Supervillains have a long history of being menacing, threatening, malevolent, weird and dominating. But what about scary? Like, in a Halloweeny sense. Few fit that bill.

But here are seven of the supervillains who might put a little chill in your bones, along with some honorable mentions.

Scarecrow

Who is he?: Jonathan Crane became obsessed with fear after being constantly bullied as a kid. He took up villainy after losing his job as a university professor and a short stint as an Arkham Asylum psychologist. He was fired from his teaching job because he totally creeped out all his students by firing a gun at them (no kidding). He then made his former dean his first murder victim (take that, you stuck-up dean! Alpha House! Alpha House!). Now, he goes around with a burlap bag over his head and a weird hat, using his fear toxin on unwilling subjects, just to see how they react. He calls it "research." (So, take note, anyone who thought there was anything original about the "Saw" movie series.)

Why is he scary?: Okay, yes, he was kind of silly-looking during the Silver Age and the less said about his appearances on "Super Friends" the better. But let's not forget the altogether terrifying version who appeared on "The New Batman Adventures," the movie version (who was pretty damn creepy) or the comics character who didn't even have to use fear gas to get two Arkham inmates to kill themselves. He can look ridiculous, but Crane's the real deal, yo. Plus, you know, he has toxin that can make you see your worst fear (for me, it's talking kitchen appliances).

Also scary: Mr. Fear, but only for that one recent storyarc in "Daredevil"

Sabbac

Who is he?: Captain Marvel's arch-enemy, Dr. Sivana, kidnapped a little boy named Timothy Karnes, who Dr. Sivana discovered carried the blood of a demon family (in his veins, not around in a paper bag or something). In a satanic ritual, Sivana turned Karnes into Sabbac, a demon who the evil scientist wanted to kill Captain Marvel. You know, it might have actually been a good idea to actually put Dr. Sivana on this list instead of this guy, come to think of it.

Why is he scary?: Let's start with the fact that each of the letters in his name stands for some version of the devil: Satan, Aym, Belial, Beelzebub, Asmodeus, Crateis. Acrostics are always frightening. Here's another little nugget: He's actually now a Russian immigrant who killed Karnes (a child, mind you) and a bus full of innocents to get the demonic power. Plus, he's now about five stories tall and his main hobby is sacrificing the souls of children to a demon. That's hard to top, though I'm going to try my damnedest.

Also scary: Mephisto, for destroying years of Spider-Man continuity

Nightmare

Who is he?: He's a demon who rules "the dream dimension," where troubled people go when they go to sleep. When they arrive, he just totally creeps them out by riding around on a black unicorn named Dreamstalker. One time, because he is apparently kind of corny in the creation and execution his demonic plans, he made people who were experiencing the "American dream" go crazy and kill people.

Why is he scary?: We actually mentioned him in our list of genuinely scary comics monsters, but he's so creepy, we had to put him on both lists. To quote ourselves: "He can screw with your dreams, which sort of makes him like Freddie Krueger but without all the bad puns."

Black Flash

Who is he?: Surprisingly not a black guy who got to be the Flash (I mean, DC already has Black Lightning and Black Vulcan), Black Flash is actually Death incarnate for super-speedsters. Any time a speedster dies (which is like, every week), the Black Flash appears to him, because regular Death tore his ACL back at a college track meet and can no longer keep up.

Why is he scary?: Look at him! Those teeth! The claws! The fact that he could probably kill you dead before you even get a chance to say something cool! All horrifying. We should note, though, that Flashes seem to come back from the dead every week, too, so he may not be all that effective.

Also scary: Marvel's Death, Nekron

Dracula

Who is he?: He's Dracula.

Why is he scary?: He. Is. Dracula.

Thanos

Who is he?: Thanos was born on Titan, and due to a genetic defect, he's got a chin that looks like a raisin (his father and siblings look like regular people, and are therefore much less interesting). Like most weirdoes (Germans, for instance), Thanos became a nihilist and started looking for ways to conquer the universe.

Why is he scary?: If he's a nihilist, why would he want to conquer the universe, you ask? Good question. Well, you see, he's got this weird thing about Death. He's in love with her. And he thinks the best way to impress her is to, well, kill everybody. So he does just about everything he can to make sure that happens. And he even accomplished it one time. (NOTE: Everyone got better.)

Also scary: Darkseid, who doesn't love Death, but instead hates free will, which is close

Galactus

Who is he?: He's a giant guy who goes around in a giant spherical ship eating planets.

Why is he scary?: He will eat the shit out of your planet and not even care. (Unless it has a Reed Richards.)

Coming Tuesday: 7 totally un-scary villains

KingOblivionPhD@the-iss.com