Follow TV Tropes

Following

Characters / Batman: Rogues Gallery (Part 3)

Go To


    open/close all folders 

    The Mad Hatter I 

The Mad Hatter I

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Mad_hatter_4996.jpg

Real Name: Jervis Tetch

First Appearance: Batman #49 (October 1948)

"You are trying to understand madness with logic. This is not unlike searching for darkness with a torch."


Jervis Tetch, a man of short stature and large head, went through his life friendless, becoming a scientist and experimenting with technology, specifically that of mind control. His psychosis is a mix of paranoid schizophrenia and manic depression, all of this centering on his fascination with both hats and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Using his technology, Tetch turned to a life of crime as the Mad Hatter, inserting his devices into headgear in order to turn unwitting victims into his slaves. His technology has advanced to a point that where not only can he put his mind-control devices into almost anything (free meal tickets, Walkmans, etc.), but he is now able to miniaturize his technology to a point of simulating telepathic hypnosis/mind control.

The Mad Hatter is possibly one of the strangest Bat-Rogues ever (which is saying something). Throughout his tenure, Tetch has been subject to several redesigns in both appearance and personality; he has gone from average height to quite short to an actual dwarf and has been a goofy thief, a scheming mastermind and a creepy pedophile-esque kidnapper. He's gotten a lot more serious in the comics and has proven to be a formidable and unpredictable opponent.

The animated series turned Tetch into a criminal through his obsession for a co-worker (fittingly named Alice), swearing vengeance on Batman when he foiled his plans to be with her (read as "hypnotize her boyfriend and stalk her"). This motivation went away though as the Hatter soon became another common thief. Still, he had a good run and several good episodes.

Incidentally, few people remember that his debut comic, Batman #49, also featured the debut of Vicki Vale.


  • Alice Allusion: The Mad Hatter is obsessed with finding "his" Alice, who likely isn't much more than a figment of his insane imaginings. He leads a team of super-criminals themed after the Alice books called the Wonderland Gang.
  • Attack Its Weak Point: He's prone to putting his gear in his hats, so taking whichever one he's wearing (or his victims are wearing) used to be a surefire way to break his mind control. Nowadays, he's got more variety in his toys, so messing with his hats just pisses him off.
  • Berserk Button: Do not touch his hat.
  • Bizarre Taste in Food: Puts hats on his food before eating them.
  • Cargo Ship: Played with. While he's not directly attracted to hats, he isn't interested in women if they don't have hats on.
  • Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: While he is often visually based on the original illustrations, for a while Tetch was patterned to look like Tom Petty, who famously looked close enough that he did a video as the Carroll Mad Hatter.
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass:
    • He singlehandedly crushed the Doom Patrol in Secret Six.
    • During Final Crisis, Tetch's mind control tech was pivotal in Darkseid's domination of earth. For comparison, characters like Lex Luthor were press-ganged into being part of Darkseid's tech team. Hatter was too useful.
  • Depraved Dwarf: Which is to say, both his height and level of insanity vary wildly. Gail Simone writes an especially creepy one.
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones: As a young man, Jervis lived in a boarding house owned by Ella Littleton. There he befriended Ella's daughter, Connie Littleton, and her friends in her high school. A few years later, Connie became pregnant. Fearing the reaction of her extremely strict mother, Connie lied to her and claimed she had been raped by someone on her school's baseball team. Ella approached Tetch for help and convinced him that the Gotham Hawks were "bad kids". Tetch agreed to use his mind control technology on a member of the team, making him use a pipe bomb to kill the other players. Although this was Tetch's first known criminal act, his involvement in the locker room bombing would not be discovered until years later.
  • Evil Brit: He is obsessed with the writings of British author Lewis Carroll, and has based his identity off of the Hatter character appearing in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and the story's sequel Through the Looking Glass. His depiction in TAS have the Hatter speaking in a posh accent that's not quite British nor American.
  • Faux Affably Evil: He fancies himself as a Quintessential British Gentleman, but in reality, he's a cold-hearted criminal.
  • Gadgeteer Genius: Builds fully-functional mind control devices that fit inside hats.
  • Getting High on Their Own Supply: Uses his mind control devices on himself, to the point he's addicted to his own hats' euphoric options.
  • The Gimmick: He likes hats, and does hat crimes.
  • Gonk: Most current artists depict him as, like the Tenniel illustrations, having a very large and crooked overbite, with a nose to match.
  • Hypno Trinket: All manner of devices really, though the most common would be some form of hat.
  • I Have No Son!: One story features his parents and siblings being targeted by the White Knight, a Well-Intentioned Extremist who is a strong believer in the Villainous Lineage trope. They changed their last name and got rid of their pictures of Jervis due to shame of being associated with his crimes. For his part, Jervis seems far more preoccupied with how the murderer is after him as well than he is about their fates.
  • Informed Attribute: According to Joker in Batman: Cacophany, Tetch tried to convince Joker to get it on with him for years whenever they're locked up. However, Mad Hatter in the vast majority of his appearances has never shown much, if any, interest in men and mostly goes after a real woman named Alice, or Depending on the Writer, women who he thinks can be his Alice. And seeing how Joker is an Unreliable Narrator, it's not clear if Tetch really is attracted to the Joker, wants to experiment with Joker due to sheer lack of access to any woman he perceives as Alice, or Joker made it up and it's all in his head.
  • Let's Get Dangerous!: You'd think that he's completely ineffective in combat. Hoo-boy, would you be wrong.
  • The Leader: Occasionally leads a group called the Wonderland Gang, featuring members like the Tweedles or the Carpenter.
  • Living Doll Collector: He sometimes kidnaps blonde girls and uses his mind control technology to force them to play at being Alice.
  • The Mad Hatter: Oddly enough, subverted. He's often depicted as struggling with his mental illness, and dislikes having it mentioned.
  • Master of Illusion: His skill is using his mind control technology to create vivid hallucinations - a likely reference to rumors that Lewis Carroll wrote the Alice books under the influence of hallucinogenic substances.
  • Mad Scientist: He personally invented all of his mind control technology.
  • Meaningful Name: "Tetch" is a variation of "touch", as in "touched in the head".
  • More than Mind Control: Some of Tetch's schemes have become very elaborate through this trope.
  • Never Found the Body: In Detective Comics #526, the Hatter is so spooked by Batman that he runs right into the path of an oncoming train to get away from him. All that Batman can find is his hat, however, and several issues later Tetch showed up hale and hearty, the explanation for his survival being that he jumped onto a nearby truck just in time.
  • Odd Friendship: Depending on the Writer he has this type of relationship with The Penguin. More frequently, with The Scarecrow.
  • Off with His Head!: He actually utters this line in his very first appearance, appropriately holding an axe twice as tall as he is.
  • Pædo Hunt: Subverted, his obsession with Alice is known to edge on pedophilia but it's usually portrayed as Tech wanting to create a tea party, like the actual Mad Hatter from the story. Although his victims are primarily adult women who have to dress up as the 7-year-old Alice from the story to play into Tech's insanity, he is known to abduct children under the belief they are Alice from the story.
  • Psychopathic Manchild: Given how his whole gimmick is literally a children's book, it's not that surprising that Tetch is not a mature person.
  • Reluctant Psycho: As mentioned above, he doesn't enjoy his insanity, he suffers through every second of it.
  • Rhymes on a Dime: In Gotham Central, he starts speaking in rhyme as a coping mechanism when he feels threatened.
  • Slipping a Mickey: Expect the Hatter's tea to always be laced with something.
  • Speaks in Shout-Outs: Lewis Carroll quotations, when written by Jeph Loeb.
  • Start of Darkness: As a young man, Jervis lived in a boarding house owned by Ella Littleton. There he befriended Ella's daughter, Connie Littleton, and her friends in her high school. A few years later, Connie became pregnant. Fearing the reaction of her extremely strict mother, Connie lied to her and claimed she had been raped by someone on her school's baseball team. Ella approached Tetch for help and convinced him that the Gotham Hawks were "bad kids". Tetch agreed to use his mind control technology on a member of the team, making him use a pipe bomb to kill the other players. Although this was Tetch's first known criminal act, his involvement in the locker room bombing would not be discovered until years later.
  • Would Hurt a Child: Darker and Edgier depictions of the Hatter, such as Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, show the Hatter to be a pedophile (likely a reference to rumors that cropped up about Lewis Carroll being one as well).

    The Mad Hatter II 

The Mad Hatter II/Hatman

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mad_hatter_ii_0023.jpg

First Appearance: Detective Comics #230 (April 1956)

"Batman! Glad you're using your head for something besides a hatrack..."

After the original Mad Hatter had been sent to Arkham following his debut, a very different Mad Hatter appeared, who claimed to be Jervis Tetch. Unlike the original, was sane and sported a gaudy mustache. He was primarily a thief, apparently obsessed with completing his private collection of hats from all nations, cultures, and historical periods. This new Mad Hatter, like his predecessor, quickly became an enemy of Batman and Robin. The headgear he wanted most was, of course, Batman's cowl. In numerous attempts, he tried to de-cowl Batman. After many tries, he was successful, after spraying the cowl with a radioactive substance causing Batman to remove it. No sooner did the Mad Hatter put it in his collection than Batman and Robin arrive. They had traced the cowl with their "super sensitive Geiger counter" in the Batplane. When the real Jervis Tetch returned, he claimed to have killed his impostor, but the fake Mad Hatter reappeared alive again. He ended up being beaten by Batman and sent to Arkham.

After the Crisis on Infinite Earths, the impostor returned to crime under the name "Hatman" and presided over an underworld auction which was raided by new Batman and Robin. After Flashpoint, a person who looks like the Imposter Mad Hatter, was seen as Arkham inmate.

This Mad Hatter was the one used in the sixties show. He appeared in only four episodes, all of them making use of his hypnotic machinery and showcasing his desire to add Batman's cowl to his collection of hats.


    Madame Zodiac 

Madame Zodiac

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/madamezodiacdcu0.jpg

Alter Ego: Marissa (last name unknown)

First Appearance: Batman Family #17 (May 1978)

" The tarot symbolizes all aspects of life. The suits serve as representations of our inner truths."

Madame Zodiac is a witch and fortune teller of uncertain motivations. Sometimes she appears seeking power for herself, and at other times she acts as a 'crime broker' for other criminals. She herself states he "works both sides of the street too often to socialize with either one". Her various schemes have brought into conflict with members of the Bat Family.


  • Ambiguously Evil: Her exact motivations are never clear.
  • Black Magic: Definitely dabbles on the darker side of the occult. She once broke into the Pentagon and used the building's geometrical structure to augment her own mystic powers.
  • The Bus Came Back: After appearing to die in World's Finest #288 (Feb. 1983), Madame Zodiac disappeared for 27 years before returning in Trinity (2008).
  • Evil Sorceress: Not always evil, but certainly self-serving and unconcerned about the effect her magic has on others.
  • The Heartless: A dark entity separated Madame Zodiac's personality in two, one evil and one good. Her evil side allied with the dark entity and the good personality was locked away.
  • Hot Witch: Even dressing with a Navel-Deep Neckline.
  • Navel-Deep Neckline: Her modern costume sports this look.
  • Split-Personality Merge: After her personality was split into her good and evil sides, her good side was locked away. Superman and Dr. Zodiac released the good side and forced them to become one again.

    Man-Bat 

Man-Bat

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/man_bat_24.jpg

Real Name: Dr. Robert Kirkland Langstrom

First Appearance: Detective Comics #400 (June 1970)

"Dear God. Is this what I have become? More animal than man. When will the surrender be complete?"


A happily married scientist, Kirk Langstrom decided to experiment with bats to create a serum that would fix his deafness, but ended up turning himself into a human bat monster, a literal Batman. As Man-Bat Dr. Langstrom can be anything from a dangerous animal Batman has to put down, to a unconventional ally in protecting Gotham.
  • Adaptation Origin Connection: The Post-Crisis account of Man-Bat's backstory in the 39th issue of Secret Origins establishes that Kirk Langstrom and Bruce Wayne originally met as children and that Bruce was subconsciously inspired to create the Batcave as his base of operations from hearing Kirk's story of being lost in a cave when he was younger and surviving by hanging with a hidden race of bat-people. The story also establishes that a pre-transformation Kirk Langstrom had lost a bat he experimented on by using wax to block its ears and disable its sonar, implied to be the same bat that crashed through Bruce Wayne's window and inspired him to don the guise of Batman.
  • Alternate Company Equivalent: Man-Bat is basically DC's version of the Lizard, both characters being scientists who mutated themselves into humanoid animals as a side effect of attempting to cure themselves of a disability.
  • Animalistic Abomination: Man-Bat serum plus Sufficiently Analyzed Magic plus an Eldritch Abomination whispering in his ear results in this in Justice League Dark.
  • Babies Ever After: Across the pre-Crisis era to Rebirth, Langstrom has had two kids. The sliding timescales and retcons changed the oldest to be born before his accident, but his most recent — Aaron — was explicitly born with his mutated DNA.
  • Badass Family: The Man-Bat family, at least when directed towards the side of the angels. Since everyone in his family has been exposed to the Man-Bat serum at some point, they all have the potential to shift and lay a beating on anyone who threatens them.
  • Bat People: Following his transformation, he becomes a humanoid bat-monster with misshapen arm-wings.
  • Doom Magnet: Not only has Dr. Langstrom been turned into a bat-monster, his wife and son been turned into bat monsters at different times.
  • Early-Installment Weirdness: Back in the day he was given his own series where he would fight the Ten-Eyed Man. You can see why it ended after only two issues. He would get another three issue mini-series written by Chuck Dixon in 1996.
  • Flight: One of the few advantages he has over his heroic counterpart.
  • Heel–Face Revolving Door: Dr. Langstrom has gotten control of his mutated form several times, becoming an ally of Batman, but tends to end up losing control whenever a writer wants him to be a monster. He spends about as much time as a hero as he does a threat, overall.
  • Heroic Neutral: Even when in control of himself, Langstrom is consistently more interested in protecting his family than other people. Can reach Knight in Sour Armor levels, if he feels sufficiently forced into helping out.
    • Averted in Justice League Dark, where he is excited and determined to prove that he has more to offer the world than occasionally losing control, transforming into a bat-monster, and trying to eat Batman. This might be more reassuring if he didn't have a bat-like head at the time (having discovered a formula that balances his human mind with a toned down variation on the benefits of the serum).
  • Legacy Character: Not exactly, as no one has ever permanently supplanted Langstorm, but a surprising number of people (from his wife, to his daughter, to Ubu to about a third of Gotham's population) have at various times been turned into half-bat monsters using his formula.
  • Mad Scientist: Mostly Averted early on, but flanderization has made him into this on occasion.
  • Magic Pants: Whenever Dr. Langstrom transforms it rips his shirt to give room for his wings, but his pants are always fine.
  • Not a Mask: Batman mistook him for wearing a disguise in their first encounter, to which Kirk responded by running in tears while stating he wished his mutant bat form was only a disguise.
  • Sufficiently Analyzed Magic: He's endearingly fascinated by magic when working on Wonder Woman's version of the Justice League Dark, and despite all the - admittedly understandable - skepticism about giving a man who turned himself into a monstrous Man-Bat access to magic, he proves to be surprisingly adept at it by treating it like a very esoteric science. While he's not casting magic in combat, this methodical approach allows him to break the enchantment on Khalid Nassour.
  • Superpowered Evil Side: Dr. Langstrom is an ordinary human, Man-Bat can give Batman a decent fight. How evil and out of control he is varies, however. Then there was the magic-influenced serum he dosed up on after a monster whispered in his ear when he was part of the Justice League Dark...
  • Tragic Monster: He was just trying to improve his hearing, but ended becoming a monster instead.
  • Zombie Apocalypse: In one storyline, Kirk's condition became infectious.

