Villains

Classic rogues gallery

In alphabetical order (with issue and date of debut appearance).

Anarky              

Detective Comics #608 (November 1989)

Anarky (Lonnie Machin), a teenage prodigy, creates improvised gadgets in order to subvert government. His violent methods set him, Batman, and Robin at odds.

Bane   

Batman: Vengeance of Bane #1 (January 1993)

Masked villain Bane's immense strength comes from a steroid called Venom. His power and intellect make him one of Batman's most feared adversaries, and he once succeeded in breaking Batman's back.

Black Mask     

Batman #386 (August 1985)       

Black Mask (Roman Sionis) was a former businessman who hated both Bruce Wayne and Batman, wore a black mask (hence his alias), and led a vast organization of henchmen dubbed "the False Face Society" until Catwoman killed him. During Batman: Battle for the Cowl, Dr. Jeremiah Arkham (the former owner of Arkham Asylum) was driven insane and subsequently became the second Black Mask.

Blockbuster  

Detective Comics #345 (November 1965)              

Mark Desmond was a weak-bodied chemist until he experimented on himself and subsequently became a mindless brute who possesses super-strength dubbed "Blockbuster." However, he was eventually killed by a henchman of Darkseid after joining the Suicide Squad (he has since been revived in DC Comics' "New 52" reboot). Later, Roland Desmond (the original Blockbuster's older brother) was mutated into the second Blockbuster when he was treated with experimental steroids that gave him super-strength. He became a crime boss in Bludhaven, home of Nightwing.

Calendar Man               

Detective Comics #259 (September 1958)              

Calendar Man (Julian Day) is known for committing crimes that correspond with holidays and significant dates (hence his alias). He often wears costumes to correlate with the date of the designated crime. His best-known latter day appearance is in the miniseries Batman: The Long Halloween, where he is portrayed as a Hannibal Lecter-like figure, offering insight in Batman's search for Holiday, a vigilante who uses holidays as his modus operandi. Calendar Man knows that Alberto Falcone is the Holiday Killer and keeps this information to himself, as he decides to taunt the heroes with cryptic clues instead.

Catman             

Detective Comics #311 (January 1963)   

Catman (Thomas Blake) was a world-famous trapper of jungle cats who turned to crime because he had grown bored with hunting and squandered most of his fortune. He became a burglar who committed his crimes in a cat-suit made out of an ancient African cloth he believes gives him a "cat's nine lives."

Catwoman      

Batman #1 (Spring 1940)             

Catwoman (Selina Kyle) is an accomplished jewel-thief with a taste for luxury. She is extremely agile and acrobatic. Although traditionally considered a villain, she has been portrayed more as an "anti-hero" in later publications, even joining the Justice League of America after the New 52 Universe was established. She also has a complex on again, off again relationship with Batman and has strong feelings for him. However, this doesn't deter her from her typical line of work.

Clayface            

Detective Comics #40 (June 1940)             

Actor Basil Karlo went mad when he learned that there would be a remake of one of his films with another actor in the lead role. Adopting the alias of the film's villain, "Clayface," his role, he attacked several of the remake's cast and crew at the points in filming when they were supposed to die before being stopped by Batman and Robin. Later he gained shapeshifting powers and became the Ultimate Clayface. Treasure-hunter Matt Hagen was transformed into the monstrous Clayface II by a pool of radioactive protoplasm. He now possesses super-strength and can change his claylike body into any form.

Preston Payne suffered from hyperpituitarism, so he worked at S.T.A.R. Labs to search for a cure. He obtained a sample of Matt Hagen's blood, isolating an enzyme which he introduced into his own bloodstream. However, his flesh began to melt, so he built an anti-melting exoskeleton to not only preserve himself, but to also prevent him from touching anyone, as he also gained the ability to melt people with a touch (although he soon learned that he needed to spread his melting contagion onto others to survive). He later met and fell in love with Sondra Fuller, and the two had a son named Cassius "Clay" Payne (who later became the fifth Clayface).

Lady Clay (Sondra Fuller) has superpowers similar to that of the second Clayface. She met and fell in love with the third Clayface, and gave birth to Cassius "Clay" Payne (who later became the fifth Clayface).

The Cluemaster

Detective Comics #351 (May 1966)          

The Cluemaster (Arthur Brown) was a game show host until he turned to a life of crime. He is also the father of Stephanie Brown, also known as the Spoiler.

Deadshot         

Batman #59 (June/July 1950)     

Deadshot (Floyd Lawton) is a suicidal assassin. He is considered to be the second greatest assassin in the DC Universe, the first being Deathstroke.

