The 40 Greatest Batman Villains of All Time

When it comes to DC supervillains, it doesn’t get any better than Batman villains. Representing the diabolical best of Batman’s dark, gritty and unsettling Gotham City setting, these criminals are in perfect opposition to the crime-fighting Caped Crusader; whereas Superman’s world is illustrated by vibrant heroism.

Gotham is defined by the villains who terrorize it from its deepest shadows. What makes them stand out is that they are all just a few shades of gray away from the Dark Knight himself. Moreover, they enjoy dancing with the devil in the pale moonlight. Over the years, Batman has faced many terrible villains that have pushed him to his absolute limits. These are the 35 best villains that Batman and fans will always remember.

40

Deadshot (aka Floyd Lawton)

First appearance: Batman #59 (1950), created by David Vern Reed, Lew Schwartz, Bob Kane.

Although Deadshot has become best known over the years for his time in Suicide Squad, he started out as a Batman villain. Over the years, he also became Batman’s main villain, although the two shared a grudging respect for each other. Although Deadshot is a killer, and Batman will never accept that, he also lives by a code of honor.

Deadshot is always a dangerous villain because he is a man who never misses. Although he doesn’t fight Batman as often as he used to.he debuted as the villain Batman, and the two often found themselves at a stalemate in their battles.

39

Punchline (aka Alexis Kaye)

First appearance: Batman #89 (2020), created by James Tynion IV, Jorge Jimenez.

With Harley Quinn and the Joker officially over, it was only a matter of time before the Clown Prince of Crime showed up on Friday. Alexis became fixated on the Joker after meeting the villain in high school, which made her see him as the essence of change. Punchline is more than just a good fighter and right-hand man.. She is also quite good at dealing with poisons and has even developed her own Joker-Venom brand.

Although Punchline helped enormously with her Joker War obsession, Alexis decided to become a more independent villain. Not only did she replace the Joker in the Legion of Doom, but she also gained control of the Royal Flush gang, giving her a meteoric rise among Gotham’s villains.

38

Carmine Falcone (aka The Roman)

First appearance: Batman #405 (1987), created by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli.

Carmine Falcone attracts a lot of attention thanks to Batman movie, but he’s a villain who has been a dangerous bad guy for Batman since the 1980s. The new film is based on Batman at the same age he appeared in Year oneand this is where Carmine Falcone made his debut in DC Comics.

When it comes to Gotham City’s underworld, there have been plenty of villains in the Batman comics. but Carmine stands above most others. His film background helps him surpass them all thanks to Batman possibly holding him responsible for the death of Bruce Wayne’s parents.

37

Calendar Man (aka Julius Day)

Detective comics #259 by Bill Finger, Sheldon Moldoff and Charles Paris.

Every Batman villain needs some sort of gimmick. Be it Two-Face with his coin or the Joker with his deadly practical gags. This was the rule for Batman villains, and the result was some truly ridiculous characters, one of which was Julian Day. Julian Day, also known as the Calendar Man, is obsessed with dates and plans his crimes around them. He was rarely taken as a serious villain, but after his reinvention in Batman: The Long Halloweenhe began to gain more respect, even appearing in Arkham video games in a minor role. Despite appearing stupid at first, Julian turned into a dangerous serial killer.

36

Mr. Zsasz (aka Victor Zsasz)

Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1 by Alan Grant, Norm Breyfogle, Adrienne Roy and Todd Klein.

While most Batman villains have some sort of redeeming or understandable element to their backstory, Zsasz is completely irredeemable. Zsasz grew up incredibly wealthy, running his own company by age 25 and amassing a fortune. Deeply depressed after losing his parents in an accident, he turned to gambling and quickly lost his entire fortune. This made Zsasz believe that life is meaningless and that by killing people, he frees them from meaningless lives. Although Zsasz is rarely at the center of a story, he has proven himself to be many and is a terrifying serial killer.

35

The Ventriloquist (aka Arnold Wesker)

Detective comics No. 583 by John Wagner, Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle.

Everyone in Gotham City needs a trick, and Arnold Wesker has certainly found his own. Wesker is a skilled ventriloquist who performed shows with his dummy Scarface. Scarface has a typical gangster character. Oddly enough, Wesker seems to believe this. Scarface is truly alive and can make his own choices. Wesker is often portrayed as Scarface’s helpless victim, forced to go along with the dummy’s plans out of fear for his life. This delusion is so strong that it has made Wesker immune to mind control, as Scarface is already controlling him.

34

Karma (also known as Delmar Fleet)

Detective comics No. 983 by Brian Edward Hill, Miguel Mendonca, Diana Egea, Adriano Lucas and Sal Cipriano.

