Batman: Rogues Gallery (Part 1) / Characters

open/close all folders

Abattoir

Alter Ego: Arnold Etchison

First Appearance: Detective Comics #625 (January 1991)

"It'll take hours for you to die, cousin—a day, more! And every instant that you scream—every time you curse me, I'll be absorbing just that little more of your spirit! As your life-force seeps away, so will it make my life-force stronger! Now is that family bonding, or what?"

Arnold Etchison, better known as Abattoir, was a serial killer who was convinced that his family was evil and that he could absorb something of their life force by killing them and desecrating their corpses.

Asshole Victim: He's a sadistic serial killer who nearly gets melted by Clayface for kidnapping his son, and later gets melted in molten slag after being left to die by Azrael. The only reason anyone is upset by this is that he died before he could tell where he was holding his brother, who dies horribly in a Death Trap.
Badass Normal: Depending on the Writer. Sometimes he's good enough to hold his own against Azrael, and sometimes Batman can drop him with a single punch.
The Bad Guy Wins: A post-mortem win, as with the death of Graham Etchison he successfully killed off every last member of his family.
Bad People Abuse Animals: He once killed 400 cows and 200 birds as part of a deranged ritual to gain immortality.
Bad with the Bone: Abattoir was obsessed with death and symbols of mortality and frequently used human bones as weapons: either as clubs or sharpened into blades.
Blade Enthusiast: Abattoir preferred to do his killing with bladed weapons, and generally carried a large number of knives.
Bullying a Dragon: He tried to blackmail Clayface into doing his dirty work by threatening his son. He would've paid with his life had Azrael not stepped in.
Darker and Edgier: He debuted in 1991 and with his focus on bloody murder over goofy capers, he's emblematic of pointlessly edgy 90's villains.
Familial Foe: Abattoir is a Serial Killer who is obsessed with killing members of his large family (ranging from his parents and brother to an unborn third cousin), and very few relatives survive an encounter with him.
I Just Want to Be Special: Magic exists in the DCU and he's obsessed with occultic rituals to steal life and become immortal, but he doesn't have any magical power at all, he's just a madman.
Karmic Death: Falling into a vat of molten metal is a nasty way to go (and the look on his face in his last moments makes it very clear just how nasty), but Abattoir more than had it coming.
Killed Off for Real: Azrael allowed Abattoir to fall to his death in a vat of molten metal. Abattoir subsequently returned as a ghost (during a brief period of increased supernatural activity, worldwide), to torment the original Batman, and the supervillain Black Hand subsequently resurrected Etchison to serve in his Black Lantern Corps.
Laser-Guided Karma: Maybe it was wrong of Azrael to let him die, but one can't deny that there's a certain poetic symmetry in the killer who left his last victim to die in a death trap falling into one himself.
Murder by Inaction: The final battle between Az-Bats and Abattoir caused Abattoir to hang for his life above a vat of molten metal. Abattoir pleaded for help, but Valley allowed him to fall to his death. Since Abattoir was holding his cousin in his hideout, Valley indirectly condemned Graham Etchison to death. It was this act that made Bruce Wayne determined to reclaim the mantle of Batman from Jean-Paul Valley.
Murder in the Family: His shtick is killing off members of his own family out of the insane belief that he can achieve immortality by killing enough of them.
Names to Run Away from Really Fast: When one takes the codename of another word for a slaughterhouse, it's a good sign to give them a wide berth.
Pet the Dog: While holding little Cassius Payne hostage, Abattoir comforted the boy by reading him a story from his family's journal about his birth. When Cassius' father brought him his brother, Abattoir kept his end of the bargain and gave Preston back his son.
Pragmatic Villainy: That said, he was just trying to get Cassius to stop crying, and then had no reason to give Preston back his son.
Serial Killer: Abattoir was a serial killer who was convinced that his family was evil and that he could absorb something of their life force by killing them and desecrating their corpses.
Stalker Without A Crush: He hounded Graham Etchinson, the last living member of his family, for some time, even going so far as to ensnare the Clayfaces in a plot to kill him. Sadly Abattoir eventually managed to kill Graham off.
We Hardly Knew Ye: Although that's not such a bad thing in his case. Introduced in 1991, he stuck around for less than 4 years before being killed off.

Absence

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/una_nemo_001.png

Alter Ego: Una Nemo

First Appearance: Batman & Robin #17 (January 2011)

"Good evening. My name is the Absence! Thank you for noticing me!"

A former girlfriend of Bruce Wayne, Una Nemo took a bullet to the head and survived. Now, she is stalking and killing Bruce Wayne's former mistresses.

Arc Symbol: Holes in items and missing items that get noticed.
Attention Whore: Of a sort. She wants to be noticed, because her absence wasn't noticed before.
I Just Want to Be Loved: She thought people would miss her and think well of her in her absence, but they didn't even say anything of her at her funeral. This causes a major breakdown and leads to her deciding to make sure she's noticed.
Kansas City Shuffle: She leads Batman and Robin on a chase after her, thinking she's a degenerate lunatic typical of Gotham. Turns out, she's actually saner and more reasonable than expected: she only kept them distracted enough to take out the criminals who blew a hole in her head.
Meaningful Name: "Nemo" means nobody.
Psycho Ex-Girlfriend: A former girlfriend of Bruce Wayne, she is now stalking and killing Bruce's other exes.
'Tis Only a Bullet in the Brain: Because of a very exaggerated case of Dandy Walker Syndrome, the bullet shot through her forehead but missed her brain completely, leaving a softball-sized hole drilled through her skull.
Yandere: Before her life-changing injury, she had a mild obsession with Bruce Wayne. After the injury she develops an obsession with getting Wayne's attention however it happens.

Abyss II

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/abyss_90.jpg

Alter Ego: Unknown

First Appearance: Batman Vol. 3 #118 (February, 2022)

"Join us in the dark, Batman. And help us kill Lex Luthor."

Abyss is a Badhnisian criminal, created by Lex Luthor to be his own Batman. Due to experiments Abyss gain the ability to manipulate darkness for a variety of purposes. Abyss has come to idolize Batman and after being abandoned by Luthor he developed an obsession with killing Luthor for abandoning him.

Casting a Shadow: Abyss was experimented on by Lex Luthor who gave him the ability to manipulate darkness for a variety of purposes. He has been able to accelerate the decomposition of corpses, plunge entire rooms in an darkness impenetrable even by different forms of technology and blind Batman by turning his eyes coal-black.
Create Your Own Villain: After being abandoned by Luthor he become unhinged and developed an obsession with killing Luthor for abandoning him.
Evil Counterpart: Abyss is a Badhnisian criminal, created by Lex Luthor to be his own Batman.
Loony Fan: Because of the abuses that he suffered in his life Abyss has come to idolize Batman.
Make Them Rot: He has been able to accelerate the decomposition of corpses.
Psycho Knife Nut: Abyss is unhinged and has specialized in the use of scythes and knives.
Sinister Scythe: Carries a scyrhe as his personal weapon.
Wolverine Claws: Abyss' metallic gloves possess razor sharp claws on the tip of each finger.

Alberto Falcone

Alberto Falcone / Holiday

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/albertonfalcone_profile_bmlh_p14_v1_401x600_masthead.jpg

First Appearance: Batman: The Long Halloween #1 (December 1996)

"Now, look at me. I'm bigger than all of you put together. I am Holiday!"

The youngest of Carmine Falcone's three children, who desperately wants to join the "family business".

Ambiguous Ending: In The Long Halloween, it's left unclear if he really was the Holiday Killer, thank to Gilda stating at the end that she started the murders and her belief that Harvey took it up with New Year's. Was she right? Did she start the killing, but she's otherwise wrong and Alberto did usurp the identity by faking his own death? Or did she snap from what happened, her and Harvey being the killers is a delusion, and Alberto was indeed the Holiday Killer all along? The only thing known is Alberto did kill Sal Maroni.
Dude Where Is My Respect: He's looked down by the rest of the Falcone family, leading to lay claim to all the Holiday Killer murders in order to assume an status greater than that of his father.
Expy: He's based on Alfredo "Fredo" Corleone, particularly his appearance and his low status within the family despite being a son of The Don.
Green-Eyed Monster: He's jealous of his elder siblings, Mario and Sofia.
Karmic Death: Ultimately killed by the other holiday-themed killer, Calendar Man, for stealing his modus operandi.
The Un-Favourite: He gets no respect from the other members of the mob, despite being a son of the Roman.
"Well Done, Son" Guy: Alberto is desperate for his father's approval.

Alfred Stryker

First Appearance: Detective Comics #27 (May 1939)

"So he didn't get you after all...Well, I'll finish you and then throw your body in the acid tank below."

The very first Batman villain. Alfred Stryker was a chemical executive in a partnership with three other men. Wanting full ownership of the company, he agreed to secret contracts with his partners to slowly buy the shares from them over the years. He proceeded to send some Hired Guns to take out his partners.

Adaptation Name Change: He's been called Fred and "Alby" in later retellings. Whenever a writer wants to do a remake of his storyline, expect Stryker to get a name change. Apparently Batman abides by a One Alfred Limit.
Adaptational Late Appearance: While he was the very first villain Batman ever fought in the comics, the Silver Age retelling has him confronted by the Caped Crusader sometime after Robin entered the picture.
Bald of Evil: He is usually depicted as balding.
Corrupt Corporate Executive: A businessman willing to murder his partners to take full control of the company.
Disney Villain Death: Knocked into a vat of acid during his scuffle with Batman. The similarities to Joker's origin (falling in a vat of chemicals) have been noticed before, and "Alfred Stryker is the Joker" is something of a fringe theory. Heck, his New 52 counterpart was even implied to become the Joker through having a more slender appearance, wearing a purple suit and his hands being shown reaching out of the vat after falling into the chemicals (though that's assuming Liam Distal, alias Red Hood One, wasn't the Joker's true identity).
Fat Bastard: An overweight man willing to kill to take control of a company. Averted with his Silver Age and New 52 depictions, who are considerably slimmer.
Mad Scientist: Experiments on guinea pigs in his spare time.
Spared by the Adaptation: The Silver Age retelling of his story had him survive in the end and merely get arrested. The New 52 retelling still has him fall into a tub of chemicals, but has him survive once more and even imply that he's a possible true identity of the Joker.
Starter Villain: First foe Batman ever faced, and Killed Off for Real by issue's end.

Amygdala

Alter Ego: Aaron Helzinger

First Appearance: Shadow of the Bat #3 (August 1992)

"You make me so angry! You make me want to hurt you! Crush your skull! Break your bones!"

Aaron Helzinger was a giant of a man prone to fits of homicidal rage. Due to these violent episodes, he was remanded to the care of Arkham Asylum. A surgeon at Arkham removed Helzinger's amygdala cluster in the hopes of curing the psychotic episodes. However, the procedure had the opposite of its intended effect, and instead made his fits of uncontrollable rage even worse. Amygdala has a very childlike personality and is often used as Dumb Muscle by other, smarter villains. On the right medication, Amygdala becomes calm and peaceful, but these episodes seldom last long.

Accidental Athlete: Amydala's massive strength makes him the star hitter for the Arkham softball team.
Bald of Evil: Is completely bald (which makes him look like a skinhead).
Does Not Know His Own Strength: Once broke the Riddler's arm by throwing a softball too hard.
Dumb Muscle: Frequently manipulated by other villains into acting as muscle for them.
Hair-Trigger Temper: Prone to fits of homicidal rage.
Heel–Face Turn: When his rages were controlled by medication, Amygdala moved to Bludhaven where he became a warder at Lockhaven Prison and a friend and ally of Nightwing.
Ironic Nickname: Is called 'Amygdala', despite having had his surgically removed.
Odd Friendship: Has one with the Ventriloquist (Arnold Wesker).
Psychopathic Manchild: Has the mind of a child, near superhuman strength, and uncontrollable fits of homicidal rage.
Remember the New Guy?: In his first appearance, Amygdala is already an inmate of Arkham Asylum and is treated as someone Batman has fought before.
Weak-Willed: Is very easily manipulated.

Anchoress

First Appearance: Batman Annual (Vol 2) #2 (September 2013)

"Your parents, you could not save. Your brother, you could not save. Your son, you could not save. Your flitting family, bird and bat and wing and hood — none shall be saved."

Born in Gotham City around 1898, the Anchoress was the first inmate of Arkham Asylum. The daughter of a Nobel Prize winning physicist who specialized in radioactivity, she was intrigued by experimental physics in relation to the human body and studied quantum mechanics against her parents' wishes. Her parents wished for her to be a debutante and arranged for her marriage, against her wishes. One night an argument between the woman and her parents broke out resulting in a lab accident which caused both her parents to die and for the woman herself to have her physiology altered on a quantum level. Full of guilt over the incident, the woman had herself committed to Arkham Asylum where she remained for multiple decades. Eventually she was almost forgotten, with the majority of the doctors' attentions being focused on the new supervillains who were appearing in Gotham. Blaming Batman for the rise of the supervillains, she used her powers in an attempt to destroy him.

Hand Blast: Can fire blasts of quantum energy.
Intangibility: Her quantum powers allow her to 'ghost' through solid objects.
Long-Lived: Is well over 100 years old (and looks it).
Not Used to Freedom: Has no desire to escape Arkham, despite the fact her powers mean that she could at any time.
The Old Convict: The oldest and longest serving inmate of Arkham Asylum.
Supernatural Fear Inducer: Can project fear on to others.
Tally Marks on the Prison Wall: The walls of her cell are covered in innumerable tally marks.

The Architect

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zachary_gate_001.jpg

Alter Ego: Zachary Gate

First Appearance: Batman: Gates of Gotham #1 (July 2011)

"But now I'll use it raze this whole monstrosity of yours to the ground. I am the forgotten blood. The Gaates of Gotham. I am the true successor. I am the Architect."

The Gates of Gotham were one of the earliest families of Gotham, hired by the city's earliest elites to construct buildings for the town. However, things took a tragic turn and the family sought vengeance on these elites, by bringing down the buildings they built for them.

Meaningful Name: The Gates of Gotham.
Steampunk: The suit the Gates use is an antiquated diving suit.
Unreliable Narrator: Turns out the original Gate was completely bonkers, so his revenge may not have been worthwhile at all.

Arkham Knight

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/detective_comics_vol_1_1005_textless_variant.jpg

Alter Ego: Astrid Arkham

First Appearance: Detective Comics' #1000 (May 2019)

"The people of Gotham City deserve better than a Dark Knight. They will experience the hand of a fair and true servant at work. And they will bear witness to the Arkham Knight finally delivering justice to the Batman."

Astrid Arkham is the daughter of Jeremiah Arkham, and was born in Arkham Asylum, delivered by Batman's rogues gallery in an act of kindness towards Astrid's mother, who treated them kindly. Her mother was killed after giving birth to her by an unnamed inmate using a discarded batarang. Fearing for her safety, Jeremiah kept her a secret from the world, and she was raised in Arkham Asylum, by both her father and Batman's rogues gallery.

Growing up with a simultaneous fascination and resentment towards the Bat, when Astrid found an image of her mother's body with a batarang embedded in her throat, and with Jeremiah having lied to her regarding her mother's whereabouts, Astrid devoted herself to destroying Batman for killing her mother. Seeing herself as a knight from her bedtime stories and arming herself with the Asylum's technology, the Arkham family's medieval heirlooms and raising a fanatical group of follows known as the Knights of the Sun, she sets out to destroy Batman physically and symbolically.

Badass Normal: No powers of any kind, but is able to go toe-to-toe with Batman and Robin.
Canon Immigrant: The Arkham Knight identity originally came from the Batman: Arkham Knight video game.
The Cobbler's Children Have No Shoes: Her father was a psychiatric doctor and asylum head, and yet he decided to raise her away from society in Arkham Asylum. To add salt to the wound, the inmates raised her more than Jeremiah. Granted, Jeremiah clearly isn't very good at his job, considering what kind of place Arkham is, and mental instability ironically runs throughout the Arkham family, but geez.
Composite Character: This version of Arkham Knight combine traits of the version of the Arkham Knight videogame as well as Lady Arkham from Batman: The Telltale Series, namely being a member of the Arkham family.
Daddy's Little Villain: Essentially this to Batman's rogues gallery, as she was raised by them. It's also why they are willing to follow her orders.
Decomposite Character: Ironically, despite being a composite of eponymous Arkham Knight and Lady Arkham, she has nothing to do with Jason Todd or Vicki Vale. In the Arkham Knight identity's debut, it was a transitional identity for Jason Todd between Robin and the Red Hood, and Vicki Vale got hit with the Adaptational Villainy and Related in the Adaptation sticks in Batman: The Telltale Series to be Lady Arkham. She only took the Arkham Knight identity of the Arkham incarnation of Jason and being a female descendant of the Arkhams who's an enemy of Batman from the Telltale incarnation of Vicki.
Freudian Excuse: Considering she's an Arkham (a family known for mental instability despite running an asylum) and was raised by the inmates (psychopaths, nihilists, and misanthropes of all kinds), her chances of growing up right in the head was approximately 0%.
Gender Flip: The Knight was male in the original Arkham Knight videogame. And also the former Robin, Jason Todd.
Horrible Judge of Character: She is close with the likes of the Joker but sees Batman as terrible.
It Runs in the Family: Seems to carry her family's penchant for insanity. Doubly so when you consider the Bat-Rogues were basically her foster parents.
Knight Templar: A very literal interpretation of this trope. Astrid and her Knights view Batman as a symbol of fear who would rather beat his enemies to a pulp than help them with their issues, and they will go to any lengths necessary to destroy him.
Light Is Not Good: The Arkham Knight and her Knights of the Sun have a heavy light motif. Their Battle Cry is "Burn back the dark!" and they made their entrance by creating a miniature artificial Sun above Gotham.
Madwoman in the Attic: Although maybe not Madwoman if Jeremiah didn't decide to keep her existence a secret and raise her in an asylum for the criminally insane.
Misplaced Retribution: Astrid's mother was killed by a stray Batarang to the neck during a breakout at Arkham. Though the Batarang was in actuality thrown by an inmate (who was aiming for Batman), Astrid instead swore revenge on Batman himself - since, in her mind, his mere presence inspired the fear in the inmates that engineered that situation in the first place.
Missing Mom: Was told by Jeremiah that her mother disappeared, when in actuality she had died.
Raised by the Community: The Arkham inmates did more to raise her than her father did, partially thanks to her mother being something of a Morality Pet to them.
Samus Is a Girl: This version of the Knight is actually Jeremiah's daughter, but everyone assumed the Knight was male at first.
Tyke-Bomb: Many of the Arkham inmates essentially took advantage of the fact that Dr. Arkham kept his daughter in the asylum to basically raise her into the anti-Batman cause, a scheme almost twenty years in the making.

Ascalon

Known Aliases: The System

Team Affiliations: Order of St. Dumas

First Appearance: Detective Comics #950 (April, 2017)

"I have been in your computers, Batman. I have read your files. I have seen your fears. What you are willing to do to get the job done. I am not a child. I am a city. I am the culmination of things, and I see what you all want. You want release from this life. You want the end of questions. You want salvation."

Ascalon is a robotic entity created by the Order of St. Dumas as a replacement for their fallible Azrael soldiers, capable of learning through the experiences recorded by the advanced artificial intelligence inside of the Suit of Sorrows.

A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Ascalon is a Knight Templar Killer Robot driven by the memories of the fallen Azraels.
Hand Blast: Ascalon can fire blasts of energy from its arms strong enough to disperse Clayface.
Killer Robot: Ascalon is a robotic entity created by the Order of St. Dumas as a replacement for their fallible Azrael soldiers.
Knight Templar: Like the human Azraels, Ascalon is fanatically devoted to the ideals of the Order of St, Dumas.
Mind Control: Ascalon is capable of reactivating and enhancing Azrael's "System" conditioning by asserting its "core programming."
Mind Hive: Ascalon's mind is a concert of voices that congregate to analyze situations as a living, self-improving intelligence.
Religious Robot: Ascalon follows the religious tenets of the Order of St. Dumas.
Super-Senses: Ascalon is capable of discerning false heartbeats from real ones in a crowd.
Technopathy: Ascalon is capable of overriding and controlling technology as advanced as the Batwing Suit with minimal effort, but cannot override a system that has its own artificial intelligence.
Teleportation: Ascalon is capable of teleporting to the Red Cathedral in the Swiss Alps at will.

Bag O'Bones

See Black Lightning

Bane

Real Name: Unknown

Known Aliases: Ubu

Team Affiliations: League of Assassins, Suicide Squad, Secret Six

First Appearance: Batman: Vengeance of Bane #1 (January 1993)

"Only I could possibly defeat him. Only I could push him until he was exhausted in every conceivable way. And even then, I had to resort to treachery."

Born in the Third World island nation of Santa Prisca, the man known as Bane was sentenced at birth to the hellish prison of Pena Duro as punishment for his father's crimes. As an adult, he escaped and traveled to Gotham to challenge the legendary Batman that he had heard stories of in prison. One of the few villains to equal Batman physically and intellectually, Bane famously dealt the Dark Knight one of his most crushing defeats. He has also had numerous adventures in his own right, including a stint in the Suicide Squad.

See his own page for more.

Batman (Flashpoint)

Batman (Thomas Wayne)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/9d178d44_0cdb_445e_ba6f_31c2e8f218db.jpeg

First Appearance: Flashpoint (Vol 2) #1 (July 2011)

"Be a father for your son in a way I never could be for you. Let the Batman die with me."'

When Barry Allen went back in time to save his mother from being murdered by Eobard Thawne, he succeeded but created unintended changes to the timeline, which created the new Flashpoint timeline. One of these changes was that it was a young Bruce Wayne, and not his parents, who died when they were mugged in Crime Alley. Driven by immense grief, Thomas became a more brutal and violent Batman, while Martha became their universe's Joker.

Thomas assisted Barry in restoring the timeline to its proper state, with the knowledge that it would lead to Bruce surviving and becoming Batman and his own death. Barry (mostly) succeeded, with Thomas apparently dying along with his timeline... until it was mysteriously recreated, keeping him alive to deal with the consequences of his actions.

After meeting his adult son and giving him parting words, encouraging him to be a father to his son and give up his life as Batman, Thomas resigned himself to dying as he had lived... only to be brought to the main DCU by a spiteful Eobard Thawne for foiling him to begin with. There, he learned that Bruce did not give up being Batman, and he does not take this well, deciding to join with other Batman villains to force Bruce into retirement.

However, he has since realized the error of his ways, and is making up for what he's done with Justice Incarnate, a multiversal superhero team.

For tropes relating to him, see Justice League Incarnate.

Bedbug

First Appearance: Batman: Streets of Gotham #17 (January 2011)

"The night is young and there is no shortage of sleepers. All of them dreaming of the moment the Bedbug calls."

Bedbug is able to control people or "sleepers" to do his bidding, such as committing robberies for him, by using mysterious bugs to infect their mind while they sleep.

Animal-Themed Superbeing: Uses bedbugs to control people's minds.
Bad Powers, Bad People: Someone who can use bedbugs to control people's minds was unlikely to become a hero.
The Beastmaster: Bedbug is able to control people or "Sleepers" by using bedbug insects to infect their minds while they sleep.
Mind-Control Device: A living version. Bedbug is able to control people or "Sleepers" by using bedbug insects to infect their minds while they sleep. Once the insects have latched onto the victim, Bedbug then directs the Sleeper to perform various tasks such as robberies. The Sleeper does this while in a sleep walking state and remembers nothing afterwards.
Sleepwalking: Bedbug's "Sleepers" commit crimes for him while sleepwalking.

Black Mask I

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Black_Mask_0003_1813.jpg

Real Name: Roman Sionis

Team Affiliations: False Face Society, Secret Society of Supervillains, Ministry of Science

First Appearance: Batman #386 (August 1985)

"I am the new, undisputed, absolute crime lord of Gotham City. I am everything this city deserves — and more. I am the darkness that fills the heart of every living soul in this sordid little town... including the blackest, most twisted soul of all... I think you know who I'm talking about."

Roman Sionis was about the same age as Bruce Wayne, and likewise had wealthy parents. However, Roman's parents were extremely neglectful and uncaring towards their son; he grew to resent them and the "Masks" they wore (of good, friendly people), when in private they were miserable. Sionis eventually killed his parents, but ran their business into the ground, at which point it was bought out by Bruce Wayne. Sionis snapped, breaking into his parents' crypt and carving a mask out of his mother's coffin. An attempt to get revenge on Wayne by lashing out at his employees failed due to the intervention of Batman, and ended up causing Sionis's Black Mask to be burned onto his face, making it unremovable.

Sionis was a capable gangster (often leading a mask-themed gang called the False-Facers), managing to regain his hold over organized crime after long stays in jail. Sionis grew even more insane and obsessed with torture as time went on. In a notable Catwoman arc, Sionis discovered Selina Kyle's secret identity, and in vengeance for Catwoman attacking his drug rings, tortured Kyle's brother-in-law to death, and forced her sister to eat pieces of his corpse, driving her insane. Sionis was thought dead when after an extended fight, he fell out of his penthouse.

Later, in the Batman: War Games story arc, Black Mask managed to successfully play the opposing forces of a Gotham Gang war against each other. He managed to kill Orpheus, one of Batman's inside men, and assume his identity, and tortured Stephanie Brown, alias the Spoiler, leading to her apparent demise. Sionis became the de facto leader of all of Gotham's organized crime following this. He was later killed when he once again sought to ruin Catwoman's life mistakenly believing she would abide by the No-Kill rule; she responded by shooting him. After Batman's "death", a new Black Mask has surfaced, who turns out to be an Ax-Crazy Dr. Jeremiah Arkham, but he was revealed to be Brainwashed and Crazy after his defeat, and following the reboot is probably no longer in action (especially considering that the reboot also retconned Sionis' death and he has recently reclaimed his old identity).

