The Bobby Llama

Simply designating a villain schedule on the forums won't get you very far, because the vast majority of the player base doesn't read them. However, it has also been my observation that the vast majority of players are loathe to take their own initiative - you can generate interest just by providing an activity that they can join. So, if you want to start a designated villain day, start by running your own villain teams. When you advertise in LFG, make sure you mention that it's a weekly thing (or whatever timeframe you decide). It might start out slow, but people will show up. The most important thing is to break the "nobody plays redside" negative feedback loop by doing it in a way that is highly visible, but you also want a regular schedule so people associate that time with redside activity. This isn't to discount VileTerror's post about recruiting in global channels, of course. My point is simply that putting together a regular community event (which is essentially what this is) takes some legwork by someone (or several someones) willing to take the lead. Picking a day to "ensur[e] high pop" isn't enough.

The original devs certainly weren't going to bring Statesman back to life. Lore AMA #338: Any plans for getting Statesman back would have been finding some sort of replacement instead. See: AMA #9, #239, #256, #309.

The original devs were kicking around the idea for a Striker AT that likely would have worked this way.

As a counter point, the sky raider base is super fun as a brute, so much stuff to SMASH. It's hard to pick a 'worst' SF when they're all pretty good. They all have their weak points, but not nearly as badly as the TFs that preceded them.

Vernon von Grun has a lot of good stuff.

It is, but the novel is from before the Incarnate and Well of the Furies lore was really fleshed out (2005). Marcus and Stefan drink from the Fountain of Zeus (which is hidden underneath the Well of the Furies, an actual physical well filled with water) and transform into supermen, then they open Pandora's Box to release superpowers to the world, which destroys the cave they found all this stuff in. The details in the novel are very different than what would later be established as Incarnate lore. Also from the book, Billy the Bean was a minor character that was part of Marcus and Stefan's crew. Here's the scene where he finds Stefan after the destruction of the Well and Fountain:

Just want to second this one (along with a reminder to add Leadership as well). Masterminds aren't very demanding on reaction time or quick decision making, which are the sort of skills people who are terrible at games are typically lacking.

I'm not quite a unicorn, but it looks like I'm the closest we've come so far: Blaster 160 Sonic Attack Fire Manipulation 2 Charredcore, Everlasting server. This is a really strong combo, too. Been having a lot of fun with it. I also have a Demon/Traps MM at 50, of which there are only 4.