Main Characters (Terry McGinnis, Bruce Wayne) | McGinnis Family | Villains (One Shot Villains, The Joker) | Recurring Characters | Justice League Unlimited (Superman) | Comic-Only Characters
One-shot Villains
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Season 1
Mr. Fixx
Voiced by: George Takei
Appearances: Batman Beyond
- "You're pretty strong for some clown who thinks he's Batman!"
The right-hand man and deadly enforcer to Derek Powers, who murdered Terry's father on his boss's orders.
- Badass Normal: He doesn't have any superpowers but his brute strength combined with a pair of electrical brass-knuckles is enough for Fixx to give Terry a run for his money during his first real fight.
- Battle Butler: He serves as Derek Powers' personal assistant, chauffer and bodyguard, in addition to being his chief enforcer.
- The Dragon: Serves as the top-enforcer and right-hand man to Derek Powers in the pilot. He doesn't last long, though, as he dies during his first fight with Batman, leaving the position vacant for the rest of the season. Not that Powers needs one any longer, as he gets superpowers by the time of Fixx's death.
- Eye Scream: He has a scar running down from his blind left eye which was later revealed to had got that scar from Batman years ago.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: He dies when his electric brass-knuckles connect with his transport's controls, causing the ship to spin out of control and into the river where he was injured, exhuasted and trapped in the transport unable to escape. He drowns.
- Small Role, Big Impact: He certainly plays a sizable role in the pilot, but he's only around for the pilot. However, his murder of Warren McGinnis is what motivates Terry to take up the mantle of Batman, resurrecting the caped crusader's legacy.
- Starter Villain: He's the biggest threat Terry faces in his first outing as Batman, but he doesn't survive the pilot.
- Token Motivational Nemesis: As the man who murdered Terry's father, Mr. Fixx plays a key role in Terry taking up the mantle of the next Batman, but he dies by the end of the pilot and is never mentioned again. Derek Powers, who ordered the hit, sticks around as the main villain of the first season and Terry's true nemesis.
- Would Hurt a Child: He makes it clear to his boss that he has no problem murdering the teenage Terry McGinnis if he interrupts the biological weapons deal Powers arranged.
- You Killed My Father: Derek Powers is the one who ordered it but Mr. Fixx is the one who personally carried out Warren McGinnis's murder. Terry learns this minutes before taking on Fixx in a fight that leads to the latter's death.
The Golem
Appearances: Batman Beyond
The "Galvanic Lifter Machine", or "GoLeM", was a construction robot that fell under the control of Willie Watt after a freak accident bonded him with the machine.- Big Guy, Little Guy: Being a several stories tall robot, it's obviously the big guy to Willie's little guy.
- Bond Creatures: With Willie after he gains technopathy, though it's unclear if the Golem has any degree of sentience or is just a mindless extension of his will.
- Brains and Brawn: The brawn to Willie's brains. It will attack whoever Willie directs it at.
- Cyber Cyclops: It only has one large, green optic.
- Dragon-in-Chief: The Golem easily a greater threat than its controller. Its destruction is what puts an end to Willie's rampage.
- Fun with Acronyms: Galvanic Lifting Machine, or "Golem" for short.
- Humongous Mecha: It's a construction robot several stories tall, which naturally makes it an ideal weapon for a bullied youth to go on a rampage with.
- Killer Robot: It was meant for construction purposes, but Willie turns it into a tool for revenge after being humiliated too many times.
- Motion-Capture Mecha: It initially starts off as this, as it copies the movements of whomever wears the headband that controls it. However, once Willie gains a technopathic connection with the Golem, he's able to control its movements psychically.
- Non-Malicious Monster: Whether it's sentient or not is debatable, but its only villainous quality is being controlled by a vengeful, bullied child.
- Posthumous Character: In its destruction, the Golem "gifted" Willie with full blown psychic abilities, which he happily exploits in his second episode, "Revenant".
- Stealthy Colossus: Despite being a thirteen-ton giant robot, it can sneak through the mega-metropolis of Neo Gotham without anyone noticing.
- Super-Powered Robot Meter Maids: It's built for construction work, but for some reason it has a giant flamethrower turret mounted on its head. It's up in the air what construction job needs that.
- Your Size May Vary: It's badly subject to this; it's stated to be two storeys tall, making it about twenty to thirty feet tall, but it frequently appears much larger, especially near the end when it suddenly seems to balloon to well over a hundred feet tall in some shots.
Terrific Trio (Mike Morgan, Mary Michaels, and Stuart Lowe)
The Terrific Trio: Magma, Freon, and the 2-D Man.
Appearances: Batman Beyond
2-D Man: "I believe your words were 'dangerously psychotic.'"
Freon: "We are what you made us."
Magma: "No, I'm an accident. Real heroes, they make a choice. I never did."
A group of scientists were exposed to high levels of radiation, and were given extraordinary abilities, which they used to fight crime. However, the radiation that gave them their powers is also slowly killing them and driving them insane.
- Corrupted Character Copy: Of The Fantastic Four; Magma is a mix of The Thing and The Human Torch (with Mr. Fantastic's backstory and role as team leader), Freon is the Invisible Woman with the powers of an inverted Human Torch, and 2-D Man is a stoic Mr. Fantastic. They start off as heroes, but after they learn their conditions are unstable and that their friend Dr. Hodges was the one who orchestrated the accident that gave them their powers specifically to kill Mike so he could swoop in on his fiancée Mary (who wasn't supposed to be there), and after the military turn on them, they become emotionally destroyed and try to duplicate the accident, not caring that the radiation would destroy the city.
- Deconstruction: Of the Fantastic Four. As it turns out, the radiation that gave them powers is slowly killing them, because being exposed to high levels of radiation is a very bad thing. The reason they're so popular with the public and work so well with the government is because the military has taken them in as personal attack dogs, and is trying to make sure they have a good public image.
- Et Tu, Brute?: They do not take it well when they find out their so-called "friend" Dr. Hodges, knew the experiment would go horribly wrong and allowed it to proceed anyway, all to kill Mike and take his fiancee Mary for himself. The betrayal is the final straw on their already fraying sanity and causes them to try to nuke Gotham in a repeat of their original experiment.
- Fallen Hero: They start off as government sponsored superheroes after the lab accident that gave them their powers, but after being betrayed twice and their condition giving them degenerative mental defects that left them dangerously psychotic, they become murderous and vengeful.
- Family-Unfriendly Death: 2-D Man is shredded by ventilation fans.
- The Fantastic Faux: A Corrupted Character Copy version of the Fantastic Four, although there's only three of them, as Magma is a Composite Character of The Thing and the Human Torch. However, they end up descending into villainy after the experiment that granted them their powers slowly drives them insane, not helped by finding it was no mere accident, but an attempt by a supposed "friend" to Murder the Hypotenuse that went horribly wrong. In fact, they're so similar, plans to include them in the tie-in comics were scrapped due to worries about legal infringement with Marvel.
- An Ice Person: Freon.
- I Just Want to Be Normal: None of them wanted to get superpowers - Magma, the most, takes it even harder, especially when their forms are mutated to the point that they can never have a normal life. They just fight crime while waiting for a cure for their condition.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Their "fight" scene with Terry mostly consists of him dodging their attacks while they keep accidentally hurting each other. 2-D man manages to get ahold of Terry at one point, but the latter slips away just in time before Magma can throw a punch, causing the punch to knock 2-D out instead. Freon then comes to her friends' rescue by using her freeze ray on Terry, only to hit Magma by mistake because Terry keeps dodging her. With two out of the three incapacitated, Terry moves in to start the emergency ventilation of the reactor, inadvertently killing 2-D and Freon. Magma follows them soon after at the hand of Terry, having contributed to getting two of his companions killed and leaving himself to face Batman alone.
- Odd Name Out: 2-D Man is the only one whose civilian identity is not an Alliterative Name. A theme that even includes their treacherous former member Hodges.
- Personality Powers: 2-D Man is a Flat Character with a flat body.
- Shout-Out:
- 2-D Man's name is a take on Silver Age superhero 3-D Man, and his powers resemble Flatman of the West Coast Avengers.
- Magma uses a design similar to the DCAU version of Clayface.
- Tragic Villain: The Terrific Trio were innocent scientists who were betrayed by a colleague and mutated into freaks in a lab accident, only becoming villains because the mutation was affecting their mental stability, because they learned of the betrayal and because their base is attacked by a paranoid general who had learned of the instability.
- True Companions: For all intents and purposes, the Terrific Trio still stick by each other even as they gradually lose their sanity after discovering what's really happened to them. Freon in particular is disgusted that Hodges wanted to steal her away from Magma, and she continues to stay with him even though they can't touch anymore.
- Uncertain Doom: All three of them are defeated in ways that look lethal but are left ambiguous. 2-D Man and Freon are sucked into the ventilation system, the latter's body dispersing as she does, and Magma was doused in water by Batman and ended up solidified. Either way, they never return. They were to appear in the comic before real world issues made that not happen.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: All three of them, especially Magma. They were scientists caught in a freak lab accident that gave them their superpowers but, in the process, altered their bodies to the extent that they would never be able to live normal lives. After a brief crime-fighting stint as attack dogs for the government, their sponsors try to murder them after finding out their condition had degenerative mental defects that would leave them "dangerously psychotic." And on top of all of that, they find out the lab accident was no accident at all, but a calculated attempt at murder by their "friend" Howard Hodges, who'd known about the dangers of the experiment but let it proceed anyway because he wanted Morgan dead so he could have Mary for himself, not knowing that she chose to participate in the experiment too. Unsurprisingly, the three have a psychotic break and attempt to continue the original experiment that mutated them, not caring that Gotham would be nuked in the process.
Dr. Howard Hodges
- "Michael had it all. The brains, the success, your affection; I figured with him out of the way, I'd have a chance."
Physicist whose attempted murder of his colleague instead created The Terrific Trio.
- All for Nothing: His plans to steal Mary end with him losing her forever.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: He was a longtime friend of Dr. Mike Morgan, but was secretly jealous of his superior intellect and more successful career. He also coveted Mike's fiancee Dr. Mary Michaels, and orchestrated an accident to kill him so that he could swoop in on her.
- Et Tu, Brute?: Despite being good friends with The Terrific Trio prior to the accident, he still knew the experiment would go horribly wrong and allowed it to proceed anyway, all to kill Mike and take his fiancée Mary for himself. This revelation is the final straw on the Trio's already fraying sanity and causes them to try to nuke Gotham in a repeat of their original experiment.
- Expy: Minor subtle example. His jealous rivalry with Mike Morgan brings to mind that of Victor von Doom's with Reed Richards.
- False Friend: To the Terrific Trio.
- Green-Eyed Monster: He bitterly complains that Michael had it all: the brains, the success, and Mary’s affection.
- Karma Houdini: Implied, since he's never seen facing any social or legal consequences for his actions. That said, he's clearly deeply regretful at having turned his friends into insane freaks and will likely have to live with what he's done for the rest of his life even if he never gets punished for his actions.
- Love Makes You Evil: He set up the botched experiment to kill Mike so he could take Mary for himself. It backfired when Mary chose to take part in the experiment as well.
- Murder by Inaction: He knew ahead of time that the experiment with the particle fusion generator was going to backfire horribly, but he deliberately withheld this from his colleagues in the hopes of getting Mike Morgan killed so he can have a chance to go out with Mary. Unfortunately for him, not only did Mary take part in the experiment, but the radiation ends up irreversibly mutating the scientists who would become The Terrific Trio and is also slowly killing them. The trio cross the Despair Event Horizon upon finding out the truth and decide to overload the reactor to kill themselves and take all of Gotham with them.
