Some villainous Movember-worthy moustaches

Comic Super Villains with Moustaches

Though not as plentiful as you might think, there are still a few super-villains sporting the Movember look.

Although Movember is nearly at an end for yet another year there’s one thing you can depend on to keep giving throughout the year. Super-villains! Those never-say-die antagonists of comic and cartoon heroes everywhere have more lives than nine cats. But when I looked for villains who sport moustaches I was surprised to find that there aren’t as many as you might imagine. Could it be that the image of the mustachioed bad guy, so prominent in early silent movies, became so much of an over-worked cliché that comic creators now avoid it on principle?

This would seem to be supported by the fact that villains with whiskers are generally more comical figures than frightening ones. Starting from top left in the image above, Batroc the Leaper wears an impressively mirthful-looking moustache, speaks with a stereotypically-written French accent and has no actual super-powers. Primarily a foe of  Captain America, Batroc is a martial arts master, a mercenary and possesses the sort of old-fashioned sense of honour which has often caused him to switch sides when he feels his honour has been compromised or betrayed.

Sinestro In Green Lantern #1

A proud and unrepentant Sinestro faces the Guardians in the New 52 issue of Green Lantern #1

Sinestro is yet another villain whose allegiances have shifted over the years, although his shifts are more attributable as a product of self-interest than sense of honour. A former Green Lantern, Sinestro has been a fan favourite and worthy opponent who continually challenges Hal Jordan and other members of the Lantern Corps since the earliest issues. These days, after the events of Blackest Night and Brightest Day, Sinestro could be characterized more as an anti-hero than a full-fledged villain although that could certainly change at any moment. Like the man, his moustache is neat, trim and no laughing matter.

Someone whose moustache is also neat and trim, but enjoyably laughable is Boris Badenov. Representing the losing side in the cartoon world’s take on the cold war, Badenov and his partner Natasha were proud of their status as rotten no-goodniks. They tried to match wits on a weekly basis with the do-gooders Rocky and Bullwinkle using the sort of elaborate plans that were naturally destined to fail spectacularly.

DC villain Egg Fu

Egg Fu no longer sports a Movember-worthy Fu Manchu moustache

My final Movember villain is Egg Fu, who also has cold war origins. He had his first appearance in Wonder Woman #157 where, in keeping with the times, he exhibited every possible racist and cultural stereotype that was then in vogue. In recent years the stereotypes have been dropped and Egg Fu (now known as Chang Tzu) has been portrayed as a villainous mastermind cyborg. Sadly, this makeover has meant that he no longer sports his prehensile Fu Manchu moustache.

Attempted Mustaches Club

The Boys of Movember: (l - r) Chris Plakholm, Jeff Garton, Ed Denning, Larry Graves, Eric Davidson

Once again, let me add my shameless plug for myself and my fellow team-mates who are growing moustaches and raising money and awareness for Movember.

The Movember movement was started to promote the subject of men’s health. Prostate cancer is the second-most likely cause of death amongst men and all money raised for Movember goes towards prostate cancer research. Feel free to check out our Movember page, and offer a donation if you care to.

No amount is too small or too large. Five, ten, twenty… even a million dollars will do!

Some classic Movember-worthy comic moustaches

Hiram Lodge, J. Jonah Jameson, Mr. Dithers, Chief Quimby

Four classic characters who were hip to Movember long before the movement began.

I’m growing a moustache this month and figured there’d be no better way to celebrate Movember than to showcase some classic characters from comics and cartoons who sport their own “mo’s” regardless of the calendar.

It’s amazing, when you think about it, how many characters there are who have mustaches. For this post, I’m featuring famous bosses starting with (at top left) that lovable one-percenter, Hiram P. Lodge aka Veronica’s daddy from Archie comics.

While he hasn’t always played Archie’s boss, Mr. Lodge has had occasion to hire Archie to perform menial chores and tasks, usually with disastrous results. The employer relationship has finally been formalized in “Life with Archie, the Married Life”, which is a spin off from the Archie Marries Betty/Archie Marries Veronica storyline that portrays the grown-up soap opera version of the gang from Riverdale. Mr. Lodge isn’t such a nice guy in LWA, playing the greedy Wall Street type to the hilt.

J. Jonah Jameson and Spider-Man

J. Jonah Jameson has made the cover of Spider-Man on more than one occasion as seen here in issue # 52 of Amazing Spider-Man

Next we have another boss who’s no stranger to Wall Street, J. Jonah Jameson. As Peter Parker’s boss, Mr. Jameson served for many years as publisher of New York’s Daily Bugle newspaper using his pointed editorials to become possibly Spider-Man’s greatest irritant.

For nearly fifty years Jameson’s enmity towards Spider-man hasn’t dulled, and now as Mayor of New York, Jonah continues his dislike of everyone’s favourite wall-crawler with even more authority. Occasionally he puts aside his feelings when circumstances require him to work alongside Spider-Man such as in the recent Spider Island story arc, but you know he’s going to return to form very quickly.

His Chaplin-esque (or is it Hitler-esque?) ‘stache is certainly one of the most recognizable in the world of comics, and yet oddly enough, J. Jonah has been seen sporting a full mo in recent issues of ASM. What’s up with that?

Mr. Dithers get tyrannized by his wife Cora as Dagwood watches on.

Mr. Dithers was possibly the worst boss in the world, but his wife Cora was capable of making Dagwood (and the rest of us) feel sympathy for the old goat.

Another boss with a perfect love-hate relationship towards his most famous employee is, of course, Julius C. Dithers. As Dagwood Bumstead’s over-bearing and overly demanding boss, Mr. Dithers set the example for bad bosses everywhere. Although he did have his occasional human moments, his explosive tantrums and physical abuse were a hilarious and recurring feature in the Blondie comic strip.

The only thing which kept Mr. Dithers from being a completely unlikable monster was the fact that he was just as likely to fall victim to similarly abusive behaviour at the hands of his wife Cora. Mrs. Dithers’ tactics for keeping the old goat in line included her sharp tongue-lashings and use of various “weapons” which she would smash over his head.

Lastly, there’s Chief Quimby, the long-suffering boss of Inspector Gadget. Gadget enjoyed a long run on television with Get Smart’s Don Adams as the voice of the bumbling inspector. Inspector Gadget shared a lot of similarities to Maxwell Smart, including his relationship with a boss who was often the foil and victim to the character’s ineptitude.

Chief Quimby’s most common ploy was to disguise himself in various unlikely objects (trash cans, vases, etc.) in order to keep an eye on Gadget or to supply him with information on the sly. This usually brought on disastrous circumstances that resulted in the chief finishing most episodes quite battered and bruised.

Attempted Mustaches Club

The Boys of Movember: (l - r) Chris Plakholm, Jeff Garton, Ed Denning, Larry Graves, Eric Davidson

I’ll be serving up a sampling of villainous moustache wearers in my next post, but before I go, let me add a shameless plug for myself and my fellow team-mates who are growing moustaches and raising money and awareness for Movember.

The Movember movement was started to promote the subject of men’s health. Prostate cancer is the second-most likely cause of death amongst men and all money raised for Movember goes towards prostate cancer research. Feel free to check out our Movember page, and offer a donation if you care to.

No amount is too small or too large. Five, ten, twenty… even a million dollars will do!