Batman: The Animated Series – Rogues Gallery, Part 2 / Characters

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Baby Doll

Baby Doll (Mary Louise Dahl)

^{Click here to see her redesign}

Voiced by: Alison La Placa ("Baby Doll"), Laraine Newman ("Love is a Croc")
Appearances: Batman: The Animated Series | The New Batman Adventures

"I didn't mean to..."

An ex-actress with systemic hypoplasia, a medical condition that basically froze her physical development at age five, Baby Doll turned to villainy in an attempt to relive her glory days.

Accent Slip-Up: She affects a heavy '50s Brooklyn accent when she's playing up her Baby Doll persona. Her natural voice has a standard contemporary accent.
Adults Dressed as Children: This is also essentially her entire schtick. She's a grown woman with the body of a young child due to a medical condition in a '50s-style saccharine sitcom (although, going by the episode's time frame, it would have been made in the '70s--the ''DCAU'' seems to have a generally different cultural and technical history from ours). Whenever she shows up in her childish clothing (including visible panties) it generally means she's up to no good.
Art Evolution: Baby Doll received a drastic redesign after Batman: TAS was revamped into The New Batman Adventures. While she still looked like a 5-year-old, her cartoon-like features were significantly simplified and normalized: The oversized blue eyes became smaller and black, while her lips became black. The curls of her hair were simplified as well, and her purple dress was changed to pink with white trim. Could possibly be seen as an In-Universe attempt to remake her image into something more adult.
Ax-Crazy: When going through her Villainous Breakdown.
Badass Adorable: She looks like a child, but is still very dangerous.
Being Good Sucks: By her second appearance, she's trying to live an honest, hardworking life as a hotelier. But it just so happens that this life is quite miserable, with her constantly having to put up with rude, inconsiderate guests who mock her for both her TV and criminal past.
Break the Haughty: The only time in her life when she was actually happy was when she was acting the part of Baby Doll on her show. However, according to the other cast members of her former show, she was a demanding Prima Donna off set.
Canon Foreigner: She was created and only appears in the animated series, likely because a villain with the appearance of a child would be too difficult to work with in darker adaptations.
Canon Immigrant: Eventually made her way to the comics in the Harley Quinn 30th Anniversary Special.
Can't Grow Up: She can't physically age because of an extremely rare medical condition she was born with.
Character Catchphrase: "I didn't mean to."
Classically-Trained Extra: It backfires when she tried to play Lady Macbeth.
Clingy Jealous Girl: For Killer Croc.
Creator In-Joke: A very subtle one: Baby Doll is depicted in a medium (animation) where looks don't determine a voice actor's employment.
Creepy Child: Except she isn't an actual child, which just makes her all the creepier.
Cute Is Evil: Although she certainly tries to invoke the trope, she's definitely evil, though "cute" is subjective.
Deliberately Cute Child: Tries this on Batman and others. However, because she's actually a thirtysomething-woman that suffers from an extremely rare medical condition that prevented her body from physically aging past the age of 5 (as well as being totally out of her mind), it doesn't work for her.
Depraved Dwarf: An insane woman in her thirties with the stature of a kindergartener.
Fang Thpeak: Whenever she's really putting on her cutesy persona, she'll combine this with a heavy '50s New York accent.
The Fake Cutie: Was a child actor with a growth deficiency which prevented her from physically aging, and similarly prevented her career from advancing as well. Years later, she snapped and started kidnapping old cast members, but kept doing so in character as "Daddy's widdle precious". She only breaks character twice. Once when one of the cast members calls her out on being The Prima Donna that she goes on a subdued Motive Rant on how her career died despite her efforts and the show was the only time she remembered being happy. And again at the end of the episode, when she stumbles in front of a fun-house mirror that seems to show the adult form she could never have, that she breaks character and reveals what she's really like.
"Why couldn't you just let me make BELIEVE...?!"
Former Child Star: Subverted—because of her medical condition, she had the looks and body of a small child, so even though she started the show when she was 10 and the show ended when she was 20, she still looked like a little kid. However, she hasn't been able to land any other significant roles after the show ended since no one can take her childish appearance seriously.
Friendly Enemy: She's one of the few of Batman's rogue's that has no personal qualms against Batman and whenever her plans go to waste she surrenders to him without a fight. Though that doesn't stop her from trying to kill him if he gets in the way.
Handicapped Badass: Despite having a growth disorder and with serious mental issues to boot, Mary is a surprisingly agile fighter with a knack for evil plans as well.
Happy Fun Ball: Used by her occasionally.
Hates the Job, Loves the Limelight: She starts out this way...and then goes waaaay further.
Heel–Face Door-Slam: She really had reformed. Everyone accepted her living a normal life (though never entirely), but then one person kept pushing her and pushing her over the course of one bad day, finally slamming down on her Berserk Button despite protests to stop, causing her to relapse out of frustration.
Horrible Judge of Character: With Croc. She thinks he sincerely loves her.
Hidden Buxom: Implied. When wearing casual clothing whilst visiting Killer Croc, Baby Doll has a noticeable bust. There is a good chance she is binding herself when wearing her "little girl" clothing, or she began using padding to give herself a semblance of maturity that her condition robbed her of, and to distance herself from her "Baby Doll" appearance.
Hidden Depths: For all of her childish insanity, Mary does acknowledge her own deep trauma and her desire to return to the happiest part of her life.
Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Tiny Girl to Croc in "Love is a Croc".
I Am Not Spock: An in-universe example: she is never able to escape the role she first played, so she ultimately decides to really become her. After losing it, she suffers from this herself—beginning to see her ex-costars as the characters they played (and getting violent when they refused to play along).
I Just Want to Have Friends: An anti-villainous example. After her life and career fell apart she began to obsess over the perfect (but fake) family life she had in her old sitcom, and began taking on the personality of the character she played so as to reclaim it. The fact that the family she wants never existed in the first place is part of the tragedy.
Know When to Fold 'Em: One of the few villains in the series to know when to surrender peacefully when she isn't going to get away with her crimes.
Laugh Track: As part of her obsession with regaining her former sitcom fame, she carries a laugh track on tape with her everywhere and plays it at moments she thinks are appropriate (along with "Ohhhh..." and "Awww...").
Love Makes You Evil: Luckily it is merely a temporary case of the "Genre Blindness" variety.
Mad Love: Briefly with Killer Croc.
Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex: In "Love is a Croc", she falls in love with Killer Croc.
Batgirl: What do you suppose they do on a date?
Batman: ...I don't wanna think about it.
Monster of the Week: She only ever had two appearances, and was limited in both motive and ability compared to other, more menacing Batman villains.
Mood-Swinger: Switches between sickeningly cheerful to soul-crushingly depressed to violently enraged with very little warning.
Murder-Suicide: In both her appearances, her final plan is to die along with the people she blames for ruining her life, first her television family by blowing herself and them up with a stick of dynamite, and second destroying all of Gotham by melting down its nuclear plant after she discovers that Killer Croc has been cheating on her.
Nice Character, Mean Actor: One of her co-stars that she kidnapped mentioned she was difficult to work with on the set, always making extreme demands and throwing tantrums if she didn't get her way.
No Celebrities Were Harmed: A lot of aspects of her character is clearly based off of Gary Coleman, with her physical design (at least originally) being modeled after Shirley Temple.
Non-Standard Character Design: Before her redesign she looked suspiciously like a Tiny Toon Adventures character (doubtless a Shout-Out by Paul Dini). Her redesign brings her more in line with other Bruce Timm characters.
Not Allowed to Grow Up: A-within-the-show example—People only see and view her as "Baby Doll" and she couldn't find work in other forms of acting because of it. Further complicated by the fact she can't physically age due to a genetic condition.
Not Growing Up Sucks: The source of her malaise is that no one takes her seriously as an actress or even a person since all they see is a toddler. She even provides the page image.
Older Than They Look: Due to an extremely rare medical condition that prevents her body from physically aging, she has the looks and body of a little kid despite being in her thirties.
Psychopathic Womanchild: She straight up kidnapped her co-workers and threatened to kill them to live out her childish fantasies. It's stated by other characters that even before the breakdown she was fussy and threw fits when she couldn't have her way.
Rage Against the Reflection: Batman chases her through a funhouse, into the Hall of Mirrors. She's caught up short when one of the mirrors shows what she might have looked like if not for her medical condition that makes her forever look 5-years-old. Cue Villainous Breakdown during which she empties her gun into the mirror.
Reunion Revenge: She kidnaps her former costars, but just to force them to go through the motions of the show. Except for Cousin Spunky, whom she tries to kill with dynamite.
She Really Can Act: In-Universe, she can nail "real" roles as an actress, but she won't be hired because her look won't fit the roles.
Secret-Identity Identity: Tries to be this, but it's just pretend.
Speech Impediment: When acting as Baby Doll, she ends most words with an unnecessary -s sound.
Split Personality: Of a sort—muddled, in that it was entirely intentional on her part. She snaps between her mature Mary persona and the childish Baby Doll, but when pressed she shows that she was always in control of herself but chose to fall into the Baby Doll personality because she can no longer stand to be herself.
Stepford Smiler: Underneath Dahl's cutesy demeanor is a deeply damaged woman who hides in her fantasy lands in a desperate attempt to escape her awful reality...and will get violent when it is disrupted.
Tragic Villain: Not to the extent of Mr. Freeze but she has a tragic story of never being allowed to grow up, literally (because she can't) and figuratively as was never seen past her famous role.
Villainous Breakdown: One of the most heartbreaking you'll ever see.
Dahl: (Upon seeing an adult version of herself in a Funhouse mirror) Look! That's me in there... the real me! There I am... (starts to frown as she looks at her real, child-like hand) but it's not really real, is it? It's just made-up and pretend like my family, and my life, and everything else! (Turns to face Batman) Why couldn't you just let me make believe!? (Fires at each mirror in turn before facing the one of her adult form and shooting that until her gun runs empty, crying into Batman's leg) I didn't mean to...
Vocal Dissonance: Unlike her body, Dahl's natural voice is that of an adult. As Baby Doll, she uses a painfully cutesy voice and manner of speech which is rather transparently affected.
White-Dwarf Starlet: With emphasis on "Dwarf." She abducted her long-separated sitcom co-stars to relive her glory days.
Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Her first appearance has her on the verge of a Murder-Suicide with her former co-stars (via dynamite "candle" birthday cake), and the second has her attempting to overload a nuclear power plant over Killer Croc's infidelity. You know when a villain falls into this category when Batman, of all people, gives them a Cooldown Hug.
Yandere: She became on for Killer Croc in the episode "Love is a Croc", she was willing to kill him and herself rather then let him leave her.
You No Take Candle: Intentionally talks like this at times, for example, her introduction scene has her say "You're so nice to me, but than you always was the nicest one Skippy."

Bane

^{Click here to see his redesign}

Voiced by: Henry Silva (Batman: The Animated Series, The New Batman Adventures, and Superman: The Animated Series), Héctor Elizondo (Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman)
Appearances: Batman: The Animated Series | Superman: The Animated Series | The New Batman Adventures | Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman | Batman Beyond

"You cannot do this to me! I am invincible! I AM BANE!"

Bane is a chemically-boosted assassin who alternates between working for hire and pursuing his personal vendetta against Batman.

Adaptational Dumbass: While not a complete idiot like in Batman & Robin, he still isn't as smart as his comic book counterpart, who's a strategist on par with Batman and even figured out Bruce was Batman.
Adaptational Jerkass: In the comics, Bane is often depicted as a Noble Demon with his own (albeit somewhat twisted) code of honor and a sympathetic Freudian Excuse: he was raised in a Hellhole Prison throughout his childhood because he was unjustly forced to serve his father's sentence. Here both traits are Adapted Out, leaving him as merely a ruthless mercenary.
Adaptational Early Appearance: Dick is still Robin and Barbara only recently became Batgirl when Bane appears in the DCAU, as opposed to him coming onto the scene shortly after Tim Drake replaced Jason Todd as Robin (and thus Dick was already Nightwing and Barbara Oracle) in Knightfall.
Adaptational Wimp:
- In the comics, even without Venom, he was still much stronger than the average person and still capable of giving Batman and Killer Croc a hard time without it. Here, without Venom he's completely helpless as Batman exploited in his debut episode. This is Subverted in Mystery of the Batwoman, where he is still able to take Batman on after getting his Venom cut off, and is only stopped from trouncing him when the ship sinks.
- Justified in his first appearance as unlike his comic incarnation, DCAU Bane never unleashed all of Arkham on Gotham, leaving Batman physically and emotionally drained. As a result, Batman was able to think on his feet during their fight and won by disabling Bane's Venom delivery system.
Ain't Too Proud to Beg: He screams "HELP ME!" when Batman causes the venom to begin pumping into his body uncontrollably, clearly terrified for his life.
And I Must Scream: Batman Beyond reveals his Venom abuse eventually reduced him into a crippled mess on life support, not able to move or even speak.
Antagonist in Mourning: In "Knight Time", he admits to having been saddened when Batman went missing, as he'd never get the honor of being the one to kill him.
Anti-Climactic Unmasking: Batman's unmasking of Bane reveals, not Venom-twisted monstrosity, but simply a vaguely handsome, boyish face with nothing really remarkable about it.
Art Evolution: When he returned in the revamped fourth season of Batman: TAS, Bane was given a redesign to make him look like both a physical threat and an intellectual one, as the producers felt his last physical appearance was not menacing enough; He became more physically imposing, and gained a black gimp mask in exchange for his traditional wrestler mask (which lacked his original Batman: TAS costume's nose hole and most of its white markings except for those around the eyes in addition to having small metal studs around the mouth hole). He also had a spiked collar of some kind and the tubes of the Venom pump were changed from white to red.
Badass Boast: A walking, talking fountain of them.
"Prepare to meet your master!"
Badass in a Nice Suit: The suit is nice, he is a badass, but seeing as he wears his mask with it, he looks pretty ridiculous. Of course, given how he emulates the look of a Luchador and how they are about removing their masks, the wearing of the mask is justified.
Bait the Dog: The Gotham Adventures tie-in comic has him taking in runaway children with the ulterior motive of training them into becoming expendable underlings.
Broken Pedestal: The Batman & Robin Adventures reveals that before he was forced into taking Venom, he held Batman as his greatest hero. However, when Batman is forced to take him down—Bane was about to murder Thorne and his lieutenants as a "service" to the Bat—Bane feels betrayed and returns to full bad guy status.
Characterization Marches On: His first appearance depicted him as a Large Ham with a pseudo-Hispanic accent with a tendency to scream at the top of his lungs. Following "Over The Edge", he adopts a soft-spoken, Faux Affably Evil demeanor and drops the accent. Mystery of the Batwoman has him gain a tendency to use Gratuitous Spanish.
Combat Pragmatist: Defies the trope, waiting until he knows exactly where Batman is and calling him to point out that, if he were a common sniper, Batman would be dead by then.
Dashing Hispanic: A Spanish brute.
Dark Lord on Life Support: His brief appearance in Batman Beyond shows his Venom abuse has turned him into this.
Dented Iron: His cameo in Batman Beyond shows that his addiction to Venom slowly reduced him to a vegetable on life support.
Does This Remind You of Anything?: Bane's fate in Batman Beyond is that he's become a man trapped in an iron lung for the rest of his life in a crippled body. It's deliberately meant to invoke steroid abuse.
The Dragon: To Thorne in his debut episode and the Penguin in Mystery of the Batwoman.
- Dragon with an Agenda: He briefly worked for Thorne so that he could take over his criminal empire.
Dragon-in-Chief: Serves as the main physical threat to Batman in the climax of Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman, having been hired by the Penguin.
Dynamic Entry: This is how he introduces himself to Batwoman/ Kathy. By smashing out of the crate she was about to put the bomb on.
Evil Is Not a Toy: As Gordon finds out in "Over the Edge".
Faux Affably Evil: He is sarcastically and sadistically very polite and professional to Batman and Gordon in "Over the Edge". Despite said episode being a dream, Bane still has this demeanor in the remainder of his appearances.
Gone Horribly Right: He's the result of a project by the Cuban government to make a Super-Soldier from convicts. You can tell exactly how well that went for them.
Genius Bruiser: As Batman and Batwoman could tell, he knows how to lure his targets into nasty traps.
Gratuitous Spanish: He gains a penchant for this in Mystery of the Batwoman.
Growing Muscles Sequence: When injecting himself with Venom.
Hoist Hero over Head: Almost gets to break the Bat like in the comics, but gets outsmarted by Batman at the last second.
Laughably Evil: Due to his stereotypical psuedo-hispanic voice, he qualifies. After he loses it in The New Batman Adventures, he becomes a lot more intimidating.
Large Ham: Once he gets going.
Bane: I MUST BREAK YOU!!
Loves the Sound of Screaming: Demands that Batman scream his name for him after he has him dead to rights. Batman doesn't give him the satisfaction.
Bane: SCREAM MY NAME! SCREAM!
Batman: Never.
Masked Luchador: His look is inspired by a luchador, although he almost certainly never been inside a Lucha Libre ring.
Nightmare Face: When his venom pump goes out of control and starts inflating Bane to the point that he most likely would have exploded if Batman hadn't disconnected it.
Phlebotinum Overdose/Phlebotinum Overload: When Batman first defeats Bane, he breaks the Venom pump, giving Bane a massive dose. Bane's eyes look ready to pop out of his head before Bats manages to cut the line.
Psycho Serum/Super Serum: Just like in the comics, his "Venom" super-steroid. The tie-in comics demonstrate that it's psychoactive and addictive, and Batman Beyond shows that years of Venom abuse turn Bane into a skin-and-bones vegetable.
Punch! Punch! Punch! Uh Oh...: To Batman's dismay.
Smug Snake: In his first appearance, he's supremely arrogant and expects Batman to be easy prey. However, while he's a tough opponent Batman is able to beat him by relying on his intelligence and quick thinking. He moves out of this in his later appearances; he's still noticeably arrogant, but he's able to back it up a lot better.
Smug Super: He's very arrogant and takes a large amount of pride in his Venom-induced Super-Strength, leading to him often underestimating his opponents.
Spikes of Villainy: As part of his TNBA redesign, in addition to moving away the Masked Luchador, he sported a BDSM-esque spiked collar and bracelet on one of his wrists.
Super-Strength: As a result of his Venom injections.
The Starscream: Despite being hired by Thorne, he and Candace quickly begin planning to overthrow him and take his criminal empire for themselves.
Tainted Veins: He has these whenever he turns on the Venom pump.
They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: You'd think his mask would be hiding hideous disfigurements, or at least something distinctive, but no. Without it, he just looks like a regular guy.
Took a Level in Badass: While Batman could previously take him on in a fight, in Mystery of the Batwoman his main strategy is to run away from Bane, and Bane beats the ever loving crap out of Batman and leaves him severely injured. And while in his first appearance getting his Venom cut off stopped him cold, here he's able to break through his restraints and still goes after Batman, only being stopped when he plunges into a pit of fire.
This Cannot Be!: "You can't do this to me!"
Villainous Breakdown: A nightmarish one where he overdoses on Venom and screams that his defeat is impossible. It's especially unsettling to see his eyes bug out during his breakdown.
Vocal Evolution: Henry Silva spoke in a lower pitch and toned down the heavy South American accent in his subsequent appearances as Bane.