    Magpie 

Magpie

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/magpie.JPG
Original
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/magpie.png
New 52

Alter Ego: Margaret Pye

First Appearance: Man of Steel (Vol 1) #3 (November 1986)

"Look at all my shiny things. Bits and baubles that twinkle in the moonlight."

Magpie is a jewel thief who specifically targets jewels named after birds and then replaces them with booby-trapped replicas. Her codename comes from the magpie, which, in folklore, is attracted to bright, shiny objects. Taking a job as a museum curator, she is slowly driven mad surrounded by the beautiful things she so loves but can never own.


  • '80s Hair: Has an oh so 80's trihawk/mullet hairdo pre-Flashpoint (Which was actually a wig). Post-Flashpoint her appearance is altered to resemble her much more modern design in Beware the Batman.
  • Animal-Themed Superbeing: Of the Animal Alias' variety; she has no animal powers.
  • Alas, Poor Villain: Played with in her first appearance. Batman and Superman both feel bad for her after they stop her, but they feel worse for all the people she killed.
    • When she's killed by Thylacine during Suicide Squad 2019 both Deadshot and Harley Quinn express sadness at her death.
  • Back from the Dead: Magpie is one of the many villains raised from the dead in Gotham City to join the new Black Lantern Corps as zombies during Blackest Night.
  • Bad Boss: She rivals the Joker in terms of being willing to randomly kill henchmen.
  • Booby Trap: Magpie leaves behind booby-trapped replicas of the items she steals.
  • Butt-Monkey: In each continuity and reboot, her function is to regularly get herself killed by the Greater-Scope Villain.
  • Defeat by Modesty: Inverted in the second appearance. Robin accidentally pulled down her top during a fight which gave Magpie a chance to escape and activate her Death Trap while he was looking away.
  • Demonic Possession: In Arkham Asylum, Magpie joined Poison Ivy during an escape attempt, but they ended up in one of Arkham's cellars, where Ivy accidentally broke a ward that had been drawn to contain the Scarva. In the ensuing chaos, Ivy and Magpie were both possessed by demons and transformed into monstrous versions of themselves.
  • Everything's Sparkly with Jewelry: Magpie is obsessed with antique jewelry and wants to have it all to herself.
  • Gadgeteer Genius: Capable of creating deadly versions of the artifacts she steals.
  • Janitor Impersonation Infiltration: Posed as maid to steal a necklace from an event being hosted by Bruce Wayne.
  • Killer Outfit: Magpie leaves behind booby-trapped replicas of the items she steals. This has included a choker that slit the throat of the woman wearing it.
  • Meaningful Name: A woman named Margaret Pye who is obsessed with stealing shiny things.
  • Psychopathic Woman Child: Has a tendency to fly into tantrums when her schemes are thwarted.
  • Ret-Canon: Her appearance in the New 52 and DC Rebirth era is based on her appearance in Beware the Batman.
  • Stocking Filler: Magpie's costume includes fishnets.
  • Steven Ulysses Perhero: Calls herself Magpie and happens to be named Margaret Pye.
  • This Is Going to Suck: During the 2019 Suicide Squad run, she can't help but point out how out of her depth she is.
  • Triangular Shades: Her original costume sported a pair of these.
  • Villainous Breakdown: Magpie has one of these after being captured in both her major appearances in the '80s.
  • Wolverine Claws: The New 52 and DC Rebirth era Magpie could extend her nails into a set of strong sharp claws.

    March Hare/Harriet 

March Hare/Harriet

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/harriet_pratt_prime_earth_0002.jpg

Alter Ego: Harriet Pratt

First Appearance: Harley Quinn (Vol 3) #22 (August 2017)

"You don't belong here. Don't make mad as a March Hare."

Harriet Pratt was a British small-time con artist and occasional escort. She was eventually recruited into The Wonderland Gang by Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Following this, she has shown up working with the Mad Hatter.


    Master Bruce 

Master Bruce

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/master_bruce_600x922.jpg

Alter Ego: Matthew Warner

First Appearance: Batman (Vol 3) #38 (March 2018)

"You don't know anything! When my mommy and daddy died, I never felt pain like it! My parents died for this city! I watched them die! Oh God, Oh God! I will never forget it! Never! I'm Master Bruce, and I will never stop fighting for the light! For Gotham! For mommy and daddy!"

The son of a board member for Wayne Enterprises, Matthew idolized Bruce Wayne, a habit encouraged by both his father and his butler Mr. Taylor who went so far as to call Matthew "Master Bruce". Matthew realized that the death of Bruce Wayne's parents is what turned him from an Idle Rich man to a philanthropist and decided he needed that kind of drive in his life too. Unfortunately, his adoration for Bruce Wayne made him take that line of thought to its logical conclusion making him an enemy of Batman.


  • Battle Butler: "Battle" may be an overstatement but considering how he can copy the MO of Victor Zsasz, Taylor must have some fighting skills and a willingness to use them.
  • The Butler Did It: Taylor was the one who carried out the murders on his behalf and was willing to take the blame for them, if someone hadn't compared his loyalty to Alfred's Batman would have believed him.
  • Dramatic Irony: Having convinced himself that he now knows exactly how it feels to be Bruce Wayne, he tells Batman that he can't possibly understand that.
  • Dramatically Missing the Point: He killed his parents and several other people in order to become like Bruce Wayne.
  • Enfant Terrible: His intentions were good, in a matter of speaking, but the way they turned out, well... read the rest of this entry.
  • Evil Counterpart: He and Taylor are this to Bruce Wayne and Alfred.
  • Facial Horror: Matthew carved Thomas and Martha's names on his cheeks.
  • Ironic Echo: When Batman confronts him he responds with things Bruce Wayne told him in an earlier conversation.
  • Last Disrespects: He also carved Thomas and Martha's names on his parents' graves.
  • Loony Fan: And you thought Hush had an unhealthy fixation with Bruce Wayne.
  • Self-Made Orphan: He just wanted to be like his hero, Bruce Wayne.
  • Serial Killings, Specific Target: Taylor tries to cover the murders by using the MO's of Two-Face and Victor Zsasz, for extra irony the latter's parents were among the victims.
  • Shadow Archetype: He's what would happen if Bruce Wayne himself was a Batman villain. The story he first appears in is called "The Origin of Bruce Wayne".
  • Undying Loyalty: Taylor is as loyal to his master as Alfred is to Batman, ironically this is what clues Batman in to the fact that Taylor is taking the fall for Matthew.
  • What You Are in the Dark: More than even other “Anti-Batmen” such as Bane and Hush, Matthew’s actions and behavior greatly disquiet Bruce, most likely because he sees quite a bit of that same darkness within himself.

    "Maxie" Zeus 

Maximilian "Maxie" Zeus

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/maxiezeus_7585.JPG

First Appearance: Detective Comics #483 (May 1979)

"Who dares mock the mighty father of gods? Who defies the mighty Zeus? Who? Who?"

This deranged, Greek-descended crime boss believes himself to be the modern incarnation of the Greek god Zeus. He used to be a mild-mannered history teacher, but lost his wife and his sanity in an undisclosed incident. Amidst all the chaos caused by the other insane Bat-villains, he rose to power as one of Gotham's most colorful and cunning gang leaders. He was not only a foe of Batman alone, but also a prominent enemy of Batman's Super Team The Outsiders.


  • Ancient Grome: Depending on the Writer. Maxie believes himself to be Zeus, not Jupiter, but either has a tendency to conflate the two cultures' pantheons and traditions, or angrily correct those around him who do so by mistake.
  • Big Bad: Was one for The Outsiders.
  • Boring, but Practical: In one story, Maxie Zeus hires construction workers to build a copy of Ancient Rome. When one of the workers suggests building traps for the lion pit or using a lion that turns into a velociraptor to make things more interesting, Zeus refuses because he doesn't want his Ancient Rome to have anything the original one didn't. The worker comments that just a normal pit with a lion isn't scary and Zeus reacts by throwing the worker at the pit and daring him not to feel scared once the lion arrives.
  • The Chessmaster: With his intelligence, he was able to build his gang among the chaos caused by Gotham's super-villains.
  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: He started to become forgotten by DC's writers after Infinite Crisis and One Year Later, only coming back in Kevin Smith's Cacophony, where he got Put on a Bus at the end of that story.
  • Driven to Madness: He lost his sanity in an undisclosed incident where his wife died.
    • In Cacophony, he gains sanity after taking medication, but when The Joker kills his nephew, Aesop, he is shocked back into insanity.
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones: His nephew Aesop, whose death by The Joker shocks him back into insanity. Also his daughter Madea, whom he once attempted to steal a 'golden fleece' for.
  • A God Am I: In this case, he believes himself to be a specific god, the Greek god Zeus. In Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, he also develops messianic delusions.
  • Gollum Made Me Do It: In the Cacophony storyline, where he has taken meds for his insanity, he refers to "Maxie" as his deranged, insane self and "Maximilian" as his saner self.
  • Napoleon Delusion: Believes himself to be the god Zeus.
  • Not-So-Harmless Villain: Arkham Asylum's guards initially didn't put him in the maximum-security wing where the other Bat-rogues are because they didn't think he was as dangerous, despite Batman repeatedly telling them to do so. They were proven wrong when his team of metahumans called the "New Olympians" easily broke him out.
  • Psycho Electro: In Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, he becomes addicted to the asylum's electroshock treatment, which makes him even more insane.
  • The Psycho Rangers: He "New Olympians" team was one for The Outsiders.
  • Static Stun Gun: Carries a metal thunderbolt tthat is a disguised taser.
  • Suspiciously Similar Substitute: To King Tut from the Adam West series. Both are former history teachers believing themselves to be godlike figures from history (King Tut and Zeus respectively).
  • Took a Level in Badass: When some rogue Gods from Wonder Woman's rogues gallery decided to use him as a conduit for prayers, they rewarded him with a decent amount of divine whoopass in return.
  • Unexplained Recovery: He was thought to be dead after he got involved in Ares' plot to turn Gotham into his capital over the world, but was eventually revealed to be alive and well for no revealed reason.
  • Unnaturally Blue Lighting: His electrified cell in Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth casts him in a cold blue light the entire time.
  • Villain Decay: When Maxie Zeus was first introduced, he was presented as on par with the rest of the Bat Rogues. However, as time went on he started to be treated as more and more of a joke.
  • Villain with Good Publicity: For almost all of one storyline, where he tried to pass himself off as a legitimate shipping magnate after gaining sanity from medications. It didn't last because it was revealed to the public that he was selling a diluted version of Joker Venom as a party drug.

    Merrymaker 

Merrymaker

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

Alter Ego: Byron Meredith

First Appearance: Detective Comics (Vol 2) #16 (March 2013)

"I understood the influence Joker has. Something that affects people, on an almost subconscious primal level. For most people—regular people—he inspires fear. For the less stable people—he simply inspires."

Dr. Byron Merideth was a fanatical doctor at Arkham Asylum who used his own methods, including torture, to rehabilitate his patients. Eventually fired because of his extreme methods, Meredith opened a practice specializing in serving the Joker-obsessed. Eventually his patients became members of the League of Smiles, a gang that perpetrated violence all over Gotham City to honour the Joker by creating chaos. Creating the identity of the Merrymaker, he became the leader of the gang, but in reality he was using the chaos as a diversion so he could kill people he believed had wronged him.


  • Faking the Dead: Merideth successfully faked his own death and began to develop his Merrymaker identity. Even his former patients didn't realize that they were being lead by their therapist.
  • Obfuscating Insanity: Pretended to be as insane as the rest of the League of Smiles while actually using them as a cover for his real criminal intentions.
  • Plague Doctor: Merrymaker dresses like one.
  • Practically Joker: Merideth deliberately modeled his criminal persona on the Joker.
  • Psycho Psychologist: A psychiatrist who believes that torture is an efficient rehabilitation technique and who manipulates his patients into becoming murderers.
  • Serial Killings, Specific Target: Merrymaker used the chaos created by the League of Smiles to murder those he believed had wronged him, such as his ex-wife and her lawyer, knowing the murders would be blamed on them.

    Midnight 

Midnight

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/midnight_8.jpg

Alter Ego: April Clarkson

First Appearance: Batman: Gotham After Midnight #1 (July, 2008)

"Citizens of Gotham. It is the midnight hour! Prepare to be judged! Prepare to reveal what is hidden your black hearts!"

Midnight is a serial killer who mostly targets the corrupt, often using drugged super-villains broken out of Arkham Asylum. As April Clarkson, she was a member of the GCPD, coming form a police family with good connections, which made confronting her on irregular paperwork and lying to the press a headache for Commissioner Gordon. She faked her own death at "Midnight"'s hands using the body of Karen Beckett in order to focus on her actions as Midnight.


  • And Show It to You: The villain goes after people by ripping out their hearts; keeping the hearts in jars.
  • Creepy Souvenir: Midnight rips out the hearts of her victims and keeps them in jars.
  • Dating Catwoman: April Clarkson was romantically involved with Bruce Wayne.
  • Faking the Dead: She faked her own death at "Midnight"'s hands using the body of Karen Beckett in order to focus on her actions as Midnight.
  • Killer Cop: April Clarkson is a lieutenant of the Gotham PD turned vigilante serial killer.
  • One-Steve Limit: Midnight is a name that has been used by several heroes in The DCU.
  • Pay Evil unto Evil: Midnight targets those she considers to be corrupt.
  • Samus Is a Girl: The Midnight costume makes April look like a man.
  • Serial Killer: Midnight is a serial killer who mostly targets the corrupt.
  • Vigilante Man: Midnight is a serial killer who mostly targets the corrupt.

    Mime 

Mime

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mime_9.jpg

Alter Ego: Camilla Ortin

First Appearance: Batman #412 (October 1987)

Camilla Ortin is the daughter of a fireworks salesman who grew a disdain of loud noises after the death of her parents in a fireworks factory explosion.


L

    Miracle Molly 

Miracle Molly

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/7868440_miraclemolly.jpg

Alter Ego: Mary Kowalski

First Appearance:' Batman (Vol 3) #106 (May 2021)

"When the truth is that happiness is always fleeting. If you stop chasing it, that you can enjoy it when it comes."

Member of the Unsanity Collective and the technician of the group.


