If you use this site regularly, chances are that you are perfectly aware that 2014 marked the landmark 75th anniversary of a certain Caped Crusader. And if you own a calendar, chances are that you are aware that 2014 is soon to be over. As Batman's anniversary draws to its conclusion, I thought it would be interesting to discuss Batman's more contemporary rogues.
The latest of the Dark Knight's rogues gallery are somewhat overlooked and often overshadowed by the classics, understandably so as the classics include (but are by no means limited to) the Joker, Riddler, Scarecrow, Two-Face, Bane, Anarky, Ra's Al Ghul and many others. What you are about to read are the ten relatively new villains that I have hand-picked because I believe them to be the best of Batman's twenty-first century roster of enemies. My only criteria is that the villains on this list cannot have made their first appearance any earlier than the year 2000.
HONOURABLE MENTIONINGS
The Dollmaker
The Dollmaker is the first villain to come out of the New 52 relaunch of
Detective Comics. For those unaware of the character, the Dollmaker is a mad surgeon and serial killer who horrifically makes dolls from people's flesh and wears it as a mask. He is the leader of a family of serial killers. Does that sound familiar? That's because there is nothing particularly new or original about this character, as he is basically just an amalgamation of Leatherface (
Texas Chainsaw Massacre film franchise) and Josef Mengele (real life infamous Nazi criminal). There isn't really much else to his character other than that.
Now, you are probably wondering why such an uninspired character like the Dollmaker would deserve an honourable mentioning. There are actually two reasons why he gets one:
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The Dollmaker is the one who cut off the Joker's face as part of the Joker's much larger plan, making him somewhat responsible for the amazing Death of the Family storyline.
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The character has recently received recognition in mainstream media via his appearances in Arrow and soon in Gotham. That's fast work compared to other Batman villains, considering the Dollmaker made his first appearance in 2011.
The Birthday Boy
The Birthday Boy is a killer-for-hire who worked for the Penguin in the first volume of the
Batman: Earth One series of graphic novels. There isn't much original about the Birthday Boy either, and he seemed a little too similar to modern incarnations of the Mad Hatter (who has obsessions with his "Alice" much like the Birthday Boy is obsessed with his "Amanda").
The reason he gets an honourable mentioning is that there is potential for him to become a better villain if introduced in mainstream continuity and given a proper backstory, and a little more...character.
THE LIST
10. Nobody
First Appearance: Batman & Robin #1 (2011)
Major Storylines: Robin: Born To Kill
Yes, there is actually a villain called Nobody. While he may not be the best candidate for the greatest villain name of all time, Nobody is definitely more worthy in the category of quality (though he still wouldn't win any awards considering the other villains that exist in comic books).
When creating a new character for a mythology that has been around for decades or longer, it is always best to embed the character in the mythology as if he or she has always been around, even if they are what they are: a recent creation. Nobody is precisely that. An enemy of the Batman Incorporated, Nobody has ties to Batman's origin and was introduced in Peter J. Tomasi's run on the
Batman & Robin series, which I recommend checking out.
9. Emperor Blackgate
First Appearance: Detective Comics #13 (2012)
Major Storylines: Emperor Penguin,
Death of the Family, and
Forever Evil
To be honest, the only reason I started reading John Layman's run on
Detective Comics was because I knew there was going to be tie-ins to the
Death of the Family storyline (in case you haven't figured it out, I'm kind of a Scott Snyder fanatic) and I saw that there was a new writer, so why not? I was hooked from the entire
Emperor Penguin storyline, which ran from issue 13 to 20, though I stopped reading after that due to budget concerns. While the run probably won't go down in history, the run was surprisingly good as Layman seemed to have a good understanding on Batman and the art was cool to look at.
Anyways, the
Emperor Penguin storyline was about a mobster named Ignatius Ogilvy who worked for the Penguin and rose through the ranks, eventually being sent to Blackgate Prison after a scuffle with Batman. He cemented himself in the rogues gallery as the current "king" of Blackgate Prison. It's a very well-written story, and the character is equally interesting, even though his eventual powers are a literal mix of the abilities of other villains.
8. Fright
First Appearance: Batman #627 (2004)
Major Storylines: As The Crow Flies and
Life After Death
Fright is someone who was introduced in her origin storyline,
As The Crow Flies, and is probably best known for turning Jonathan Crane into the Scarebeast. Since reading her introductory story arc, she caught my interest as a character but unfortunately hasn't been used much since then.
