The Legion of "O"

Who knows when or why the trend started...all I know is that by the late 1950's and early 60's, super villains with vaguely Spanish-sounding names ending in the long "O" ("Oh") sound were suddenly the rage.

DC Comics seemed particularly infatuated with "O" villains, as you can see from their "Legion of O-Negative" below. 

From the top left we've got Bizarro, Despero, Mano, Starro, Eclipso, Koko, Computo, Kanto, Dr. Psycho, Destructo, Professor Ivo, Titano, Amazo, Universo, Kanjar-Ro, Evillo, Villo, Count Vertigo, Chemo, Sinestro, and Metallo.

Making their brave stand against the villainous Legion of O-Negative was a small band of heroes whose names also ended with DC's favorite vowel.  The odds were certainly stacked against them, considering their team was made up of two dogs, a baby, a caveman, a terminally ill teen, two adults of questionable sanity, and a monkey. But what they lacked in numbers (as well as intelligence and opposable thumbs), they made up for in raw power.

The Legion of O-Positive (from top left):  Metamorpho,
Supremo, Krypto, Mento, Rovo, Mighto, Anthro, and Beppo.

Ahh, but just when we think the Legion of O-Positive stands a chance, in rushes the Brotherhood of O-Negative Villains from Marvel Comics, no slouches in the O-villain department themselves.

Lead by Magneto (top left), their ranks include (in order):
Ultimo, Mysterio, Baron Mordo, Wendigo, Baron Zemo, Mesmero,
Rhino, Nuklo, Mephisto, Mentallo, Colosso, Vibro, Zarrko, and Electro.

But just when all hope appears lost, the battle is joined by the celebrity might of entertainment sensation Charo, the deep-thinking secular saint Bono, and early 80's Playtex spokeswoman Brenda Vacarro!

Okay...I'll stop now.

Comments

[cinephile]

Yep, and to top it off-- Bono and the Edge are writing a Spider-Man musical for Broadway (no, I am not making this up).

[Mark Engblom]

Zoiks! I hadn't heard that, Cinephile! Sheesh...where would Bono find the time between bathing us in his sensitive intellect and saving all of Africa? The guy's obviously a multi-tasker.

[ABS]

Thanks for not subjecting us to an all-too-easy "O face" joke.

[Bret]

Metamorpho can take em all on.
He has mad Guitar that shoots Laser skills.

[Mark Engblom]

"Thanks for not subjecting us to an all-too-easy "O face" joke."

Yeah, that's definitely wasn't what I was after with something like this.

[Greg Scott]

LOL! I knew it! Brenda Vacarro *had* to be part of something bigger! It all makes sense now -- thanks for bringing things into focus, Mark.

[Mark Engblom]

"Brenda Vacarro *had* to be part of something bigger!"

Yeah, after that Playtex gig, she decided to dedicate her low-wattage star power to the crusading O-celebrities.

[Chuck T.]

O-Squad! If you can find it, there's a Justice League annual (the year they all did Elseworlds, I think) with an Evan Dorkin backup story that's just that. Things fall apart for them when they realize Dr. T.O. Morrow doesn't end in O. Funny stuff.

[ShadowWing Tronix]

To add to the fun, the best friend of the Autobot's human ally, Buster, in Marvel's run of The Transformers was simply "O". (I'm assuming nickname.) He disappears after issue 8.