  • Anti-Villain: She might be a criminal and an anarchist, but she's not a killer (intentionally at least), and wants people to escape what she sees are the shackles and confines of society.
  • Awful Wedded Life: Not out of abuse or negligence, but her husband Matsuda simply did not understand the pressure she felt from her family and in-laws, and how much she disliked her Soul-Crushing Desk Job at Helios Robotics.
  • Boxed Crook: In Batman: Urban Legends Lady Shiva has her released from prison to aid her in tracking a meta-human.
  • Crazy Sane: Which is why she became a part of Unsanity Collective. She's not exactly insane, but she's far from normal in her new way of thinking.
  • Cyborg: Besides her electronic eye, she appears to have other modifications that allow her to use her eye in full.
  • Do Not Call Me "Paul": She refuses to answer by her previous name of Mary Kowalski.
  • Electronic Eye: She replaced her left eye with a bionic eye she designed herself.
  • Enemy Mine: She and the Unsanity Collective end up having to ally themselves with Batman and his allies against Simon Saint and The Magistrate.
  • Freudian Excuse: Molly was a robotics designer stuck at a Soul-Crushing Desk Job and in an apathetic marriage, and when she tried to assert herself, she was fired and all her work was going to be confiscated. And when she tried to get it back, she snapped and knocked out her sleazy boss. With nowhere to turn to, she joined the Unsanity Collective, erased her memories and became Miracle Molly.
  • I Just Want to Be Free: The words of Master Wyze about the constrains and expectations of society and her failure to fit in with everyone else is what made her abandon everything about her past life and embrace being Miracle Molly.
  • Laser-Guided Amnesia: She voluntarily erased her memory of her life as Mary Kowalski to free herself from all the constrains and expectations she felt society wanted for her.
  • Shut Up, Hannibal!: Knocks out an injured Jonathan Crane so he doesn't distract her while she's disarming his fear bomb with his ranting about fear.
  • That Man Is Dead: She refuses to answer by her previous name of Mary Kowalski.

    Mirage 

Mirage

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mirage_02.jpg

Alter Ego: Kerry Austin

First Appearance: Detective Comics #511 (February 1982)

"Take a good look. I'm the last thing you two will see before you die."

Mirage uses a gem that causes people to see elaborate illusions. He commits crimes while his victims are occupied fighting against these illusions.


    Mirror Man 

Mirror Man

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mirror_man_01.jpg

Alter Ego: Floyd Ventris

First Appearance: Detective Comics #213 (November 1954)

"Mirror, mirror, on the wall— Who's the smartest crook of all?"

Floyd Ventris was a criminal convicted to seven years at the Gotham State Penitentiary. During his first day, he broke a mirror and he took one of the shards with him, which he used to distract the guards on his escape attempt. Ventris was successful and escaped prison thanks to the mirror shard, which was his motivation to learn everything about mirrors and start a crime wave with mirrors as his main motif.


    Monarch of Menace 

Monarch of Menace

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

Alter Ego: Unknown

First Appearance: Detective Comics #350 (April, 1966)

"Ha-ha-ha! Do you really think you are going to catch me, 'peasant'?"

The Monarch of Menace is a royal-themed crook who has been able to pull off heists and able to keep Batman at bay with his various gadgets. In the earliest days of Batman’s career, the Monarch of Menace represented the Dark Knight’s only failure, being the first criminal ever to defeat Batman and leave Gotham with a fortune in stolen goods. Years later, however, the Monarch's teenage son tries to prove himself using his father's outfit in a crime spree. The young Monarch is defeated by Robin, while his father is lured out of hiding by Batman, who then finally defeats his old nemesis. The original Monarch later returns, but is once again in a scheme to defraud Gotham City when on learning that Batman will be away on an extended mission he teams up with Cluemaster, Bouncer and Spellbinder and claims they have captured Batman and will kill him unless they pay a huge ransom.


  • Arsenal Attire: The Monarch's ermine cape is equipped with a gas ejecting mechanism.
  • The Bus Came Back: After last appearing in 1981, the Monarch returned in Harley Quinn's Villain of the Year #1 in 2020.
  • Hypno Ray: The Monarch's crown has hypnotizing jewels mounted on it.
  • Large Ham: Plays up being a king to the hilt.
  • Legacy Character: The Monarch's son attempted to turn the Monarch of Menace into one, but failed miserably.
  • Only Known by Their Nickname: The real name of the Monarch of Menace, or that of his son, has never been revealed.
  • Overlord Jr.: Monarch of Menace II was the son of the original who tried to impress his father by taking on his identity and defeating Batman and Robin. He failed miserably due to his clumsiness and lack of preparation.
  • Requisite Royal Regalia: The Monarch's costume includes a crown, an ermine cape and a sceptre, and his hideout usually incorporates a throne.
  • Static Stun Gun: The Monarch's scepter is an electrified staff he uses to stun opponents.
  • Weaponized Headgear: The Monarch's crown has hypnotizing jewels mounted on it.

    The Monk 

The Monk

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/batman_0525.jpg

Alter Ego: Niccolai Tepes

Notable Aliases: Mad Monk, Richard Rallstone

First Appearance: Detective Comics #31 (September 1939)

"You are misguided in pursuing me, "Bat-Man". You are mistaken to think your appearance frightens me. I have known crusaders such as you for centuries! Foolishly trying to purge what can never be eradicated!"

The Monk, also known as the Mad Monk, is Batman's second recurring enemy after Dr. Death...and even more obscure.


  • Bad Habits: He's generally not depicted as an actual monk or any other kind of man of the cloth.
  • Disney Villain Death: At the conclusion of the 2006 Batman and the Mad Monk miniseries he is preparing for a final rooftop showdown with Batsy when lightning strikes the spear he's carrying, throwing him off the roof.
  • Famous-Named Foreigner: The Monk shares his names with possibly the two most famous Romanians who have ever lived: Nicolae Ceaușescu (albeit in an alternate Romanization of the first name) and Vlad the Impaler; And at least one of these has very strong connections to vampirism.
  • In the Hood: The Monk wears an executioner's hood as part of his costume.
  • Hollywood Voodoo: The Bronze Age version of the character was turned into a vampire by a voodoo curse rather than any of the traditional methods of becoming a vampire.
  • Killed Off for Real: The original Golden Age version of the character was famously killed by Batman shooting him with a silver bullet as he slept in his coffin and never returned.
  • Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: The Golden Age comic portrays him as an undeniably supernatural being. The Mad Monk retelling, on the other hand, plays it for deliberate ambiguity, leaving it open as to whether he's the entirely human leader of a blood cult who pretends to be a vampire as part of his image, or a true vampire. Batman thinks he's the former, but there's just enough wiggle room for him to be the latter.
  • Our Vampires Are Different: Although he's more reminiscent of a werewolf than a vampire in some respects, and is heavily associated with them. His Golden Age version is particularly werewolf-like, being killed by a Silver Bullet. (At the time, the idea of vampires and werewolves as separate or even rivalling entities hadn't really taken hold, being somewhat Newer Than They Think.)
    • The Bronze Age version of the character was turned into a vampire by a voodoo curse rather than any of the traditional methods of becoming a vampire.
  • The Power of Blood: The explanation for his coming to Gotham in Batman and the Mad Monk. Apparently the bloodlines in his native lands are all too thin and weak for him now, so he's in Gotham to find stronger veins.
  • Really 700 Years Old: His exact age is never stated but a mural depicting his exploits over the centuries implies he's at least as old as Ra's al Ghul and possibly even older.
  • Red and Black and Evil All Over: He's even got a skull and crossbones on his mask for anyone who's still not convinced.
  • 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.
  • Siblings in Crime: When Gerry Conway introduced the Earth-One version of the Monk, he made the Monk's henchwoman Dala his sister.
  • Starter Villain: He's canonically one of the earliest supervillains Batman ever fought, predating both the Joker and Catwoman.
  • Undeathly Pallor: He's deathly pale under that hood of his.
  • Vampire Hickey: Gives one to Julie Madison so Batman can realize who the mysterious "Niccolai Tepes" is.
  • Vampires Are Rich: He usurps the fortune of a Gotham dilettante traveling in Europe to establish himself stateside.
  • Vampires Sleep in Coffins: In both his original appearance and the 2006 retelling.
  • Weakened by the Light: Strongly implied since he never leaves his castle lair.

    Mr. Bloom 

Mr. Bloom

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/627ed1b1_e9c9_4ba7_8a7e_d12bc91e8d88.jpeg

First Appearance: Batman (Vol 2) #43 (October 2015)

"This city is about to die. Happy Tuesday!"

Mr. Bloom is a plant-like abomination that deals with high-tech seeds throughout the city. He antagonizes Jim Gordon during Gordon's brief stint as a police-sponsored Batman.


  • Arch-Enemy: Bloom is the Big Bad of the Superheavy arc and therefore, as Commissioner Maggie Sawyer says, Jim Gordon's very first supervillain in his Batman identity.
  • Arc Villain: For the Superheavy storyline.
  • Arms Dealer: Mr. Bloom is a superpower dealer, with each of his seeds giving its recipient a superpower when connected to their bloodstream.
  • The Blank: Bloom's mask completely covers his features, giving the impression of a blank face with a flower growing out of it.
  • Creepy Long Fingers: When using his powers, Bloom's fingers become unnaturally long and pointed; enough that he can impale his victims with their tips.
  • Faux Affably Evil: Bloom comes across as polite even while he murders everyone in the room.
  • From Nobody to Nightmare: Whoever Mr Bloom was originally, he was found in a pauper's grave. His creator isn't even sure which of the corpses he experimented on is the one where it worked.
  • Humanoid Abomination: Formerly a normal human, Mr. Bloom is now a skeletal monstrosity capable of elongating his extremities to become deadly weapons. In the climax, he becomes even more inhuman, an enormous creature with many rootlike tentacles growing out of his body.
  • Lean and Mean: Rail thin, dressed all in black and absolutely monstrous.
  • Legacy Character: He turns out to be the second Mr Bloom, having taken the identity from the Reluctant Mad Scientist who created him, who intended to be a hero under that name.
  • Lovecraftian Superpower: Mr. Bloom has quasi-Rubber Man powers that are portrayed in this way, with his extremities becoming elongates to the point where he can impale victims with his fingers.
  • Malevolent Masked Men: Wears a blank white mask with a flower symbol emblazoned on it.
  • Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: As is usual in the Batman mythos: he's a plant-like drug dealing monster!
  • Playing with Fire: Bloom's superpower-granting seed gives him the ability to shoot fire from his hand.
  • Required Secondary Powers: He's very difficult to kill and can heal most wounds.
  • Rubber Man: Mr. Bloom can extend his extremities to great lengths, impaling victims with his elongated fingers; this isn't portrayed as him being "rubbery" as in traditional uses of the superpower, but rather like him extending his bones under the skin.
  • Shock and Awe: In addition to his elongation powers, Bloom's body can produce lethal amounts of electricity thanks to his electromagnetic seeds.
  • Sizeshifter: When using his powers, Bloom can become large enough to pin Gordon to the ground with his oversized foot, and (in the climax of the arc) become a gigantic monstrosity as tall as a building.
  • The Social Darwinist: In his climactic Motive Rant, Bloom says that he sees Gotham as a garden, where nature has been tamed into submission, and that his motivation for selling superpowers is to turn Gotham from a garden into a "wild, bloody meadow", with everyone out for themselves.

    Mr. Freeze 

    Mr. Toxic 

Mr. Toxic

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

Alter Ego: Hugh Marder

First Appearance: Detective Comics (Vol 2) #6, (April 2012)

" For killing thousands? Hundreds of thousands? You won't. I will take full responsibility for any collateral damage that may result from my actions. I need to be repaired at any cost!"

Mister Toxic appeared as a low level criminal at the Iceberg Casino, but later turned out to be an unstable clone of Hugh Marder, the CEO of Mecha-North Corp., a recent acquisition of Wayne Enterprises, requiring his special suit to keep himself alive.


    Mr. Whisper 

Mr. Whisper

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

Alter Ego: Manfred Wicker

First Appearance: Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #6 (April 1990)

"As you can see, I've gone to some trouble to prepare a suitably elaborate death for you. I trust you'll appreciate my efforts."

Mr. Whisper is an unkillable sociopath that appears in "Batman Gothic". He is a fallen monk that made a deal with Lucifer for 300 years of immortality.


  • The Ageless: Did not age after making his Deal with the Devil, despite being alive for more than 300 years.
  • Deal with the Devil: His origin story. He tries to weasel out of the deal by arranging a ritual to purge himself of sin, but fails. When he tries for one last victim to offer to Lucifer to extend the deal, it turns out she's the fallen angel himself.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: He is on the receiving end of this when agroup of mobsters bands together to stop his murders of children. Lucifer also finds him disgusting.
  • Evil Teacher: He was the headmaster of a school that Bruce attended as a child. He used this position as an opportunity to murder children.
  • Faith–Heel Turn: He was once a pious monk who was tempted into depravity.
  • Faux Affably Evil: While he acts like a polite scholar, he is really a sociopath who has murdered countless people.
  • Hypocrite: The instant Lucifer swings by to collect his due, this guy falls to his knees and begs God for help. Lucifer mocks him for this.
  • Hate Sink: He murders children, ran rape camps in monasteries, planned on killing Bruce as a child, and is so vile that even mobsters banded together to stop him. With almost no redeeming traits to be seen, Whisper is so evil that compared to him, Joe Chill of all people comes across as a Saint.
  • Mugging the Monster: The pretty Damsel in Distress he tries to kill at the end turns out to be Lucifer, out for his blood.
  • Pride: Explicitly referred to as his fatal flaw.
  • Roaring Rampage of Revenge: He kills the mobsters that tried to kill him twenty years ago.
  • Villains Want Mercy: When he finally fails and Lucifer comes to collect his soul, Wicker immediately starts praying for Christ to come save him, a lowly act even Lucifer finds disgusting.
  • Wicked Cultured: He has a tendency to quote the works of romantic poets before killing someone.
  • Would Hurt a Child: He murders children to preserve his life.

    The Network 

The Network

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/network_01_1.jpg

First Appearance: Batman: Family #1 (December 2002)

"I want to know everything there is to know about the Batman. We cannot let him interfere with our work again."
Athena

A mysterious organization of experienced criminals that came to Gotham shortly after Bruce Wayne was brought back into Wayne Enterprises after the murder frame-up by Lex Luthor. Their M.O. is to infiltrate local companies across the country that are responsible for being the breadbasket for their native towns and cities before plundering them for everything they're worth and leaving the citizens and employees to rot. They were the main antagonists of the eight-issue mini-series Batman: Family (2002). Led by Athena, they consist of Bugg, Doctor Excess, Freeway, Mister Fun, Suicide King, The Technician, and The Tracker.