Clayface

Clayface (Matt Hagen)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d5b6ceb9bb1346c23008ab7aec1304a9.png

"There is no Hagen; it's only me now...Clayface!"

^{Click here to see his redesign}

^{Click here to see him as a civilian}

Voiced by: Ron Perlman
Appearances: Batman: The Animated Series | The New Batman Adventures | Justice League

"I'm not an actor anymore! I'm not even... A man."

An actor indebted to Roland Daggett in exchange for a supply of "Renuyu", a formula that is able to remold facial features, which Hagen relied on to mask the damage done to his face following a bad accident. When Daggett wanted to end their "business relationship" on less-than-amicable terms, his hired muscle attempted to kill Hagen by over-exposing him to Renuyu. However the effect of the substance wound up changing him into a shapeshifting monster.

Adaptation Dye-Job: He had black hair as Matt Hagen, who was blond in the comics.
Adaptational Backstory Change: The Matt Hagen Clayface in the comics was a treasure hunter who gained his powers after accidentally falling into a pool of protoplasm that turned him into a mudlike shapeshifter, which was a temporary change that required him to expose himself to more protoplasm to recharge his powers. Here, he is instead an actor who permanently mutated into his current state from Roland Daggett attempting to kill him by having his men over-expose Hagen to Renuyu.
Adaptational Job Change: Matt Hagen in the comics was a treasure hunter, while this incarnation is an actor, partly due to being a Composite Character with the original Clayface Basil Karlo.
Adaptational Nice Guy: He is definitely not a good guy, but his goals are at least understandable, and he's not actively malicious unless someone gets in his way. In the comics, though, Basil Karlo was a murderous asshole even before becoming a monster, while the Matt Hagen of the comics was just another superpowered thug.
Adaptational Sexuality: This continuity's Clayface is indicated to be bisexual, as his male associate Teddy from his debut episode was heavily implied (and explicitly confirmed by show director Kevin Altieri) to be his lover and he is later established to be in love with a woman named Stella Bates in "Mudslide".
Adaptational Skimpiness: Downplayed. While most Clayfaces with shape-shifting abilities never wore clothes, the Matt Hagen Clayface was known to wear a speedo in the comics even after his transformation. This version of Matt Hagen is only shown wearing clothes as Clayface while shapeshifting.
Adaptational Sympathy: Like with Mr. Freeze, he's rewritten as a Tragic Villain who's turn to villainy came from Roland Daggett hooking him to a renewal cream after Hagen got into a nasty car accident that damaged his face. All Hagen needed to do to keep getting his fix was to do a few "odd jobs" for Daggett—this contrasts his comics counterpart not having much tragedy beyond that.
Anti-Villain: Clayface isn't exactly a nice guy and can be disgustingly ruthless, but he's only out to restore himself to normal and it's hard not to pity him.
Art Evolution:
- Much like Two-Face, Clayface's appearance underwent little change when Batman: TAS was revamped into The New Batman Adventures. He was given a reddish coloring, a rocky texture and had sharper edges (like most characters at this point in the DCAU), but his design overall was similar to his original Batman: TAS look.
- When Clayface used his shapeshifting ability on TNBA and Justice League, there was a noticeable visual difference from his previous shapeshifting on Batman: TAS. On a DVD special feature, Bruce Timm credits this improvement with a new studio who better understood how such a power would "flow" visually.
The Bad Guy Wins: Downplayed. While he doesn't succeed in killing Daggett, he still exposes his insider trading and the dangers of Renuyu which does significant damage to Daggett's reputation and company. It - alongside Daggett's other crimes - leads to his business collapsing and his ultimate arrest.
Bad Santa: The 28th issue of the Justice League Unlimited tie-in comic begins with the League fighting him while he's assumed the form of Santa Claus.
Barbie Doll Anatomy: Even when shifted into the form of a naked human, he has no genitalia.
Composite Character: This version of Clayface is essentially a combination of the first three versions from the comics. He was an actor like Basil Karlo, he has the name and powers of Matt Hagen, and he was disfigured and permanently stuck in his clay-like form like Preston Payne.
Cosmetic Horror: He used an experimental cosmetic cream to help him look good after a car accident that ruined his face. It was temporary and highly addictive, and when he tried to blow the whistle before it went on the market Daggett's men fed him an overdose, turning him into Clayface.
Depending on the Writer: Is Clayface vulnerable to electricity? In the climax of his introductory two-parter he seemingly fries himself to a crisp by thrusting his arms into a wall of TV sets. Then it cuts over to Bruce experimenting on a piece of Clayface, getting it to contort with electricity but otherwise not harming it. Then, much later in one of the BTAS comics, Nightwing drops Clayface in one hit with his electrified tonfas. Seems Clayface is vulnerable to electricity whenever the writers want him to be.
Domestic Abuse: He treats his boyfriend Teddy abysmally, frequently berating him and at one point throwing him across the room in a fit of rage.
Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors: Being an Elemental Shapeshifter made entirely of clay, he's very vulnerable to water, as he finds out the hard way in "Mudslide". He's vulnerable to electricity too, Depending on the Writer. Batman immobilizes him with an ice-spewing gadget similar to the weapons of Mr. Freeze. And while it's never shown, simple logic dictates that he would be very vulnerable to fire.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: While he's clearly using Stella and doesn't actually love her romantically, he still cares about her enough to have an anguished Freak Out when she knocks herself unconscious while attacking Batman and tries to murder Batman on the spot as revenge.
Evil Laugh: His debut episode ends with him laughing maniacally after successfully evading capture by faking his death.
Faking the Dead: At the end of his first appearance, he turns out to have pretended to die to throw off Batman and the authorities.
Freudian Excuse: Hagen was a Jerkass even before becoming Clayface, but it's hard not to see why. He was disfigured in a car accident, forcibly addicted to Renuyu by Daggett, and blackmailed into helping him in his crimes. Being turned into a monster was what caused him to finally snap.
Gender Bender: He assumes an attractive female form when escaping at the end of his first appearance.
Humanoid Abomination: Although he was once human and retains his personality, Clayface is most certainly not one anymore. He doesn't need to eat, is made up entirely of a clay-like substance, and he no longer has any internal organs or bone structure. This applies to his "daughter", Annie.
Irony: He's a hot-tempered, egotistical ham, but then we meet Annie, his amnesiac duplicate. It seems that stripped of all his ambition, anger, and longing for self-fulfillment, Clayface is just a scared and confused child.
Jerkass: While he is somewhat sympathetic due to wanting to be normal again, he's abrasive, short-tempered, and frequently lashes out at the people around him. His treatment of Teddy in particular is downright abusive.
Jerkass Realization: In Justice League, it appears being in Morgan Edge's captivity for a while gave him a chance to reflect on his past attitude problem and how the crimes he committed did not bring him anywhere close to his original goal of becoming human again. Once released by Grodd and his secret society, he Took a Level in Kindness by treating them politely and showing genuine gratitude compared to his previous terrible treatment of those who only wanted to help him. He even turns down Grodd's offer initially, only wanting his original goal, until Grodd convinces him otherwise by promising to use his resources to return Hagen to normal while still keeping his powers.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's arguably a very downplayed version of this. Yes, Matt is a selfish, rude prick, but he's got good reason to be given what Daggett put him through. When he snaps at Stella for playing one of his movies, he actually apologizes and at least tries to be patient with her given the circumstances. There's also the fact that he generally avoids hurting or endangering innocent people on his quest for vengeance/a cure, compared to other rogues (even Mr.Freeze) who have no qualms about how many people get hurt, even their own henchmen. This side of Clayface comes out the most in The Batman Adventures where Batman convinces him to help a young boy with a similar condition return to human form. At first it seems Clayface just wants a get out of jail free card, but it's then shown he really did want to help the boy out of empathy for their similar situations. Then in Justice League, he appeared to have Took a Level in Kindness, was initially considering to become a Retired Monster focusing on his original goal on becoming human again and was unusually cordial and polite with Grodd and his gang members upon first meeting them, shown gratitude towards them for freeing him from Morgan Edge's captivity and initially turning down their offer to join them.
The Juggernaut: He's absurdly powerful for a member of Batman's rogues gallery. It's justified since he's one of Batman's comparatively few foes with legitimate superpowers.
Kick the Dog:
- When he throws his best friend/stunt double across the room when the guy tries to cheer him up and encourage him that all is not lost in living like a regular person
"Don't you dare patronize me! I told you, I don't need rest! I don't need food! And I DON'T NEED YOU!!!"
- Also, murdering Annie by reabsorbing her into himself.
Large Ham: He's an actor, so this shouldn't come as a surprise.
"STELLAAAAAA!"
Man of a Thousand Faces: Due to the Renuyu, he could change his features even before turning into a clay monster.
Motive Decay: Zigzagged. Initially, his goal is to get revenge on Roland Daggett for betraying him, but after faking his death he strangely never bothers Daggett again. On the other hand, he never loses his motive for either curing his condition or at least stabilizing it so he can take the form of Matt Hagen for longer periods of time. Even by the time of Justice League, he still wants to be cured and when Grodd offers him the best of both worlds where he can look like Hagan but still retain his shapeshifting abilities, he accepts Grodd's offer.
Narcissist: A rather nuanced and realistic portrayal of one. All of his conversations revolve around his problems (which are admittedly pretty severe); it's also implied that he surrounds himself with people that are in love with him, but that doesn't stop him from being verbally abusive to them (except in Justice League after having mellowed out and treated Grodd and his secret society much better than to others in the past).
Next Tier Power-Up: After reviving in "Growing Pains," he loses the weaknesses of constantly destabilizing and being unable to retain forms other than his default one for an extended period. Beyond that, he's able to master his ability to such a point that he can split himself into multiple distinct forms and have them all work under a single mind.
Not Quite Dead: In his first appearance, he pretends to die from electrocution, but we see at the end of the episode that he's still alive and shifted into the form of a pretty woman on the street.
Personality Powers: He's an award-winning actor who was well-known for being "The Man of a Thousand Faces". What power is more fitting than shapeshifting?
Power Incontinence: He initially discovered full extent of his shapeshifting ability whilst reminiscing about his career as an actor and involuntarily taking on the forms of each of his roles. During his first fight with Batman he only loses because he was still unused to actively shapeshifting and stressed out his body too much. He eventually gains much better control of his powers.
The Prima Donna: It's not clear if he was always this way, but by the time we meet him he could give Faye Dunaway a run for her money in overbearing and egotistical behavior. Sadly, the character who takes the brunt of his abuse is an Ignored Enamored Underling who meekly lets Hagen walk all over him.
Psychopathic Manchild: He's quite self-absorbed and often raises his voice when he doesn't get what he wants. He does matured and gotten better in attitude in Justice League, showing gratitude towards Grodd and his gang for freeing him from Morgan Edge's imprisonment and behaved in a more civil manner while still a supervillain.
Roaring Rampage of Revenge: His motive in his first appearance, seeking revenge against the men responsible for his transformation.
Shadow Discretion Shot: The scene of having Renuyu poured on his face provides the trope image.
Shapeshifter Baggage: He has significantly more mass than a typical human, but has no trouble compressing himself into a human form. He also regularly ejects portions of his own body without ever seeming to get smaller.
Shapeshifter Default Form: It's explained that shapeshifting is an acquired skill, or "muscle tensing," so he can't just constantly be in another form.
Shapeshifting Seducer: A truly disturbing variation: a portion of his clay body, in the form of an amnesiac young girl. Poor Tim Drake.
That Man Is Dead:
Batman: Hagen, listen to me.
Clayface: There is no Hagen. It's only me now...Clayface.
- Even before he has his Hope Spot, Clayface makes it clear to Teddy that he views his old life as beyond him.
Clayface: (after being told he can still make a comeback and making sure to illuminate his own features) "Comeback?" Like this? Face it Teddy, Matt Hagen is history. This time for good. He's never coming back!
- A bit later, when Batman shows Clayface videotapes of his former movie and TV roles and tells him "You can play those roles again Hagen, let me help you find a cure." Clayface outright screams "No! Hagen's Gone, make him stop haunting me!"
- He also said something of that effect to Stella Bates who was watching one of his old movies in "Mudslide".
Toilet Humour: In "Holiday Knights", Bullock addresses him as "Frosty the Lawn Cigar", "lawn cigar" being slang for animal excrement left on the ground and the remark pointing out that Clayface looks like feces in his default form.
Took a Level in Jerkass: In "Growing Pains" he goes from a Tragic Villain to an irredeemable monster when he murders Annie by reabsorbing her into himself and then shrugging it off.
Took a Level in Kindness: In his appearance in Justice League, while still a supervillain, he's not the obscenely egotistical and temperamental Jerkass he was before, was initially content on becoming a Retired Monster after commiting crime all these years and initially declined to join Grodd's gang to focus on one of his original goals on trying to become human again following his sincere gratitude for them releasing him from Morgan Edge's canister prison. He only accepts the offer after Grodd offers to make him return as Matt Hagen while still retaining his shapeshifting ability without his blob monster form being his default physical appearance. This notably took place after his last appearance in "Growing Pains" where he Took a Level in Jerkass with his Beyond Redemption act noted just above this bullet, yet it seems in his next appearance he seemed to undergo Character Rerailmentinvoked back into the Tragic Villain he was only this time without his hamtastic selfishness and rudeness that came with it.
Tomato in the Mirror: Well, a piece of him, anyway, in "Growing Pains".
Tragic Villain: For all his faults, all Matt Hagen really wants is to be normal again.
Truly Single Parent: He can split his body into multiple shapes, including children. Unfortunately, he doesn't consider them as such.
The Ugly Guy's Hot Daughter: Annie, at least to Tim.
Uncertain Doom: He is never seen again after the end of the Justice League episode "Secret Society", when he was blown to bits by the Flash and Hawkgirl.
Used to Be a Sweet Kid: If you consider it canon, an issue of The Batman Adventures reveals that when Matt Hagen was a kid, he admired Simon Trent's performance as the Gray Ghost just like Bruce Wayne and it was this very admiration that motivated him to become an actor in the first place, much like how the Gray Ghost served as an inspiration for Bruce Wayne becoming Batman.
Villain Has a Point: When he arrives in disguise at Dagget's public unveiling for Renuyu, he takes the time to call out on mic the various "rumored" side-effects of the cream he knows are true from experience, all while Daggett can only sweat and try to splutter denials, before demanding Dagget tell everyone what an "overdose" can do when revealing his true form.
Villainous Breakdown: Invoked. His meltdown while shifting into the forms of his various roles was done deliberately as part of faking his death.
Voluntary Shapeshifting: He can assume human forms, and the blob attack after he was found out.
- Involuntary Shapeshifter: He's gradually losing his ability to stay in coherent form. With time he may well become a totally inert puddle.
  - He also has trouble with voluntary shape-shifting if preoccupied by another form (almost always an image of himself from an old movie), and will transform into whatever shape is distracting him without thought or willpower.
Was Once a Man: A large part of his angst comes from the fact that he's no longer human as a result of his transformation. Hagen already had an unstable sense of identity and body dysmorphia prior, making this fact hell on him.
Clayface: I'm not an actor anymore! I'm not even... a man...
Weaksauce Weakness: In "Mudslide" he's vulnerable enough to water that even just stepping outside while it's raining is a threat to his cohesion, though he was already falling apart by that time anyway. Presumably when he's more stable he can resist water somewhat by hardening himself, though enough of it would still soften him up.
What Measure Is a Non-Human?:
- Clayface himself had this attitude towards Annie, whose murder he justified to Robin by claiming that she "wasn't real".
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Dagget tried to have his men kill Hagen by exposing him to an overdose of Renuyu, but it instead turned him into Clayface.

