposite

Created by Kennny Porter and Jahnoy Lindsay

Superboy went out into space to find himself in Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow only to end up in the wrong crowd. Conner Kent joined the Cosmoteers, an anti-hero team led by Travv, a jaded clone with techno-organic powers. Travv was as deceitful as he was bitter and created a clone of Superboy to use as a personal weapon. Unfortunately, when his body was destroyed, Travv used his cybernetic enhancements to transfer his consciousness to his powerful Kryptonian body. The new ‘Cyborg Superboy’ has all of Conner’s powers with Travv’s’s mechanical enhancements and malevolent nature, making him one of Superboy’s most terrifying new foes.

9 The Uncoiled is the Most Terrifying Threat Hiding in Plain Sight

Create by Si Spurrier and Mike Deodato, Jr.

Ever since he fell through an atomic mirror, the Flash has been discovering the dark secrets of the Speed Force. One of the scariest was a being simply known as an Uncoiled, a large, slug-like monster with a mass of spikes all over its body. As intimidating as it looks, it’s even more frightening in motion as the extra-dimensional creature possesses the ability to step in and out of reality, making it hard for someone as fast as the Scarlet Speedster to take down. While the first Uncoiled was dealt with, others are still hidden in the unseen layers of reality in the DC Universe.

8 Red Mask Brought Joker’s Chaos to a New Level

Created by Chip Zdarsky and Mike Hawthorne

After his epic battle with Failsafe, Batman was sent to an alternate dimension where Gotham was under the control of a madman known as Red Mask. Red Mask was revealed to be Darwin Halliday, a Joker variant who’d never gone insane. Despite Halliday’s best attempts to break his mind to go mad like his counterpart, Red Mask discovered he couldn’t become the Joker, but he could create them on alternate Earths. Batman chased Halliday all across the multiverse as Halliday created Jokers, revived dead ones, and even made existing copies worse. Batman brought Halliday to justice, but he and his unique powers are still around.

7 Xand’r is the Worst Blast From Stafire’s Past

Created by Tom Taylor and Nicola Scott

When the Titans stepped up to replace the Justice League, they were surprised by the sudden reappearance of Brother Blood, now calling himself Brother Eternity. Despite proclaiming to be reformed, Eternity was secretly plotting to eliminate humanity and he nearly achieved his goal when he unleashed the horrifying Necrostar from its Tamaranean prison on the moon Titan. Starfire eventually confronted Eternity and discovered the reason Eternity knew so much about Tamaran’s past was because Eternity wasn’t a reformed Brother Blood, but a Tamaranean named Xand’r. Even worse, Xand’r was a former member of the Tamaranean royal court that was responsible for Starfire’s enslavement.

6 Crytoon is the Most Disturbing Batman Foe in Years

Created by Rafael Grampa

Crytoon is one of the most haunting villains to debut in 2023 and so far, only exists on Earth-46, the setting of Batman: Gargoyle of Gotham. Crytoon is a man obsessed with an old cartoon of the same name and acts out slapstick gags like anvil drops with much bloodier results. Crytoon often scribbles out the painful thoughts in his head at his crime scenes in crayon before making his thoughts a reality. As disturbing as Crytoon is, the villain is just one part of a city-wide conspiracy known as Stadtgeist, which has big plans for Batman and Gotham.

5 Insomnia Gave the Entire DC Universe Bad Dreams

Created by Joshua Williamson, Tim Seely, Howard Porter, Chris Bachalo

Insomnia was the sole perpetrator behind DC Comics’ terrifying summer event Knight Terrors. Christopher Lukas was a man who lost his faith in superheroes after his family perished during Dark Knights: Metal. During Lazarus Planet, he gained the power to spread and enter people’s nightmares. He launched a powerful Nightmare Wave that ensnared nearly everyone on Earth and plunged them into a world of bad dreams, all to look for a powerful object known as the Nightmare Stone. Insomnia’s reign of terror came to an end thanks to a revived Sandman, but the effects of Lukas’ nightmares are still being felt by the average citizens in the DC Universe.

4 The Chained Nearly Destroyed Metropolis

Created by Joshua Williamson and Gleb Melnikov

Ever since Superman struck up a new working relationship with Lex Luthor, the Man of Steel has been discovering the strangest secrets of his beloved Metropolis. One of the most sinister threats he found was a man named Sammy Stryker, aka the Chained. Stryker was gifted powerful tactile telekinetic abilities thanks to experiments performed by Lex. However, Sammy used his powers for evil and after escaping a special prison designed by Luthor, the Chained nearly leveled Metropolis. Superman and his allies were able to bring Stryker down, but the Doomsday-level villain is far from done seeking revenge on Lex and his allies.

3 The Revenant Queen Sent an Army to Destroy the Universe

Created by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Montos

The Revenant Queen is the mysterious leader of the Radiant Dead, a powerful force composed of undead beings. Much of the Revenant Queen is unknown but more than anything else, she wants John Stewart dead. She’s sent the Radiant Dead to the Prime DC Universe, where they’ve already added dozens of new members to their ranks, including several Green Lanterns. As terrifying as the Radiant Dead are, they’re all serving under the orders of the Revenant Queen who is determined to make John Stewart suffer and extinguish the light of the Green Lantern Corps.

2 Waller’s Asset Doctor Hate is a Volitile Wildcard

Created by Joshua Williamson and Howard Porter

Amanda Waller has been working towards eliminating the metahumans of the DC Universe and her most powerful asset so far is Doctor Hate. Hate’s magic draws from two powerful relics, the Helmet of Hate and Insomnia’s Nightmare Stone. Waller recruited an as-of-yet unrevealed party to destroy the Titans. During the “Beast World” crossover, Waller dispatched Hate to mind-wipe Beast Boy while he was transformed into a Starro the Conqueror-like beast. Despite being Waller’s puppet, Hate has his own agenda and tried to destroy the DC Universe’s various elemental realms. Whoever Doctor Hate is, he’s willing to burn down everything he can.

1 The Sovereign Secretly Rules the DCU (And Isn’t Giving Up His Power Easily)

Created by Tom King and Daniel Sampere

One of the most despicable foes to come out of 2023 is Wonder Woman’s latest nemesis, the Sovereign. As the world turned against the Amazons in the wake of an attack in a pool hall, Diana discovered whispers of an enigmatic figure known as the Sovereign. Sovereign is the secret king of America and is part of a lineage that has been ruling the United States for centuries thanks to the Lasso of Lies. Sovereign sees Wonder Woman as a threat to his rule and has begun a campaign of deceit and murder to bring Diana down for good.

Out of all the evildoers that debuted in the DC Universe in 2023, these 10 new villains proved to be the most challenging of all.