  • Affably Evil: Freeway and Mister Fun seem like decent fellows to chit-chat with, but they absolutely will kill you if they think it will further their goals.
  • Ax-Crazy: Mister Fun is kind, considerate, and completely, horribly homicidal.
  • Consummate Professional: What separates them from most of the villains that plague Gotham's streets. While individually its members may flirt with noticeable quirks, as a whole the Network is a frighteningly competent organization, dedicated solely to completing its chosen objectives with little interests in causing chaos for its own sake and only engaging in theatrics when it benefits them. In fact, they are ultimately done in by the Bat-Family by getting sloppy and indulging in their own eccentric desires.
  • Evil Is Hammy: Suicide King mentions how he's enjoying his role as a super-assassin, for which the other members chastise him for his unprofessionalism. It's revealed that the members create new identities for each operation and discard them after they served their purpose. Colorful personas are nothing more than a means to an end.
  • He Knows Too Much: Despite treating the Technician like a brother, they ultimately silence him when he is apprehended by the Bats.
  • It's Personal: Athena ultimately drops the ball in her scheme by attempting to satisfy a grudge she possessed with one of the major Gotham crime families, the Rossettis. It's what finally gives Batman enough time to stop her plot after a series of humiliating setbacks.
  • Mysterious Past: While Athena's origin is greatly explored, the history of the rest of the Network members remain murky beyond select bits and pieces.
  • No-Nonsense Nemesis: These aren't Gotham's brand of crazies. No gimmicks. No speeches. No theatre. If they want you dead, you're already buried.
  • Psycho for Hire: The Network infiltrate Gotham's Underworld by advertising themselves as hitmen and fixers for hire, deliberately hiding their association with one another.
  • Torture Technician: Doctor Excess knows plenty of ways to hurt people. All For Science!, of course.
  • Villain Decay: After their defeat at the hands of Batman, the Network more or less dissolved with no leadership holding them together. They drifted and ultimately became nothing more than leg-breakers and throat-slitters for Gotham's various bosses and villains come the War Games.

    Night Scourge 

The Night Scourge

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1570965_nightscourge02.png

Alter Ego: Maxwell Cort

First Appearance: Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #11 (September 1990)

"Time to clean up the streets, babe… and you’re the filth!"

Max Cort was a Sergeant in the Gotham City Police Department during Bruce Wayne’s first year fighting crime as Batman. Though Cort was honest, he had a zealous hatred of vigilantes, which led to the newly elected mayor appointing him second-in-command of a special police task force assigned to hunt down and capture Batman. Suspecting (rightfully so) that Captain Gordon was sabotaging the task force’s efforts, Cort turned to his team's civilian consultant, Professor Hugo Strange, for help. But Strange had a sinister agenda of his own, using hypnosis to slowly destroy Cort’s sanity and transform him into a ruthless killing machine dubbed the Night Scourge.


  • Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Naïve enough to think he can singlehandedly defeat Batman and Catwoman.
  • Became Their Own Antithesis: A zealous but otherwise honest cop is brainwashed into becoming an Ax-Crazy Vigilante Man.
  • Brainwashed and Crazy: Cort had a hatred of Batman's vigilantism and, through manipulations of Hugo Strange, was made second-in-command of the GCPD's anti-vigilante taskforce under the command of then-Captain James Gordon. Strange proceeded to drive Cort insane through hypnosis, resulting in him acting as the brutal vigilante "Night Scourge" as part of an attempt to destroy Batman.
  • Cowboy Cop: Max Cort was a sergeant in the Gotham City Police Department. When Mayor Wilson Klass commanded then Captain James Gordon to man a task force to catch the Batman, Gordon appointed Cort as second in command, which he all to eagerly accepted. Max Cort held a grudge of sorts against the Batman; he was jealous and felt that Batman was "stealing" the criminals of Gotham from him and the other cops.
  • Deconstructed Character Archetype: In the late 80s, your standard Hollywood action heroes tended to be Cowboy Cops, Military Mavericks, or Mighty Whitey American Ninjas (sometimes a combination of the three). Doug Moench created Cort to show how unhinged these archetypes would most likely be if played realistically.
  • The Dragon: To Professor Strange in Prey. Strange hypnotized Cort into becoming a lethal vigilante.
  • Katanas Are Just Better: Wields twin katanas for close-quarter combat.
  • McNinja: Wields katanas and shuriken.
  • The Resenter: Believed that Batman was “stealing” the criminals of Gotham from the police.
  • Small Name, Big Ego: Was manipulated into believing that he could be "better" than Batman, but ultimately Batman always defeated him in a straight fight and his only advantage was the unexpected element of his katanas, which Batman soon managed to compensate for.
  • Spikes of Villainy: Had them on his shoulder pads, gauntlets, and boots.
  • Suicide by Cop: Chooses to die this way rather than face arrest.
  • Would Hit a Girl: Tries to kill Catwoman.

    Night-Slayer 

Night-Slayer

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

Alter Ego: Anton Knight

First Appearance: Detective Comics #529 (August, 1983)

"Go on, Batman—hit me if you think I can be hurt! But know this—ghosts feel nothing! And even if my heart were still alive—the hate it holds—is far more than enough to send you straight to Hell!"

When crime lord Charles Knight died, his son Anton returned to the family home and met Natalia (also known as Nocturna), Charles Knight's adopted daughter. Anton and Natalia fell in love. When their inheritance money ran out, Anton began his career as the Thief of the Night. When Anton saw Nocturna with another criminal partner, Sturges Hellstrom, he believed they were lovers. Knight killed Hellstrom and confessed to Nocturna what he had done for her out of love. Horrified, Nocturna rejected him. Anton tried to kill himself, but stopped at the last second. He was still drawn to Nocturna. He then saw her with another man, one she really did love: the Batman. Calling himself Night-Slayer, Anton tried to kill the Batman.

For the New 52 version of this character, see Batwoman.

  • Blind and the Beast: After being shot by Nocturna and escaping through the sewers, Knight was nursed back to health by a blind girl who believed he was the Batman.
  • Costume Copycat: Knight once exchanged his costume with that of an amnesiac Batman. In this disguise Knight carried out a crime wave, turning the press and the police against the real Batman.
  • Love Makes You Crazy: After seeing Nocturna is Batman's arms, all of Night-Slayer's actions have been directed towards killing Nocturna and Batman.
  • Ninja: An expert martial artist who dresses in a featureless black costume.
  • Not Blood Siblings: Had a romantic relationship with his step-sister Natalia.
  • Psycho Knife Nut: Completely unhinged, and prefers committing his murders with a knife.
  • Thoroughly Mistaken Identity: Knight was nursed back to health by a blind girl who believed he was the Batman.

    Nobody I 

Nobody

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

Alter Ego: Morgan Ducard

First Appearance: Batman & Robin (Vol 2) #1 (November 2011)

"Bruce may have been looking to learn all he could from the best in the world, but he was searching for a surrogate father just the same."

Morgan Ducard is the son of Henri Ducard, one of Bruce Wayne's trainers from when he was learning the skills to be Batman. Morgan is an assassin, like his father, and took great pride in his skills. He would form a bitter rivalry with Bruce during Bruce's training. Years later, he tracked down Bruce and was determined to "steal" his son, Damian, away from him and convert him into a killer. Using a cloaking device to compliment his already impressive skill set, he is an unrelenting foe with an undying personal grudge against Bruce.

He's also later revealed to have had a daughter, Maya Ducard, who he trained in his family's ways. She accompanied him on his missions and had equipment similar to his.


  • Badass Normal: He can beat Bruce, so yeah.
  • Evil Mentor: He tries to be this to Damian, encouraging his natural killer tendencies.
  • Hoist by Their Own Petard: Damian defeats him by employing a nerve technique that Morgan taught him.
  • Information Broker: Beyond his regular assassination jobs, he's also an information broker for DC's assassins, with clients including Deathstroke.
  • Invisibility: His only real gadget, which he uses well.
  • Killed Off for Real: Killed by Damian using the technique Morgan taught him.
  • The Rival: How he sees his relationship with Bruce.
  • "Well Done, Son" Guy: Resented his father for thinking of Bruce as the better of his students.
  • Would Hurt a Child: Oh yeah, he has no qualms beating the crap out of Damian.

    Nocturna 

Nocturna

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

Alter Ego: Natalia Knight

First Appearance: Detective Comics #529 (August, 1983)

" If the night is made for dreams, you see, I prefer to experience them awake."

Natalia Knight had a hard childhood. She grew up on the streets as a beggar. She was eventually found and taken in by Charles Knight, who adopted her and provided her with a life of luxury. She has a passion for astronomy and the night and eventually found a job at Gotham City Observatory. While working there one night, she became victim to a radioactive laser, which drained her skin of all pigment. It also rendered her sensitive to light. After Charles Knight was murdered, she discovered that her lifestyle was funded by criminal activity. It was then that she met Charles' son, Anton Knight, who fell in love with her. They both decided to keep the inheritance and took it upon themselves to keep them in their accustomed lifestyle through burglary, since Natalia needed expensive medical equipment to treat her hypopigmentation. Natalia and Anton entered a life of crime together, he as the Thief of Night, and she as Nocturna, Mistress of the Night. Their burglary soon brought them into conflict with Batman.

For the New 52 version of this character, see Batwoman.

  • Arsenal Attire: Her jewelry is a vast array of weaponry, from explosive beads to shuriken-like bangles. She has a belt made of crescents, each razor sharp on the underside, that can be used to flay a foe.
  • Bunny-Ears Lawyer: She may be completely off her rocker in Order of the World, but she is still lucid enough to check the skull the Ten-Eyed Man's ritual found and note that the backstory he described is basically impossible.
  • Cosmic Motifs: Very devoted to the Night.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: A rough childhood until her adoption, growing up alone in the streets of ‘’Gotham’’.
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Her father, her love for Bruce and later for her adoptive son.
  • Evil Genius: A professional astrologer and the brains behind many plans.
  • Freak Lab Accident: As she studied the properties of stellar light in a vacuum, Natalia became exposed to laser radiation. The exposure had an adverse effect on Natasha. The radiation leached her skin of pigmentation leaving her with a chalky white physique and making her sensitive to light.
  • High-Heel–Face Turn: Fell in love with Batman and briefly became his crime-fighting partner.
  • Makeup Weapon: Nocturna carries a compact filled with knockout powder.
  • Mama Bear: Legally adopted Jason Todd, initially as part of an attempt to win Bruce - but she would come to genuinely love him as a son, invested in his wellbeing and once immediately entering into a brawl with Cat-Woman for striking him. For his part, Jason would later admit to her being a mom to him as well.
  • May Contain Evil: Natasha started manufacturing a perfume/narcotic that she could then sell and make millions.
  • Mirror Character. In childhood at least. Grew up having to take care of herself in the Gotham streets, until she was taken in and adopted by a very rich man - who later turned out to operate outside the law. Compare and contrast to the childhood of Jason.
  • Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: Has chalk white skin, jet black hair and is considered very beautiful.
  • Not Blood Siblings: Had a romantic relationship with her step-brother Anton.
  • Secret-Keeper: Nocturna assisted Batman against the Night-Slayer, almost killing him and at that moment, she realized she was attracted to the Dark Knight as much as he was attracted to her. During their brief romantic encounter, Nocturna revealed that she knew about Batman's secret identity, but she promised to keep the secret as long as she could become his partner and adoptive mother of Jason Todd.
  • Stepford Suburbia: In Order of the World, she and Doctor Phosphorus escape the containment area of Arkham and decide to live as normal a life as they can... ignoring one of them is a walking radiation hazard and the other is insane enough not to see it as any obstacle to living in a heavily populated area. Because after all, normal people live among normal people.
  • Tautological Templar: In Order of the World, she and Phosphorus are mad to the point that they think that by behaving as normal suburbanites they will be treated as such. Normally not an issue, but Phosphorus' radiation presents a significant complication.
  • Tragic Villain: Has a suicidal sort of despair at one point against Anton, only saved by someone else interfering. When she is later ambiguously fatally wounded, it is with a sad tone that Jason puts her into her balloon, in the hope that she escapes the police and is okay. We never know if she is.
  • Unconventional Vehicle Chase: Her common form of transport is a hot air balloon.
  • The Vamp: Uses her allure and sexuality as a weapon.
  • Whip Sword: She has a belt made of crescents, each razor sharp on the underside, that can be used to flay a foe.

    Obeah Man 

Obeah Man

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

Alter Ego: Makenson Innocente

First Appearance: Detective Comics #618 (July, 1990)

"Land your plane, M. Goossens. You see, I know your name. I know your house. I know your barber. I know what you believe!

The Obeah Man was a mighty Haitian criminal and alleged black magician ("obeah" is a voodoo word meaning, approximately, "black magic") who kidnapped the parents of Tim Drake and demanded a ransom from Drake Industries for the couple's safe return.


  • Blade Enthusiast: Obeah Man never uses a firearm, but relies on a sacrificial dagger which he wields with great experience and utilizes in slitting the throats of his victims.
  • Cult: The Obeah Man is the leader of a voodoo cult.
  • Evil Sorcerer: The Obeah Man is a voodoo expert and black magician.
  • Hollywood Voodoo: The Obeah Man is a voodoo expert and black magician.
  • Human Sacrifice: Even though Drake Industries paid the ransom in cash, the Obeah Man was still bent on killing Jack and Janet Drake, offering them as sacrifices to the spirits of Baron Samedi and Papa Legba.
  • Manipulative Bastard: The Obeah Man is an expert manipulator.
  • Master of Illusion: Can create magically generated illusions.
  • Master Poisoner: Uses a variety of voodoo based poisons.

    The Orca 

The Orca

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

Alter Ego: Grace Balin

First Appearance: Batman #579 (July 2000)

"How touching. I'll try to demonstrate the same level of concern as I grind your vertebrae with my bare hands."

Dr. Grace Balin was a dedicated marine biologist and humanitarian until a tragic accident drove her down a path of self-destruction in the quest to heal herself. She managed to cure her affliction, but at the cost of becoming a monstrous anthropomorphic orca hybrid who resorted to a life of crime.

As the Orca, she started her career in villainy as an intended hero to the people, a vigilante against corrupt businesswoman Camille Baden-Smythe and the abuse of the dockworkers under her employ, as well as to stop Camille from her hostile take-over of her aquarium. She didn't quite think things through, leading to Grace being fatally shot by Camille and having to be saved by Batman injecting her with more of her own serum, fully transforming the new vigilante into monstrous hybrid and costing her humanity.