- Murder the Hypotenuse: He knew beforehand the particle fusion generator was unsafe, but didn't inform anyone so that he could date Mary with Mike out of the picture. Unfortunately for both, Mary took part as well. The Trio aren't happy to find this out.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Batman leaves him regretfully mourning the loss of his former friends.
Dr. Stephanie Lake
One of the scientists hired by Derek Powers to find him a cure for his transformation into a radioactive mutant. Her proposed solution to transfer his consciousness into a cloned body first requires testing on someone who also has systemically damaged DNA: Dr. Victor Fries.
- Bait the Dog: Though she works for Derek Powers, her goal is only to find a cure for her boss's radioactive condition, and her intended solution gives Victor Fries a second chance at life. This, combined with her implied romantic relationship with Victor, may give the impression of her being a decent person working for an evil employer. Then when Victor's body starts reverting to its prior state, Dr. Lake is the one who takes the initiative to biopsy Victor's organs after a slight prompt from Powers.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Her interactions with Victor imply that she's sympathetic to his condition. She gives him a second chance at life by transferring his consciousness to a clone body, helps him navigate the new era he's found himself in, and seems to be romantically involved with him. Then it turns out she never cared about Victor at all, and was only using him to test her scientific theories.
- Family-Unfriendly Death: Is slowly frozen alive by Mr. Freeze's ice cannons, screaming in agony as she does. Notably, Dr. Lake was the first person the character ever outright killed in any media.Dr. Lake: (as she's backed against a wall) We were only trying to help you!Mr. Freeze: Remember... there might be some momentary discomfort.
- Ironic Echo: What Dr. Lake says to Victor as she transfers his consciousness into a clone body ends up being repeated back to her by him as he kills her for betraying him.Dr. Lake: There might be some momentary discomfort.
- Kill It with Ice: After betraying Victor, Dr. Lake ends up being frozen to death by the ice cannons from his new and upgraded suit after he turns back to Mr. Freeze. Her horrifying scream as it happens implies that it definitely was not quick or painless as Freeze ironically implied.
- Lack of Empathy: When Victor's previous condition begins affecting his new body, Dr. Lake tries to knock him out by locking him in a room and raising the temperature so she can biopsy his organs. She then watches as the man she was romantically involved with slowly succumbs to his condition with a completely emotionless look on her face. At least until Victor summons the strength to break free.
- Poor Communication Kills: When Victor's body starts reverting to his previous condition, Dr. Lake tries to biopsy his organs to find out what the problem is. Without warning, she locks him in a room and turns up the heat to knock him out. Victor thinks she's trying to kill him and this is the final straw that pushes him back to becoming Mr. Freeze. This could have been avoided if she, you know, told him what was going on.
- Scream Discretion Shot: Gets one as she suffers her Family-Unfriendly Death. The view cuts to outside the building as Freeze fires his ice cannons at her, and she lets out a horrifying scream as the windows are seen flashing. When the view returns to the room, all that's left where Lake was standing is an enormous column of ice, with her remains being out of shot.
- Undying Loyalty: Lake's actions appear to be driven more out of genuine loyalty to Powers than Greed or For Science! pursuits. During Freeze's final rampage, she tries to stop him from attacking Powers rather than use this as a distraction to escape herself. It ends badly for her.
- Villains Want Mercy: While she doesn't flat-out beg for her life, she does try to convince Mister Freeze to spare her, saying she was only trying to help him. Freeze doesn't believe her.
Jackson Chapell
Voiced by: Larry Drake
Appearances: Batman Beyond
Appearances: Batman Beyond
"Too many years on Venom. That's what the stuff'll do to you."
After Bane's Venom abuse caused his muscles to erode away, he retired to an island compound, and hired Jackson to both mix and cut Venom for himself and to operate his life-support machines.
- All There in the Manual: His name isn't used onscreen, but it's listed in the credits.
- Almighty Janitor: Used his position to make a fortune by selling Venom to kids at Terry's high school in the form patches worn on the skin. He even lampshades it.
- Beard of Evil: An unscrupulous drug dealer with a goatee.
- Card-Carrying Villain: He's seen firsthand that overuse of Venom will turn you into a living vegetable, but that doesn't stop him from dealing it on the street. Even when Batman calls him out on the fact he's selling poison to children, Chapell just agrees.
- Cut Lex Luthor a Check: He realized that a super-strength serum could make him a ton of money, rather than just using it for generic supervillainy. Not legally, but still in the sense that it could be marketed.
- Flat Character: He's a drug dealer. Yeah, that's his only trait.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Terry defeats Jackson by overdosing him on his own Venom patches; Bane's caretaker ended up a brain-dead vegetable.
- Legacy Character: Chappell's business model is different, but he's essentially Bane II. It's most obvious in the climax when he wears something very similar to Bane's original outfit and doses himself with slappers to give himself Super-Strength.
- Villainous Breakdown: After overdosing on Venom, Chappell goes from cool and collected to screaming incoherently and smashing everything in sight.
- Weaksauce Weakness: Averted; because Venom "slappers" are applied like steroid patches, Chappell doesn't have a vulnerable Venom line to cut like Bane did. That said, using too many patches at once causes a different problem.
Aaron Herbst
A cryogenic technician acting as Inque's caretaker after she's frozen by Batman. He has an unhealthy attraction to his prisoner and eventually frees her after he's fired from his job.
- Abhorrent Admirer: He serves as one to Inque. After she's frozen in ice following her first encounter with Batman, she's completely lucid while he drones on and on about his problems to her and kisses her frozen body for luck. She uses him as an easy accomplice after he breaks her out then condemns him to a Fate Worse than Death. The ending of his episode implies his caretaker Margo may be one to him, rambling on about all of her problems the same way Aaron used to do with Inque, with her boss secretly taping her as well in case history repeats itself.
- Asshole Victim: Aaron is not a good person. He develops an unhealthy obsession with Inque, constantly having fake conversations with her about his mundane problems and kissing or pawing at her frozen form without her consent. Considering his goal after becoming a superhuman was to get at anyone who had "pushed him around", it's almost a certainty that he was planning to abuse his powers and hurt innocent people.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Aaron wanted to become like Inque, a living liquid that could do anything he wanted. Inque later gives him half of the serum that created her, rendering him a semi-human blob that can't shift forms, and he winds up in a similar prison as the one she was held in. So he now is just like Inque, with none of the advantages.
- Disproportionate Retribution: After his attraction to Inque is exposed and he's fired from his job as a result, Aaron retaliates by freeing Inque from her imprisonment, despite how dangerous she is.
- Fate Worse than Death: He wanted a dose of the mutagen that gave Inque her abilities so that he could have the same kind of power she does. Instead, Inque gives him half of a dose, turning him into a permanent, powerless blob creature.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: If his request had just been sex, as Inque had thought, Aaron would've been fine. Instead, he decides to request a dose of a mutagenic chemical neither he nor his "partner" truly understand out of the insane assumption that he'll be given superpowers equal to hers. In the end he turns into a pitiful form halfway between Inque's blob form and a normal human, which has virtually no powers and can barely speak.
- I Just Want to Be Badass: He envies Inque's power and his requested reward for helping her is to be given the same mutagen as her so that no one can ever push him around again.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Aaron used a frozen but lucid Inque as a sounding board for all his menial problems during her imprisonment then freed her despite the danger she posed just to spite his boss for firing him after his unhealthy attraction to Inque was exposed. Inque uses him as a henchman to stabilize herself, then, once he's outlived his usefulness, instead of turning him into a being like herself as she promised, she gives him a half dose of the mutagen that renders him a powerless blob monster. To top it off, he ends up imprisoned at his old place of work and is dependent upon a caretaker who drones on and on about her problems the same way that Aaron did to Inque.
- Monster Fangirl: Aaron acts as one to Inque, being attracted to her even when she's trapped in her inhuman blob form, and kisses her frozen body for luck when trying to get a raise. After breaking her free from her prison, he serves as a willing henchman to her and makes no secret of his devotion to her.
- Muggle in Mage Custody: Though Inque's powers are of sci-fi rather than supernatural origin, the power dynamic between her and Aaron is of this kind. He is an ordinary human who becomes her willing servant due to both genuine admiration for her and a desire to obtain similar superpowers. Inque is not pleased though, and gets rid of him as soon as he's no longer useful to her.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Once Inque uses him to gather the components needed to stabilize herself, she disposes of him. It's not lethal, but no doubt he wishes it was.
Season 2
Dr. Abel Cuvier
Voiced by: Ian Buchanan
Appearances: Batman Beyond
Appearances: Batman Beyond
"I want to assure everyone that splicing is safe, reversible, and more importantly, utterly beautiful. I was the first test subject, and as you can see, I'm perfectly fine."
A geneticist who makes a living by splicing young people with animal DNA, which turns them into freaky hybrids.
- Aesoptinum: "Splicing", a new technology that allowed a human to mix their DNA with that of an animal, giving them cool features. It's safe, we assure you. Naturally, it became an allegorical aesop for drug abuse and extreme body modification.
- And Your Little Dog, Too!: Terry is fighting a mutated Dr. Cuvier, and Ace, Bruce's pet Great Dane, is also present. Now, the two have had a turbulent relationship so far, but when Terry gets hit, Ace rushes in to fight off the monster, only for the monster to wrap its tentacles around Ace and tries to do him in. And that's when Terry got pissed.Terry: "DON'T. TOUCH. MY. DOG!"
- Ax-Crazy: Terry calls him on it."Have you considered checking into Arkham for a little R&R, doc? Because quite frankly, you're nuts."
- Bad Boss: When berating his henchman for failing to kill DA Sam Young, he grabs Ramrod by the neck and then throws him down one story.
- Black Eyes of Crazy: His black sclerae and yellow irises highlight his villainy and insanity.
- Body Horror: After being injected with dozens of different splicing needles.
- Bond Villain Stupidity: Rather than just killing Batman when he has the chance, instead he decides to "splice" him and then try to kill him.
- Clipped-Wing Angel: After Terry injects him with a load of splicing tubes, he mutates from a more sleek-looking chimera into a grotesque monstrosity that is huge and powerful but also slow, cumbersome, and a much bigger target.
- Cut Lex Luthor a Check: Played with. He tries to market his splicing technology to the public, but when the District Attorney threatens to shut his business down, he gets pissed.
- Evil All Along: He makes a cameo appearance in “Curse of the Kobra” in a flashback to several years ago as part of Kobra, showing that he wasn’t just set off by the DA’s crusade against his work.
- Evil Brit: An amoral mad scientist with a British accent.
- Evil Makes You Monstrous: Terry even refers to him as "creepy" before he knows he's a crook.
- Evil Wears Black: Dresses all in black, which is also his hair color.
- Faux Affably Evil: Presents himself as a polite man even though he is an Ax-Crazy scientist who wants to keep splicing a fad no matter what and savagely beats his henchmen when things don't go his way. Though this disappears during his fight with Terry.
- Genetic Abomination: His bizarre mutation caused by Terry attacking him with splicing syringes make him go from a powerful snakelike hybrid of multiple predators to a hulking, grotesquely misshapen horror that wouldn't be out of place as a Resident Evil boss. Fortunately, turns out that "asymmetrical blob of flesh the size of a small house with mismatched appendages" isn't a very efficient combat form when you're not used to it.