Firebug

Batman #318 (December 1979) 

An African American former soldier and demolitions expert, Joseph Rigger returned to find his family dead due to substandard housing in three separate buildings: his baby sister died from nibbling at peeling paint, his father from a fall through rotted flooring, and his mother while trapped in a malfunctioning elevator. As the Firebug, Rigger insanely sought revenge, not on landlords or manufacturers, but on the buildings themselves, destroying them regardless of how many innocents died. With all three destroyed, he later turned to more straightforward crime. His weapons of choice are explosive bombs. After two apparent deaths, he is still alive.

Gotham Central #3 (March 2003)              A new Firebug debuts in Gotham Central #3. At first, his identity is a mystery, and he is wanted in the murder of a teenage girl who was killed after a baby-sitting job. Eventually, the Gotham police deduce that the culprit is Harlan Combs, the father of the child she was sitting. Combs had purchased the Firebug costume and armor from Rigger. He is injured fleeing the police and quickly arrested.

Deadshot: Urban Renewal #1 (February 2005)    An unnamed character using the name Firebug debuts shortly thereafter. He had won the name and costume from an internet auction. After taking on the Firebug name, he enters the costume business. He later appears in a flashback revealing that he teams up with Mr. Freeze, but is defeated by the team of Batman and Harvey Dent prior to the "One Year Later" storyline.

Firefly

Detective Comics #184 (June 1952)          

Firefly (Garfield Lynns) is an orphan who became a pyromaniac, developing a fireproof suit with a flamethrower to further pursue his "hobby." He was originally known as a cunning criminal who invented numerous weapons that involve light to commit crimes with.

Harley Quinn

Batman: The Animated Series "Joker's Favor" (September 11, 1992)        

Dr. Harleen Quinzel was the Joker's psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum until she fell in love with him and subsequently reinvented herself as his madcap sidekick, Harley Quinn. She is often mistreated by the Joker and almost always takes him back. She never calls him by name only by names shes given him like "Puddin'" and Mr J. She first appeared in Batman: The Animated Series, before appearing in the comics and has gone on to become a solid fan favorite.

Professor Hugo Strange        

Detective Comics #36 (February 1940)    

Professor Hugo Strange is an insane psychologist who uses his mastery of chemistry to create a serum that turns his victims into mindless brutes who obey his every command. It has also been implied that the idea for the Scarecrow's "fear-gas" came from Professor Hugo Strange. He has succeeded in deducing Batman's identity.

Hush   

Batman #609 (November 2002)

Hush (Dr. Thomas Elliot) targets both Batman and Bruce Wayne (despite the fact that they were friends in childhood). Although his alias originates from a nursery rhyme, Hush lives up to it by using manipulation and guile instead of "noisy signatures."

The Joker        

Batman #1 (Spring 1940)             

The Joker's clownish appearance and big smile hide a devious mind bent on creating as much trouble as possible for his archenemy, Batman. His arsenal of weapons includes razor-cards, acid-spewing flowers, and laughing-gas. He is Batman's greatest enemy as well as the most famous and recurring. He is considered by many comic book fans as the greatest villain of all time.

KGBeast           

Batman #417 (March 1988)        

While ruthless assassin KGBeast (Anatoli Knyazev) was on a mission to assassinate Ronald Reagan, Batman caught his left wrist in a loop of the bat-rope, but KGBeast cut off his own hand with an axe in order to escape. He later returns with a cybernetic gun prosthetic attached to his wrist. He was amongst the villains who were executed by the second Tally Man in Batman: Face the Face.

Killer Croc      

Detective Comics #523 (February 1983) 

Killer Croc (Waylon Jones) has a medical condition that warped his body into a massive crocodile-like form. He possesses super-strength and is immune to toxins.

Killer Moth    

Batman #63 (February 1951)     

Drury Walker, alias Cameron Van Cleer, was a minor criminal who adopted the alias of Killer Moth, a Batman-like villain-helper. He is also famous for being the first villain defeated by Batgirl. Later he made a deal with the demon Neron, and became a monstrous, insect-like creature.

Lock-Up            

Batman: The Animated Series "Lock-Up"

In comics: Robin (vol. 2) #24 (January 1996)        

Lyle Bolton is a man specializing in incarceration and high tech security systems. He was discharged from the police academy for being too gung-ho, and dismissed from several security jobs (the animated version had worked at Arkham Asylum). He once set up a private prison for costumed villains.

