Count Vertigo is one of those villains who I think has never really gotten his proper due. He’s kind of stuck in between the second and third tier of DC supervillains and should be higher.
He started off with a decent powerset that’s pretty unique and a great costume (seriously, it’s exactly what a supervillain costume should be: the exact right balance point between ominous and colorful, without becoming garish or over-the-top). This was later extended to be given a really great character hook: the heir to the throne of a small European country. It gave him a sense of duty and a motivation often not present in supervillains.
Of course DC tried to piss this away by destroying Vlatava, his country, when the Spectre went nuts (which the Spectre seems to do every other year now). But that was easily ignored – expat Vlatavans meant that Vertigo now had a country to rebuild. And Vertigo will do whatever he thinks is necessary to do that, and he’s smart, which is why he’s one of the villains who jumps back and forth between working for himself and working for the feds and working for other villains.
And that’s the real reason Count Vertigo is a good character. Most villains are predictable, because most villains are ciphers who only exist to make trouble for heroes and barely have motivations in their own right beyond “want money” or “kill a guy.” (The Joker, who should be a force of pure chaos, is absolutely terrible in this respect.) But the truly great villains are the ones that are capable of surprising the reader.
Major Force, as I previously pointed out, sucks because when you see him in a comic, you know exactly what he’s going to do. When you see Count Vertigo in a comic, he’s one of the few DC villains whose actions are never guaranteed (Lex Luthor and Captain Cold are the other two big ones in this regard for DC); maybe he’s working for Amanda Waller on the side this time around and only pretending to be working for the Society, or maybe he’s taking a commission for the Society proper, or maybe this is all something to do with Checkmate. He never has a hate on for a superhero, because what’s the point of that? He’s a professional, and not just because being a professional is cool, but because it’s vital for his survival and his personal mission.
True independent agents in the DCU are rare, but he’s one of them. And that’s why he’s good.
Related Articles
30 users responded in this post
He was great in Checkmate-a good pick with a powerset that is actually very useful for sneaky ops.
Didn’t he lied to Director Bones when he was working for the D.E.O. so he could kill Green Arrow? He found out Ollie came back from the dead and wanted to off him just because he hated him so much.
“(The Joker, who should be a force of pure chaos, is absolutely terrible in this respect.)”
Except in the Dini cartoons, of course. Where he kind of rocked at that.
Let’s not forget that Count Vertigo’s powers, when done right, are just plain cool to look at. His early appearances in Green Arrow are delightful maze of Escheresque twistiness.
Plus, he once stabbed a New God with his own sword.
Sorry, I have to disagree, the costume is rottin’ tootin’ lame. For one thing, his cape is trimmed with a satin ribbon. It is extremely difficult to take any villain seriously who believes in satin ribbon as a finishing touch, and I say this as a great fan of satin ribbon on things, like ponies and baby cardigans and lingerie and miniature baby ponies in cardigans. However, my villainy career as Merino Wool Woman is likely going to be short-lived, for obvious reasons. Also, the cape obscures his vertiginous bullseye, and any mask that lets your hair fluff out the top is just silly and vain.
I don’t know Cookie, he’s European royality wearing an opera cape, I think he’s allowed to be a bit foppish with a touch of satin.
Totally agree about the mask bit. I’ve always thought the “scalped cowl” look was completely goofy back when all the x-men wore it (especailly then when the costumes were meant to be some sort of Forge-invented armor. Why leave the part of your head that covers your brain off?). I guess a cowl is going to get pretty hot, acting as a turttleneck/scarf/earmuff, and cutting the top off would make it cooler, but it’s just so…goofy.
Anyway, I’ve read all of Checkmate and most of Suicide Squad, but I never realized CV wasn’t a meta. Weird.
“any mask that lets your hair fluff out the top is just silly and vain.”
Actually, that’s not true. Heat escapes from the top of the head, and so if you perform strenuous physical activity, a mask with an open top would vent better and be cooler. As an example of a real world application, he WWE wrestler Rey Misterio Jr uses masks like this in his matches to reduce overheating.
I’m not saying he might not feel that he has a legitimate reason to wear a satin-lined opera cape. I’m just saying when you’re half a short step away from also wearing an ermine muff into battle in case it’s a bit nippy and maybe if the good guys wouldn’t mind treating your manservant as a non-combatant, I think your costume is creeping dangerously close to “sissy”.
See, I believe in a comic book world where, in addition to shrinky belts and fake wings and all that crap, someone invented a pretty good fabric for not getting you all overheated when you’re either fighting crime or fighting crime-fighters. Like, we have the Metal Men, but Superman wears lycra? Really?
Cookie: I think a villain who asks people to treat his manservant as a non-combatant would be rad.
I remember the first time I saw this guy in comics, years and years ago, in (I think) an issue of The Brave and the Bold. If I recall correctly, there had been some sort of upgrade to his powers where he could actually twist reality around him. I thought it was cool as hell.
And I also think the costume works for him. Good color scheme, easily recognized, stylish.