- A God Am I: Has a pronounced God Complex.
- Half-Human Hybrid:
- He invented the splicing process that turns people into these.
- Also inverted in the comic, where he turned an animal into a human.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: After Cuvier goes One-Winged Angel, Terry figures out how he did it, then injects him with several needles at once, mutating him into an even more bizarre creature and enabling defeat.
- The Man Behind the Monsters: Subverted. He runs a gang of aggressive teenage hoodlums who have been "spliced" (mutated with DNA from various dangerous animals). Cuvier is spliced himself, and looks only slightly less grotesque than his young charges. An even greater subversion occurs at the episode's climax, when he takes an enormous dose of DNA and fights Batman as a gigantic amoeba-like thing.
- Meaningful Name: The Chimera Institute. "Cuvier" is also the name of a very famous zoologist.
- Mix-and-Match Critters: It's his specialty and boy do his subjects show off how well he could do it.
- No One Could Survive That!: They don't say it out loud in the episode or anything, but most viewers assume he's dead by the end of "Splicers"; the comic has him alive later on (and confirms that he was at least thought dead by most).
- One-Winged Angel: During his fight with Terry, he splices himself with the DNA of several animals, becoming a freaky but powerful chimeric creature.
- Phlebotinum Overdose: After he goes One-Winged Angel, Terry jabs him with multiple syringes, causing him to mutate uncontrollably into a disturbing asymmetrical monster.
- Professor Guinea Pig: Used himself as the first test subject.
- Stupid Evil: To put it nicely, Cuvier might just be the worst offender in the entire show. Every action he takes is self-sabotaging and leads to his doom.
- He's angry when the DA prepares to outlaw Splicing. His plan? Kill the District Attorney, because apparently he didn't consider that murdering a high profile figure opposing his movement would cast more suspicion on himself. He doesn't do it discreetly either, just sends his minions to full on attack the man in public.
- He later captures Batman and decides to splice him with bat DNA instead of, y'know, disposing of the hero he has at his mercy. He then lets him go for some reason, which ruins his assasination plot when Terry goes berserk from the splicing and drives away Cuvier's goons. He later beats them up for failing, when ''it's his own fault'' for letting Terry go after them.
- Finally, Batman breaks into his lab to confront him. Does Cuvier flee to fight another day and plan his revenge? No, he mutates himself with animal DNA and fights the hero in a lab full of sensitive and dangerous equipment, which of course allows Terry to plug him full of Splicing syringes, with extremely gruesome results.
- Uncertain Doom: He's blown up in a massive fiery explosion in his first and only episode, but it's not explicitly confirmed if he died or not, since other villains have survived worse in the series. He's indeed shown to have survived in the tie-in comics.
- Villainous Legacy: Harley Loves Joker, a comic story focusing on the DCAU incarnations of the Joker and Harley Quinn that originated as back-up material for the Rebirth era Harley Quinn comic before being concluded in a two-issue miniseries, establishes that he was an intern for Dr. Emile Dorian in his youth, which implies that his splicing research is influenced to a degree by Dorian's work in creating human/animal hybrids.
Earth Mover (Tony Maychek)
"YOU... LEFT. ME. BURIED!"
Years ago, Tony Maychek was the business partner of Bill Wallace, a businessman disposing of toxic waste by burying it in the abandoned Gotham mines. With the promise of securing a healthy future for his daughter Jackie, Tony agreed to Bill's plan. Tragically, during one such burial, Tony was buried along with the waste and presumed dead. But Bill and Jackie soon find out that Tony is alive... and he's angry.
- And I Must Scream: He was trapped underground for years, fused to the earth itself by toxic waste, and it's left him completely unstable.
- Blessed with Suck: Gains powerful Terrakinesis at the cost of becoming an immobile insane mummy like creature.
- Body Horror: Quite possibly the most horrific example here — his desiccated living corpse is fused to the ground by vein like growths. Most of the other tropes should go into more detail.
- Buried Alive: Left for dead trapped under tons of earth and toxic waste.
- Came Back Wrong: Oh lord, poor Jackie and Bill.
- The Dark Side Will Make You Forget: All Tony wanted was to secure a good future for his beloved daughter. His transformation into Earth Mover left him only craving to keep her for himself and to enact revenge on Bill. Thankfully he remembers in time to save everyone.
- Dishing Out Dirt: Much like Mr. Freeze, he's called Earth Mover for a reason. Thanks to the nuclear waste, he's fused physically and mentally to the earth of the mining area, able to create monstrous earth drones or cause mini-earthquakes.
- Fighting a Shadow: What makes him an especially dangerous opponent is that Batman isn't directly fighting him-he's fighting the manifestations he forms from the ground.
- Go Mad from the Isolation: Being Buried Alive for years has left him dangerously irrational and insane.
- Our Zombies Are Different: Tony becomes an elemental Revenant, a living corpse that enacts retribution through the very ground around him.
- Redemption Equals Death: He uses his final moments to help Jackie escape the tunnel collapse, before being crushed by his own golem.
- When Trees Attack: He can also control vegetation—their roots, at least.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Earth Mover was a well-meaning man who was transformed into a mutant earth monster in a horrific accident. All he knows now is rage and loneliness, causing massive destruction just to find his daughter again. His final death comes off as merciful.
- You No Take Candle: Earth Mover speaks in a stunted, simplistic manner, and it just makes him so much more disturbing and creepy.
Robert Vance
- "Dead? Rebooted is more like it."
Robert Vance was the founder of the Vance software company. A pioneer in digital technology, in his advanced age he found himself dying of a brain disorder, and uploaded his brain impulses into a computer program that would guide his company into the future. Offline for thirty-five years, he's awakened by his grandson, Bobby, to help him run the company, only for the program to have an agenda of its own.
- Abusive Parents: Both the program and the real Robert Vance since it was based on his brainwaves. The program's reaction to learning about the death of his son is an unsympathetic, "Ah," and he later tries to murder his grandson so he can steal his body. Given that the program says acting as a post-mortem advisor was a ruse so people would leave him alone to fulfill his true agenda, the implication is that Vance created the program to murder his successor, body-jack them and seize back control of his company regardless of who was in charge.
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot: The Vance program goes rogue and tries to body-jack and murder his grandson so Vance can keep control of his company. However, given the program's statement that acting as a "guide" was always a lie so no one would bother investigating him, it's implied he didn't go rogue at all, but that Vance intended for the program to download itself into a human body.
- Alas, Poor Villain: As vile and heartless as Vance was, his final moments are spent cycling through his life all the way to when he was a completely innocent kid before being deleted forever. This serves as a reminder that Vance was once just a man whose fears of mortality cost him his humanity. Even his grandson Bobby takes no satisfaction and wishes his grandfather to rest in peace when he's interviewed later.
- Ambiguous Situation: It's unclear if the real Robert Vance was as evil as his program was, if he planned on the program taking back control of the company by stealing his descendant's body, or if the program went rogue.
- Brain Uploading: Robert Vance did not succeed in uploading his brain into a computer, but he did make a program based on his brain impulses to live on in some way. His program attempts the real thing on his grandson.
- The Cameo: He has a small, non-speaking yet important role in Justice League as The Mole of the Suicide Squad in the episode "Task Force X".
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Well, a computer program of a corrupt corporate executive who only cares about running his company forever and murdering anyone who gets in his way.
- Expy: Vance is quite similar to Cowboy Bebop villain Dr. Londes. Both are renowned computer geniuses who transferred their brainwaves into programs that communicate through eerie digital faces, developed a sociopathic disregard for human life, are manipulatively charismatic and reduced to infantile states as the heroes deleted them. The prime difference is Londes wants to force everyone into suffering the same condition he has and maintain his god-like persona, while Vance plans to attain a human body and become a mortal businessman.
- Evil Old Folks: The original Robert Vance is implied to be this. The program is based on his brain, and its intention was always to steal someone else's body and regain control of his company, even if they're his own flesh-and-blood.
- Faux Affably Evil: He always speaks in a calm, civil tone of voice, even as he's trying to murder someone to further his agenda.
- Grand Theft Me: His true goal is to transfer his mind into his grandson and resume control over his company.
- It's All About Me: All Vance cares about is himself and continuing the success of his company, and he's willing to murder his last remaining descendant and steal his body to do it.
- Lack of Empathy: His response to finding out from the grandson he never met that his son is dead? A simple, underwhelmed, "Ah." He doesn't even make a pretense of comforting Bobby, just seizing back control of his company. Later, as he's about to steal Bobby's body and his grandson asks where he'll be, Vance gives a bored-sounding, "Wherever deleted programs go."
- I Want My Mommy!: A dark example. As he's dying, Vance relives past memories from his life, going back younger and younger, his voice changing to that of a child's as he does. His final words are those of a young boy calling for his mother before being deleted forever.
- My Life Flashed Before My Eyes: Just before the program is deleted forever it relives Vance's memories, saying various quotes from his childhood, with the last being a child calling out for his mother.
- Offing the Offspring: Spiritually and literally. Robert Vance created the program so it could download itself into a flesh-and-blood body, allowing a version of himself to run the company from beyond the grave. While the program isn't really Vance, he's based off of Vance's brain and believes himself to be the real Vance. As such, the program's lack of reaction to the death of Vance's son and his attempted murder of his grandson to steal his body implies that the real Robert Vance wouldn't be above such measure himself.
- Self-Made Man: In response to his young grandson, Bobby, believing himself incapable of running his grandfather's company because of his youth and inexperience, Vance brags that he founded the company when he was Bobby's age.
- Soft-Spoken Sadist: He maintains a calm, almost soothing voice, even as he tries to drown Terry or murder his grandson to take control of his body.
- Unnecessarily Creepy Robot: There is absolutely no reason why a program whose stated purpose is to act as an advisor to the future heirs of Vance's company has to look like a chalk-white face peering out of the shadows.
- Unskilled, but Strong: Once he takes control of the Bat-Suit from Terry, he uses its brute strength for his plans, but he doesn't have any of Terry's training or resourcefulness. When put in a fight against the unpowered hero, the Vance program is destroyed by his more experienced opponent.
Ratboy
Real name Patrick, Ratboy is a runaway teen who lived in the sewers because of his grotesque, rat-like looks.
- Abduction Is Love: Kidnaps Dana and others because he viewed them as neglected like him, believing he offered them shelter from the ungrateful world. But when his hostages revolted against him, his kindness quickly turned to murderous anger, with it being heavily implied he fed them to his giant rats.
- Abhorrent Admirer: To Dana. He has a rat-like appearance, lives in the sewers, controls giant rats and kidnaps her with the intention of forcing her to spend the rest of her life with him. Then it also turns out he's a Serial Killer who's abducted people before and fed them to his rats when they "made fun of him."
- Absurdly Spacious Sewer: He lives in a downright cavernous sewer system.
- All of the Other Reindeer: He mentions people used to make fun of him a lot before he went to live in the sewer.
- Alternate Company Equivalent: It's uncertain if he qualifies as an outright Expy of Spider-Man's Vermin, because at the time of the episode's premiere, Vermin was a much more obscure Spider-Man villain (and some would say he still is today). But whether it was deliberate or not, Ratboy still fills the same niche of "humanoid rat villain who lives in the sewers and fights a young superhero with an entire Rogues Gallery of other Spider-Man-influenced villains". The only difference is that Vermin actually devours his victims while Patrick merely has his rats do it.