Clock King

The Clock King (Temple Fugate)

"When it comes to clocks, I am king."

Voiced by: Alan Rachins
Appearances: Batman: The Animated Series | Justice League Unlimited

"Well, well. The Batman. It's about time you showed up. I suppose you want to know why I've brought downtown Gotham to a standstill, Batman. Well, let's just say it's because I'm a civic-minded citizen with a lot of time on his hands."

Temple Fugate, also known as the Clock King, was an efficiency expert with a grudge against Mayor Hill.

Adaptational Badass: He went from a complete joke in the comics to holding his own against Batman only by virtue of being observant.
Adaptational Intelligence: He becomes a true example of the trope that bears his name, and, just like the Riddler, is one of the few villains to escape Batman in their first encounter.
Awesomeness by Analysis: Even before his Start of Darkness, he knew the place where the subway doors will open. 7 years later, he can go hand to hand with Batman just from having studied Batman's tendencies in a fight from news footage about him.
Badass in a Nice Suit: He wears a nice a brown suit in "The Clock King" and a black suit in "Time Out Of Joint", .
Badass Normal: Y'know you qualify if Batman is struggling to defeat you.
Bald of Evil: Well, balding.
Blue-and-Orange Morality: He apparently thinks making someone late should be a capital crime. Justified, as being late once had serious consequences in his court case seven years ago.
Boxed Crook: In a Justice League Unlimited episode "Task Force X", in which he serves as a planner and tactician in the Suicide Squad. He guides the team with clockwork efficiency.
Canon Immigrant: Tempus Fugate was created for the DCAU and later made his way to the comics, as a legacy character, as the original Clock King's name was William Tockman.
Can't Get Away with Nuthin': When he breaks his schedule so he can be more relaxed. Notice that when he was at the park at 3:05, instead of in his office as he had planned, he was very nervous and waiting for certain doom. It's only when he dared to relax when the Disaster Dominoes that would ruin his life started falling.
Clock King: Deconstructs this trope somewhat: He is utterly obsessed with order (and schedules!) and is always trying to dominate his environment instead of accepting it, but unlike a straight example, it doesn't usually work out for him. Whenever his schedules don't work out exactly, his plans come crashing down.
Clocks of Control: Always a man obsessed with punctuality, Fugate became a clock-themed supervillain after a friendly suggestion to break his usually strict schedule led to a disaster that drove him insane.
Comic Book Movies Dont Use Code Names: A rare example in animation; he is almost always just referred to by his (admittedly awesome) real name.
Complexity Addiction: He even surpasses the Riddler as an addict to overly complicated schemes, but he showed this even before becoming a supervillain. As Temple Fugate, he has a chain pocketwatch, a wristwatch, and in his office he has a grandfather clock and another clock at his desk.
Cool Sword: A clock-hand-like sword that also works as a cane.
Creature of Habit: Even before he became the Clock King. It's implied that he was a middle aged man when he broke his routine for the first time in his life.
Cut Lex Luthor a Check: He lost everything in appeal for $20 million against his company 7 years ago, but when he appears at the episode "The Clock King", he has enough money to buy bombs, maintain a hideout, and can afford to throw away a $6,000 pocket watch. Justified because he never suffers Motive Decay: All he wants is to humiliate Mayor Hill, and then kill him. Notice that after he is arrested, he uses his talents for the government as a Boxed Crook.
Disproportionate Retribution: He developed an obsessive, murderous grudge against Mayor Hamilton Hill...because when he was a lawyer, Hill suggested Fugate take his coffee break a little later to help him relax for a lawsuit against his company, which resulted in a series of accidents making him late, which resulted in him losing the suit. Fugate reveals that the people who sued his company were represented by Hill's law firm, and thus he believes that Hill was intentionally trying to sabotage him. Thus it's not quite as disproportionate as it sounds initially, but he's still completely off-base and Hill honestly was trying to help.
Establishing Character Moment: At the very beginning of the episode "The Clock King", everyone is waiting for the subway. In a crowd with individuals with spaced gazes and relaxed facial expressions, only a Sharp-Dressed Man with a parasol seems alert, with a perfect erect posture. The subway stops and opens its doors exactly where this guy is standing. He consults his chain pocketwatch and exclaims:
"It's about time!"
Evil Is Petty: Literally all he wants is revenge on Hill, and he uses his profound intelligence and planning skills for no greater reason than embarrassing and attempting to kill him.
Expy: He has more in common with Johnny Witts, a Silver Age Batman villain who had no gimmick aside from being one step ahead of everyone, even Batman himself, than he does with any preceding incarnation of the Clock King.
Four Eyes, Zero Soul: Before his Start of Darkness, we could see his eyes through his spectacles. After that, they seem like a clock pointing 3 o'clock, or completely opaque at "Task Force X". "Time Out of Joint" makes it clear that he wears specially designed ones when he's in-costume, as his eyes are visible on close-up through the 3 o'clock sigils.
Gambit Roulette: As meticulous as he is, there is a LOT that could go wrong with his plans.
Hoist by His Own Petard: In "The Clock King", Batman uses the tape Fugate left him to escape his Death Trap. In Time out of joint, Batman uses the same time device Fugate stole to stop him.
Idiosyncrazy: Clocks and time.
Inexplicably Awesome: From his fighting scenes, Fugate is obviously in excellent (and arguably superhuman) shape, despite being introduced as an extreme Non-Action Guy in the flashback. This is justifiable in itself, since a fanatic like him could easily have spent the years in between undergoing round-the-clock Training from Hell. More remarkable is how he knows everything about Batman, from the details of his equipment to his exact fighting moves. How did he get that information?
Insufferable Genius: Deconstructed by Fugate, a Schedule Fanatic with No Social Skills that is in the middle of a court hearing appeal about a $20 million dollar judgment against his company and is haggard and nervous. Fugate is aware that his personality plays against him, but not of what to do to change that.
Jerkass: Even before his Start of Darkness, he was a Mean Boss with No Social Skills.
Just One Second Out of Sync: Did this when he got his hands on time manipulating technology, placing one on the Batmobile then setting it moments out of sync with time so the on-board trap sensors wouldn't find it.
Lack of Empathy: As a disciplinarian, he doesn't know how to accept not only other human beings, but the Universe: He is a Bad Boss to his employees and he is sure he will lose an appeal because everyone thinks of him as a Jerkass. Likewise, no one ever displays sympathy for him except, ironically, Mayor Hill.
Laughing Mad: Being The Stoic, when he does this it is very disturbing.
Leitmotif: All the music related to him is evocative of clocks, utilizing everything from tick-tocking to the Westminster chime.
Making a Spectacle of Yourself: The spectacular breakdown he has in front of the judge who denies Fugate's appeal.
Mean Boss: Threatening to fire an employee for being five minutes late seems mean to a normal human being, but Fugate is a Schedule Fanatic who only cares for punctuality. If you're a punctual employee, Fugate would be civil to you, but never appreciative.
Meaningful Name / Punny Name / Steven Ulysses Perhero: Tempus Fugit is Latin for time flies.
Misplaced Retribution: He goes after Gotham City mayor Hamilton Hill. Why? Years earlier, the Clock King (then Temple Fugate) was put out of business by a lawsuit brought by Hamilton Hill's law firm. While Hill wasn't specifically the lawyer representing the plaintiff, the Clock King does consider him completely responsible because Hill also suggested Fugate take his coffee break at a different time...which led to things getting worse.
- Even worse, everything is clearly Fugate's fault. He went to the park with his important papers unprotected. In the flashback he is seen with a briefcase. If he simply planned things out and put the papers in the briefcase, he wouldn't have lost them in the wind and then fallen into the fountain trying to retrieve them.
Moral Sociopathy: Deconstructed with Fugate—he was a productive member of society with his own efficiency company, but was also a Bad Boss with No Social Skills and Lack of Empathy who ends up becoming a villain. Fugate doesn't seem to realize why his Lack of Empathy plays against him; In his introductory episode, he knows he will lose an important appeal for his company, but is sincerely unaware why nobody seems to like him.
Never Bareheaded: First a brown bowler with his nice brown suit, then a black bowler, to go with his nice black suit.
Never My Fault: Blames Mayor Hill for ruining his life without considering the fact that he chose to follow Hill's friendly advice and his unpleasant attitude earned him No Sympathy from the judge or lawyers.
Non-Standard Character Design: Fugate has Black Bead Eyes even without his glasses, as apposed to the Skin Tone Sclerae of the other characters - presumably to keep his eyes from drawing attention from his Cool Shades.
No One Could Survive That!: In his first appearance, he was thought to have died in that episode's last fight. Batman pointed out that, if he survived, so could Fugate.
No Social Skills:
- At "The Clock King", he knows that he will lose the hearing, but he doesn't realize why (his Lack of Empathy). He also doesn't realize that Hill patting his back is a sympathy gesture.
- At "Time Out Of Joint", Temple Fugate trips over a plump woman, both fall down the stairs, she falls on top of him and begins to attack him with her umbrella. Fugate just asks the woman to get up. He has no consciousness of who has been humiliated.
- At "Task Force X", he works as a Boxed Crook and he's eager to Dispense with the Pleasantries and get to the point.
Pet the Dog: While certainly an unpleasant person to work for, Fugate was at least polite to his secretary Miss Perkins, even giving her a friendly smile.
Pragmatic Villainy: Opposes killing people in Task Force X because hiding bodies will waste valuable time.
Principles Zealot: Fugate is obsessed with punctuality, and the one moment he broke that obsession coincides with a series of events that ruin his life. This obsession then resulted in a paranoia against the person he deemed responsible for his lateness so strong that he stopped at nothing to destroy him.
Repressive, but Efficient: The way he runs his company before becoming a supervillain is this in miniature. He may not be a nice boss to work for, but he probably does have the most efficient office and staff in Gotham.
Rogues' Gallery Transplant: His comic book counterpart is a member of Green Arrow's rogues gallery. In this adaptation, he is a member of Batman's rogues gallery.
Schedule Fanatic: Here is an excerpt of Fugate's screen laptop we see briefly as a Freeze-Frame Bonus:
Things to do today - 5/12
3:00................Coffe break
3:02................Brush teeth
3.05................Check weather
The Stoic: Unless you make him late.
Sharp-Dressed Man: Either in brown or in black, his suit is always classy.
The Sociopath: Bit of a toss up on whether or not he qualifies as a high functioning one though.
Suicidal "Gotcha!": Doing one of these onto a train, he prefaces it with the following comment:
"I don't know what to tell you, Batman, except perhaps that the 9:15 is always 6 minutes early."
They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: He is the only self-created supervillain in the series to avoid the tropes in the Evil Makeover indice. Aside from his gadgets, he's just a guy in a nice suit.
Batman: I'm here to clean your clock, Fugate.
Fugate: Don't count on it, Batman. When it comes to clocks, I am king. En garde!
Train Escape: Uses this trick to make a dramatic exit after his first face-to-face encounter with Batman: "I don't know what to tell you, Batman... except that the 9:15 is always six minutes early."
Villain Decay: Zigzagged. In "The Clock King", the eponymous villain almost kills Batman and then he is able to go hand to hand with him by simply from having studied Batman's tendencies in a fight from news footage about him. In "Time Out Of Joint", he is captured by a condescending Robin. In the Justice League episode "Task Force X", he works as a Boxed Crook with clockwork efficiency.

Firefly

Firefly (Garfield Lynns)

"Feel the burn!"

Voiced by: Mark Rolston
Appearances: The New Batman Adventures | Justice League

"Gotham will burn tonight, but first...I'm going to snuff like you out like a candle!"

Garfield Lynns was a concert pyrotechnician who worked for a popular singer named Cassidy. After being spurned by her, he sabotaged the pyrotechnics at one of her shows and reinvented himself as the pyromaniac supervillain Firefly as he stalked Cassidy.

Adaptational Late Appearance: Enforced as a result of Fox censorship preventing him from appearing during the days of B:TAS but that aside, Firefly was a classic Batman villain from the early days. However, he made his appearance during the later TNBA era, making his debut after Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, Clayface, Killer Croc, Manbat, and Bane had already established themselves. For reference, all of those rogues came later by publication date than Firefly did.
Birds of a Feather: In Justice League, he is briefly shown working with Volcana. You can probably guess what they had in common.
Butt-Monkey: In Justice League, he's frequently humiliated, winds up being easily held back by a Red Shirt Army that his fellow supervillains could get past with ease, and inadvertently knocks himself out through smoke inhalation.
Characterization Marches On: His first appearance depicted him as a pun-loving Stalker with a Crush, while his second appearance depicted him as a sociopathic arsonist more in line with his comics characterization.
Cool Helmet: It even looks like an insect.
Gadgeteer Genius: Made the firefly suit and pyrotechnics himself.
Flaming Sword: His favored weapon in close combat.
Jetpack: Wouldn't bring the fly in Firefly without it.
Motive Decay: In "Torch Song" his main goal was to get Cassidy for himself, and he caused a lot of collateral damage to try and accomplish it. By "Legends of the Dark Knight", he's committing insurance fraud by burning down buildings so the owners can collect insurance. When Batman points this out to him, Firefly shrugs and points out that it's expensive to make his numerous weapons and bombs. By Justice League, he's just a full-on supervillain but him no longer obsessing over Cassidy is arguably justified by then since he's in a Strong Girl, Smart Guy dynamic with Volcana and Lynns probably sees her as being a huge upgrade over Cassidy.
Pungeon Master: About half of his dialogue is puns based on fire.
Pyromaniac: It's his gimmick.
Sanity Slippage: While never stable to start with, his appearance on Justice League has him burning things down for the hell of it, while in previous appearances he always had some sort of motive.
Stalker Shrine: Had one of these for Cassidy. As Detective Bullock noted upon seeing it, "Oh, he's got it bad."
Stalker with a Crush: To Cassidy.
Stealth Pun: As Cass points out herself, he carries...a torch for her.
Villain Decay: In Justice League, he goes from a dangerous threat to an incompetent Butt-Monkey easily outgunned by a Red Shirt Army.
Vocal Evolution: In Justice League, his voice is much deeper and calmer, as well as being less gravelly and lacking the vague metallic twang he had in The New Batman Adventures.
Would Hurt a Child: In "Legends of the Dark Knight", he has no problem killing the kids when he sets the blaze.

Firefly: Kids. Tough break. (Detonates numerous bombs, setting the building on fire) Hope you like it hot.

Yandere: For Cassidy.

Killer Croc

^{Click here to see his redesign}

Voiced by: Aron Kincaid (Batman: The Animated Series), Brooks Gardner (The New Batman Adventures)
Appearances: Batman: The Animated Series | The New Batman Adventures

"When you grow up lookin' like I do, you gotta learn to go with the flow."

Killer Croc was a deformed criminal with crocodilian attributes, who ran afoul of Batman.