The Mad Hatter           

Batman #49 (October/November 1948)

The Mad Hatter (Jervis Tetch) was inspired by the lunacy of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland to commit crimes. He uses his mind-control technology to bend people to his will, and is never seen without a large and fantastic hat. He desires Batman's cowl, even if it means killing him.

Man-Bat           

Detective Comics #400 (June 1970)          

Dr. Kirk Langstrom invented a serum to give him echolocation (a sonar that bats use to guide them in the dark) to cure his growing deafness. Unfortunately, the serum had an unforeseen side-effect, transforming him into the monstrous Man-Bat.

Maxie Zeus     

Detective Comics #483 (May 1979)          

Maxie Zeus (Maximillian Zeus) was a former history teacher until he became an insane mob-boss with an obsession for Greek mythology. He usually used electricity-based weaponry to emulate the Greek god Zeus and at one point formed the New Olympians consisting of characters based on Greek mythology characters. Later he was seemingly slain as a sacrifice to the god Ares by one of their sons. He popped up alive in later comics.

Mr. Freeze       

Batman #121 (February 1959) as "Mr. Zero" (designation changed in the 1960s TV series)

Mr. Freeze (Dr. Victor Fries) is a scientist whose invention of a freeze-gun went terribly wrong when it accidentally caused cryogenic chemicals to spill on himself. He now uses frozen weaponry and must wear a refrigerated ice-suit to survive. In The Animated Series and later in the comics it was revealed this was due to him trying to help his wife, who was frozen due to a terminal illness.

Owlman            

Justice League of America #29 (August 1964)     

Originally, Owlman is an unnamed super-intelligent supervillain who was created as an evil counterpart to Batman and is a member of the criminal organization known as the Crime Syndicate of America who originated and operated on the reverse Earth-Three. In the New 52 continuity he was a member of the Court Of Owls until he betrayed them. The new Owlman believes he is Bruce Wayne's previously unknown brother, raised in a children's hospital.

The Penguin  

Detective Comics #58 (December 1941)  

The Penguin (Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot) is a devious crime-boss who is seldom seen without one of his trick-umbrellas, and performs crimes based on birds. The Penguin uses his nightclub, the Iceberg Lounge, as a front for his criminal activities, which Batman tolerates for the sake of having him as an informant.

Poison Ivy       

Batman #181 (June 1966)            

Poison Ivy (Pamela Lillian Isley), a former student of advanced botanical biochemistry, employs plants of all varieties and their derivatives in her crimes. She has the ability to control all plant life and can create new henchmen with her mutated seeds. She is immune to all plant-based poisons. Her powers also enable her to control the minds of men.

Prometheus   

New Year's Evil:Prometheus Issue 1        

Prometheus is the son of two hippie criminals who committed murder and theft. Prometheus traveled across the USA with them until they were cornered and shot by local law enforcement. His hair turns white because of this experience, and he makes a vow to “annihilate the forces of justice” in revenge for the death of his parents. He has incredible skill and intelligence on various heroes.

Ra's al Ghul    

Batman #232 (June 1971)            

Ra's al Ghul ("demon's head" in Arabic) is a centuries-old eco-terrorist who desires to bring balance to the planet, even if it means the deaths of millions of people. He knows Batman's secret identity. He utilizes special pits known as Lazarus Pits which enable him to evade death, and live for centuries. He is the founder of the worldwide League of Assassins, though exactly when this occurred is unknown.

The Reaper    

Detective Comics #575 (June 1987)           J

udson Caspian is a socialite by day and an ultra-violent vigilante by night. After losing his wife to a robbery, he becomes the Reaper. He prowls Gotham during the 1950s before returning in Batman: Year Two to do battle with the Dark Knight. The Reaper has been essentially written out of the Batman mythos, seeing as the only storyline and one-shot follow up that he appeared in have been declared outside of the canon due to rewrites involving Joe Chill. However, other criminals called the Reaper have subsequently appeared.

Red Hood        

Detective Comics #168 (February 1951) 

Red Hood was a petty criminal until he fell into a vat of chemicals. The toxic brew turned his skin white, his hair green, and his lips bright-red, giving him the appearance of a crazed clown. Adopting the alias of "the Joker," he henceforth started committing crimes that involve jokes and puns. Later a much younger crook stole the costume and impersonated the original, but was soon caught by Batman.

Batman #635 (December 2004)  Jason Todd, the second Robin, was killed by the Joker, who beat him half to death and left him in an exploding warehouse. Jason Todd was resurrected years later as the second Red Hood (which was ironically the Joker's old alias). Notoriously brutal in his run as Robin, he has proved the fact that he unsurprisingly does not have any problem with brutally punishing criminals.

