Since its creation in 1939, Batman has gone on to become one of the most successful and well-known comic book series of all time. It’s spawned several television shows, a wide selection of movies and one or two truly terrific video games. For as fantastic a protagonist as the dark knight is though, much of the series’ success can be attributed to its incredible cast of villains.
It’s through these formidable foes that audiences are able to see both the very best and the very worst of Bruce Wayne, while they themselves are often every bit as captivating as the series’ hero; if not more. Some seek world domination while others have more specific and personal goals and targets in mind. One or two of them, however, want nothing more than to watch the world burn.
10 Mr. Freeze
Mr. Freeze is one of the many Batman villains whose reputations were tarnished by Joel Schumacher’s unbearable Batman movies from the mid-nineties. Behind all of the terrible puns and over the top acting though, there’s actually an incredibly interesting character with a surprising amount of depth.
One of the things that makes Freeze so dangerous is not his insanity or his desire to cause harm, but instead his obsession with finding a cure for his wife. It’s often said that love is a lot more powerful than hate and this is evident when analyzing the lengths that Victor Fries will go to in order to achieve his one true goal.
9 The Scarecrow
First appearing all the way back in 1941, the Scarecrow offers something a little different than most of the other villains in the series. Rather than attacking Batman with brute force or state of the art weaponry, he instead uses the most powerful weapon known to man. Fear.
With the help of some experimental toxins, the supervillain is able to evoke feelings of pure dread in his victims and can even elicit hallucinations given the right stimuli. He’s not motivated by money and is only really interested in testing the limits of fear on the unassuming citizens of Gotham and the Batman himself.
8 Harley Quinn
Given how popular the character is amongst the fandom, it’s perhaps a little surprising that Harley Quinn is yet to appear in any of the mainline Batman movies. She has, however, featured in several of the other movies in the DC Expanded Universe; in which she is emphatically brought to life by the talented Margot Robbie.
As is often the case in the Batman universe, her insanity makes for an incredibly strong villain, not just because of her over the top actions, but also because of how unpredictable they often are. She also helps to flesh out the Joker’s character a little more and together they make a near unstoppable team. That said, she remains an equally wonderful antagonist in her very own right.
7 The Penguin
Danny De Vito may not be quite on the same level as some of the many great Oscar-winning actors of his generation, but his portrayal of the Penguin in Batman Returns is nigh on perfect. The character’s social awkwardness is expertly captured whilst his often over the top proclamations are very much in keeping with the Penguin’s usual M.O.
One of the things that sets Oswald Cobblepot apart from some of the other villains in the series is that he is perfectly sane and in full control of the things that he does. This allows him to react to Batman’s attempts to foil his schemes and often leads to him outmaneuvering the caped crusader all together. At least in the short term, that is.
6 The Riddler
The Riddler is another character who doesn’t come out of the Joel Schumacher movies smelling of roses. Even so, the cunning schemes and demented ramblings of Edward Nygma provide some real moments of brilliance and have very nearly bested Batman on more than one occasion.
The use of riddles may seem like a cheap gimmick to some, but it helps to provide the character with a real sense of identity and can often offer great insight into the inner workings of his mind. There are certainly bigger threats to Gotham than this enigmatic evil-doer, but few are quite as memorable.
5 Talia Al Ghul
Although undoubtedly a villain, one of the things that makes Talia such an interesting antagonist is her wavering loyalty. There are times when she is more than happy to do her father’s bidding or put Gotham to the sword, but her feelings for Batman can often prevent her from doing what needs to be done.
Like her father, she is incredibly clever and is a capable combatant as well, but it’s arguably her strong leadership skills which make her such a threat to Gotham. With the Secret Society of Super Villains at her back, she’s able to cause far more carnage than is ever shown in The Dark Knight Rises and is a near constant thorn in Batman’s side.
4 Bane
At first glance, Bane may seem like a fairly one-dimensional character who’s reliant more on his sheer strength and tolerance for pain than any real tactical nous. Even so, he’s living proof that with enough brute force, there aren’t many things that can’t be broken or bent out of shape.
Contrary to what The Dark Knight Rises may at times suggest though, Bane is actually an incredibly intelligent man. In the comic books, at least, he’s come up with plenty of brilliant schemes and is one of a very small number of villains to have been able to truly break Batman; both physically and mentally.
3 Two-Face
From up and coming district attorney to deranged criminal, Dent’s story is one of the most compelling and tragic in the Batman series. His mental illnesses lead to the character becoming obsessed with the concept of duality and this is something that he himself brings to the series in spades.
While Aaron Eckhart’s portrayal of Two-Face is infinitely better than Tommy Lee Jones’ back in the nineties, it still only scratches the surface of this fascinating character. While the acid may have destroyed Dent’s face, it failed to completely erode his good-natured personality and this causes plenty of inner conflict which is both absorbing and fascinating to behold.
2 Ra’s Al Ghul
Having once helped a broken and defeated Bruce Wayne to find purpose and direction, Ra’s al Ghul is much more than a simple villain. He’s smart, he’s idealistic and he has the drive and dedication to do what he believes needs to be done. In many ways, he and Batman are actually quite alike. Well. Except for the killing, that is.
Liam Neeson did a fine job bringing the character to life in Batman Begins, but there’s so much more to the character than is ever shown in the movies. He’s willing to go to extreme lengths to fulfill his desire for balance, including wiping out most of the world’s population. He never quite goes full Thanos in that respect, but it’s not for lack of trying.
1 The Joker
Although there is technically a plural form of the word ‘nemesis’, by definition, there can only really be one. For Batman, that ‘one’ is undoubtedly the Joker. Since his very first introduction back in 1940, the clown prince of crime has posed a near constant threat to the city of Gotham and has caused the deaths of an uncountable number of its citizens.
Through his diabolical actions, he has been able to summon the very best out of Batman, but also, at times, the very worst. Few villains are able to get under the caped crusader’s skin quite as effectively as the Joker, nor have any caused him quite so much trouble over the years. His desire for chaos and carnage makes him a difficult villain to stop, but his ability to incite and inspire mayhem makes him an impossible one to ever truly defeat.
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