- Animal Motifs: Rats. His facial structures, teeth, and ears are visual reminders of a rat. He lives in the sewers like most rats do. And his closest friends are actual rats that listen to him.
- Ax-Crazy: The minute that Dana rejects him, Patrick sics a swarm of rats on her to try and tear her apart. He does the same to Batman when he shows up.
- Bait the Dog: At first his storyline looks like it's going to follow the familiar trope of The Grotesque: a gentle, misunderstood soul who hides himself away from society because of the scorn and ridicule others heap upon him for his deformed appearance. He kidnaps Dana after forming a crush on her because he believes she's a kindred spirit, just as unappreciated as himself. Then Dana makes it clear in no uncertain terms that she thinks he's crazy for kidnapping her, and Patrick reveals himself to be a Serial Killer who's abducted other kids to be his friends, only to feed them to his giant rats after they "made fun of him."
- Benevolent Boss: He treats his rats nicely.
- Berserk Button:
- People making fun of him.
- People breaking the items in his collection.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: In his first appearance, it looked like he was a lonely teenage boy who was an outcast because of his appearance and desperate for companionship to the point of which he resorted to kidnapping without understanding that it’s wrong. But his reaction to Dana’s rejection of him revealed that he is really a self-entitled, creepy stalker who kills anyone he perceives as mocking him.
- Collector of the Strange: He has a collection of random items people threw away, such as a teddy bear, a saxophone, a hockey stick, a Magma action figure, etc. He jokes that he’s a pack rat.
- Disproportionate Retribution: When Dana rejects him and complains about being kidnapped, Patrick sics a swarm of rats on her to kill her, believing she was mocking him.
- Dogged Nice Guy: Subverted. He thinks he's a misunderstood teen who helps those who are unwanted. In reality, he's a self-entitled, creepy stalker who kills anyone he perceives as mocking him.
- Entitled to Have You: He had this mentality about kidnapping Dana and others because he viewed them as unwanted like him, believing he was offering them shelter from the cruel, uncaring world. He never thought they wouldn’t want to leave their lives behind to be with him. And when they reject him, he gets angry about how “ungrateful” they are to him for giving them a new home, not caring that he kidnapped them against their will; even feeding them to his giant rats for his belief that they were making fun of him.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Despite being a psychopath, he loves his pet rats. He pets them, plays fetch with them, and calls them his friends.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: After making a fortune as a fake exterminator, he thinks Dana will want to be with him now that he has money.
- Flower Motifs: White roses. He grows them himself and gives them to whatever girl he wants to be his girlfriend.
- Freudian Excuse: People constantly mocking him for his ugliness turned him into an Ax-Crazy villain.
- Gonk: He’s very ugly with his grey skin, oversized nose, beady eyes, giant buckteeth, wrinkles, and huge, pointy ears.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: If anyone makes fun of him (or he thinks they are), he tries to brutally murder them.
- I Just Want to Be Loved: Ratboy just wants a girlfriend who loves him. Unfortunately, he’ll kill any girl who turns him down.
- Loners Are Freaks: Being constantly teased for his rat-like appearance drove him to live alone in the sewers with several rats. The isolation made him unstable and prone to kidnapping other kids, then feeding them to his rats if they mocked him (or if he just thinks they did).
- Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold: Subverted. Ratboy comes off as a lonely person who retreated to the sewers because of the mockery he was given by others. However, he reveals himself to be an Ax-Crazy jerk who attempted to murder Dana just because she rejected him, and has done the same to other kids he kidnapped.
- Never Found the Body: After his lair explodes. He doesn't make a return in the show, but in the comics he returns in order to run a Monster Protection Racket.
- Not Good with Rejection: When Dana is shown to be unhappy, he views her as ungrateful for him “giving her a home“, and he tries to feed her to his rats like he did with others.
- Rodents of Unusual Size: His giant rat servants. Hand Waved by the presence of toxic waste.
- Serial Killer: He’s heavily implied to be one. With the reveal that Dana was not the first person whom he kidnapped to keep him company, and his comment on how the others “don't make fun of him anymore”, it is clear what happened to the previous people that he kidnapped (with the implication that his victims were fed to his pet giant rats).
- Stalker with a Crush: To Dana. She doesn't take too kindly to being kidnapped, no matter how courteous her captor is, then she finds out that she's not the first person he's kidnapped.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: To Ratcatcher, one of the original comic book Batmans rogues gallery, who was also an unhinged loner with the special ability to communicate with and train rats. The original Ratcatcher also had a penchant for kidnapping people and siccing his rats on them, giving the two a similar modus operandi.
- Would Hit a Girl: He was about to strike Dana before Terry came in.
- You Dirty Rat!: Strongly resembles a rat and is a murderous villain.
Cynthia
Voiced by: Shiri Appleby
Appearances: Batman Beyond
Appearances: Batman Beyond
"Howard, don't you understand? I was created for you."
A "pleasure synthoid" ordered by Howard Groote to act as his girlfriend in the appropriately titled "Terry's Friend Dates a Robot".
- Angst Nuke: When Howard tells her "We can still be friends..." she gets so pissed off that she explodes, taking down the house with her.
- Anti-Villain: She's not evil, just acting the way she was programmed to be, which is 100% devoted to Howard.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Cynthia's dysfunctional behavior ultimately arises out of being programmed in accordance with Howard's request that she be "totally devoted" to him.
- Berserk Button:
- Cynthia has a literal one that gets pushed anytime she sees someone trying to get between her and Howard.
- And what sets Cynthia off: when Howard tries to tell her "We can still be friends..."
Cynthia: Friends? FRIENDS?! - Brutal Honesty: Regarding Nelson's (non-lethal) fate as an Asshole Victim earlier in the episode.Cynthia: Nelson didn't seem like a very nice guy to begin with.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Oh, boy, where do we start?
- Nelson makes a pass at Cynthia and then mocks Howard after seeing that she is dating him. In response, Cynthia pushes a row of lockers onto him, nearly killing him in the process. Then again, he was overheard planning to "put Howard in his place" for daring to have a hot girlfriend by Cynthia.
- Chelsea makes a pass at Howard (twice). The first time it happened, Cynthia tried to kill her by pushing the high school building's logo onto her. Luckily, Terry intervenes in time to stop her. The second time, Cynthia shoved her, and might have done worse had Max not intervened. Then she tries to take out Max, then Batman when he tries to stop her from killing.
- Fiery Redhead: Howard designed her to have red hair, and she's ridiculously possessive of him.
- Green-Eyed Monster: And she is also given green eyes.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She really did love Howard unconditionally. A little too much, in fact.
- Lack of Empathy: She sees nothing wrong with casual murder, if it means she can have Howard all to herself.
- Line-of-Sight Name: Howard named her "Cynthia" because she's a synthoid and he couldn't think up a better name on the spot.
- Made of Explodium: After reaching her Rage Breaking Point, Cynthia explodes and ends up taking the house with her.
- Magical Girlfriend: Plays with this idea. Howard purchases an illegal human-like synthoid robot which looks like a beautiful woman, whom he names "Cynthia" and has programmed to be "totally into me." Problem is, she's scarily possessive and has superhuman strength. She nearly kills a couple of people who bully Howard and Batman has to step in. When Howard decides they should see other people, she literally explodes.
- Murder the Hypotenuse: When Chelsea begins to show interest in Howard, Cynthia becomes insanely jealous and attempts to kill her by pushing the high school building's logo onto her. Luckily, Terry intervenes in time to stop her.
- Obliviously Evil: She seems to be unaware that attempting to murder anyone who even looks at Howard the wrong way would upset him.
- Ridiculously Human Robots: Aside from her superhuman strength and Lack of Empathy, she could pass for a human. As Terry explains to Max in this episode, building robots like this is illegal, and through Cynthia, it becomes obvious why.
- Sex Bot: What she essentially is, and it is strongly implied that she got a little handsy offscreen during her "talk" with Howard.Howard: Cynthia, keep your hands to your—(shrieks) Cynthia!Blade (Listening from the other side of the door): Go, Howard.
- Significant Green-Eyed Redhead: Howard specifically designs Cynthia as such, and she's the episode's antagonist.
- Spurned into Suicide: Howard's Let's Just Be Friends line ends up leading to Cynthia exploding.
- Super-Powered Robot Meter Maids: Cynthia is incredibly strong, and can overpower Batman despite being built to be a girlfriend. Oddly, the other synthoids in this episode are rather easily taken care of by Batman.
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Howard ordered her because he knew that having a beautiful girlfriend would earn him some respect from the popular kids and get him some dates with real girls. The only problem is that Cynthia isn't so willing to step aside, which he probably should have realized might occur.
- Villain Has a Point: She was right when she said Nelson isn’t a nice guy.
- Violently Protective Girlfriend: That's putting it lightly.
- What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Howard orders a sentient robotic girlfriend from a roboticist. He specifies that he wants her to love him unconditionally and be 100% (aka fanatically) devoted to him. He enjoys the popularity having an attractive girlfriend brings him, and begins hitting on other girls right in front of her. This obviously makes her jealous and she becomes possessive of him to the point of attacking people who either threaten him or her claim on him. When he calls her out on this, she pleads with him saying he is the only reason she lives and that she was only doing exactly what he had her programmed to do. He proceeds to break up with her anyway, giving an insincere Let's Just Be Friends. She is so angry and heartbroken she is driven to suicide. The show treats this ending as humorous and the main characters share a laugh, although the laughter seems to be more at Howard’s expense than at hers.
- Woman Scorned: Howard calling things off with Cynthia sends her on a rampage and Batman was completely unable to take her down despite him easily disposing of the other synthoids earlier on.
- Yandere: Cynthia tries to kill anyone she thinks is showing interest in Howard.
Dr. David Wheeler
Voiced by: John Ritter
"Easiest thing in the world, being a teenager: you get up, you go to school, you come home, and you do your homework. How do you mess that up?! Yet all of you did, in one way or another—and now I have to clean up that mess!"
A child psychologist and the head of a rehabilitation clinic that becomes popular in Gotham, it is quickly learned that his clinic has bad things going on behind the scenes.
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: He drops his pompous attitude and begs for his life once Sean has him at his mercy.
- Brainwashing: Engages in this by means of depriving the kids of the clinic of sleep, making them stand for hours on end listening to him belittle them, and refusing to let them go to do anything, not even to use the bathroom. Bruce recognizes Wheeler's tactics as classic brainwashing, and mentions their use in cults and on some prisoners of war.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He advertises himself and his ranch as a means of helping troubled kids when in fact his ranch is more akin to a prison camp where he can brainwash and belittle kids for his own sadistic enjoyment while at the same time, pocketing the enormous fees he charges the kids' parents for the treatment.
- Break the Cutie: His aim is to break the wills of the kids of the clinic and "turn them into little robots", which he does both by means of the above and by use of sensory deprivation, or "ISO", for those who won't get with the program. We see the effect of this on poor Chelsea during the course of "The Last Resort".
- Cold-Blooded Torture: What ISO generally amounts to in Wheeler's clinic. While we see a boy dragged off to ISO, we're not shown anyone actually undergoing the procedure, but we are shown that it has harmful psychological effects on those who are sent there.
- Child Hater: Given what he does to the kids that are sent to his institution, Wheeler has more than a little of this going on.
- Dirty Coward: He puts on a stern, unflinching face for his "patients" when he's giving speeches. When one of them has him cornered, he turns into a whimpering wreck.