The Riddler   

Detective Comics #140 (October 1948)   

The Riddler (Edward Nigma; sometimes spelled "Nygma") is a criminal mastermind who has a strange compulsion to challenge Batman by leaving clues to his crimes in the form of riddles, puzzles, and word-games. He often carries a question-mark cane around with him. He recently learned Batman's identity, but kept it a secret to prevent Ra's al Ghul from learning he had used the Lazarus pits without permission. A subsequent head injury seemingly robbed him of this knowledge.

Simon Hurt    

Batman #156 (June 1963)

Was originally an unnamed scientist in the story "Robin Dies at Dawn" and was later revived as Doctor Simon Hurt over 40 years later claiming to be Thomas Wayne (Batman's father). He leads the Black Glove and later the Club of Villains. It is later revealed he is an ancestor of Thomas Wayne also named Thomas Wayne who has become immortal due to an encounter with an alien weapon, the Hyper-Adapter.

The Scarecrow             

World's Finest Comics #3 (Fall 1941)        

The Scarecrow (Professor Jonathan Crane), an insane psychologist/biochemist who lost his job for his extreme methods, specializes in the nature of fear. Dressed symbolically as a scarecrow, he employs special weapons, equipment, and techniques designed to use fear to his advantage in his crimes. His "fear-gas" stimulates the phobias of his victims. Coincidentally, he has a fear of bats.

Solomon Grundy        

All-American Comics #61 (October 1944)              

Cyrus Gold was a Gotham City merchant who was murdered and thrown into Slaughter Swamp, where he was transformed into an undead, superstrong zombie-like creature. Solomon Grundy was initially an enemy of the Golden Age Green Lantern, the large amount of wood in his body giving him protection against the power ring, and the Justice Society, but has both battled and aided various heroes during his multiple resurrections. He has battled Batman on a number of occasions, notably in The Long Halloween and Dark Victory.

Tweedledum and Tweedledee          

Detective Comics #74 (April 1943)             

Tweedledum and Tweedledee (Dumfrey and Deever Tweed) are a pair of cousins whose similar looks often have them mistaken for identical twins. Fat, lazy, and cowardly, the pair prefer to have henchmen do all their dirty work while they retire to a safe haven. The pair often wear costumes modeled on their namesakes from Lewis Carrol's Through the Looking-Glass. They are sometimes depicted as being henchmen of the Joker.

Two-Face         

Detective Comics #66 (August 1942)       

Former district attorney Two-Face (Harvey Dent) has an obsession with committing crimes themed around duality and opposites. He makes major decisions by flipping a two-headed coin on which one of the faces is scarred. One side of his face was scarred by a gangster in court throwing acid at him, which unleashed a violent split personality. Over the years, he has reformed at various times, with his face being surgically repaired, only to later adopt the alias of Two-Face again.

The Ventriloquist     

Detective Comics #583 (February 1988) 

The Ventriloquist (Arnold Wesker) is a small, mild-mannered ventriloquist. Under his dummy Scarface's psychological influence, the Ventriloquist is a dangerous crime-boss. It has been implied that the Ventriloquist suffers from Multiple Personality Disorder. He was amongst the villains who were executed by the second Tally Man in Batman: Face the Face but has been revived by DC Comics' New 52 reboot.

Detective Comics #827 (March 2007)       The second Ventriloquist (Peyton Riley), called "Sugar" by Scarface, has surfaced in the pages of Detective Comics and has apparently been thought to be deceased (as part of her face is shown to be scarred from a gunshot wound). She is a more compatible partner than the original Ventriloquist was, since Scarface does not substitute the letter "B" with "G" anymore and is much more compliant with the dummy's brutal strategies. She and Scarface seem to have a relationship similar to that of the Joker and Harley Quinn. She is the former fianceé of Hush (Dr. Thomas Elliot).

Victor Zsasz   

Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1 (June 1992)         

Victor Zsasz, known as just Zsasz, is a serial killer. For nearly all of the murders he commits he uses a knife, and after his brutal stabbings, cuts a tally mark on to his own body. He took pleasure in liberating people from a "pointless existence" and was eventually diagnosed as insane by Arkham Asylum.

 

Ra's al Ghul's League of Assassins

Villain

Has no superhuman abilities.

Doctor Darrk

A deadly martial artist and a foe of Batman.

Lady Shiva

She is a daughter of Ra's al Ghul.

Nyssa Raatko

Top martial artist. League of Assassins Trainer.

Kirigi

Top martial artist and immortal father of Ra's al Ghul.

Sensei