Karma was a man named Fleet Felmar who wreaked terror and destruction across the lands of Markovia. Karma was delusional and claimed to be a freedom fighter and the savior of the country, while causing mass destruction and death. He eventually caught the attention of Batman, who easily defeated him. Frustrated by his actions, Batman was unusually violent, spraying Karma with fear gas and sending a swarm of bats at him. These bats allegedly even tore out Fleet’s eyes and left him with serious scars. Fleet later returned as Karma, using a high-tech helmet to take revenge on Batman.

33

Killer Croc (aka Waylon Jones)

First appearance: Detective comics #523 (1983), created by Gerry Conway, Don Newton, Gene Colan.

When written correctly, Killer Croc is as good as Batman’s villains come. Lately, the character has evolved into a large, mutated reptile with few ambitions other than eating Batman. However, in his debut Killer Croc started out as a much more interesting villain.So much so that some believe his backstory was the true inspiration for Tim Burton’s The Penguin Batman returns.

When Waylon Jones was born with a rare scaly skin disease and was subjected to merciless abuse, so it was only natural that he would become a murderous cannibal. After a short stint in a traveling circus, he ended up in Gotham City. By allowing his condition to dictate his life, Kroc turned into a truly terrible scammer.

32

Solomon Grundy (aka Cyrus Gold)

All American Comics No. 61 by Alfred Bester and Paul Reinman

Arguably one of the most physically powerful villains in Batman’s rogues gallery. Solomon Grundy was a wealthy merchant known as Cyrus Gold before he was killed and thrown into Slaughter Swamp. Due to the strange properties of the Slaughter Swamp, Cyrus rebelled again.. Unable to remember his former life, Cyrus took the name Solomon Grundy from a nursery rhyme—the only one he could remember. Since then, Solomon Grundy has roamed the outskirts of Gotham City or lived in the sewers leading to Slaughter Swamp, happily killing anyone who bothered him.

31

Black Mask (also known as Roman Sionis)

First appearance: Batman #386 (1985), created by Doug Moench and Tom Mandrake.

Born Roman Sionis, he was the byproduct of self-absorbed wealthy parents who cared more about their social status than his well-being. Because of this, he became obsessed with the idea of ​​masks. By killing them both, he not only inherited the family fortune, but also took the opportunity to create a new identity by carving a black mask from his father’s coffin and become the leader of Gotham’s criminal underworld.

While many of Batman’s top villains resort to over-the-top drama and wacky gimmicks to fuel their crimes, Black Mask maintains a creepy dignity rooted in good old-fashioned sadism and the use of a gun that shoots well.

30

Killer Moth (aka Drury Walker)

Batman #63 by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, Lew Sayre Schwartz and Charles Paris.

One of Batman’s oldest villains is none other than Drury Walker, also known as Killer Moth. Drury began his career as the anti-Batman, a man with a wide range of skills and weapons who helped criminals against the police, rather than the other way around. Even though Batman states that he doesn’t need a plan regarding Killer Moth, the Dark Knight seems to have some respect for Drury. Drury was not only one of the first supervillains to oppose Batman, but also Batman has admitted in the past that he thinks Killer Moth’s outfit is awesome.and he even designed one of his gadgets based on Killer Moths.

29

Deacon Blackfire (aka Joseph Blackfire)

Batman: Cult #1 by Jim Starlin, Bernie Wrightson, Bill Ray and John Costanza.

Deacon Blackfyre is a villain who appears very rarely in Batman stories, but he is still a surprisingly formidable foe. Deacon Blackfire is one of the first villains to force Batman to break his one rule, successfully brainwashing Batman to the point where he participated in a massacre ordered by Blackfire. This defeat was so humiliating for Batman that the Dark Knight even fled Gotham City, intending to permanently hand over control of the city to Blackfire. Although Batman was eventually convinced to return and fight to save his city, Joseph Blackfire was the first to make him even consider giving up Gotham.

28

Mr. Bloom (aka “Anti-Joker”)

First appearance: Batman #43 (2015), creators Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo

One of Batman’s more modern villains was actually first encountered by Jim Gordon during his time as the Dark Knight. Bloom considers himself a necessary force of nature. To do this, it is necessary to destroy life in Gotham so that something new can grow in its place. Despite his lithe appearance, Bloom is extremely strong, able to survive the harshest punishments and control technology.

Even among the many strange villains in Batman’s rogues gallery, Mister Bloom stands out. His past, his abilities, and his ultimate goals are almost all shrouded in mystery, making him a very terrifying villain.

