26-547: The Batman family enemies are a collection of supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics . These characters are depicted as adversaries of the superhero Batman and his allies. Since Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939), his supporting cast has expanded to include other superheroes, and has become what is now called the " Bat-family ". As with most superheroes,
52-609: A blackout to discover she had murdered her own husband and her grip on her own mind kept worsening until she was defeated by Batman and Robin after setting an entire residential block alight in the Narrows. Following the collapse of Arkham Asylum, Sybil became a patient in a coma held in Arkham Manor. When Dr. Eric Border exposed his true identity as the Joker in the asylum and infected a portion of Clayface with Joker venom, unleashing
78-609: A cast of recurring enemies to the Batman family have been introduced throughout the years, collectively referred to as Batman's " rogues gallery ". Many characters from Batman's rogues gallery who are criminally insane become patients at Arkham Asylum after they are apprehended. The following fictional characters are listed in alphabetical order by the name of their supervillain persona. Each character's first appearance and brief biographies of each fictional character are also listed, staying to their fictional histories and characteristics in
104-579: A deranged part of their psyche—mirroring the darkness and split that also defines the Bat." HitFix praised Batman's rogues gallery, stating that "Great heroes are defined by the villains they face, and no group of evil-doers, murderers, criminals and psychopaths are greater than those stalking Gotham City. From murderous clowns, to cerebral assassins, to brutish monsters, Batman has a literal murderer's row of foes that constantly test his crime fighting acumen." Supervillain A supervillain or supercriminal
130-517: A household name, but the Joker, the Penguin, Mr. Freeze, Catwoman, Two-Face, and the Riddler are just as recognizable." The internet blog io9 observed that "much of the appeal of Batman is that, unlike other superheroes, he's simply a person who has pushed himself to the edge of his natural limits. The flipside of that, though, is that the villains he faces are also by and large simply people with
156-764: A member of the Suicide Squad alongside the Peacemaker , Bolt and the Shrike, but is inadvertently hit by a Joker laughing gas bomb and killed. The Spider started mysteriously killing inmates, causing Batman to go undercover as the inmate Jack Shaw. Batman got into a fight late at night with the Spider, believing him to be Victor Zsasz, but the Spider escaped capture before the guards arrived. The Spider soon targeted Zsasz directly, torturing him within an inch of his life and leaving him to die. Batman eventually discovered
182-475: A single, notable obsession—and that's why they're so much more interesting than the usual set of villains." According to What Culture! , "Batman's villains stand in stark contrast to the other rogues galleries in comics lore; they're an unusual collection of freaks who generally blame the Dark Knight for their existence to begin with. Batman villains are usually cut off from reality, often coming to terms with
208-529: A skill set that allows them to draft complex schemes or commit crimes in a way normal humans cannot. Other traits may include megalomania and possession of considerable resources to further their aims. Many supervillains share some typical characteristics of real-world dictators , gangsters , mad scientists , trophy hunters , corrupt businesspeople , serial killers , and terrorists , often having an aspiration of world domination . The Joker , Lex Luthor , Doctor Doom , Magneto , Brainiac , Deathstroke ,
234-529: A skill set that allows them to draft complex schemes or commit crimes in a way normal humans cannot. Other traits may include megalomania and possession of considerable resources to further their aims. Many supervillains share some typical characteristics of real-world dictators , gangsters , mad scientists , trophy hunters , corrupt businesspeople , serial killers , and terrorists , often having an aspiration of world domination . The Joker , Lex Luthor , Doctor Doom , Magneto , Brainiac , Deathstroke ,
260-488: Is a list of Batman enemies who have reformed and are more often depicted as allies of the masked vigilante than enemies. Batman: Under the Hood #1 (February 2005, as Red Hood) Some characters generally considered to be allies, yet have come into conflict with Batman. In alphabetical order (with issue and date of first appearance): Batman's rogues gallery has received critical acclaim, cited by many journalists as one of
286-642: Is a list of fictional teams, groups of supervillains, gangs, and organized crime families that are enemies of the Batman family, listed in alphabetical order by name. The first appearance and a brief fictional biography of each team is also listed. Besides his infamous rogues gallery of supervillains , Batman has also faced more "ordinary" enemies, such as assassins, mobsters and terrorists. In alphabetical order (with issue and date of first appearance) Two of Batman's mobster foes have donned costumes and crossed over to become supervillains : In alphabetical order (with issue and date of first appearance) The following
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#1732787601226312-411: Is a variant of the villainous stock character . It is sometimes found in comic books and may possess superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero . Supervillains are often used as foils to present a daunting challenge to a superhero. In instances where the supervillain does not have superhuman, mystical, or alien powers, the supervillain may possess a genius intellect or
338-411: Is a variant of the villainous stock character . It is sometimes found in comic books and may possess superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero . Supervillains are often used as foils to present a daunting challenge to a superhero. In instances where the supervillain does not have superhuman, mystical, or alien powers, the supervillain may possess a genius intellect or
