Villains represent the dark sides of ourselves we’re not always willing to admit to. While we root for the hero, we often get more entertainment value out of the villain. That is, they reflect our heroes’ good traits by being so negative. In superhero narratives, the villains work as “foils” to our hero. Having a tattoo of a character who’s a little chaotic and against the grain feels right. Villains make for popular tattoos because, in some social arenas, tattoos are still considered taboo.

The only thing from the “nerd world” that’s more ubiquitous than our favorite heroes are their villain counterparts. Go to any tattoo convention, and it won’t be long before you see something from the Marvel or DC universe. Superheroes are everywhere, from commercial packaging, to pop art, to tattoos. Refer to one, and even someone who’s never seen a single Marvel or DC movie or read one page of a comic book will probably know who you’re talking about.

It feels like superheroes are embedded into the very fabric of our lives.

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