Imperial Expansion? That's S.M.A.R.T.!

Welcome back to Funding the Kryptonite, a blog that will take a look at comic book super villains and discuss them from a business perspective.

Today’s blog post will discuss the Viltrumite Empire, from the Image Comics series Invincible. A race of aliens with similar powers to Superman (super speed, super strength, enhanced senses, invulnerability, significantly extended lifespan, and the ability to fly), they slaughtered half their own race to establish a warrior-society based on strength and conquest. To expand their empire, they would locate alien races that they deemed sufficiently advanced to be worth conquering and appeared en masse to offer them a choice: Join the Viltrumite Empire and benefit from the scientific advances they had, or refuse and be summarily slaughtered.

Prideful Planning

Welcome back to Funding the Kryptonite, a blog that will take a look at comic book super villains and discuss them from a business perspective.

Today, I am going to examine the case of Marvel Comic’s super villain group The Pride (found primarily in the series Runaways). This group was formed when six individual young couples, each with their own unique specialization (aliens, criminals, time travelers, magicians, mutants, and technologists) were summoned by an ancient power known as the Gibborim. In exchange for performing an annual ritual (murdering a young woman and sacrificing her soul) to empower the Gibborim, the group that became the Pride would have their powers and abilities enhanced. The downside? After 25 years, the Gibborim would wipe the Earth clean except for six members of the Pride who served them most faithfully who would then gain eternal life.