Absurdly Spacious Sewer: Typically based himself in one.
Adaptation Dye-Job: His skin color goes from green to grey. Although when Batman: TAS was revamped into The New Batman Adventures, his skin color returned to the green.
Adaptation Name Change: He is never referred to as Waylon Jones and the only hint at his name is his wrestler alias "Killer Croc Morgan". However, his real name is given as Waylon Jones in the 23rd issue of Batman & Robin Adventures.
Adaptational Jerkass: Croc is (ironically) portrayed much less sympathetically here. His comic counterpart is still a violent crook, but he also genuinely befriends and protects those who show him kindness, usually just wants to be left alone, and is more often than not lashing out at people who hurt him. This Croc inevitably turns on his "friends" like the circus folks and Baby Doll without showing them any appreciation, just uses his condition as an excuse to do horrible things, and never redeems himself.
Adaptational Wimp: He's certainly extremely strong, but not that much more so than a normal human of his very large size can potentially be in the DCAU. In contrast, most more recent adaptations portray him as definitively having low-end superhuman strength, as well as being more animalistic and monstrous in appearance. Overall, the Batman animated series treats him more like a very buff dude with a skin condition rather than a superhuman mutant (which, granted, is consistent with his early comics depiction). Additionally in the comics, Croc was once good enough he could legitimately overpower and beat up Batman in the early days. Here, Batman has his number in a fight every time.
Albinos Are Freaks: Unlike the comics Killer Croc who has the scaly green skin of his namesake, BTAS Croc's scales are more of a chalk gray, much like certain species of albino alligators. No explanation for this is ever given.
Animal Eyes: Yellow with cat pupils.
Art Evolution: Killer Croc was redesigned as part of the revamp. His skin color was changed from gray to olive green. He also has broader shoulders, with a leaner physique and waist and his pants were changed from blue to dark grey. His face became less skull-like, with different face and teeth and the spikes on his body almost disappeared.
Badass Boast: When a judge declares him mentally competent to serve a prison sentence, Croc responds with this:
Killer Croc: Competent? I'm not just competent, you old windbag. I'M THE BEST THERE IS!
Badass Cape: Wore one back in his wrestling days.
Bald of Evil: He has no hair, and he's as bad as they come.
Book Dumb: He's not good with big words, but very cunning.
Boring, but Practical: While his "hit Batman with a rock" tactic may sound like an utter bore of a story to his fellow villains, it turns out to be one of the closest times that nearly did Batman in. In the episode "Sideshow", the first thing he does when he discovers an unconscious Batman is pick up a large rock to crush his skull, and he just barely misses the head due to being tranquilized earlier on.
The Brute: He tends to be the most aggressive and formidable of Batman's enemies.
Dumb Muscle: He degenerated into this by the time of "Almost Got 'Im". Except it was Batman in disguise.
Entertainingly Wrong: "Almost Got 'Im" reveals he believes Batman is actually a robot. While the Croc in that episode is actually a disguised Batman, Joker's reaction indicates Croc has brought the theory up multiple times.
Fangs Are Evil: They even can break metal.
The Farmer and the Viper: He escapes while escorted by train to a prison, Batman in hot pursuit. They fall off a cliff and are knocked out. Croc wakes up in a secluded home owned by former circus performers. It's Croc's perfect chance to start a new life. Naturally Croc claims Batman is evil to get their help in capturing him. Then Croc captures everyone and plans to kill them and run off with their retirement money. When he's eventually foiled, he does seem a little regretful as he's taken away.
Billy the Seal Boy: [Why'd you do it, Croc?]
Killer Croc: You said you could be yourself out here, remember? I guess that's what I was doing. Being myself.
Freudian Excuse: In the BTAS tie-in comics, it was established that Croc's mother died when he was very young and he was raised by a cruel aunt.
Genius Bruiser: He made his debut with a pretty clever plan to frame Bullock.
Had to Come to Prison to Be a Crook: Batman mentions in "Vendetta" that Croc started off as a small-time crook; by the time he's escaped prison, he's become much more daring in his crimes and engages in a pretty clever plan that nearly destroys Bullock's reputation.
Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Huge Guy to Baby Doll in "Love is a Croc".
Ignored Epiphany: In "Sideshow", when Croc initially tries to steal the former circus freaks' (who have taken him in as one of their own and treated him with nothing but kindness) money, he has an attack of conscience and decides against it. However, when Batman shows up, he reverts to form and tries to kill Batman and run off with the money.
It's Personal: With Harvey Bullock, who arrested him and sent him to prison early in his criminal career.
Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: In "Sideshow" and "Love is a Croc". Both times Croc looks like he might have a chance at redemption, or at least showing some redeeming traits, but both times he cruelly betrays the people who put their trust in him.
Jerkass: He doesn't have many likable qualities. This is best shown by the way he betrays a group of circus freaks who were nothing but kind to him.
Jerkass Has a Point: He claims his violent demeanor came from how society treated him for his condition. This doesn't excuse his crueler moments, but considering how most of the DCAU heroes are conventionally attractive and adored by the public while people with bizarre deformities are usually driven to become supervillains, he does make a point.
Large Ham: When voiced by Brooks Gardner, Croc has a tendency to bellow at the top of his lungs and generally dines on the scenery around him.
Obfuscating Stupidity: Croc isn't very good with big words and acts like a Dumb Muscle, but he's cunning and very good at manipulating people.
Only Sane Man: He's one of Batman's few villains who is not The Mentally Ill, being sent to Stonegate Penitentiary instead of Arkham Asylum because the courts found him legally sane. Despite this, he appears among the Arkham Joker Jury villains in "Trial".
Running Gag: The bit about hitting Batman with a rock. Even though it was actually Batman impersonating Croc who said that, it gets brought back in "Trial", where the Joker Jury is debating Batman's punishment and Croc enthusiastically demands Batman be hit with a rock.
Slasher Smile: What's the saying about crocodiles and smiling?
Taking Advantage of Generosity: "Sideshow" had him do this to a bunch of circus freaks who had hidden themselves away from the outside world so they could be themselves. They were willing to let him join them on their farm, but when Killer Croc heard they had $50,000, he couldn't resist. When asked why after he's captured, Killer Croc solemnly admits he had to be himself.
Took a Level in Dumbass: In "Almost Got 'Im", he goes from a somewhat clever, or at least street smart, crook into a near idiot. Justified, since it's actually Batman in disguise likely playing up how others view Croc.
Took a Level in Jerkass: Croc becomes far more vicious and cruel in The New Batman Adventures. He was always an asshole, but he's much more open about it, and he's downright abusive to Baby Doll in "Love is a Croc".
Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Downplayed. One issue of The Batman Adventures focused on him during his days as an underground wrestler, and he was shown to have been a gruff and somewhat arrogant but basically decent guy.
The Worf Effect: Courtesy of Bane, like in Knightfall. Later suffers it a second time at the hands of Two-Face's Knight Templar third alter ego, the Judge.

Mad Hatter

The Mad Hatter (Jervis Tetch)

"I'll cut that cowl off your neck before you take her!"

^{Click here to see his redesign}

Voiced by: Roddy McDowall
Appearances: Batman: The Animated Series | Superman: The Animated Series | The New Batman Adventures

The Mad Hatter: I'm crushed. You don't like the fantasy world I've created for you?

Bruce Wayne: It's not real.

The Mad Hatter: Are you the dreamer or merely part of someone's dream? That was just the question Tweedledee put to Alice in Through the-

Bruce Wayne: This isn't some silly storybook!

The Mad Hatter: But it is. It's a beautiful story. You have love, wealth, a family. All you ever wanted. Your own private Wonderland.

A Wayne Enterprises researcher specializing in neurology and with the technological skill to create circuitry capable of controlling the brain. Obsessed from a young age with Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, the Mad Hatter is always looking for an "Alice" of his own, and primarily uses his hypnotic skills in his crimes.

Abled in the Adaptation: In the comics, the Mad Hatter is often depicted as genuinely insane and struggles with hallucinations and delusions that often cause him to hurt the people around him without realizing what he's doing. Here, Tetch is unstable but it's nowhere near as severe as his comic counterpart's mental illness and he's generally capable of discerning reality.
Accent Upon The Wrong Syllable: He's occasionally prone to doing this thanks to his general eccentricity, most notably pronouncing Arkham as "Ark-HAM".
Adaptational Jerkass: A weird mix of this and Adaptational Nice Guy at the same time. The most consistent portrayal of the Mad Hatter in modern comics is him suffering from severe mental illness that causes hallucinations and delusions, making him unable to accurately perceive the world around him or the harm he's causing. Here, Tetch is fully aware of what he's doing and is thus more culpable in his misdeeds.
Adaptational Nice Guy: A weird mix of this and Adaptational Jerkass at the same time. Depending on the Writer, Tetch in the comics is sometimes depicted as a pedophile, which is understandably Adapted Out here.
Affably Evil: He's earnestly polite and comes across as endearingly socially awkward, which belies a nasty possessive streak. It's most notably demonstrated in "Perchance to Dream", where he decides to get Batman out of the way by trapping him in a Lotus-Eater Machine that will give him everything he ever wanted. He shifts into Faux Affably Evil as the series goes on, however.
Alice Allusion: He's obsessed with Alice in Wonderland. The other people in his life also mirror the story—he pines after a woman named Alice, and his boss is a stern, redheaded woman who warns him that "heads will roll". His mind-controlled henchmen are also all costumed after Alice characters.
Art Evolution: After Batman: TAS was revamped into TNBA, the Mad Hatter was redesigned to look more like Sir John Tenniel's illustrations of the original Mad Hatter from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. To this end, the Mad Hatter was made drastically shorter and smaller, and given a more pronounced overbite. The dominant colors of his outfit changed from purples and blues to greens and yellows, though the general scheme of a top hat paired with an overcoat remained. He also aged more, as his hair changed from a faint blonde to a light gray, and his ears also became slightly pointed.
Ax-Crazy: While Tetch is generally fairly polite and soft-spoken, he can get very violent when provoked. He even tries to murder Batman with an axe at the end of his introductory episode.
Badass Longcoat: He wears an overcoat as part of his outfit.
Became Their Own Antithesis: In his introductory episode, Jervis briefly contemplates using his mind control devices on Alice before abandoning the thought in horror, saying that he's unwilling to make her into a mindless doll. By the end of the episode, he's gone Jumping Off the Slippery Slope and has done exactly that because he won't accept that Alice isn't in love with him and wants to marry her boyfriend instead.
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: In his first appearance. He comes across as a good-natured eccentric to Alice, yet beneath the surface lies a festering well of jealousy and resentment. It doesn't take long for him to jump into full-on supervillainy.
British Teeth: Like his Alice in Wonderland counterpart, he has a noticeable overbite and he's British.
Cheshire Cat Grin: He frequently sports this expression whenever he's plotting something. Knowing Hatter, he's likely adopting it from the Trope Namer.
Deconstructed Character Archetype: Of the Dogged Nice Guy. Jervis is a shy, awkward dork who pines for his secretary Alice and tries to woo her with Grand Romantic Gestures. However, instead of portraying this as cute and romantic it's made clear it stems from him being mentally unstable and dangerously possessive. And once it becomes clear that she prefers her current boyfriend to him, Jervis tries to force her to be with him.
Depraved Dwarf: After his redesign, he was depicted as a dwarf in keeping with the original illustrations of the Mad Hatter. He also remained just as villainous as he was prior.
Dogged Nice Guy: Deconstructed. He's a shy, geeky guy who quietly yearned for Alice and resorted to grand romantic gestures when he finally makes his move, but it gradually becomes clear that Tetch has an unhealthy obsession with her that overwhelms any respect for her as a person. He eventually resorts to brainwashing Alice when she makes it clear that she's happy with her current boyfriend in order to keep her with him forever.
Drunk on the Dark Side: At first, he was just trying to win over his crush after she and her boyfriend broke up and he only presented himself as the Mad Hatter so he could replicate that sense of confidence he sees in the character. He did initially refuse to use the mind control device on Alice and wanted to win her over in his own way by asking her out. The problem is that he used his new mind-controlling devices to control the public so everything runs smoothly and he got so comfortable using that technology that he used those devices to break Alice's heart and eventually force her to be with him.
Endearingly Dorky: Jervis's geeky, awkward personality and general eccentricities actually make Alice like him and consider him a friend, but she still loves her boyfriend and agrees to marry him. Unfortunately, Tetch won't settle for letting her go and decides to force her to be with him.
Entitled to Have You: He ultimately doesn't see Alice as a person, but as a prize to be won. It leads to him Jumping Off the Slippery Slope; he can't handle letting her be happy with her boyfriend because he feels entitled to her love.
Evil Brit: He has a noticeable British accent and has been confirmed to hail from the United Kingdom, and he's quite ruthless.
Evil Genius: Capable of creating mind control chips that can reduce the wearer to a mere puppet.
Faking the Dead: The 17th issue of The Batman & Robin Adventures has him pretend to die as part of his plan to kidnap Alice Pleasance himself from her wedding.
Falsely Reformed Villain: In "The Worry Men", he's released from Arkham and fakes reformation for a while. He does genuinely want to give up on crime, but intends to do it by making one last big score so he can set himself up for a luxurious life outside of Gotham.
Fan Dumb: In-Universe, Jervis is The Monomaniac for Alice in Wonderland, and this is a vital trait of his personality: This is the first clue that Jervis is not interested in reality, but his fantasies...
Faux Affably Evil: From "The Worry Men" onwards, his polite demeanor takes on a more sinister and mocking edge and comes across as much less sincere.
For Science!: He does this in "Animal Act".
Freudian Excuse: It's implied his obsession with Alice stems from a life full of loneliness and bullying. When he's introduced, he's isolated from the world and bullied relentlessly by his boss, with the implication that his whole life has been like this.
Friendly Enemy: Downplayed. He hates Batman as much as the other rogues, but while he will try to kill him if forced to he's the only one who really takes active measures not to engage him. His one attempt at taking Batman out is by giving him everything he wants though a Lotus-Eater Machine.
Gadgeteer Genius: He invents mind control devices, and it's implied he developed the life-size and fully automated animatronics of the other rogues that attack Batman in "The Worry Men".
Gonk: Both of his designs are noticeably uglier than most of the cast. It's also deconstructed, as it plays into his insecurities and feelings of isolation, which in turn are what ultimately drive him into villainy.
Grand Romantic Gesture: The actions he used to woo his Alice. Including, but not limited to - brainwashing a pair of thugs to go jump off a bridge to impress her with his bravery when they're about to get mugged; brainwashing the Maitre'd of a restaurant (as well as the rest of the staff) into getting them a seat and the romantic usuals (violin/flowers/etc.). After she reconciled with her boyfriend the same night, though, he uses brainwashing to break them up again, then does the "extravagant Flower surprise" in her house... which he didn't have a key for. Alice is, understandably, creeped out - but mostly because Jervis had no way of knowing that the two had broken up.
Hypocrite: For all his gushing over Alice, it's demonstrated several times that his obsession doesn't leave any room for him to genuinely care about her.
D.A. Van Dorn: You could have respected her wishes and left her alone.
Tetch: (enraged) I'd have killed her first!
Hypno Trinket: Controls minds without spirals, using cards marked 10/6 which he sticks on people's heads. And that's just his stock device; he has been known to use other things when appropriate.
Ignored Epiphany:
- When Batman points out that by using his technology on Alice he's reduced her to a mindless doll, Jervis realizes clearly he's right and looks genuinely guilt-ridden for a second. However, it instead sends him into a berserk rage and he tries to murder Batman with an axe.
Mad Hatter: It didn't have to be this way. You made me do this to her!
- In "Trial", Jervis is clearly ashamed after admitting he'd rather have killed Alice himself than respect her wishes, but he still gleefully goes along with the mock trial and joins the rest of the rogues gallery in trying to murder Batman.
I Control My Minions Through...: He used mind control on his minions, which gave him an advantage over Batman, who wouldn't hit people who weren't willingly causing trouble. Once they were free, however, poor Mad Hatter.
Ironic Nursery Tune: Based as he is on the Alice in Wonderland character, he uses these as part of his schtick. In one scene, he taunts Batman from afar with "Twinkle, Twinkle, little Bat! How I wonder what you're at!"
Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: He starts off using his mind control devices simply to impress Alice and make it seem as though he was a local celebrity, which while definitely unethical isn't too harmful. However, his refusal to let go of his obsession leads to him using it to force innocent people to help him kidnap her and he intends to use it to force her to stay with him.
Loving a Shadow: His "love" for Alice is in reality a twisted obsession born from Jervis's loneliness and desire for companionship. It's very clear that Jervis doesn't actually care what she wants, and by the end of "Mad as a Hatter" he's willing to brainwash her just to keep her in his life.
Love Makes You Evil: His unrequited love for Alice is what drove him to start using the mind control chips he invented for his own ends, and that quickly led to Jervis Jumping Off the Slippery Slope.
The Mad Hatter: Surprisingly averted. While he styles himself as such a character, he takes no real joy in his own instability and during his few moments of self-awareness seems horrified with himself before sliding back into his delusions.
Mad Scientist: He specializes in mind control and he's quite willing to use it for personal gain regardless of who it hurts. He even occasionally does things simply For Science!, as in "Animal Act".
Master of Illusion: Via his mind control, such as in "Perchance to Dream".
Meaningless Villain Victory: In a milder example, he uses his mind control technology to land Alice, a co-worker he was too shy to talk to. Batman calls him out on this, asking if a mind-controlled, compliant Alice with no personality was what he really wanted. Tetch has a breakdown and rushes Batman.
Mind-Control Device: This is his schtick. When he did it to mice, it was cute and scientific. When he did it to a female co-worker named Alice on whom he had a huge unrequited crush, it became creepy and stalkerish, but as he expresses regret about it we can assume it was a last resort.
Motive Decay: As Batman pointed out in "The Worry Men", he went from socially inept and lovelorn to being just another petty crook. In that case, Tetch refutes the label by stating he's simply funding his retirement to a Tropical Epilogue, but considering he's still at it once that scheme is foiled...
Never My Fault: He blames Batman for losing Alice, even though she didn't want to be with him in the first place. He even at one point claims Batman ruined his life, something that seems more tied to his own actions.
Not Good with Rejection: This is part of his origin. He had a crush on his secretary, who actually was named Alice, but she didn't reciprocate. He brainwashed her in response, and when questioned on it in "Trial" he admits he'd rather have killed her than leave her alone.
Not Me This Time: In "Make 'em Laugh" and "Knight Time" (Superman: The Animated Series) he's the primary suspect thanks to the villain of each episode using brainwashing technology similar to his. However, in both cases it's someone else; Joker using his stolen tech in the former and Brainiac in the latter.
Obliviously Evil: At least at first. He doesn't seem to realize just how bad mind-controlling Alice is, and seems to believe that he's doing her a favor.
Off with His Head!: In keeping with all of the Alice references, says this about Batman.
Pet the Dog: In issue 37 of Gotham Adventures he lures Batman into another Lotus-Eater Machine purely in the hopes of letting Batman have a little happiness for once. Sadly, happiness is apparently so unnatural for the Batman that just the feeling is enough for Batman to realize that he's in a fantasy.
Politically Incorrect Villain: In "The Worry Men", he refers to the numerous gang members he's kidnapped as "gutter-trash" and unimportant, implying some rather classist views. He's also implied to have somewhat xenophobic views as well, having forced a brainwashed South American man and his other brainwashed victims to dress up in stereotypical jungle tribesmen.
Psychopathic Manchild: Pretty par for the course for someone trying to fashion their life after a children's book.
Rhymes on a Dime: He occasionally slips into this, most notably in the third season and his appearance in a Superman: The Animated Series crossover.
Sanity Slippage: Jervis starts off as somewhat eccentric, but a mostly normal if socially awkward guy. His introductory episode has him gradually slide into obsession, and throughout the series his sanity degrades further.
Signature Headgear: Well, duh! His hat is a huge part of his shtick.
Sinister Schnoz: He has a rather large downturned nose and he's a supervillain. It plays into his motivations as well; his ugly appearance fuels his insecurities, which in turn helps drive him into villainy.
Slowly Slipping Into Evil: His debut episode centers around him doing this. He starts off as simply a lovelorn, socially awkward man with an unrequited crush. As he becomes more reliant on his mind control devices to earn Alice's love, he becomes increasingly manipulative and controlling until he snaps and tries to use it to turn her into his mindless lover.
Stalker with a Crush: How the Mad Hatter was first portrayed in his obsession with his co-worker Alice and being too shy to ask her out.
They Called Me Mad!: He briefly mentions it but that didn't play in his descent into villainy.
Too Dumb to Live: In "The Worry Men", he insults the majority of his current brainwashed henchmen by calling them "gutter trash". When Batman breaks their mind-control, they gang up on him quite cross about that comment and all the crimes he put them through, and is only saved from a likely brutal beating by the grace of his current and now unbrainwashed Dragon making it clear they should leave him to the police.
Tragic Villain: His fall to villainy stems from his loneliness and low self-esteem making him become obsessed with Alice, the one person who treats him kindly. Unfortunately, it leads to him gradually Jumping Off the Slippery Slope.
Tropical Epilogue: "The Worry Men" features the Mad Hatter admitting that he's been thinking of retiring from crime, purchasing an island out in the middle of nowhere, and opening up a sun-bonnet shop. Of course, as even little islands cost a lot of money, he decided to put his criminal talents to use in one last big job to fund the dream.
Villainous Breakdown: At the end of "Perchance to Dream," he breaks into a sobbing rage when Batman escapes from his Dream Machine.
Batman: Why? Why did you do it?
The Mad Hatter: You, of all people, have the gall to ask me that? You ruined my life. I was willing to give you whatever life you wanted just to keep you out of mine.
Wicked Cultured: He sure likes his Lewis Carroll's quotes.
What Have I Become?: He puts his hands over his mouth and seems truly frightened after he yells at Van Dorn that he would've killed Alice, implying a slight sense of self-awareness regarding his Sanity Slippage.
White Hair, Black Heart: In the redesign, the Hatter gains white hair instead of his original blonde and is still just as ruthless as he was prior.
Wrong Genre Savvy: He thinks he's the protagonist of a romantic comedy and that Alice's boyfriend is a Romantic False Lead that she'll leave in favor of him. When she proves to be happy with her boyfriend and willing to marry him, he snaps and tries to force her to conform to his fantasies.
Yandere: For Alice. He was hopelessly in love with her even when she was with her boyfriend. When they broke up, the Mad Hatter seized this opportunity to try winning her affections. However, when Alice and her boyfriend got back together, the Hatter became so distraught with grief that he kidnapped her and resorted to his mind-controlling devices to make her love him, something he was initially hesitant in doing earlier. In a later episode, he said he would have killed Alice rather than leave her alone.

