Notice! The last entry in this article contains spoilers from the season 1 finale of The Pengiun.
The world of Batman in live-action goes far beyond the central hero, with a detestable cast of thugs and villains who have committed some of the most disturbing crimes in any comic book adaptation, especially in live-action films and shows. Long before the UDC
Batman has starred in live-action TV shows and films, as well as having a popular comic book series under the DC Comics imprint. However, Batman’s version, and alongside him the city of Gotham, has become noticeably darker as the adaptations continue.
Adam West’s Batman was more wholesome, with a cast of colorful villains that were more goofy than horrible. But when Tim Burton adapted the story, Batman’s world became considerably darker and more twisted. This development continued over the next four decades, bringing the character to the point where he remains in cinema today; a Dark Avenger and a vigilante who seeks justice through violent and ruthless means. And as the hero transforms into the Dark Knight, so do Gotham and the villains, who become more and more threatening with each new story.
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Victor Zsasz taking command of the GCPD in Gotham
Gotham is a series that ran from 2014 to 2019. As the title suggests, the show shifted focus away from Batman and instead took a closer look at the corrupt and devious city of Gotham. Although Bruce Wayne appears as a young teenager who has a great knack for detective work, he is not yet Batman and instead Detective Jim Gordon is left to try and clean up a city with a rotten core.
But despite Jim’s efforts, even the Gotham City Police Department is full of dirty cops. This can be seen when Victor Zsasz shows up at the GCPD, stands up on a table, and orders the entire police force to leave so he can “deal” with Jim Gordon. The city is deeply corrupt, but Zsasz takes advantage of this by walking unhindered and fearless into a room full of armed police and getting what he wants.
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Joker’s magic trick in The Dark Knight
The Joker is one of Batman’s all-time greatest rivals and so it makes sense that the character is seen as a legend among criminals. However, when the Joker appears in Christopher Nolan’s film The Dark Knighthe appears to be a newcomer to Gotham. The established crime families have no idea who he is and so refuse to give him any time or respect. But the Joker is able to brilliantly and quickly demand your attention and establish his abilities.
In a room full of thugs and their guards, Joker asks the table of superiors if they want to see a magic trick. Looking like a jester in clown makeup, they begrudgingly comply for a brief moment. Fortunately, a brief moment is all the Joker needs, as he places a pencil on the table, grabs one of the guards, and slams his head, eyeball first, into the pencil, killing the man instantly by piercing his brain. This sudden brutality made it clear that the Joker was an incredibly dangerous rival. But to ensure his escape, he also wrapped himself in explosives, which further cemented his reputation as someone not to be messed with.
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Arthur Fleck murdering a talk show host on live TV in Joker
Another version of this iconic character appeared in Todd Phillips’ 2019 film, Clown. Here, the story describes the origin of the Clown King of Gotham, when an unassuming and mentally ill man named Arthur Fleck slowly descends into madness and unleashes an alter ego known as the Joker. Fleck fantasizes about murder and laughter as he seeks to fulfill his purpose of making people smile, but is constantly greeted by the anger and frustration of the people he meets.
After brutally killing three young men who treated him badly on the subway, Fleck receives an invitation to his favorite talk show, hosted by his favorite host, Murray Franklin. Although Fleck admires the man, it only takes a moment for Franklin to begin to undermine and belittle Fleck. This enrages Fleck, and he transforms from a nervous and fragile man into a symbol of anarchy and violence like the Joker. Pointing a gun at the host on live TV and unloading his weapon at Murray Franklin in front of millions of viewers at home.
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Jervis Tetch capturing Jim Gordon and murdering a couple in front of him
Returning to Gotham for a moment, Jim Gordon has fought a considerable number of rivals in his time as a new GCPD recruit. At one point, Gordon is forced to fight an incredibly talented hypnotist and magician, Jervis Tetch. While most hypnotists use their talents for entertainment or to help others, Tetch behaves radically differently.
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At one point, Tetch summons Gordon and his partner, Harvey Bullock, to a location where he clearly intends to arrest them. However, Gordon does not back down from a challenge and, aware that the alternative could mean death, he goes. Unfortunately, on this occasion, Tetch has set Gordon up with dozens of hypnotized people who trap the detective and his partner, while he watches helplessly as a couple, possibly newlyweds judging by their clothes, lie motionless, before being brutally murdered by Tetch. releasing a massive wrecking ball.
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Joker killing Bruce Wayne’s parents in Tim Burton’s Batman
While the comics and animated shows have revealed that Bruce Wayne’s parents’ killer is a man named Joe Chill in most iterations, Tim Burton’s Batman in 1989 he established a different origin for the hero. Instead of being a low-level criminal looking for a quick payday and mugging Wayne’s Jack Nicholson’s Joker, he was actually revealed to be the killer. This puts the villain in a whole new category as Batman’s rival, as he was literally pulling the trigger in the moment that changed young Bruce’s life forever.
