Sandbox / Magnificent Bastard Batman

"I must begin putting into effect my plan. My plans to restore harmony to our sad planet! I have been called criminal and genius, and I am neither! I am an artist! I have a vision of an Earth as clean and pure as a snow-swept mountain, or the desert outside!"

Batman: I know it was you. I know you framed Harvey Dent. There are many reasons. But it all began with who you are. The secret crime boss of Gotham City. You've slowly been building up to this from the moment Arkham closed its doors on you. In fact, you did such an effective job, the Penguin fled Gotham.
Warren White: I don't know what you're talking about, I'm incarcerated.
Batman: The perfect base and the perfect alibi...I can't prove you've taken over from Cobblepot. I can't prove the murders. I can't prove that from Arkham you're now running the bulk of this city's crime.
White: Then we're done here, aren't we?

— Batman: Face the Face

Batman is known as one of the smartest heroes in the DC universe, and often faces a more superstitious and cowardly lot, but even the World's Greatest Detective can be stumped by certain genius, charming rogues. And sometimes, the Dark Knight himself will tread far enough into questionable activity to be considered immoral.

This is for the comics only. Other examples for the franchise can be found elsewhere:

• Examples in their animated adaptations can be found here.
• Examples from films can be found here.
• Examples in their video game adaptations can be found here.
• Examples from Batman (1966) can be found here.
• Examples within the Arrowverse can be found here.
• Examples from Gotham can be found here.

All spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned!