Man-Bat

Man-Bat (Dr. Kirk Langstrom)

^{Click here to see him as a civilian}

Voiced in English by: Marc Singer
Voiced in French by: Philippe Peythieu
Appearances: Batman: The Animated Series | The New Batman Adventures^note

The Man-Bat was a creature resulting from crossing of human and bat DNA.

Abled in the Adaptation: In the comics, Langstrom's original motivation for creating the serum was to cure his deafness. Here, he instead wants to prove his father-in-law's theories about a human-bat hybrid being the only thing able to survive the next evolutionary cataclysm correct.
Anti-Villain: Langstrom, his wife and his father-in-law were making a formula to cross human and Bat DNA in order to help humans survive the apocalypse. Langstrom tested the formula on himself and became an uncontrollable bat monster.
Bat People: As is usual for iterations of his character, he was a human scientist whose experimentation with bat DNA turned him into a hideous human/chiropteran chimera.
Bio-Augmentation: Unfortunately, With Great Power Comes Great Insanity.
The Cameo: Kirk and Francine Langstrom are guests at Bruce Wayne's wedding in "Chemistry".
Fantastic Drug: His Psycho Serum is habit-forming.
Magic Pants: Every single time Man-Bat appears, it's wearing pants.
Not Me This Time: "Terror in the Sky" (it's actually his wife) and one issue of the tie-in comic (it's actually an old rival in his field).
Professor Guinea Pig: He drank serum with bat DNA and became the Man-Bat.
Starter Villain: By order of production, he is the first supervillain that Batman has encountered on-screen in Batman: TAS (along with the DCAU)
Superpowered Evil Side: Langstrom is fairly harmless, but the Man-Bat is violent, animalistic, and destructive.
Tragic Monster: He's not actually that bad a person outside of his bat form, but can't control himself when it's happening. Accidentally infecting his wife couldn't have been a picnic either.

Mr. Freeze

Mr. Freeze (Dr. Victor Fries)

"It would move me to tears... if I still had tears to shed."

^{Click here to see his first redesign}

^{Click here to see his robotic spider form}

Voiced by: Michael Ansara
Appearances: Batman: The Animated Series | Batman And Mister Freeze Subzero | The New Batman Adventures | Batman Beyond

"Think of it, Batman: to never again walk on a summer's day with a hot wind in your face, and a warm hand to hold. Oh yes, I'd kill for that."

A respected cryogenics expert who was once employed by GothCorp, Victor Fries fell into a life of crime when his wife, Nora, grew ill and he was forced to sustain her in cryogenic containment until such time that a cure could be delivered. A freak accident in his lab caused Victor to become doused in cryogenic freezing compound, altering his body's structure. Although the effect of the incident made him very durable physically (he is nigh-immortal as his body's low temperature reduces his aging to a crawl), it left him unable to sustain himself outside of below-freezing temperatures. Fries developed a special suit that allows him to exist at these temperatures in normal climates, becoming "Mr. Freeze" in the process. Mr. Freeze's criminal activities are typically unconcerned with personal gain but instead motivated by vengeance and desperation.

Adaptational Badass: He's much more serious and formidable than he previously was in the comics, which resulted in him being reintroduced in the comics and featured in two films (granted, the latter did not go very well).
Adaptational Nice Guy: He was a stereotypical and unremarkable Mad Scientist in the comics that were created before the series. In this adaptation, he's a heartbroken guy who is trying his best to avenge and later save his wife, but takes extreme measures in order to accomplish it. He's still a villain, but on the whole much more sympathetic and never gleefully destructive like his previous incarnations.
Adaptational Sympathy: Arguably the most famous example of this trope. His original comic iteration was a gimmicky Mad Scientist with a freeze gun—so unpopular and unmemorable to fans in fact, that he was killed off as a result. The writers on this series revamped his origin to make him a Tragic Villain that was transformed into his villainous alter ego while trying to save his dying wife. It worked, and it wound up being the definitive take on the character, to the point he was brought back to life in the comics with his new origin.
Always Save the Girl: Much of his villainy is motivated by his desperate desire to save Nora, often at the expense of his own safety, emotional wellbeing, and the lives of innocent people.
And I Must Scream: His eventual fate as shown in Batman Beyond.
Anti-Villain: When he's not obsessed with vengeance, he just wants to be left alone with his wife and find a cure for her terminal disease.
An Ice Person: Thanks to a Freak Lab Accident.
Art Evolution: When Batman: TAS was revamped into The New Batman Adventures, Mr. Freeze had received a redesign through the fact that he became more robotic has a simplified yet intimidating suit with a taller stature and made from black metal. His goggles were also removed, making his very eyes red instead with black where the whites would normally be. As the result of his condition causing his body to wither away, Freeze's head was now attached to a spider-like robot, which resided in the chest cavity of the suit.
Badass Boast: He has performed more than one over the course of the series:
"Rest well, my love. The monster who took you from me will soon learn that revenge is a dish, best served cold."

"Sooner or later, all who stand in my way must feel the icy touch of death!"
Badass Bookworm: He is a former scientist who created all of the technology he uses. There are clues that before the suit, he was a bit tougher than he looked. (He seemingly knew how to handle a pistol, for example.)
Bad Boss: He does not care about the fates of his henchmen, at least not in his first appearance, where he refuses to help one who got caught in his freeze ray even when that arguably amounts to Stupid Evil.
Bald of Evil: The accident that made him Mr. Freeze caused his hair to fall out.
Big Bad: Of Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero.
Black Eyes of Crazy: In place of his goggles in The New Batman Adventures.
Blessed with Suck: He is immortal and can survive quite well in subzero temperatures. He'll also die in anything warmer without his suit on, and hates his life.
Body Horror: He starts out with a body unable to survive outside of subzero temperatures. It gets even worse in the fourth season, when all of his body, save for his head, has decayed away.
Breakout Character: This version of Mr. Freeze became the quintessential archetype of "Mr. Freeze" going forward with constant references to "TAS Mr. Freeze". Fans instantly took to his reworked Dark and Troubled Past involving his wife making him an Anti-Villain which made this his preferred origin.
- His debut episode, "Heart of Ice", is also widely recognized as the most popular episode of the animated series; having two films (animated "Sub-Zero" & live-action "Batman & Robin") and an entire DLC in the popular Batman Arkham series, "Cold, Cold Heart" for Arkham Origins, being directly inspired by it.
Characterization Marches On: "Cold Comfort" depicts him as a more typical villain, going about trying to make other people miserable after losing Nora forever and having his body degenerate into just a head. To be fair, though, he was pushed over the edge by that time, and "Meltdown" goes back to depicting him as a sympathetic and tragic Anti-Villain.
Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Freeze generally doesn't go out of his way to betray his allies, but he's willing to screw them over to further his goals. If you work with him, you will come to regret it.
- In "Heart Of Ice", he callously leaves a henchman named Johnny to freeze after accidentally blasting his feet, then threatens to do worse to his remaining goons.
- After getting Nora back in "Deep Freeze", he decides to betray Grant Walker, the man who will cure Nora in exchange for Freeze's immortality, at Batman's behest. Walker gets trapped in an iceberg and doomed to eternal isolation...but this is justified by Walker being a megalomaniac who was using Victor to help fulfill his genocidal plan.
- In "Sub-Zero" he lies to Koonak, his adopted Inuit son, that Barbara will survive the operation to save Nora. When Koonak discovers the truth he's enraged and helps the girl escape. He then tries to force Dr. Belson to perform the operation anyway, even though their Lair is about to go up in flames. Belson abandons him in panic and Victor's plans are ruined.
- Finally, "Cold Comfort" has him again leave one of his henchwoman frozen while he prepares his mission to freeze-nuke Gotham out of spite.
Chronic Villainy: After his debut, he really just wants to be left alone, but something always seems to drag him back into crime.
Clingy Costume: His temperature-regulating suit, which can't come off unless he has a place kept roughly the same temperature as a meat locker.
The Comically Serious: He comes off as humorously stoic sometimes in the Gotham Adventures comic, where stories taking place at Arkham Asylum will depict his disembodied head resting on a shelf in a cell, still having a stern expression as usual and not saying a word.
Creepy Monotone: To enforce the idea that he has no emotions.
Crusading Widower: The loss of his wife is the whole reason he became Mr. Freeze.
Cursed with Awesome: Being forced to wear his Clingy Costume in most environments sucks. That said, he can walk around freely and comfortably in sub-zero temperatures that would kill ordinary people without protective clothing.
Despair Event Horizon:
- Losing his wife. Both times.
- Losing his body to degeneration, reducing him to a disembodied head.
- He gets another one in Batman Beyond. Poor guy just can't catch a break.
Determinator: "Nora was the only good thing in my life and they took her from me. I don't care what I have to do to get her back!"
Disabled in the Adaptation: While he shares his comic book counterpart's inability to survive in normal environments without a suit to keep himself below zero, his condition here ultimately cost him his body and resulted in his becoming a disembodied head with robotic legs.
Dramatic Deadpan: He usually talks in an emotionless Creepy Monotone.
Driven to Suicide: When Powers and Lake try to kill him, Freeze reverts back to his old ways, and after taking his revenge on them both, sets the compound to explode, with the intent to kill himself (and anyone unlucky enough to be caught in the blast radius). Ultimately, Freeze refuses Terry's offer for help, and perishes in the building as it crumbles around him.
Dub Name Change: In his first appearance in the venezuelan dub, he is named "Capitan Frio" (Captain Cold, like the Flash villain). Future appearances would name him correctly as "Señor Frio", only for his appearance in "Cold Comfort" to name him Señor Hielo (Mister Ice).
Even Evil Has Standards:
- In his first appearance, he avoids directly hurting others despite his quest for vengeance.
- Exclaims You're Insane! towards Grant Walker for his plan in "Deep Freeze".
Evil Is Petty: Good grief! In "Cold Comfort", he goes around breaking fossils and paintings just to make people miserable.
Fate Worse than Death: He certainly seems to view his new state as this, often citing that he'd prefer death or a life very close to it.
For the Evulz: After apparently losing his wife Nora forever, Freeze goes around for a while destroying what people love in order to spread his misery.
Freeze Ray: His trademark weapon.
Heartbroken Badass: His suit and abilities are awesome, but that is nothing to think about, when he's giving his life to save his own wife, yet people still think of him as the bad guy.
The Heavy: While rarely the worst villain in the episodes he appears in, he's always the most prominent.
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: In Gotham Adventures, Nora has remarried, and Freeze is happy to save her husband's life when Grant Walker comes back and kidnaps him.
Jerkass: His loss was tragic, but his means always endanger people and he does not care.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite how his incident has made him even literally coldblooded, Freeze just wants to save his wife, Nora, though he would kill anyone just to do it, even if he has to kill an innocent. He even let his soft side out a couple of times.
Kick the Dog: While trying to hit Batman, he accidentally freezes one of his henchmen's legs. He then blames the accident on said henchman and leaves him for dead while the poor guy begs them to help him. It happens the same way to one of his ice maidens in "Cold Comfort". But then again, "Cold Comfort" is a Kick the Dog episode for him.
Lack of Empathy: Subverted; he insists that he is this trope, but anyone paying attention can see that he still has an emotional side underneath it all.
Loners Are Freaks: Where Batman has Robin, who he treats as a teammate, Mr. Freeze is completely ruthless when one of his henchmen gets accidentally frozen.
Losing Your Head: He suffers this in the show's revamp as another side effect of his condition.
Love Makes You Evil: His love for his comatose wife, Nora.
Murder the Hypotenuse: He tries to do this in a comic book tie-in to the show, where Nora had remarried. Though this applies more to Francis D'anjou, who was actually framing Freeze in the hope that Nora would stop loving him.
Mythology Gag: His iconic "Never again" quote (shown above) is strikingly similar to a line used by George Sanders's version of the character: "Never again to know the warmth of a summer breeze. Never to feel the heat of burning logs in wintertime."
Necromantic: He turned to crime for funds to cure his sick, cryogenically frozen wife and revenge on a Corrupt Corporate Executive for pulling the plug on his first attempt.
Not So Similar: Freeze is like Batman personality-wise: Jaded, brooding, not very social, but of good intentions. However, the difference is that Freeze is willing to kill anyone in order to save Nora, and while Batman sympathizes with him, he cannot let him kill people for it.
Mr. Freeze: It can't end this way! Vengeance!
Batman: No... justice.
Only Sane Man: For all of Batman's foes who get sent to Arkham. He's only there because he's a special needs prisoner, not insane.
Pet the Dog: In "Deep Freeze", he didn't have to warn the residents of Oceana to evacuate but did so anyway.
People Jars: Keeps Nora in one until he can find a cure. And in the sequel series, he ends up in one himself.
Powered Armor: His suit, which is said to triple his strength, making him more than a match for Batman physically.
Pungeon Master: He makes some cold-related puns in his debut episode.
Mr. Freeze: I'm beyond emotions. They've been frozen dead in me.
Put Them All Out of My Misery: Being reduced to just a head in a jar drives him to such despair that he gives up on reuniting with his wife in favor of simply causing as much suffering to Gotham as possible.
Red Eyes, Take Warning: His goggles from his first appearances make him look like he has red eyes. By The New Batman Adventures, he no longer wears goggles and he actually does have red eyes.
Roaring Rampage of Revenge: In "Heart of Ice", towards Ferris Boyle.
Sean Connery Is About to Shoot You: Mr. Freeze fires his freeze gun directly at you. In the commentary, the directors are surprised they got away with it - they wouldn't have been able to with a regular gun, in case some kid decided to try it.
Silence, You Fool!: In "Deep Freeze", Mr. Freeze say this twice to Batman.
Shoot the Shaggy Dog: Freeze believes his efforts to save and be reunited with Nora is this by the events of "Cold Comfort".
Snow Means Love: His most iconic scene is him talking to the snowglobe that contains a statue of Nora, begging for forgiveness. Sad version of this trope. The comics reveal that in college the two spent much of their courtship outside in the snow.
The Stoic: But also Not So Stoic when his wife is brought into the equation.
Stupid Evil: Refusing to help his fallen henchman in his first-appearance episode. It makes sense to consider him expendable as such, but actively refusing to render assistance when that would cost Freeze very little amounts to this. Not only does this have a visibly negative effect on his other followers' morale, but it also leaves Batman with a live witness and potential informer who is familiar with his operations.
They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!: "Freeze!" "That's Mister Freeze to you." (fires)
Tin Man: Despite claiming that he can no longer feel any emotion, his despair at losing his wife — and his cold hatred to those who took her — is demonstrable.
Took a Level in Jerkass: While always having been vindictive since his transformation into Mr. Freeze, his crimes were motivated by a devotion towards his wife, whether it be avenging her supposed death or attempting to developing a cure her for her terminal illness. In "Cold Comfort", however, Freeze has become a Straw Nihilist who targets innocents for little reason other than to bring them the misery he feels.
Tragic Villain: A desperate man trying to save his dying wife, and whose life was destroyed by an accident and confined into a refrigerated suit to survive. There's a reason he provides the page image.
Vocal Evolution: Early on, his voice, with or without the suit on, was heavily modulated in a high pitched, reedy and robotic, almost alien sounding voice as a homage to the voice of the Ebonite Interrogator from The Outer Limits (1963) episode "Nightmare". This was significantly toned down in his later appearances, to where his voice merely sounds filtered through his suit.
Weaksauce Weakness: Any temperatures over freezing; he can't survive them without his suit. In his debut episode Batman defeats him with a warm thermos of chicken soup (the temperature difference breaking his helmet). To be fair, a thermos-ful of boiling-hot viscous fluid in the face would probably incapacitate most villains.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: He mainly just wants to save his wife and find a cure for his condition. That said, his methods of trying to achieve these goals are often so cruel it's pretty hard to argue that he's not a villain.
Who Wants to Live Forever?: "Deep Freeze" states that, even if he's not immortal, he can likely live for thousands of years. And he wants none of it.
- It's even worse in "Meltdown" where he seems to have spent the last few decades as a disembodied head in an isolated room.
Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Before the accident he's even shown to be a bit soft spoken and reserved, and backs down easily after a brief attempt at stopping Boyle from shutting down the cryonic chamber Nora was in.
Batman (Terry): You gotta get out of here, Freeze! The whole place is gonna go!
Freeze: Believe me... you're the only one who cares.