- Evil Old Folks: Wheeler’s a sociopath, and judging by his wrinkles and grey hair, clearly not a young one.
- Expy: Being a sadistic prison warden toward his charges, along with his obsession of punishing people he thinks are responsible for society's moral failing and coddled for their crimes, Wheeler slightly resembles a more mundane version of Lyle Bolton/Lock-Up from the original Batman: The Animated Series.
- Greed: Aside from sadism, this is his motivation for his fear-mongering campaign, getting parents to send their children to his clinic by the dozens so that he can line his pockets with their money.
- Hate Sink: One of, if not the most detestable villains on the show by far. Wheeler is a disturbingly realistic depiction of an abusive councilor, and unlike many super-villains (even Blight and Ian Peek) there is nothing cool, sympathetic, or funny about him. He's even voiced by Chief Warren Kincaid. You really feel like cheering for Sean when (it looks like) he's about to throw this bastard to his death.
- Make It Look Like an Accident: Wheeler's plans for Terry following capturing him and finding the camera he used to record Chelsea's account of Wheeler's abuse and torture, after first putting him in ISO to "take the fight out of him".
- Mundanger: Despite the cyberpunk, superhero setting, Wheeler isn't a super-villain, mutant, psychic or member of a snake-themed global terrorist network. He's just a conman who tricks parents into sending "troubled children" to his ranch just so he can be paid to brainwash and abuse them.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Very similar to Chuck Dederich and his Synanon cult, which ran drug rehabilitation and unlicenced juvenile detention centres in the mid to late 20th century. Synanon engaged in "treatment" that amounted to torture, child abuse, brainwashing and forced labour, and conducted terrorist campaigns including assaults and attempted murder against enemies who tried to expose or bring the cult down.
- Non-Action Big Bad: Wheeler primarily relies on Vincent, his Dragon, and his other staff for subduing kids, but when Vincent is taken down and his other staff are overwhelmed by the teens of the clinic, he does not fare well against Sean.
- Psycho Psychologist: This guy's idea of therapy is more akin to torture and brainwashing.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Wheeler's primary method of brainwashing is to deliver hours of these speeches in order to break down the kids of the clinic.
- Room 101: ISO is treated like this by everyone in the clinic, and is eventually revealed by Chelsea to be a place where you undergo total sensory deprivation.
- Sadist: It's clear that he takes enjoyment in breaking the spirit of the teenagers under his "care".
- Save the Villain: Is saved by Batman after Sean Miller, one of his former victims, tries to kill him.
- Straw Character: Just as Lock-Up was meant to be a send-up of right wing pundits who advocate capital punishment, Dr. Wheeler represents Moral Guardian types who believe the next generation is ruining the world and need to have that rebellious streak purged through abusive means.
- Villains Want Mercy: When Sean is going to drop him from the wall, he begs him not to.
- Wardens Are Evil: He's not explicitly a warden, but he runs his ranch like a prison and makes a living breaking the spirits of teen delinquents.
- Would Hurt a Child: This guy gets his kicks by destroying kids' spirits and making them miserable. He's also more than willing to keep in line by force courtesy of Vincent and his various mooks, and also kill any kid who discovers his secret.
Sean Miller
Voiced by: David Faustino
Appearances: Batman Beyond
Sean: You don't wanna talk about the good old days? Like that fight we had in 7th grade? Ah, I remember it quite well, Terry! The way you and the others were always laughing at me!
Terry: Sean, you’re... I don't have time for this now.
Sean:(throws Terry against a wall) I got the time!
A brash young criminal who was former classmates with Terry and Dana. When Terry sets out to take down Wheeler's ranch, he has to team up with Sean to do so.
- Affably Evil: He's surprisingly quite friendly to Chelsea and shows her around the Ranch. He's also willing to help the other prisoners escape Wheeler.
- All for Nothing: Thanks to Batman's intervention, he fails to kill Wheeler like he wanted to and basically ends up trading one prison for another more literal one.
- Anti-Hero: He's willing to help Terry, but he's still a nasty guy in his own right and mainly wants revenge on Wheeler.
- Asshole Victim: If Max calling him a monster is any indication, he's the only kid at the ranch who actually earned his time there. That said, what Wheeler is doing there is far, far more inhumane than anything a low-level crook like Sean could accomplish.
- Badass Normal: Despite being a small-time delinquent with no superpowers or high-tech gadgets of any kind, he's a competent brawler against both Terry and Wheeler's guards.
- Creepy Shadowed Undereyes: Adding to his gaunt, unsettling appearance.
- Enemy Mine: After he's captured without his batsuit, Terry is forced to join up with Sean to expose the Ranch from the inside.
- Evil Is Petty: When Terry and Sean were in seventh grade together, Terry made fun of him and they had a fight. Years later, Sean still holds a grudge over it and picks another fight with Terry.
- Gonk: He’s one ugly guy.
- The Hyena: Has a tendency to giggle like one, even in situations where he's been cornered.
- Jerkass: Sean is a psychotic, violent punk who enjoys hurting people and watching people suffer.
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Batman offers him a chance to redeem himself since he's a hero after saving all the other kids. Miller doesn't care and is only after payback.
- Nominal Hero: He's a nasty crook, but really almost anyone would look good when they're up against a child-abusing scumbag like David Wheeler.
- Obviously Evil: He’s a juvenile delinquent with Creepy Shadowed Undereyes and Villainous Cheekbones, and he’s introduced getting arrested and laughing like a crazy person. It’s pretty clear he’s not a good guy.
- Pet the Dog: While he says they need a distraction, Sean springs the other young inmates and tells Terry he can escape, despite previously holding a grudge against him.
- Practically Joker: A few fans have pointed out that his manic, anarchistic personality makes him look like a teenage Clown Prince of Crime. Ironically, he not only isn't a supervillain, but isn't even affiliated with the Jokerz.
- Sadist: He takes sick pleasure in the suffering of the kids who’ve been given the ISO treatment, and he laughs hysterically while taunting Terry about how he’s going to be given the treatment, too.
- Slasher Smile: Befitting him being Practically Joker, he almost constantly has a creepy one. Holy profile picture, Batman!
- Teens Are Monsters: Although he’s just a teenager, he’s a violent, nasty guy. Max outright called him a monster.
- Troll: When Terry is imprisoned by Wheeler, Sean laughs at him and taunts him about how he’s going to be given the ISO treatment.
- Villainous Cheekbones: He’s a psychopath with very pronounced cheekbones.
Armory (Jim Tate)
As Armory
Voiced by: Dorian Harewood
Appearances: Batman Beyond
Appearances: Batman Beyond
"There's no reason the Tate family shouldn't have the best, and as long as I'm around, that's what it's gonna have."
Jim Tate was a highly successful weapons engineer at Wayne-Powers until he was fired. The pressure to provide for his family compelled Tate to commit robberies and became Armory.
- Alternate Company Equivalent: As an engineer and loving family man who turned criminal out of desperation to provide for his family after being fired, only to realize he's not cut out for the work and make a Heel–Face Turn, Tate takes some obvious inspiration from the original Prowler, an enemy-turned-trusted-ally of Spider-Man.
- Anti-Villain: Type IV. A man forced into a life of crime to provide for his family after he was fired from his job at Wayne-Powers.
- Arms Dealer: He steals weapon schematics and components to create a new kind of weapon to sell under the table.
- Ascended Extra: He was introduced as the newly married husband of Jared's mother in "Spellbound". By his next appearance his character and background is fully-fleshed out, and he's becomes the titular antagonist.
- Back for the Dead: In the "Hush: Beyond" story arc from the Batman Beyond sequel comics, He and his wife and high-school age step-son (who is a friend of Terry and Max) are promptly killed by Hush.
- From Camouflage to Criminal: He was formerly in Special Forces and when the financial security of his family is threatened, he resorts to illegal means to maintain their lifestyle.
- Genius Bruiser: He used to be in Special Forces, which is how he gave Batman a run for his money, and he's also a weapons designer.
- Good Stepfather: He gets along really well with his stepson Jared.
- Happily Married: To Lorraine, even though he's her fourth husband, there's no sign of anything but love and happiness on both sides.
- Heel–Face Turn: He spends approximately one episode as a Batman rogue before turning on his murderous partner, saving Batman's life and cooperating fully with the authorities, which ends up giving him a reduced sentence.
- More Dakka: He gets the name Armory from the seemingly endless supply of weapons he carries on him.
- One-Man Army: With the amount of weaponry he has, and his fighting skills, he almost certainly counts.
- Punch-Clock Villain: He's only committing crimes to continue providing for his family and for no other reason. He doesn't even plan to keep the super villain thing going after one job.
- Self-Made Man: He claims to have built Wayne-Powers light weapons division from the ground up. In spite of that, Paxton has him fired for cheaper replacements.
- Technical Pacifist: All of the weapons he uses as Armory are designed to be non-lethal, from a taser gun to an EMP field to quick-hardening foam. However, he is eventually convinced he needs to kill Batman, even if he eventually has a change of heart.
- Walking Armory: A vengeful weapons developer who took some samples home from work. It's what earns him his super-villain name.
Ian Peek
When using the Vibra-space belt
Voiced by: Michael McKean
Appearances: Batman Beyond
Appearances: Batman Beyond
"I had to have it. To him, ts was just an experiment, but to me, it was power. A chance to kick my career into high-gear."
A slimy gossip reporter who steals a high-tech belt that makes him intangible. He was one of the very few characters on the show to discover Batman's identity.
- Alas, Poor Villain: As much of a scumbag as he was, Peek's ultimate fate is played somberly and Terry is saddened by his inability to save him from his Fate Worse than Death.
- And I Must Scream: Heavily implied to be his final fate.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: Somewhat amusingly, Peek showed up in a few Kids WB promos to announce the next episodes. Not bad for a one-shot character.
- Cut Lex Luthor a Check: He doesn't market the belt, but knows how to use it without getting in legal trouble.
- Death by Secret Identity: Before he can expose Bruce and Terry's secret on his tabloid television program, Ian Peek becomes completely intangible and falls to the Earth's core.
- Disney Villain Death: Having lost all his substance, he will continue to fall until he likely reaches the Earth's core and the results won't look pretty.
- Entitled Bastard: He begs Bruce for help when his powers start going out of control, and only thinks of offering to give up the footage of Bruce and Terry in the Batcave after Bruce brushes him off and he's getting desperate.
- Evil Brit: Speaks with a (sort-of) British accent.
- The Farmer and the Viper: Batman saves his life from a vengeful mobster whom Peek exposed as being a police informant. Peek repaid him by sneaking a camera into the Batmobile, finding out Batman's secret identity, and planning to expose him and Bruce to the world just to further his already lucrative career.
- Fatal Flaw: Greed. Peek will do anything at all for his own gain.
- Faux Affably Evil: Best shown when Terry approaches him, trying to convince him to leave Bruce out of the exposure.Terry: I don't care what you do to me. But he doesn't deserve this. He's done too much for this city to wind up in the middle of a media circus.
Peek: He means a lot to you, doesn't he?
Terry: Yeah, he does.
Peek: I believe you. I really do. That's the trouble with this business. You meet so many liars you forget what sincerity sounds like. Want to say it all again while I've got the camera running? - Hoist by His Own Petard: Peek ends up being screwed over by his own ill-gotten tech.