Arch-Enemy: In some extent for Catwoman prior to the New 52. He was developing a rivalry with the Red Hood shortly before Catwoman killed him, and this feud continues after he "gets better".
Ascended Extra: He was active since the 1980's, but though always a competent and dangerous threat Black Mask remained a fairly obscure villain until he was re-imagined as an Ax-Crazy dude with a Skull for a Head who successfully and violently took over the Gotham criminal underworld and generally Took a Level in Badass (this also coincided with his becoming Catwoman's Arch-Enemy in her solo title). Since then he was appeared in several adaptations and has had a major impact on Gotham in general and the Bat-family in particular.
Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: Roman's start of villainy began with him making poor business decisions, now his face has been disfigured to the point where it's just a skull. He's a literal bonehead.
Ax-Crazy: Par excellence. He's a gleefully sadistic Torture Technician with a Hair-Trigger Temper, and is generally depicted as one of Batman and Catwoman's most brutally insane adversaries (which is saying a great deal).
Badass in a Nice Suit: Sionis is almost always seen in a fancy business suit, and has been able to take on various allies of Batman.
Back from the Dead: Sionis, by way of a Black Lantern ring in the Blackest Night crossover, and by way of a Retcon in the DCnU.
Bad Boss: Watching him in Batman: Under the Red Hood, The Batman, or Batman: Arkham Origins where he regularly beats or kills his own henchmen for little to no reason, can make one wonder who would still want to work for him. In the story mode of Arkham Origins, this is eventually downplayed, as it turns out that the Joker (possibly the epitome of this trope) was impersonating Black Mask since before the game's story began, and Sionis apparently treated some of his henchmen well enough that many of them ended up being killed when they refused to follow Joker, while others were loyal to Roman due to paranoia. This trope is otherwise played straight in the challenge maps.
Big Bad: For War Games and the last pre-New 52 Catwoman series.
The Chessmaster: In War Games, especially.
Childhood Brain Damage: Dropped on his head while being delivered, no less.
Cold-Blooded Torture: In one arc he cut up a woman's fiance and fed bits of him to her. It was given all the weight it deserved.
Color Character: Black Mask.
Cool Mask: Prior to Batman: No Man's Land, he wore a black wooden mask which hid his whole face.
Black Mask: Knows that the mask destroy one identity while creating another. Know that the mask recreates its wearer. Know that through the sublimation of personality, inhibitions die and the nature of the wearer is altered — so that deeper drives and more primitive instincts rise to the surface.
Criminal Doppelgänger: In War Crimes, following his takeover of the Gotham City underworld, he attempts to get rid of Batman by disguising himself as the Caped Crusader and going out killing people in order to frame him for murder. It's foiled by The Joker, who is annoyed that Sionis (seemingly) killed Stephanie Brown, because she used to be a Robin and Joker thought that meant he should have been the one to kill her.
Cult: The "True-Facers" in No Man's Land, of which he was the leader, was this.
Cut Lex Luthor a Check: Inverted. With his incredible skills at planning and organization, he probably could have been a great businessman, right? Wrong. As it turns out, Black Mask subverted this trope when he started out as a legitimate businessman, failed spectacularly, and turned to crime instead. He showed considerably more elan as a crime lord than he ever did as a business executive.
Deadpan Snarker: Especially during his tenure as crime lord after War Games, where most of his commentary crossed the line twice. And were hilarious.
Mask: I'm not pleased, you know. Not pleased at all. And despite appearances, this isn't a damned smile on my face.
Dead Person Impersonation: Uses the identity of Orpheus, an ally of Batman, during War Games.
Depending on the Writer: Just how crazy he really is. Some storylines have him as a gibbering lunatic, others as just an eccentric (and particularly sadistic) mastermind. The latter is much more common, though.
Diabolical Mastermind: One of the few crime lords who nearly dominated the Gotham underworld, at least for a brief time. So successful was he that he became a Legacy Character when a new Black Mask used his reputation to nearly do the same.
Disproportionate Retribution: The stuff he did to Catwoman's sister just to get to Catwoman doesn't bare repeating.
Evil Former Friend: Like Hush, he was a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne.
Facial Horror: While adaptation portray his current Skull for a Head look as a mask, in the comics, it's his actual face, the result of burns caused during one of his earliest battles with Batman. Even before he ditched the mask in No Man's Land, it was fused to his face as a result of the fire that caused the disfigurement.
Faux Affably Evil: He can put up a polite and casual demeanor when he wants to, but it does nothing to conceal the fact that he's rotten to the core.
Freudian Excuse: Three of them: he was dropped on his head by the doctor seconds after being born (which may or may not have caused brain damage that permanently altered his personality), and was later bitten by a rabid raccoon. To top it off, he had extremely neglectful parents, who pretended to be happy to the outside world but were actually privately unloving and miserable.
Genius Bruiser: He's a giant of a man who is both smart enough to near-completely dominate Gotham's underworld and a skilled enough combatant to fight Batman and Catwoman evenly.
Guns Akimbo: Dual handguns are a trademark of his.
Hate Sink: Despite some of his villainy being darkly entertaining, Roman stands out as among the more unlikable and unsympathetic of Batman's foes, being a psychotic brat with a disgusting view towards women and a crazed obsession for torture. It stands for a reason he's one of those enemies that Batman outright despises.
He-Man Woman Hater: One of Sionis’ especially heinous qualities is his blatant misogyny and willingness to torture women. Not that he’s not willing to torture men, of course - he’s an equal-opportunity Sadist - but considering what he did to Catwoman’s sister and poor Stephanie Brown and how much he clearly enjoyed himself in the process, it’s clear that he has a preference.
Hero Killer: Murdered Orpheus, a member and ally of the Batman family and fellow Gotham vigilante, by slitting his throat and has the distinction of being the second Batman villain besides the Joker to torture and seemingly kill off a Robin in the form of Stephanie Brown.
It's Personal: Going after Catwoman's sister was not his smartest move, though by this point It's Personal for the two of them.
Knight of Cerebus: When he's not being Laughably Evil, he's among the darkest of Batman's foes.
Large and in Charge: At 6'0, he's not the largest of Batman's foes, but he's still a big man with a fairly bulky build.
Large Ham: Sometimes, like in Batman: Under the Red Hood (and the arc it adapts).
Laughably Evil: When he’s not being an absolute monster, Sionis’ Hair-Trigger Temper and Deadpan Snarker tendencies can actually be pretty hilarious, especially in the “Under the Red Hood” story arc.
Legacy Character: A new Black Mask has been introduced, although since the New 52 Continuity Reboot, Sionis has reclaimed the title.
Let's Get Dangerous!: He's most well known for being a master manipulator, but he was a skilled enough combatant to hold his own against an enraged Catwoman, which is no mean feat.
Made of Iron: Part of what makes him an effective hand-to-hand combatant. He's definitely not as skilled as Batman or Catwoman, but he's a big man who can hit hard and take a lot of punishment.
Manipulative Bastard: In War Games especially, when - posing as Orpheus - he was supposed to give a speech to the assembled gangs of Gotham calling for restraint to avert a gang war; instead, he gave one that started the war, and a riot to boot.
Multilayer Façade: During War Games, he assumed Orpheus's identity by applying make up over his face. On top of that, he also had to wear Orpheus's helmet. He did the same thing while impersonating Batman in War Crimes.
No Indoor Voice: Sionis often throws unnecessary tantrums with little provocation, particularly when written by Judd Winick.
Non-Indicative Name: Eventually. While he did start off wearing a black mask, his charred Skull for a Head look, first seen in Batman: No Man's Land is, in fact, his actual face, having ditched the mask in that story. Not helping this misconception is The Batman, the Batman: Arkham Series, Batman: Bad Blood and Birds of Prey (2020) going for the skull look, but depicting it as an actual mask.
Politically Incorrect Villain: A horrific sadist and brutal misogynist. But damn if he isn't funny.
Religion of Evil: In No Man's Land, he turned the False Facers into a cult where everybody (himself included) horribly scarred their faces and shaved their heads so that they all looked alike, and turned them loose to go on a murderous rampage throughout the already devastated city. The second Black Mask referred to his organization as a "Ministry of Science", combining this with his Mad Scientist routine.
Black Mask: Everything is different, now. Identity shatters. Gotham's mine. Yours. No masks. No disguises. Only shards. We are revealed as what we have always been. Nothing. A mosaic of pieces. We are Gotham's true face. We are Gotham stripped bare. All who see must know. And those who do not see, they must be purged.
Revenge by Proxy: Many times, but most notoriously in the "Relentless" arc of the 2000s Catwoman series, where after working out Selena Kyle's identity he kidnapped her sister and brother-in-law, and tortured the brother-in-law to death in front of the sister while force-feeding her parts of his body, driving her permanently insane.
Rogues' Gallery Transplant: Switching from fighting Batman to tormenting Catwoman to level up, and then using the boost in notoriety that gave him to become, for a time, top villain in Gotham and start fighting Batman again.
Sadist: Perhaps his defining characteristic is his enthusiasm for making people suffer. He's a near-unparalleled Torture Technician whose love of cruelty is at constant war with his business sense. He actually provides the main page quote.
Self-Made Orphan: He killed his parents in a fire to inherit their business and fortune. Unfortunately, he was a lousy businessman and when he tried to burn down the factory to cover his tracks, he wound up with the facial injury that gave him his villain name. He was a lot better at being Ax-Crazy than a businessman anyways.
Shadow Archetype: Similar to Hush (and preceding him), Black Mask is a Bruce Wayne who suffered from poor parenting and ran his own company into the ground. He's a millionaire who became an extremely violent masked crime lord rather than a moderately violent masked vigilante, and he relies more on his natural hidden talents as a criminal than on years of hard work and study.
Skull for a Head: Since he Took a Level in Badass, he ditched the mask, revealing that the burns made his face look like a charred skull, whereas before he merely wore a mask.
The Sociopath: One of the purest, most straightforward examples in Gotham - manipulative, impulsive, and hedonistic, with a total Lack of Empathy and a total disregard for social norms (especially the ones about it being wrong to torture people). Whether he's high-functioning or low-functioning is a matter Depending on the Writer, but it'll always be the core one of his personality.

Took a Level in Badass: Mask has been around since the 80's, but it's only been in the aftermath of his appearances as Catwoman's arch-enemy, where he's become a dangerous psycho to rival the Joker, that he's been elevated to a top-tier Bat villain, shown up in the cartoons, and is a fan favorite to appear in movie adaptations.
Torture Technician: One of Gotham's foremost experts and aficionados, with a notoriously long string of victims to his name. Maggie Kyle is a standout example.
Mask: Before we begin, I'd like to address the topic of screaming ... by saying this: go right ahead.
Tribal Face Paint: The members of Black Mask's False Face Society wear masks as a sign of belonging and loyalty to Black Mask. However, one of Black Mask's lieutenants—the aptly named Tattoo—chooses to go in for elaborate facial tattoos rather than wearing a mask (with the effect being the same, i.e. giving him a 'false face').

Would Hurt a Child: Thinks nothing of sadistically torturing a teenage girl.
Wrong Line of Work: He took control of the family company after murdering his parents, but quickly proved himself to have zero business sense whatsoever. He's shown far more skill at being a crime boss than he ever did as a businessman.

Black Spider I

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/4166361_2518796450_black1.jpg

Alter Ego: Eric Needham

First Appearance: Detective Comics #463 (September 1976)

"Life is sacred. They taught me that at Sunday School a long time ago. Of course, I didn't listen. Bet you didn't know I was a church kid, huh, Batman ? But I was. Mom and Dad used to send me every Sunday, until Mom died. Then Dad sort of drifted away. It was like a part of HIM had died. He didn't have much time for me anymore. I guess that's when I found the streets. And heroin. Why start ? I've asked myself that a hundred times, and the best I can do is: why not ? I missed my Mom. Dad was drinking. The other guys did it. I wanted to be a rebel, too. And to be honest, I liked it. At first. It helped to fill the black, aching hole inside me."

He may fight crime, but he's not a good guy. Black Spider is the identity of Eric Needham, a former drug-addicted youth who robbed a liquor store and killed the owner. Said owner turned out to be his father. Out of remorse, he kicked the habit and begins a war on the drug trade. Donning a costume, he became a self-styled vigilante who kills drug dealers, and this puts him in conflict with Batman for having a strict no-kill rule. Despite Black Spider's insistence that they should be allies, they continued to fight due to his murderous methods going against the Dark Knight's.

Black Spider was ultimately killed in an Evil Versus Evil battle with a drug lord responsible for the death of his wife and son, where he blew himself up with his own bomb, taking them with him. He got better later on, though.

In the New 52, he's a member of the Suicide Squad, and sure enough he resents his position as being forced to work with the same people he'd want to kill.

Animal Motifs: Spiders, obviously enough.
Anti-Villain: Originally, he's certainly more heroic than other villains Batman has faced, and has a sympathetic backstory, but his Knight Templar outlook puts him at odds with Batman. Post-resurrection, he was shown willing to hang out with assassins.
Color Animal Codename: A black spider, of course. Crosses over with Captain Ethnic.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He has a wife and son that he loved dearly, and lost. This prompts his Roaring Rampage of Revenge.
Foil: To Batman. Though they're dark crimefighters with motifs based on feared animals, Eric directly contrasts Bruce. He's black, grew up poor, killed his own father, and is a Knight Templar out to kill any criminal he finds. Bruce is white, grew up rich, had his family taken from him by a mugger, and adheres to the code of Thou Shalt Not Kill.
Knight Templar: Considers himself a hero, but his willingness to kill anyone he views as an enemy pegs him as this. Though as noted below, this took a hit after his return.
Legacy Character: Johnny LaMonica and Derrick Coe have also donned the Black Spider identity, though they aren't nearly as well-known as Needham.
Motive Decay: Was originally a vigilante targeting drug dealers due to the way drugs screwed up his life. Later, he just seemed to be a assassin-for-hire.
Scary Black Man: A mass-murdering Knight Templar who is also African-American.
Self-Made Orphan: Killed his own father in a drug-induced homicide, which prompts him to kick the habit.
Serial-Killer Killer: Black Spider hunts and kills criminals.
Shadow Archetype: To Batman. Both fight crime after losing their loved ones, but Batman adheres to not killing whereas Black Spider is a murderer.
Token Good Teammate: Of the Suicide Squad, being that he's a Serial-Killer Killer among murderers and supervillains. Subverted in that he's actually a double agent for Basilisk, a terrorist organization.
Took a Level in Jerkass: His Unexplained Recovery also saw this. Case in point: Identity Crisis saw him as among the villains Dr. Light turns to for help — which includes Merlyn, Deathstroke, and Cheshire.
Unexplained Recovery: He dies by blowing himself up in a Roaring Rampage of Revenge. Then he shows up later with absolutely no explanation.
Vigilante Man: Before his Motive Decay set in, he was a vigilante targeting drug dealers.

Blockbuster I

Blockbuster

Alter Ego: Mark Desmond

First Appearance: Detective Comics #345 (November, 1965)

"LITTLE MEN! BLOCKBUSTER WILL WIN!"

Mark Desmond was a chemist who had wanted to become stronger, having been scrawny as a youngster. Experimenting on himself, he created a serum that made him grow stronger and taller, but in the process was turned into a mindless brute; an additional side-effect of the serum was that it took away his power of speech. Desmond was cared for by his criminally-minded brother who used Mark to commit crimes. Desmond later found himself clashing with Batman on various occasions. He joined the Secret Society of Super Villains briefly for a battle with the Justice League. Later, Amanda Waller recruited Desmond for her revived Suicide Squad. He was killed fighting Darkseid's creation, Brimstone.

Following Mark's death, Roland Desmond became the second Blockbuster after a severe illness forced him to be treated with experimental steroids. (See Nightwing for more details on Blockbuster II)

In the New 52, Mark Desmond is a patient of Dr. Phayne's. He lives on the estate and at night he undergoes procedures to enhance his intelligence. He is exposed to small amounts of a green compound intravenously. An accident is caused by a new patient believing he is in pain and the cascade of green liquid overdoses Desmond and creates an explosion. The overdose exposes a super-strong man calling himself Blockbuster.

Depending on the Writer: He conversed in Hulk Speak during some appearances, but could only grunt and roar in others.
Dumb Muscle: Mark Desmond succeeded in making himself stronger and taller, but as a side-effect of the process he also became almost mindlessly aggressive. Even though Batman unmasked in front of him multiple times (due to Mark being friends with Bruce Wayne), he could never remember that there was a friend under Batman's cowl, and often attacked Bats on sight.
Killed Off for Real: Brimstone murdered Blockbuster by burning him to death.
I Owe You My Life: Bruce Wayne once saved Mark from downing in a bog, and thus was the only person beside Roland that Blockbuster wouldn't attack. Batman was often able to stop Blockbuster's rampages simply by unmasking in front of him.
Magic Pants: His transformation shredded his clothes, but his purple pants remained intact.
Professor Guinea Pig: Mark Desmond experimented on himself, he created a serum that made him grow stronger and taller, but in the process was turned into a mindless brute.
Super Serum: Desmond created a serum that made him grow stronger and taller, but in the process was turned into a mindless brute.
Super-Strength: One of his punches can easily demolish a big block of steel-reinforced concrete.
Super-Toughness: Has superhuman resistence to damage.

Le Bossu

Alter Ego: Guy Dax

First Appearance: Batman #676 (June 2008)

"Look at me. You see what most people see—Doctor Guy Dax. A respected neurosurgeon, a family man with two beautiful daughters and a gifted, brilliant wife. No one knows that my ugliness is inside. Or what I do to others, I often dream of doing to my own family. Polite society does not permit me to be the man I truly am. Mine is the twisted soul of a monster. In order to give expression to the honest beast within, I am compelled to an elaborate process of disguise. Inside I am broken, perverse, grotesque and violent. The image of my self-loathing I call Le Bossu."

A famous French neurosurgeon who dresses up in a Hunchback costume to lead a double life of killing and maiming. He first came to Gotham after being recruited into Simon Hurt's Club of Villains. After being scarred by the Joker during his crimes and thus unable to return to his old life without being exposed, he stays in Gotham to devote his whole life to evil.

Ax-Crazy: Definitely. He even once killed a man just to see how well the Black Glove could cover it up.
Becoming the Mask: A literal example. He used to wear a deformed mask when he went into his Le Bossu role. After attempting to get the Joker to join the Club of Villains, the Joker attacks him and cuts his face up to resemble the mask.
Broken Pedestal: A villainous version. When Doctor Hurt and the Club of Villains take over Arkham Asylum, Le Bossu recruits the Joker, while telling him how much Bossu and the other members of the Club admire him. The Joker's response is to carve up Bossu's face, and joins the Club only to later turn on them, the Black Glove, and Doctor Hurt.
Evil Cripple: Subverted. He at first appears to have a deformed back, but it's later revealed that it's just a costume he wears as part of his criminal recreation.
Living a Double Life: Before he moved to Gotham, he lived two lives, one as a respected neurosurgeon and family man, and the other as a sadistic supervillain.
Lobotomy: This is his specialty.
Mad Doctor: Uses his medical skills for evil.
Our Gargoyles Rock: His henchmen dress up in gargoyle costumes.
Psycho Psychologist: Poses as this when he infiltrates Arkham Asylum.
Sadist: He leads a whole double life devoted to hurting people for his own pleasure.
Shout-Out: His whole aesthetic, from his costume to his gargoyle henchmen, is a reference to The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Tempting Fate: "Even Batman and Robin are dead..." Cue Dick Grayson as Batman and Damian Wayne as Robin appearing to take him down.

Brother Eye

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

First Appearance: Countdown to Infinite Crisis #1 (May 2005)

"EYE AM YOUR FUTURE!"

Brother freakin' Eye, Bruce Wayne's and Mister Terrific/Michael Holt's robotic creation/program to act as a metahuman database and deterrent. Has gone full SkyNet/Ultron not long after achieving sentience. Proved to be quite a Hero Killer and a very big problem for Batman personally.

The EYE took over the O.M.A.C. Project and began to transform ordinary people (and, later, metahumans) with nanotech. Most famously, Kevin Kho, whom the EYE repeatedly transformed into a hulking monster to serve as its agent on Earth. But, Kev was lucky, as later versions were not able to turn back to humans. Oh, and most importantly, Eye tried to take over the world. Once he even succeeded.

Affably Evil: Has this kind of personality.
A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Very much this, brings one of the most disgusting machine apocalypses ever.
Alternate Company Equivalent: To Marvel's Ultron and the Sentinels, Terminator's SkyNet and, in a less noticeable way, The Matrix.
- Bruce Wayne and Michael Holt in relation to Brother Eye is something akin to Hank Pym in relation to Ultron.
- Eye's method of corrupting civilians and heroes is reminiscent of Marvel's Prime Sentinels; both are human beings involuntarily transformed into Cape Busters through nanotechnology.
Bad Future: Brings it.
Body Motifs: Very. Creepy. Red. Eyes. Brother Eye is shaped like an eye, and all the O.M.A.C.s have an eye symbol somewhere in their bodies.
Brains and Brawn: Brother Eye and O.M.A.C.s.
The Dragon: Serves as one for Max Lord, and then Alex Luthor, during the events surrounding Infinite Crisis. It helps Alex catalog the multiverse.
Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Cannot fathom why Batman trusts other superheroes, particularly ones who have a history of falling into villainy. Which makes sense, because it was designed and built by Batman at a moment when he felt he couldn't completely trust any other superhero, in preparation for a time when he couldn't at all.
Fun with Acronyms: O.M.A.C.: One-Man Army Corps, Observational Metahuman Activity Construct, Omni-Mind And Community and so on.
Gone Horribly Right: Being a Hero Killer? Being The Virus? Both part of the original design specification. Sure, Batman didn't intend it to activate when it did, or be so indiscriminate, but when you get right down to it, Brother Eye was doing exactly what it was designed to. The heroes call Batman out on this when they learn, of course.

Invincible Villain: Almost. It took years and multiple failed attempts to take him down. And then the universe reset, and he came back along with it.
Involuntary Shapeshifting: When people become O.M.A.C.s, with Brother Eye controlling the transformations.
Kill Sat: His default form.
Meaningful Name: Brother Eye was originally Brother I — that is, the first iteration of the Brother series. By implication, this makes him Big Brother.
Murder Is the Best Solution: Batman didn't trust superheroes, so he built Brother Eye to keep an eye (hee) on them. Unfortunately, some tinkering from Max Lord and Alex Luthor led to Brother Eye becoming a little more self-aware than Bats would've liked, and it decided superpowered beings needed to go. All superpowered beings, even the good ones.

New Powers as the Plot Demands: Brother Eye could boost O.M.A.C.'s abilities whenever needed.
One-Man Army: Every single O.M.A.C. In fact, it's what the acronym stands for (Depending on the Writer).
Shout-Out: With its name, its eye motif, its purpose of closely monitoring people without their consent, and it bringing about a dystopian future in one timeline, it's basically Big Brother if he was an A.I.
Super-Soldier / Superpowered Alter Ego: O.M.A.C.s.
Teleportation: Brother Eye can do this with O.M.A.C.s, transporting them to places (and sometimes - time) of Eye's choosing.
Time Travel: Central elements of a quite few series.
Turned Against Their Masters: Against Bruce Wayne and Michael Holt.
Verbal Tic: Tends to use "I" (as in the singular pronoun, not the letter) and "Eye" interchangably.
The Virus: Modern O.M.A.C.s are unsuspecting humans infected with nanites.
"Well Done, Son" Guy: Even for a murderous kill-sat, some of what it does is because it wants Batman's approval. Definitely one of his kids, alright.

The Calculator

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/birdsofpreycv87.png

Alter Ego: Noah Kuttler

First Appearance: Detective Comics #463 (September 1976)

"You can call me The Calculator. I'm just going to call you dead."

Noah Kuttler began his supervillain career by donning a calculator themed battlesuit capable of creating weapons and forcefields made of "hard light." After being defeated by Batman, Noah came to the realization that all he had to show for his efforts were a few broken bones and a longer-than-life prison sentence. Inspired by how Barbara Gordon, the former Batgirl, reinvented herself as the computer hacker/information broker Oracle after being crippled by the Joker, Noah rebranded himself as Barbara's Evil Counterpart, joining the Secret Society of Supervillains while also offering his computer hacking and information brokering skills to any villain who could afford his services. After the events of New 52 and DC Rebirth (where Barbara regained her mobility and resumed her career as Batgirl), Noah continues his fued with Barbara, while also developing a new rivalry with her successor as Oracle, Gus Yale.

The Bus Came Back: After a handful of appearances in The '70s, he was largely absent from any DC title until Brad Meltzer revamped him for Identity Crisis.
Cut Lex Luthor a Check: Partially subverted, he's still a criminal, but now he operates behind a computer screen while others take the physical risks. He's been far more successful as a cyber-criminal than he ever was as a costumed criminal.
Evil Counterpart: To Oracle.
Evil Genius: One who rents himself out to paying clients rather than mastermind his own schemes.
Fad Super: His costumed identity was based on the sudden popularity of pocket calculators in The '70s.
Four Eyes, Zero Soul: Once he traded the costume for business attire.
Genre Savvy: During his days as a costumed supervillain, the one hero that he didn't pick a fight with: Superman. Because Noah knew that as effective as his hard light shields and weaponry were against the likes of Atom and Elongated Man, they would be useless against the Man of Steel, who would only need one punch to take him down.
Mission Control: An evil variation, for the Secret Society of Supervillains.
Non-Action Big Bad: Ever since his reinvention.
Not Wearing Tights: Well, not anymore in his case.
Purple Is Powerful: Back when he wore a costume it was purple. Now he just sticks to purple ties every now and then.
Story-Breaker Power: The real reason for his Long Bus Trip (and his original gimmick being dropped). If the ability to adapt to any hero who has defeated him once were taken to its logical conclusion, there would be no heroes left who could feasibly challenge him (except Superman, who as stated above, could easily curbstomp him, resulting in confrontations that would be equally one-sided).
Villain with Good Publicity: The New 52/Rebirth version runs an eco-friendly corporation that is a very good place to work, and is very supportive of its staff.

Calendar Man

Alter Ego: Julian Gregory Day

First Appearance: Detective Comics #259 (September 1958)

"Just so we understand each other. The Calendar Man is being forgotten. I can't have that."

Calendar Man was another gimmick Batman villain from The Silver Age of Comic Books who committed thematic crimes based on days, like holidays or days of the week, using elaborate contraptions and spectacle.

After Crisis on Infinite Earths, Day didn't reappear until The Long Halloween. Like almost every other villain Calendar Man got a Darker and Edgier revamp. Throughout The Long Halloween Batman consults Day on the identity of the Holiday Killer, who hints that he knows who it is but never says. Since then his appearances have been sporadic.