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Pre-Crisis Only

Examples

• Edward Nigma, the Riddler, is one of Batman's most recurring, devilishly ingenious foes. A boy genius who loved the thrill of cheating, Nigma took on the identity of the Riddler and began plaguing Gotham with crime sprees, leaving clues for the police and Batman. Riddler regularly succeeds in his crimes after stumping the heroes with his brain teasers, and even when inevitably caught, Riddler rarely panics or throws tantrums over his defeats, instead complimenting and bantering with Batman over taking him down. Capable of dueling with Batman and Robin at the same time through his clever technological trickery, Riddler even goes so far as to publicly humiliate Batman by "reforming" and consistently fooling Batman into terrorizing him when he is completely innocent. In his greatest outing, Riddler teams up with Batman to take down the genius Creighton, and when both of them are at Creighton's mercy, Riddler outdoes his captors and risks his own life to save Batman's, having come to value his rivalry with the World's Greatest Detective and wanting nothing more than to continue their "game" for years to come.
• Waylon Jones is "Killer Croc", a scaly, freakish man who hides a devious criminal mind behind his brute strength. After a life of mockery and abuse by his peers, Croc earned a name for himself as an alligator wrestler and killer before turning to crime. He ran his own operations out of Gotham smoothly for months before temporarily teaming up with the Squid, who Croc would soon enough assassinate with ease to take over his operations. So respectful of Batman's prowess that he spares the hero's life more than once, Croc nonetheless attempts to viciously kill Batman multiple times, and nearly succeeds in every instance through both his cunning and sheer power. After sneaking into prison to kill off Gotham's current crime lord, Croc declares himself "King Croc" and presents such a threat to Batman's other villains that they team up to take him down. Even then, Croc outdoes the other villains through an alliance with Joker, and has the courage to challenge Batman to a final fistfight for the lives of his allies.
• Calendar Man was once a master magician named Julian Day, before he dedicated himself to becoming a master criminal to match, basing his crimes on holidays. Calendar Man uses powerful technology and costumes of his own design to pull off his heists, regularly outwitting and outfighting the GCPD and even Batman himself. When hired to kill Batman, Calendar Man expresses hesitance at stooping to murder, but nonetheless launches a week-long campaign against the Caped Crusader that tires and weakens him to such a point that Calendar Man nearly kills him in a final fight, Batman's life only saved by Robin's unexpected intervention. Calendar Man's Pre-Crisis incarnation is far more brilliant, charming and devious than most of his iterations, and is treated with genuine respect and menace by even Batman himself.
• Roy Reynolds, "the Getaway Genius", is a clever crook who has realized the dangers in facing down Batman and Robin, and comes to the conclusion that the simple art of robbery and getaway without conflict will lead to victory. Regularly pulling off successful robberies by training his goons to follow his precise plans, schedules and a bevy of backup schemes, the Genius drills into his men to never directly face Batman, and often uses distractions or entirely faked crimes to lure Batman away while the Genius enacts his plans. Even when forced by a fellow villain to help trap Batman, the Genius knows they haven't a chance to defeat the superhero, and simply bides his time for Batman to escape. Only ever beaten by incompetent minions or outsiders he couldn't have planned for, the Genius eventually disappears from crime forever, decades later revealed to have pulled off one last robbery of cancer treatment medications for himself so he could live long enough to raise his beloved daughter to follow in his footsteps.
• Johnny Witts specializes in anticipating Batman and Robin's future moves and having traps and gadgets prepared that rarely fail to give the heroes difficulty. During one scheme, he arranges for one of his henchmen to get caught and impersonated by Batman, while painting the words "I am Batman" on the man's clothes in fluorescent paint that will shine when Johnny pretends to expose the imposter with psychic powers. In his last appearence, he and several accomplices use gadgets to impersonate Batman and other heroes to foil a robbery alongside of the Wonder Twins and then invite them over to Batman's house in an effort to follow them and learn his secret identity. Capable of admitting his rare mistakes, Witts stands out as a particularly clever Rogues Gallery member.
• America vs. the Justice Society: Batman himself, after emerging from within Bruce's consciousness, began preparations for a conflict with Per Degaton he believed he would not live to see. After piecing together Degaton's comments with Professor Zee's 100th birthday, Batman writes a diary to be published after his death, accusing his JSA companions of collaborating with the Nazis and having them arrested for treason. By going into deep detail in his journal, Batman ensures the JSA tells the stories he wants them to, continuously bringing up Degaton's name so his former ward Dick Grayson puts the pieces together himself. When the JSA follows him and sees Zee accuse Degaton of his murder, Degaton commits suicide on the spot, fulfilling Batman's mission from beyond the grave.
• Detective Comics:
  • Val Kaliban, The Pre-Crisis Spook, spends over a decade making preparations to break well-off criminals out of custody, including by helping to build the city's prisons to learn their weaknesses. He fakes his own death in the electric chair after killing a witness, and builds underground bases with hidden secret entrances throughout the city. As the hooded Spook, he uses decoy dummies, holograms, hypnosis, suction boots, an electrified cape, gas capsules and other devices to misdirect, avoid, and repel his enemies. He gives his clients homing beacons to set off whenever they’re captured, then breaks them out and leaves behind taunting dummies of himself. Anticipating that one client may be recaptured and that Batman will impersonate him, he plants a second homing beacon in the man's shoes so he can Spot the Imposter when breaking him out a second time. He steals the Batmobile to rescue two more of his clients who are handcuffed in the back seat. He doesn't let his guard down even when he thinks that he's killed Batman in traps. The only cell he can't escape from is one that he designed, he avoids execution by being sent to Arkham, and he still escapes from there at least once.
  • Issue #168: Professor Ralph Vern is a well-traveled scientist who has spent years dreaming of committing the perfect crime. To learn from the mistakes of other criminals, he spends years studying their methods and exposing them with laboratory sleuthing, to the point where he is accepted into a society of detectives that includes Batman and Commissioner Gordon. Vern steals a valuable gem, replaces it with a copy, and leaves a message revealing the theft, daring his fellow detectives to solve it, and admitting that he is one of them. He pretends to aid the investigation and switches the stolen gem with the copy again, hiding it in plain sight. Even after being exposed, he shows no bitterness in defeat and points out that since the gem is back with its original owner, it will be difficult if not impossible to convict him of stealing it.
  • Issues #334 & #35 (Grasshopper is the Collective Identity of the twin brothers who are hired to steal from Batman. They use their double-jointed limbs and Twin Switch gambits to act like there is only one Grasshopper who can leap superhuman distances, luring the Caped Crusaders away from the Batmobile and then stealing it. Then they rob Batman during a charity auction, hiding inside of podiums and chandeliers, and kidnap Robin. They let Batman figure out their Twin Switch and follow one of them back to their hideout, where they have Robin tied up in a Grasshopper costume to make Batman think Robin is free and in control of the situation while they try to shoot Batman. While they never reappear, except in one cameo appearance, they remain brilliant and audacious rogues.
  • Issue #360: "Gunshy" Barton is a small-time criminal in Gotham who, after being arrested by Batman, began developing a code of abbreviated words to use in his robberies so his enemies couldn’t understand him. Released early for good behavior, Barton quickly formed a gang and, using his new code, pulled off several successful robberies. When Batman and Robin encountered his gang, a combination of the code and special gadgets he used, allowed Barton to knock out the Dynamic Duo and leave them to die. When the heroes escaped and drowned out Barton’s orders with noisemakers, Barton revealed that his hideout was outfitted with glowing letters on the walls and dangerous traps he used against the duo. When the traps were disabled Barton tried to use a cream puff gun to write out his orders.

