The 40 Greatest Batman Villains Of All Time

Summary

• Gotham’s evildoers are just a few shades of gray away from the Dark Knight himself, representing the diabolical best.
• From the man who never misses, Deadshot, to the cold-hearted Mr. Freeze, these top 35 Batman villains push the Caped Crusader to his limits.
• The Joker, Gotham’s Clown Prince of Crime, ranks highest among Batman villains, embodying chaos and destruction in fierce rivalry with the Dark Knight.

When it comes to the supervillains of DC, it doesn’t get any better than Batman villains. Representing the diabolical best of the dim, gritty, and disturbing Batman’s Gotham City setting, these delinquents stand in perfect opposition to the crime-fighting Caped Crusader; whereas the world of Superman is exemplified by shining heroics.

Gotham is defined by the evildoers that terrorize it from within 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. That, and they enjoy dancing with the devil in the pale moonlight. Batman has faced tons of horrific villains over the years who have pushed him to the absolute limit, and these are the top 35 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

While Deadshot over the years became most known for his membership in The Suicide Squad, he started out as a Batman villain. He also became a main Batman villain over the years, although the two shared reluctant respect for each other. While Deadshot is a killer, and Batman will never accept that, he also lives by a code of honor.

Deadshot is always a dangerous villain, as he is the Man Who Never Misses. While he doesn’t battle Batman as much as he used to, he debuted as a Batman villain and the two often ended up deadlocked in their battles.

39 Punchline (AKA Alexis Kaye)

First Appearance: Batman #89 (2020), created by James Tynion IV, Jorge Jiménez

With Harley Quinn and the Joker officially over, it was only a matter of time before the Clown Prince of Crime found a new gal Friday. Alexis developed a fixation on the Joker after an encounter with the villain in high school, leading her to see him as an entity of change. Punchline is more than just a good fighter and right-hand woman. She’s also quite handy with poisons, and has even developed her own brand of Joker Venom.

While Punchline was extremely helpful to her obsession in Joker War, Alexis has decided to branch out as a more independent villain. Not only has she replaced the Joker on the Legion of Doom, she’s also gained control of the Royal Flush gang, giving her a meteoric ascent among Gotham’s villains.

38 Carmine Falcone (AKA The Roman)

First Appearance: Batman #405 (1987), created by Frank Miller, David Mazzucchelli

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

There have been many villains in Batman comics when it comes to the Gotham City underworld, but Carmine stands above most others. His origin in the movie helps him surpass them all thanks to The Batman possibly making him responsible for Bruce Wayne’s parents’ death.

37 Calendar Man (AKA Julius Day)

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

Every Batman villain needs a gimmick. Be it Two-Face with his coin or Joker and his lethal practical gags. This was the rule for Batman villains, and it resulted in some truly ridiculous characters, with Julian Day being one of them. 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 re-invention in Batman: The Long Halloween, he started getting more respect, even appearing in the Arkham video games in a supporting role. Despite seeming goofy at first, Julian has evolved into a dangerous serial killer.

Calendar Man will be one of the central antagonists in
Batman: The Last Halloween
.

36 Mister Zsasz (AKA Victor Zsasz)

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

While most of Batman’s villains have some redeeming or understandable element in their backstory, Zsasz is completely irredeemable. Zsasz grew up unbelievably wealthy and by 25 ran his own company and amassed a fortune. In a deep depression 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 is freeing them from their meaningless lives. While Zsasz is rarely the center of a story, he has shown up a lot and is a terrifying serial killer.

35 The Ventriloquist (AKA Arnold Wesker)

Detective Comics #583 by John Wagner, Alan Grant, and Norm Breyfogle

Everyone in Gotham City needs a gimmick, and Arnold Wesker certainly found his. Wesker is a skilled ventriloquist who would put on performances with his dummy Scarface. Scarface has the typical mobster personality. Bizarrely, Wesker seems to believe that Scarface is truly alive and is able to make choices on his own. Wesker is often depicted as a helpless victim of Scarface who is forced to go along with the dummy’s plans for fear of his own life. This delusion is so strong that it’s rendered Wesker immune to mind control, as Scarface already controls him.