Action Fashionista: Calendar Man has a default supervillain costume, but also dons specific outfits to fit the theme of each crime he commits, along with specialized weaponry for each crime.
Always Someone Better: He's frustrated in The Long Halloween because Batman is asking his advice to capture a more competent calendar-themed villain.
Bald of Evil: Calendar Man apparently shaves his head, adding to his weird sanitized look.
Born-Again Immortality: In Tom King's Rebirth run, he is appropriately reimagined as a villain who literally dies, molts and rejuvenates with the passing of seasons.
Consulting a Convicted Killer: In The Long Halloween, Batman visits him in Arkham to pick his brain on who the Holiday killer might be.
Expy: A pretty blatant expy of Hannibal Lecter during The Long Halloween and Dark Victory.
Shoulders of Doom: His old Calendar Man costume had giant epaulets that looked like calendar pages.
Sissy Villain: After his revamp, especially when drawn by Tim Sale, Day keeps doing this with his hands, and constantly purses his lips like he's putting on lipstick, and has very stylized eyebrows.
Steven Ulysses Perhero: A guy who commits crimes based on days of the year just happens to be named Julian Gregory Day.
Tattooed Crook: Has abbreviations of the months of the year tattooed around his head.
Took a Level in Badass: He was once the textbook image of the pathetic, silly gimmick Bat Rogue, but in modern comics he is generally treated as a more legitimate threat thanks to his popular Hannibal Lecter-esque redesign.

Cap'n Fear

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/captain_fear_01.jpg

First Appearance: Detective Comics #687 (July 1995)

"Let 'em remember 'til their dyin' breaths the day they crossed the wake o' Cap'n Fear!"

A mysterious criminal, who along with his crew of river pirates, robbed Gotham's elite on cruise ships near the city's harbor. Batman thought Cap'n Fear was just a regular crook who had a piracy theme. This nearly killed him when Fear subdued and tied him to a buoy in shark-infested waters and knocked Robin unconscious and threw him back into a doomed Batboat.

Cool Mask: Wears one that looks like a jolly roger skull.
Dead Hat Shot: When his boat explodes at the end of his first appearance, the only thing Batman finds is his mask floating on the water.
Dressed to Plunder: Fear's costume is a stylized version of what people generally consider a pirate's outfit to be.
Eyepatch of Power: Wears one over his Cool Mask.
The Faceless: Has never been seen without his mask.
Large Ham: Plays every pirate trope to the hilt, and beyond.
Mysterious Past: Nothing is known about his origins and why he became a pirate.
No Honor Among Thieves: He was hired by Cluemaster to aid in the escape of Blackgate prisoners. However, Fear betrayed Cluemaster by leaving him and the prisoners to be caught.
No Inside Voice: Seems to be constantly bellowing (although we don't know what he is like out of costume).
Not in Front of the Parrot!: Is caught the first time when Robin (Tim Drake) accesses the recordings from his robot parrot for clues.
A Pirate 400 Years Too Late: Cap'n Fear embraces every pirate trope there is with both hands.
Pirate Girl: The 2-I-C of Fear's crew is almost always a buxom female first mate.
Pirate Parrot: Fear travels with a robotic parrot that randomly records and repeats phrases.
Talk Like a Pirate: To the point that one of his crew wants to quit because he is sick of all the "Popeye crap!"

Captain Stingaree

Alter Ego: Karl Courtney

First Appearance: Detective Comics #460 (June 1976)

"Give us the card, you ridiculous poltroon, or I'll carry your face in my pocket!"

Born one of a set of quadruplets, Karl Courtney was always the black sheep of the family. Donning a cutlass and pirate outfit, Karl became Captain Stingaree. In his first outing, Captain Stingaree attempted to uncover Batman's secret identity. Somehow Stingaree had become convinced that his three brothers were actually Batman.

Awesome Anachronistic Apparel: Captain Stingaree dresses in an outfit from the golden age of piracy.
Bald of Evil: Stingaree shaves his head (his brothers do not share his baldness).
Black Sheep: Karl is the black sheep of the Courtney. His three brothers established a successful detective agency, while he became a supervillain.
Dressed to Plunder: Stingaree's outfit hits most of the options for this trope; losing points only for still possessing all of his limbs.
Eyepatch of Power: Courtney wears one. It depends on the artist whether this is an affectation, or if he is actually missing an eye.
I Reject Your Reality: Nothing can dissuade him of his delusion that his brothers are Batman. An appearance in Rebirth has one of said brothers urging him to take his meds, implying that this is due to an actual psychiatric condition.
Master Swordsman: An expert in wielding a cutlass (although not as skilled as the Cavalier).
A Pirate 400 Years Too Late: Stingaree dresses like a pirate.
Talk Like a Pirate: Although not to the same extent as fellow rogue Cap'n Fear.
Thoroughly Mistaken Identity: Becomes convinced that his three brothers are secretly Batman.

Carmine Falcone

Alter Ego: The Roman

First Appearance: Batman #404 (February 1987)

"I'll burn it all down — before I let a freak have it!"

Another "normal" Batman foe. First appearing in Batman: Year One and The Long Halloween, Carmine tends to appear in stories or adaptations set earlier in Batman’s career, where he’s made out to be the top crime lord in Gotham back before the advent of super villains, though he sometimes appears in present-day stories post-reboot. Members of his crime family have also popped up as standalone villains. Some works imply that he's Catwoman's father.

Born in the Wrong Century: He's very much a traditional crime boss and isn't suited to the world of supervillains and masked vigilantes.
The Bus Came Back: Returns during the New 52 in Batman Eternal as part of the Big Bad Ensemble.
Composite Character: Most adaptations want to cut down on the number of vanilla gangster characters, so Falcone typically winds up blended with Lew Moxon (the guy who hired Joe Chill) or Sal Maroni (the guy who scarred Two-Face).
The Don: Of Gotham City.
The Dreaded: He's one of the most powerful and feared men in Gotham and everyone, from other gangsters to police to politicians, is frightened of him.
End of an Age: Most stories featuring him show his empire giving way to the more classic Bat-rogues.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He loves his son Alberto and wants him to lead a legitimate life outside of crime.
Even Evil Has Standards: He's very much a believer in the old school mafia code and is openly disdainful of super villains and unhinged sadists like the Joker who kill and cause chaos for no reason than their own amusement.
Evil Old Folks: He's always portrayed as being at least well into middle age and old enough to have adult children and is a ruthless mob boss.
Expy: A rather obvious one for Don Corleone, with his son Alberto taking the role of Michael, Mario the role of Fredo and Sofia Gigante the one of Sonny. His appearance is closer to that of Robert De Niro - who portrayed the younger Vito Corleone. In turn, the animated series seems to replace Falcone with Arnold Stromwell.
Feuding Families: His outfit vs. Sal Maroni's.
Generic Ethnic Crime Gang: He's Italian. His enforcers are Irish.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: Has three scars on the side of his face courtesy of Catwoman's claws.
Irony: Despises the new breed of insane criminal popping up in Gotham, yet one of his children might be the Holiday Killer, another one of his kids is the Hangman, and Catwoman might be another one of his kids.
Killed Off for Real: He's gunned down by the newly created Two-Face at the conclusion of The Long Halloween.
Red Baron: Called the Roman, both because he's from Rome and because he controls a massive criminal empire, which is also referred to as "The Roman Empire".

The Carpenter

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jenna_duffy.jpg

Alter Ego: Jenna Duffy

First Appearance: Detective Comics #841 (April 2008)

"Heya, boys. You look like you could use an extreme makeover!"

A small time thief and con artist, Duffy was originally from Keystone before moving to Gotham on the run from the cops. In Gotham she becomes a member of the Wonderland Gang. While not much of a criminal she has made a name for herself as a renovator for the hideouts of Gotham's extensive criminal element.

Alice Allusion: As part of the Mad Hatter's actually Tweedledum and Tweedledee's Wonderland Gang, she was brought on as part of their "walrus and carpenter" duo. Part of why nobody can take her seriously is because she was stuck with such a bottom-of-the-barrel character.
Big Bad Wannabe: She wants to be seen as a legitimate criminal, but outside of the Wonderland Gang most just see her as the repair man when their hideouts get wrecked.
Deathtrap: Who do you think builds them?
Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Funnily enough she is actually annoyed when people take her title literally, that said she is indeed a rather skilled carpenter.
Hero of Another Story / Lower-Deck Episode: Batman never faced "The Director" because he made the mistake of trying to Shoot the Builder.
Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: Provides the trope image.
Most Common Super Power: She has big breasts.
Nail 'Em: Carries a nailgun as one of her weapons.
Only Sane Man: One of the more stable and well-adjusted of Gotham's villains. Though her insistence on working with Gotham's underworld (whether as a henchman or contractor) rather than just getting a job as a normal carpenter indicates she's not completely right in the head, either. To be fair, however, she admits that part of the appeal of working with Gotham's villains is that they pay ridiculously well, and she truly is in it for the cash.
Punch-Clock Villain: Unlike most of Gotham's named villains, she's just in it for the money. Or so she claims.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: A defining trait. In her first appearance, she realizes she's outclassed by Batman, and just lets him pass without a fight. She even decided to skip town entirely at one point (plenty of work in less crazy towns), though it didn't last.

Catman

Alter Ego: Thomas Blake

First Appearance: Detective Comics (Vol 1) #311 (January 1963)

"Ah, the thrill of the hunt — there's no feeling in the world like it!"

A socialite who squandered his fortune in an unsuccessful bid to become a Great White Hunter, Thomas Blake instead used the skills he learned to become a thief, becoming a Spear Counterpart to Catwoman. Despite being a Scarily Competent Tracker with fairly decent fighting skills, his success was somewhat inconsistent until he reinvented himself as a morally ambiguous mercenary. After some time in the wilds of Africa, the now chiseled and badass Catman is one of the more (anti) heroic members of Secret Six... most of the time.

See Secret Six page for more info.

Catwoman

Real Name: Selina Kyle

Team Affiliations: Injustice League, Birds of Prey, Justice League

First Appearance: Batman #1 (April 1940)

" I have to admit... I've missed this. The adrenaline rush. The action. The knowledge that money stolen is always better than money earned."

The illegitimate daughter of a Mafia boss, Selina Kyle grew up on the streets, where she took to thievery to survive. Like Batman, she travelled the world to hone her craft, studying under numerous martial artists before learning how to blend in with high society in Italy. As Catwoman, she has become Gotham City's greatest thief. Blurring the line between hero and villain, she also serves as the unofficial protector for Gotham's East End.

See her own page for more details.

Cavalier

Alter Ego: Mortimer Drake

First Appearance: Detective Comics #81 (November 1943)

"Meet your potentially famous new opponent—The Cavalier! I hope to be an even greater inconvenience to you than the Joker and the Penguin!"

Mortimer Drake was a man of exotic and idiosyncratic taste. When he found himself unable to purchase more exotic valuables for his collection legally, he resorted to theft. Donning a costume resembling that of a Musketeer, he called himself the Cavalier. His course of actions ultimately brought him into conflict with Batman and Robin. Drake matched wits against Batman and Robin several times, and escaped them in each encounter, but Batman was able to deduce the Cavalier's identity, leading to Drake's eventual imprisonment.

Affably Evil: The Cavalier has been known to pause during a crime spree to help an old lady with her groceries.
Awesome Anachronistic Apparel: The Cavalier dresses in a Musketeer outfit.
The Collector: Originally turned to crime so he could get items for his collection that he could not buy.
Enhanced Archaic Weapon: Wields an electrified rapier.
Gentleman Thief: A wealthy man with a code of honor who turned to theft to obtain things he couldn't legally, Mortimer Drake lived this lifestyle until his criminal Secret Identity was exposed. He was even a member of the same Smoky Gentlemen's Club as Bruce Wayne.
Heel–Face Turn: After having his life saved by Dr. Leslie Thompkins, Drake reformed for a while and became her bodyguard: protecting her and her clinic.
Master Swordsman: The Cavalier is an expert swordsman, who sometimes wields an electrified rapier. In Where Were You on the Night Batman Was Killed?, he claims he killed Batman in a sword duel, and he is good enough that people are willing to give serious consideration to this claim.
Monumental Theft: Once stole a live sperm whale.
Weaponized Headgear: The plume in Cavalier's hat is actually a steel-tipped dart.
Wouldn't Hit a Girl: The Cavalier's code of chivalry forbids him from striking a female. (Although, Depending on the Writer, he has been shown as willing to abandon this rule in extremis.)

Charlie Caligula

Alter Ego: Carlo Calzone

First Appearance: Batman #676 (June, 2008)

"You mess with Charlie, you mess with an empire of grief!"

Charlie Caligula started out his crime career as Little Boots Calzone, the Boy-King of Organized Crime in Rome. He came into conflict with the Roman hero the Legionary several times, before the Legionary became lax and allowed Caligula to take over the town. When the Legionary is murdered, he is murdered in a manner similar to Caesar's death in the Shakespeare play, to cast suspicion onto Caligula and a possible Club of Villains. When the actual Club of Villains is formed, Caligula and his centurion themed goons are drafted.

Arch-Enemy: To the Legionary.
Badass in a Nice Suit: Wears a designer suit combined with Joker-like face paint and a laurel wreath.
Disco Dan: Is obsessed with the Roman Empire.
Evil Redhead: The Arch-Enemy of the Legionary and a redhead.
I Call It "Vera": Smacks underperforming underlings with a fish he refers to as "Senator Fishy".
Napoleon Delusion: Pretends to believe he is the Emperor Caligula as an Obfuscating Insanity.
Non-Action Big Bad: Is not much of a combatant and usually relies on his army of centurion themed goons to do his fighting for him.
Obfuscating Insanity: Pretends to be insane like the Joker, but Batman sees through the act immediately.
Red Baron: Also known as 'The God-Emperor of Crime'.
Shamu Fu: Smacks underperforming underlings with a fish he refers to as "Senator Fishy".

Chase

Alter Ego: Jill Hampton

First Appearance: Detective Comics (Vol 2) #5, (March 2012)

" I've made a promise long ago, Batman. I will never be anyone's victim. No one will have a say in my destiny except me! No one will ever hurt me."

Jill was born twins to Charlotte Rivers, but their father, Mayor Hady, separated them early in their lives. Jill grew up as a bad seed and, going by the alias of "Chase", went on crime sprees in Russia and China. At some point, she met up with her long lost sister. Then, Hampton returned to Gotham after a long absence to put her plan into effect.

Acid Attack: Has a small tube kept under her wrist that can quickly spray a green acid at her will.
Classy Cat-Burglar: Chase is an international thief who made her way back home to Gotham City.
Couple Theme Naming: Was part of an Outlaw Couple with Master of Disguise Snakeskin, a.k.a. Jack Hoston. In other words, they were 'Jack & Jill'.
Eyepatch of Power: At some point, Chase lost an eye and now wears a roguish eyepatch.
Grievous Bottley Harm: When her sister Charlotte discovered Jill was involved somehow in an underground weapons operation that went all the way to the top of Gotham, Jill smashed a wine bottle in half and threatened her with it.
Mind over Matter: Jill showed that she could open about six large safes at once by raising her hand.
No Honor Among Thieves: Was partners with Master of Disguise Snakeskin. Together they planned to rob the Iceberg Casino, but Jill double crossed Snakeskin, planting his finger prints on evidence for Batman to find and giving him a booby trapped gun that was supposed to kill him during his assassination attempt on the Penguin.
One-Steve Limit: Not to be confused with Cameron Chase, the eponymous heroine of the DC title Chase, who also had run-ins with Batman.
Outlaw Couple: Was the lover and partner-in-crime to Master of Disguise Snakeskin.

Clayface (I-V)

Blurring the line between Legacy Character and Collective Identity, the name Clayface has been used by five supervillains, who occasionally join forces in a team called the Mudpack. See their own page.

Clock King

Alter Ego: William Tockman, Temple Fugate

First Appearance: World's Finest (Vol 1) #111 (August 1960)

"New heroes for a new age, eh? Welcome to the FUTURE of VILLAINY!"

Billy Tockman developed a fascination with time and clocks at an early age. When his sister was stricken with a terminal illness, he began robbing banks in the hopes that he could raise enough money to find a cure for her condition. These hopes were dashed when Green Arrow disrupted his operation. Obsessed with revenge, Tockman became the Clock King, using clock-related gadgetry to commit his crimes. A longtime foe of Green Arrow, Clock King would also develop an enmity with Batman and the Teen Titans. He has, at various points in his career, been a member of the Injustice League, the Time Foes, and the Suicide Squad. The New 52 transformed him into a non-costumed crime boss with a fondness for clock motifs.

See Green Arrow: Rogues Gallery

The Cluemaster

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/89f4b00732e6de78f9d5a95a91fb0248.jpg

Alter Ego: Arthur Brown

First Appearance: Detective Comics #351 (May 1966)

"You see, I would use my puzzlements as a way of compensating for a lack of self-esteem. I wanted to show my intellectual superiority. But thanks to the wonders of modern psychiatry, all I want now is to be rich."

A failed game show host who turned to a life of crime, leaving behind clues to his activities to demonstrate his superiority to the police, who were stumped trying to figure them out. Batman had no such difficulty and would regularly stop and imprison The Cluemaster, aided by Arthur's daughter Stephanie, who became the Spoiler to stop his criminal activities. He would later join the Suicide Squad to atone for his crimes and was briefly thought dead before reemerging once more as a criminal.

Post-Flashpoint, the Cluemaster's origin remains much the same, although he avoided going to prison by convincing Batman that he would give up crime for the sake of his family. This was a lie, and during the events of Batman Eternal he plots with several other villains to contribute to the chaos of Gotham City while attempting to hunt down and kill his daughter Stephanie after she discovered him meeting with several of his criminal associates.

Abusive Parents: His relationship with his daughter, Stephanie, is...not great, to say the least. Arthur's narcissism and chronic villainy meant that he was neglectful and uncaring towards her at best, and borderline physically-abusive at worst. It got so bad that once she found out he was actually a supervillain, she became a vigilante (and, later, a full-fledged member of the Bat-Family) solely to spite him - and after that, he had absolutely no problems with trying to murder her the second she got in his way.
Adaptational Badass: Zigzagged Post-Flashpoint; while he was caught and outsmarted by his daughter multiple times, he managed to mastermind the entire plan simply by removing Jim Gordon from his position, and having the rest of Batman's top villains go wild on the city by sending them invitations to do so. He even managed to "follow the clues" to discover the Court of Owls, something which Batman had failed to do before.
Beneath Suspicion: Batman and Vicki Vale both dismiss him as a "second rate Riddler knock-off". In fact, he counted on this for his plan in Batman Eternal, taking in other C-list villains such as Lock-Up, Ratcatcher, Prankster, and Signalman to cause the most chaos, with nobody, not even Batman, believing he could possibly be the mastermind or the main problem.
Big Bad: Of Batman Eternal, although he ends up being Hijacked by Ganon by Lincoln March at the end.
Bond Villain Stupidity: He has a few chances to kill Stephanie but keeps screwing it up by monologuing or going about it in a complicated manner. Shows up again when he could have just shot and killed Batman while he was chained to the Bat-signal, but he again monologues before he tries to shoot him, giving Batman a chance to break free. After they fight, Cluemaster pulls his gun and prepares to finish the job, but Lincoln March steps in and slashes his throat. Though to be fair, Bruce hadn't gotten any sleep for more than a day and had been running himself ragged for even longer, had gotten his chest cut open, and was barely capable of standing.
Death by Secret Identity: Gets his throat slit by Lincoln March minutes after learning Bruce's identity as Batman.
Depending on the Writer: Whether he's an Insufferable Genius or Know-Nothing Know-It-All.
The Dog Was the Mastermind: He exploits this trope in Batman Eternal, bringing in bigger and bigger villains by setting events in motion then simply inviting them so that Batman would reach higher for villains to be in charge without thinking down to the C and D listers who are the real masterminds.
Fashion-Victim Villain: In-Universe. His choice of colors for his outfit are given an annoyed Lampshade Hanging by his daughter Stephanie, who notes that no one takes her warnings about him seriously partly because of how bad his outfit is. With his reveal as the Big Bad, one wonders if this was intentional to make people underestimate him.
Stephanie: (about bloggers commenting on her information regarding Cluemaster) ...making fun of his costume... I mean, orange and blue, dad? Really?
Faking the Dead: In Young Justice (2019), it’s revealed he survived his near-death attack and ran from Gotham, letting everyone think he died. Stephanie didn’t buy it and went looking for him.
Hand Cannon: Wields a large revolver Post-Flashpoint.
Heel Realization: Arthur finally, finally, seems to have had one of these in Issue #15 of Batgirls, though it's not immediate. After being resurrected from his death in Batman Eternal, he kidnaps Steph and puts her through a series of elaborate game-show trivia challenges in a twisted attempt at proving his love for her, only to be foiled when she escapes and Cassandra Cain interrupts them. It's only when Arthur accidentally shoots Steph, his own daughter, when she jumps in front of a bullet meant for Cass that he suffers a mental breakdown and finally realizes just how much pain he's caused his family through his criminal life and his narcissism. The last we see of him that issue is in Arkham Tower, telling a doctor that he's left his obsession with clues behind for good. Though time will tell if this change will last...
He's Back!: Makes his return Post-Flashpoint in Batman Eternal as the villain for his daughter Stephanie's plotline, as well as the main villain of the storyline.
Insistent Terminology: He keeps trying to say that he is not to be called Arthur, but rather Cluemaster. Nobody listens, including his fellow C-list villain friends. This is probably the point, as seeing him as a joke was likely agreed upon between the villains to keep up the plot.
It's All About Me: Arthur is a massive narcissist, and he refuses to accept any responsibility for his own actions or own up to his mistakes. From blaming the broadcasting company he worked for when he tanked the ratings for his game show, to continuously accusing Steph of betraying him when he's the one who constantly mistreated her, to flying into a blind rage at the notion of being called a "Riddler knockoff", he's seemingly physically incapable of not being an asshole. This ultimately proves to be his downfall in Batman Eternal, as even after he's crippled Gotham's infrastructure and his master plan is on the verge of finally succeeding, he just can't help himself from monologuing his whole scheme to a captured Batman, inadvertently getting distracted long enough for the Batfamily to turn the tide and for the Court of Owls to dispose of him.
Karmic Death: He uses his anonymity to cripple Batman in Eternal, only for someone else to kill him with the same tactic.
Not-So-Harmless Villain: While he and his friends Signal Man, Ratcatcher, Prankster, and Lock-Up might not be regarded as the best villains, when they start working together in Batman Eternal they're screwing up everything from the water systems to the traffic lights, as they are under orders to make things more unstable and people more and more angry. Then it is revealed that he is the Big Bad who started all the chaos in Gotham with a couple of mind control pills and a few invitations.
Offing the Offspring: Attempts to do this to his daughter, Stephanie, when she finds out about his master plan and tries to stop him. It doesn't work out as he'd intended.
Slashed Throat: Lincoln March does this to Cluemaster in the penultimate issue of Batman Eternal, noting that Cluemaster was getting ready to screw up his own plan by taking credit for killing Batman and causing all the chaos in Gotham, since that would take away the C-List status that had allowed him to do so.
Small Name, Big Ego: This more than anything else drove him to become a villain. He seems to have gotten over it as now he's exploiting his C-List villain status for all its worth.
"Stop Having Fun" Guy: An In-Universe example. The clip of his old show seen in Batman Eternal had him yelling at his contestant for daring to make jokes instead of answering the question. Yet he was surprised when he got fired.
Utility Belt: Cluemaster has a lot of plasti-glass pellets attached to the front of his uniform. The pellets contain offensive weaponry including: blinding incendiary flares, smoke, incapacitating gas and explosives. Robin even describes him as "a walking utility belt".
Villainous Friendship: He is friends with fellow C-List villains like Lock-Up, Ratcatcher, Prankster, and Signalman. They routinely get together to play cards and bemoan their low status on the supervillain totem pole.
We Can Rule Together: Tries to give this speech to his daughter Stephanie (aka the vigilante Spoiler, who specifically became a hero in order to thwart his plans), claiming that he'd always had high hopes for her to become his partner-in-crime someday. He'd even picked out a name for them - "Cluemaster and the Pointer." Stephanie, of course, isn't having any of it, since not only had her father tried to kill her multiple times at that point, but, as she sardonically points out, a Pointer is a breed of dog.
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: In Batman: Eternal, he gets put on the receiving end of this by the benefactors of his master plan, Lincoln March and the Court of Owls, who swoop in and slice his throat as soon as he captures Batman and finishes his villainous monologue.

Colonel Blimp

First Appearance: Batman #352 (October 1982)

"Attention, Wasgington D.C.! My name is Colonel Blimp, commander of the lighter-than-air craft you see now above your city! I am also the one who...appropriated the warships belonging to your navy."

Colonel Blimp was the traumatized son of a former Navy officer, who was retired before he could finish the zeppelin project which was cancelled prior to his forced retirement. When the man killed himself after this series of events, his son was scarred for life and grew up holding a grudge with the system. Eventually he adopted the moniker of Colonel Blimp and commanded a small army, with whom he built several dirigibles capable of lifting battleships from the sea and captured several of these, holding the Navy officers inside for ransom.

Cool Airship: Commands a fleet of dirigibles capable of stealing battleships.
Dread Zeppelin: Commands a fleet of airships capable of snatching and carrying off submarines and battleships.
Freudian Excuse: Became a villain because his father was a navy officer forced into retirement when the US Navy abandoned its airship program.
Good Smoking, Evil Smoking: Colonel Blimp smokes cigarettes in a long holder.
Never Recycle Your Schemes: Defied during an appearance in Rebirth, where he once again held a battleship for ransom. The only difference was that he cut the deadline in half.
Secondary Color Nemesis: Colonel Blimp's uniform is purple.
Sky Heist: Colonel Blimp commanded a small army, with whom he built several dirigibles capable of lifting battleships from the sea and captured several of these, holding the Navy officers inside for ransom.

Colonel Sulphur

First Appearance: Batman #241 (May 1972)

"A physician once termed me insane— correct verdict, I fear!"

Colonel Sulphur is a self-styled warrior with a vast knowledge of psychological terror who fights Batman four times in the comics of the 1970s and 1980s. Sulphur also encounters Superman and Supergirl and puts together an Army of Crime.

Artificial Limbs: Sulphur is missing his right hand, and has a prosthetic replacement.
Beard of Evil: Wears a neatly trimmed goatee.
Blade Below the Shoulder: There is a knife blade concealed in his fake right hand.
Colonel Badass: A villainous version.
Manipulative Bastard: Sulphur is a master of psychological warfare.
Private Military Contractors: Sulphur is essentially a mercenary with delusions of grandeur.

Composite Superman

Alter Ego: Joseph Meach

First Appearance: World's Finest #142 (June 1964)

"The world thinks that Superman and Batman and Robin perished today... And they did, for those three careers are ended! Remember, if you ever don costumes again, I'll shout your identities to the world!"