Post-Crisis (May Also Include Pre-Crisis)

Recurring

• Selina Kyle was once a simple street orphan who built herself into the charming, wealthy, brilliant cat burglar Catwoman, who pulls off daring heists as much for kicks as for money. Constantly matching wits with Batman and forming a lasting mutual attraction, Selina also proves to be one of the most intelligent individuals in Gotham, even outwitting Bane to betray him to Azrael and frequently using others for her schemes. Also defined by her love for those close to her, Selina even brought down and killed Roman Sionis when he targeted her loved ones.
• Ra's al Ghul is Batman's most powerful foe, and the only one to be his intellectual peer. Having lived for centuries, Ra's and the secret societies he controls have accumulated wealth to rival nations, and can purchase influence accordingly. Never short on hidden bases and armies of henchmen, Ra's has brought Gotham City to its knees, and has even challenged the Justice League of America, incorporating Batman's own failsafes into his plot to destroy the JLA. A master planner who pays attention to every little detail, Ra's exemplifies the fact that time is less meaningful when you can afford to wait—and Ra's can afford to wait a long, long time.
• Talia al Ghul comes into her own following her father's death, becoming one of the few to ever pull one over on Lex Luthor, exposing his crimes to the public and transferring his assets way. Talia later takes over the League of Assassins and upon Batman's death, she purges the remnants of the Black Glove, revealing she has installed a device within her own son to allow herself to control him when needed. After Bruce Wayne's reemergence, Talia masterminds 'Leviathan' to wage war against him, bringing Gotham to the brink of destruction, even resulting in Damian's death and Bruce's near demise as well, with Talia being one of the few to ever push him to the brink, showing herself as truly her father's daughter.
• Bane appears to be a hulking brute, but is in reality far craftier than he appears. In his first appearance in the Knightfall storyline, Bane achieved fame by psychologically manipulating Batman to drive him to the mental and physical brink before revealing Bane had deduced his secret identity. Ambushing Batman, Bane snapped his back over Bane's knee and proceeded to reign over Gotham until his defeat. Since then, Bane has been acknowledged by even Ra's al Ghul as one of the few men worthy to succeed him and has learned from every defeat to rise stronger than before. As a member of the Secret Six, Bane displays a deep affection for his surrogate daughter Scandal Savage—treating her better than her real father ever did—and shows a deep sense of honor and loyalty to his team until the end when realizing his potential again, Bane manipulates them into one grand battle and defeat to shed all attachments and emerge stronger than before. Of all Batman's foes, only Bane has the distinction of being the man who once broke the bat himself.
• Great White Shark, aka Warren White, was once a scummy embezzler defined by smugness and cowardice, but after a few weeks in Arkham subjected to torment and mutilation from fellow prisoners, White became a real threat. Stumbling upon an Arkham besieged by demons from Hell, White immediately fought back ghostly figures and deviously manipulated the demons into promising him a high position in Hell upon death while simultaneously dooming them all to be one another's torturers. White slowly but surely became a powerful crime boss of Gotham from the comfort of his Arkham cell, using hired guns and machinations to drive Penguin out of the city, frame Two-Face for slayings of rivals, and getting Batman himself to unwittingly do White's dirty work. Priding himself on being the "only shark in Gotham", White was one of the less prominent crime lords Batman faced, but nonetheless one of the most clever.