34 Karma (AKA Fleet Delmar)

Detective Comics #983 by Bryan Edward Hill, Miguel Mendonca, Diana Egea, Adriano Lucas, and Sal Cipriano

Karma was a man named Fleet Felmar who caused terror and destruction across the lands of Markovia. Karma was delusional and claimed to be a freedom fighter and savior of the country while causing mass destruction and death. Eventually, he caught the attention of Batman, who easily defeated him. Disgusted with his actions, Batman was unusually brutal, spraying Karma with fear gas and siccing a swarm of bats on him. These bats even allegedly end up tearing out Fleet’s eyes and leaving him badly scarred. Fleet would later return as Karma, using a high-tech helmet to seek 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 right, Killer Croc is as good as Batman villains come. As of late, the character has been reduced to a large mutated reptile with little ambition beyond eating Batman. However, in his debut, Killer Croc started off as a far more interesting villain, so much so that some believe his backstory was the true inspiration for Tim Burton’s Penguin in Batman Returns.

When Waylon Jones was born with a rare scaly skin condition and relentlessly abused, it was only natural he’d become a murderous cannibal. After a quick stint finding acceptance with a traveling circus, he ended up in Gotham City. By letting his condition dictate his life, Croc has transformed himself into one truly scary rogue.

Killer Croc is currently working with Poison Ivy in G. Willow Wilson’s
Poison Ivy
, on sale now from DC Comics!

32 Solomon Grundy (AKA Cyrus Gold)

All-American Comics #61 by Alfred Bester and Paul Reinman

Perhaps one of the most physically powerful villains in Batman’s rogues gallery. Solomon Grundy used to be a wealthy merchant known as Cyrus Gold before he was murdered and dumped in Slaughter Swamp. Due to the strange properties of Slaughter Swamp, Cyrus would rise again. Unable to remember his original life, Cyrus took on the name of Solomon Grundy from a nurse rhyme, the only thing he could remember. Since then, Solomon Grundy has roamed the outskirts of Gotham City or lived within the sewers that connect to Slaughter Swamp, happily killing anyone who bothers him.

31 Black Mask (AKA Roman Sionis)

First Appearance: Batman #386 (1985), created by Doug Moench, Tom Mandrake

Born Roman Sionis, he was the by-product of self-absorbed wealthy parents who cared more about their social standing than his well-being. Because of this, he became obsessed with the idea of masks. After killing them both, he not only inherited the family fortune but took the opportunity to forge a new identity by carving a black mask out of his father’s casket and becoming a leader of Gotham’s crime world.

While many of the top Batman villains resort to over-the-top dramatics and wacky gimmicks to fuel their crimes, the Black Mask retains a creepy dignity rooted in good old-fashioned sadism and the use of a well-fired gun.

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 started out his career as an anti-Batman, someone with a wide range of skills and weapons who would help criminals against the police instead of vice versa. Despite Batman stating he doesn’t need a plan for Killer Moth, there does seem to be some respect from the Dark Knight towards Drury. Not only was Drury one of the first supervillains to step up against Batman, but Batman has admitted in the past that he thinks Killer Moth’s outfit is awesome, and he even designed one of his gadgets after Killer Moths.

29 Deacon Blackfire (AKA Joseph Blackfire)

Batman: The Cult #1 by Jim Starlin, Bernie Wrightson, Bill Wray, and John Costanza

Deacon Blackfire is a villain who very rarely shows up in Batman stories, but he is still a surprisingly formidable opponent. Deacon Blackfire is one of the first villains to force Batman into breaking his one rule, successfully brainwashing Batman to the point that he participated in a massacre on Blackfire’s orders. This defeat was so humiliating for Batman that The Dark Knight even fled Gotham City, intending to permanently give control of the city over to Blackfire. While Batman was eventually convinced to go back and fight to save his city, Joseph Blackfire was the first to make him even consider giving up on Gotham.

28 Mister Bloom (AKA ‘The Anti-Joker’)

First Appearance: Batman #43 (2015), created by 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 sees himself as a necessary force of nature that needs to eliminate the life in Gotham in order to allow something new to grow in its place. Despite his lithe appearance, Bloom is overwhelmingly powerful, able to survive the harshest punishments and control technology.

Even among the many strange villains in Batman’s rogues’ gallery, Mister Bloom is an outlier. His past, his powers, and his ultimate goals are almost all wrapped up in mysteries, making him quite an intimidating villain.

Mister Bloom was last seen in
Task Force Z
, where the superhero Gotham seemingly killed him.

27 Hush (AKA Dr. Thomas Elliot)

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

Hush could rank higher if he was more than just a villain in one key storyline. However, considering how iconic Hush was for Batman, this villain deserves his spot on the top Batman villain lists. Hush is a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne and was born to wealthy parents like Bruce. However, while Thomas and Martha Wayne were caring parents who raised Bruce to be a hero, Hush’s parents were cruel and he grew up hating his life and the life Bruce had. This was a mystery, and the revelation made Hush such a memorable villain.