- Immoral Journalist: He steals an intangibility belt, kills its creator and uses it to walk through walls and get dirt on Gotham City's celebrities for his tabloid newscast "The Inside Peek".
- Intangible Man: He uses a stolen intangibility belt to sneak around and get material for his stories. Abusing it ends up destabilizing his molecular structure, which ends up killing him (or worse).
- Intrepid Reporter: He seems to think of himself as this, anyway.
- Irony: When Terry confronts Ian Peek about his plan to reveal his and Bruce's Batman identity to the world, Terry tells Peek that he doesn't care about being outed as Batman but pleads for Peek to leave Bruce out it. Peek's response? He mocks him and asks if he can do it again on camera. Later, when Peek asks Bruce Wayne to help him, Bruce turns to leave. But just as Peek begs for his help, Bruce mocks him in the same manner Peek did to Terry.
- To add to this; because Ian Peek stole Taka's research and technology for his own selfish benefit, it's highly unlikely Peek would've ever gotten the help he needed. The project went nowhere for god knows how many years without Taka's work, meaning it could've taken other scientists years or decades to understand his research and continue it. Which is time Peek obviously didn't have.
- It's All About Me: He only cares about himself and boosting his career. Displayed perfectly when he explains to Bruce why he stole the belt from Taka and set his lab on fire:Peek: I had to have it! To him, it was just an experiment, but to me, it was power! A chance to kick my career into high-gear.
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk:
- Okay, he's just a reporter, reporting things, right? Then he's snitching on grasses, but it's just his job, right? Then he finds out Terry is Batman and Bruce was Batman. Terry offers to let him expose his secret just so long as he keeps Bruce's involvement out of it, saying he's done too much for the city to deserve being dragged into a media circus. For a second, Ian seems genuinely touched that Terry cares so much about his mentor. Then he smugly asks if Terry wants to say it all again with the camera running.
- He got the belt by stealing it from a scientist and setting his lab on fire. The scientist burned to death.
- Karmic Death: As noted by Bruce, Peek keeps trying to get "inside" to find the latest scoop. Now he's going to be inside the center of the Earth, either dying there or staying there forever.
- Lack of Empathy: He gets ahead by exposing people’s dirty secrets on television. He also doesn’t feel a shred of remorse for murdering Taka.
- Large Ham: He's quite a showman besides being a gossip reporter.
- Laser-Guided Karma: He murdered a man and stole his intangibility belt just so he could use it to get success as a gossip reporter. Overusing the belt to get the hottest scoops eventually makes it so that Peek can't control his intangibility, causing him to sink into the ground and fall to the center of the earth.
- Laughably Evil: He doesn't have any real redeeming qualities, but his bombastic showman's personality and tendency to crack puns about his latest stories makes him one of the more amusing one-shot villains.
- Laughing Mad: After he realizes he's doomed. It then gives way to screaming.
- Obliviously Evil: Peek fancies himself a daring reporter and seems to think anyone in his profession would act the way he does. What really cements Bruce's disgust with him is this includes murder, something Peek tries to weakly justify by saying he would've made better use of Taka's invention.
- Paparazzi: He's a particularly noxious example. With no concern whatsoever about putting people in danger, he blows the cover of a police witness, and would have exposed Bruce and Terry if his Power Incontinence hadn't done him in.
- Power Incontinence: He overuses his intangibility device so much that it becomes harder for him to maintain his physical form even when not using the belt. Once the transformation progresses enough, gravity is the only force that has any affect on him, and Peek ends up sinking into the ground where Bruce speculates he'll keep falling until he reaches the center of the earth.
- Self-Disposing Villain: Since he didn't technically commit any serious crimes by eavesdropping with his intangibility, Terry and Bruce can't really put him in jail just for reporting, even after he finds out that they're Batman and is going to televise their secret. Fortunately for them, the device that allows him to become intangible is unstable and permanently destabilizes his molecular structure, causing him to fall to the centre of the Earth before he can do so.
- Slimeball: A smug, sleazy paparazzo who exposes the dirty little secrets of the rich and famous, leaks information on important investigations, and is willing to expose the secret identities of two of Gotham's defenders. Then there's his murder of a man to steal his invention just to boost his career.
- Smug Snake: He's shamelessly overconfident in both his Intangible Man abilities and his skill as a reporter, even rubbing in to Terry and Bruce that they can't stop him from exposing their secret. His confidence disappears in a hurry when he loses control of the belt.
- Villain Has a Point: As repugnant as Peek is as a person, several of the people he's exposing are engaging in dishonest and illegal behavior, such as Splicing or having an affair with a boxer's girlfriend. Up until his own evil deed is revealed, Ian doesn't come off much worse than the average paparazzo.
- Villainous Breakdown: As he loses control of his tangibility, Ian loses all hope, stops screaming for help, starts laughing and then continues screaming.
- Villains Want Mercy: When he loses control of his intangibility, he calls in Bruce, begging for medical aid in exchange for Peek giving him the only unedited video footage of Bruce and Terry's secret. However, when Bruce discovers that Peek stole the belt from Dr. Taka, who was one of his associates, and started the fire that killed him, he just walks away, fully prepared to leave Peek to his fate.
- Villain with Good Publicity: As Bruce points out, Terry can't go after him because as far as everyone knows, he’s simply a reporter gathering information for his stories. His show was also very popular.
- Villainy-Free Villain: Even though Peek is an obnoxious reporter who is clearly abusing his intangibility, Bruce tells Terry that since he hasn't technically committed any crimes, there's nothing they can do to stop him even when he discovers their secret and plans to reveal it. Then it's horrifically subverted when it's revealed that Peek actually stole the intangibility belt and started the fire that killed Dr. Taka, which leads Bruce to leave Peek to his fate when he loses control of his intangibility and shamelessly begs him for help.
- What the Hell Is That Accent?: His accent seems to wander all over the map, sounding like a hybrid of Cockney, Midwestern American, Brooklyn, and Australian.
- White Hair, Black Heart: Has white hair and is a nasty piece of work.
The Brain Trust
Voiced by: Kate Jackson (Bombshell), Victor Rivers (Invulnerable Man), John Rhys-Davies (Edgar Mandragora)
Appearances: Batman Beyond, The Zeta Project
An organization of psychics that take children with psychic potential for training, whether they want to or not. There are three known members in Batman Beyond: Bombshell, Invulnerable Man, and Edgar Mandragora. More members appear in The Zeta Project.Appearances: Batman Beyond, The Zeta Project
- Badass Fingersnap: How Bombshell activates her powers.
- Blinded by the Light: Tamara does this to Invulnerable Man since Terry can't hurt him.
- Cane Fu: Edgar combines his sword-cane with telekinesis.
- Continuity Nod: Edgar is the little kid from Double Date.
- The Dragon: Invulnerable Man to Bombshell.
- Hand Blast: Bombshell's power.
- Logical Weakness: The Invulnerable Man is... well, invulnerable. However, while his eyes may be as indestructible as the rest of him, they're still only able to process so much light at once, so Tamara is able to blow out his vision with a strong burst of light.
- Mind over Matter: The explanation for their powers.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Terry's reaction to learning Bombshell's name.
- Nigh-Invulnerable: Invulnerable Man, whose psychic powers allow him enhanced strength, invulnerability, and freedom from pain.
- Telekinesis: Edgar's power.
Falseface
Falseface is a mercenary hired by Kobra to smuggle a deadly virus into Gotham.
- Adaptational Badass: Falseface is based on an obscure Silver Age Batman villain who was able to make very convincing masks. This version can actively mold and change his face.
- Asshole Victim: While being betrayed and murdered by his bosses is horrific, Falseface was trying to infect countless other people with the same virus, so you can't really feel bad for him.
- Badass Normal: He has no powers and his only weapon is a stun gun, but he's nonetheless strong and skilled enough to fight Batman and the cybernetically-enhanced Stalker.
- Cassandra Truth: The Stalker tries to tell him that he's been infected with the virus he's smuggling, but Falseface assumes he's lying, tases him, and runs away. The Stalker wasn't lying.
- Facial Horror: His ability to change the shape of his face is not pretty, especially when Terry punches it.
- Killed Off for Real: By the very virus he tried to unleash upon Gotham.
- Spot the Thread: Terry recognizes Falseface when he disguises himself as Nelson Nash. When Falseface asks how he knoew, Terry replies, "Not enough pimples."
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: His bosses at Kobra infect him with the virus he smuggled for them.
Dr. Peter Corso
Dr. Peter Corso is a famed surgeon and prosthetics expert for people who lost limbs.
- Anti-Villain: Type IV. He's a perfectly nice old man who is being blackmailed into aiding a gang of crooks under threat of his wife being killed.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Corso is a famed surgeon who's dedicated his life to helping people replace their limbs with cybernetic protheses. Even when he upgrades a gang of criminals into deadly cyborgs, it's all because they abducted the love of his life shortly after their marriage, and he plans on turning on them as soon as he gets her back. Then he finds out his wife was a willing participant in her "abduction" and was having an affair with her "kidnapper," Bullwhip. When Bullwhip returns for another upgrade from the doctor, oblivious to the fact Corso has found out the truth, it's implied Corso gruesomely murders him, with the last shot of the episode being from Bullwhip's perspective, starting to pass out from anesthesia as Corso brings a drill to his skull.
- Cut Lex Luthor a Check: He has cashed his checks: he runs a successful and respected medical clinic where he uses advanced cybernetics to create prosthetic limbs for those injured in accidents. However, he becomes the supplier and mechanic for a gang of criminals when they kidnap his wife. She isn't really kidnapped; she's actually just using both him and the gang to get rich.
- The Dog Bites Back: He finds out that the leader of the "kidnappers" is fooling around with his unfaithful wife but neither of them know that he does. So when this guy comes by for another upgrade, the doctor plays along, puts him under like usual, and then (it's implied) kills him while he sleeps.
- If I Wanted You Dead...: This reasoning is used by Max when Terry tells her about how he went to talk to Dr. Peter Corso about the cybernetic implants he has been making for a criminal gang (for reasons explained in the I Have Your Wife entry below) and he ambushed him with a sedative before moving his operation elsewhere. Max points out that while Peter did trick him, he also didn't use a perfect opportunity to kidnap or kill him or even just expose his secret identity, which suggests to Terry that Dr. Corso might not have actually turned evil.
- I Have Your Wife: He was coerced into helping the criminals when they kidnapped April, his wife. Tragically, things aren't what they seem.
- Meal Ticket: It turns out his wife April, who he believes is the love of his life, is really just a gold-digger who never cared about him and was only using him for his money. She ends up staging her kidnapping and having an affair with Bullwhip just because his gang can bring her more valuables than Corso ever could.
- Reluctant Mad Scientist: He believed his work can benefit mankind, unfortunately, some punks decided to take advantage of him and have Corso upgrade them ito cyborgs.
- Self-Destruct Mechanism: "April Moon" is the phrase used to deactivate the mechanical limbs he made for the crooks blackmailing him.
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Deconstructed. He's an aging melancholic old surgeon who managed to be wooed by his beautiful assistant. Turns out she's a heartless Gold Digger and only used him to get more money through a faked kidnapping.
- We Can Rebuild Him: He specialized in creating advanced prosthetics before being coerced into turning ordinary criminals into cybernetically enhanced supervillains.
April Corso
April Corso was the wife of Dr. Corso, assumed to have been kidnapped and held to ransom by Bullwhip's gang.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: She pretends to be an innocent kidnapping victim, but she's in fact in on it and happy to swindle her husband for wealth and jewelry and is actually cheating on him with the gang leader who "kidnapped" her.