Phantasm (UNMARKED SPOILERS for Batman: Mask of the Phantasm)

The Phantasm (Andrea Beaumont)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_phantasm_dcau.png

^{Click here to see Phantasm's true identity as Andrea}

Voiced by: Stacy Keach as The Phantasm, Dana Delany as Andrea Beaumont
Appearances: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm | Justice League Unlimited

"Your Angel of Death awaits."

A mysterious vigilante bent on murdering Gotham's mob bosses.

Anti-Villain: The Phantasm falls somewhere between "Well-Intentioned Anti-Villain" and "Vicious Anti-Hero". Also a Woobie Anti-Villain once her backstory is revealed.
Badass Cape: Wears a cowl attached to a cape, similar to Batman.
Big Bad: The Phantasm is the main antagonist of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and creates the conflict in the film.
Blade Below the Shoulder: Wields a bladed weapon instead of a right-hand glove.
Boyish Short Hair: She sports a significantly shorter hairstyle as an elderly woman in her cameo in "Epilogue".
The Bus Came Back: The Phantasm returns in the JLU episode "Epilogue" and is shown arguing with Amanda Waller over her refusal to kill Terry's parents.
Calling the Old Man Out: Did this to Carl Beaumont concerning Carl's remarkably poor decision to be business partners with guys like Sal Valestra.
The Cameo: Appears in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Epilogue", and is shown refusing to kill Terry McGinnis' parents in front of him.
Canon Immigrant: It would take the Phantasm nearly thirty years to finally appear in DC Comics proper, becoming a possibly major antagonist in the maxi-series Batman/Catwoman.
Cast as a Mask: Stacey Keach voiced The Phantasm. Deliberate misdirection since he also voiced Andrea's father. The Phantasm is eventually revealed as Andrea herself.
Character Catchphrase: "Your Angel of Death awaits."
Composite Character:
- The plot of Mask of the Phantasm was adapted from the Batman: Year Two storyline. In the comic, the Reaper was Judson Caspian, whose daughter Rachel was in a budding relationship with Bruce Wayne. In the movie, Andrea Beaumont was both the Phantasm and the love interest.
- As for the Phantasm, in the comics he was a teenage telekinetic by the name of Danny Chase who was briefly a member of the Teen Titans and later got possessed by/melded with the souls of Azarath. Obviously they only kept the general design of the Phantasm for MotP and none of the backstory.
Cool Mask: Which resembles a skull.
Costume Copycat: A variation: Batman is blamed for the actions of Phantasm who also wears a costume with a black cape and makes a point of attacking from the shadows and being seen only in glimpses; in this case, the confusion is not deliberate, but results from the Phantasm making similar style choices.
Dark Action Girl: The Phantasm is actually Andrea Beaumont and is very aggressive and ruthless.
Dude Magnet: Bruce and at least three other men have shown an attraction to Andrea.
Everyone Has Standards: The Phantasm is incredibly vengeful, but not toward those who are innocent. She also refuses to kill Terry's family, seeing as it would contradict everything Batman stood for.
Evil Counterpart: Like Bruce Wayne, Andrea Beaumont is a Gothamite socialite who lost her parental figure to the criminal underworld of the city. Like Bruce, Andrea had also taken lessons in hand-to-hand combat in her civilian identity. Like Batman, as the Phantasm she becomes a vigilante who took the fight to Gotham's criminal syndicate and specializes in stealth tactics. However, unlike Batman, the Phantasm is a killer out to avenge her father's murder by killing those responsible, and even after having accomplished her mission, she becomes a Professional Killer as evidenced from the Mask of the Phantasm sequel comic and Justice League episode "Epilogue". Even their costume designs bear a few superficial similarities, which accidentally gets Batman blamed for the series of murders that the Phantasm carried out against the mobsters that killed her father.
Evil Old Folks: Even forty-fifty years after Mask of the Phantasm, Andrea remains an assassin for hire. However, she still has standards - when hired by Amanda Waller to kill Warren and Mary McGinnis in order to provoke their eight-year old son Terry into becoming the new Batman, she hesitates at the last moment and goes back to give Waller a piece of her mind.
Expy: Heavily inspired by the Reaper, a violent vigilante from Batman: Year Two (who was originally going to be the film's antagonist).
First Love: She was Bruce's, as he was close to not being Batman because of her.
From Nobody to Nightmare: Andrea takes a few levels in badass and becomes The Phantasm.
Gender-Concealing Voice: The costume has a voice changer that makes Andrea sound like her father.
Heartbroken Badass: Before becoming a vigilante, the Phantasm was Bruce Wayne's lover. Needless to say, Batman did not approve of her more extreme crime-fighting methods.
He Who Fights Monsters: Alfred even notes it when consoling Bruce near the end of the movie.
Alfred: Vengeance blackens the soul, Bruce. I've always feared that you would become that which you fought against. You walk the edge of that abyss every night, but you haven't fallen in and I thank heaven for that. But Andrea fell into that pit years ago, and no one, not even you, could have pulled her out.
Hitman with a Heart: By the time Bruce Wayne retired, the Phantasm had become an assassin for hire. However, she knew that deliberately orphaning an eight-year old was going too far.
I Did What I Had to Do: Tries to justify her actions by claiming it was necessary:
Andrea: They took everything from me, Bruce: my dad, my life, you. I'm not saying it's right, or even sane, but it's all I've got left. So, either help me or get out of the way!
In the Hood: Mandatory if you want to look like the Grim Reaper.
Knockout Gas: When sprayed directly in Joker's face, the Phantasm's fog briefly incapacitates him with a powerful coughing fit. (There apparently isn't a trope for mace/pepper spray).
Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: We never do find out if the Phantasm's ability to disappear and reappear at will is supernatural or simply clever tricks.
Named After Someone Famous: Named for Andrea Romano, the voice director for the entire DCAU Franchise.
New Old Flame: An old Love Interest of Bruce that was never spoken of in the series proper.
No-Sell: During Phantasm's duel with Joker, Joker's laughing gas is simply absorbed by Phantasm's fog. Phantasm is also seemingly able to vanish when fired on and be completely unharmed.
"Not So Different" Remark: Says this to Batman, acknowledging their similarities. Alfred agrees, to a point, see He Who Fights Monsters.
Offscreen Teleportation: Seems to rely a lot on this trope to get around. A lot of smoke outs were involved though.
Ominous Walk: A favored tactic. It works.
Pay Evil unto Evil: Has this philosophy regarding the crime syndicate in Gotham.
Pet the Dog: The Phantasm is willing to commit many ruthless actions. The Justice League Unlimited episode "Epilogue" reveals that murdering an eight-year old child's parents in cold blood right in front of him to turn him into the next Batman is not one of them.
Professional Killer: After leaving Gotham after Mask of the Phantasm, she became a mercenary for hire, performing jobs as a spy, thief, enforcer or assassin.
Revenge Before Reason:
"I'm not saying it's right or even sane, but it's all I have left, so either help me or get out of the way!"
Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Andrea's motivation for being the Phantasm is to make the mobsters who ruined her life (and took her father) pay for what they've done.
Samus Is a Girl: The Phantasm is assumed to be a man, but Andrea Beaumont is eventually revealed to be behind the mask, using a bulky costume and a voice changer to hide her identity.
Shadow Archetype: Represents what Batman could have become if he started killing people.
Smoke Out: Uses it for both quick entrances and exits and to avoid projectiles, including bullets.
Took a Level in Badass: After becoming the Phantasm.
Tragic Villain: She even admits that she might not be right but vengeance is all what she's got left.
Villain Killer: A vigilante who systematically murders multiple mob bosses throughout Gotham City. This is because The Phantasm is Andrea Beaumont, whose father was killed by the mafia and has come back to Gotham City to avenge him by killing them all.
Walking Spoiler: There isn't much that can be said about the Phantasm without spoiling who's behind the mask.
What the Hell, Hero?: After making the move to the larger DCAU, Phantasm calls out Amanda Waller for her plans concerning Project Batman Beyond.
Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Being separated from her true love and her father's murder led her to exert vengeance against the culprits.

Riddler

The Riddler (Edward Nygma)

"That is grand-scale CHEATING, Batman! You're not allowed to tamper with the Hand of Fate!"

^{Click here to see his redesign}

Voiced by: John Glover
Appearances: Batman: The Animated Series | Superman: The Animated Series | The New Batman Adventures

"Do you know what happens to gate crashers? They have to match wits with the Riddler."

A disgraced video game developer-turned-criminal with a knack for very complex and obscure riddles. Unlike most of Batman's rogues, The Riddler typically wants Batman to pursue him as it gives him an opportunity to use his riddling skills to try to outwit the Dark Knight.

