In the world of superhero comic books, legacy characters have the honor and burden of continuing the mantle of an individual. The character has to strike a balance between distinguishing himself from his predecessors while keeping true to the title he or she is representing.
For the heroes side, we’ve seen great examples of this trope such as Miles Morales as Spider-Man, Jaime Reyes as the Blue Beetle, or Damian Wayne as Robin.
But on the other side of the coin, there have been many legacy villains who have done the same as the heroes mentioned and have been successful in their own right. These are the baddies who managed to stand on their own feet with the mantle, while some even managed to surpass their predecessors and become the definitive version of the character.
With that in mind, here are the greatest villain replacements DC and Marvel have showcased throughout the years. As always, there will be spoilers ahead.
Jason Macendale was a former CIA operative who became a costumed terrorist named Jack O’Lantern – one of the lesser-known Spider-Man villains. Despite this, Macendale would quickly abandon the title and be the second incarnation of the Hobgoblin though would later be killed.
The Jack O’ Lantern identity would then be passed down from person to person, from Steven Mark Levins in the 90s, former Mysterio Daniel Berkhart, Maguire Beck, and an unnamed man who claimed to be Steven Levin’s brother.
And so this takes us to Crime Master’s Jack O’Lantern, who debuted in 2011. As a boy, this unnamed figure killed his parents and became a dangerous assassin. He would then serve as a nemesis towards Flash Thompson’s Agent Venom – deducing his identity and targeting those closest to him. He is the most notable among all incarnations due to being the most violent person to wield the title, even killing the previous men who have used the Jack O’Lantern name.
After death, Jack would even become a bigger threat as he’d turn into a supernatural demon who would hollow out the skulls of his victims.