364-536: The Inspector Gadget animated series, Dr. Evil and Mr. Bigglesworth from the Austin Powers film series , or Dr. Blowhole from the animated TV series The Penguins of Madagascar . The overarching villain of Star Wars , Emperor Palpatine , leads the tyrannical Galactic Empire , and was inspired by real-world tyrannical leaders. Supervillain A supervillain or supercriminal
390-602: The DC Universe . Sometimes more than one fictional character will share a supervillain persona. In those cases, the name of the character most associated with said supervillain identity will have their name in bold in their biography. Listed below are the Batman family's most enduring and iconic enemies. These are major Batman family enemies that have not quite reached the status of Batman's classic rogues gallery. First appearing in Strange Adventures #215,
416-582: The Green Goblin , Loki , the Reverse-Flash , Black Manta , Ultron , Thanos , and Darkseid are some notable male comic book supervillains that have been adapted in film and television. Some notable female supervillains are Catwoman , Harley Quinn , Poison Ivy , Mystique , Hela , Viper , and the Cheetah . Just like superheroes, supervillains are sometimes members of groups, such as
442-406: The Green Goblin , Loki , the Reverse-Flash , Black Manta , Ultron , Thanos , and Darkseid are some notable male comic book supervillains that have been adapted in film and television. Some notable female supervillains are Catwoman , Harley Quinn , Poison Ivy , Mystique , Hela , Viper , and the Cheetah . Just like superheroes, supervillains are sometimes members of groups, such as
468-765: The Injustice League , the Sinister Six , the Legion of Doom , the Brotherhood of Mutants , the Suicide Squad , and the Masters of Evil . In the documentary A Study in Sherlock , writers Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss said they regarded Professor James Moriarty as a supervillain because he possesses genius-level intelligence and powers of observation and deduction, setting him above ordinary people to
494-418: The Injustice League , the Sinister Six , the Legion of Doom , the Brotherhood of Mutants , the Suicide Squad , and the Masters of Evil . In the documentary A Study in Sherlock , writers Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss said they regarded Professor James Moriarty as a supervillain because he possesses genius-level intelligence and powers of observation and deduction, setting him above ordinary people to
520-829: The League of Assassins is a team of highly trained killers that was founded by Ra's al Ghul and has often swayed from working under his organization to working independently of it. The group has been led at times by Dr. Ebeneezer Darrk, the Sensei, Lady Shiva, and Cassandra Cain . These are enemies that were introduced under writer Grant Morrison . In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. Since this new timeline began, these supervillains have been introduced. These are characters that have not been around long enough to apply to any other category. These enemies are categorized by their obscurity and for being less notable than other characters in this article. Sybil woke up after
546-510: The Spider and, after another battle, finally defeated him and threw him out a two-story window. When Batman tried to question him, the Spider simply bit off his own tongue. The serial killer was taken to a cell in the manor and chained in a straitjacket. He had burnt off his fingertips as a means of keeping his true identity secret, but Batman hoped that he would someday discover the Spider's true identity. When these villains debuted, they fought other heroes before fighting Batman. The following
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#1732787601226572-499: The greatest rogues galleries in all of comic books. Newsarama ranked Batman's villains as the second-greatest comic book rogues gallery of all time, only preceded by that of Spider-Man , stating that "the Dark Knight Detective is one of comics' most enduring, most iconic, and most popular characters, and none of that would be possible without the denizens of Gotham City's dense and dangerous underworld. Batman may be
598-548: The new monster Clownface, Silverlock was awakened from her coma and escaped from the asylum in the confusion. The Joker, undercover also, as the Arkham attendant Eric Border, shed his disguise and secretly infected this portion of Clayface with Joker venom, morphing it into an entirely separate killing machine he called Clownface. Clownface wreaked havoc in the manor, killing multiple people, before being subdued by Batman and Mr. Freeze. Frozen solid thanks to Freeze's help, Clownface
624-834: The point where only he can pose a credible threat to Sherlock Holmes . Fu Manchu is an archetypal evil criminal genius and mad scientist created by English author Sax Rohmer in 1913. The Fu Manchu moustache became integral to stereotypical cinematic and television depictions of Chinese villains. Between 1965 and 1969 Christopher Lee played Fu Manchu five times in film, and in 1973 the character first appeared in Marvel Comics . The James Bond arch-villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld (whose scenes often show him sitting on an armchair stroking his cat, his face unseen) has influenced supervillain tropes in popular cinema, including parodies like Dr. Claw and M.A.D. Cat from
650-700: The point where only he can pose a credible threat to Sherlock Holmes . Fu Manchu is an archetypal evil criminal genius and mad scientist created by English author Sax Rohmer in 1913. The Fu Manchu moustache became integral to stereotypical cinematic and television depictions of Chinese villains. Between 1965 and 1969 Christopher Lee played Fu Manchu five times in film, and in 1973 the character first appeared in Marvel Comics . The James Bond arch-villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld (whose scenes often show him sitting on an armchair stroking his cat, his face unseen) has influenced supervillain tropes in popular cinema, including parodies like Dr. Claw and M.A.D. Cat from
676-727: Was stored in the manor's freezer until he was to be collected by the guards. At Blackgate, Cypher formulated an escape plan with other inmates, including the Cluemaster , the Electrocutioner , and the Baffler. After a failed attempt to use his abilities on the other inmates, who evaded his hypnotism with earplugs, Cypher was shot and killed by the Cluemaster. Following the Infinite Frontier relaunch, he acts as
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