Correction: or did I see him in World’s Finest? Whatever it was, it was running a Green Arrow backup story.
Another thing that’s great: His powerset is lame. Flight and making people dizzy? There’s a ton of people who can make you dizzy, and only everyone can fly.
But he is smart.
So smart that he uses somewhat limited powers really well, staying out of range until someone is completely down, attacking someones brain by secret, and not going toe-to-to with the bruiser who happened to bring along his mind-proofium helmet that day.
Just goes to show, even my ideas making fun of other people’s lame ideas are awesome. When DC finally recognizes my immense value, MGK, I will for sure insist they hire you along too. And you can make your manservants wear whatever satin-trimmings you like.
He’s also manic-depressive and very rarely medicated, which goes a long way in the ‘unpredictable’ department.
His bit in Ostrander’s Suicide Squad always stands out for me. His suicide pact (for want of a better phrase) with Deadshot was moving, heartbreaking, and ballsy.
Isn’t he a meta now? I’d thought somewhere along the line he absorbed the powers of his implant (which just sounds wrong, but ah well.)
His nobility also is part of his coolness. He gets angry if anyone talks bad about it, but he can also be a proper gentleman when he wants to be. See Suicide Squad #27 for a good example of both (on the same page even).
Also, he’s really the only decent villain Green Arrow ever had.
Is there any way to tie him in with Schroedingers’ Army?
I always thought Count Vertigo would make a nice Flash villain. What better way to stop a running guy than to make him trip all the time.
Dude looks like a stone cold playa. I like him.
Well, really, capes are kind of silly, period. The magic of comic books is that on the page, they can still convey badassery when drawn right. And that satin trim, that crazy lining, the high collar – in real life you’d certainly laugh at him, but in comics? Damn if he’s not intimidatingly well-dressed.
Also, even without anything else, you’ve got me at the name – “Count Vertigo.”
PMMJ: Actually, one of the things I think is interesting about the Dini cartoons is how frequently the Joker *isn’t* just a force-of-nature chaosbringer, but instead an actual human being with needs and desires and insecurities. He’s outraged by not getting to compete in the comedy competition in that one episode, and “Joker’s Millions” shows us a surprisingly *vulnerable* and down-on-his-luck Joker you don’t see anywhere else. And, of course, there’s “Mad Love.”
He is also one of the few villains that is far more interesting than their hero. Maybe I’m just hating Green Arrow, but Count Vertigo, even on a basic level, before we even get to “I can’t believe how writer X managed to make villain Y interesting!”, he is a far more compelling character than Green Arrow. There aren’t a whole lot of villains that you can say that about, and the
I first encountered him in Suicide Squad (still one of my favorite comic series). IIRC he’s changed a bit since this Who’s Who – he no longer needs the implant but can use his powers like a meta; he’s no longer manic-depressive – but he was always one of my favorite characters, for many of the reasons listed above.
My favorite Squad issues were the ones where the Squad went undercover or otherwise worked in civvies. It felt more like possible real-world ops than brightly colored comics.
Speaking of Dini’s BTAS, they actually had an episode with him; kind of a Bond riff with Talia as the Bond girl. Not one of they’re great episodes though, they didn’t really use him as well as they could have.
Oh man, finally someone understands the greatness of Count Vertigo. It’s funny you mentioned Luthor and Cold, because the three of them are my favorite DC villains, and I had never really thought to compare the three of them that way. But this is a great explanation of why they’re all interesting.
I love the idea of Vertigo as a Flash villain, and I think he would make a great Hawkman foe as well – they’re both rooted in very different kinds of nobility and have such perfectly opposite aesthetics that I can’t believe they’ve never really fought extensively.
Granted, GA’s a good choice for him too – responsible but morally dubious royalty against brash, democratic/occasionally socialist man of the people. It’s a more complicated version of the Robin Hood myth, and that’s a great basis for a rivalry. I hope Vertigo’s responsible for Ollie’s misery in that upcoming storyline.
To switch things up, Justin’s point about Dini’s Joker is spot on. Is it possible that people took the wrong facets of the Killing Joke to heart? Namely the multiple choice personal history? Joker can’t be just a cipher to work, he’s got to have a reason for being (which is why, Ledger aside, Dark Knight didn’t work for me – they never delved into the contradiction of planning chaos).
Hey, it’s someone I’ve actually seen in comics!
Well, it was bound to happen eventually.
Glad to see I’m not alone here.
The minute I saw Vertigo, I thought: “Ostrander’s Suicide Squad“, which is where I got most of my exposure to him.
And that’s fine, ’cause SS (and Vertigo) just plain rawked.
Indeed they did.
I kinda disagree for the Joker ,on the one hand you’re right ,when ill written he’s like a comedian who failed during his stand-ups,but during the 90’s he had a chuckload of stories where he was clever,dangerous & fun as hell.check out knightquest where he tries to make a movie (if You dont find the poster funny i dont know what is),or any other story written by dematteis dini or dixon
the joker is in a fuckload of good stories people MGK you just have to look at the right direction