Blowouts and beatdowns characterized the first round of our March Madness Supervillain Tournament of Evil! In fact, if you discount the “upset” of #16 seed Thanos knocking off #1 seed Magneto, the entire round went as expected, with the top seeds triumphing easily (and in some cases spectacularly … Doctor Doom took 90% of the vote against the wretched Red Skull!).

The first round results (by percentage of votes):

• Thanos d. Magneto, 64-36
• Loki d. Dark Phoenix, 61-39
• Lex Luthor d. Green Goblin, 60-40
• Galactus d. Two-Face, 83-17
• Joker d. Sinestro, 76-24
• Ra’s al Ghul d. Kingpin, 58-42
• Doctor Doom d. Red Skull, 90-10
• Darkseid d. Catwoman, 77-23

Hopefully the second round will prove more competitive, but before we get to the match-ups, one last word about that Thanos-As-Sixteen-Seed. Remember that our initial seedings were based on IGN’s list, which certainly ranked Thanos too low. He would be a top four seed if I were doing the rankings myself. When Thanos emerged from our sixteen-villain play-in round as the “lowest” seed in the tournament, the writing was on the wall for poor Magneto … and now that Thanos has slain the master of mutant magnetism and become the tournament’s de facto top seed, you have to like the Mad Titan’s chances to run the table all the way to the final.

for Thanos, it is all coming together …

But these Longbox Graveyard tournaments are nothing if not unpredictable — remember when Lockjaw upset Krypto in last year’s Super-Pets competition? So let’s get on to the next round, and see if some of those sure things prove to be anything but!

Vote for ONE bad guy in each match-up below. Use whatever criteria you like — pick your favorite villain, or the guy who would win in a fight, or the guy that could beat Donald Trump in the California Primary! It is up to you! Voting concludes at a random time on Sunday, April 3rd … so get voting!

Here’s the current bracket for the MARCH MADNESS SUPERVILLAIN TOURNAMENT OF EVIL!

Vote now!

ONLY THE MOST INFAMOUS WILL SURVIVE!

#8 LOKI vs. #16 THANOS

Trickster God versus Mister Serious!

#4 LEX LUTHOR vs. #5 GALACTUS

Reed Richards beat Galactus … can Lex pull off the same trick?

#2 JOKER vs. #7 RA’S AL GHUL

Batman’s arch-enemies, old and new!

#3 DOCTOR DOOM vs. #6 DARKSEID

All-Kirby dark despot showdown!

Vote early, and vote often — and tell your friends!

(And defend your vote in the comments section, below!)

Welcome to the opening round of the Longbox Graveyard March Madness Supervillain Tournament of Evil!

Last week we asked you to select one villain from a cast of thousands to join our contest as the #16 seed. After a bloody, seven-day struggle that saw hundreds of votes cast … THANOS emerged the winner, narrowly defeating Ultron. For his prize, Thanos draws an opening round match-up with top seed Magneto!

celebrate while you can, Thanos …!

Here are the top ten results of our “play-in” game …

But enough with the preliminaries — it is time for the full tournament to begin!

You are to vote for ONE bad guy in each match-up below. The terms of the vote are deliberately vague. Are you voting for your favorite villain? The villain who would win in a fight? Maybe the villain that has made the greatest mark on comics? It’s up to you … vote based on the color of their costumes if you like, just so long as you vote!

Here’s the full field for the MARCH MADNESS SUPERVILLAIN TOURNAMENT OF EVIL!

This opening round will last about a week … now get voting!

ONLY THE MOST INFAMOUS WILL SURVIVE!

#1 MAGNETO vs. #16 THANOS

The most deadly 16-seed in history!

#8 LOKI vs. #9 DARK PHOENIX

Old Gods vs. New!

#4 LEX LUTHOR vs. #13 GREEN GOBLIN

Super-Scientist Showdown!

#5 GALACTUS vs. #12 TWO-FACE

The Face Of Injustice vs. The Face Of Fate!

#2 JOKER vs. #15 SINESTRO

Head-To-Head Narrow-Heads!

#7 RA’S AL GHUL vs. #10 KINGPIN

Mob Boss Match-Up!

#3 DOCTOR DOOM vs. #14 RED SKULL

Super-Villain Team-Up … gone wrong!

#6 DARKSEID vs. #11 CATWOMAN

Fighting Like Cats And Gods!

The deadline for voting is a deliberately vague hour on Sunday, March 27th (basically whenever I can be bothered to write up the next blog!). So vote early, and vote often — and tell your friends!

(And sound off about your vote in the comments section, below!)