  • Alternate Company Equivalent: As an altruistic but crippled scientist who transforms herself into a Beast Man and is Throwing Off the Disability doing it, she's essentially Curt Connors in drag.
  • Benevolent Boss: She had her own small gang of Mooks, each of whom was fiercely loyal to her because she'd helped them when they were down and out through her work with the homeless.
  • Cosmic Retcon: Her half-eaten corpse was found in the sewers halfway through Face the Face… and then come Nightwing (Rebirth), she's alive and well, possibly because of Flashpoint resetting and retconning much of the continuity.
  • Devious Dolphins: A human-orca hybrid and a criminal, though she's not completely unsympathetic.
  • Didn't Think This Through: Her first major appearance in a nutshell. She wanted to help the people being abused by Camille, and ended up nearly getting killed because she underestimated the millionaire's ruthlessness.
  • Gone Horribly Wrong: Her plans to help people and her serum's mutations on her body.
  • Half-Human Hybrid: Due to self-experimentation with killer whale spinal tissue and a serum she made. It actually progressed since her first appearance, going from a metahuman in a orca-themed costume to this, with a killer whale's head, hide, and teeth.
  • Happily Married: She seemed to be be in a good marriage before her Pre-Flashpoint demise.
  • I Am a Monster: A major difference between her physically more-monstrous self in Nightwing (Rebirth) and her still somewhat-human self in the original continuity. The whale-headed Grace is more self-conscious and mentally human. She left the Runaways, a group of former Batman villains that moved to Bludhaven, because she felt ashamed of her current state.
  • Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Prior to becoming Orca, Dr. Balin was a saint to rival Mother Teresa, and even after getting her rubbery black makeover her crimes are still motivated by altruism.
  • Irony: During Gotham City Monsters, she teams up with Killer Croc to stop Melmoth, the same Croc who partially ate her corpse in a previous timeline.
  • Jekyll & Hyde: Averted. Unlike many comic book villains of her type, Orca has no Superpowered Evil Side, nor do her animal instincts drive her to any kind of Face–Monster Turn. Ironically, this is something of a weakness for her, as several times she finds herself in situations where having some animal ferocity on her side could have helped her, but mentally she's the same combat rookie she was as Grace Balin.
  • Lesser of Two Evils: In her debut appearance. She was definitely breaking the law, but she doesn't even come close to the evil quotient of her nemesis, Rich Bitch Camille Baden-Smythe.
  • Magic Pants: Averted, and the aversion is actually a plot point. Batman finds her destroyed pants in her marina and assumes Orca got her; later Alfred analyzes them and finds that they could have only ripped the way they did by bursting apart.
  • Outliving One's Offspring: Her nephew Jonah ends up dying because of Melmoth's spell during Gotham City Monsters. She, Lady Clay and Red Phantom are seen visiting his tomb at the end of the mini-series.
  • Out of Focus: The set-up was there for her to be a reoccurring villain, but she's only held minor roles since her debut.
  • Rogues' Gallery Transplant: She has yet to face Batman in the Post-Rebirth continuity, and is instead took a place in Bludhaven against Nightwing.
  • Selective Obliviousness: When she tries to criticise Batman essentially working for the corrupt rich such as Camille Baden-Smythe, she insists that what she did was "right" even when it led to the deaths of her henchmen because she won't accept Batman's protests that he's just defending their rights even if he doesn't approve of their actions and insists that he's willing to get the people she stole from sentenced as well.
  • Shapeshifter Mode Lock: At the end of her debut appearance Batman had to give her an overdose of her transformation serum to save her life. It worked, but at the cost of permanently trapping her in her Orca form.
  • Technically Naked Shapeshifter: Unlike the Lizard, Orca goes completely in the buff.
  • Unscaled Merfolk: She's a humanoid killer whale.
  • Unskilled, but Strong: She's got strength to rival Killer Croc and maybe even Bane but she's a complete newbie to combat situations and supervillainy in general.

    The Outsider 

The Outsider

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_outsider_6.jpg

Alter Ego: Alfred Pennyworth

First Appearance: Detective Comics #334 (December 1964)

"Your peril is only beginning, Batman! It will end— when I take away your most prized possession— your very life!"

The Outsider a villainous alter-ego of Alfred Pennyworth. Originally he appeared in the Silver Age of comics as a monstrous alternate personality for the mainstream Alfred.

In Pre-Crisis, Alfred once sacrificed his own life to save Batman and Robin from a trap set by criminals. In his honour they created the "Alfred Foundation" Charity. Following this event a physician named Brandon Crawford found Alfred's body and attempted to revive him with an experimental radiation treatment. The treatment successfully revived the butler caused him to have a white, stone-like body and to be driven by a single minded hatred for those who killed him; Batman and Robin. Eventually Batman found out that the Outsider was Alfred and funded for him to be cured, after which Alfred had no memories of his crimes and took up his old duties in Wayne Manor. After this, from time to time Alfred would relapse into his old Outsider personality and appearance.


  • Driving Up a Wall: In Detective Comics #340, the Outsider uses his Reality Warper powers to seize control of the Batmobile and use it in an attempt to kill Batman. One of his stunts is to cause it to drive straight up the wall of a skyscraper.
  • Jekyll & Hyde: Heroic Alfred Pennyworth becomes the villainous Outsider.
  • Mind over Matter: Possesses powerful telekinetic abilities.
  • Reality Warper: The Outsider could reshape and control matter according to his whim.
  • Superpowered Evil Side: The Outsider possesses Reality Warper powers that Alfred, needless to say, does not.
  • Super-Toughness: He could easily withstand Batman's punches.

    Owlman (Alternate Universe) 

Owlman

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

Alter Ego: Thomas Wayne Jr.

First Appearance: Justice League of America #29 (August 1964)

"This Syndicate has become weak, myopic and bitter. A bunch of bored aliens and freaks, looking down on the only human in the room while you play the best game we humans ever created: Crime."

Batman's evil counterpart from an alternate universe. He is almost as dangerous as the Joker and as skilled as Batman. He is a member of the Crime Syndicate, a team of super-villains paralleling the Justice League. See their page.


    Owlman (Court of Owls) 

Owlman

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/batman_11_variant_cover_andy_clarke_owlman.jpg

Alter Ego: "Lincoln March"/Thomas Wayne Jr.

First Appearance: Batman (Vol 2) #1

"You wanted to know if the Court had anything to do with our parents' deaths, Bruce. the answer is no. They didn't. That was all your fault, brother. An I'm going to make you pay. So finish cutting through that net. And lets have this out once and for all...For the City of Gotham. Wayne to Wayne."

"Lincoln March" is the on-again off-again leader of the Court of Owls and one of Batman's most dangerous enemies. His enhanced biology and power armor give him an advantage every time he gets into a fight with Batman. He also knows Bats' secret identity and believes himself to be his younger brother, Thomas Wayne, Jr. To date, this has not been proven or denied.

Owlman has a crazy fixation on Bruce, wants to be the one to take Batman down and just might be a great deal of trouble for Bruce, the Bat Family and Gotham City. Unlike previous version of Owlman he is from the same universe as Batman (in this case, Prime Earth).


  • Ambiguously Related: He believes himself to Bruce Wayne's brother, but this has yet to be proven or disproven.
  • And I Must Scream: At the end of Batman Eternal, the Court find him and lock him up in a tomb, suggesting they might let him back out eventually. In about fifty years or so. They ultimately let him out a lot earlier, in time for Robin War.
  • Anti-Villain: In the odd let-Gotham-burn way.
  • Ax-Crazy: He's a raving lunatic, especially when fighting.
  • The Determinator: "Lincoln" has taken some truly amazing punishment, but his hatred for Bruce will always push him forward.
  • The Dragon/The Starscream: He acts as the Dragon to the Court of Owls, worming his way into Gotham's political system. However, he's got plans of his own, and soon leads them.
  • Dropped a Bridge on Him: He's killed by Raptor in Nightwing (Rebirth) in its debut issue.
  • Empowered Badass Normal: He's badass on his own, but he's got an amazing Healing Factor as well.
  • Evil Counterpart: While the owl motif is pure coincidence, according to him he's a Wayne who never got over his parents' deaths. But instead of using this drive to help people, he uses it to kill and conspire.
  • Freudian Excuse: Born with a birth defect, shunned by society and only visited by his mother, his parents dying and nobody knowing he's a Wayne, his inheritance given to a brother he never knew and being used as a weapon by the Court of Owls. Well, maybe.
  • Healing Factor: He can basically recover from most mortal wounds, so long as cold isn't involved anyway.
  • The Man Behind the Man: In Batman: Eternal. The overall plan may be Cluemaster's, but it's Lincoln giving him the means to carry it all out. When Cluemaster decides to try and kill Batman, Lincoln intervenes.
  • The Resenter: Very obviously resents Bruce for being the Wayne who inherited everything while he was stuck in a children's home.
  • Tyke-Bomb: "March" was trained by the Court of Owls since early childhood.
  • Unreliable Narrator: His speech to Batman about his history as Bruce Wayne's brother sounds at least possible, but Bruce can come up with alternative explanations for all of the 'evidence' Lincoln uses to justify his belief that he is Thomas Wayne Jr., although Bruce admits that there's no way to be sure about what's true or not without a DNA test.
  • White Mask of Doom: He sports the mask of the Court of Owls, but in his Owl Suit, he also has glowing yellow eyes, adding to the effect.

    Pagan 

Pagan

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

Alter Ego: Marian Mercer

First Appearance: Batman #479 (June 1992)

"My name is Pagan. And your kind can show me nothing at all."

When her 17-year-old sister Sondra committed suicide shortly after being assaulted by a pair of men, Marian Mercer vowed revenge on the men involved and the patriarchal society that left them unpunished. Taking the name Pagan, she trained her self to physical perfection and practiced martial arts. She began prowling the streets of Gotham City during the night time, fighting all kinds of crime, but specializing in hunting down - and often slaughtering - sexual predators. Pagan's bloodthirsty actions have made her clash with the Batman on a number of occasions, although she shaped up, and he did eventually grow to respect her abilities.


  • Alliterative Name: Marian Mercer
  • Amazonian Beauty: Marian Mercer is a gorgeous woman, at once very curvaceous and well-muscled – with strong shoulders and a fine waist. She is a good enough enough martial artist to go one on one against Batman, and is not above using her beauty to lure her targets into a trap.
  • Blood Knight: Lives to inflict punishment upon men.
  • Does Not Like Men: Pagan views her mission as protecting the women of Gotham from men. All the criminals she takes down are men.
  • Driven to Suicide: Her sister Sondra committed suicide after being raped. This is what drove Marian to become a vigilante.
  • Mistaken for Prostitute: The sort of person she hunts will often assume from her costume that she’s a prostitute.
  • Rape and Revenge: Became a vigilante after her sister was Driven to Suicide after being raped. The first men she attacked, and nearly killed, were the perpetrators of her sister's rape.
  • Show Some Leg: Uses her revealing costume to distract the men she targets.
  • Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Anytime Batman and Pagan are forced to work together.
  • Vigilante Man: While Batman is not opposed to Pagan's mission, he is opposed to the brutal methods she uses.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: Batman acknowledges that her goals are noble, but her methods less so.
  • Wife-Basher Basher: Specifically targets men abusing women, beating them up to teach them a lesson.

    Peacekeeper - 01 

Peacekeeper - 01

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/peacekeeper_01.jpg

Alter Ego:Sean Mahoney

First Appearance: Future State: The Next Batman #1 (March 2021)

"When I was a kid I didn't have to worry about being firebombed by a loser in a clown mask. You did that. You opened the door to all of this. The people of Gotham City deserve some peace. They deserve some order. They deserve better than you."

A major authoritarian villain who debuted in DC Future State, Sean Mahoney aspired from an early age to continue his family's lineage in law enforcement as an officer of the Gotham City Police Department. But after his old man was busted for taking bribes, Commissioner Gordon turned down Sean's applications and stonewalled any of his attempts to join the force. Feeling embittered, Sean became a Night Guard in Arkham Asylum where he took out his frustrations on the patients, earning him a reputation among Arkham's staff as an insecure sadist.

After the events of The Joker War, Sean was one of the few survivors of the terrorist attack on Arkham Asylum where he was crippled while trying to evacuate two nurses who were trapped inside the building. Hailed as a hero by Mayor Christopher Nakano for his valor and self-sacrifice, Sean was recruited by corporate mogul Simon Saint to be the first official operative of his Magistrate Program, a privatized law enforcement initiative designed to combat Gotham City's rampant supervillain community where the GCPD couldn't. Rechristened as Peacekeeper-01, Sean now strives to eliminate Batman and his allies to establish Saint's vision of order in Gotham.


  • Abusive Parents: His father was an abusive Dirty Cop who once took Sean to witness him and another cop beat up a GCPD whistleblower (and ended up killing him) and later beat Sean for not being able to fight back when Mad Hatter mind-controlled him into committing a robbery during a school field trip. When Sean was crippled during the Arkham Asylum explosion, he pointedly refused to take care of him due to the cost to his business and even berated him for "running back in there for a bunch of criminals and deviants".
  • Calling the Old Man Out: While it doesn't make him a better person, he calls out his abusive father for never taking responsibility for his actions and blaming all his hardships on someone else.
  • Cyborg: Courtesy of Saint Industries, Sean has been enhanced with cutting edge cybernetics that significantly increases his strength and durability.
  • The Dog Bites Back: Tired of Scarecrow and Saint manipulating him, he shoots Crane in the back while he's ranting to Batman and Molly, proclaiming he's going to usurp Saint and make The Magistrate his own.
  • Evil Redhead: Has red hair and is a brute who wants to impose his own vision of Gotham.
  • Hypocrite: Sean lambasts Batman as an impotent crimefighter who's continued presence in Gotham is the direct cause for the chaos and suffering plaguing the city via it's costumed criminal element. He also calls Batman out on allying himself with those very same criminals like Catwoman and Harley Quinn, who have directly contributed to the city's growing pains. And Sean does this, all while he himself is actively working with Simon Saint to terrorize the city. He even helped Saint bomb City Hall!
  • Irony: Despite his hatred for the "masks", Sean himself wears a mask and even embraces the identity as Peacekeeper-01, all while being far more destructive than any of the vigilantes he preaches against.
  • Malevolent Masked Men: He's an ultra-authoritarian brute who wears a ballistic mask that makes him come off as more menacing than the costumed criminals he's supposed to be apprehending on behalf of the law.
  • Mighty Glacier: While he's nowhere near as agile as Batman, Sean has the Dark Knight beat on brute force. In fact, the Peacekeeper spends most of their first confrontation throwing Bruce around like a ragdoll while tanking direct hits from him like it's nothing.
  • The Starscream: Tired of Saint and Crane using him as a pawn, he shoots Crane in the back and proclaims he's going to kill Saint and take The Magistrate for himself.
  • Unwitting Pawn: When Scarecrow doses him on Fear Toxin and drives him into madness, he becomes the threat within the system that Scarecrow wants to truly throw Gotham into fear, initiating his Fear State.
  • Utopia Justifies the Means: Unsurprisingly given his Knight Templar tendencies, Peacekeeper-01 is a firm believer in this. It doesn't matter if he's committing false flag operations, spreading disinformation, or engaging in Police Brutality, Sean Mahoney will do whatever he deems necessary to bring true order to Gotham.
  • Villain with Good Publicity: Since most of his personal files were destroyed during the A-Day Incident, the Saint Industries PR Team has fabricated a new backstory for him that's been deliberately designed to appeal to the general public.

    The Penguin 

    The Penny Plunderer 

Penny Plunderer

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/303041_133626_penny_plunderer.jpg

Alter Ego: Joseph Coyne

First Appearance: World's Finest #30 (September 1947)

" When I get out, I'll get back at coppers and pennies! I'll fight coppers— with pennies! Every job I pull will involve pennies! My crime symbol will be pennies!"

As a lowly newspaper salesman, Joe Coyne was often caught stealing pennies from the office. After getting fired and botching a heist, he became a coin-obsessed criminal. His main claim to fame is being the original owner of the enormous penny often seen as a trophy in the Batcave (though later retellings would claim it belonged to Two-Face).