7. Humpty Dumpty
First Appearance: Arkham Asylum: Living Hell
Major Storylines: Arkham Asylum: Living Hell and
Leviathan
First appearing in the graphic novel,
Arkham Asylum: Living Hell, Humpty Dumpty is quite literally an anti-villain. He isn't malevolent, sadistic, or intentionally evil. In fact, he is quite friendly. Basically, he has an uncontrollable psychotic obsession with taking things apart and putting them back together, which sometimes leads to the unintentional injury or death of others. I find the idea of a villain like this character to be very intriguing. He doesn't really want to hurt anyone, he's just sick.
6. The Great White Shark
First Appearance: Arkham Asylum: Living Hell
Major Storylines: Arkham Asylum: Living Hell and
Face To Face
Great White Shark is a corrupt businessman who makes dealings with other villains and funds them for a profit. He was the main character in
Arkham Asylum: Living Hell. I like the idea behind
Living Hell and how a regular, very sane man can be transformed into another one of Batman's twisted villains from within Arkham Asylum. There were some interesting plot points in
Living Hell, such as Gotham being the only city where you'd be better off pleading guilty than insane. Shark is a reflection of how insane Batman's rogues gallery is in general.
5. Ventriloquist III
First Appearance: Batgirl #20 (2013)
Major Storylines: Untitled Ventriloquist storyline from
Batgirl #20-21 and
Forever Evil
As a fan of horror, I found the latest incarnation of the Ventriloquist to be genuinely creepy and I thought she fit in well in Gail Simone's often dark run on the
Batgirl series. Despite this, I must admit that I still prefer Arnold Wesker and hope he makes a comeback eventually. With that being said, I don't see why the two can't co-exist.
4. Joker's Daughter
First Appearance: Catwoman #23 (2013)
Major Storylines: Catwoman: Gotham Underground,
Batman: Joker's Daughter #1,
Forever Evil,
Batman: Eternal, and
New Suicide Squad
Not to be confused with the Earth-III character of the same name, the Joker's Daughter got off to a rocky start with a terrible storyline that ran in the pages of
Catwoman. After being redeemed, the character has been shown to not be just a Harley Quinn rip-off and it's interesting to see how her obsession of the Joker differs from Harley Quinn's.
3. Hush
First Appearance: Batman #609 (2003)
Major Storylines: Hush,
Hush Returns,
Heart of Hush,
Hush Money,
House of Hush,
Batman Beyond: Hush Beyond and
Batman: Eternal
Hush earns his spot on the list as he is one of the few villains to be an enemy of Batman due to his Bruce Wayne identity. He knows Wayne is Batman and he hates Wayne because of an event that took place during their childhood. Hush is also a master manipulator and schemer, as his complex scheme in the original storyline was absolutely brilliant and left you clueless as to what would happen next. Not very many villains can challenge Batman in that way and keep their identity a secret for as long as Hush did.
2. The Court of Owls
First Appearance: Batman #1 (2011)
Major Storylines: Court/Night/City of Owls,
Birds of Prey: The Cruelest Cut,
Talon, and
Forever Evil
Much like Nobody, the Court of Owls are the type of villains that have always existed in the mythology but we just didn't know about them until 2011 (in the New 52 anyway; whether or not a version of the Court exists in pre-Flashpoint continuity is uncertain). How many villains can say that they drove Batman to the very boundary of his sanity in one of their first encounters with him? The Court not only pose as a physical match for Batman but their entire forces nearly took over the entire city, forcing the entire Bat-family to go into action. Even the Family's entire roster were barely enough to beat the Court. If the Court doesn't fit the category of "impressive," I'm not sure who does.
1. Professor Pyg
First Appearance: Batman #666 (2007)
Major Storylines: Batman #666,
Batman & Robin (Grant Morrison run),
Damian: Son of Batman,
Forever Evil, and
Batman: Eternal
Easily one of the best of Grant Morrison's creations, few characters are quite as disturbing, while at the same time comical, as Lazlo Valentin/Professor Pyg. That's a winning combination as Pyg will creep you out one moment and will have you laughing the next. It's a shame Pyg isn't used more often. Sometimes certain Batman villains will act eccentric and will be said to be insane, but will show little to no signs of genuine mentally illness. Pyg never fell into that trap as I have never doubted for a moment that Valentin is out of his mind.
It has been a decent year but it had to end some time. I'll be back in 2015, so until next time...