Hush will play a major role in the upcoming issues of Tini Howard’s
Catwoman
!

26 Owlman (AKA Lincoln March)

Batman Vol 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 has managed to heal from a great deal of his trauma by building a new family. Lincoln March is the only villain who challenges Batman’s idea of family. Lincoln March is Batman’s secret brother, and while the comic is intentionally ambiguous about the validity of this claim, Bruce has admitted he truly believes Lincoln is his long-lost brother. While Lincoln hasn’t shown up often in comics after his first appearance, nothing makes a better villain than a secret evil brother.

25 Clayface (AKA Basil Karlo)

First Appearance: Detective Comics #40 (1940), created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane

Any superhero who’s worth his cape has got at least one shape-shifting villain. For Batman, it’s Clayface, a hulking mud monster with the ability to reshape his body, turn his limbs into a menagerie of weapons, look like anyone he chooses, and render nearly all forms of physical attack useless by melting.

Though his backstory is as shifty as he is, Clayface has provided Batman with a compelling enemy since the ’40s. However, the best and most tragic version of the character comes from the ’90s Batman: The Animated Series, which fused his past comic counterparts and ended up becoming the visual template for future appearances.

While still a villain in comics, Clayface had a short redemption and was even a member of the Bat-Family in
Detective Comics #934
by James Tynion IV, Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, Adriano Lucas, and Marilyn Patrizio!

24 Man-Bat (AKA Kirk Langstrom)

Detective Comics #400 by Frank Robbins, Neal Adams, Dick Giordano, and John Costanza

Man-Bat is a complicated character. Comparable to Spider-Man’s Curt Connors, Kirk Langstrom was a scientist trying to cure deafness using an extracted bat gland. Instead, he ended up transforming himself into a bat-like monster. This made him a recurring villain for Batman over the decades, but considering he was an innocent man and wasn’t actively malicious, his character had room for growth beyond just being a regular villain of the week. This was shown when Kirk actually gained control over the Man-Bat persona, even becoming a member of Justice League Dark for a time and helping save the world.

23 Poison Ivy (AKA Dr. Pamela Isley)

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

Those who’ve been punished by 1997’s Batman & Robin may have forgotten that the eco-terrorist, Poison Ivy, is one of the most iconic Batman villains. With her ability to pretty much do whatever she wants with plants, this Gotham City siren is a lethal foe. She can entice any man to do her bidding, even Superman.

After being forced to consume – or was injected with, depending on the origin story – a poisonous plant, she grows into the ravenous Poison Ivy, obsessed with protecting the planet’s plant life. While this may seem like a noble cause, she plans to do so by eliminating all human life, forcing Batman to intervene.

Poison Ivy has more recently been trying to be closer to a hero than a villain in her standalone
Poison Ivy
solo series by G. Willow Wilson.

22 The Penguin (AKA Oswald Cobblepot)

First Appearance: Detective Comics #58 (1941), created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane

Batman villain campiness at its best, the Penguin has been a long-time mainstay in Batman’s rogues gallery. Having debuted in 1941’s Detective Comics #58, Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot III originally got his start as your run-of-the-mill crook. Over the many years, the character evolved into a notorious Gotham crimelord.

Despite being the grotesque face of the city’s criminal underworld, Penguin has also shown a practical, sometimes even quasi-legitimate business side, committing his treacherous acts less out of a need to wreak havoc and more out of a pursuit for personal and financial gain. Adding to his dangerousness, the man of a thousand umbrellas has displayed refined intelligence and sophistication.

It was recently revealed in Tom King’s
The Penguin
comic that Oswald’s entire persona has been a facade to stay out of Arkham.

21 Deathstroke (AKA Slade Wilson)

First Appearance: The New Teen Titans #2 (1980), created by Marv Wolfman, George Pérez

Though he began as a Teen Titans villain, Deathstroke has evolved to become a top Batman villain after the likes of Batman: Arkham Origins and more recent comics. He is one of the few fighters to win against Batman multiple times. Slade Wilson was the subject of a failed super-soldier project that turned him into the world’s greatest assassin.

Deathstroke’s rivalry with Batman has had several incarnations. Usually, though, it involves Deathstroke being paid to kill the Bat or getting payback for a previous defeat. Deathstroke is unrelenting when he has a target and his tactical abilities match that of Batman which is why he is even capable of defeating heroes like the Flash.