Lifelong failure Joseph Meach had his life saved by Superman, who also got him a job at the Superman Museum. Meach didn't like owing so much to Superman, and grew to hate Superman for his power and accomplishments. One night at the Museum a bolt of lightning struck the Legion of Super-Heroes display. The 30th century duplicator machine that had made the display also imbued the statuettes with the powers of the Legion, and when lightning hit the statuettes, the powers were transferred to Meach. He vowed to use his power to humiliate and destroy Batman and Superman, and using Chameleon Boy's shapeshifting powers he changed himself into the Composite Superman. He defeated the Batman/Superman team, and after learning their secret identities threatened to expose them unless they retired. As Batman and Superman were on the verge of giving in to the Composite Superman, his powers wore off and he lost his memory of his activities as the Composite Superman. Over the years, Meach's powers would sporadically return.

See Superman – Rogues Gallery (A to L)

Condiment King (I & II)

Condiment King I

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ck_7.jpg

Alter Ego: Mitchell Mayo

First Appearance: Birds of Prey (Vol 1) #37 (January 2002)

"Who, do you ask? Why, the Captain of Ketchup, of course! The Master of Mustard! The Monarch of Mayo himself...The Condiment King!"

Mitchell Mayo, better known as the villainous Condiment King, is the condiment-themed enemy of Batman. He first appeared during the early days of Barbara Gordon's career as Batgirl.

Adaptational Badass: Downplayed. He occasionally popped up in the mainstream DC universe, and in spite of his insipid gimmick, he shows potential to be a legitimate threat, if only because his condiment guns have spices that rank 100,000 on the Scoville meter and can cause anaphylactic shock to those sprayed by him, as Robin and Black Canary find out. He eventually got his weapons upgraded to shoot corrosive acid when he joined General Immortus' army. In spite of this, he's still treated as a joke by superheroes and law enforcement and always ends up getting his ass handed to him.
Adaptational Job Change: Buddy Standler was a comedian and comedy competition judge. Mitchell Mayo is a former fast food worker.
Adaptational Name Change: His comic counterpart is renamed Mitchell Mayo. His original counterpart was named Buddy Standler.
Adaptational Wimp: However, his initial comic appearance in Batgirl: Year One made him even more pathetic than his DCAU counterpart. He's just a disturbed young man "armed" with off the shelf ketchup and mustard bottles. He doesn't even manage to harm anybody before Robin hands him his ass on a silver platter.
Adaptational Villainy: In the DCAU, he was just a comedian brainwashed into being a bad guy. The comics make him a crook of his own volition.
Age Lift: His original counterpart was already an adult. This version started off as a teenager.
Alliterative Name: His DCU comic counterpart has the name Mitchell Mayo.
Ammunition Backpack: His Condiment Gun is fed by a tank he wears on his back.
Beware the Silly Ones: Downplayed. Condiment King is an idiot, but even an idiot can be dangerous if you're not prepared. In his own solo series, Tim Drake also recognizes that his condiments could potentially be a health risk for people with serious food allergies.
Blazing Inferno Hellfire Sauce: The Condiment King's most effective attack was squirting a restaurant patron in the mouth with a packet of hot sauce. In the comics, he notes to Robin that his spices reach 100,000 on the Scoville Scale.
C-List Fodder: He's at the bottom of the villain food chain as far as being a threat to Batman. In Final Crisis Aftermath: Run, he is seemingly killed after being betrayed and bludgeoned by the Human Flame with his own ketchup and mustard guns. He was eventually revived in DC Rebirth.
The Cameo:
- In DC Rebirth, he's made two cameo appearances across separate issues, currently serving time at Arkham Asylum again.
- Makes a brief appearance in The Lego Batman Movie as one of Joker's goons. Joker himself lampshades his presence by admitting he's real and that he "might be worth a Google".
Canon Immigrant: The Condiment King first appeared on the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Make 'em Laugh".
Cheap Costume: Just look at him.
- His initial costume in the comics isn't even a costume at all—he just wears a normal shirt and pants with a checkerboard tablecloth as a cape, with orange gloves, a backwards baseball cap and a domino mask. In other words, he looks like the kind of teenage loser you'd meet working at a local fast-food joint.
- His third costume in the comics is slightly less ridiculous than the previous two (he ditched the underwear and baggy clothing for a black and red jumpsuit), but it has salt and pepper shakers as headpieces, and by his third appearance its clearly falling apart and looks like it was just sewn back together, with clearly visible patchwork and holes in it.
Edible Ammunition: His gun squirts a variety of sauces, including ketchup, mustard, and relish.
Evil Chef: He knows a lot about cooking.
Heel–Face Revolving Door: Briefly reformed to run a restaurant on Coney Island, but subsequently returned to crime.
Idiosyncrazy: Commits condiment themed crimes.
In Name Only: All he has in common with his original counterpart in Batman: The Animated Series is a similar gimmick. The original Condiment King was Buddy Standler, an adult comedian with a stocky build, who was brainwashed by the Joker in one of his more petty moods because Standler and his fellow hosts refused to let an uninvited stranger (the Joker having disguised himself) partake in their competition after it ended. This one is Mitchell Mayo, a lean teenager who worked in fast food and became a villain of his own free will.
Laughably Evil: He's largely considered a laughingstock among both the hero and villain communities. Even his fellow C-Listers don't pay him much respect.
Lean and Mean: His comic book counterpart is considerably more thin than the stockier look he had in the DCAU.
Locking MacGyver in the Store Cupboard: Lampshaded by the King himself in his second comic appearance. He notes that while he was locked up in Arkham Asylum, they gave him a kitchen job for therapy, which gave him time to refine his recipes. He also had the help of Poison Ivy to learn about all the varieties of spices and condiments out there to add to his arsenal.
"Those costumed clowns locked me away all those years ago. After a while those morons gave me a job in the kitchen for therapy. They let me work on my recipes. Idiots!"
Meaningful Name: His name's Michell Mayo and he's the Condiment King. Get it?
Not-So-Harmless Villain: As mentioned in previous entries, just because he's largely a goofy idiot doesn't mean he can't catch people off guard, or inadvertently cause people with allergies to go into anaphylactic shock. Tim Drake and Barbara Gordon found that out the hard way.
Red and Black and Evil All Over: In the comics, his costume dons this scheme, but it hardly makes him look any more intimidating.
Sinister Shades: He wears a pair of tinted glasses as part of his costume. It really doesn't make him look anymore imposing.
Shout-Out: His comic name Mitchell Mayo is an obvious reference to Mitchell brand mayonnaise.

Condiment King II

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/new_condiment_king_small.jpg

Alter Ego: Buddy Standler

First Appearance: Detective Comics #1000 (May 2019)

Buddy Standler is the second person to become the Condiment King.

Ambiguous Situation: While Truer to the Text in many ways compared to Mitchell Mayo, it's unclear if one: this version of Buddy is a comedian like the original and two: if he's Brainwashed and Crazy like the original Buddy or yet another case of Adaptational Villainy like Mayo was.
Canon Immigrant: A Truer to the Text version of the original Batman: The Animated Series character.
Truer to the Text: Whereas Mayo was In Name Only outside of the codename and gimmick, this version is named Buddy Standler, is stocky, an adult, and wears blue and white.

Copperhead

First Appearance: The Brave and the Bold (Vol 1) #78 (July 1968)

" I'm faster and stronger than I've ever been! I can feel my new power running through me like blood. It makes me hungry — to taste yours!"

Copperhead is a master contortionist and escape artist. He adopted a snake motif and decided to use his talents to commit crimes.

Animal-Themed Superbeing: His powers and gear are based on snakes.
Back from the Dead: After being killed by the vigilante Manhunter, Copperhead came back from the dead as a Black Lantern during the Blackest Night event.
Contortionist: Prior to his pact with Neron, Copperhead possessed the ability to bend and flex his body to extreme degrees. After his transformation into a snake-creature, he became even more flexible.
Deal with the Devil: During the Underworld Unleashed event, Copperhead made a deal with the demon Neron, who bestowed upon him the powers of a true copperhead snake. Copperhead's body and mind became less human and more like that of a predatory animal.
Disability Immunity: During Last Laugh, Copperhead was shown to be immune to Black Canary's 'canary cry' because he doesn't have ears.
Fangs Are Evil: In his original form, the hood of Copperhead's suit had fangs capable of delivering a fatal dose of venom. As a snake person, he has natural fangs that can secrete deadly venom.
Legacy Character: After Copperhead's death at the hands of Manhunter, a new Copperhead named Nathan Prince surfaced. He was a member of the Terror Titans.
No Name Given: His real name has never been revealed.
One-Steve Limit: Shares his codename with a seemingly unconnected Flash villain.
The Paralyzer: The fangs in the snake-suit's helmet were coated with a highly toxic venom that could cause paralysis or death.
Prehensile Tail: Following his transformation by Neron, Copperhead possesses a prehensile tail.
Secondary Color Nemesis: Copperhead's suit is orange with green accessories.
Snake People: After selling his soul to Neron, Copperhead was transformed into a monstrous snake-like humanoid. In this form, Copperhead possessed a prehensile tail, claws, and fangs that could secrete deadly venom.
Super Swimming Skills: Copperhead trained himself to swim "swiftly and silently" like his namesake.
Wall Crawl: Copperhead used a set of suction cups attached to each of his fingers to climb sheer surfaces.

Cornelius Stirk

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/corn_stirk.jpg

First Appearance: Detective Comics #592 (November 1988)

"I'm really the man who needs your freshly harvested heart... its norepinephrine and adrenaline... its deliciously bubbling stress hormones... all the natural ingredients for a stew of organic fear..."

Stirk is a supervillain who, like The Scarecrow, uses fear to get to his victims. Stirk has the ability to make other people see him as someone else, allowing him to get close to his victims. He operates under the delusion that he requires the nutrients and hormones from peoples' hearts in order to stay alive, and these are best prepared with norepinephrine by inducing fear in the victim prior to death.

Ax-Crazy: The man is certainly... troubled, even by Bat Rogue standards. It goes to show the ineptitude of Arkham's doctors that they certified him as sane and allowed him to walk free in his first appearance.
Bald of Evil: His unaltered appearance has the bald head, razor-sharp incisors, lanky build and Looks Like Orlok.
Beat Still, My Heart: Stirk prefers to stab his victims to death with a large kitchen knife, which he then uses to cut out their heart.
Big Ol' Eyebrows: In his "base" form, Stirk's most distinguishing feature is his pair of massive ginger eyebrows.
Fangs Are Evil: In his unaltered appearance, Stirk has fang-like razor-sharp incisors.
I'm a Humanitarian: Stirk believes he needs nutrients and hormones from people's hearts to survive, and kills people to harvest their hearts and feast upon them.
Looks Like Orlok: His unaltered appearance has the bald head, razor-sharp incisors and lanky build associated with the original cinematic vampire. Fittingly, his M. O. is somewhat vampiric as he eats his victims' hearts.
Master of Illusion: Stirk is able to cast a hypnotic aura which allows him to take on any face he chooses, generally a face that people will trust, such as Abraham Lincoln.
No Medication for Me: In his first appearance, Stirk is released from Arkham Asylum after being certified as sane. He had been confined since the age of 16 for trying to kill a classmate. After his release, Stirk subsequently stops taking his medication and begins his escalation into a serial killer.
Psycho Knife Nut: Stirk prefers to stab his victims to death with a large kitchen knife, which he then uses to cut out their heart.
Scary Teeth: In his unaltered appearance, Stirk has fang-like razor-sharp incisors.
Serial Killer: Like Victor Zsasz, another Alan Grant creation, Stirk is just a butcher with no grander plots or aspirations beyond killing (and eating) as many people as possible.
Verbal Tic: Stirk calls almost everybody "sir".

Corrosive Man

Alter Ego: Derek Mitchell

First Appearance: Detective Comics #587 (June 1988)

"Imagine fire ants underneath your skin, stinging without stop. Imagine molten plastic injected in your eyes, or battery acid flushing through your bloodstream — that's what it's like to be the Corrosive Man."

A convicted murderer, Derek Mitchell escapes from jail looking for vengeance on Mortimer Kadaver, but is involved in an accident on the way which turns him into a corrosive man, his entire skin burned with chemical fire which can eat through walls and floors or maim human flesh. His encounter with Kadaver leaves the latter with a handprint burned onto his forehead and leaves Mitchell inert, although he surfaces at least two times after this, possibly with reduced powers.

Acid Attack: His skin oozes a chemical fire that can eat through walls and floors or maim human flesh.
Bad Powers, Bad People: A convicted murderer develops an uncontrollable Acid Attack.
Blessed with Suck: Excreting acid from your skin isn't so great when you constantly feel the pain from it.
Fireball Eyeballs: Mitchell's eyes appear to be smoldering and emit a constant stream of smoke.
Implacable Man: After gaining his powers, the Corrosive Man starts walking in a straight line towards Kadaver: burning through any obstacle that gets in his way.
Lightning Can Do Anything: Mitchell was forced to hide from the Gotham City Police Department in a hazardous waste disposal chamber during a thunderstorm. When lightning struck the place, the chemicals exploded, engulfing and transforming Mitchell into the Corrosive Man.
Poisonous Person: The Corrosive Man's touch can be lethal.
Sickly Green Glow: The chemical fire engulfing Mitchell's transformed body glows with an eerie green light..
Toxic Waste Can Do Anything: Mitchell was forced to hide from the Gotham City Police Department in a hazardous waste disposal chamber during a thunderstorm. When lightning struck the place, the chemicals exploded, engulfing and transforming Mitchell into the Corrosive Man.
Weaksauce Weakness: The Corrosive Man's powers can be neutralized by contact with a powerful alkali, such as quicklime.

The Court of Owls

The Court of Owls/The Parliament of Owls

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_courtofowls_1549.png

First Appearance: Batman (Vol 2) #2 (December 2011)

"Beware the Court of Owls
that watches all the time.
Ruling Gotham from shadowed perch,
behind granite and lime.

They watch you at your hearth.
they watch you in your bed,
speak not a whispered word of them,
or they'll send The Talon for your head."

The Court of Owls is a secret organization centuries old with immense power and influence embedded into the very architecture and history of Gotham City. When Batman, and subsequently Bruce Wayne, began to make an impression on the city (through crime fighting and Bruce's many charitable foundations/renovation of the Narrows), they felt threatened and declared war on Batman and his allies.

Ancient Conspiracy: They've been around since Gotham's founding, back in Pre-Revolutionary America, and have been influencing the city on the political and economic level ever since.
Breakout Character: For a villainous group introduced relatively recently, they've already become quite the staple of the Batman mythos, appearing in Gotham and in Gotham Knights (2022).
Child Soldiers: The Court indoctrinates their Talons at a very young age, and specifically targets orphans and abandoned children for their ranks. They even had their eyes on a young Dick Grayson for a time, before Bruce Wayne swept in to adopt the boy instead.
Composite Character: Lincoln March/Thomas Wayne, Jr. combines both the Owlman (owl motif, evil mirror of Bruce) and Boomerang Killer (brain-damaged Wayne brother) versions of Thomas Jr.
Determinator: All of the Talons are this. Even death won't stop them from hunting down and killing their targets.
The Dragon: Lincoln March a.k.a. Thomas Wayne Jr. in their organization. He's also The Starscream, as he kills off most of the Court's top members to take advantage of the organization.
The Dreaded: The most powerful force in Gotham, and those who know of them are very aware of how dangerous they are.
Elite Mooks: Their assassins, the Talons.
Entitled Bastard: Most of the higher-ups are descendants of the original founders of Gotham, and thus consider Gotham to be their city, to do with as they please.
Evil Sounds Deep: The Talons are implied to sound this way, as their dialogue is drawn with black speech bubbles.
Familial Foe: The Waynes were one of the only families in Gotham who opposed the machinations of the Court. They believed in using their wealth to genuinely help the city and its people rather than simply gain power, and for this reason, the Court views them as their bitter enemies. Interestingly enough, however, the Court was not actually responsible for the murders of Thomas and Martha Wayne, despite having previously assassinated at least one of their distant ancestors.
Healing Factor: The Talons all sport this, although they can be killed, at least temporarily.
The Illuminati: They've been manipulating Gotham since olden times.
Kids Are Cruel: One particular member of the Court is a little girl (possibly the child of one of the families involved in the conspiracy), who takes special glee in ordering the Talon to beat Batman to death for her amusement.
Lightning Bruiser: All of the Talons are not only superhumanly fast and skilled in combat, but they're also extremely durable on account of being zombies.
Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: In their first appearance, they're alternately shown to be both normal people with owl masks and actual mutant owl humanoids. During this time, Batman had been starved and tortured for quite a while so it's not clear if some of them really were mutant owl people or Batman was simply hallucinating at that point and seeing them as such.
Mythology Gag: Their role as owls that antagonize bats with agents known as Talons, Thomas Wayne, Jr. in particular, is a reference to Owlman and Talon, the evil Mirror Universe counterparts to Batman and Robin pre-Flashpoint.
Ominous Owl: Their whole motif. The fact that owls are the natural predators of bats lends itself quite well to the imagery.
The Omniscient Council of Vagueness: As an evil Ancient Conspiracy.
White Mask of Doom: Members of the Court wear creepy barn owl masks.

Crazy Quilt

Alter Ego: Paul Dekker

First Appearance: Boy Commandos #15 (May 1946)

" The quilt of Crazy Quilt refers to my mastery over the Quilt of Colors! Which I will now use to hypnotize you! Then you — Batman and Nightwing — will be mine!"

Paul Dekker was a talented painter, who led a double life as a criminal mastermind. He committed his crimes using paintings to leave clues, until he was betrayed by his lackeys. Later, he was blinded by a gunshot, and then sent to prison. While behind bars he volunteered for an experimental procedure, which restored his lost vision by a unique helmet fused to his optics nerves. While the operation itself was a success, he can only see the world in blinding vivid colors, which drove him insane. He has clashed with the Bat-family repeatedly with multiple wacky and eccentric schemes involving colors as a gimmick.

Affirmative-Action Legacy: A second incarnation of Crazy Quilt is a female. She is a member of the Secret Society of Super-Villains.
Blinded by the Light: Crazy Quilt's helmet can blind people with searchlight-like beams.
Career-Ending Injury: Dekker's career as an artist was ended when he was blinded by a gunshot.
Energy Weapon: Crazy Quilt uses a special helmet that allows him to shoot fatal laser blasts.
Hypno Ray: Crazy Quilt uses a special helmet that allows him to hypnotize his victims with blinding colors.
Idiosyncrazy: Commits crimes using colour as a gimmick.
Porn Stache: Wears a pencil thin moustache.
Rogues' Gallery Transplant: Crazy Quilt originally fought the Boy Commandos, then Robin, before becoming a foe of the Bat-family in general.
Weaponized Headgear: Crazy Quilt's helmet can blind people with searchlight-like beams, and uses special optics to make objects seem to disappear.
Would Hurt a Child: Is obsessed with destroying Robin; no matter who is wearing the costume.

Crime Doctor

Alter Ego: Dr. Bradford Thorne

First Appearance: Detective Comics #77 (July 1943)

"I always loved medicine, but crime is like a narcotic to me! It’s like a tropical fever pounding in my blood! As Dr. Bradford Thorne, I am a respected Gotham physician! But as the Crime Doctor, I am truly alive!"

The Crime Doctor is a medical expert who caters exclusively to criminals, originally an enemy of Batman. Bradford Thorne began his career setting up an illegal clinic for injured gangsters, although he later expanded his enterprise to become a super-villain specializing in torture.

Battleaxe Nurse: Used to employ a Brawn Hilda nurse named Nurse Rench (a Shout-Out to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest) who acted as both his surgical assistant and his enforcer.
Cool Shades: After losing an eye, he wears a pair of sunglasses with star-shaped lenses.
Deadly Doctor: Uses his medical expertise to inflict damage on his opponents.
Dressed to Heal: Dresses in surgical scrubs and mask, and a head mirror, and often carries a stethoscope and black bag.
Inconvenient Hippocratic Oath: This was originally part of the Crime Doctor's schtick; a surgeon turned gang boss who refused to hurt anyone, and abandoned a burglary in progress to save Robin's life. Post-Crisis, this aspect of his personality was abandoned.
Instant Sedation: Carries an injector gun of his own design with sprays a gas which will render most people unconscious within seconds.
Loves the Sound of Screaming: During an appearance in the Villains United miniseries, Thorne admits that he deeply enjoys hearing the agonized screams of his victims.
Rogues' Gallery Transplant: Originally a Batman foe, he would later become the criminal counterpart to Dr. Mid-Nite.
Torture Technician: Is an expert in torture.
Trojan Ambulance: Uses a fake ambulance so that he can easily speed away from the crime scene without police tracking him.
Weaponized Headgear: Wears a physician's head mirror capable of shining a blinding beam of light.

Dagger

Alter Ego: David Rennington

First Appearance: Batman #343 (January 1982)

"Blades are my life, Batman! But they'll be your death!"

David Rennington was the owner of Rennington Steel when it faced a financial crisis. He embarked on a life of crime to save his company, but he was promptly stopped by Batman and was subsequently arrested. Later, he was recruited for the League of Assassins by Ra's Al-Ghul.

Bland-Name Product: Dagger's family company is called Rennington Steel.
Blade Enthusiast: Rennington is skilled with blades of all kind, and especially adept with throwing knives.
Brought to You by the Letter "S": Dagger's costume has a large 'D" on the chest.
Improbable Aiming Skills: Rennington is uncannily skilled with thrown knives, and once disabled the Batmobile with a single well-aimed dagger.
Protection Racket: Dagger's original scheme was a protection racket: demanding tribute from businesses like trucking companies and using his knives to wreck their assets if they didn't pay up.
Secondary Color Nemesis: Dagger's costume is predominantly purple and orange.

Dala

Alter Ego: Dala Vadim/Dala DuBois

First Appearance: Detective Comics #32 (October, 1939)

" Tonight, the blood moon shall be filled."

Dala is a vampire and ally of the Monk.

Adaptation Dye-Job: The Earth-Two and New Earth versions of Dala had black hair. The Earth-One and Batman: The Brave and the Bold versions are redheads.
Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: The New Earth version has this appearance, playing up her Goth role.
Incest Subtext: The Pre-Crisis Earth-One version was the sister of Louis DuBois. Dala and Louis were closer than siblings to the public eye, which caused the people to believe that they were lovers.
Killed Off for Real: The original Golden Age version of the character was famously killed by Batman shooting her with a silver bullet as she slept in her coffin and never returned.
Our Vampires Are Different: Although she's more reminiscent of a werewolf than a vampire in some respects, and is heavily associated with them. Her Golden Age version is particularly werewolf-like, being killed by a Silver Bullet.
Politically Incorrect Villain: The Pre-Crisis Earth-One version was the sister of Louis DuBois, a post-Civil War plantation owner from New Orleans. The DuBois were infamous of their cruel treatment of their slaves before the war.
Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: The New Version is a smoking hot goth vampire.
Related in the Adaptation: There's no indication that the Golden Age Monk was anything more to Dala than her boss, but the Pre-Crisis Earth-One versions are siblings.

David Cain

David Cain/Orphan I

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

Real Name: David Cain

First Appearance: Batman #567 (July 1999)

"You're too late, Batman. The real target... the one earmarked as Robin's replacement... is being hunted at this very moment. One of Gotham's children will be left orphaned, and there's nothing you can do to stop it!"

One of the greatest assassins on the planet, Cain helped to train Bruce Wayne in the years before he became Batman. In addition, it is later revealed that in his youth Cain was a high-ranking member of the League of Assassins. It was during this time that he developed theories on the possibility of raising a child to become the ultimate fighter, the One Who Is All. After his first few attempts failed, he approached Sandra Woosan, the woman who would become Lady Shiva, and convinced her to carry his child. The resulting child, Cassandra Cain, was raised by Cain and the League to become the perfect killing machine. Despite his physical abuse towards his daughter, Cain did seem to love her deeply.

In the New 52, David, now known as the Orphan, is a significantly different character. An agent of the human trafficker known as Mother, he objected to her use of drugs and modification to train her Child Soldiers, as opposed to the "old ways". Cassandra was his attempt to show her the potential of a more "traditionally trained" killer. This version of Cain has much less affection for his daughter.

Abusive Parents: Just how abusive depends on the writer.
Stephanie Brown: When my dad was mad at me he'd lock me in the closet - what did yours do?
Cassandra Cain: Shot me.
The Alcoholic: When he doesn't have a gun in his hand, bottle of whiskey usually takes its place.
Death Seeker: By the end of the Bruce Wayne: Fugitive arc, he's perfectly willing to let Deadshot kill him, at least at first.
Depending on the Artist: Is his natural hair color silver, brown, or black? It all depends on the issue. Batman and Robin Eternal seems to have settled on black.
The Dragon: To Mother, as Orphan, and to Lex Luthor during Bruce Wayne: Fugitive. He used to be this to Ra's Al-Ghul, but by the time of the comics he's long since left the League of Assassins.
Evil Mentor: To Bruce. He also trained Deadshot.
Evil Parents Want Good Kids: Not exactly, since he wanted Cassandra to be his personal killing machine, but he does seem a bit proud of her regardless, and framed Bruce for murder because he felt he would be just as bad for Cassandra as he had been.
In the Hood: As Orphan.
Might as Well Not Be in Prison at All: Waltzes out of prison to deliver his daughter a birthday gift, and then goes back in at around the same time as his escape is discovered.
Villain Decay: In-universe. He used to be one of the most feared assassins in the world, but these days he spends more of his time drinking his sorrows away. Deadshot lampshades this.
White Hair, Black Heart: Pre-Flashpoint, he has silver hair, and he is even shown as having it in his youth Depending on the Artist.
Would Hurt a Child: His training methods for Cassandra (and her predecessors, who were not so lucky as her) involved shooting her.

Deacon Blackfire

Deacon Joseph Blackfire

First Appearance: Batman: The Cult #1 (August 1988)

"Transform the people! Cleanse the streets! Brothers and sisters! The time has come to save our city!"

The leader of an underground religious cult made up of Gotham's homeless, who manages to take over Gotham City and even brainwash Batman.

