The Light's Out

We seem to have lost a lot of good characters in the DC relaunch, but it occurred to me yesterday we're also rid of evil Dr. Light. We lost the good Dr. Light too, but I'm not counting that as a positive.

Anyway, evil Dr. Light. He hasn't shown up so far, and I have to say that's a good thing. Given the general turn the DC Universe seems to have taken (nice work there, Barry), I shudder to think what a relaunched Dr. Light would have been like.

I suppose there's always a chance he could have reverted to his loser ways, but I doubt it. Which is a disappointment. There's something to be said for a villain with incredible power, but no nerve. The kind who would rather commit robberies someplace unlikely to attract superheroes, or flee if he does encounter them. There's stuff to do with that. Make him try to plan things out (if you want him to remain sort of bumbling, have him forget really obvious problems with his schemes). Have him be obsessive about observing other criminals, either to learn from them, or to use their activities as cover for his own. And there's always the possibility he gets fed up being a joke and tries for some big, rep-making move, only to get smacked down. Combining power with fear and insecurity could be a good mix.

Or keep him as a joke villain to trot out every so often when you want to take a breather between big stories.