Watch Supervillains, The Investigation

A detailed exploration of supervillains across comic book history, this French documentary investigates the moral complexities behind some of fiction's most notable characters. With early beginnings in everyday crime, comic book villains -- and their sinister plots -- have grown in scale and darkness over the decades. From household names like The Joker and Lex Luthor to the empowering female villainy of Harley Quinn, the film explores the various archetypes that fans have come to know and love. Alongside testimonies from comic book artists, scholars and cosplayers across France and the U.S., Supervillains: An Investigation (Supervillains, l'enquête) seeks to unearth where our deep fascination with these nefarious characters comes from.

Supervillains, The Investigation is a 2023 documentary with a runtime of 1 hour and 2 minutes.