Others

• Detective Comics: Issues #575-578: Judson Caspian is "the Reaper", a vigilante whose mere presence drove crime down to miniscule levels 20 years ago, and who has returned in the present to finish his work. Killing his way through the criminal element of Gotham and even weeding out corrupt cops, the Reaper uses his unique gadgets and tactical expertise to distract entire gangs from him picking them off one by one. The Reaper orchestrates a massive war between the corrupt cops of Gotham and a massive mob force, and after taking out most of his targets—including the infamous Joe Chill—the Reaper gives Batman an intense fight before allowing himself to die in a blaze of glory, proclaiming that Batman will be suitable heir to his legacy of fighting crime while urging the hero to embrace his darkness.
• Detective Comics #687-688, and Blackgate: Cap'n Fear is a boisterous, genuine pirate who plagues the waters of Gotham. Fear robs various yachts and cruise ships, relieving the wealthy patrons of their belongings before damaging the ships so they can't pursue Fear in time to stop his escape. Keeping his disgruntled crew in line, Fear faces down Batman himself and defeats the hero when Batman underestimates him, Fear then tying him to a buoy so expertly that Batman can't escape without assistance and nearly dies after hours of exposure. Knocked into shark-infested waters after nearly killing Batman and Robin both, Fear escapes the sharks and returns later, hired to rescue Cluemaster and other inmates from Blackgate. As soon as the plan begins falling apart, however, Fear simply takes the money from Cluemaster and flees, boasting that Cluemaster should never have trusted a pirate as Fear disappears with the loot, never to be seen again.
• Gotham City Sirens and Streets of Gotham: Sherman Fine, known to Gotham's criminal community as "the Broker," is a well-dressed, affable real estate agent who deals specifically in supplying hideouts to supervillains. Dealing with the worst of the worst Gotham has to offer with tact and creativity, the Broker pleases all of his clients and knows exactly what they need, knowing there will always be a market for villains seeking lairs and preying on that to make himself fortunes. Staring down and threatening any villains who try to renege on payment and willing to take beatings from Batman himself, the Broker has standards against the villains he deals with, but nonetheless views his operations as strictly business.

