DC Comics has a long history of great characters and excellent stories in which they have battled a wide variety of threats. One of the most common storylines in comics is the idea of characters losing their agency to some threat, ranging from mind control to magical spells. When this happens, villainous forces can use the bodies and powers of DC characters to inflict pain and destruction on the world.
DC uses this trope often and even has some characters who, by their nature, lose control to some other being. Whether through heroic bonds, scientific experiments, or villainous machinations, characters losing control of themselves to other forces is a time-honored trope that works well at DC. Indeed, some of the universe’s best stories have revolved around this theme.
10 Wonder Woman
In Justice League Dark (James Tynion IV and Alvaro Martinez Bueno), Wonder Woman led her magical team against the witch goddess Hecate. However, during the course of their fight to stop the villain, Wonder Woman loses control of her body to the goddess and her mind is banished.
Wonder Woman was locked in a mental prison as her friends had to battle Hecate and prevent her from ascending to greater power. Fortunately, the help of her friends, coupled with her own fortitude, meant that Diana was able to overcome Hecate and take back control.
9 Hal Jordan
During the “Emerald Twilight” story (Ron Marz, Bill Willingham, and Fred Haynes), Hal Jordan became increasingly unstable until he attempted to resurrect the entirety of the destroyed Coast City. It was later revealed, however, that he was under the control of Parallax.
Green Lantern has actually lost his agency many times, and in his return story, Green Lantern Rebirth (Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver), he was under the influence of the Spectre. Battling cosmic threats leaves characters like Hal Jordan as vulnerable to the effects of other rings as entities like Parallax.
8 Superman
While many heroes have succumbed to the powers of the Black Mercy over the years, the first to do so was Superman. In Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ “For the Man Who Has Everything,” Superman was trapped by the dictator of Warworld, Mongul, by the hallucinogenic plant.
The Black Mercy lulled Superman into an illusion that left him effectively paralyzed, allowing Mongul to achieve what few villains had in incapacitating the Man of Steel. It proved that sometimes, the best way to defeat an enemy is to give them exactly what they want.
7 Azrael
Azrael is best known for taking up the Batman mantle during the “Knightfall” event, where he proved reckless and dangerous, even teetering on the brink of outright villainy. However, this wasn’t entirely of his own making but rather his brainwashing from the Order of St. Dumas.
Azrael’s battle with “the System,” a mental device instilled into him by his former order, has been the focal point of much of his story. It’s questionable how much agency Azrael has ever had, given the depth of his conditioning, but he reached his worst state as Batman.
6 Batman
During Dark Nights Metal (Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo), the Batman Who Laughs waged war on the multiverse with a team of evil Batmen. After the event concluded, the Batman of Earth-Prime hunted BWL, but his pursuit left him exposed to Joker’s toxin.
Batman slowly unraveled throughout the course of the story as Batman Who Laughs hoped he would become like him. The effects manifested as Batman became increasingly unstable, on the brink of all-out evil before he was given the antidote and his mind restored.
5 Hawkman
During DC’s “Year of the Villain” event, a number of heroes were Jokerized by the Batman Who Laughs to join his army. While most of these heroes were simply turned evil, Hawkman’s mind was entirely replaced by that of his Earth-3 counterpart, the Sky Tyrant.
Hawkman spent much of the story locked in a mental battle with Sky Tyrant in the hopes of regaining control of his own body. As the villain wrought havoc on the world, Carter Hall was forced to take a backseat in his own body but eventually managed to wrestle control away.
4 Jim Corrigan
One of the first DC characters to ever lose his agency, Jim Corrigan was possessed by Spectre, the universe’s spirit of vengeance. Though he began as a more traditional superhero, Spectre was later revealed to be a divine spirit who occupied the bodies of mortals to exact vengeance.
The Spectre has played a pivotal role in DC history, but Corrigan loses control over himself when the hero takes over. When the Justice League battled the Great Darkness in Dark Crisis On Infinite Earths (Joshua Williamson and Daniel Sampere), Spectre himself lost his faculties to the powerful villain.
3 Jason Blood
Since the days of King Arthur, Etrigan the Demon has walked the Earth, sometimes acting as a hero and others as a villain. Since he was bound to Jason Blood, his human counterpart has been forced to depend on Etrigan to battle evil, losing control when he summons the demon.
Not only did Jason Blood’s binding to Etrigan mean that he would lose control of himself, but it also effectively damned him to an eternal life. Blood, because of the danger posed by Etrigan and the need for him at times, is bound to a life he didn’t choose so that he can keep his alter ego in check.
2 Kent Nelson
Doctor Fate combines the body and willpower of Kent Nelson with the magic and influence of the Lord of Order Nabu. Together, they form one of the most powerful heroes in DC. Although Kent Nelson is typically the driving force behind Doctor Fate, Nabu has also asserted himself many times.
Balancing his own mind with the power of Nabu has always been difficult for Nelson, and he has been known to lose control completely. When the Lords of Order all came together, he was entirely overwhelmed, and Nabu used his body as a vessel for battling the JLD.
1 Kirk Langstrom
Man-Bat was created when Gothamite professor Kirk Langstrom used an experimental serum on himself, transforming him into a monstrous creature. The life of Langstrom resembles that of Jekyll and Hyde, with the brilliant scientist’s mind being overcome by the monster.
Man-Bat has since had some semblance of his humanity restored to the monstrous bat form, but his mind is always one step away from falling into chaos. When the monster takes over, it wreaks havoc on anyone it comes into contact with, despite Langstrom’s decent intentions.