Adapted Out: He was originally planned to be in the final season of Justice League Unlimited in homage to his original role as a founding member, but due to a ban on nearly every Batman-related character, he was kept out of the DCAU version of the Legion of Doom due to his presence on The Batman.
Adaptational Badass: In the comics, Riddler was frequently depicted as an Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain who was treated like a joke, though he admittedly had several flashes of competence. Here, he's competent enough to be a Karma Houdini in his first appearance and is rather well-respected amongst his fellow criminals.
Adaptational Intelligence: He's reinvented as a Gadgeteer Genius, capable of creating advanced Virtual Reality devices and inventing best-selling, sophisticated toys. He even manages to accomplish all of his goals in his first appearance and get away scot-free!
Agent Peacock: He's quite flamboyant and campy, and has a preference for loud green suits. It doesn't make him any less dangerous.
Affably Evil: As long as his "outwitted angry guy" mood is not triggered, he keeps a very elegant and formal demeanor. Though considering he rarely ends a sentence without insulting other people's intelligence, he might qualify for full time Faux Affably Evil.
Anti-Hero: During his Heel–Face Turn in Gotham Adventures. He's trying to stop criminals, but he's still quite morally ambiguous very willing to use torture to get the information he needs.
Art Evolution: The Riddler received a redesign when Batman: TAS was revamped into The New Batman Adventures. After his original outfit was destroyed in "Riddler's Reform", he now wears a bright green one-piece suit with a giant question mark, rather than a darker green blazer suit and tie. He also no longer wears a mask, and has dark circles under his eyes and his head is now bald.
The Bad Guy Wins: Even though he actually did not achieve his goal of killing his Corrupt Corporate Executive ex-boss in his debut episode, Nygma escapes justice safely, and terrifies his victim into a permanent mortal fear of his return.
Bald of Evil: In the revamp, he is bald and still just as evil.
Berserk Button: The whole reason he wanted revenge on Mockridge was less because he was scammed out of the money of his video game, and more because his boss bruised his ego by saying he had nothing to do with its success, and called him an idiot to his face.
- By the time of "Riddler's Reform", being called crazy is this for The Riddler.
Calling Card: His crimes are always marked with his riddles, left behind for Batman to solve.
Chronic Villainy:
- Sells his persona for a fortune and decides to abandon crime altogether in order to avoid risking his newfound wealth and freedom. However, because he has such a compulsion, he reasons that the only way he can do so is to kill Batman. Naturally, he fails, gets found out and arrested.
- What makes this somehow worse is that it would be the second time he became wealthy outside of crime! In order to pull off his Xanatos Gambit scheme in "If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?", he would have had to become independently wealthy, devise his plan, and worm his way into the construction of the "Riddle of the Minotaur" attraction at the amusement park to build his augmented death traps all within the two years between getting canned by Mockridge and making his reappearance as The Riddler. He took Mockridge's insult as a challenge.
- His brief Heel–Face Turn in Gotham Adventures results in Batman catching him anyway. He actually inadvertently gives Batman a riddle as to his location. Despite hating being called crazy, poor Eddie has to concede this one and after a Villainous Breakdown dejectedly lets Batman take him back to the asylum.
  Riddler: You don't understand. I really didn't want to leave you any clues. I really planned never to go back to Arkham Asylum. But I left you a clue anyway. So I...I have to go back there. Because I might need help. I...I might actually be crazy...
Civvie Spandex: Before The New Batman Adventures, he wore a suit and tie and a bowler hat with the only unusual features of his attire being question mark patterns and a mask. That look, a more sedate look modelled after Frank Gorshin's preferred Riddler costume in the 1960s live-action series, made such a good impression that it has been the standard look for the supervillain in the comics ever since.
Consolation Prize: Batman and Robin may have stopped him from killing Daniel Mockridge for cheating him out of his share of royalties for the "Riddle Of The Minotaur" game, but ruining Mockridge's life by making him live in fear of the Riddler's return makes for a very satisfying end anyway.
The Cracker: He's an expert programmer and hacker, even able to create his own highly advanced virtual reality.
Criminal Mind Games: His M.O.
Cut Lex Luthor a Check:
- His motivation in his first appearance is that he tried to use his talents legitimately and got screwed over. He designed a massively successful video game for Mockridge that brought his company millions using his extensive knowledge of riddles and programming, but Mockridge screwed him out of the money and called Riddler an idiot to his face.
- In "Riddler's Reform", he has sold the license to his persona to a toy developer for a completely legal fortune. However, Batman is convinced that he will continue to commit riddle-crimes, even though it will jeopardize his freedom and financial well-being. When Robin wonders why he would take such a risk, Batman explains that for him it is not about the money, it is an obsession. As it turns out, Batman's right; Riddler is uneasy with his new life, and eventually decides to try to kill Batman once and for all just to remove the temptation to backslide.
Dastardly Dapper Derby: A green bowler hat to match his green and purple suit.
Deadpan Snarker: He has quite the dry and witty sense of humor.
Riddler: You have 10 minutes, gentlemen— then, Mr. Mockridge is going to be the only good business shark. A dead one.
Death Trap: Often very elaborately engineered ones that test Batman's intelligence.
Demoted to Extra: He only appeared in three Batman: TAS episodes (excluding a non-speaking background appearance in "Trial"), but he was the antagonist in those episodes. His only appearances in The New Batman Adventures were two brief cameo appearances. His biggest appearance at that time was in the Superman: The Animated Series episode "Knight Time", in which he was one of three villains plotting to take over Gotham in Batman's absence, but even that was just a single scene. Paul Dini admitted in the "Art of..." book that they didn't use the Riddler often because his gimmick of using riddles was pretty hard to pull off in an action cartoon such as theirs.
Engineered Public Confession: He's defeated by one in "Riddler's Reform", which ends his brief stint as a Villain with Good Publicity.
Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor: A lot of his riddles are cheesy puns based off of his own esoteric knowledge, or simply Black Comedy. Batman finds them incredibly lame, namely a Death Trap he set up marked with "loser's ahead."
Batman: Loser's ahead. Loses a head. I don't know what's worse, the traps or the puns.
Evil Genius: Of all Batman's enemies, he's the one who relies most on his intellect and he's an expert at programming, engineering, and of course riddles. He isn't shy about bragging about it either.
Evil Is Petty: In his debut, he flat out says that he doesn't even care that Mockridge is making money off of his own game—he's out for revenge on him for ego gratification, specifically Mockridge calling him a worthless ancilliary to his company, and also called him an idiot to his face.
Evil Redhead: He sports red hair - at least prior to the redesign - and is as bad as they come.It was certainly borrowed from the TV series' Frank Gorshin (as the Riddler usually has slick black hair in the comics).
Fatal Flaw: Suffers from two. One is his Insufferable Genius and Smug Snake sense of narcissism. Two, like most of his incarnations, is his compulsion to leave a riddle even when he really shouldn't. This ties into the above flaw because he thinks so highly of his intelligence he thinks no one would notice them.
Fate Worse than Death: He has his mind trapped inside the virtual reality machine he created in "What Is Reality?" when it's destroyed, leaving him catatonic in the real world. He recovers offscreen somehow.
Falsely Reformed Villain: He is this in "Riddler's Reform", where he acts as if he's gone straight, but old habits die hard for him. Granted, he really did try to go straight, but his impulses got the better of him and he plays this trope straight.
Freudian Excuse: He was always an Insufferable Genius, but he didn't turn to villainy until Mockridge screwed him out of the profits for a video game Nygma designed, fired him, and gloated that he couldn't do anything about it.
Go Mad from the Revelation: Inverted when Batman survives his death-trap, but won't tell him how he did it. The episode ends with Riddler ranting and raving as he tries to figure out how it was done.
Guyliner: In the revamp.
Heel–Face Turn: He hates being in Arkham, so when he escaped in Gotham Adventures, he opts to become a vigilante detective, solving crimes himself while sending riddles to Batman so he can solve other cases. He's still definitely morally ambiguous, though, and isn't above Electric Torture to get the testimony he wants.
His Own Worst Enemy: He can't stop himself from leaving riddles for Batman even when it actively detriments him. He could easily run rings around Batman if he did, but it's simply too strong of a compulsion for Riddler to quit.
Hoist by His Own Petard: Was first trapped in his own virtual world then got his confession recorded on his own device.
Hurricane of Puns: His hints in "If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich".
(Batman and Robin come across a sign that says "Loser's Ahead.")
Robin: "Loser's Ahead?"
(The duo turns a corner, two giant shurikens come out of nowhere, and the duo ducks just before the blades lop their heads off.)
Batman: Loses a head. I don't know what's worse, the traps or the puns.
Insufferable Genius: He's a puzzles genius and he wants everyone to know it.
Karma Houdini: He gets away scot-free at the end of "If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?". The producers have stated that they let the Riddler escape as a testament to his intellect.
Karma Houdini Warranty: His next two appearances after "If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?" don't end so well for him, including getting his brain fried and then having his Falsely Reformed Villain scheme exposed.
Man of Wealth and Taste: In Batman: TAS, he wears a nice green suit and a tie with a question mark. He's also very cultured, often drawing on very esoteric sources of knowledge for his riddles that only Batman can gather.
Mood-Swinger: he alternates fits of anger with polite interludes.
Motive Decay: A rare instance where it's perfectly fine for him not to go after the original man who wronged him because he doesn't need to anymore. While Riddler never makes a move against Mockridge, the man who scammed him, after his first appearance, it's not really needed anymore because Mockridge is left so terrified of the Riddler that he may never get any sound sleep or be able to enjoy his money again.
Near-Villain Victory: He gets allegedly closer to killing Batman than any of the villains in "Almost Got Im". The Caped Crusader manages to save himself by jumping into a small safe that had no reason to be there, with only two seconds to reach it and get in it.
Nerds Are Sexy: In "Riddler's Reform", he ends up with quite a few women fawning over him. Unless that's an example of All Girls Want Bad Boys, or Power is Sexy and/or Gold Digger, due to his newfound fame and wealth from his inventions.
Paranoia Gambit: His origin episode revolves around him going after Mockridge, the man who cheated him out of the profits for a game he designed due to him being 'work-for-hire'. Batman and Robin manage to save him, but the Riddler gets away and hints he will eventually return to finish the job. The episode ends with a terrified Mockridge in his mansion, locking every door and window in the place, checking every shadow, and getting into bed with a loaded shotgun at his side while Bruce muses on the situation:
Bruce: Mockridge may have his money, but he won't be sleeping well. "How much is a good night's sleep worth?" Now THERE'S a riddle for you.
Prophetic Names: During his Start of Darkness episode, Batman lampshades this trope when Edward Nygma reveals his new identity, asking him if it's meant to be a joke.
Redhead In Green: He's a redhead clad entirely in green clothing. By the time of TNBA, he's become bald, though it's unclear if he shaved his head or simply went bald naturally.
Revenge Before Reason: Eddie's whole reason for becoming The Riddler in the first place. If his scheme to murder Mockridge in "If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?" had gone off without a hitch, it's unlikely he would have returned at all - he only changes his plans to include "Kill Batman" when he realizes that Batman figured out his true identity. The entire plot of "What Is Reality?" is Nygma trying to wipe out any record that he ever existed (including murdering the few "in the know"), presumably to move on with his life under a new identity.
Riddle Me This: The trope namer.
Sanity Has Advantages: In "Riddler's Reform", he actually goes straight and makes tons of money by designing puzzles for a toy company and licensing his likeness to market them. However, he just can't stop thinking about matching wits with Batman... so he decides that the only way he'll ever be secure enough in his new life to actually enjoy it is to kill Batman.
Sanity Slippage: Riddler initially just wanted revenge on his boss for firing him and screwing him over, but as Batman keeps solving his riddles he becomes obsessed with beating him. By the time of "Riddler's Reform", Nygma has become unable to resist the compulsion to leave his riddles or match wits with Batman, and is utterly obsessed with it.
Smug Snake: The mother of all smug depictions of the Riddler. He's arrogant and always assumes he has the upper hand, but he'll always lose it when Batman solves whatever riddle he has.
Steven Ulysses Perhero: His name, when read as "E. Nygma", is a play on "enigma", which is a synonym for "mystery".
Team Member in the Adaptation: Inverted. As mentioned in "Adapted Out", because of The Batman airing at the same time, legal issues prevented this version of the Riddler from being a member of the DCAU's Legion of Doom.
That Man Is Dead: In "What is Reality?", the Riddler proclaims that Edward Nygma is no more after he erases all records of his civilian identity. In "Riddler's Reform", he proclaims his Riddler persona is finished after he seemingly he beaten Batman with a seemingly inescapable trap.
The Dark Side Will Make You Forget: Initially, Riddler just wanted to get revenge on Mockridge for firing him and screwing him out of the royalties, and ensuring he gets off scot-free in the aftermath. By the time of his final appearance, he's been utterly consumed by his desire to beat Batman and stump him with one of his riddles that it's become an irresistible compulsion.
Throw the Book at Them: In "Judgement Day", courtroom-themed vigilante The Judge tells him, "It's about time someone threw the book at you!" and drops a car-sized book on him, nearly killing him.
Unexplained Recovery: It's left unclear how he managed to recover from his Fate Worse than Death at the end of "What Is Reality?".
Un-person: "What is Reality?" has him erasing all of the records of his existence as Edward Nygma, including birth certificates, drivers licenses, employment records and so on.
Villain Ball: He's genuinely smart enough to fool everyone, including the police, with his complicated riddles. And could have landed himself into early retirement as a toy maker. But as long as Batman is around monitoring Riddler's actions, the Riddler cannot resist committing crimes with riddles to challenge the World's Greatest Detective. And Riddler solemnly admits it will be his downfall in the end.
Villain Has a Point: While he admits going after Mockridge is motivated mainly by his bruised ego, he still is right that Mockridge didn't appreciate his genius. Nygma came up with and helped design a video game that won Mockridge's company millions, yet he still dismissed him as an expendable ancillary. Riddler is well within his rights to be angry, even if he clearly takes it too far.
Villain Respect: Riddler has gained this for Batman by the episode "Riddler's Reform" if the speech he gives is any indication.
Riddler: I fooled the police, the doctors, the parole board, all of them. There's only one person who's ever been able to challenge me: Batman. He's the only one worthy of the game.
Villainous Breakdown: Has an epic one in "Riddler's Reform" when Batman refuses to tell him how he escaped Riddler's seemingly impenetrable death trap. Even after he's brought back to Arkham, he spends the entire time screaming and demanding to know how Batman did it.
Villainous Crossdresser: For some reason, his TNBA design has him in women's shoes.
Wicked Cultured: Riddler has a thing for Greek mythology and foreign languages, and frequently incorporates them into his riddles. Part of what makes them so difficult is that he'll alternate between extremely esoteric riddles that rely on the recipient (usually Batman) being highly educated, or the riddle being confusingly worded but having a deceptively simple answer.
Was It Really Worth It?: At the end of Riddler's debut episode, Batman states that even though they saved the Corrupt Corporate Executive from Nygma's traps, the experience scarred him for life, and the last scene shows a frightened Mockridge trembling under his bedsheets.
What Happened to the Mouse?: In "Trial", he's seen among the villains as a juror in their Kangaroo Court. However, he disappears during the second half of the episode and his chair in the jury is even empty. Screw This, I'm Outta Here seems to be the answer.

Scarecrow

The Scarecrow (Dr. Jonathan Crane)

"I am fear incarnate. I am the terror of Gotham. I am the Scarecrow!"

^{Click here to see his first redesign}

^{Click here to see his second redesign}

Voiced by: Henry Polic II (Batman: The Animated Series), Jeffrey Combs (The New Batman Adventures)

Appearances: Batman: The Animated Series | The New Batman Adventures

"Fear is the glue that holds society together. It's what makes people suppress their worst impulses. Fear... is power."

A university psychology professor who has made a career out of studying fear and its effects. In his pursuit of research, he developed a chemical toxin that allows him to induce fear in any subject at his whim, which he later began using as an asset for crime.

Adaptational Badass: When he undergoes his TNBA redesign, looking far creepier and more scary than most of the other Scarecrows thus far, including being more imposing and intimidating even without the use of fear gas.
Adaptational Jerkass: Ironically for a series that made the majority of its villains more sympathetic, he falls into this. In the original comics, while The Scarecrow was still a sadistic Jerkass, he at least had a sympathetic backstory (to varying degrees depending on the continuity) usually involving him being bullied at some point and more depth. Here, even as a child he was a sadist that scared people for the hell of it. The tie-in comics, however, invert this by giving him at least some likable traits such as having a soft spot for teaching and a bit of reluctance to become the Scarecrow at one point.
Adapted Out: He was meant to appear in the final season of Justice League Unlimited, but legal issues prevented him from appearing with the DCAU version of the Legion of Doom due to his presence in Batman Begins, which also prevented him from appearing on The Batman.
Art Evolution: His costume went through several major alterations and changes, even before the revamp from The New Batman Adventures (which settled on a design), more or less because his first designs were a tad on the goofy side.
- As for his redesign, the Scarecrow underwent a large change through completely altering his costume. His costume was reminiscent of a Southern Preacher with a rimmed hat and long black trenchcoat. The scarecrow mask became more dead-like, with a few block-like teeth, a noose around the neck, and he was given long black hair. Additionally, The Scarecrow now used a large wooden staff as his weapon of choice, in addition to his fear toxin.
- The in-universe reason for the design was eventually revealed in the 2016/2017 comic book miniseries Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures (Crossing over BTAS with the 2012 TMNT series) where Crane modifies his costume to look scarier after discovering The Kraang.
Becoming the Mask: In his debut episode, Crane used his Scarecrow persona as a means of disguising his face while he got revenge on the university. As the series goes on, he seems more and more detached from his true identity and wrapped up in his alter-ego. His literal mask is rarely removed in later episodes, usually only by force, until New Adventures never shows him without it. The tie-in comics show that Scarecrow has actually developed into a Split Personality; on the few occasions Crane comes close to reforming, something usually happens that results in the Scarecrow personality taking over again.
Cold Ham: Jeffrey Combs' stint as Scarecrow in The New Batman Adventures is no less grandiose or theatrical in his dialogue or actions; just quieter and more venomous.
Cut Lex Luthor a Check: In "Fear of Victory", he starts rigging sports and then betting on the games; he himself points out that chemicals are expensive and his usual crimes of causing wanton terror aren't very lucrative.
Darker and Edgier: In TNBA, he looks less like a scarecrow and more like a zombie. He also now speaks in a raspy whisper and moves in an almost robotic manner, when he was a bombastic Large Ham back in Batman: TAS.
Early Installment Character-Design Difference: Even putting aside his TNBA design, his costume design in "Nothing to Fear" was different than his design in other Batman: TAS era episodes, featuring Blank White Eyes and lacking the straw "hair". The TNBA design was justified by the Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures comic book crossover, where him accidentally running into Dimension X scares him enough to change his look into that appearance.
Escape Artist: In "Dreams In Darkness", he's implied to be very adept at escaping from Arkham, as while most rogues seem to have a loud or destructive method of breaking out, he does so without any detection and is only been discovered to have left long after the fact. Later, in "Lock-Up", it's mentioned that he's the only inmate to successfully slip out of Arkham under Bolton's much stricter watch.
Even Evil Has Standards: The Batman Adventures has him go back to being the Scarecrow after an attempt at redemption so he can get revenge on a Jerk Jock harassing (and implicated to have raped) one of his students.
Evil Redhead: Underneath his mask.
Evil Teacher: His experiments - mostly just locking people in small rooms while dousing them with fear gas - go all the way back to his days as a Gotham University professor.
Fixing the Game: "Fear of Victory" centered on his plot to raise a lot of money gambling on sporting events (Guess how). He even drops the title "I fixed the games."
For Science!: "Dreams in Darkness" in particular.
A God Am I: No remotely "godlike" powers aside from his fear gas, but he's got the attitude in spades.
Hidden Depths: The tie-in comics show he is genuinely concerned about Gotham's youth getting a proper education, and he genuinely does love teaching.
Hoist by His Own Petard: Has been exposed twice to his own fear gas.
I Kiss Your Foot: In Fear of Victory, Scarecrow mentions using his Fear Toxin to bring the people of Gotham to their knees and in his own words "...Kissing my feet!"
Jerkass: Before his redesign, he's a snappy, obnoxious sadist with no tragic backstory to justify his actions or behavior. The tie in comic gives him a more nuanced portrayal.
Kids Are Cruel: A brief flashback shows that as a kid, he was a bully who enjoying frightening classmates with trick spiders.
Large Ham: In Batman: TAS. He transitions to a Soft-Spoken Sadist in TNBA.
Lean and Mean: Just like an actual scarecrow, he is exceptionally thin.
Mad Scientist: He claims his crimes are experiments in fear.
Master of Disguise: In Fear of Victory, Crane spends much of the episode in disguise, since he's supposed to be secured tightly at Arkham. While it appears to simply be a fake mustache and sunglasses, it's apparently good enough to fool Dick Grayson, in close proximity no less.
Master of Illusion: Particularly the scary kind, since he's using toxins that make people see their worst fears.
Master Poisoner: Makes all of the fear toxins himself.
Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Following his TNBA redesign. He's never shown unmasked, and the production team has said that they weren't even sure there was actually a man in the costume any more.
Never Bareheaded: He starts out with a floppy wide-brimmed hat and his re-design has him boasting a spiffy flat top wide-brimmed preacher's hat.
Not-So-Harmless Villain: Not that he was really harmless to begin with, just... not that scary.
Pet the Dog: Stops in the middle of one of his raving speeches about being the GOD OF FEAR to say hello to Harley.
Poison and Cure Gambit In "Never Fear", he releases a chemical that takes away all sensation of fear, making people dangerously reckless, with the plan of selling his fear toxin as the "antidote".
Psycho Psychologist: Before becoming Scarecrow, he held a doctorate in psychology, and even a professorship at Gotham University. His vendetta against the university stemmed from them firing him.
Revealing Cover-Up: In "Dreams in Darkness", Scarecrow leaks information about an attack on a health spa in order to lure Batman into a trap, succeeding in poisoning him with a slow-attacking fear toxin, so that he won't interfere with his latest scheme. This leads Batman to realise the Scarecrow is behind this, and takes him to Arkham Asylum where Scarecrow is supposed to be locked up, but where he is actually carrying out his Evil Plan since the water from Arkham goes directly to Gotham City, allowing Batman to find and defeat him. If Scarecrow hadn't lured Batman into a trap, then Batman would never have learnt about his plan in the first place and Crane would have gotten away with it cleanly.
Sadist: Even as a kid, Crane loved scaring people. His love of causing fear developed into his area of expertise, and he still finds it pleasing.
Save Our Students: The tie-in comic gives him Hidden Depths by showing that he actually is concerned about the city's youth getting proper education. The Annual even chronicles his Redemption Failure trying to be this.
Scary Scarecrows: His theme.
Secret-Identity Identity: Later on in the series, Crane begins to identify himself as Scarecrow only, even when he's outside of his costume. In The New Batman Adventures, he goes far as never taking off his new scary costume, almost as if he's truly dead and has become a real, walking corpse.
Skull for a Head: His mask in the redesign.
Sinister Scythe: He wields one in "Trial".
Soft-Spoken Sadist: He is this whenever he is voiced by Jeffrey Combs.
Split Personality: The Batman Adventures show that the Scarecrow has developed into an alternate personality entirely separate from Crane. During his attempts at reforming, he is able to stop the Scarecrow personality from doing nothing more than demanding to be allowed to take control, until something happens that results in Crane allowing the Scarecrow personality to take over.
Team Member in the Adaptation: Inverted. As with Riddler, as stated in "Adapted Out", a barring on almost all Batman-related characters (in this case, related to Batman Begins, which even affected The Batman) kept this version of the Scarecrow from being a member of the DCAU's Legion of Doom.
Vocal Evolution: Henry Polic's voice for Scarecrow sounded much different in "Never Fear", being deeper and sporting a British accent.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: The Batman Adventures reveals that, despite all his sadism, he actually does love to teach. A rehabilitative work-release program at Arkham allows him to teach at the local community college, which he enjoys until he realizes that half his students are too illiterate to spell their own names correctly. This leads him to the scheme he employs in issues 4 and 5, where he holds the city for ransom by rendering everyone illiterate in an attempt to show the local government the dangers of not reforming the education system.
Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Scarecrow is the master of using this trope against his enemies but ironically, he has a deep fear of bats as revealed in his debut episode. This means if he gets exposed to his fear gas and Batman is around the corner, he breaks down sheer terror, begging Batman to stay away from him.
You Don't Look Like You: In the New Batman/Superman Adventures cartoon, he went from his iconic scarecrow costume to a new outfit consisting of a burlap face mask, ragged black clothes like some old-timey Western Preacher Man, and a noose around his neck. In an interview on the character's design change between seasons, the artists and directors confessed that he now looked nothing like a scarecrow and instead looked more like a hanged man who'd come down off of his lynching tree for revenge but stood by their statement that the redesign made him scary-looking, which had proven problematic for his traditional costume.
You Got Murder: "Fear of Victory" had him dosing people with contact poison by telegram. It was only his patented "fear toxin", though.