Blood Bath: Does this to keep himself young.
Dark Messiah: A dark religious figure that leads an army to take over Gotham.
Death Seeker: Wants Batman to kill him to make him into a martyr and inspire his cult to continue the work.
Face of an Angel, Mind of a Demon: Deacon Blackfire looks clean and trustworthy on the outside, with a Heroic Build and Lantern Jaw of Justice combined with his natty priest's uniform, but he's nothing but pure evil.
Faux Affably Evil: As sadistic and cruel as Blackfire is, he's superficially charismatic enough to make his cult members think he's the Messiah.
Hoist by His Own Petard: Is torn apart by his own followers after his human flaws are revealed to them.
Killed Off for Real: In a rare fashion, he doesn't really show up after his first comic, and stays dead except in flashbacks.
Knight Templar: Wants to purge Gotham of crime by taking it over and committing mass murder.
Long-Lived: He has criminal records going back to the 1920s, and is revealed to keep himself alive using blood.
Misanthrope Supreme: His mission is to purge humanity of those he deems undesirable — and in his warped mind, that's just about everyone.
More than Mind Control: Brainwashes Batman into working for him with a combination of captivity, undernourishment, drugs, and relentless propaganda.
Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: He speaks to Batman of how he desires to get rid of murderous criminals that actively ruin the world to protect the innocent, but it's clear that his definitions are incredibly broad, and that he's in it because he enjoys leading his cult.
Politically Incorrect Villain: He begins rambling about the milquetoast liberals towards Batman when trying to convince him.
Serial Killer: Murdered a lot of people to bathe in their blood and remain alive, and murdered a lot of other people so he could make Gotham into his own utopia.
Sinister Minister: A fire-and-brimstone Christian preacher-style cult leader.

Deadshot

Real Name: Floyd Lawton

Team Affiliations: Suicide Squad, Secret Six

First Appearance: Batman #59 (June 1950)

"Hero. Villain. Ain't much difference between the two, I guess. Just a question of what a man wants. And what lines he's willing to cross to get it."

Famously known as "The Man Who Never Misses", Deadshot is a hired assassin and the world's greatest marksman. Having been a super-villain and anti-hero, he'll commit any murder for the right price because of a notorious suicidal death wish.

See Suicide Squad: Operatives

The Dealer

Alter Ego: Etienne Guiborg

First Appearance: Detective Comics #872 (February 2011)

"The philosophy of Mirror House is quite simple. We believe, wholeheartedly, that evil is humanity's divine spark. See, some people think that what makes us as a species divine, what separates us from soulless animals is our propensity for good. And yet, if I may, I'd like to propose another theory. A retort, if you will... because goodness... compassion, generosity. These are things that do, in fact, occur in the wild, between lower forms of life. But evil... true malevolence, though... no. No, that you don't see among the birds and the bees and the monkeys in the trees. And so it is in evil, our capacity for utter wickedness, that will see our true, divine selves reflected most clearly."

An elderly man who runs an underground auction house called Mirror House which sells off many items, gadgets and whatnot obtained from Gotham's worst criminals. By himself, he isn't much of a threat given his age, but he is a rather sinister dealer.

Auction of Evil: Mirror House.
Evil Feels Good: He strongly believes that humanity shines best when it's full of evil and doesn't mind telling it as it is.
Evil Old Folks: One of the most recent (and oldest) entries to Batman's rouges gallery.
Large Ham: He knows how to put on quite a show in his auctions.
Only Known By His Nickname: Etienne Guiborg isn't his real name, though he's still known as that.

Deathstroke

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/6904873_images_65.jpeg

Real Name: Slade Wilson

Team Affiliations: H.I.V.E. Academy, League of Assassins, Suicide Squad, Secret Society of Supervillains

First Appearance: New Teen Titans (Vol 1) #2 (December 1980)

"Inflict enough damage, take away the things he cares about, and it will all become too much."

Originally a soldier in the U.S. Army, Colonel Slade Wilson was part of an experimental super-soldier project where he gained enhanced strength, agility and intelligence. After being discharged from the army, he became a mercenary, eventually gaining a reputation as one of the world's greatest assassins. Rivaling Batman's proficiency as a martial artist, strategist, and tactician, Slade has gained a reputation as the Evil Counterpart to the Dark Knight. Slade has an ongoing rivalry with several of Batman's allies (especially Nightwing and Green Arrow), but his mercenary status makes him a wild card in the Dark Knight's rogues gallery, as whether he is an enemy or an ally is often contingent on the motivations of whoever he is working for at the current moment.

See here for more details.

Death Man

Death Man/Lord Death Man

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/3437950_talon_cv16_v1pklhcw4f__527c397a5b39e452833422.jpg

First Appearance: Batman #180 (May 1966)

"So you think you've captured me? Why— you've got nothing but the black shadow of death in your hands! I can drift right between your fingers like smoke — anytime I wish! HA-HA-HA-HA!"

A criminal mastermind who can perfectly imitate death (and later developed regenerative abilities). He was active in Bruce's early career as Batman before disappearing. He reemerged years later and relocated to Japan, while also working with Leviathan.

Abhorrent Admirer: To Harley Quinn. He has a whole Stalker Shrine within an arcade machine and hired her to kill him to see how she would kill him.
Beware the Silly Ones: He's a cackling old-school supervillain in a skeleton costume, and anyone who underestimates him because of that does so at their own peril. Not only did he kill the original Mr. Unknown, he nearly wiped out the entire superhero population of Japan, and gleefully made sure as many innocents as possible got caught in the crossfire.
Card-Carrying Villain: A key part of his whole "old TV serial villain" schtick. Lord Death Man loves being evil, and he wants everyone who sees him to know it.
Evil Laugh: Someone calling himself Lord Death Man has to have one.
Evil Mentor: He has a sidekick named Flatline, who he's taught to absorb knowledge from the deaths of others. According to her, he also never let her operate without him and refuses to allow her to read manga.
Expressive Mask: His skull mask seems capable of changing with his emotions.
The Faceless: Has never been seen without the skull mask.
Faking the Dead: Has mastered the yoga art of controlling his body to mask his vital signs, creating the illusion of death.
Healing Factor: Later in his career, he became unkillable.
Hidden Depths: In Talon, he claims his Photographic Memory allows him to perfectly recall everything he's learned, including the names of every Pokémon "and their evolved forms".
Large Ham: His dialogue makes him sound like a campy serial villain. He went from "Death Man" to "Lord Death Man" and even introduced the latter alias with "Mighty Lord Death Man!"
May–December Romance: In Robin (2021), it's revealed that he's the lover of Mother Soul/Ruh Al Ghul, who is at least a thousand years older than him.
Omnicidal Maniac: Wants nothing more than to destroy all superheroes and murder as many people as he can in the process.
Only Known by Their Nickname: His true name and backstory are unknown.
Resurrective Immortality: In modern continuities, his ability to seem dead and come back became this instead of a yoga technique.
Skull for a Head: His actual face beneath the costume is unknown, but he's pretty recognizable due to his skull face.
Took a Level in Badass: Death Man developed the ability to genuinely heal from fatal injuries, rather than just enter a death-like state.

The Designer

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/designer.jpg

First Appearance: Batman (Vol 3) #89 (April 2020)

"I had been playing the game on the detective's terms. Taking one step forward past each step he had taken to beat me. If I designed a crime with one degree of complexity, he would come back with two degrees of complexity in his means of defeating me. Beating him would require an exponential leap forward. And I spent a year in a room doing just that. I knew to win I would need to become the man I would become after twenty years of battling him, without him evolving in kind. The man who left that room wasn't the man who entered. He was the Designer."

— Batman #90, 2020

A mysterious individual with a talent for intricately detailed plans, the Designer was once the nemesis of another detective, who remains unknown. After years of being outsmarted at every turn, the Designer realized the key to victory: rather than simply developing a plan in direct reaction to the detective, he would develop a plan several dozen steps ahead of the detective, thus ensuring he could never catch up. He succeeded, the detective retired and later died a broken man, and the Designer moved to Gotham to offer to do the same to Catwoman, Penguin, Riddler, and Joker. After that meeting ended with the Designer getting shot in the head by the Joker and his operation in ashes, the Designer was presumed dead, but has returned years later with a new plan: the destruction of Bruce Wayne's life.

Action Fashionista: Dressed up like he's going to a Victorian ball, and can fight like he's escaping an execution.
Affably Evil: During his meeting with the four villains, the Designer is nothing but courteous and respectful of them, going out of his way to say he was impressed by their work so far.
The Bad Guy Wins: In his backstory, he actually triumphed over his nemesis.
Bad Samaritan: Batman and Joker quickly surmise that he was only going to help the rogues of Gotham to gut the city's power base, leaving him no opposition to take over the city himself.
Boom, Headshot!: How Joker "killed" him after their disastrous meeting.
Chekhov's Gun: The unknown chemical he uses to turn corpses into slaves is used by the Joker to make everyone think that he was still alive.
The Chessmaster: Damn straight. Not only are his plans borderline foolproof, they're still effective years after he first came up with them.
Cool Sword: He carries a claymore with him wherever he goes.
Dead All Along: In the modern day, he never actually came back. Instead, the Joker used his corpse like a puppet.
The Dreaded: Riddler and Penguin are terrified by the idea that he might be back.
Even Evil Has Standards: He has no problem with assassination, theft, and political conspiracy, but once he meets the Joker, he's utterly horrified by the sheer chaos he embodies and immediately comes to the conclusion that the Clown Prince of Crime cannot be allowed to walk out of the building alive.
Evil Mentor: He came to Gotham with the express purpose of designing plans for villains that would launch them to their true potential.
Expy: His rivalry with a detective, gentlemanly nature, and brilliant planning all bring to mind the image of Moriarty.
Foil/Evil Counterpart: To Batman. While both are brilliant strategists with a particular talent for plans that focus entirely on a single person and are The Dreaded to the Gotham underworld, Batman is a well-known hero who is mostly feared by low-level thugs, creates plans that are tailored around how a person will react to a given scenario, and wears a costume optimized for stealth, whereas the Designer is a criminal mastermind who flew under the radar for years, scares what few big name Gotham villains know he exists, creates plans that will map out and shortcut directly to what a person will become several years down the line, and wears a costume that is quite distinctly impossible to ignore.
Godzilla Threshold: The Joker frightened the Designer so badly during their meeting that he immediately tries to murder him and the other villains present, breaking his own rules of hospitality out of sheer desperation.
Hidden Agenda Villain: Fittingly for a man who did battle with a detective, much of his motivations and goals are shrouded in mystery.
Hijacked by Ganon: Seems to be the newest big threat to Batman, who has ties to his greatest rogues, right? Nope, he was killed by Joker and his corpse has been puppeteered by the Clown Prince.
That Man Is Dead: See above quote.
Unexplained Recovery: We still don't know how he survived the headshot. Turns out he did not.
Vague Age: In his flashback, we see him dueling his nemesis with...foils? On a steam engine? How old is this guy?
White Mask of Doom: With an intricate letter 'D' on the front.

Doctor Death

Alter Ego: Dr. Karl Hellfern

First Appearance: Detective Comics #29 (July 1939)

"Haven't doctors always placed a price on healing, Detective? Wouldn't you pay any price, to save your young friend's life? As Dr. Karl Hellfern, I pandered to the hypochondria of the rich. But as Doctor Death, I've created my own disease — and its cure! Goodbye, Batman. We won't meet again!"

A mad scientist of the old school, and arguably the first supervillain Batman ever faced, as well as his first recurring enemy. Unfortunately, everyone including writers seems to have forgotten him to an even greater degree than Hugo Strange, although every once in a while someone will remember he exists.

Battle Butler: In the Golden Age he always had a burly foreign manservant as his henchman.
Beard of Evil: Before his disfigurement.
Biological Weapons Solve Everything: Bioweapons are Dr. Death's stock in trade, from the Deadly Gas to the Synthetic Plague.
Body Horror: Rather gruesomely disfigured. Pre-Crisis this was the result of a laboratory explosion Batman caused in their first encounter. In the New 52, it's the side effect of a special serum that's causing his bones to rapidly grow and his skin to ossify.
Evil Old Folks: He's old enough to have in his early criminal career infected a young boy who grew up to become The Joker, so he's up there in years.
Gas Mask, Longcoat: His costume style of choice in Batman: Streets of Gotham.
High-Class Glass: Pre-disfigurement, he sported a monocle.
Kill All Humans: Implied to be his motive in ''Streets of Gotham', where Hellfern muses in his internal monologue that he doesn't really care about Hush and Pierce's schemes, or really any of the jobs he gets hired for, and just goes along with them because they give him ways to "strike out at humanity".
Loners Are Freaks: Most of Gotham's underworld sees Hellfern this way. And not without reason — when Judson Pierce and Hush approached him with a job offer, his initial reaction was to gas them. Fortunately for the bad guys, Hush knew Hellfern's shtick and came prepared with rebreathers.
Mad Scientist: A fairly standard example, though the "Zero Year" expanded his backstory.
Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Noted by Hush, who wryly remarks that "when a man purposefully dubs himself 'Dr. Death', I make a point to keep an eye on him" while knocking him out before he can gas the building.
Non-Action Big Bad: Unlike similar villain Hugo Strange, Dr. Death isn't much of a fighter. True, Strange usually loses to Batman but at least he tries — as long as a hero can withstand whatever bio-nasty Hellfern's cooked up, taking him down is usually as easy as throwing one punch.
Psycho for Hire: Operated as one for the mob early in his career, until he got the scratch to strike out on his own as a supervillain.
Tragic Villain: At least, in the New 52, where the death of his son (a soldier who was on a mission to find the missing Bruce Wayne) contributed to his descent into madness.
Would Hurt a Child: Had no problems infecting a child from the Thompkins clinic with a deadly mutant plague that would have killed him in under 12 hours.

Doctor Double X

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dr_double_x_0.jpg

Alter Ego: Dr. Simon Ecks

First Appearance: Detective Comics #261 (November 1958)

"Today everybody dies!"
"At the hands of Dr. Double X!"''

Dr. Simon Ecks was a brilliant but naïve scientist whose theories were largely scorned by his peers. During experimental research on human auras, he discovered that he could make an energy duplicate of himself. Ecks fragile mind was unhinged by the presence of the duplicate, whom he dubbed 'Double X'. Double X was the avatar of all of his evil, negative emotions, and easily dominated the weak-willed Ecks into committing crimes to finance his experiments.

Brought to You by the Letter "S": Ecks has a large 'X' on his chest. His energy double has 2 'X's.
Energy Beings: Dr. Double X is an embodiment of Ecks' dark side, constructed from pure energy.
Extreme Doormat: Originally Simon Ecks had a very weak personality and was putty in the hands of his Superpowered Evil Side. Double X seems to have been a corrupting influence on Ecks, as Ecks has become a more willing participant in the duo's schemes as the years have passed.
Flight: Dr. Double X can fly.
Jekyll & Hyde: Splitting off his aura into a separate entity brings out Eck's suppressed evil side.
Literal Split Personality: Dr. Double X is a physical manifestation of Ecks' negative emotions.
Shock and Awe: As an amplified human aura, Dr. Double X can project electricity.
Steven Ulysses Perhero: Dr. Simon Ecks becomes Dr. Double X.
Superpowered Evil Side: Dr. Double X embodies all of Ecks' evil, negative emotions and has superpowers.

Doctor Phosphorus

Dr. Phsphorous

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

Alter Ego: Dr. Alexander Sartorious

First Appearance: Detective Comics #469 (May 1977)

"You have stopped me once, but you cannot stop me now! I have slept in the depths with the dazzling death, and it has given me more life! Dr. Phosphorus shall reign over all!"

Doctor Phosphorus is a transparent angry wall of fire. Dr. Alex Sartorius got his powers when a nuclear core went unstable and his body was bathed in hot radioactive phosphorous. Now his body combusts when he is in contact with air. He now seeks revenge on the men that caused his fatal accident.

Badass in a Nice Suit: Since gaining greater control of his powers, Dr. Phosphorous likes to dress in high-end suits, similar to what he used to wear when he was fully human.
Deal with the Devil: During the Underworld Unleashed storyline, he is one of many villains to sell his soul to the demon Neron. In exchange for his soul, he is granted greater power and temperature control.
Hero Killer: During Crisis on Infinite Earths, he inflicted fatal wounds on the Hawkman of Earth-2.
Magic Pants: Originally Dr. Phosphorous' power destroyed any clothes he wore, except for his pants which were reduced to a pair of shorts but stayed on.
Playing with Fire: Dr. Phosphorus' body bursts into flame on contact with air.
Poisonous Person: As his body is composed of phosphorous, coming into skin-to-skin contact with Dr. Phosphorous will not only burn you, but poison you as well.
Psycho for Hire: Since gaining greater control of his powers, he sometimes acts as a superpowered hitman for other villains.
Radiation-Induced Superpowers: Sartorius was transformed by sand irradiated during a nuclear plant's meltdown, driven up one element on the chemical table, from silicon to phosphorus. His body was changed as his skin would burn at any contact and his skeleton showed through his skin.
Rogues' Gallery Transplant: Also fought Starman.
Stepford Suburbia: In Order of the World, he and Nocturna escape Arkham Asylum and attempt to live a peaceful suburbanite life as man and wife. The problem is that he's still a walking radiation disaster, and he refuses to acknowledge this in any form.
Weaksauce Weakness: Batman once defeated him by covering him in baking soda, which snuffed out his flames.
Water Source Tampering: In his first appearance, Dr. Phosphorous attempts to take revenge on Gotham City by submerging his poisonous body in the city reservoir.

Doctor Simon Hurt

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Doctor_Hurt_62.png

Alter Ego: Thomas Wayne Jr.

First Appearance: Batman #156 (June 1963)

"Batman's a hardy specimen, with an above-average mind--but even a Batman can succumb to stress and shock!"

A psychiatrist that observed Batman during an isolation experiment, Simon Hurt is the leader of a mysterious organization called The Black Glove. He wants to completely and utterly break Batman, physically and mentally.

Adaptation Distillation: His backstory had him being found by Thomas and Martha Wayne and then taken to a mental hospital to get help. In a Pre-Crisis story, Bruce discovered he had an older brother, Thomas Jr., who suffered head injuries and was sent to live in Willowood Asylum. Thomas Jr. escaped at some point and became an assassin named the Boomerang Killer who fought Batman and Deadman together before pulling an impulsive Heroic Sacrifice to save Bruce.
And I Must Scream: Last seen being Buried Alive by the Joker somewhere on the grounds of Wayne Manor, because there's only one person who the Joker wants messing with Batman's head. He later escaped, but the intervening time can't have been very fun...
Ascended Extra: Grant Morrison ascended him out of an unnamed psychiatrist in the Silver Age story "Robin Dies at Dawn"
Asshole Victim: It's incredibly hard not to fist pump as the Joker buries him.
Back for the Dead: He returns in the Convergence series, only to get blown up.
Been There, Shaped History: It's implied that the Jack the Ripper Whitehchapel murders might have been done by Hurt as part of the ritual to keep himself alive.
Better the Devil You Know: When Hurt is taken out of the picture, a global conspiracy known as Leviathan takes over, upping the ante.
Big Bad: Of The Black Glove Story Arc in Grant Morrison's run.
Big Bad Wannabe: By Batman and Robin, he starts to fall into this, simply because he keeps believing that he will be the one to break Batman. As it turns out, Batman simply doesn't break, no matter what Hurt does to him, and manages to turn the tables at every turn - most pivotally, the deep-rooted mental commands that Hurt places in Batman to destroy his personality fail because Batman was putting in a mental command to counter such an attack at the same time. In pretty much every interaction he has with the Joker, the latter tells him to stop underestimating Batman, and Hurt's response is to dismiss both Batman and the Joker. He turns out to be wrong on both counts.
- In some ways, consulting his story from beginning to end, he was always this. He talks a great game, and has enough skill, intelligence, and resources to put together some decent evil plans in scope and methods, but he believes that he's akin to a universal force of corruption and darkness (ala Darkseid) whose cast shadow breaks noble souls and whose will turns the best and brightest into the foulest parodies of what they once were, when in reality he's basically a jumped up rich-kid sociopath who thinks going out of his way to 'destroy good' makes him the pinnacle of malevolence, instead of a glorified child holding a magnifying glass over an ant hill.^note
Blackmail: Threatens to sully the entire Wayne Family's reputation if Batman does not join him.
Bloodbath Villain Origin: His Batman-impersonators were subjected to this.
Card-Carrying Villain: He speaks very proudly about how he wants to break the hero that is Batman.
The Corruptor: One of his most frequent goals. He attempts it with Batman and Damian, it's implied that he's responsible for making Professor Pyg and Eduardo Flamingo into what they now are, and he launched a nearly-successful campaign to drive the whole of Gotham City mad with a viral addiction, tempting other characters along the way.
Crazy-Prepared: He planted the trigger Zurr-En-Arrh in order to Mind Rape Batman.
Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Part of his grand revenge scheme against not only Batman but Thomas and Martha Wayne is because they actually tried to help him by bringing him to the Willowood mental hospital under the guise of their other son.
Eccentric Millionaire: Evil version.
Evil Only Has to Win Once: Averted. Hurt has had plenty of successes in his lifetime, but he has to keep on scheming to stay on top.
Evil Power Vacuum: Puts his plan in motion after Batman manages to finally lock up all of Gotham's criminals.
Evil Wears Black: Noticeable compared to Batman's other enemies.
For the Evulz: Loves to make people's lives (and Batman's life, in particular) miserable and broken and hosts it as a gambling game just because he can.
Glamour: Implied to have this to some degree. He's able to convince the masses he's Thomas Wayne and that he faked his death, despite altering his face so that not only does he look nothing like a Wayne, but he looks too young to be Bruce's father.
A Glass of Chianti: Known to pour one out for crime.
God of Evil: He talks about himself like this, viewing himself as an unstoppable force of corruption in human form. He also worships his own God of Evil in the form of Barbatos.
Greater-Scope Villain: He's responsible for the creation of "The Batman of Zur-En-Arrh", who becomes an Enemy Within to Bruce throughout Chip Zdarsky's run.
Hijacked by Ganon: In his case, Darkseid.
Hollywood Satanism: He started out as a devil-worshipper in the 18th century, and today his rituals have all the traditional trappings.
Humanoid Abomination: Styles himself as this, referring to himself as "the hole in things" and "the piece that can never fit".
Human Sacrifice: Tries to make Batman this on numerous occasions.
Identical Grandson: Bears a notable resemblance to Bruce Wayne's father Dr. Thomas Wayne. See below for why.
I Have Many Names: Doctor Simon Hurt, Thomas Wayne, Mangrove Pierce, El Penitente, the Black Glove, the Hole in Things, Jack the Ripper (possibly), the Devil...
Immortals Fear Death: The Return of Bruce Wayne reveals the real reason he sought immortality; his ancestor got on the bad side of a witch and she cursed his entire bloodline. Family curses tend to manifest as unpleasant deaths, which would explain the deaths of Thomas, Martha and Damian, so Hurt naturally wanted to avoid this at all costs.
Kneel Before Zod: Either tempts or coerces his foes into coming to his side. In an alternate future, Damian and the POTUS both take him up on it.
Louis Cypher: Some characters (including the Joker) think he's this, and even Batman himself wonders by the end. As far as Morrison is concerned, sure, the mundane explanation is that he's a 17th Century Wayne, but why should the mundane explanation be the only true one?
Luke, I Am Your Father: At one point attempted to convince Bruce that he was actually his father Dr. Thomas Wayne, who had faked his own death and murdered his wife. He's actually a distant paternal ancestor of Bruce, also named Thomas Wayne, corrupted and turned immortal by Darkseid's Hyper Adapter.
Man of Wealth and Taste: In both senses of the word.
Meaningful Name: "Doctor Hurt". Doctors are tasked with helping people, not hurting them. This perversion of a well-respected profession fits with Hurt's modus operandi of destroying reputations.
Mind Rape: What he does to the replacement Batmen and Bruce himself.
Professional Gambler: His organization, Black Glove, has a gambling theme.
Psycho Psychologist: What he is a doctor of.
The Psycho Rangers: While Batman has the Club of Heroes, consisting of vigilantes from various countries, Hurt has the Club of Villains, consisting of their respective arch enemies.
Really 700 Years Old: He's about 400.
Religion of Evil: He has ties to the Church of Crime, and he himself worships the demonic Barbatos.
Rich Bitch: Male version.
Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: Part of the reason none of his crimes have been reported is because he has the mayor and several other officials in his back pocket.
Slasher Smile: Indulges in them whenever he thinks he's won. Batman at one point describes it as being as unpleasant as Joker venom and fear gas.
Smug Snake: Fully believed the law could never stop him due to all the Black Glove's money. He didn't count on The Joker putting a stop to him.
Tall, Dark, and Snarky: Tries to be this at first, but gradually loses his dignity, becoming more and more of a Faux Affably Evil Smug Snake.
To Create a Playground for Evil: Once Batman is (seemingly) out of the picture, Hurt's plan is to make Gotham into a Capitol of Crime where man's worst instincts reign supreme.
Ungrateful Bastard: Thomas and Martha Wayne tried to have his horrifying behavior psychologically treated. His response is to try and ruin their son and destroy their legacy, as well as possibly having them killed.
Villain Decay: Goes from executing plans that took years to put together to eventually just hiring a gang of mooks to do his dirty work. Hurt briefly appears in the Convergence series, but is just one of many random Batman villains who gets blown up by the Joker.
You Have No Chance to Survive: Gets proven wrong repeatedly, but never gives up.

Doctor Tzin-Tzin

Dr. Tzin-Tzin

First Appearance: Detective Comics #354 (August 1966)

"...Whoever crosses my path... and incurs my displeasure... invariably suffers... the most awful death..."

Despite his oriental demeanor and mannerisms, the man known as Doctor Tzin-Tzin was actually an American orphan found years ago by Chinese bandits and raised by them. Tutored by the bandits in the arts of crime, Tzin-Tzin also studied ancient Tibetan rites of hypnotism and illusion until he became one the world's most proficient practitioners. Tzin-Tzin eventually travelled to America, where he rose through the ranks of the Tong to become one of its leaders, and his crimes brought him into conflict with Batman.

All Asians Know Martial Arts: Tzin-Tzin is an expert martial artist and swordsman.
Beard of Evil: Has the most evil combination of facial hair imaginable: a goatee and a Fu Manchu moustache.
The Beastmaster: Tzin-Tzin uses magic to control the actions of animals.
Fauxreigner: Appears to be a Fu-Manchu style Yellow Peril villain, but is actually a caucasian American (albeit one raised in China) in Yellowface.
Master of Illusion: Is an extremely gifted hypnotist, and capable of creating realistic illusions in the minds of his victims.
Mind Control: Tzin-Tzin uses magic to control the actions of people.
Monumental Theft: Once stole the Sphinx and hid it on the bottom of the ocean, for no adequately explained reason. In a later appearance he levitated Gotham Stadium and started flying it away.
Telepathy: His mystic rites grant him a form of telepathy.
Yellow Face: Is an In-Universe example: a Caucasian who disguises himself as an Asian.
Yellow Peril: Despite being a Caucasian, Tzin-Tzin deliberately styles himself as Fu Manchu-style Oriental master criminal.

