Nemesis broke out of prison by ruthlessly slaying seven prison guards, leaving a path of fatality and disorder in his path.
Driven by vengeance, Nemesis entombs his sworn enemy alive alongside the remains of his own parents, condemning him to a drawn-out and horrifying demise.
In a brazen act, Nemesis abducts the President of the United States, unleashing mayhem and ruin in Washington, and ultimately causing Air Force One to collide with a fuel tanker, igniting a blazing inferno that engulfs the city.
What would happen if Batman turned out to be a complete monster? Mark Millar explored this dark scenario through Nemesis, his evil anti-Batman supervillain, who unleashed ten unspeakable crimes, showcasing the potential destruction an evil Dark Knight could wrought.
Nemesis, also known as Matthew Anderson in Mark Millar’s creation, is easily one of the most hated characters in the Millarverse. He shares similarities with the Dark Knight: both are affluent, highly skilled geniuses proficient in martial arts and strategic maneuvering. However, unlike the beloved DC hero, Nemesis employs his abilities to spread death and havoc. In Nemesis, Nemesis: Reloaded, and Big Game, we see a litany of appalling atrocities committed by this supervillain. Among them, the ten most heinous acts stand out, perpetrated by this evil Batman-esque figure.
Please note, the upcoming list describes several graphic and disturbing scenes.
- Nemesis Violently Escaped From Prison
Featured in Nemesis #3 by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven, even when Chief Inspector Blake Morrow, Nemesis’ initial foe, seemed to have the upper hand, Nemesis proved him wrong. Captured and incarcerated in a Washington, DC correctional facility, Anderson masterminded an audacious prison break. Once freed from his restraints, he single-handedly took on a team of at least seven armed guards, brutally breaking their necks and using their own riot batons against them. Even the prison's hardened criminals were horrified as they watched Nemesis stab the guards through their chests and eyes with their own batons.
- Nemesis Buried His Sworn Enemy Alongside His Parents' Corpses
Depicted in Nemesis: Reloaded #5 by Mark Millar and Jorge Jiménez.
Reloaded are driven by a single motive: to avenge the deaths of nine hitchhikers by killing the man who falsely accused Nemesis' parents. To expose the truth, Nemesis traps Mayor Joe Costello by binding him to a nuclear bomb connected to a lie detector, forcing him to confess how he framed Anderson's parents. After two decades of waiting, Nemesis finally gets the revenge he seeks by exhuming his parents' corpses and burying Costello alive under city hall, where his cries for help remain unheard.
In Nemesis #1 by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven, Nemesis lives for sowing chaos, commencing his mission to eliminate Chief Inspector Blake Morrow by kidnapping the President of the United States. Anderson hijacks Air Force One mid-flight, causing havoc in Washington by crashing the plane's wings into buildings and injuring numerous bystanders. His chaotic opening act culminates in crashing Air Force One into a petrol truck, igniting a fiery explosion in Washington.
In Big Game #4 by Mark Millar and Pepe Larraz, when the Fraternity of Super Criminals declared war on superheroes, Nemesis devised a cruel plan. As the world's remaining heroes rallied, Nemesis unleashed an ultrasonic signal designed to torture each hero individually. This was just the prelude to the Fraternity's massacre of the heroes, including the burning alive of Sam from Night Club and the atomization of Wesley Gibson and other heroes.
Nemesis' reign of terror continued as he forced the leaders of LA's gangs to turn on each other, pitting them in a lethal battle to the death.
Reloaded #1 by Mark Millar and Jorge Jiménez**
Prior to commencing his mission to dismantle the authorities in Los Angeles, Nemesis had to first consolidate power over the city's criminal underbelly. Anderson abducted every gang leader in LA, forcing them into a brutal, blindfolded battle in an empty swimming pool. Armed and blindfolded, the gang leaders engaged in a chaotic and bloody free-for-all. Nemesis enlisted the second-in-commands, who were forced to witness the violence, into his reign of terror. Ultimately, Carlos, one of the gang leaders, emerged victorious, but his triumph was short-lived as Nemesis executed him with a bullet to the head.
Nemesis #1 by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven
Even before Nemesis perpetrated his most heinous acts, he had already caused immense suffering to Tokyo's populace. Nemesis begins with Anderson tormenting a Tokyo inspector, his latest victim, while bragging about his atrocities, including poisoning the Ogouchi Reservoir and unleashing a gas attack on the Tokyo Dome. However, these pale in comparison to his closing act that night: Nemesis detonated a hotel adjacent to a train line, derailing a train and killing countless passengers. The exact number of fatalities in Tokyo remains unknown, but it's estimated to be in the thousands.
Nemesis: Reloaded #3 by Mark Millar and Jorge Jiménez
As Nemesis' war against Los Angeles threw the city into chaos, the National Guard was summoned to restore order. Nevertheless, Anderson was ready for them. In preparation for his attack, Anderson coerced a 17-year-old into seducing a pilot and blackmailed her into performing increasingly heinous and unlawful deeds. To prevent her secrets from being exposed, the pilot agreed to become Nemesis' suicide bomber, crashing a commercial airliner into the National Guard, thereby allowing Nemesis' criminal rampage to persist unhindered.
Nemesis' Attack on the Pentagon
In a devastating attack, Nemesis killed thousands at the Pentagon.
Nemesis #2 by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven
When Nemesis chooses a prey, he doesn't merely eliminate them; he shatters their whole universe. As Chief Inspector Morrow and several prominent government figures convened at the Pentagon to deliberate on the Nemesis crisis, Morrow suddenly grasped the terrifying truth that Anderson was about to strike the Pentagon. Swiftly, nearly everyone succumbed to a nerve gas released by Nemesis within the Pentagon, claiming the lives of 20,000 individuals. To compound the disaster, Nemesis stole sensitive Pentagon secrets and brazenly uploaded them online for his own amusement.
Big Game #2 by Mark Millar and Pepe Larraz
When the Fraternity of Super Criminals embarked on their mission to eliminate every superhero, Nemesis proved to be their most potent weapon. Among their primary targets were The Ambassadors, a powerful alliance representing various nations. Nemesis abducted Pakistan and lured the rest into a trap. Collaborating with the Fraternity, Anderson seized their powers, which were controlled by a central hub, and ruthlessly executed them, ranging from cleaving them apart to freezing them to death. Nemesis showed no mercy as he decimated the planet's mightiest team.
Nemesis #3 by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven
Nemesis coerced a brother and sister into procreating.
Amongst all the atrocities committed by Nemesis, Mark Millar's diabolical supervillain, the most appalling and skin-crawling act undoubtedly involved Inspector Morrow's teenage son and daughter. After breaking out of prison, Nemesis performed an unspeakable act by impregnating Morrow's daughter using sperm harvested from her brother. Though neither teenager suffered physical harm, Morrow was threatened that any effort to terminate the pregnancy would lead to her daughter's womb collapsing, rendering her incapable of bearing children in the future. This heinous deed, though bloodless, remains Nemesis's most infamous and deplorable crime, with no other act even remotely approaching its level of depravity.
Indeed, Nemesis's catalogue of brutal acts is extensive, but this particular incident undoubtedly ranks among the top 10 most brutal moments in the supervillain's history.