  • Badass in a Nice Suit: His costume is simply a green pinstripe suit.
  • Butt-Monkey: In his rare Modern Age cameo appearances, he seems to suffer nothing but misfortune. He's been seemingly killed off by Two-Face, then last seen still rotting on death row in jail.
  • Death by Irony:
    • The end of his debut has Coyne improvise a plan to ambush Batman by telling his henchmen he would lure him into close-quarters and then phone them so they could gang up on the vigilant by surprise. However, he notices that he doesn't have any nickels to pay for the dial of the pay phone in the room he locked himself in, only pennies. This means that, when Batman and Robin crashed in, he couldn't call his crooks and was arrested, being sentenced to death for murder.
    • In his second appearance, he is smashed to death by the giant coin he just tried to use as a cover from Batman.
  • Disproportionate Retribution: As a testament to the baffling legal system in the DC Universe, he was actually given the death penalty after his arrest in his debut story, even though his crimes were relatively inoffensive and bigger baddies in Gotham have gotten away with far worse. Poor sod can't catch a break.
    • His crimes did include murdering one of his henchmen who tried to betray him.
  • Flat Character: Even by obscure Golden Age Bat-Rogue standards, his character and motivations are pitifully weak. Is it any wonder he's been effectively retconned out of Batman's Rogues Gallery?
  • Improbable Weapon User: He famously tried to kill Batman and Robin by rolling gigantic pennies over them. At least one was kept as a souvenir by Batman, 'cause why not. He also used sacks of coins to punch Batman, and even managed to knock him out.
  • Meaningful Name: Joe Coyne, penny-themed petty thief.
  • Rare Money: In his first appearance, Coyne traps Batman and Robin in a Death Trap. As he leaves he contemptuously flings two pennies at Batman as "coins for the eyes of a dead man". One was a normal copper penny and the other was a zinc-coated steel penny issued during WWII to save copper. This combination allows Batman to make a makeshift battery that he uses to escape the Death Trap. (It Makes Sense in Context).
  • Retcon: Gallingly, his only claim to fame, being the maker of the giant coin exhibited in the Batcave, was taken away from him and given to Two-Face. For an added dose of irony, Two-Face: Year One saw Joe fall victim to Dent's giant coin as collateral damage!
  • You Have Failed Me: He shoots one of his henchman for having been captured by the police as a warning.

    Pierrot Lunaire 

Pierrot Lunaire

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

Alter Ego: Unknown

First Appearance: Batman #676 (June, 2008)

The supercriminal called Pierrot Lunaire is a French criminal and foe of the Musketeer. When the Club of Heroes reunited, Lunaire's name was throw around as a possible member of the Club of Villains. When the actual Club of Villains was put together by Dr. Hurt, Lunaire was one of the members.


  • Combat Parkour: An expert martial artist, Lunaire uses astonishing acrobatics while fighting Robin atop his motorcycle.
  • Elective Mute: Owing to the tradition of Mimes, he never speaks.
  • Enemy Mime: A criminal who dresses as the Commedia dell'arte character Pierrot. Owing to the tradition of Mimes, he never speaks.
  • The Speechless: Owing to the tradition of Mimes, he never speaks.
  • Villainous Harlequin: A criminal who dresses as the Commedia dell'arte character Pierrot.

    Pix 

Pix

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pix02.png

Alter Ego: Ariadne Pinxit

First Appearance: Batman: Gotham Knights #34 (December 2002)

"I was a blank canvas before you dragged me into that alley...But now I'm filled."

Ariadne Pinxit was an avant-garde artist who used nanobots in paints to program them to form what she wanted. After being beaten and raped by a gang of street thugs, Pinxit disguised herself as a tattoo shop worker, designing lethal tattoos that she brings to "life" via computer in order to kill all the gang members. After being stopped by Batman, Pinxit injected a vast dose of nanite ink into her skull, giving her the ability to create creatures and weapons to combat him: the weapons and creatures forming as tattoos on her skin before coming to life.


  • Animated Tattoo: Thanks to nanite ink in her skull, she has the ability to create creatures and weapons which manifest as tattoos on her skin before coming to life.
  • Art Attacker: Uses nanobot-infused ink to create Animated Tattoos to attack her foes. She originally used this ink to kill her targets by tattooing a design on them, and then activating the tattoo. For example, a gang banger who had a sword tattooed on his chest suddenly found himself with a very real sword sticking through his chest.
  • Nanomachines: Gains her powers from an overdose of nanobot-infused ink.
  • Rape and Revenge: Pix turned to crime to extract revenge on the street gang who beat and raped her.
  • Stephen Ulysses Perhero: 'Pix' is a shortening of her actual surname Pinxit.
  • Tattooed Crook: Acquired tattoos all over her body as part of her cover when she became a tattoo artist to hunt down her attackers. Now uses her Animated Tattoos as weapons.

    Poison Ivy 

    Planet Master 

Planet Master

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/16543590048528524837438972538116.jpg

Alter Ego: Irving Norbet (I), Edward Burke (II)

First Appearance: Detective Comics #296 (October 1961)

"Faster than a speeding bullet, Superman...But not faster than I expected! Having trouble? Hard to fly against the gravity of Jupiter. Must've been like hitting a wall."

Irving Norbet was a mild mannered scientist who was exposed to the gases of a meteor and gained a Mr. Hyde-type second personality. This personality became the criminal known as Planet Master and he created costumes and weapons based on the planets of the solar system. As Planet Master, he managed to outwit Batman and Robin, but once the gas wore off, he forgot about his misadventures.

Edward Burke was a laboratory assistant to Irving Norbet, the first Planet Master. When he learned that Norbet suffered from a temporary personality disorder, Burke tried to use the Planet Master equipment created by Norbet for his personal gain, but he was promptly stopped by Batman and Robin.


  • Alternate Identity Amnesia: Irving Norbet had no memories of the crimes he committed as Planet-Master.
  • Clothes Make the Superman: Planet Master has eight costumes, each with a different capability which resembled one of the planets in the Solar System.
  • Costume Copycat: Burke used Norbert's costumes to commit crimes, intending for Norbet to take the fall for them.
  • Hired Guns: The second Planet Master served as field leader for Strike Force Kobra.
  • Legacy Character: After Irving Norbet was cured of his criminal split personality, his assistant Edward Burke took the costumes and moniker of Planet Master for himself.
  • Spell My Name With An S: The original Planet-Master hyphenated his name. The second Planet Master did not.
  • Split Personality: Exposure to the gases of a meteor turned mild-mannered scientist Irving Norbet into the criminal Planet Master. After the effects of the gas wore off, he forgot everything about his misadventures.

    Polka Dot Man 

Polka Dot Man/Mr. Polka Dot

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/polka_dot_man_2.jpg

Alter Ego: Abner Krill

First Appearance: Detective Comics #300 (February 1962)

"But look at me—I went toe-to-toe with the Batman. That's who I am."

Abner Krill launched a crime wave based on spots and dots in Gotham City, where he inevitably came into conflict with Gotham guardians, Batman and Robin. His suit is covered in spots that can be peeled off and turned into different objects to be used for a variety of purposes. The dots enlarge and transform into dangerous weapons or even bizarre vehicles, such as flying saucers.


  • Batter Up!: During a brief period when he abandoned his gadgets, Krill took to using a baseball bat as a weapon.
  • Blinded by the Light: His weapons include blinding flare dots.
  • Connect the Deaths: In his first appearance, his crimes mark out a stick figure on the map. Batman deduces that the next crime will be at the point that marks the head.
  • Deadly Disc: The dots on his costume include buzzsaw dots which transform into flying buzzsaw blades when removed from his costume.
  • Depending on the Writer: Krill is either an eccentric genius or a delusional lunatic.
  • Expanding Thrown Weapon: His suit is covered in spots that can be peeled off and turned into different objects to be used for a variety of purposes. The dots enlarge and transform into dangerous weapons, like spinning buzzsaws, or even bizarre vehicles, such as flying saucers.
  • Flying Saucer: Uses a miniature flying saucer as transport.
  • Idiosyncrazy: Commits crimes based on spots and dots.
  • Symbol Motif Clothing: Wears a costume covered in polka dots.
  • Teleportation: Some of his dots are teleportation devices.
  • Undignified Death: Died in Final Crisis Aftermath: Run! #4 by having a manhole cover fall on his head from the sky, crushing his head down to his shoulders.
  • Where Does He Get All Those Wonderful Toys?: It is never explained where Krill gets his gadgetry from. If he invented it, it becomes a serious case of Cut Lex Luthor a Check, as the miniaturization technology is completely revolutionary and would be worth a fortune to almost every sector of industry, but he uses it to rob map companies.

    Professor Milo 

Professor Achilles Milo

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

First Appearance: Detective Comics #247 (September 1957)

"You don't need-need your gall bladder, do you? Because, I could really use the space."

Professor Achilles Milo was renowned chemist who turned to the dark side and embarked upon a life of crime. A genius in the field of biochemistry, his schemes usually involved exposing Batman to some kind of gas or drug. Later in his career, he specialized in creating superpowers in others. Post-Flashpoint, he reappeared as the chemistry teacher at Gotham Academy.


  • Butt-Monkey: Normally, being part of Batman's rogue gallery grants you Joker Immunity, but not for Professor Milo, who has the dubious distinction of having been Killed Off for Real not once, but twice in truly gruesome deaths in two different animated series:
  • Chemically-Induced Insanity: Milo's schemes have included subjecting Batman to a drug that made him afraid of anything bat-shaped, and gassing Batman with a compound that made him lose his will to live.
  • Clandestine Chemist: Often hires out his chemical expertise to other members of the rogues gallery.
  • Clean Food, Poisoned Fork: When he was director of Arkham Asylum, Milo served a cup of tea to a disguised Batman. Although Batman did not drink it, it turned out Milo had coated the cup handle with a contact poison.
  • Evil Teacher: A supervillain who works a chemistry teacher at Gotham Academy.
  • Evilutionary Biologist: In later appearances, Milo was shown with an interest in imbuing people with animal attributes. He was responsible for transforming athlete Anthony Lupus into a werewolf.
  • Go Among Mad People: In Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, Milo has recovered from the temporary insanity caused by his gas (see Hoist by His Own Petard below), but cannot convince anyone that he is sane.
  • Good Scars, Evil Scars: Following a near fatal attack by a werewolf he created, Milo was usually depicted with a wicked set of parallel scars from the werewolf's claws down one cheek.
  • Hoist by His Own Petard: In one story, Milo became director of Arkham Asylum. He attempted to drive Batman insane with small doses of a gas that induced temporary insanity. He was defeated when he was attacked the inmates of the asylum, who cracked his breathing mask and exposed him to a massive dose of his gas; driving him mad.
  • Long Bus Trip: Milo made two appearances in 1957, and then did not appear again until 1974, when he became a semi-regular member of Batman's rogues gallery.
  • Mad Doctor: Although originally a chemist, Milo knows enough medicine to be employed as General Immortus' personal physician. He is also an accomplished enough surgeon to operate on Immortus' underlings and tamper with their pain receptors.
  • Mad Scientist: A mad chemist to be precise. In recent years, Milo has been a regular presence at any gathering of The DCU's mad scientists.
  • Master Poisoner: Milo's expertise in chemistry has allowed him to develop toxins for a wide range of effects. These have included a dust that caused Batman to develop a fear of bats, and a gas that drove him into a suicidal depression.
  • Obfuscating Disability: In 52, Milo appeared to have had his legs cut off and be confined to a wheelchair. however, this was ruse on his part and he was actually using the wheelchair to conceal the Silver Wheel of Nyorlath.
  • Playing with Syringes: It is a rare story where Milo is not shown threatening someone with a hypodermic.
  • Psychic-Assisted Suicide: One of Milo's early schemes involved exposing Batman to gas that drove him into a suicidal depression.
  • Psycho Psychologist: For a time, Milo was director of Arkham Asylum, although it is never explained how he obtained this position.
  • Scars are Forever: Milo was badly clawed when he lost control of the werewolf Anthony Lupus. Almost all subsequent appearances have given him prominent scars on his cheek from the attack.
  • Super-Empowering: Milo often creates superpowered minions for other criminals, such as General Immortus.
  • Torture Technician: Milo's knowledge of chemistry and medicine make him a highly effective torturer. While working for General Immortus, he developed techniques that allowed him to remotely manipulate the pain receptors of Immortus' underlings.
  • Trademark Favorite Food: Depending on the Writer, Milo has been shown as being very partial to tea.

    Professor Pyg 

Professor Pyg

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/professor_pyg_prime_earth_004.jpg

Alter Ego: Lazlo Valentin

First Appearance: Batman & Robin #1 (August 2009)

"Terror, decay, dollies and the smell of searing flesh make the most joyous combination, wouldn't you say? It's why I've dedicated my whole life to this art..."

A psychotic surgeon/artist who dresses in a pig mask, a former low-level crime boss driven completely insane by overuse of hard narcotics. In pursuit of "art", he physically and mentally mutilates victims with power tools and chemicals to create zombie-slaves he calls his "Dollotrons".