Doctor Zodiac

Alter Ego: Theodore B. "Cash" Carrigan

First Appearance: World's Finest #160 (September, 1966)

"Now before we finish off Robin, I'm going to auction off the horoscopes of the country's leading lawmen! What am I bid for the details of J. Edgar Hoover's unluckiest hour?"

Carrigan was a carnival mystic who turned to crime, basing his robberies on horoscopes. In his first outing, he is apprehended by Batman, Robin and Superman. Later, he steals a dozen coins from Atlantis, each bearing a Zodiac symbol, which bestow him with various powers. Once again, Batman and Superman thwart his plans. Still later, he allies himself with Madame Zodiac to obtain a different set of Zodiac coins, but the two of them are defeated by Batman, Superman, and Zatanna.

Artifact of Power: Carrigan stole some ancient Atlantean Zodiac coins in order to gain the powers of all the zodiac signs.
Outlaw Couple: Was in a romantic relationship with Madame Zodiac.
Phony Psychic: Carrigan was a con-artist who used to work in different carnivals until he was uncovered by Superman, Batman and Robin.
Symbol Motif Clothing: Wears a robe decorated with stars and moons.

Dollmaker

Alter Ego: Barton Mathis

First Appearance: Detective Comics (Vol 2) #1 (November 2011)

"If it were any other dirtbag I would object. But this one is special. This is the dirtbag who killed my father and almost ruined my life."

As a child, Barton Mathis went on several 'hunting trips' with his father. During these hunts, he watched as his father killed people and then cannibalized them. He would also witness his father being shot down by a young cop named James Gordon. After spending only a year in foster care, Barton disappeared for years before he resurfaced as the criminal Dollmaker. His mask is partially made of skin from his deceased father. He later cut off then reattached the Joker's face.

Body Horror: He twists his victims' corpses into his own playthings.
Facial Horror: His bread and butter. He wears human skin as a mask and cuts off the Joker's face.
Genuine Human Hide: Dollmaker wears a mask made from his father's skin.
Serial Killer: He creates "dolls" out of the skin and limbs of his victims.
Villainous Friendship: He seems to have one with the Joker, which is more than can be said for almost any other villain.

Electrocutioner

Alter Ego: Buchinsky, Lester Buchinsky

First Appearance: Batman #331

"You don't have the kilowatts for this job, Batman. If this creep's going to be taken off line, it's going to be the Electrocutioner who does it."

A series of minor villains that use an electrically charged suit to kill criminals.

The original Electrocutioner was a self-appointed executioner of criminals who slip through the hands of the law. He started a series of crook-killings in Gotham City with his electrically-charged suit. He later moved to New York were he ran afoul of the Vigilante; eventually dying in one of their encounters.

The second Electrocutioner — no relation to either the first or third — was brought into Gotham as a mob enforcer.

Lester Buchinsky became the third Electrocutioner after his brother's death. Like his brother, he started out as a vigilante but ended up being a criminal and mercenary.

Clothes Make the Superman: The Elctrocutioner's powers all derive from his suit.
Enhanced Archaic Weapon: The second Electrocutioner was armed with an electric whip. It was a fast weapon whose touch was as hot and lethal as his own. Given the heat and electricity it gave off, using the whip would likely set the battlefield ablaze.
Escaped from Hell: The original Electrocutioner was one of a group of deceased criminals who attempt to escape from Hell via a portal opened by S.T.A.R. Labs.
Hand Blast: Electrocutioner wears a suit with circuitry that lets him generate electricity from his hands. Electrocutioner controls the amount of electricity generated, and cab stun or kill a target with it.
Killed Off for Real: The first Electrocutioner died while fighting the Vigilante. His soul—along with those of several other deceased supervillains—once attempted to escape from Hell but was thwarted by Hawk and Dove and the Titans West.
- The third Electrocutioner, Lester Buchinsky, was killed by Roy Harper for his part in the destruction of a large part of Star City and the death of his daughter Lian.
Legacy Character: Three different characters have used the Electrocutioner identity. The first and the third were brothers.
Motive Decay: Like his brother, Lester Buchinsky started out as a Vigilante Man, but ended up being a criminal and mercenary.
Professional Killer: Lester Buchinsky frequently works as an assassin-for-hire for other criminals.
Removed Achilles' Heel: During a battle with the Teen Titans, Lester revealed that he had paid Black Manta a grand to make his equipment waterproof, thereby removing his Logical Weakness.
Rogues' Gallery Transplant: What happens when one goes from messing with Batman and Nightwing in Gotham and Bludhaven to being a key part of another villain's plan that destroys a large portion of Star City and kills Red Arrow's daughter while moving into the city gaining the ire and hatred of all the arrows.
Shock and Awe: The Electrocutioner suit produces and fires bolts of electricity.

Elmer Fudd

First Appearance: Batman/Elmer Fudd Special (August 2017)

"Sometimes the rain comes down so hard you forget you've ever been dry. I try to see it, there in the past or in the future, rainbows waiting. Going into Porky's that day, I try my best to remember. I really do. Things weren't always this way. They won't always be this way. I try my best, and the water seeps in, molding my coat onto my shotgun, and I stop trying, and I head inside. My name is Elmer Fudd. I'm hunting rabbits."

Yes, that Elmer Fudd.

Well, kinda.

Growing up poor and destitute somewhere outside of Gotham City, Elmer Fudd is a career criminal, a hired gun paid to eliminate other people’s problems. He has no love for violence, but views it as the only way for a guy like him to make it in a world as seedy as Gotham’s. Armed only with his trusty shotgun and his own street smarts, he's a dangerous man to anger, although he has a bad habit of believing everything that's told to him. Has (so far) only had a single appearance, in the DC Comics / Looney Tunes crossover “Batman vs Elmer Fudd”.

Acrofatic: While not exactly fat, he is pudgy or at least stocky. He’s still able to keep up with Batman in a fistfight.
Adaptational Badass: Oh, yeah. He gets into a fight with Batman and manages to hold his own. You get the feeling that this version of Bugs relies on trickery because Fudd is downright scary in an open confrontation.
Anti-Villain: He’s a mob hitman, perfectly at home with murder. That said, he’s also a hopeless romantic at heart, knows his career is a dead-end job (literally), and would like nothing better than to give it all up and go straight, if he could just find something worth living for.
Badass Normal: No powers, no gadgets, not particularly insane, not even years of explicit training or an obvious gimmick. At a glance, Fudd could be mistaken for a common thug off the street. A random thug off the street who can sense Batman sneaking up on him and last over a minute in open confrontation with him.
Bottomless Magazines: Somehow manages to fire a double-barreled shotgun three times without visibly reloading.
Catchphrase: I’m hunting [target]. Shhh… Of course.
Country Mouse: Grew up outside the city, without the benefits of most modern society, explaining his skills in stalking and shooting. When he moved to the city, he found his skill set was most hirable as a professional man-hunter.
Darker and Edgier: He’s a Looney Tunes character, redone to be believable as a Batman antagonist. Somehow it works.
Dirty Business: Considers his career to be this, and has no delusions about having a happy ending at the end of it.
Elmer Fudd Syndrome: But of course.
Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor: Knock knock… I forwgot. You want me to shoot you wight here or in pwivate?
Fool for Love: He really wanted his stint with Silver Saint Cloud to work out. It didn’t.
Let's You and Him Fight: While definitely no hero, Fudd’s face-off with Batman was not business, but personal, and based on faulty information at that.
Offhand Backhand: In a reversal of the usual roles, Fudd does this to Batman. With a shotgun. Needless to say it doesn't work, but not for lack of effort.
Private Eye Monologue: Fudd seems to keep one up in his head at all times.
Tranquil Fury: He’s The Stoic, even when he’s about to murder somebody.

Emperor Blackgate

Alter Ego: Ignatius Ogilvy

First Appearance: Detective Comics (Vol 2) #13 (December 2012)

"So...this is what it's like to be king."

Ogilvy's father was a low level gangster in Gotham City, who was murdered in front of him after they left the movie theater. He was recruited into the Penguin's crew when he was a teenager, just off the streets, trying to make a name for himself. He quickly rose up through the ranks, from look-out all the way up to Penguin's Number Two. During the Joker's return to Gotham City, the Penguin placed Ogilivy in charge of operations while he dealt with other matters. Ogilivy used this opportunity to usurp the Penguin, becoming the top crime boss in Gotham and declaring himself 'Emperor Penguin'. Taking a variant of the Man-Bat serum with additions made by Poison Ivy to gain superpowers, Ogilvy took on Batman but was defeated, thanks—in part—due to the timely intervention of the Penguin, who did not appreciate Ogilvy's betrayal. On being sent to Blackgate Prison, Ogilvy killed the gangster in charge of the prison, putting himself into power and declaring himself 'Emperor Blackgate'.

Alternate Company Equivalent: As a low-level criminal who gets a taste of power, goes Drunk on the Dark Side and takes multiple levels in badass, Oglivy is DC's answer to Marvel villain The Hood.
Chain Pain: Likes using a chain as a hand-to-hand weapon.
Costume Copycat: Grasping for the original Penguin's classy reputation, Ignatius copied his fashion pretty much completely, right down to the monocle and cigarette holders.
Evil Counterpart: Like Penguin, he is one to Bruce Wayne rather than Batman, his father having been killed while leaving a movie theater. However, said father was a low-level mobster rather than a wealthy socialite.
Good Smoking, Evil Smoking: As Emperor Penguin, he copied Cobblepot's look: including the monocle and cigarette holder.
High-Class Glass: As Emperor Penguin, he copied Cobblepot's look: including the monocle and cigarette holder.
Might as Well Not Be in Prison at All: Essentially ran Blackgate Prison as his own personal empire.
Number Two: Was this to the Penguin before usurping him.
Parasol of Pain: As Emperor Penguin he used the Penguin's arsenal of trick umbrellas.
The Starscream: To the Penguin.
Super Serum: Took a modified version of the Man-Bat serum to gain superpowers.
Super-Strength: Can lift approx. 5 tons.
Super-Toughness: Has a bark like skin and is capable of surviving a point-blank gunshot to the face.
Took a Level in Badass: Originally he was just a brighter-than-average thug on the Penguin's payroll. Then he got a chance to become the Dragon Ascendant and gladly took it, betraying his boss and taking his place as Emperor Penguin. Unsatisfied with just a pretentious title, he later arranged to give himself metahuman abilities, surpassing his ex-boss in threat level. Batman himself even dubs him a monster.
Unskilled, but Strong: Since becoming Emperor Blackgate Oglivy ranks among the strongest of Batman villains, surpassing long-runners like Penguin, Poison Ivy, and Man-Bat at least in terms of physical threat. Unfortunately for him he still doesn't know how to fight as anything but a street thug.

Equilibrium

Alter Ego: Charlotte Le Serf, Sullivan, several unnamed others

First Appearance: Batman: The Detective #2 (July 2021)

A group of villains who set out to undo Batman's legacy by murdering all the people he's saved.

Arc Words: "It's about equilibrium."
Color Motif: The group are all dressed in white.
Dark Action Girl: Charlotte was trained by Henri Ducard and is more than a match for Bruce.
Impersonating an Officer: Charlotte and another member of the group infiltrate the Interpol and manage to poison Bruce while pretending to interrogate him.
Insane Troll Logic: Being unable to cope with grief, Charlotte came to the conclusion that, since the person that caused her family's death was saved by Batman, then it was Batman's fault for being an Agent of Chaos and causing a ripple effect.
Light Is Not Good: They dress in white-colored Batman costumes, and they're an insane group that kill people for the simple reason they were once saved by Batman.
Moral Myopia: Batman saved the life of the man that accidentally caused the death of Charlotte's family several years later, so she decided to kill every person saved by the Dark Knight, even though most were innocent people.
Sanity Slippage: Charlotte Le Serf losing her husband and son to a drunk driver drove her mad, blaming everything on Batman for saving the life of the man that caused the accident several years earlier.
The Sociopath: Henri Ducard believes these people were never really sane to start with, since they've missed the whole point of saving lives.
You Have Failed Me: Charlotte kills one of their members for letting himself be saved by Batman and leading him to their hideout.

The Eraser

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/leonard_fiasco_the_brave_and_the_bold_0001.jpg

Alter Ego: Leonard Fiasco

First Appearance: Batman #188 (December 1966)

"Don't take chances! Let The Eraser erase every clue from your crimes!"

Lenny Fiasco was a college classmate of Bruce Wayne, who was known for constantly making mistakes on his assignments. The laughing stock of his class, he spent most his time erasing his mistakes. The final humiliation came when Bruce Wayne took the girl Lenny loved to the school’s Winter Carnival. Lenny dropped out of college and began a criminal career as the Eraser: offering to 'erase' the evidence of other criminals crimes in exchange for 20% of the take.

Armed Legs: Wears shoes tipped with pencil-point blades that can also emit a sleeping gas.
Badass in a Nice Suit: For given values of 'nice'. The Eraser certainly has a unique look, and it definitely takes chutzpah to fight Batman while dressed as a giant No. 2 pencil.
Bruce Wayne Held Hostage: In his first outing, the Eraser used sleeping gas to kidnap Bruce and bring him to a replica of the ice carnival from college.
But for Me, It Was Tuesday: The heroic version. The Eraser revealed to Bruce Wayne he became a criminal because Bruce got the love of Lenny's life, Celia. However, Bruce did not remember Celia at all, sending the Eraser into a rage.
The Cameo: The Eraser unique visual means that he often appears in group shots of Batman's Rogues Gallery, or DC supervillains in general. (Artists probably find him fun to draw.)
Cleanup Crew: The Eraser is a one-man cleanup crew. For 20% of the take, he will use his eraser mask to wipe out all traces of evidence from a crime scene, right down to the finger- and footprints.
Cool Helmet: Wears a helmet topped off with a giant eraser that can rub out evidence from crime scenes like footprints, fingerprints, etc.
Everyone Went to School Together: Was at college with Bruce Wayne.
Meaningful Name: A guy named Lenny Fiasco turns out to be a total loser? Go figure.
Weaponized Headgear: Wears a mask topped off with a giant eraser that emits a special compound which can rub out evidence from crime scenes like footprints, fingerprints, etc.
Where Does He Get All Those Wonderful Toys?: It is never explained how a loser like Lenny managed to get his hands on a gadget like the eraser helmet.

Film Freak

Alter Ego: Burt Weston a.k.a. Edison

First Appearance: Batman #395 (May 1986)

"You'll never take me alive, coppers! Top o' the world, ma!!"

A failing actor that portrayed quirky villains, Burt Weston decided he'd make a better one in real life. He committed every crime known in films so therefore the Gotham Newspapers named him Film Freak, to which the name stuck. When a female reporter found out his identity, Weston stalks her in a similar way to the main character in Psycho. Film Freak starts to murder his fellow associates, until he's caught by Harvey Bullock and Batman. In the Knightfall story line, Film Freak is controlled by the Mad Hatter and is killed by Bane.

Although no explanation for survival has yet been offered, Film Freak appeared later, in Catwoman, as part of the One Year Later story line, going by the alias "Edison". He appears as a television show host, similar to Elvira. He manages to deduce Catwoman's identity and later kidnaps her daughter with the help of Angle Man. They are defeated quite easily, and have their mind's wiped of Catwoman's identity by Zatanna. Zatanna then orders them to confess their crimes. Angle Man turns himself in, but Edison interprets the order differently. He says "I have crimes to confess ... crimes against cinema", goes on a killing spree, murdering people in ways that relate to classic movies, like King Kong and The Public Enemy (1931). He eventually stole a nuclear weapon and killed all the people in a TV studio, so he could broadcast his nuclear threat. He sets the bomb up in a movie palace. However, his plan fails when Catwoman defeats him, and defuses the bomb.

Alliterative Name: Film Freak
Appropriated Appelation: The name Film Freak was bestowed on him by a newspaper.
Bald of Evil: As Weston, the Film Freak used to shave his head. As Edison, he has a full head of hair.
Camera Fiend: Edison carries a video camera with him everywhere and is constantly filming.
Character Name Alias: The alias Edison comes from Thomas Edison, inventor of the motion picture^noteAt least in popular understanding.
Empty Quiver: As the culmination of a crime spree, Film Freak stole a nuclear warhead and attempted to detonate it in the middle of Gotham City.
Faking the Dead: Weston attempted to reinvigorate his failing acting career by faking his death a la Paul Newman in The Sting, and then taking advantage of the publicity when he miraculously returned to life. His plan failed because no one noticed, or cared, that he had 'died'.
Insanity Immunity: He has a limited form of telepathic immunity, as the only memories he has are from movies.^note
Speaks in Shout-Outs: Is constantly quoting dialogue from famous films.
Theme Serial Killer: All of Film Freak's murders are recreations of famous deaths in movies.
Tuckerization: The name Burt Weston is a nod to Adam West and Burt Ward who played Batman and Robin (respectively) in Batman (1966).
Unexplained Recovery: Returned after being killed by Bane with no explanation.

Firebug

Alter Ego:(I) Joe Rigger; (II) Harlan Combs; (III) Unknown

First Appearance: Batman #318 (December 1979)

"I owe the army one thing— it gave me a skill I didn't have before! It made me a demolitions expert— a master in the art of incendiary explosives— and enabled me to equip this insulated costume with hidden tanks of a concentrated napalm derivative! Yeah, the army made me a Firebug— and I'm putting what they thought me to good use!"

The Firebug identity has been used by three different criminals.

The original Firebug was Joe Rigger: a soldier and demolitions expert who returned to Gotham City when his family had been killed in three separate building-related accidents. His sanity slipping, Rigger vowed that those buildings would not kill again. Using his military training and a costume containing tanks of napalm, he became the Firebug and set out to burn all three buildings to the ground. He was defeated by Batman atop the towering Gotham State Building, and believed dead after his tank exploded. Rigger survived the explosion, and later returned as an arsonist for hire.

After being badly burned in a fire, Rigger sold the Firebug identity to supervillain groupie Harlan Combs who began his own career as an arsonist. Combs murdered his teenaged babysitter after she discovered his secret identity and it was this crime that brought him to the attention of GCPD's Major Case Unit, who arrested him with the assistance of Rigger.

An unnamed character using the Firebug persona won the costume and the name from an Internet auction. After taking on the Firebug name, he enters the costume business, and acts as part of a Carnival of Killers stalking Deadshot.

In the New 52 universe, it appears Rigger has resumed the Firebug identity.

"Angry Black Man" Stereotype: Joe Rigger, who blamed Gotham City for failing to save his family.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Rigger originally became Firebug in order to avenge his beloved family.
Fire-Breathing Weapon: The Firebug suit is an insulated costume with hidden antigrav tanks of a concentrated napalm derivative. The gloves of the suit were designed as flamethrowers.
Fire/Ice Duo: The third Firebug once teamed up with Mr. Freeze, but was defeated by the team of Batman and Harvey Dent prior to Batman leaving Gotham City for a year.
Flamethrower Backfire: The third Firebug was killed when Deadshot shot the wings of his costume, which are used to store the fuel for his flamethrowers, causing him to go up like a Roman candle.
From Camouflage to Criminal: Rigger was a demolitions expert in the army. He later used those skills to create the Firebug suit.
Hoist by His Own Petard: The third Firebug was killed when Deadshot ignited the concentrated napalm stored in the wings of his costume.
Motive Decay: Rigger originally became Firebug to destroy the three buildings he blamed for the death of his family. However, following his first appearance, he just became an arsonist for hire.
Race Lift: In a Series Continuity Error, Rigger was depicted in a 90s arc as a white man under his costume.
The Rival: To Firefly.
They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: A recurring riff in the Gotham Central arc was how normal Combs seemed, and how their was nothing to mark him as supervillain wannabe.

Firefly I

Firefly

Real Name: Garfield Lynns

Team Affiliations: Secret Society of Supervillains

First Appearance: Detective Comics #184 (June 1952)

"Cross the Firefly and you burn."

Garfield Lynns was originally a Hollywood pyrotechnician, a job he took because of his pyromania. However, he became a victim of Gotham City's severe poverty and turned to crime. He took up arson as a hobby, but it soon turned to an obsession, going so far that he even believes to see vision in the flames. Inspired by actual fireflies, he built a suit and became a professional arsonist.

Ax-Crazy: Enough so to scare away Killer Moth, who was genuinely terrified of him.
Cool Helmet: It's made to resemble an insect's head.
Cosmic Retcon: His history has been altered repeatedly by various Crisis level events. First he was never Firefly in the New 52 merely serving as a Red Herring before being killed off by Ted Carson who was established as the only existing Firefly. Then in Rebirth he's still dead, killed by Carson, but his history as the original Firely is back. Than in Infinte Frontier he's alive again and co-existing as Firefly with Ted Carson and Bridget Pike.
Death by Adaptation: Deceased in the New 52 and Rebirth continuities. Though he eventually came Back from the Dead in the latter version due to a Cosmic Retcon.
Dub Name Change: Depending on the work, in the French translation he's either referred under his untranslated original name or as "Pyrovol" (literally "Fireflight"^note).
Early-Installment Weirdness: In his first few appearances, he actually used light as his weapon rather than fire.
Fire-Breathing Weapon: Firefly's weapon of choice is a flamethrower.
For the Evulz: He views the destructiveness of fire as its own reward.
Gadgeteer Genius: Made his suit and his whole equipment by himself.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: Has burn scars over approximately 90% of his body.
Jetpack: He sometimes uses one to fly.
Mad Artist: Depending on the Writer, Firefly views his arsons as a form of art and makes utilizing the fires he sets a point of pride.
Firefly: I make arson into an art form!
Mad Bomber: Also packs explosives for good measure.
Powered Armor: He often uses his armor to fly and shoot flames.
Psycho for Hire: He takes some arson jobs to finance his devices and weaponry, but he would gladly burn things for free if he could afford to.
Pyromaniac: To the point that other villains are freaked out by him.

Firefly II

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

Alter Ego: Ted Carson

First Appearance: Forever Evil #1 (November 2013)

A former high school teacher who murdered Garfield Lynns, and adopted the identity of the New 52 Firefly.

Animal-Themed Superbeing: Firefly
Faking the Dead: Ted Carson would fake his death, insinuating that Garfield Lynns had returned as Firefly, in order to run away with his former girlfriend Cindy Cooke.
Fire-Breathing Weapon: There are two gauntlets built into the Firefly suit. These gauntlets are capable of projecting powerful blasts of thermal energy. The flamethrowers are capable of burning a building down.
Jet Pack: The Firefly suit is equipped with a powerful jetpack. This jetpack allows him to propel herself into the air and hover if the situation requires it.
Legacy Character: Adopted the Firefly identity after murdering Garfield Lynns.
Pyromaniac: Firefly suffers from Pyromania, an impulse control disorder in which he deliberately starts fires in order to relieve tension or for gratification.
Tricked-Out Gloves: There are two gauntlets built into the Firefly suit. These gauntlets are capable of projecting powerful blasts of thermal energy. The flamethrowers are capable of burning a building down.

The Flamingo

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/8779732_rco014_1673352274_4.jpg

Alter Ego: Eduardo Flamingo

First Appearance: Batman #666 (July 2007)

“Ehn ? Nhn ? Rrrrr !”

Eduardo Flamingo was a man who crusaded against the mob, until they captured him and performed brain surgery on him, making him into their enforcer and one of the most feared assassins in the world.

Agent Peacock: A flamboyant Spanish assassin who dresses in pink and has a flair for the dramatic, yet is also utterly bloodthirsty and quite skilled in hand-to-hand combat.
Animal Themed Super Being: His pink color scheme matches his name.
Ax-Crazy: He's happy to kill and mutilate anyone at any time, not just when he's on the clock.
Brainwashed and Crazy: He used to be a decent guy before the cartel got ahold of him and tortured him until his mind snapped, transforming him into a ruthless killing machine.
Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: Grant Morrison partially modeled him off of Prince.
Cool Bike: He drives a bright pink motorcycle that resembles Prince's from Purple Rain.
Domino Mask: He wears a pink one.
The Dreaded: One of the most feared assassins around.
Early-Bird Cameo: Like Professor Pyg, his first appearance was in Batman #666, in Damian's possible future as the new Batman. In that issue he was just a Mook that Damian easily dispatches. He later showed up in the main timeline in the Batman and Robin run.
Evil Counterpart: According to Grant Morrison, he was inspired by Zorro, just like Batman.
Evil Old Folks: His age in the current time-frame is ambiguous, but his appearance in the Bad Future of Batman #666 is definitely this.
I'm a Humanitarian: He likes to eat the faces of his victims.
Mythology Gag: The character homages Prince, who contributed to the musical score of Batman (1989).
Professional Killer: Works as a hit man for crime lords, and is very good at it.
Psycho Pink: Wears all pink and is a vicious psychopath.
Serial Killer: A very prolific assassin.
Sissy Villain: He wears lots of pink and tends to strike flamboyant poses.
Slasher Smile: His default expression, much like the Joker.
The Sociopath: He feels nothing but delight as he tortures and kills.
Steven Ulysses Perhero: Flamingo is actually his surname.
The Voiceless: As a result of his mental conditioning by the cartel, the Flamingo mainly communicates via guttural grunts and snarls. Certain comics have shown him speaking, however.

Fright

Alter Ego: Linda Friitawa

First Appearance: Batman #627 (July 2004)

"I am pawn to no man! I am an enforcer of dreams!"

Linda Friitawa was a geneticist who lost her license for illegally experimenting on human subjects. She was then employed by the Penguin to assist Jonathan Crane (a.k.a. the Scarecrow) in developing a new variant of the Scarecrow's fear toxin called "Fear Dust". However, unbeknownst to Crane, Friitawa was being secretly paid by the Penguin to sabotage Crane's experiments and transform him into the monster known as the Scarebeast. Using the Penguin's facilities to grant herself superpowers, she dubbed herself 'Fright'. She disappeared after the Scarebeast was defeated, and later resurfaced working for Black Mask.