27

Hush (aka Dr. Thomas Elliot)

First appearance: Batman #609 (2003), created by Jim Lee, Jeph Loeb.

Hush might have ranked higher if he wasn’t just a villain in one key storyline. However, given how iconic Quiet was for Batman, this villain deserves his place on lists of the best Batman villains. Hush is Bruce Wayne’s childhood friend and was born into a family as wealthy as Bruce. However, although Thomas and Martha Wayne were caring parents who raised Bruce to be a hero, Hush’s parents were abusive and he grew up hating his life and Bruce’s life.. It was a mystery, and it was this revelation that made Hush such a memorable villain.

26

Owlman (aka Lincoln March)

Batman Volume 2 #1 by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion, FCO Plascencia, Richard Starkings and Jimmy Betancourt

Batman has very few living blood relatives, so the idea of ​​family is everything to him. Bruce was able to heal from significant trauma by building a new family. Lincoln March is the only villain who challenges the idea of ​​Batman’s family. Lincoln March is Batman’s secret brother, and although the comic is deliberately ambiguous about the validity of this claim, Bruce has admitted that he truly believes Lincoln is his long-lost brother. Although Lincoln hasn’t appeared much in the comics since his first appearance, there’s no better villain than a secret evil brother.

25

Clayface (aka Basil Carlo)

First appearance: Detective comics #40 (1940), created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane.

Any superhero worth his cape has at least one shapeshifting villain. For Batman, it’s Clayface, a hulking mud monster with the ability to change the shape of his body, transform his limbs into a menagerie of weapons, look like anyone he chooses, and render almost all forms of physical attacks useless by melting.

Although his backstory is as changeable as he is, Clayface has provided Batman with a compelling foe since the ’40s.. However, the best and most tragic version of the character comes from the 90s. Batman: The Animated Serieswhich unified its past comic book counterparts and eventually became the visual template for future appearances.

24

Man-Bat (aka Kirk Langstrom)

Detective comics No. 400 by Frank Robbins, Neal Adams, Dick Giordano and John Costanza.

Man-Bat is a complex character. Kirk Langstrom, comparable to Curt Connors from Spider-Man, was a scientist who tried to cure deafness using an extracted bat gland. Instead, he turned into a bat-like monster. This made him a recurring Batman villain for decades, but given that he was an innocent man and not malicious, his character had room for growth beyond just being a generic villain of the week. This was shown when Kirk effectively gained control of the Man-Bat’s personality, even becoming a member of the Justice League Dark for a time and helping save the world.

23

Poison Ivy (also known as Dr. Pamela Isley)

First appearance: Batman #181 (1966), created by Robert Kanigher, Carmine Infantino, Sheldon Moldoff.

Those who were punished in the 1997s Batman and Robin Perhaps they’ve forgotten that eco-terrorist Poison Ivy is one of Batman’s most iconic villains. With her ability to do whatever she wants with plants, this Gotham City siren is a deadly enemy. She can seduce any man to do her bidding, even Superman.

After being forced to eat – or injected, depending on the origin story – poisonous plant, she transforms into the predatory Poison IVy, obsessed with protecting the planet’s plant life. While this may seem like a noble cause, she plans to do so by destroying all human lives, forcing Batman to intervene.

22

Penguin (aka Oswald Cobblepot)

First appearance: Detective comics #58 (1941), created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane.

At the best of Batman’s villainous behavior, the Penguin has long been a mainstay in Batman’s rogues gallery. Debuting in 1941 Detective comics #58, Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot III originally started out as a run-of-the-mill rogue. Over the years, character turned into Gotham’s infamous crime lord.

Despite being the grotesque face of the city’s underworld, Penguin has also demonstrated a practical, sometimes even quasi-legal business side, carrying out his devious actions less out of a need to wreak havoc, but more out of a desire for personal and financial gain. In addition to his danger, the Man of a Thousand Umbrellas demonstrated exquisite intelligence and sophistication.

21

Deathstroke (aka Slade Wilson)

First appearance: New Teen Titans #2 (1980), created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez.

Although he started out as a Teen Titans villain, Deathstroke evolved into Batman’s main villain after characters such as Batman: Arkham Origins and later comics. He is one of the few fighters to defeat Batman multiple times.. Slade Wilson was the subject of a failed super-soldier project that turned him into the world’s greatest killer.

Deathstroke’s rivalry with Batman has had several incarnations. However, this usually involves Deathstroke being paid to kill the Bat or pay back for a previous defeat. Deathstroke is relentless when he has a goal, and his tactical abilities match those of Batman, which is why he is even capable of defeating heroes like the Flash.