- Faked Kidnapping: It turns out that Corso’s wife was in league with the gang all along.
- Gold Digger: Corso’s wife April happily leaves him for a gang member who can provide her with high-priced gold and jewels.
- I Have Your Wife: Bullwhip's hold on Dr. Corso. It's a lie; she's in on the whole thing.
- Karma Houdini: As April is never seen again in the series after Bullwhip’s gang is arrested, she is never shown to receive any on-screen consequences for her actions. Although due to her disappearance we never find out if Corso ever caught up to her.
- May–December Romance: Corso appears to visibly be much older than his wife April, but this is subverted as she turns out to be a Gold Digger who leaves him for a rich young criminal.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: After "operating" on Bullwhip one last time, one has to wonder how Dr. Corso confronted April, or if he confronted her at all.
- Woman Scorned: A male example; Dr. Corso sees that April is voluntarily cooperating with the gang and carrying on an affair with Bullwhip. He flips out, alerting the gang that they've been found. It's implied Corso murders Bullwhip, though his plans for April are unspecified.
Bullwhip
Bullwhip (real name Harold) is a cybernetically-enhanced criminal with the ability to extend metal whips from his wrists.
- Asshole Victim: Given how he was a criminal who was blackmailing Peter Corso into enhancing him and his underlings with cybernetics (and having an affair with his wife to boot), it's hard to feel sympathy when (it's implied) Corso kills him.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: It's implied that Corso killed him by drilling through him.
- Cyborg: Not to the same extent as his henchmen, but he has been enhanced by cybernetics.
- Dirty Coward: Once he saw that his men are getting dismantled by Batman, Bullwhip deserts them.
- I Have Your Wife: He forces Dr. Corso to upgrade him and his henchmen with deadly cybernetics after they take his wife, April, hostage. Unfortunately it turns out that April isn't a prisoner at all and willingly went along with Bullwhip's plan for riches while also having an affair with him.
- Karmic Death: He got his cybernetic enhancements from an unwilling Dr. Corso after abducting the man's wife April. Corso eventually finds out the kidnapping was staged and Bullwhip and April were having an affair, but Bullwhip doesn't know he's been exposed and returns to Corso for another enhancement thinking he'll be able to be stronger Batman. The final scene of the episode heavily implies Corso is preparing to gruesomely murder Bullwhip while he's sedated.
- Uncertain Doom: Well, not that uncertain, but whether he was killed or "merely" horrifically mutilated by Corso is left ambiguous.
- Villain: Exit, Stage Left: Once two of his flunkies are defeated and dismantled by Batman, Bullwhip abandons his remaining henchman and runs. Bruce anticipates it's not the last Terry's heard of him, at least until Bruce learns Bullwhip never found out that Corso learned of his and April's affair. When Bullwhip returns for another operation with Corso, it's implied to be his last.
Payback
Spoiler Alias: Kenny Stanton
Voiced by: Bill Fagerbakke (Payback), Adam Wylie (Kenny)
Appearances: Batman Beyond
Voiced by: Bill Fagerbakke (Payback), Adam Wylie (Kenny)
Appearances: Batman Beyond
Payback is a brutal vigilante who set out to rid the world of bullies. He wielded a laser whip to punish his targets. Payback was in fact a neglected child, Kenny Stanton.
- Anti-Villain: Type 3. He's attempting to help the teenagers who are negatively affected by some other person in their lives (such as a cheating boyfriend or a mean boss), but his means of doing so is to murder the person troubling them.
- Black-and-White Insanity: In his mind, all of his victims have it coming and anyone who tries to stop him is just as evil as them. It makes more sense when it's revealed that he's actually a neglected young boy who obviously wouldn't have a nuanced view of morality.
- Bully Hunter: Deconstruction, Payback attacks people who have wronged the kids who speak about them in a counseling clinic. However, this is clearly going overboard, as the methods he uses on the bullies are rather violent and almost lethal against them.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Payback's attacks are ridiculously brutal considering the nature of his victims' crimes.
- I'm Your Worst Nightmare: He pulls out this line when he attacks Bruce Wayne. Bruce isn't intimidated in the least.Bruce: You have no idea what my nightmares are like.
- Inksuit Actor: His disguise Kenny resembles his voice actor Adam Wylie.
- Kids Are Cruel: Because he's just a kid, he thinks it's perfectly acceptable to respond to bullying with extreme violence.
- Laser Blade: He wields a laser whip that he can straighten out into a more straightforward sword if he needs to cut something that's within close range.
- Knight Templar: Payback thinks he's a vigilante out to protect kids, but he's clearly going overboard.
- Noble Demon: To an extent. While is methods are overly extreme, it should be noted that he only goes after those he specifically targets, and in the instances where he is in a space with more people around, he tells them to either get down or flee so that he can handle his target without collateral.
- Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: He's attempting to kill bullies to help troubled teens, but it's revealed to be less that he's genuinely compassionate, and more because he's the son of the counsellor and depressed that his dad is being overworked caring for his patients and doesn't have much time left to spend with him. By killing the people troubling the patients, he hopes to free up more father-son bonding time for his dad.
- Obliviously Evil: Payback sees himself as the hero because he's just a young kid with no firm understanding of right and wrong and just wants to "help" his dad's patients with their problems so his dad will spend more time with him.
- Parental Neglect: His own Freudian Excuse. His father spends so much time tending to the problems of his teenage patients that he neglects his own son. Kenny dons the Payback armor to kill the people causing problems in his father's patients' lives so his dad will finally have time for him.
- Powered Armor: This is how Kenny can pass for an adult as Payback.
- Psychopathic Manchild: His immature way of speaking and black-and-white view on good guys and bad guys gives off the impression that Payback never grew up himself. Which is all foreshadowing that Payback really is just a child himself.
- Red Herring: Terry's first suspect as to who Payback is turns out to be a bust.
- Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: He's a child who believes that murder is an acceptable method for getting rid of bullies.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Payback's true identity is the young son of Dr. Stanton, and all his attempts to kill the people causing problems for his father's patients is just a way to make it so his dad will have more time to spend with him.
- When You Coming Home, Dad?: He has a sad, and bad case of this.
- With Us or Against Us: He quickly names Batman his enemy for disagreeing with his mission.
Season 3
The Repeller (Dr. Suzuki)
Unmasked
Voiced by: Gedde Watanabe
Appearances: Batman Beyond
Appearances: Batman Beyond
"Nothing's unbreakable if you apply enough force."
The Repeller is a mercenary who wore a suit that repelled all matter. In reality, he is Dr. Suzuki, a scientist working at Wayne-Powers Medical Research.
- Apologetic Attacker / Pet the Dog: While he cheerfully tries to kill Batman and his boss, he tells Irene he's sorry she was dragged into this, before trying to kill her too.
- Barrier Warrior: His main weapon is an improved version of a force field designed to protect people born without immune systems.
- Battle Aura: What his force field looks like.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: When he's showing off his department's research to Bruce Wayne, he presents himself as a pleasant man excited about the altruistic capabilities of their work, seeming much more reasonable than his jerk of a boss. In private, he's a murderous mercenary who only cares about money, to the point where he sells weapons to terrorists for a quick buck.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: Started off as just a second-in-command doctor at a sterile facility for kids without immune systems. However, once he figured out a way to improve their force field technology, he used it to steal rare chemicals and sell them to terrorists.
- Hired Guns: Takes advantage of his technology to become a mercenary.
- Loud of War: Terry defeats him by turning on a loud turbine engine. Suzuki isn't wearing his helmet at the time and the force field prevents him from covering his ears, forcing him to turn it off.
- Only in It for the Money: Dr. Suzuki decided that he'd rather cash in on his enhanced force field technology by becoming a mercenary than use it to help the sick.
- Swiss-Army Superpower: He gets a ton of mileage from being able to create force fields, including complete immunity to harm or being bound, Flight, energy blasts, and extending the barrier around others to hurt them.
- Would Hit a Girl / Would Hurt a Child: Tries to murder the teenage Irene for knowing too much, though he doesn't exactly relish it.
Deanna Clay
Voiced by: Azura Skye
Appearances: Batman Beyond
Appearances: Batman Beyond
"You never gave me anything except money, Mother. How did you expect me to turn out?"
Inque's daughter that was given up for adoption, but not without financial support.
- Betrayal by Offspring: Betrays Inque for access to all the money Inque had as a mercenary.
- Cruel Mercy: On the receiving end of this due to Batman’s No-Killing rule and a small amount of evidence that the cops are still digging up, Batman instead leaves Deanna living in paranoia by warning her that Inque may still be alive. Once Batman leaves, Deanna is shown fearing for her life and huddled up on the pool lounge chair. This paranoia turns out to be true.
- Eviler than Thou: Inque underestimates just how greedy her daughter is. This bites her in the end.Deanna: You never gave me anything except money, Mother. How did you expect me to turn out?
- Evil Redhead: She has red hair and is arguably more evil than Inque.
- Freudian Excuse: Like Deanna says, a life of getting money for nothing from an absentee mom is only going to make her care more about cash than family.
- Give Her a Normal Life: The episode reveals that, before her mutation, Inque gave birth to a daughter she subsequently gave up for adoption. When the two reunite, Inque explains that she had grown up poor and let herself become Inque all for the money, and she wanted to give her daughter an easier life with normal parents and a large trust fund. When Inque reveals just how much money she has, however, her daughter tries to kill her in order to get control of her bank accounts. She points out that Inque never gave her anything except money, so why is Inque surprised that she is just taking more of it?
- Karma Houdini: Subverted. She is seemingly able to kill her own mother just to steal her money, becomes immensely wealthy as a result, and is able to evade the law, but Batman warns her that Inque may have survived after all, and she starts getting paranoid about her coming back for revenge, so can't really enjoy her wealth.
- Meaningless Villain Victory: She gets away with Inque's money, but not only is she likely to waste it like she did her original trust fund, she can't enjoy it because she'll always live in fear of Inque coming back for revenge.
- Money Dumb: Her Establishing Character Moment is her being six months late on paying her car, then needing to use six credit cards to pay it off because the first five were already maxed out. When the Repo man gives her a card to talk to someone about better money management, she tosses it claiming she just needs more money.
- One-Shot Character: She never appears again after "Inqueling".
- Self-Made Orphan: She attempts to kill her own mother to gain total access to her bank accounts, although it's subverted because Inque somehow survived.
- Spoiled Brat: She's greedy, spoiled, stuck-up and not even remotely likable. And then she kills her mother after getting access to her bank accounts. Or at least attempted to.
- Strong Family Resemblance: She's Inque with short, red hair and a normal skin color.
- Uncertain Doom: She attempted to murder her own mother Inque for her money, but she ultimately survived. The episode ends with Batman warning Deanna that her residue vanished from police evidence locker, with the implication that she's likely to come back for revenge. Deanna did not appear again, so it's left ambiguous whether or not Inque actually did.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Inque returns after this episode but the viewers are never told if she exacts any sort of revenge on Deanna. The comics have her left in peace by Inque, with her mother continuing to look after her from the shadows even when she falls ill.
Karros
A mercenary and a specialist in high-tech robberies often employed by Aggrochem.
- Bad Boss: First he abandons a few of his men to die alongside Batman in a truck that's filling up with poisonous chemicals, then he blames his second heist's failure on Charlie and threatens to murder him if he doesn't pay Karros what he would've gotten off the score.
