'Forever Evil' spotlights epitome of supervillainy

Brian Truitt | USA TODAY

DC Comics is preparing for an epic rise of its greatest supervillains this fall.

The seven-issue series Forever Evil debuts in September as part of a "villains month" for the publisher. Headed up by the Justice League of America creative team of writer Geoff Johns and artist David Finch, the title marks the first universe-wide event comic since DC's superhero-line relaunch in September 2011.

"Forever Evil is a chance for David and I to work on all the greatest villains in comic books. It's literally everybody. I don't even know if there's anybody not in it," Johns says. "We're really exploring what darkness means and the different kinds of darkness that are within these villains."

Featuring a first-issue 3-D motion variant cover, the book will spin out of the aftermath of the upcoming "Trinity War" crossover in Johns' Justice League and Justice League of America titles as well as Jeff Lemire's Justice League Dark. The Justice League winds up out of commission, and the bad guys come to the fore to rule the world.

September will also see each of DC's superhero books change titles and focuses for one month as they feature all-star antagonists along the lines of Justice League arch-enemy Darkseid, Superman nemesis Bizarro, Flash villain Gorilla Grodd and classic Batman baddies Two-Face and Poison Ivy.

The goings-on in Forever Evil will spill into other comics such as Teen Titans and Suicide Squad, and in October, three five-issue tie-in books will launch:

Forever Evil: Rogues. Writer Brian Buccellato (The Flash) and Patrick Zircher (Suicide Squad) put the spotlight on the Flash's colorful and infamous gang of Rogues, led by Captain Cold — a particular favorite of Johns, the former Flash writer, as well as Finch. "I just love his mask," the artist says. "He looks very steely and a little bit dead in the eye, which is very evil."

Forever Evil: Arkham War. "The biggest story with Bat-villains you've ever seen," as Johns describes it, features the creative team of Peter Tomasi (Green Lantern Corps) and Scot Eaton (X-Men).

Forever Evil: A.R.G.U.S. Matt Kindt (Mind MGMT) pens a title featuring the government agency Advanced Research Group Uniting Superhumans. DC comic fans have seen increasingly shady things the group's been doing, and Steve Trevor will be learning about those as the audience does. "His heart is good," Johns says, "and if ARGUS has a chance of rising above what it is right now and becoming a heroic force in the future, it's up to Steve Trevor."

Kindt will also take over Justice League of America for five issues emphasizing Martian Manhunter, the subject of the writer's recent JLA backups who will be picking up what's left of the Justice League. However, Johns will continue on the flagship Justice League series during Forever Evil for an arc with certain villains and the unlikely rise of some heroes to combat them.

Having tackled the Rogues, Black Manta, Sinestro, Lex Luthor and Black Adam in his career, Johns feels that ne'er-do-wells like those guys are his "sweet spot," and Finch says he has "more of an affinity for villains than heroes. I have a really dark art style and the tone of this is so exactly where I'm coming from." (Finch also has a piece of art in Forever Evil No. 1 that Johns teases "is the coolest thing I could ever imagine for something that celebrates villainy.")

In Justice League and JLA, Johns has been seeding plot points that have been seemingly disconnected from each other but all point to Forever Evil — in the most recent JLA issue, the heroes find a Secret Society of Super Villains communication coin that features the Latin word for "forever evil."

The Society plays a huge role in Forever Evil, but Lex Luthor, Superman's longtime foil, is the main character of the story.

"What happens with him and to him and what he does is going to have pretty major repercussions through the DC Universe," Johns says. "There's a lot of things in issue 1 with him that I think are going to surprise people."

Adds Finch: "I've been bald since I was born, and I'm drawing a book starring Lex Luthor, which I think is awesome. It's definitely a thrill for me."

Catwoman, an antihero in her own series and a recent addition to Steve Trevor's JLA group, also has an integral part in Forever Evil and in stuff Johns will be working on for the future, according to the writer.

"She's a sexy character who uses that like a weapon but she also has a more vulnerable side to her that Geoff showed off so well in Justice League of America," Finch says. "It made me believe in her as a character."

Johns has been surprised by how after starting to write Catwoman that everything began to revolve around her due to who she is, the mysteries behind the Batman femme fatale and what she wants in her relationships.

"She is the ultimate thief. She can break in anywhere, she can break out of anywhere, there is no place that can hold her and no place that can keep her out," Johns says.

"In my mind, she is unstoppable. Her longing for finding out answers about some things in her past that we've set up is key for her drive over the next big story."

So, with all these villains running around, what of the heroes? "You'll know who the good guys are by issue 2 that are going to take center stage," Johns promises.

He loves doing big events like Blackest Night and Flashpoint, but the emotional story at their core is always key for him.

Likewise in Forever Evil, Johns says, "you'll see more layers to villains, from the guys we all know and love to people like Killer Frost and Plastique."

In addition to featuring team-ups and battles between baddies fans have never seen before, Forever Evil showcases villains who are more diverse and varied in motivation than their counterpart heroes.

"Evil's relative, right?" Johns says. "There are some that want to rule the world, there are some that simply want to put food on the table, there are some who want to simply kill for the thrill, and there are some who don't consider themselves a villain."

Lex Luthor shares a similar sentiment in an upcoming issue: "They call me a bad guy, as if we're labeled as easily as night and day."

"The Justice League is dead, the villains inherit the Earth — well, what does that even mean?" Johns says. "Some of them might not like how it's being run. Some of them might like the old way better.

"Once the heroes are off the table, what's that mean for the villains? What can they accomplish together?"