Albinos Are Freaks: An outsider due to her albinism, she turned to illegal genetic experiments in an attempt to overcome the negative effects of her condition.
Distaff Counterpart: Technically to Scarecrow, though she has actual superpowers unlike his reliance on outside gas.
Doctor's Disgraceful Demotion: A geneticist stripped of her medical license for conducting illegal experiments on human test subjects.
Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke: Gained her powers through genetic manipulation.
Mad Doctor: A geneticist stripped of her medical license for conducting illegal experiments on human test subjects.
Poisonous Person: Fright can exhale fear toxin.
Professor Guinea Pig: Conducted genetic experiments on herself to gain superpowers.
Psycho for Hire: Fright will work for anyone who will finance her work and allow her carry out her unethical experiments.
Red Eyes, Take Warning: Has red eyes due to her albinism and she's not someone to be underestimated.
Supernatural Fear Inducer: She can exhale fear toxin.
White Hair, Black Heart: Has blonde-white hair due to her albinism and she's a mad doctor who has aided other villains.
Working for a Body Upgrade: Friitawa worked as the Penguin's agent against the Scarecrow in exchange for being allowed to use his facilities to work around the negative effects of her albinism. She also used them grant herself superpowers based on the Scarecrow's research.

The Gardener

Alter Ego: Dr. Bella Garten

First Appearance: Batman Vol. 3 #107 (June, 2021)

Bella Garten's parents died when she was young, causing her to be raised by the groundskeeper of a military-base. On this base, Bella developed a keen interest in botany. With a government backing, Bella became a student of Hudson University where she studied experimental botany under one Dr. Jason Woodrue. Bella was kicked out due to creating experimental plant/animal hybrids. She would become an environmentalist eco-terrorist known as the "Gardener" alongside her girlfriend, Dr. Pamela Isley AKA Poison Ivy, another of Woodrue's students. Eventually, Gardener broke up with Ivy due to believing her to be too much of an extremist in her violence and hatred of humanity.

Badass in a Nice Suit: The Gardener likes to dress in men's suit.
Eco-Terrorist: Is an environmentalist eco-terrorist.
Mad Scientist: A mad botanist to be precise.
Planimal: Bella can create plant/animal hybrids to serve as her loyal pets. Most notably are large, dog-like plants.

Gearhead

Alter Ego: Nathan Finch

First Appearance: Detective Comics #712 (August 1997)

" I dragged myself back from the grave—turned myself into a freak—tossed away half my flesh—all to make you pay, vermin!"

An engineer who kidnapped his boss' daughter for ransom. Batman found him and they fought on a frozen lake which cracked and he fell to the wáter. An underworld doctor replaced his frozen limbs with interchangeable body parts, and the newly dubbed Gearhead sought vengeance against Batman.

An Arm and a Leg: Due to ravages of frostbite, the Back-Alley Doctor removed Finch's arms and legs and replaced them with cybernetic arms and legs.
Cyborg: Gearhead possesses an arsenal of cybernetic weapons in his arms and legs, as well as spare limbs that he can swap out on the fly. He has physically attached himself to his car on at least one occasion.
Harmless Freezing: Averted; he lost his limbs due to frostbite.
Malicious Misnaming: He likes to call Batman "vermin".
Swiss-Army Appendage: He can change his bionic limbs to others with different weapons and attributes.
Who Needs Their Whole Body?: Gearhead has been shown crawling after Batman (or away from him) with most of his robot body destroyed.

General Scarr

Alter Ego: Anthony Paul Scarano

First Appearance: Detective Comics #491 (June, 1980)

"I deserted and went into hiding! I vowed I would head up my own army—and someday prove that I was the greatest general of all!"

As a child, Anthony Paul Scarano was always obsessed with the military and wished to become like them, particularly with famous generals and leaders. Scarano enlisted at a young age only to come to the realization that he couldn't achieve his goals of becoming a famed general within the ranks of the military as it was set-up. Crafting the alias of General Scarr, he decided to use his military knowledge and training for crime where he believed he could flourish and achieve notoriety. His schemes would however make him an enemy of Batgirl who foiled his plans at every turn, making him obsessed with revenge on her. General Scarr would go on to team up with fellow militaristic villains Colonel Sulphur, Major Disaster and Captain Cutlas to found what they called the Army of Crime.

Dangerous Deserter: When he realized that he couldn't achieve his plans within the system, Scarano deserted and turned to crime; becoming a crimelord using his knowledge in military protocol.
Dueling Scar: Scarr has jagged scar across his face he received during an accident in bayonet training in the army.
From Camouflage to Criminal: Scarano deserted from the army, turned to crime and became a crimelord using his knowledge of military protocol.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: General Scarr's face is bisected by jagged scar.
Named After the Injury: General Scarr takes his name from a jagged scar across his face received during an accident in bayonet training, combined with his real name, Anthony Scarano.
Never My Fault: Scarr refuses to accept any responsibility for the failure of his military: blaming it on the jealousy of his superiors.
Phony Veteran: Scarr's generalship is entirely self-appointed, never having made it past the rank of private.
Steven Ulysses Perhero: General Scarr takes his name from a jagged scar across his face recieved during an accident in bayonet training, combined with his real name, Anthony Scarano.

Getaway Genius (I & II)

Getaway Genius I

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bat_254_001_2.png

Alter Ego: Roy Reynolds

First Appearance: Batman #170 (March 1965)

" Rob and getaway is our rule!"

Roy Reynolds was a criminal from Gotham City, who specialized in creating complex getaways and escape plans for his henchmen, which earned him the alias of "The Getaway Genius". Reasoning that Batman and Robin were undefeatable, he focused instead on devising foolproof escape routes for each crime. Following his death from cancer, his daughter Olivia adopted the Getaway Genius identity.

Alliterative Name: Roy Reynolds. (Also Getaway Genius.)
Badass in a Nice Suit: His 'costume' consisted of a business suit.
Cool Shades: Always wore sunglasses, even at night.
Crazy-Prepared: Reynolds' escape plans took into account every possible contingency. The first time he was captured, it was because a screw-up on the part of his henchmen.
Fedora of Asskicking: Always wore a fedora while committing his crimes.
Goggles Do Something Unusual: His trademark Cool Shades sometimes had extra features, such as acting as night vision goggles.
Killed Off for Real: Died of cancer.
Only in It for the Money: Unlike most of Batman's foes, he is only looking for jobs that make a profit and has no interest in tangling with superheroes.
Only Sane Man: Often comes off as this in a gathering of Batman's Rogues Gallery.
Porn Stache: In the 1960s, Reynolds sported a pencil thin mustache. When he returned in the 70s, he sported a badass set of muttonchops.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: His entire philosophy of crime was based on having the perfect getaway and avoiding entanglements with the law or heroes.
Sunglasses at Night: Always wears a pair of Cool Shades. Sometimes they double as night vision goggles.
Technical Pacifist: Considered fighting cops and superheroes to be a waste of time and energy. He had no problem setting traps to stop his pursuers, but drew the line at inflicting actual harm on anyone.

Getaway Genius II

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/getaway.jpg

Alter Ego: Olivia Reynolds

First Appearance: Batman #703 (November 2010)

Olivia Reynolds is the daughter of Roy Reynolds, the original Getaway Genius. After her father died from cancer, she took up her father's criminal identity and began a crime spree in Gotham City with a new high-tech powered suit that allowed her to hide and adopt any appearance.

Affirmative-Action Legacy: Replaced the original male Getaway Genius.
Chameleon Camouflage: Her suit allows her to blend into any environment.
Clothes Make the Superman: All of her powers come from her high-tech suit.
Daddy's Little Villain: Took over her father's criminal identity after he died.
Legacy Character: Is the second Getaway Genius.
Master of Disguise: The holographic projectors on her suit allow her to adopt any appearance.
One-Way Visor: The helmet of her suit has an opaque red face plate.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Like her father, her crimes center around making the perfect getaway.
Stealth Expert: Her suit allows her to blend into any environment.

Gorilla Boss

Gorilla Boss]]

Alter Ego: George "Boss" Dyke

First Appearance: Batman #75 (February, 1953)

Mobster George "Boss" Dyke was executed in the gas chamber, but had his brain transplanted into the body of a gorilla. The Gorilla Boss of Gotham City fought Batman twice. Later, the alien villain Sinestro stole the Boss' cerebellum, expanded it to planet-size, and used it as a power source. This unnatural abomination was destroyed by Superman. Somehow, the Boss' brain was returned to his gorilla body and he was used as a pawn by Gorilla Grodd. He has since appeared in the post-Flashpoint universe.

Badass in a Nice Suit: A Killer Gorilla dressed in a pinstripe suit.
Brain Transplant: Gorilla Boss is a mob boss who had his brain implanted into the body of a gorilla.
Killer Gorilla: Gorilla Boss is a mob boss who had his brain implanted into the body of a gorilla.
Maniac Monkeys: Sometimes uses gun wielding monkeys and chimps as henchmen.
The Speechless: Gorilla Boss can't speak, but he can communicate with his henchmen using a pen and paper.

The Great White Shark

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/batrogues_great_white_shark_4733.jpg

Alter Ego: Warren White

First Appearance: Arkham Asylum: Living Hell #1 (July 2003)

"Molly, minnow, mackerel, take your pick, but know that in Gotham City...There is room for only one Great White Shark."

Sentenced to prison for creative accounting practices, financier Warren White tried to slip through the cracks by pleading insanity, in the hopes of being committed to a modern psychiatric care facility. Instead, he wound up in Arkham Asylum, where the inmates ritually tortured and abused him for being the "new fish"; Killer Croc went so far as to carve gills in the sides of his neck.

After being locked in a freezer for several hours during a riot, Warren emerged a changed man: his hair had fallen out, his lips and nose had shriveled away in the cold, and his skin was now chalky white. His mind now decidedly twisted, White has since traded off his appearance and business acumen to become one of the premier mob bosses in Gotham City.

Alliterative Name: Warren White
Animal Motifs: He was a corporate shark and even his passwords were shark oriented before his accident.
Appropriated Appelation: 'Great White shark' was the media's nickname for Warren White back when he was merely a Corrupt Corporate Executive.
Asshole Victim: Don't think he didn't work hard to earn that Humiliation Conga.
Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: Ironic that a man with the nick name "Shark" would end up resembling one after an unrelated accident. That only applies to his lack of nose and ears, he filed his teeth down himself.
Bald of Evil: Lost his hair and sanity in Mr. Freeze's cell.
The Chessmaster: After Black Mask's death, he briefly managed to oust the Penguin from Gotham and control the city's rackets from inside his cell at Arkham.
Color Animal Codename: An interesting example of this trope as the animal he is named after is already called... well, the great white shark.
Corrupt Corporate Executive: Gained his nickname for his ruthless and cold-blooded business practices.
Corrupted Character Copy: He bears resemblance to Tobias Beecher; both are new inmates from wealthy backgrounds who find themselves abused by their fellow prisoners until they finally (and violently) snap, and finally become respected as a result. The difference is that Beecher is a good man who regrets his crime and keeps his morals for the most part, while White is an amoral scumbag right out of the gate.
Covered in Scars: He accumulates a lot of wounds and gashes in Arkham from the other inmates' attacks, the more noticeable being those on his neck who looks like gills, courtesy of Killer Croc.
Didn't Think This Through: Uses the insanity plea... in Gotham, which ensures he will be thrown into Arkham.
Do Not Call Me "Paul": When Batman confronts him in Face the Face for framing Harvey Dent of murder and driving him back into villainy and madness, White nonchalantly tells Batman that he no longer goes by Warren White, but the Great White Shark.
Batman: Warren White.
Warren: That's not my name. Not here, not now.
Even Evil Has Standards: He's on the receiving end, and it's Played for Laughs. Gotham's supervillains may mutilate and murder innocent people for the funsies, but even they wouldn't "steal their kids' college funds", as Joker puts it. To wit, many of the rogues may be insane or evil, but White is just an overall asshole.
Facial Horror: He lost his nose, lips and ears to frostbite.
From Nobody to Nightmare: Went from The Chew Toy for all the other Arkham inmates to one of the most influential mob bosses in Gotham City after his transformation.
Gone Horribly Right: White tried to weasel out of fraud and embezzlement charges by pleading insanity. He succeeded. Which earned him being committed to Arkham Asylum...
Had to Come to Prison to Be a Crook: Downplayed. He was already guilty of embezzlement and fraud, but his stay in Arkham and the abuse he endured wound up turning him from an ordinary white-collar criminal into a bonafide supervillain and a feared crime boss.
Hated by All: Everyone hates him before his Sanity Slippage; the closest thing he had as a friend was Humpty Dumpty who wished to dismantle him and put him back in a way that he wouldn't be such an asshole.

Hoist by His Own Petard: Not only did his insanity defense send him to Arkham but his fraud hit the asylum's budget so he has to share a cell with a Serial Killer. Oh, and he's on Jeremiah Arkham's shit list since he stole his retirement pension.
Humiliation Conga: When he arrives at Arkham for the first time, he seems pretty pleased with himself that his Insanity Defense worked, and smugly declares that he would soon buy out the place and turn it into a restaurant. It didn't take long for him to be disabused of that belief when he finds himself the Pariah Prisoner for both being a white-collar crook and a "new fish", and gets regularly abused by the other inmates.
Karma Houdini: He's worked out a deal with the Torture Lords of Hell that will enable him to escape any punishment for his life's misdeeds. Even torturing the inmates that bullied him as a bonus. Etrigan is actually impressed.
Lack of Empathy: When asked why he thinks he is at Arkham he says that it's because he was negligent while doing his fraud (that is considered the biggest in the history of the DC U.S.A., and later tell his cellmate it's not his fault no one read the fine prints).
Lip Losses: Lost his lips to frostbite after being left for dead in a freezing cell.
Loan Shark: Quite. He asks for fifteen percent of Riddler's crime revenue in exchange for a helicopter with a question mark.
Locked Out of the Loop: He didn't know what Arkham was, he didn't even knew who Riddler was before being sent to the asylum. All he knew is that Gotham was the only city stupid or corrupt enough to buy his insanity plea.
Might as Well Not Be in Prison at All: In most stories he's in, he operates his criminal activities from his cell in Arkham Asylum, as it provides him with an alibi.
Phrase Catcher: In Arkham Asylum: Living Hell especially, Warren White is the worst person you have ever met.
Prison Changes People: Prior to his stay in Arkham, he was an ordinary if despicable white-collar crook clearly out of his depth, and the resident Butt-Monkey of both staff and guards. By the end of his stay, he's a disfigured lunatic just as dangerous as the rest of the rogues gallery.
Professional Butt-Kisser: Warren gets a job flipping Two-Face's coin when Two-Face injures his hands and can't do it himself, for no other reason than that he's desperate to be under anybody's protection at first. One Arkham staff member is actually impressed how a white collar criminal can climb up the hierarchy.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives one to his accountant's vengeful spirit, saying that happened because the person was weak and could not support the pressure, so he killed himself then Warren strangles him saying that's how he destroys someone's life.
Shark Man: Not actually a Fish Person, but close enough.
Smug Snake: When he gets into Arkham, Warren is sleazy, clearly thinks he's better than everyone else and is convinced that his stay in Arkham will be a breeze. He's quickly disabused of that notion and winds up driven insane, though that ironically helps him fit in and become just as much of a threat as the rest of the rogues gallery.
Too Dumb to Live: Really, when you plead insanity in Gotham City, you gotta be. He only held his trial there because he knew people would be dumb or corrupt enough to believe his plead. He was so out of the loop that he mocked Riddler for being a guy in spandex.
Unexplained Recovery: Downplayed. The event that caused his transformation into the Great White Shark also cost him at least three fingers to frostbite. However, White has all his fingers intact in his later appearances, even if his facial disfigurement remains.
Wrong Genre Savvy: Believed that he could fake an insanity defense and ride out his 'sentence' with ease, only to find that he had horribly underestimated what the other patients were capable of.

Gunhawk

Alter Ego: Liam Hawkleigh

First Appearance: Detective Comics #674 (May 1994)

"Prepare to be strafed, hoss. That body armor's impressive but it's never gonna stand up to a hundred rounds of anti-armor."

Master sniper who turned to a life of crime following tours in Panama and Lebanon in the United States Marine Corps. Gunhawk is devoted to three things: money, guns, and his partner Bunny.

The Alcoholic: Following his defeat by Az-Bats, Gunhawk crawled into a bottle and stayed there. His descent drove Bunny away. Although he has since sobered up, defeats will still push him Off the Wagon.
Cold Sniper: Gunhawk doesn't care who his target is. The only person he shows any affection to is his partner Bunny.
From Camouflage to Criminal: Gunhawk was a sniper in the USMC before becoming a mercenary and assassin.
Gatling Good: Azrael's final Batsuit upgrade (mostly ditching the cape for wings) is the result of Gunhawk firing a minigun at him.
Goggles Do Something Unusual: Gunhawk's goggles grant him low-light vision and act as a targeting scope for his rifle.
Gun Nut: Gunhawk is extremely obsessive when it comes to firearms.
Outlaw Couple: He and Bunny form one, with Bunny acting as his spotter and back-up.
Perky Female Minion: Gunhawk is almost always accompanied by a female spotter nicknamed Gunbunny.
Poor Man's Substitute: In-Universe, he is regarded as one to Deadshot. It has been mentioned that he will often be hired by clients who cannot afford Deadshot's fees.
Professional Killer: Gunhawk does not formulate his own villainous schemes. He just takes on contracts from other people.
Replacement Goldfish: After Bunny is killed by Deadshot, Gunhawk acquires a new female accomplice. They share the same romantic relationship, and Gunhawk even calls her Bunny.
Semper Fi: Master sniper who turned to a life of crime following tours in Panama and Lebanon in the United States Marine Corps.
Sociopathic Soldier: Hawkleigh's military records indicate that he was one before dishonorable discharge.
Steven Ulysses Perhero: Gunnery Sergeant Liam Hawkleigh.
Supervillain Packing Heat: It's in his name.
Wearing a Flag on Your Head: Gunhawk's costume includes a US flag bandana.

Harley Quinn

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/harley_17.png

Real Name: Dr. Harleen Quinzel

Team Affiliations: Suicide Squad

First Appearance: Batman: Harley Quinn (October, 1999)

"My rational mind can recognize pain when I see it. But my rational mind is in a pretty small box. All tied up with a bow on it."

Dr. Quinzel was once one of Arkham Asylum's brightest young talents. Against the warnings of her peers, she naively became convinced that she could cure the Joker of his madness. Instead, he corrupted her to the point that she herself went insane, and fell in love with him. After spending some time alongside the Joker as an Outlaw Couple, Harley eventually broke free of "Mr. J", becoming a villain in her own right before switching to a more anti-heroic path as a member of the Suicide Squad.

See her own page. If you want them read in her own voice, go here.

Harvest

First Appearance: Detective Comics #823 (November, 2006)

Harvest is a creature of sentient vegetation used by Poison Ivy. It was created when a carnivorous plant that Poison Ivy fed her victims to absorbed the personas of the people it ate. In this form it was able to rapidly regenerate and transform itself into any plant-life it chose to. Harvest is driven by an intense hatred for Ivy, and has attempted to kill her multiple times, forcing Batman to save her.

Fangs Are Evil: Harvest has a mouth full of wicked sharp pointed fangs.
Flesh Golem: Harvest is a monstrous amalgamation of the bodies of past victims of Poison Ivy.
Green Thumb: Harvest is able to control all plant life in its immediate vicinity.
Healing Factor: Harvest regenerates incredibly quickly.
Mind Hive: The bodies, minds and souls of Poison Ivy's victims are inside Harvest.
Plant Person: Harvest is a creature of sentient vegetation used by Poison Ivy.
Revenge: Harvest seeks only one thing: to kill Ivy for killing the people it once was.
Rubber Man: Being composed of vegetation, Harvest's form is elastic and can extend, bend and twist.
Soul Eating: Harvest absorbs the souls of those it consumes.
Voice of the Legion: The multiple people who make up Harvest's personality often all speak the same words at the same time.

The Heretic

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/heretic.jpeg

First Appearance: Batman and Robin #12 (July 2010)

"Sons are born to die in war."

The Heretic, also known as the Fatherless and the Other, is a clone of Damian Wayne, artificially aged and genetically enhanced by Talia Al-Ghul, and birthed from the carcass of a whale. He is Leviathan's most fearsome soldier, having killed both Knight and his "brother", Damian.

Back from the Dead: After he was decapitated by Talia, a rogue member of her organization intent on preserving Ra's Al-Ghul, revived the Heretic using the Lazarus Pit.
Off with His Head!: Talia decapitated him after he killed Damien and declared himself the new Batman.
Psychopathic Manchild: His fights against the Bat-Family illustrates that despite his strength and physique, he’s a spoiled toddler in mind, ranting childishly and shouting petty insults.
The Speechless: Heretic's neck was sewn back to his body after his death and he had to be fitted with a voice box to be able to talk.
Super-Strength: Due to either the armour he wears or a genetic ability, the Heretic has superhuman strength. He can easily lift grown men with one hand, send Batman flying with a kick, and crack two men's skulls together in a single move.
Super-Toughness: Possesses superhuman durability. He showed very little reaction after being hit by Nightwing and Robin in the face at the same time, and can take punches from one of Batman's mechanical suits.
Where I Was Born and Razed: After fighting his way free of the whale, the Heretic subsequently decimated the entire population of metahumans in the illegal bio-genetic factory where he was grown as he honed his killing skills.
Why Am I Ticking?: After Talia decapitates him, she attached a bomb to his spine and used his body to blow up Wayne Tower.

Hugo Strange

Notable Aliases: Victor Absonus

First Appearance: Detective Comics #36 (February 1940)

"Only I can face Gotham's madness and not be overcome. I have perfectly optimized my brain chemistry. I am the one sane person in an insane city. Tonight, I confront you with your monstrous inadequacies. Then, as Cro-Magnon met Neanderthal, I club you, skin you and wear your hide. Because you're unfit for it. Gotham City needs Batman. And after tonight... Batman will be me."

One of the very first recurring villains Batman ever fought (the others being Doctor Death and The Mad Monk)^note, Professor Hugo Strange was introduced as The Moriarty to Batman's Holmes, a Mad Scientist who used ingenious inventions and brainwashed, mutated goons to carry out crimes. Post-Crisis he was reinvented as a criminal psychiatrist who had ties to the mob who became obsessed with Batman, and again experimented with mutated brutes (this time round known as the "Monster Men"), but both versions have him eventually figuring out the Dark Knight is really Bruce Wayne, making him one of his most dangerous and personal enemies.

But being one of the oldest and more important of Batman's regular foes, Strange rarely appears in the modern comics and is more associated with stories around Batman's early career. He had a single appearance in Batman: The Animated Series and a cameo in Justice League Unlimited ^note, which would have led to something more were it not for the infamous Bat Embargo in place at the time. However, he made up for it in The Batman where he became a major villain (he even became the final villain in the last episode... almost). He did receive a MASSIVE role in the Batman: Arkham City game, where he's the big bad driving the plot.

One of the more cerebral Bat rogues, Strange is nonetheless preoccupied with physical as well as mental perfection. He regards Batman as the embodiment of both, and at times his obsession reaches the point where he wants to be Batman, however he is just as often trying to create his own giant bruisers, and he is interested in pushing his own limits.