- Beard of Evil: Sports a goatee.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Karros has a bad habit of abandoning his men whenever they get in trouble.
- Disney Villain Death: Subverted. He inadvertently caves in the section of a balcony he was on while fighting Batman and falls off, but a news report reveals he survived, but was hospitalized for his severe injuries.
- Dragon-in-Chief: He's working for a corrupt Aggrochem executive named Richie, but Karros makes it clear in their dealings that he's the dangerous one of the pair, and in their final private interaction he threatens his "boss" just before they're interrupted by Batman and Big Time.
- Evil Versus Evil: An evil mercenary ends up in a conflict with a mutated, wannabe criminal mastermind.
- Hate Sink: There is absolutely nothing likable about this guy. Even Big-Time himself looks sympathetic when Karros is bullying him.
- Hired Guns: Karros specializes in high-tech robberies for hire.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Karros ends up nearly falling to his death when he carves up a section of the balcony he was fighting Batman on with his own high-tech blades.
- Irrational Hatred: He despises Big Time for no real reason, and repeatedly insults him, and threatens to kill him if he doesn't give him the money Richie would have paid him had a failed heist succeeded. Needless to say, this bites him in the ass hard when Big Time mutates.
- Jerkass: Karros is thoroughly unpleasant to everyone he meets, from his employer Richie to his own men, and threatens to murder them multiple times. He also repeatedly insults Big Time for no other reason than to be a dick.
- Never My Fault: He blames Big Time for Batman stopping them from stealing cerestone and threatens to kill him unless Big Time pays him the money Karros feels he is owed. While it actually is Big Time's fault, as Terry had put a tracer in him, Karros had no way of knowing this and yet still held Big Time responsible for something that, as far as Karros knows, was out of his control.
- Real Men Wear Pink: A highly capable and cold-hearted professional criminal and killer. Also wears high heeled boots in his outfit.
- Uncertain Doom: The last we hear of him, he's been hospitalized after falling off the balcony of a skyscraper. It's up in the air whether he lived or died.
- Wolverine Claws: He uses gloves with detachable blades as his weapons.
Major
A crime boss that formed a partnership with Big Time.
- Bald of Evil: Balding, and a dangerous criminal.
- Dirty Coward: He has his men engage in a firefight with the police, while he quietly sneaks away.
- Ink-Suit Actor: He’s identical to his voice actor, Jon Polito.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Big Time helped him get as much power as he did, but Major treats Big Time like shit and alternate between patronizing him or blatantly insulting him. This leads to Big Time betraying him and using a Xanatos Gambit to get Major arrested, letting Big Time take over.
Starro
Starro is a centuries-old, starfish-like alien that's native to a world of water.
- Adaptational Heroism: In the comics, Starro is a Galactic Conqueror only out to spread his control to other worlds. Here, he's an Anti-Villain who was driven over the edge by years of captivity.
- Adaptational Sympathy: Goes from a Galactic Conqueror to a lonely alien who wants to be free.
- Alien Invasion: Has been planning this for years.
- Anti-Villain: Starro was originally an alien creature who was kidnapped unfairly and only wished to return to its home planet, but was too weak to escape and do so, and unable to communicate any of this information to Superman. It is unknown how long it was stuck, but by the time Superman comes along the creature is so enraged and vengeful over its captivity that it doesn't care if Superman treats it kindly or not - it only wishes to use him to make a new homeworld of its own by force. When given the chance to simply return home with its progeny, it takes it.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Starro does this to Superman and the Justice League Unlimited except for Terry and Micron.
- A Form You Are Comfortable With: A shocking and disturbing example. Starro hides in plain sight by attaching himself to Superman, in one of the biggest twists of the series and as a Continuity Nod to Superman: The Animated Series, and in the process taking over his mind and body until Terry manages to free him from Starro's control. The scariest part? Starro managed to maintain the masquerade for years.
- Last of Their Kind: Implicitly, since it was once part of the Preserver's collection. By the time of the series, though, it's become a Truly Single Parent to a huge brood of offspring.
- Pragmatic Villainy: After Terry and the Justice League thwart Starro's attempt to conquer Earth, they get rid of him once and for all by returning him and all his clones to his home planet. Starro and his clones are more than willing to return to their own planet when they're given the opportunity, instead of sticking around and trying to conquer Earth again.
- Puppeteer Parasite: Starro and his brood control their victims by latching on to their bodies (usually their faces, but he controlled Superman while attached to his chest).
- Send in the Clones: Starro's casual time controlling Superman was apparently dedicated to creating a clone army to take over Earth, since he is the last of his kind. He only goes evil when they're ready to spread.
- Starfish Alien: He's an alien shaped like a starfish.
The Derby
Voiced By: Daphne Zuniga (Lula), Miguel Sandoval (Bennie), Bernie Casey (Tyrus Block), Greg Eagles (Jamaican Derby member), unknown voice actor (blonde Player)
Appearances: Batman Beyond
Appearances: Batman Beyond
Six local gangsters who gather together for regular poker games and find themselves robbed by the Royal Flush Gang.
- A-Team Firing: They do a lot of shooting a Batman, Ten and the rest of the Royal Flush Gang but never manage to hit anyONE.
- Bald of Evil: Tyrus is a bald, pretty surly gangster.
- Butt-Monkey: Bennie is the big loser of the game, not respected much by the others and falls into a puddle while chasing the Royal Flush Gang.
- Cleavage Window: Lula's shirt has a window between her neck and the upper part of her breasts.
- Dark Action Girl: Lula is the only girl of the group but also the most unflinching marksman.
- Dope Slap: Tyrus gives one to Bennie due to sensing he's about to say I Told You So.
- Icy Blue Eyes: Lula has blue eyes and a very cold expression most of the time.
- It's Personal: They keep shooting at Ten even after the bag of stolen loot is tossed back.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: They reluctantly fall back once the Royal Flush Gang is arrested.
- Legacy Character: Although no previous version appeared, Bruce claims that the Derby has been around since before he became Batman and none of them are nearly that old.
- Necessarily Evil: Bruce's casual mention of the Derby implies this. Likely because Batman would have an easier time identifying the Gangsters' motives and henchmen based on the leaders that attend the poker games, otherwise he'd have to contend with other unknown Gangsters' if he took down the current group.
- Nervous Wreck: Bennie is constantly worried about both security and his poor poker performance.
- No Name Given: Three of the players, including the blonde man and the Jamaican, are unnamed.
- The Quiet One: One of the six players has no dialogue.
- Robbing the Mob Bank: They're the bank in question and react pretty hostilely to the robbery.
- Properly Paranoid: Bennie is the only one to suggest cancelling the game in the face of robberies.
- The Vamp: Lula is somewhat sexualized and wears a dark red outfit.
- Villain in a White Suit: Tyrus wears a prominent white suit and is arguably the most aggressive of the bunch.
- Villains Out Shopping: They're taking time to play poker when the blonde player notes that they have "people to rob" once they're done.
Ronny Boxer
The brutal and unscrupulous owner of a dog-fighting ring, who had trained Ace to be a fighting dog years before the events of the series.
- Animal Nemesis: Ace serves as this to him. Ronny bought him as a puppy then abused him to make him vicious for his eventual fights. Years after Ace got free and was adopted by Bruce, Ace still recognizes Ronny on sight and tries to chase him down and maul him.
- Bad People Abuse Animals: Ronny's characterization is centered around just how awful a human being he is for abusing dogs to turn a profit. A flashback shows him buying Ace as a puppy and then preparing to electrocute him to "turn him mean" like he did with his other dogs that he uses in his dog-fighting ring. He shows no concern with Ace dying during his first match and eventually turns to using a growth hormone on his dogs to turn them into literal monsters for more profitable fights.
- Beastly Bloodsports: Boxer's bread-and-butter is operating illegal dog-fights. After getting out of jail, he continued his operation but expanded it by injecting his dogs with growth hormones to make them into monsters for better fights.
- Only in It for the Money: When Terry expresses disgust at Ronny using growth hormones on his dogs for more brutal fights, Ronny smugly says it's "all in the name of profit."
Ma Mayhem
Ma Mayhem and her sons
An infamous criminal responsible for several robberies committed by her and her two sons, Slim and Carl.
- Abusive Parents: She treats both of her sons rather poorly, often berating and slapping them for their stupidity and/or incompetence.
- Berserk Button: Do not remind her that her husband abandoned her to run off with a younger woman.
- Brawn Hilda: She’s pretty strong for someone her age and build, tackling Batman on two occasions.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Despite her abuse of them, she still loves her sons.
- Loving a Shadow: Ma Mayhem is in such willing denial that her husband dumped her for a younger woman she believes he was a good man who suffered an untimely death. The minute one of her kids attempts to set her straight, she smacks him for speaking poorly about his father.
- Villainous Breakdown: Ma starts pathetically sobbing after she watches all the jewels she stole tumble out of her purse since she stupidly forgot to turn the purse over after Batman saved her.
- Villainous Mother-Son Duo: She’s assisted in her crimes by her two sons, Slim and Carl.
- Woman Scorned: She's none too pleased with her husband running off with another woman, with her instead pretending that he died. Despite this, she still cherishes the ruby jewelry she's after because it was the first valuables she and her husband stole together.
Vendetta (Miss Winston)
Derek Powers's loyal secretary. After his defeat, she would seek revenge on Paxton Powers as the brutal vigilante known as Vendetta.
- Amazonian Beauty: She's already fairly attractive before, but after receiving her powers Vendetta becomes even more of a bombshell.
- Avenging the Villain: Curiously, she doesn't seem that interested in Batman, but she wants to kill or ruin Paxton Powers.
- The Bad Guy Wins: She doesn't succeed in killing Paxton Powers, but she does destroy a major personal investment of his, costing him a fortune. And then, despite being presumed dead, she comes into work, and informs Paxton, in no uncertain terms, that some changes are going to take place.
- Evil Versus Evil: She was Blight's loyal accomplice, fighting against his vile son.
- Muscles Are Meaningful: She bulks up after absorbing chemicals, signifying her Super-Strength.
- Poisonous Person: Averted. Despite getting powers from prolonged exposure to Blight, she only got Super-Strength.
Jordan Pryce
An employee of Wayne Enterprises who was set to take over as CEO after Paxton Powers was no longer CEO. He becomes angry when Bruce takes an active role in the company again.
- Ambition Is Evil: His desire to become CEO of Wayne Enterprises is what motivates all of his evil actions.
- Assassination Attempt: When he joins forces with the Jokerz, he arranges for Bruce's death. It doesn't work.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: He is a corrupt executite of Wayne Enterprises who seeks to become CEO. He uses his power to help the Jokerz break into the building by handing over the security codes.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Despite Jordan's evil actions, he does seem to genuinely care about his girlfriend, Amy, and was concerned about her safety.
- Red Herring: Jordan was created to be a misdirection for the return of the Joker due to his similar appearance and sharing the same voice actor. It is even suspected In-Universe that he is the Joker. It turns out he actually isn't, though he’s still a criminal.
- Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: Jordan Pryce uses his position within Wayne Enterprises to help the Jokerz to steal from the company. In exchange, he gets their cooperation in getting rid of Bruce Wayne and becoming the company's new CEO. When the Joker decides to tie up loose ends, the Jokerz try to kill Pryce. Batman saves him—and turns over evidence of the betrayal, as well as Pryce himself, to the police.