  • Ax-Crazy: Physically and mentally disfiguring innocent people to turn them into mindless husks should speak for itself.
  • Breakout Villain: Introduced as just another of the unique rogues done to represent Dick's stint with the cowl in Grant Morrison's run. His delightfully unsettling and nightmarish demeanor however would promote him to a recurring villain for the Batfamily.
  • Circus of Fear: Pyg is the leader of the Circus of Strange, a criminal circus troupe whose members all resemble sideshow freaks, including a grossly overweight bearded lady in a tutu and a human flame act who can burn others but not himself.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: An extremely horrifying case of this. Unlike the other Rogues in Gotham, Pyg is one of the few who seems to be genuinely insane rather than merely quirky.
  • Combat Sadomasochist: After being taken down by Damian, Pyg asks to be hit. Damian doesn't give him the satisfaction.
  • Depending on the Writer: How lucid he is and how word salad he talks varies from writer. Of course, from an in-universe perspective, it's possible that it just depends on how much drugs he's had access to recently.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: His first appearance in Batman #666 was in Damian's future as the new Batman. Pyg had already been killed when he first appeared, and his first appearance was without the surgical outfit or pig mask, but in a checkered suit like a college professor.
  • The Faceless: During his debut stories in Batman (Grant Morrison), his face was always obscured by either the pig mask or shadownote . Later appearances would avert this.
  • Fat Bastard: In keeping with the pig theme, he is quite overweight, sometimes seeming even obese.
  • From Nobody to Nightmare: He was originally a low level crime boss before he got into hard narcotics and went nuts.
  • Genre Refugee: He far more resembles the villain of a Slasher Movie or Torture Porn than he does a typical Batman villain. One character even name-drops the latter genre when reacting to him.
  • Gratuitous Disco Sequence: When giving Damian his supposed Motive Rant, he dances around to "sexy hot disco music" for seemingly no reason.
  • Happy Place: His idea for containing the Arkham escapees in Order of the World boils down to tricking them into their personal Happy Places. Mad Hatter is led to believe that a bunch of televisions showing static are trying to display messages from Wonderland. Doctor Double X, who is insanely paranoid of losing his soul (due to his astral form leaving him) is given a mirror, so he never separated from himself. Ten-Eyed Man is left alone in a cubbyhole so he can practice his rituals in peace. Of course, none of this actually helps his patients, but he could not care any less about that.
  • Large Ham: Pyg is very much a showman, as befits his circus background, and is given to espousing his dialogue in a most grandiloquent fashion. Bonus points for wearing a pig mask.
  • Living Doll Collector: Pyg turns people into androgynous, puppet-like servants named Dollotrons, who wear doll-like dresses and have doll-like masks fused to their faces.
  • Mad Doctor: He is an accomplished scientist and chemist who uses his skills to disfigure his victims. He also has the habit of using power tools to aid in his ghastly surgeries.
  • Mad Artist: Pyg uses surgery and chemicals to turn his victims into mind-controlled slaves with doll masks glued to their faces, all in the pursuit of "art".
    "I'm an artist! I can't be expected to work on antipsychotics!"
  • Malevolent Masked Man: He wears a horrifying pig mask and is one of the most depraved of all of Batman's rogues.
  • The Mentally Disturbed: While it is common to say that most Batman villains are insane, and most are thrown into Arkham Asylum, Professor Pyg is designed to be completely, genuinely unhinged and disturbed, jumping from topic to topic, being a dark Cloudcuckoolander, and engaging in random behavior such as Word-Salad Horror with little rhyme or reason. As such, he could very easily genuinely qualify for an insanity defense.
  • Mind Rape: His specialty. He brainwashes his victims into being mindlessly compliant Dollotrons.
  • Mommy Issues: He has these, if his drug-based rants are anything to go by.
  • Motive Rant: He ostensibly starts to give one to Damian, about a boy going to a dance with pig's trotters for feet, but it doesn't really seem to connect with anything and soon just devolves into nonsensical rambling
  • Mythology Gag: At one point, he rides in a parade float, intending to infect the citizens of Gotham with a mind-altering gas, just like the Joker in Batman (1989).
  • Nightmare Face: In Damian: Son of Batman, Pyg's face has been surgically altered to actually look like a pig's complete with Black Eyes of Evil. He actually looked like that way back in Batman #666, but it wasn't as frightening or apparent as in the aforementioned miniseries, which is set in the years leading to up to the Bad Future shown in #666.
  • Number of the Beast: The issue wherein he first appeared was Batman #666.
  • Our Zombies Are Different: The Dollotrons, Professor Pyg's mutilated victims, are zombie-like mind-controlled creatures that are obedient to the Professor. They wear doll-like dresses and have doll-like masks that cannot be removed surgically (or rather, can only be removed surgically, and there's not enough face left underneath them to make the effort worthwhile). Their creation is implied to involve brain surgery, genital mutilation, and mind-altering drugs.
  • Pig Man: It's just a mask, but he fits the bill. However, in Damian: Son of Batman, he looks like a pig without the mask.
  • Pygmalion Plot: The basis of Professor Pyg's crimes and theme is based on a perversion of the Pygmalion play. He mutilates his victims both physically and mentally into Dollotrons based on his warped sense of belief of what a perfect human being should look like.
  • Repulsive Ringmaster: He sometimes plays the hype-man for the Circus of Strange, and talks like a ringmaster or carnival barker during some of his attacks on Gotham.
  • Sinister Swine: As his codename would suggest, he is an ominous, Ax-Crazy surgeon who regularly wears a pig mask, and even has at least some resemblance to a pig in most versions of his character.
  • Word-Salad Horror: He's a somewhat more realistic depiction of insanity than most of Batman's foes in that most of what he says is complete gibberish.
    Professor Pyg: On Mondays it's Tiamat this and Tiamat that. Tohu va Bohu and boo-hoo-hoo. On Tuesdays the Gorgon Queen comes to visit, a thousand writhing snakes for hair. That's what it's like to grow upside down in a world where a hug is a crucifixion...

    Professor Radium 

Professor Radium

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

Alter Ego: Henry Ross

First Appearance: Batman (Vol 1) #8 (January 1942)

"Bah! I'll show him what a true scientist is!...A man who is willing to experiment on himself to prove to the world he is right!"

Professor Henry Ross was a scientist who was accidentally transformed into "a human radium ray". In need of an expensive antidote, Ross used his newfound powers to commit crimes in Gotham City, anxious not to hurt anyone, but accidentally killing various people in the process. Going insane, Professor Radium found himself battling Batman and Robin. After a long chase and struggle, he is apparently killed. Ross returned some time later and he joined a subgroup of the villainous Society known as the Nuclear Legion.


  • Accidental Murder: Accidentally killed his lab assistant and his girlfriend with his radiation.
  • Amazing Technicolor Population: Ross's radium serum has turned his skin a luminous green.
  • Bald of Evil: Radium poisoning causes his hair to fall out (although he maintains his Beard of Evil).
  • Beard of Evil: Professor Radium has a goatee, which he manages to keep even after the rest of his hair falls out.
  • The Bus Came Back: After first appearing in 1942, Professor Radium next appeared in 2006.
  • Containment Clothing: Wears a containment suit to control his radioactivity.
  • Hand Blast: Can project radioactive energy from his hands.
  • Never Found the Body: At the end of his first appearance, Professor Radium falls off a bridge and is seemingly drowned, but his body is never found. Sixty-four years later, he turned up alive.
  • Professor Guinea Pig: Professor Henry Ross was a scientist that was working on a project that would give immortality through a radium serum. Convinced he had a break through, Ross experimented on himself by committing suicide and then being injected with the serum.
  • Radiation-Induced Superpowers: Professor Radium may be the earliest supervillain to gain his superpowers through radioactivity.
  • Sickly Green Glow: Professor Radium's condition causes him to glow with a sickly green light.
  • Walking Wasteland: Ross's body constantly produces lethal levels of radiation unless he suppresses it with the drug Volitell. He accidentally kills his one of his colleagues and his girlfriend.

    Punchline 

Punchline

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/7235316_punchline.jpg

Alter Ego: Alexis Kaye

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

"All of this has just been setup. Everything he's done in Gotham, all these years. Every twisted, depraved move has been in service of a grander vision. But you won't get it until you hear the punchline."

A young college student who became psychotically obsessed with the Joker after narrowly surviving a hostage crisis perpetrated by the Clown Prince of Crime. Alexis Kaye started her descent into madness by running a True Crime podcast dedicated to analyzing the Joker's supervillain career. But after producing a slew of episodes, Alexis finally snapped and began poisoning random people across Gotham in an attempt to recreate the Joker Toxin. This inevitably attracted her idol's attention, who decided to take the insane fangirl under his wing as his replacement for Harley Quinn.


  • All There in the Manual: Punchline's creator James Tynion IV revealed her last name was "Kaye" in an IGN interview before it was officially confirmed within a series.
  • Alternate Company Equivalent: On a meta-level, Punchline serves the same role as Carnage: an irredeemable villain meant to replace an extremely popular villain whom the company has changed to being more of an anti-hero to capitalize on their runaway success.
  • Anarchy Is Chaos: This mixed with Bomb Throwing Anarchist. She just wants to burn civilization down and tap-dance on the cinders and thinks the Joker wants the same, with only his obsession with Batman holding him back. Unfortunately for Punchline, she doesn't know that the only one who truly knows what motivates the Joker is the Joker and she's just projecting her values onto him.
  • Arch-Enemy: She has earned Harper Row's total animosity for corrupting her brother Cullen with her anarchic ideas, and Punchline is more than happy to become Bluebird's nemesis.
  • Ax-Crazy: She may be more restrained, but you cannot be a willing associate of the Joker without being homicidally insane yourself.
  • Bad Influencer: She's a true crime podcaster who ended up becoming a genuine supervillain fangirl for the Joker as well as using her following on social media to amass IRL minions as well as to spread the Joker's Straw Nihilist ideology.
  • Clandestine Chemist: Alexis boasts a disturbing affinity for chemistry, which led to her reverse engineering and improving upon the lethality of the Joker Toxin formula through simple trial and error. In her solo series Punchline: The Gotham Game, she also created a new designer drug called "XO", which is intentionally synthesized from raw untraceable materials that can't be outlawed due to their universal use in everyday items like diapers and sealants for shipping crates.
  • Crocodile Tears: Even the Joker can tell her video apology and how she was only a victim during the aftermath of Joker War is pure manipulation to elicit sympathy and to spread the message of chaos and anarchy. Indeed, during the events of her one-shot, many people seem to believe that Alexis is innocent because she's a victimized girl.
  • Curb-Stomp Battle: On the receiving end, making the mistake of pissing off Orca, who proceeds to slam her against a mirror, drop on top of her when she climbs on her back and knocks her out using a bathroom sink.
  • Dark Action Girl: Has proven to be more than a match for other female crime-fighters.
  • Design Preservation Villain: She takes Harley's role as the Joker's obsessed female Sidekick after Harley defected from him.
  • The Dragon: To the Joker.
  • Females Are More Innocent: Exploited and Deconstructed. She was able to pass herself off as a manipulated victim of the Joker because she was an attractive young woman, which led to her getting a reduced sentence and walking free as an unrepentant monster to walk free.
  • Foil: Deliberately made one for Harley Quinn. Whereas Harley is blonde whose hair is in pigtails, Punchline is dark-haired and has a ponytail, she fights using knives rather than a mallet and prefers deadpan humor to Joker's and Harley's more wacky humor. And apparently, Joker genuinely likes her unlike how he treated Harley. To make the parallels more clearer, she heard the tapes of Joker's sessions from Mad Love.
    • Additionally, both of them have contrasting views of the Joker. Harley believed on some level she could sort of "redeem" Joker or at the least pictured that they would be together when they finished off Batman. Punchline meanwhile believes that killing Batman would allow Joker to fully cause chaos and destruction. Both ladies project (or Harley used to anyway) their own views onto the Joker: For Harley, being the butt of jokes and pushed to madness by tragedy. For Punchline, an anarchist who sees society as a joke and wishes to tear it down.
  • From Nobody to Nightmare: She was just a regular college student who ended up as a hostage of the Joker. This started her obsession with understanding and spreading the Joker's message until he agreed to let her become his sidekick. By the time Dark Crisis rolls around, Punchline rose to become a full-fledged member of the Legion of Doom.
  • Hartman Hips: Fairly consistent depending on who's drawing her, but she's got some huge hips. Often puts them to work when serving as The Vamp.
  • Malicious Misnaming: Harley calls her Punchy, Punch-face and other nicknames to show her dislike for her.
  • Master Poisoner: Not only she was able to make Joker Venom simply by following his instructions online, she even created her own distilled version that makes Batman hallucinate about Alfred.
  • The Mentally Disturbed: Leslie Thompkins testifies during her trial that she most likely has an undiagnosed mental illness, but that it's not enough to consider her insane and unable to face trial. The backup stories suggest that she would have been some sort of problem as she had a strange fixation against other people.
  • Merchandising the Monster: Back in college, she got in trouble for wearing a Joker t-shirt for "Dress Like Your Hero Day". Not only did the writer remember that supervillain merchandise in-universe would be like a shirt with Jeffrey Dahmer's face on it at best, the college put this day together in the first place in response to one of Joker's attacks.
  • Monster Fangirl: This is how she began, getting to know the Joker through the internet, who taught her how to make Joker Venom, which she used on the dean of her college, completing her transformation into an actual villain.
  • Most Common Superpower: More often than not, she's drawn as Harley's worthy successor in mammary size as well.
  • Ms. Fanservice: While her costume is nowhere near as Stripperiffic as Harley's, it still compliments her voluptuous figure, especially around the chest area.
  • "Not So Different" Remark: As much as she likes to call herself superior to Harley as Joker's partner, Harley herself believes Punchline is falling on the same trap she did, thinking she really understands Mr. J.
  • Psycho Knife Nut: In contrast to Harley using a mallet or a baseball bat, Punchline fights mostly using knives and is a deranged anarchist obsessed with the Joker.
  • Replacement Flat Character: Punchline fills the role of "Joker's girlfriend" now that Harley Quinn has gone from super-villain to an Anti-Hero.
  • Rogues' Gallery Transplant: During her trial, she doesn't go after any member of the Bat-Family, instead she antagonizes Leslie Thompkins and indirectly Harper Row/Bluebird.
  • Secondary Color Nemesis: Much like the Joker, Punchline prefers to dress in purple with some green highlights.
  • Sexy Jester: Like her predecessor, she's clown/jester-themed and is just as easy on the eyes.
  • Small Role, Big Impact: Punchline's kidnapping and Cold-Blooded Torture of Lucius Fox broke the man so throughouly that he became a paranoid wreck so desperate to protect his family and the people of Gotham that he sided with Simon Saint. This provided the Magistrate with Fox's cutting-edge technology, which would act as a major catalyst for both the Bad Future of Future State and the canonical events of Fear State. Punchline's actions also indirectly contributed to both Jace Fox becoming the next Batman and the radicalization of Harper Row's brother Cullen.
  • Straw Nihilist: She's a violent and homicidal anarchist that hates society and only wants to sow chaos and destruction.
  • Superior Successor: She believes herself this compared to Harley Quinn as she believes the Joker genuinely loves her compared to Harley's misguided feelings. Harley thinks otherwise as she knows the only thing Joker cares about more than anything else is Batman.
  • The Vamp: Punchline knows exactly how attractive she is and is more than willing to exploit it for all its worth. Her looks are a major contributer to why she was able to amass such a devoted following that helped her get released from prison and do her dirty work as Mooks afterwards. Punchy also ends up recruiting Rex and Regina Quintain into her next big racket after selling herself to them as a somebody who could help shake things up in their bedroom.
  • Viler New Villain: While Harley was never that vile of a villain to begin with, she still started out as the Joker's girl and committed a lot of crimes with him. But over the years, as Harley received more character development, she's softened up into more of an Anti-Hero. By contrast, Punchline has come to fill the same niche as Harley once did, being the Joker's henchgirl but this time she isn't shown to have many redeeming qualities, doesn't want to "change" the Joker like Harley did, and truly believes in the Joker's ideology of chaos and destruction.
  • Villainous Breakdown: In Punchline: The Gotham Game #4, it turns out that Black Mask and his associates, including Tiger Shark and the Ventriloquist, had taken advantage of her attack on Catwoman and her turf to invade Punchline's own turf to take it over. When she tries to get him to join her, he declines and revealed what he did, causing her to flip out.
  • Youthful Freckles: Has them and not only indicate she's the newest partner of the Joker, but it also makes her look more innocent, which she takes full advantage of during her trial.

    Quakemaster 

Quakemaster

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ww_quakemaster1.jpg

Alter Ego: Robert Coleman

First Appearance: DC Special #28 (July 1977)

"I'll show them that none of the buildings in Gotham can withstand the destruction of an earthquake...Especially one produced by the Quakemaster!"

Robert Coleman was a Gotham City architect whose reputation was ruined when an apartment complex that he designed and built was destroyed by the hurricane. As a form of revenge, Coleman created the identity of Quakemaster and used his super-charged jackhammer to create earthquakes in the city. He was captured by Batman and, in an added irony, learned that the only buildings damaged in his rampage had been ones he had designed. Following this event, Quakemaster has appeared as a minor villain the DCU: often showing up when there is a gathering of supervillains.