Ventriloquist & Scarface

The Ventriloquist (Arnold Wesker) & Scarface

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ventriloquist_and_scarface_btas.png

"Who you talking to, creep? He's just the hired help. I'm the boss here. You talk to me."

^{Click here to see his redesign}

Voiced by: George Dzundza
Appearances: Batman: The Animated Series | The New Batman Adventures

The Catwoman: What's wrong, Ventriloquist? Cat got your tongue?

The Ventriloquist: Please, I never hurt you. Scarface, he's another person. Not me, really.

The Catwoman: But he's inside you somewhere. And I'm going to keep scratching until I find him.

Arnold Wesker was a Ventriloquist who had Dissociative Identity Disorder. Unwittingly, Wesker developed a criminal mastermind personality which was vented through the dummy named Scarface.

Actually, That's My Assistant: One of Scarface's many Berserk Buttons is when people rudely insists to talk to the Ventriloquist instead of him, who is the one really in control.
Adaptational Skill: Or rather skillfullness. In the comics, Wesker is a mediocre ventriloquist, leading to Scarface having an Speech Impediment (he substitutes the "B" for a "G", an unfortunate fact if you are going to fight "Gatman and Rogin") that is a common problem with Ventriloquism. Batman: The Animated Series upgrades the Ventriloquist skills to ridiculous levels: Scarface not only can perfectly pronounce the letter "B", but "Read My Lips" shows the batcomputer analyzing The Ventriloquist and Scarface's voices like two different people. Also, Batman knew the greatest ventriloquist of his time, recognized as the world's best Stage Magician, Zatara (Zatanna's father) and believes the Ventriloquist could teach him lessons.
Agitated Item Stomping: At "Read My Lips", after Scarface produces the Incredibly Obvious Bug that Batman has planted on the Ventriloquist's suit, he throws it on the ground and start jumping on it. Justified and subverted because Scarface is a Ventriloquist's dummy and this is one of the obvious ways to show emotions, like angry, but the Ventriloquist has to kneed to the ground to help Scarface.
Anti-Villain: Scarface is a ruthless gangster, but Arnold is an innocent, troubled man who doesn't want to commit crimes but is forced to by his evil Split Personality.
Ascended Extra: At the time of his first appearance in BTAS, Wesker had only had a total of two comic stories in which he appeared. His tragic portrayal however would establish him as a notable recurring fixture among the Bat-rogues in the franchise going forwards.
Art Evolution: Both Scarface and the Ventriloquist received significant redesigns in the revamp. The Scarface puppet became much smaller in stature and was given a square-shaped head; meanwhile his "skin" became lighter, his "hair" went from brown to black, and his suit became almost all white. Arnold Wesker, meanwhile, became far more cartoony in design, with his neck becoming as thick as his head which in turn became rounder; his frizzy white hair was replaced with Charlie Brown Baldness and his Opaque Lenses were made translucent, showing off his Black Bead Eyes. He also switched from a tux to a tieless gray-brown suit.
Bad Boss: Scarface might not be as murderous as the Joker but he makes up for it by being very rude to his henchmen. In his final appearance, however, he outright tries to have Rhino and Mugsy killed just for waking him up too early and also for psychologically torturing the person he's ultimately just a facet of.
Beware the Silly Ones: A gangster speaking through a puppet might look pretty stupid, but that's a real gun that Scarface is holding on to, and whatever's broken inside of the Ventriloquist's mind is razor-sharp; Scarface's crimes are legitimately brilliantly planned. His very first appearance sees him outsmart and trap Batman.
Book Dumb: Scarface has some trouble saying big words but he's a great planner, almost to Clock King level.
Scarface: Woke up last night with one of them whatchamacallits. Prema... Premanotion.
The Ventriloquist: "Premonition"?.
Scarface: Don't put words in my mouth!
Catchphrase Insult: Scarface, who is a dummy, always refers the Ventriloquist as "Dummy".
Cement Shoes: At "Read My Lips", Scarface discuss with the Ventriloquist about putting Batman in ''concrete boots". (see Sycophantic Servant) Later we discover that Scarface was invoking this In-Universe stereotipical gangster trope because he has discovered the Incredibly Obvious Bug Batman has planted in the Ventriloquist's suit and plans to have Batman Lured into a Trap.
Cigar Chomper: Scarface has a cigar in his mouth, though he no longer has it in his appearances on The New Batman Adventures.
Clock King: His debut started with an expertly crafted heist of his, and Commissioner Gordon outright compares his jobs to "a Swiss timepiece."
Companion Cube: Scarface is this to Arnold, being a supposedly non-sentient ventriloquist dummy.
Damn, It Feels Good to Be a Gangster!: Scarface (who is modeled after the Trope Maker and the Trope Codifier of this trope), but not the Ventriloquist: At "Read My Lips", we see Scarface sleeping in a huge bed located in a luxurious room with large windows, with cookies, water and a cigarette in his desk. Then we see that the Ventriloquist sleeps in a small dilapidated room with broken windows, wearing only a nightgown. The Ventriloquist lives in Scarface's closet. Scarface is Cigar Chomper, his clothes are elegant and he is a Bad Boss, while the Ventriloquist endures Scarface making fun of his only suit and is an Extreme Doormat.
Demonic Dummy: Implied on occasion, but never definitively demonstrated.
Disproportionate Retribution: It's very subtle, but any time anyone slights the Ventriloquist, Scarface will strike him with this:
- In "Read My Lips" Batman uses a Neck Lift on the Ventriloquist as part as his Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique. Some scenes later, Batman is Lured Into A Death Trap made of Spikes of Doom.
- In ''Catwalk'', Selina Kyle is kidnapped into a car only to meet the Ventriloquist and Scarface. Amused by the Laughably Evil duo, she cannot stop laughing and even tries to mimic the ventriloquist act. Scarface offers Selina a job and she accepts it. Later at the episode, the Catwoman will find that it was a Frameup, that she was merely a Unwitting Pawn from the very beginning and now she is a wanted felon, effectively ruining her life.
- In ''Double Talk'', the Ventriloquist Just Got Out Of Arkham and wants to reform. His old gang, Mugsy and Rhino, put a Gaslighting on him in an attempt at Breaking Out the Boss. At the climax, Mugsy and Rhino are Lured Into A Death Trap by Scarface.
The Dog Bites Back: In "Double Talk", Wesker finally gets fed up with Scarface, riddling the dummy with bullets and sending it careening into a fan that shreds it to sawdust.
Earn Your Happy Ending: Wesker isn't the only rogue who tries desperately to overcome his illness, but he's the only one who permanently succeeds, and boy does he have to go through an ordeal to do it.
Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": See Nominal Importance.
Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: The seventh issue of The Batman & Robin Adventures reveals that Arnold Wesker loved his mother dearly, with Scarface planning to kill her to keep him in line. It turns out in the end that Wesker's mother already died long ago and that what Scarface really did was destroy a photograph that was all Wesker had to remember his mother.
Even Evil Has Standards: Despite being a cruel gangster and a living nightmare to the Ventriloquist himself, even he disapproves of Lyle Bolton's extreme "reforms" at Arkham Asylum's security measures, one of which involved holding the dummy himself over a jar of termites.
Evil Is Not a Toy: After Wesker is released from Arkham, Mugsy and Rhino decide to get Scarface back by gaslighting Wesker into thinking Scarface is back and sentient. While they do succeed in bringing back Scarface, they are double-crossed by Scarface for insubordination and for ruining his plan to come back when he's ready.
Evil Sounds Raspy: The Scarface personality has a very gruff voice befitting a hard-boiled gangster, in sharp contrast to Wesker's meek voice.
Family-Unfriendly Death: For being not technically alive, Scarface got that a lot. The creators mentioned once that, as the censors weren't going to complain about what they did to an inanimate doll, they were free to be as vicious and sadistic to Scarface as they wanted - and it shows!
Forced into Evil: Wesker has mental health problems and does his crimes out of fear being Scarface's next victim.
Gollum Made Me Do It: Wesker is a mild-mannered man being bossed around by a loud mouthed blockhead.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: The dummy's are modeled after the ones on Al Capone, the real-life Scarface.
Hair-Trigger Temper: Scarface is very quick to anger and really hates being disrespected, which doesn't help that nobody takes him seriously on the account of being a puppet.
Heel–Face Turn: Arnold is among the only recurring villains to stay redeemed.
Helpless Good Side: Portrayed in a similar manner in the comics. The Ventriloquist's Fatal Flaw is that he's Weak-Willed and utterly dominated by his ruthless alternate personality. There's a creepy scene at the end of his first episode that shows him making a new Scarface dummy to replace the one that was destroyed earlier, showing that he still has a problem. The trope is averted in his last appearance. Unlike other times the doll is destroyed, Wesker finally gathers enough willpower to destroy the Scarface doll himself. The episode ends with Wesker finally moving on with his life and Scarface is never seen again.
Insane Equals Violent: Deconstructed, unlike a majority of the rogues gallery, Wesker is pretty harmless by himself and is forced to do evil out of fear that Scarface would hurt him too if he doesn't comply. In fact, he's one of the few characters to fully recover from their condition and take steps for a better life.
Jaw Drop: This is Batman's reaction to seeing Scarface for the first time. Even Alfred has to admit that of all the crazy supervillains Batman has fought over the years, Scarface is the most bizarre.
Jerkass: Scarface is incredibly mean to everyone, especially to Wesker. This is justified because Scarface is a mouthpiece for Wesker's more violent second personality.
Laughably Evil: Because of their gimmick of being a puppet and ventriloquist, nobody takes them seriously and Selina Kyle even breaks down laughing when she meets them for the first time. To compensate for this, Scarface carries a Tommy gun with him at all times.
The Man Behind the Curtain: Even Batman was visibly shocked to see who really was the new master criminal in town.
Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Carried over from the comics, It's not entirely clear if Wesker is putting an excellent Ventriloquism act or if Scarface is a truly Demonic Dummy: "Read My Lips" shows the batcomputer analyzing Wesker and Scarface's voices like two different people. Batman knew the greatest ventriloquist of his time, Zatara (Zatanna's father) and believes Wesker could teach him lessons.
Mister Big: A frequent source of humor is tiny Scarface bullying gigantic Rhino into total submission.
The Napoleon: Scarface compensates for his short size by being over-aggressive and dominating, to a point where he's offended by how people choose the talk to Wesker instead of him.
Nominal Importance: Played with the Ventriloquist. In his first two episodes, ''Read My Lips'' and ''Catwalk'', The Ventriloquist is Not Given A Name, Scarface constantly calls him "dummy" and Everyone Else Calls Him The Ventriloquist. Justified to reinforce his Extreme Doormat personality (Scarface has a name. He is the only one who deserves a name). Only in his third episode in the series, ''Double Talk'' is revealed his name, Arnold Wesker, foreshadowing his Earn Your Happy Ending.
No Name Given: Wesker is rarely addressed by name as the thugs are more loyal to Scarface, with Scarface calling Wesker "hired help".
Not-So-Harmless Villain: When Catwoman refuses to save Scarface from being cut up by a lumber saw, Wesker goes berserk and attacks her with a stuffed Tasmanian Tiger.
Opaque Lenses: Wesker has these in his first design.
The Paranoiac: Scarface prides himself on plans that no one can guess, and is thus incredibly paranoid about "squealers".
Perfectly Cromulent Word: Instead of his speech impediment from the comics, Scarface constantly drops non-words that sound vaguely like other words.
Pet the Dog: Despite telling Catwoman he has no use for animals, he mentions he still has use for Rhino, much to the big guy's joy and even showed concern for Killer Croc getting hit by Joker's machine gun during Batman's fight against his rogues gallery.
Scary Shiny Glasses: When the attention is put on Scarface.
Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: One of many differences between Arnold and Scarface.
Shrinking Violet: Wesker really wants to stay out of trouble and is absolutely terrified of Scarface.
Smarter Than You Look: Scarface's typical thuggish personality (and his very nature) caused his opponents to cruelly underestimate his actually genuine smarts more than once.
Split Personality: Wesker has a severe personality disorder, one side being weak-willed and submissive and another that's hyper-aggressive and dominating. Scarface is believed to be a mouthpiece for Wesker's more violent impulses.
Split-Personality Takeover: A positive example. Wesker eventually manages to turn on and destroy the Scarface doll himself, ridding himself of his evil personality completely and finally taking his life back. Thankfully, it sticks.
The Stoic: Arnold Wesker, the ventriloquist, truly is one, but only when Scarface is talking. When something happens to Scarface, Arnold can emote like any other.
Sycophantic Servant: Wesker is subservient to Scarface and will serve him with the utmost loyalty, mainly out of fear of Scarface's wrath.
Scarface: Batman's so hot, let's see him swim Gotham Bay in concrete boots.
The Ventriloquist: A good idea, Mr. Scarface.
Scarface: Bet your bow tie I'm right, dummy. Say, who dresses you anyway?
The Ventriloquist: You're such a kidder, Mr. Scarface.
Sympathy for the Devil: Bruce really does sympathise with Wesker and understands that he's just an average guy with mental health problems who needs help.
They Killed Kenny Again: Scarface is almost always maimed or destroyed at the end of his appearances. Justified because he's a puppet. Subverted in "Double Talk", where Wesker kills him permanently.
They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: The Ventriloquist is just an unassuming man in an old suit. He has not a Red Right Hand nor a costume based on an Evil Makeover. If not for that dummy Scarface, he would seem perfectly normal.
Yes-Man: Wesker will agree to everything Scarface says, even if he has doubts, because he's that scared of Scarface.

Scarface: ''Come on, what are you waiting for? For once in your life, do something right.''

The Ventriloquist: Yes. (He then shoots Scarface, who falls off a building and into a massive industrial fan).

Scarface: ''That's it, dummy, when I get my hands on...''

(Later)...

Arnold Wesker: And Mr. Wayne even gave me my job back.

Mrs. Segar: I'm so glad, Arnie. Maybe now that you're back... you won't be such a stranger this time. Use the rec room. Sometimes it helps to be around others.

Arnold Wesker: I will. But for right now... I'm just looking forward to being by myself.

Characters / Batman: The Animated Series – Rogues Gallery, Part 2

Baby Doll (Mary Louise Dahl)

Bane

Clayface (Matt Hagen)

The Clock King (Temple Fugate)

Firefly (Garfield Lynns)

Killer Croc

The Mad Hatter (Jervis Tetch)

Man-Bat (Dr. Kirk Langstrom)

Mr. Freeze (Dr. Victor Fries)

The Phantasm (Andrea Beaumont)

The Riddler (Edward Nygma)

The Scarecrow (Dr. Jonathan Crane)

The Ventriloquist (Arnold Wesker) & Scarface

Alternative Title(s): DCAU Batman The Animated Series Rogues Gallery Part 2

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Characters / Batman: The Animated Series – Rogues Gallery, Part 2

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Baby Doll (Mary Louise Dahl)

Bane

Clayface (Matt Hagen)

The Clock King (Temple Fugate)

Firefly (Garfield Lynns)

Killer Croc

The Mad Hatter (Jervis Tetch)

Man-Bat (Dr. Kirk Langstrom)

Mr. Freeze (Dr. Victor Fries)

The Phantasm (Andrea Beaumont)

The Riddler (Edward Nygma)

The Scarecrow (Dr. Jonathan Crane)

The Ventriloquist (Arnold Wesker) & Scarface

Alternative Title(s): DCAU Batman The Animated Series Rogues Gallery Part 2

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Index

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