This version of the Joker had big ambitions and a love of chaos, which could suggest why he was committing such small crimes despite having the potential to be a criminal mastermind, but he built his empire. For this reason, Michael Keaton’s Batman has a particular hatred for the Joker, beyond what most other Caped Crusaders already demonstrate. This remains one of the Joker’s most vicious attacks on Bruce Wayne.
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Ra’s al Ghul poisoning Gotham’s water supply in Batman Begins
Another notable betrayal of trust occurred in Christian Bale’s Batman in Batman begins. In this superhero origin story from Christopher Nolan, Bruce travels the world after the death of his parents to find a greater purpose. As a boy, upon witnessing his parents’ death, Bruce felt utterly helpless and was determined to never feel that way again. So he traveled the world in search of mentors and guides who could transform him into an unstoppable force for good.
Along this journey, he came into contact with a man, Ra’s al Ghul, who became a close friend and guide on this route when he trained with the League of Shadows. However, Bruce was surprised when he returned home and found himself facing his old friend, who was now trying to cause irreparable damage and chaos in Gotham. Over the course of several weeks, al Ghul hired the services of Jonathan Crane, aka Scarecrow, to poison the water supply in Gotham and use a special toxin that would force the citizens into a violent frenzy at his command.
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Jeremiah Valeska transforming Gotham into no man’s land
Once again turning attention to Gothamwhere some of the most heinous crimes were committed by these villains early in their careers. On the one hand, Jeremiah Valeska was one of Gotham’s most notable and terrifying villains, who succeeded his twin brother Jerome as a criminal mastermind after his brother’s death. Jeremiah took things much further than his brother, even enacting a plan similar to Al Ghul’s above, albeit much more effectively.
Jeremiah planted several explosives around Gotham, blowing up bridges around the city and essentially trapping every resident inside. Jeremiah killed countless people, sent his cult following into the streets, and caused chaos and destruction throughout the city. This brutal and torturous act was eventually stopped and the city had some time to recover, but for a brief moment Jeremiah ruled Gotham.
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The Riddler flooding Gotham and brainwashing civilians into Batman
On Matt Reeves BatmanA similar incident occurs, although another of Batman’s classic villains is behind it. The Riddler, played by Paul Dano, is a quiet man who found a group of like-minded believers online. Through extensive research in chat rooms and collaboration with others in Gotham, Riddler was able to coordinate an attack that was much bigger than him as an individual and caused panic throughout the city.
Despite being captured and detained, the Riddler’s disciples began working on their master plan, setting up attacks on a nearby dam and hoping to trap and kill many of Gotham’s citizens inside a large football stadium during a political rally. Due to the sheer number of attackers, these men were successful in flooding Gotham and causing mass chaos, destruction, and paranoia.
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The Joker murdering Rachel and turning Harvey Dent into Two-Face in The Dark Knight
One of the most harrowing acts performed by Heath Ledger’s Joker in The Dark Knight that’s when he assembled Batman and the GCPD to try to save Rachel Dawes, Bruce Wayne’s ex, or Harvey Dent, the new district attorney who was commonly nicknamed Gotham’s White Knight. Of course, Batman rushed to save his ex, but the Joker caught him in a double bluff, sending him to the wrong location. Unfortunately, when he arrived, Dent was already trying to hasten his death and suffered intense burns to half of his body.
Rachel died before the GCPD could rescue her, and this was a huge blow to Batman, but also to Dent, who was her fiancé at the time of her death. With Dent brutally disfigured and his beloved Rachel dead, he has given up on his dream of saving Gotham the right and fair way. Instead, Dent turned to fate and became Two-Face, a brutal killer who meted out justice at the flip of a coin.
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The Penguin killing Victor after taking control of Gotham
The penguin is a spin-off series by Matt Reeves Batmanfollowing the titular villain as he rises to power in Gotham. Throughout the show, Oz shows how cruel and conniving he can be by pitting his rivals and competitors against each other, but along the way, he develops a close bond with a young man named Victor. Initially, Victor is trying to take Oz’s car with a group of other low-level criminals, but Oz decides to take Victor under his wing and mentor him. Initially, their relationship is difficult, with Victor struggling to trust the man, but eventually, they grow to like each other.
In the final episode of The penguin In season one, Oz and Victor sit together, looking out over the city they fought together to reclaim. Oz’s enemies are either dead or out of the picture, and Victor shares a touching moment when he says that Oz is “like family,” but this only serves to make the next moment that much more brutal and monstrous. Oz tightens his grip on young Victor’s neck, expressing affection for the boy but also stating what a weakness he could be later on, and he commits the ultimate monstrous act for any Batman villain, killing this boy whose trust he has earned.