Adaptational Wimp: Downplayed in that all of his appearances in non-comic media have him as a credible threat due to his status as an Evil Genius, but none of them include his bodybuilder's physique (he's of average build in Gotham, Batman: Arkham City states that he is "trained to physical perfection" in his character profile but never really takes it anywhere, and he's a grotesque Fat Bastard in the DCAU and The Batman), meaning he's purely a mental challenge for Batman and not a physical one as well.
Actually a Doombot: Used robotic decoys in a couple of stories. These schemes also contained a fake Robin, Alfred and Thomas and Martha Wayne.
Arch-Enemy: In the early years, he had arguably a better claim to being this than The Joker, who was Put on a Bus shortly after his debut since the writers didn't want Batman to look impotent by letting the clown rack up a ridiculously high body count. Strange was a more frequent villain, and predated him.
Awesome by Analysis: His usual MO, and how he figures out at least one Secret Identity.
Badass Bookworm: Inverted. He's a short guy but his obsession with bodybuilding and physical perfection means he is all muscle. The inversion is that he almost never actually uses them; it's largely for show.
Bad Boss: Has a nasty habit of brainwashing his own men and turning them into drugged up mutated brutes who will do his will. He once had a devoted Indian manservant named Sanjay who worked for him for years in return for Strange trying to save his brothers life- Strange fails, so he secretly experimented on the brother too.
Bald of Evil: He is always depicted with a clean-shaven head, to highlight his villainous nature.
Beard of Evil: Originally modeled a classic "villainous" goatee; he boasts a shaggy chinstrap in most recent appearances.
Bond Villain Stupidity: Averted in one Pre-Crisis story. You want to know how he originally found out Batman's secret identity? He took his mask off while he was bound and unconscious. It was later changed to be a little more complicated than that, but you still have to admire his prudence.
Brainwashed and Crazy: The Monster Men; Quincy Sharp.
Classic Villain: He's one of Batman's oldest villains and is made in the iconic villainous archetype of his day.
The Chessmaster: Naturally, Strange's intelligence and ego means he loves to weave plans and manipulate others for the sheer joy of displaying his intellectual superiority.
Defiant to the End: Though he ultimately returns, even when being tortured and brutally beaten to death by Rupert Thorne, Strange refuses to cow to Thorne's demands for Batman's true identity, and takes the truth with him to the grave.
Diabolical Mastermind: Strange is a genius, but only interested in using his smarts for evil ends.
Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: He successfully deduced Batman's identity but he is convinced that Bat's is driven by a power fantasy, not by actual heroism. This says more about Strange himself since that's why he wants to be Batman.
Evil Is Petty: In Batman and the Monster Men, he had a couple of rich socialites at a charity gala kidnapped and fed to his experimental monsters simply for making fun of his appearance and genetic theories.
Evil Sounds Deep: Under the reasoning that a man in his line of work would have a compelling hypnotic voice, in adaptations he tends to sound like either this or a Shout-Out to Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove (sometimes a combination of both). Corey Burton in particular seemed to be channeling Christopher Lee.
Evilutionary Biologist: His "Monster Men", and his obsession with Batman.
Faking the Dead: Done it so many times he even mocks Catwoman once when she pulls it off.
Foil: To The Scarecrow. Both are or were associated with Arkham as staff, both have a fascination with human frailty, and both have even used fear gas (though Strange never depended on it, although oddly enough he was the first to use it.). The only real difference between the two is that Dr. Crane slipped into insanity, while Prof. Strange's sanity is a little more controlled.
Four Eyes, Zero Soul: His glasses usually obscure his eyes completely, effectively masking his emotions in most depictions.
Freudian Couch: He once had Bruce as a client and tried to get him to admit that he was Batman; since he was Batman, Bruce thwarted the effort with a Memory Gambit, forcing himself to forget his secret identity for the duration.
Genius Bruiser: Depending on the Writer, his genius may be coupled with some truly massive muscles, enough for him to actually pass as Batman in a dim light. The Monster Men mini zig-zags this; its Strange is a scrawny little shrimp implicitly doing his experiments to beef himself up, but is also the only one that explicitly trains what little muscle he was born with. He's also portrayed as a fairly skilled martial artist and even a skilled acrobat and gymnast.
Hair-Trigger Temper: In Prey, Gordon gives Batman his bio and mentions that he used to have this.
Herr Doktor: As indicated above, in non-comic media several actors have voiced him with a Germanic accent.
I Just Want to Be You: In Prey, he even has his own Batman costume and spends his free time sitting around his home wearing both it and a Slasher Smile.
I Know You Know I Know: One pre-Crisis story had Batman basically weaponize this against Strange, returning Strange to captivity despite his knowledge of Batman's identity by claiming that he hypnotized Strange to "forget" his secret identity. In reality, Batman hadn't done anything, but Strange is left in a mental tangle as he tries to determine if Batman's letting him think the Dark Knight is Bruce Wayne because he's trying a double-bluff or if he genuinely isn't Bruce Wayne...
Ignorant of Their Own Ignorance: In a sense; Strange is smart enough to deduce who Batman is under the mask, but he generally fails to be a greater threat because he can't recognize the flaws in his analysis of Batman. As a result, his plans run into crucial mistakes based on Strange acting according to what he believes about Batman rather than what the Dark Knight is really like.
Mad Doctor: He is a legitimate doctor, of both medicine and psychiatry. He uses his training to drive people into insanity and mutate them into horrific monsters.
Made of Iron: Once survived dropping through a floor to impale himself on a weather vane. Which is impressive enough but over the next few days he held perfectly still, allowing rats to come nibble on him so he could eat them, and playing dead while Batman and Crane were fighting right next to him, only revealing himself when the basement started to flood.
Mad Scientist: Even more so than he is a Mad Doctor.
Manipulative Bastard: One of the masters in the Bat-verse.
The Man Behind the Man: To the second Black Mask, Jeremiah Arkham.
Mind Control / More than Mind Control: Several. The Monster Men again; Sgt. Max Cort from Prey.
Mind Rape: He uses his fear gas◊ to make his victims experience their worst fears.
- Strange is often tied to Arkham Asylum; if he is, expect Mind Rape on the other villains, too.
Mundane Made Awesome: Historically, his ability to return from death is ascribed to his mastery of yoga.
Mundane Solution: Pre-Crisis, Hugo discovers Batman's Secret Identity not through any fancy psycho analysis or some sort of Zany Scheme. How does he do it? Simple: He drugs Batman and takes off his cowl. Easy-peasy.
Not Quite Dead: God knows how many times.
Omnidisciplinary Scientist: Averted. While Strange is brilliant, and is known for both mutating people and being a skilled psychiatrist, all his schemes align closely with either mastery of biology or of psychology.
Paranoia Gambit: Rupert Thorne, a crooked politician and a crime boss, once has Strange abducted and beaten to death because Thorne wanted to know Batman's identity. Except, Strange was Faking the Dead, and in revenge he made Thorne think he was haunted by his own vengeful ghost, driving him mad and leading to him publicly confessing to his crimes.
Pintsized Powerhouse: In Batman and the Monster Men, he is even shorter than normal, practically a dwarf, but he is still pretty buff.
Psychological Projection: He's convinced Batman does what he does because he enjoys lording his strength over others - which is actually what Strange wants to do.
Psycho Psychologist: He is a legitimate psychiatrist, and a damn skilled one too. It's just he's more interested in driving people insane or brainwashing them than healing them.
Put on a Bus: He hardly ever shows up in the comics Post-Crisis despite being one of Batman's most notable enemies.
Renaissance Man: He's an expert in psychiatry, philosophy, literature and biology, as well as bodybuilding.
Renamed to Avoid Association: invoked Generally called Professor Strange rather than Doctor Strange, to avoid confusion with you know who.
Scary Shiny Glasses: Naturally, as a villain who wears glasses, he has a tendency to catch the light with them in a way that makes him scarier to look at.
Shadow Archetype: Like Batman, he's a Crazy-Prepared Badass Bookworm who is determined to push the limits of physical and mental perfection, the difference being he's a self-centered sociopath and a criminal mastermind, and Batman's limits are much higher than his.
- One comic plays this to the hilt, showing a muscular man engaging in exercise while giving an inner monologue; the reader initially assumes it's Bruce Wayne, until The Reveal that it's really Strange.
The Social Darwinist: Hugo Strange is a big believer in humanity's submission to the principle of "survival of the fittest".
Stalker Without A Crush: Obsessed with Batman.
Straw Nihilist: As far as Strange is concerned, there is no greater point or meaning in life, and that's why doing the things he does is justified.
Supernatural Fear Inducer: One of his creations is a fear gas that makes its victims experience their worst fears in horrifying ways. He even had it before Scarecrow became famous for its use.
The Syndicate: They funded some of his Monster Men research and it's implied that they put him through college. However he eventually decided that it wasn't working for him.
Third-Person Person: Pre-Crisis at least.
Übermensch: Sees Batman as one, and wants to be one himself.
Villain with Good Publicity: Didn't last long, though.
Worthy Opponent: Pre-Crisis, he ultimately came to see Batman as this, enough that he refuses to surrender Batman's secret identity even when getting beaten to death by Rupert Thorne's goons.

Humpty Dumpty

Alter Ego: Humphrey Dumpler

First Appearance: Arkham Asylum: Living Hell #2 (August 2003)

" Some people can put the pieces together so easily... ...but not me Mr. Fish. I try and I try, as hard as I can. But everything I touch falls apart."

A compulsive man driven by his need to reassemble malfunctioning machinery, Humpty Dumpty was incarcerated at Arkham Asylum for being a danger to himself and others.

Anti-Villain: He's genuinely good and well-meaning person, as shown by him relocating Batgirl's arms when she dislocated them trying to save him. The only reason why he's even an antagonist at all is because his compulsion to take apart and put back together things he considers "broken" renders him a danger to both himself and to others.
Appropriated Appellation: Humpty Dumpty was originally a cruel nickname his schoolmates used to taunt him.
Big Fun: He is one of the few inmates in Arkham to not be genuinely malevolent, as he is shown to be a kind, polite, and gentle person. This has resulted in him becoming one of the model inmates in the asylum.
Born Unlucky: Humpty suffers from near supernaturally bad luck. His home got accidentally demolished when the contractors destroyed the wrong house. His pet got run-over by an ice-cream truck. His parents were crushed to death by a fallen Christmas tree, so he was sent to live with his abusive grandmother. He then used up all his savings to buy a ferry ticket to escape Gotham, but the clock was off by an hour and he missed his ship. His attempts to fix the clock is what eventually gets him arrested and sent to Arkham.
Depending on the Writer: His skill in repair and mechanical engineering varies from story to story. In some cases, he's genuinely talented in the art, but in others, he's essentially a clueless child playing with "toys" he has no idea how to work.
Disaster Dominoes: The devices he "fixes" cause numerous accidents, such as a subway train derailing. Humpty Dumpty's final crime before his first arrest is to adjust the gears in a clock tower, causing one of its hands to fly off, provoking a chain reaction in which dozens of enormous signs crashed to the streets, killing dozens of people.
Friend to All Children: Humpty Dumpty has a genuine, and wholly innocent, affection for children of all ages (it helps that he's often diagnosed as having a childlike mentality himself). It's Played for Drama in one holiday story when he's found stealing toys while dressed as Santa Claus. During a battle in the orphanage where he's been hiding out, Robin realizes that the kids are oddly quiet despite the commotion, and Dumpty sadly reveals that they're all dead—he's been gathering their bodies and pretending they're alive so he can give them one last Christmas.
Gruesome Grandparent: Dumpler was raised by his grandmother who who was verbally and physically abusive toward him. He eventually murdered and dissected her, before stitching her back together in an effort to 'fix' her.
Heart Is an Awesome Power: As mentioned below, he has a habit of only talking in verse. That talent comes in handy in Arkham Asylum: Living Hell, when scores of demons invade the titular asylum. It turns out that, as a rule, the denizens of the Underworld speak entirely in rhyme, and those who can do so naturally, like Humpty, are essentially demonic-to-English translators.
Manchild: Humpty still has a childlike mentality and does not really understand why his actions are wrong.
The Mentally Disturbed: He is plagued by an obsessive compulsion to both take things apart and put them back together, and is shown to get genuinely distressed when he is unable to do so.
Obliviously Evil: Obsessed with fixing objects he perceived as broken, he "took apart" his abusive grandmother to see what made her so mean, not realizing that she couldn't be put back together again. Not for lack of trying, of course — he stitched her back together with bootlaces.
Only Friend: He's the only inmate in Arkham who doesn't pick on Warren White (although he acknowledges that the latter is an ass and hopes to "fix" him one day). After White loses his sanity and becomes the Great White Shark, he takes Humpty as his sidekick.
Rhymes on a Dime: Dumpler compulsively speaks in rhyme.
Steven Ulysses Perhero: Humpty Dumpty's real name is Humphrey Dumpler.
Stout Strength: Although seemingly overweight, Humphrey backs it up with some serious strength.
Token Good Teammate: He's one of the few truly kind and decent supervillains in Batman's world, and is in Arkham for being genuinely insane, not just a criminal lunatic. He's nice enough to befriend Warren White, aka the Great White Shark—someone so terrible that even the Joker hates him.

Hush

Real Name: Dr. Thomas Elliot

Notable Aliases: The Identity Thief

First Appearance: Batman #609 (January 2003)

"Who is Tommy Elliot? There are many ways to answer that, Doctor. Tommy Elliot is a cipher. A ruined shell, a lost child, a distorted shadow of another man... a whisper barely heard amid the shrieks and laughter echoing through the halls of Arkham. The House of Hush."

Thomas Elliot was born into a highly respected family in Gotham City, and as a child was a great friend of a young Bruce Wayne. Unfortunately, Tommy's dad was an abusive alcoholic and his mother a controlling Rich Bitch who made him study philosophy and stratagems to help him dodge his father's abuse and succeed in life. Eventually, his father's abuse got so bad that he decided to apply his studies to improve his own life, by cutting the brakes on his parents' car before they had a drive, intending to inherit their money and live by his own way. Unfortunately, thanks to Bruce's father, Dr. Thomas Wayne, Tommy's now crippled and needy mother survived, which was the worst thing that could happen to him. Bruce and Tommy remained best friends, however, and Tommy nearly confessed his murders to Bruce while the two kayaked around at summer camp, only to be interrupted by the surprise arrival of his mother. Tommy's resulting outburst of anger led him to being committed to Arkham for the rest of the summer, where, with the help of Dr. Crane, he was consumed by the paranoid belief that Bruce had somehow conspired with Mrs. Elliot to ruin his fun. By the end of the summer, Mr. and Mrs. Wayne had died and Tommy and Bruce drifted apart for good.

As Tommy grew older, Mrs. Elliot then manipulated her son into staying with her so he could take care of her. Eventually Tommy had enough and suffocated her. After his mother's death, Tommy left Gotham, entered medical school and became one of the country's best surgeons. However, when Eddie Nygma AKA The Riddler offered him a way of curing his mother's cancer, Tommy learnt that his former friend Bruce was the Batman (Riddler having figured out his identity in a moment of Lazarus Pit-induced insanity). Tommy decided that enough was enough and that Bruce had to be cut down to size and pay for "his crimes against me". Creating the identity of Hush, Elliot became arguably the most prominent Bat-Villain created in the 2000s.

In an effort to further bedevil Batman, Hush has recently altered his face to become a perfect duplicate of Bruce Wayne.

And Your Little Dog, Too!: Hush goes after those close to Batman (which makes Bruce realize that for a self-described loner, he sure has A LOT of friends) including, of all people, Superman. Hush thinks big. He also kills Harold, who was a severely injured cripple who used to help in the Batcave. He was a C-List Fodder who had barely appeared in any comic since the 1980s, but it was still sad.
- He cut out Catwoman's heart, because she still had feelings for Bruce (and vice-versa). Don't worry, it's Only a Flesh Wound via Applied Phlebotinum and she lives... but she loses a lot of her athletic ability.
Ascended Meme: Hush was never a serial killer in the regular comics, but Wikipedia had been calling him one for unknown reasons. Then they actually made his Legacy Character one in Batman Beyond.
- In Batman: Arkham City he becomes one by killing victims who have a slight facial resemblance to Bruce Wayne and cutting those features off and turning all of them into a Bruce Wayne mask.
Ax-Crazy: His fondness for overly sadistic ways to punish Batman and his allies shows that’s got a real demented streak under all the sophistication.

Bandaged Face: Covers his face in bandages.
Batman Gambit: His mantra is "think like your opponent", which is this.
Big Bad or Big Bad Wannabe: Usually has one of these roles in his stories; which one, depends on interpretation. Notice how he often has his name in the story's title.
Big Bad Friend: His role in Batman: Hush.
The Chessmaster: Hush likes his convoluted plans.
Complexity Addiction: Sometimes his plans just seem needlessly convoluted. Many times simpler solutions would have sufficed.
Costume Copycat: In his debut arc, there were two people who used his costume beside him; the first was Clayface/"Jason Todd" which he had planned, the second was Two-Face, who may, or may not have been intended to do so.
Criminal Doppelgänger: Got facial reconstruction surgery to more easily get away with impersonating Bruce Wayne.

The Dreaded: Even Batman himself is afraid of Hush.
Enfant Terrible: His parents would surely wish they hadn't abused him.
Evil All Along: At first he appears to be an old friend, he is revealed to be a co-conspiriter of Riddler's to kill Batman.
Evil Cannot Comprehend Good:
- He doesn't understand why some might prefer having living parents to having lots of money, and he thinks Bruce is Batman for the fun of it.
- The usual reason for his failures is not to count on Batman getting help from friends. Friendship is a concept he just doesn't get. His past relationship with Bruce was an act and though he talks about friendship a lot, it has a mocking tone to it.
Evil Former Friend: He and Bruce were friends (kind of, see above) as kids.

Evil Wears Black: Wears black underneath his trenchcoat, a sign that he's not good.
Faux Affably Evil: He might tell a victim he likes him or her, then stab them. And he keeps calling Bruce a friend even when he's explaining his latest method of making his life a hell.
Gambit Roulette: Possibly the whole of Batman: Hush, but there is no indication that the events needed to happen exactly as they did. Batman Eternal also seems to be this way.
Genre Blindness:
- When he tries to steal Bruce Wayne's identity, doesn't he think that the superhero community might find it a bit suspicious if Batman suddenly retired from crime-fighting for no reason? Also in the same story, trusting that brainwashed civilians can kill Batman was probably a bad idea.
- Messing with The Joker resulted in a pacemaker being installed in him by the clown, severely weakening him.
Green-Eyed Monster: His dominant personality trait.
Greater-Scope Villain: His role in War Games. He refuses Black Mask's offer to join, but provides the location of the Belfry as a consolation prize, which effectively sets the storyline's finale in motion.

Hate Sink: Oh, God yes. Hush's trivial motives for hating Bruce, insufferably smug attitude towards everyone, long list of petty dickery, and condescending elitism makes him one of the most personally detestable rogues, and one of Gotham's most punchable faces.
Hypocrite:
- In Heart of Hush, Hush mocks Batman's crime-fighting career as a sign of his inability to move on from his past. This is pretty rich considering that his own vendetta against Bruce stems from a grudge he's held since childhood for something that wasn't even Bruce's fault.
- He openly despises the "costumed freaks" of Gotham, but chose to become one himself in order to get his revenge.
- As mentioned below, Elliot is a font of Aristotle quotes, using them as guiding principles for his strategies. Not only would the philosopher not have approved of a life lived solely for revenge's sake, but as a vain, envious, petty man prone to gloating and fits of anger, Tommy fails to live up to most of the key Aristotelian virtues.
I Just Want to Be You: Pre-52 version of Hush wanted to be Bruce Wayne because Tommy's mother never liked him as much as she liked Bruce. The New 52 version takes this Up to Eleven: Tommy is now pathologically obsessed with becoming Bruce. This also changes the reason he killed his parents: he wanted to be an orphan just to be similar to Bruce.
Informed Ability: Master of Disguise. There was that one case of Surgical Impersonation, but let's just say he has been a victim of disguise users more than using them himself.
It's All About Me: Why does he hate Bruce Wayne? Bruce's parents were killed when he was young while Elliot had to do the deed himself. And when he did so, he loathed Thomas Wayne for actually performing surgery that saved his mother's life. That's about as irrationally selfish as you can get.
The Riddler: (On Elliot's super-villain name) Scarecrow started singing that song... "Hush Little Baby." It's about a child who can never be satisfied.
It's Personal: Batman and Hush are this to one another.
Kick the Dog: Using Jason Todd in an attempt to mess with Bruce's mind, shooting Harold, cutting out Catwoman's heart, lying to Killer Croc about having a cure for his condition and then accelerating it instead, injecting a neurotic child with venom, killing a minor villain just to have Batman for himself... yeah, this is kind of his specialty.
Mad Doctor: A skilled surgeon, Hush commonly uses his surgical skills for nefarious purposes, whether torturing others or using surgery to impersonate other people. He also commonly uses medical scalpels as weapons.
Malevolent Masked Men: A variant; he always keeps his face wrapped in bandages when in costume.
Manipulative Bastard: Already as a kid. After he has a violent outburst on a summer camp, he coincidentally has Jonathan Crane as his therapist. Tommy admits he is guilty of much more than a mere attack, but gets Crane to declare him mentally stable with just a few words:
Maybe I'll do it again.
Meaningful Name: "Thomas" means "twin." He uses plastic surgery to become physically indistinguishable from Bruce Wayne.
Misplaced Retribution: Thomas Wayne saved Elliot's mother, denying him the family fortune and lengthening the psychological abuse he had to endure. Meanwhile, Bruce lost his parents, which Elliot thought was undeserved. Therefore Bruce has to suffer. That is his (possibly psychotic) motivation.
Motive Rant: He has one right after he kills Harold.
My Beloved Smother: Tommy's mom was like this even before the accident. Afterwards, she became so controlling she kept her son at home for nearly twenty years, using the family fortune as leverage. When Tommy says he has enough, she tries to cut him out of her will and he smothers her with a pillow out of anger.
Never My Fault: When he attacks another kid in summer camp for calling him names, he believes that his mother and Bruce had deliberately manipulated him to lose his temper. This only gets worse when he's an adult.
Nouveau Riche: A very, very dark version — Marla was so desperate to have wealth and prestige that she married Roger Elliot, a drunken, abusive Old Money idiot, and tried to retain that prestige by befriending the Waynes, despite secretly hating them. She also foisted her relentless social climbing and scheming on young Thomas, who instinctively kept the desire to "restore" the Elliot family's name, even as he resented her for doing so.
Psychopathic Manchild: While he may be an exceptional chessmaster, his motive behind everything he does is filled to the brim with childish grudges, showing that behind everything, he’s still an entitled little boy at heart.
Politically Incorrect Villain: Racist, misogynist and especially classist — in Heart of Hush, he calls Zatanna a "filthy gypsy" and Selina a "common gutterslut". Also apparently hates "freaks", as in costumed heroes and villains.
Remember the New Guy?: He was apparently a childhood friend of Bruce's and Bruce holds him in incredibly high regard, he's one of the world's best surgeons, and it's heavily implied that Tommy partly inspired Bruce's methods as Batman... Which is why we never heard of him before the "Hush" arc.
The Resenter: He is frustrated that Bruce got everything he had ever wanted, but chooses to "squander" it in his crusade.
Revenge Before Reason: He threw away a successful career as a world class surgeon just to get even. It later cost him his fortune and his facial skin, after he foolishly tried to manipulate an identity stealing serial killer Jane Doe as a part of his scheme.
Self-Made Orphan: He tried to kill his parents at a young age in order to inherit their riches and because his father was an abusive monster and his mother a simpering money hungry lunatic. He only succeeded in killing his father, and, to avoid suspicion, didn't try again, only truly being orphaned when he smothered his raving senile mother in a fit of anger. This left him with a bitter hatred of Bruce, who tragically lost his parents soon after Tommy tried to kill his. Later on in his life, he joins the Riddler (who discovered that Bruce was Batman) on a vendetta against him, feeling that not only did Bruce get the riches Tommy wanted, but that he was wasting those riches as well. Predictably, his vendetta eventually causes him to lose everything and become the full time Super Villain Hush. In the New 52, he succeeds in his first attempt, killing both his parents; he did it because he was obsessed with Bruce Wayne in the first place, and wanted to relate to him (Bruce's parents died first in this continuity).
Shadow Archetype: Another one of Batman, Hush being what would happen if Thomas and Martha Wayne's parenting of Bruce went horribly wrong and Batman became a villain.
Smug Snake: One that is less of an arrogant Insufferable Genius and more of a dog kicking jerk.
Soft-Spoken Sadist: Has a tendency to... well, gently tell his victims to "hush". Especially in Batman Eternal.
The Sociopath: Definitely manipulative, incapable of admitting his own mistakes and flaws, always blaming others, extremely narcissistic, entitled and arrogant and lacking empathy on a fundamental level.
Speaks in Shout-Outs: To Aristotle. Not all the time, but certainly often enough that he's well known for it. More frequently in his early appearances. Considering it was his mother that forced him to read the philosopher and that his lifestyle doesn't exactly adhere to Aristotle's teachings, one gets the impression that he finds the quotations by googling "Aristotle [insert barely situation-relevant word here]".
Stalker Without A Crush: In many appearances he tends to be watching Batman from the shadows. He intends to make his life miserable.
The Starscream: He's often a second in command who ends up betraying his boss.
Stealth Expert: Has been able to sneak up on both Batman and Catwoman on separate occasions, and they're supposed to be masters of this.
Stealth Hi/Bye: See above.
Strong as They Need to Be: Depending on the story you're reading, he can give Bruce a tough fight, with his martial arts abilities easily being on par with Batman. Or he can be defeated in just one or two hits if he's not the main villain of the story. There are also moments where he can even get taken out by Alfred.
Surgical Impersonation: His main gimmick: Hush uses surgery to look like other people when committing his crimes. He doesn't get surgery done, he performs it himself.
Villain Protagonist: When written by Paul Dini.
Villain Team-Up: Hush likes recruiting other villains in his plans. Batman: Hush has most of Batman's rogues gallery involved in his Gambit Roulette, In Hush Returns he recruits Prometheus. In fact, he did this years before becoming Hush; as a young man, his girlfriend was Peyton Reilly, the second Ventriloquist, and she helped him in the murder of his mother for her money.
Walking Shirtless Scene: Wears no shirt in his second story arc, unlike his first where he wore a black top under his trenchcoat. It's part of the reason the miniseries was badly received among fans.
We Used to Be Friends: He and Bruce were buddies in their childhood. Makes his current nature all the more horrifying to Bruce, and highlights his character as what Bruce could have become had he gone wrong at a young age.
Yandere: The New 52 version. In his new origin story he kills his parents, then gives Bruce a creepy hug, saying "We're the same now" while having a somewhat "overly attached girlfriend"-like facial expression. In high school, he imitates Bruce, wearing the same clothes and flirting with the same girls, and claims to be Bruce, while looking and acting like Jim Carrey's character in The Cable Guy.

Characters / Batman: Rogues Gallery (Part 1)

Edit Locked

Abattoir

Alter Ego: Arnold Etchison

First Appearance: Detective Comics #625 (January 1991)

Absence

Alter Ego: Una Nemo

First Appearance: Batman & Robin #17 (January 2011)

Abyss II

Alter Ego: Unknown

First Appearance: Batman Vol. 3 #118 (February, 2022)

Alberto Falcone / Holiday

First Appearance: Batman: The Long Halloween #1 (December 1996)

Alfred Stryker

First Appearance: Detective Comics #27 (May 1939)

Amygdala

Alter Ego: Aaron Helzinger

First Appearance: Shadow of the Bat #3 (August 1992)

Anchoress

First Appearance: Batman Annual (Vol 2) #2 (September 2013)

The Architect

Alter Ego: Zachary Gate

First Appearance: Batman: Gates of Gotham #1 (July 2011)

Arkham Knight

Alter Ego: Astrid Arkham

First Appearance: Detective Comics' #1000 (May 2019)

Ascalon

Known Aliases: The System

Team Affiliations: Order of St. Dumas

First Appearance: Detective Comics #950 (April, 2017)

Bane

Real Name: Unknown

Known Aliases: Ubu

Team Affiliations: League of Assassins, Suicide Squad, Secret Six

First Appearance: Batman: Vengeance of Bane #1 (January 1993)

Batman (Thomas Wayne)

First Appearance: Flashpoint (Vol 2) #1 (July 2011)

Bedbug

First Appearance: Batman: Streets of Gotham #17 (January 2011)

Black Mask I

Real Name: Roman Sionis

Team Affiliations: False Face Society, Secret Society of Supervillains, Ministry of Science

First Appearance: Batman #386 (August 1985)

Black Spider I

Alter Ego: Eric Needham

First Appearance: Detective Comics #463 (September 1976)

Blockbuster

Alter Ego: Mark Desmond

First Appearance: Detective Comics #345 (November, 1965)

Le Bossu

Alter Ego: Guy Dax

First Appearance: Batman #676 (June 2008)

Brother Eye

First Appearance: Countdown to Infinite Crisis #1 (May 2005)

The Calculator

Alter Ego: Noah Kuttler

First Appearance: Detective Comics #463 (September 1976)

Calendar Man

Alter Ego: Julian Gregory Day

First Appearance: Detective Comics #259 (September 1958)

Cap'n Fear

First Appearance: Detective Comics #687 (July 1995)

Captain Stingaree

Alter Ego: Karl Courtney

First Appearance: Detective Comics #460 (June 1976)

Carmine Falcone

Alter Ego: The Roman

First Appearance: Batman #404 (February 1987)

The Carpenter

Alter Ego: Jenna Duffy

First Appearance: Detective Comics #841 (April 2008)

Catman

Alter Ego: Thomas Blake

First Appearance: Detective Comics (Vol 1) #311 (January 1963)

Catwoman

Real Name: Selina Kyle

Team Affiliations: Injustice League, Birds of Prey, Justice League

First Appearance: Batman #1 (April 1940)

Cavalier

Alter Ego: Mortimer Drake