The hero/villain dynamic can be shifty in comics. Sometimes a villain is just a villain and that's all there is to it. Other times, they're more like anti-heroes who do some good but aren't exactly altruistic. Then, there are all the villains who have redeemed themselves.
DC has some of the greatest villains ever created and many of these intimidating antagonists have made the jump to heroism at one point or another. There are some villains that will never switch sides, however. These DC villains the worst of the worst and see no reason in even trying to be better.
10 Darkseid's Nature Precludes Him From Ever Becoming A Hero
Darkseid is the God of Evil and one of the greatest villains in the DC Universe. There's basically no way that Darkseid will ever become a hero. There have been occasions, like Crisis On Infinite Crisis and Cosmic Odyssey, where Darkseid has found himself helping the heroes. Even then, it's a either a way for him to survive or a means to an end. Darkseid doesn't have the requisite feelings to ever be anything approaching a hero. He doesn't care about anyone or anything but himself and his goals.
9 Scarecrow Only Wants To Help People Feel Fear
Scarecrow has a very particular schtick that stops him from becoming a hero. Scarecrow is all about fear and causing it on as grand a scale as possible. He doesn't want to help anyone, unless it's to help them feel fear. Heroism holds nothing that interests Scarecrow, even though he could strike fear into the hearts of evildoers just as easily as anyone else.
8 Zsasz Loves Killing Too Much To Stop
Zsasz is one of Batman's most brutal foes. He's not in it to be the top crook in Gotham or anything like that, he just likes to kill. Zsasz keeps a running tally of kills on his skin, putting a new mark on himself whenever he kills someone new. Zsasz does not care who he kills, so long as he kills.
Zsasz is a serial killer and he'll never stop being one. He's not going to limit his attacks to just bad guys, either, so any hope of him even becoming a more violent type of hero is pretty much futile.
7 Johnny Sorrow's Too Far Gone
Johnny Sorrow doesn't have the popularity of other villains, but he's no less impressive for it. One of the Justice Society's most dangerous foes, Sorrow is a servant of the Lovecraftian deity, the King of Tears, and has since transcended any human concerns. He exists only to cause destruction and pave the way for his dark master.
Sorrow's powers allow him to teleport and become intangible, which can go either way. His most devastating power is his deadly visage, which can kill when unmasked. While his death gaze doesn't discriminate, Sorrow would rather kill everyone than have to narrow it down to just villains.
6 Vandal Savage Could Have Become A Hero Any Time In The Last Hundred Thousands Years
Vandal Savage is one of the most dangerous immortals on Earth. For a hundred thousand years, he's been terrorizing the world, conquering and destroying in a quest for more power. At any time in that very long interval, Vandal Savage could have changed his ways and become a hero, but he's always chosen not to.
At this point, it's far too late for Savage to just change his stripes. He likes who he is and what he does and there's no reason for him to change. While he's recently taken a role helping watch the Omniverse for threats, even that is just a way for him to protect his own holdings as much as anything.
5 Neron Is Pure Evil
Neron is inherently evil, so it would be impossible for him to ever be a hero. A powerful demon from Hell, Neron enjoys tempting others with offers of the things they want the most. Any altruistic outcomes of his actions are usually all dashed once those poor souls have to pay his price. For Neron, nothing in being heroic appeals to him.
Helping others is a foreign concept to Neron because he's a being of quid pro quo. Everything he does is for gain of some sort. It's this that sets Neron apart from a demon like Etrigan, who will help others. Neron does nothing without some twisted goal in mind.
4 Ra's Al Ghul's Goal Of Saving The Planet Is Noble But His Methods Are Extreme
Ra's al Ghul is another DC Universe immortal who could have become a hero at any other point in his long life but hasn't. Ra's al Ghul's goals can be described as nobl since he wants to save the Earth after all, but his methods to get there are monstrous. While his logic is actually pretty sound, the fact that he will brook no alternative but genocide will always keep him from being a hero.
Ra's al Ghul is the type of person who already has a certain view on the world and nothing can shake that. Ra's believes that the path he is currently on is the best one and so there's no reason for him to stop or change.
3 Gorilla Grodd's Lust For Power And Conquest Is Too Overwhelming To Change
There are only a few things Gorilla Grodd likes in the world and none of them are conducive to heroics. Grodd mostly desires power over others, usually with a side order of his enemy's flesh – and that's pretty much it. He's a simple gorilla in that regard and Grodd's very simplicity keeps him from being a hero.
There's nothing in being a hero for Grodd. Being beloved doesn't matter to him and helping others holds no appeal. Grodd lives to conquer and control, and he'll never stop for something as paltry as protecting others.
2 Reverse Flash Enjoys Hurting Barry Allen Too Much To Ever Stop
Reverse Flash is one of the most irredeemable characters in DC. He's spent years doing everything he can to make Barry Allen's life miserable. It's the only joy he takes from the universe and he'll never stop, especially not to just become a hero. To Reverse Flash, there's no fun in being the hero. He'd rather destroy a hero. Reverse Flash's entire life has been about one thing: tormenting Barry Allen.
1 The Joker Wouldn't Have Any Fun As A Hero
The Joker is a monster, plain and simple. There are few villains in the DC Universe who truly enjoy being evil as much as he does. The Joker is completely reprehensible and doesn't want help. It's doubtful he even believes that he needs it, as every trip to Arkham ends in tragedy for everyone but him. Joker is like an Internet troll: he's in it for the laughs.
The Joker prefers concocting plans to attack the city instead of helping it and will stop at nothing to destroy Batman. His goals are so far removed from anything heroic that there's zero chance he'll ever decide to change his ways and fly right.