  • Brought to You by the Letter "S": Has a large 'Q' on his chest and another on his belt buckle. (What appears to be a 'T' on his cowl is actually a stylized jackhammer.)
  • Butt-Monkey: Quakemaster gets no respect from his fellow supervillains.
  • Cut Lex Luthor a Check: Exactly why Coleman did not patent his super jackhammer and make a fortune is unclear.
  • Earthquake Machine: Wields a jackhammer capable of producing earthquakes.
  • Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: The only buildings damaged in his rampage had been ones he had designed.
  • Pile Bunker: Wields a specially constructed jackhammer based on his own design. It can project pulsing waves of electromagnetic energy strong enough to shatter concrete. When targeting a human victim, the Jackhammer's energy discharge is capable of smashing bone into dust.
  • Secondary Color Nemesis: His costume is primarily green and purple.

    Raptor 

Raptor

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

Alter Ego: Richard (last name unknown)

First Appearance: Nightwing: Rebirth #1 (September 2016)

"There's still hope for the Raptor-Nightwing team. You can still be the guy I know is beneath all of those added layers. You just need more mentoring. A little tough love. You have to suffer more, Dick. You need someone to take everything away from you."

A Romani thief and friend of Mary Grayson's, Raptor was exiled from his home once it was found he had leprosy. He befriended Mary Grayson and worked in Haley's Circus for a time as its clown, and has been watching Dick Grayson since he was a boy. Once Dick returns to his Nightwing role, Raptor takes a more hands-on approach in mentoring. He believes that Bruce Wayne corrupted Dick, and that he and he alone can make Dick into the hero his mother would've been proud of, and make him embrace his heritage.

Raptor utilizes Suyolak, a gauntlet which gives him whatever he needs to solve a situation. He targets the rich, and fancies himself a modern Robin Hood.


  • The Casanova: Is shown to be quite the charmer.
  • Clothes Make the Superman:
    • His gauntlet Suyolak is his best tool. It will literally give him whatever he needs to win.
    • He also very briefly wore Deathstroke's Ikon Suit, which creates a type of force field powerful enough to shrug off a punch from Superman and is powered by kinetic energy. However, because he lacks Deathstroke's enhancements, he can't power the suit as well, and he's forced to abandon it once it becomes irradiated.
  • Cool Plane: Buteo, a sort of hover-copter.
  • The Dragon: Acted as this to the Parliament of Owls, after offing Lincoln March.
  • Evil Counterpart: To Dick and Bruce. Like Dick, he's a playful acrobat, charming and likes improvising his plans. Like Bruce, he mentors Dick, works in the shadows and uses fear as his weapon, and utilizes very long-term plans. He even compares himself to Batman. Oh, he also hates rich people and is willing to kill.
  • Evil Mentor: Played this role to Dick at first. He tried to make Dick come into his own, outside of Batman, but did so by having Dick make more and more morally questionable decisions.
  • Expy: He's Midnighter if he focused exclusively on the 1%. He's a violent partner to Dick Grayson, is a darker type of Batman, and has something that allows him to very easily win fights.
  • Feel No Pain: Because of his leprosy, he has dead nerve endings and can't feel pain.
  • Good Scars, Evil Scars: He has leprosy, and has scarred hands to prove it.
  • Just Like Robin Hood: He and Mary were this in their younger days, and he still partakes in these types of activities sometimes.
  • Older Than They Look: He's drawn like a man in his thirties, but he has to be at least in his mid-forties.
  • Secret Secret-Keeper: He's known that Bruce Wayne is Batman and Dick is Robin/Nightwing/Batman for a long time (and later discovered that Barbara Gordon is Batgirl), but he hasn't told anyone. He's not averse to threatening to, however, once they find out he does know. Eventually, Spyral removes the knowledge from his mind.
  • Yellow Eyes of Sneakiness: They're gold, but yeah.

    Ra's al Ghul 

    Ratcatcher 

Ratcatcher

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/5696644_1671724917_ratca.jpg

Alter Ego: Otis Flannegan

First Appearance: Detective Comics #585 (April 1988)

"If I've learned anything from my little friends it's about survival. A rat will do anything to survive...anything to be...FREE!"

An extremist former exterminator, Otis Flannegan is atoning for his past sins against the rats by attempting to lead them into a bright future as Earth's new dominant species, with him as their king.


  • Absurdly Spacious Sewer: Where Ratcatcher is usually based.
  • Animal Espionage: Uses his trained rats as spies and messengers.
  • The Atoner: He feels bad for every rat he killed as an exterminator, and plans to avenge them by using rats to take over the world, with him standing as the Rat King.
  • The Beastmaster: Commands a legion of highly trained sewer rats to do his bidding.
  • Cosmic Retcon: How he's still alive in the New 52.
  • Deadly Gas: Carries cyanide gas grenades.
  • Gas Mask, Longcoat: Given he lives in Gotham's Absurdly-Spacious Sewers, this combo makes sense, but it also gives him a very creepy look.
  • The Jailer: In his first appearance, Flannegan was keeping the men he blamed for his imprisonment as captives in the sewers.
  • Killed Off for Real: One of the casualties in Infinite Crisis, and would not return until the New 52 reboot.
  • Pest Controller: Ratcatcher has the ability to control and communicate with rats.
  • Rat King: How Flannegan views himself.
  • Rodent Cellmates: While incarcerated in Blackgate Penitentiary, he his uses his furry friends to smuggle contraband and run messages throughout the prison.
  • Rogues' Gallery Transplant: He fought Nightwing in the New 52 instead of Batman, and one of his more well-known appearances was in a three-part storyline in a Catwoman comic.
  • Swarm of Rats: Certainly can use his rats this way.
  • Uncatty Resemblance: Flannegan has a distinctly rodent-like appearance, making him look a lot like his beloved rats.

    Reaper 

The Reaper

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/reaper_1.jpg

Alter Ego: Benjamin Gruener (I), Judson Caspian (II), Joseph Chilton Jr. (III), Unknown (IV)

First Appearance: Batman #237 (December 1971)

"Tell the world that the Reaper has returned… and will save this city — with its consent, or without."

Prior to Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Reaper was Dr. Benjamin Gruener, a German immigrant whose parents died in a concentration camp when he was a child. When Gruener discovered that the men responsible were not only still alive, but had managed to escape justice up to that point, he assumed the mantle of a Grim Reaper themed armoured vigilante and went on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge. His murderous methods brought him into conflict with Batman, leading to a tense fight atop a municipal dam which resulted in Gruener plummeting to his death.

Post-Crisis, his identity was changed to Judson Caspian, a wealthy Gotham City socialite whose wife was murdered by a street thief. Driven mad with grief, Caspian became a vigilante: creating an armoured costume and adopting the identity of 'the Reaper'. He stalked the streets of Gotham, targeting and summarily executing criminals: primarily juvenile delinquents. Eventually, the Reaper was driven out of Gotham by Alan Scott and Caspian moved to Europe: living many years in retirement. He eventually returned to Gotham City: his return coinciding with Batman's first year fighting crime. The two vigilantes clash, ending in Caspian's death.

The third man to take up the mantle of the Reaper was Joe Chilton, Jr.; the son of Joe Chill, the man who murdered Bruce Wayne's parents. Chilton witnessed his father's death at the hands of the Reaper, and became obsessed with obtaining vengeance against Batman. With the help of his sister, he adopts the Reaper in a plot to drive Batman insane.

The changes brought about by Zero Hour and Infinite Crisis seemingly erase Chilton from continuity, but the encounters with Gruener and Caspian still occurred, albeit in Broad Strokes. It is eventually revealed that after Gruener perished fighting Batman, his body was recovered by Mr. Freeze and placed in cryogenic suspension. Freeze ultimately gives Gruener's cryogenically preserved body to the Ministry of Science (a collaboration between Hugo Strange and the Black Mask) who resurrect him, with some upgrades, and deploy him against Batman and Robin.

Post-Flashpoint, a fourth vigilante called the Reaper has been seen as an inmate of Blackgate Prison. He was one of the criminals sprung by Bane to form an army to take back Gotham City from the inmates of Arkham Asylum who had been freed by the Crime Syndicate. It is not known what, if any, connection this Reaper has to Gruener, Caspian, or Chilton.


  • Adaptational Wimp: The early incarnations of the Reaper were tough opponents for Batman and fought him to the bitter end. Once the Reapers reappear in the Rebirth era, they don't give Batman anywhere near as tough of a fight, go down quicker, and prefer escape or suicide bombing to capture.
  • All Crimes Are Equal: Caspian would kill all criminals he encountered, regardless of what their actual crimes were.
  • Armored Villains, Unarmored Heroes: The Reaper wears a suit of boiled leather armour that was far more protective than the costume Batman wore during his first year of operation.
  • Arsenal Attire: The knees and fists of the red leather armor are tipped with spikes that add more power to blows.
  • Avenging the Villain: Chilton adopted the identity of the Reaper to take revenge against Batman for the death of his father: Joe Chill, the man who murdered Bruce Wayne's parents.
    • Post-Rebirth, we are introduced to Judson Caspian's son Julian, who seeks to avenge his father's death. Julian hasn't donned his father's costume (as of yet), but he has sent mercenaries and a Killer Robot after the Dark Knight.
  • Back from the Dead: Gruener was resurrected by Mr. Freeze and Hugo Strange.
  • Body Horror: After Gruener is resurrected, the decay that had set in before Mr. Freeze preserved him could not be reversed, so the skin on his face was essentially rotting to the bone. And it looked just as creepy as it sounds.
  • Cloak of Defense: The Reaper wears a large hooded black cloak lined with armour.
  • Continuity Snarl: It's not entirely clear whether Chilton still exists post-Zero Hour. Likewise, it is unclear if Ben Gruener still exists post-Flashpoint.
  • Disney Villain Death: Gruener and Caspian both died this way after being bested in battle with Batman. Caspian stayed dead, but Gruener later Came Back Wrong.
  • Domestic Abuse: Chilton's childhood was turbulent, as his father was abusive towards his mother. Despite this, he idolized his father.
  • Dual Wielding: All versions of the Reaper have wielded a pair of scythe-like blades.
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Chilton idolized his father and adopted the Reaper identity in order to avenge him.
  • Evil Counterpart: The Reaper is what Batman would be if he used guns and was willing to kill.
    Reaper: There are many here who need to be brought to swift and merciless justice. Children of Gotham, fear no more... for I will purge your city of the animals that seek to destroy you... those who will grind you up like rotted meat. The sadists will never be allowed to have the last laugh. This I swear to you.
  • The Grim Reaper: The Reaper costume is designed to invoke the imagery of the Grim Reaper.
  • He Who Fights Monsters: Gruener and Caspian were hit VERY hard with this.
    Reaper: You all stand between me and my crusade! For the greater good you must be sacrificed!
  • Legacy Character: Four different men have worn the Reaper armour.
  • Red and Black and Evil All Over: The Reaper costume is predominantly red and black, with a white skull mask, and is intended to make the wearer look like the Grim Reaper. Gruener wore black armour with a red cloak. Caspian inverted this color scheme, and subsequent Reapers followed suit.
  • Sinister Scythe: The Reaper wields dual scythe-like blades which contain within their hafts concealed firearms and smoke pellets.
  • Skull for a Head: The face plate on the Reaper's armour looks like a human skull.
  • Smoke Out: The Reaper's scythes have smokes pellets concealed in their hafts, allowing the Reaper to vanish in a cloud of smoke.
  • Supervillain Packing Heat: The Reaper's Sinister Scythes have guns concealed in their handles.
  • Vigilante Man: The first and third Reapers are murderous vigilantes.

    The Riddler 

    Roxy Rocket 

Roxy Rocket

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

Alter Ego: Roxanne Sutton

First Appearance: Detective Comics #822 (October 2006)

"Oooh, fast car! So, what are you after, handsome? Something you want, eh? Okay, okay! Here's something!"

Roxanne Sutton was a stunt woman in Hollywood, often acting as a stunt double for famous actresses (and sometimes actors). She eventually lost her job when she tried to make her stunts so dangerous that no company would insure her. Still hungry for thrills, she moved to Gotham City where she became stealing jewels for the Penguin. When Batman took equally great risks in attempting to capture her, Roxy believed she had found a kindred spirit who enjoyed the thrill of living dangerously as much as did and developed a crush on him. She eventually realized her crush was unrequited when Batman had her arrested.


    Rupert Thorne 

Rupert Thorne

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

First Appearance: Detective Comics #469 (May 1977)

"You think Batman is hiding somewhere in Gotham City—plotting our exposure and your impeachment? If he is, my dear Hamilton, then he must be dealt with."

Rupert Thorne is a Gotham mobster who managed to appear more than once in Batman comics pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths, making him one of Batman's few "normal" recurring foes. Thorne used his influence to try and outlaw Batman's vigilantism and got Jim Gordon temporarily fired. He also kidnapped Dr. Hugo Strange when Strange had figured out Batman's identity and beat him for the information, but Strange faked his own death, pretended to be a ghost, and haunted Thorne until Thorne confessed to his crimes and was arrested. Thorne hasn't been used much since Crisis on Infinite Earths, but is still around without anything to indicate his past stories have been erased from continuity. Gets used in adaptations when Batman needs a mafioso to fight.


  • Can't Catch Up: Poor bastard wants to run a criminal organization against the likes of The Penguin or the Joker.
  • Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: His appearance is based on Carroll O'Connor.
  • Composite Character: Often takes the role of mob boss Sal Maroni in wounding Harvey Dent in adaptations of Two-Face's origin story, such as Batman: The Animated Series, often combined with Don Falcone as the city's resident untouchable mob boss, as opposed to the city councilor with mob connections.
  • Corrupt Politician: His first appearance is as a corrupt city councilor being blackmailed into turning the city against Batman, then runs for mayor when his blackmailer is defeated. He later has the similarly corrupt Hamilton Hill installed as mayor.
  • The Don: Most depictions have him as the reigning boss of Gotham, contrasting his old school methods with Batman's other, more colorful supervillains.
  • Last of His Kind: Assuming his history is in line with Batman: Year One, then Thorne is one of the few mob bosses to hold out through Batman's purge of Gotham's criminal underworld and survive the rise of Gotham's far crazier underworld.

    Ruth Redford 

Ruth Redford

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ruth_1171959_normal.jpg

First Appearance: Batman: Curse of the White Knight #1 (September 2019)

Ruth is a villainess who makes her debut in Batman: Curse of the White Knight. She’s a Gotham City councilor who seeks to… "redirect" Batman.
  • Breaking Speech: gives a truly epic speech on why Batman has made more trouble to Gotham than good.
  • Canon Foreigner: Only has appeared in the Elseworld White Knight timeline.
  • Corrupt Corporate Executive: Works for the rich people of Gotham.
  • Evil Is Not a Toy: After Jean-Paul Valley catches and interrogates her, the following issue sees Gotham PD investigators find her charred corpse.
  • Evil Plan: As the creator of the Batman Devastation Fund, she has accumulated considerable amounts of blackmail material on Bruce Wayne, and directs him to keep fighting low-level crime, while leaving white collar criminals unmolested. When that doesn't work, she switches to hiring a replacement Batman, Jean-Paul Valley. Unfortunately, he turns to be a crazy zealot, so she has to hire Bane to kill him. That doesn't work either and ends with Bane's death and a very pissed Valley tying her up and threatening to light her like a Roman candle unless she gives him the names of her bosses.
  • Hero Killer: Works on character assassination to Batman.

Top