Other continuities

Examples

• Batman/Elmer Fudd Special ("Pway for Me" & "Rabbit Season"), by Kelley Jones & Lee Weeks: Silver St. Cloud, in this darker reimagining of Looney Tunes, was the former lover of both Bruce Wayne and later Elmer Fudd, but upon discovering the violent double lives the men are living, Silver decides she wants no part of it. She hires a lowlife named Bugs to fake her death in order to get away from Elmer, while leaving instructions for Bugs to tell Elmer that Bruce Wayne hired the assassination. This leads Elmer Fudd to attempt assassination on Bruce Wayne, pitting the two men against each other. When they discover they have been played, both seek out Bugs, before Silver reveals she is still alive and explains the truth before departing.
• Batman: Last Knight on Earth: Omega is in reality the original Bruce Wayne, having managed to survive most of humanity's turn to evil through sheer force of will. Embittered and deciding to use more extreme measures to save humanity from itself, Bruce reinvents himself as the conqueror Omega, defeating and slaying Darkseid and any hero or villain that stood in his way, in the process gaining control over the Anti-Life Equation and using it to rule over Gotham and the rest of the United States' eastern seaboard; planning to extend the Equation's signal worldwide using a captive Martian Manhunter. Knowing that he would soon die due to old age and his injuries, Omega orders the creation of a clone of Bruce Wayne to either replace him or stop him. When the clone escapes and becomes a new Batman, Omega anticipates an attack and ambushes him and the disembodied head of the Joker, nearly killing the Clown Prince of Crime. Facing Batman in a climactic showdown atop Wayne Manor, Omega holds his own against his younger duplicate, although he is mortally wounded, taking one last look at the city before he dies.
• Harley Quinn: Ravenous by Rachael Allen: Talia al Ghul is the only female inmate at Arkham Asylum, sent to Arkham after attempting to kill the mayor of Gotham City. A young Harleen Quinzel is working as an intern at Arkham and decides to help treat Talia. Talia arranges for security blackouts and even manages to briefly knock out her psychologist in order to talk to Harleen alone. Talia tells Harleen that someone called the Scarecrow is experimenting on the inmates of Arkham and is developing mind control chips. Talia says she will help Harleen expose the Scarecrow, and in exchange, Harleen will help her escape. Harleen agrees and Talia gives her the information to find the Scarecrow's lab. Talia tells Harleen that mind control chips need to be destroyed by special means and to bring them to her. Harleen goes to Scarecrow's lab and destroys his research and returns to Talia with the chips. Talia reveals that she wants to use the mind control chips to control Gotham's elites and bring about a better Gotham. Harleen refuses to give her the chips, but Talia helps Harleen escape after the Scarecrow attacks her with his fear gas. Later Harleen confronts Talia and Talia gives her evidence to expose the Scarecrow.
• Harley Quinn and the Joker: Sound Mind: Dr. Harleen Quinzel is a junior psychologist at Arkham Asylum, who is tasked with treating the Joker. Learning that her father has cancer and the operation to treat it would cost more than Harleen can afford, Harleen plays to Joker's ego and manipulates him into agreeing to steal money for her. Harleen claims the Joker is cured and coaches Joker to lie to the rehabilitation board so he can be released. After getting the money from Joker, Harleen's father dies during the operation. Harleen's guilt over freeing the Joker, she agrees to help the police arrest the Joker, manipulating him into a trap. Harleen later learns that Bruce Wayne owned the company that gave her father cancer. Harleen pretends to visit Joker in prison, manages to help him escape and when confronted by Batman, manages to have a backup escape plan to elude him.
• The Riddler: Secrets in the Dark: The Riddler is a clever psychopath who hates normal people and loves the twisted freaks of Gotham. Riddler as a young man arranges to have the father of the yard bully kill himself after his insider trading is revealed and has two businessmen who screwed him over killed in a seeming accident. After Riddler is targeted by a deranged Serial Killer named Azrael, who is killing the various supervillains of Gotham City, Riddler deduces Azrael's pattern. After Batman betrays Riddler and attempts to have him sent back to Arkham Asylum, Riddler manipulates the two guards taking him back to Arkham and escapes. Later, Riddler confronts Azrael in Arkham and manages to manipulate him into committing suicide.
• Tales from the Dark Multiverse:
  • Knightfall retelling: Bruce Wayne, known here as Batman the Broken, proves himself to be far more competent than everyone expects from him. After being reduced to a head and torso by Saint Batman, Bruce refuses to give him the validation he seeks, instead calmly explaining why he is doomed to fail in his goal. Upon being rescued by Tourne and Lady Shiva, Bruce attacks the former Batcave with them, tricking one of Jean-Paul's Co-Dragons into killing the other before killing him himself. When Jean-Paul is defeated, Bruce reveals that he's come to realize that he can't save Gotham through the methods he previously tried and kills his two allies on the spot, going on to publicly display Jean-Paul's body so he can begin rebuilding Gotham from the ground up.
  • Batman: Hush retelling: Batman the Silenced, real name Bruce Wayne, upon learning that Thomas Elliot orchestrated the death of his parents and the downfall of his family, decided to enact his revenge. After Thomas imprisoned him in a mental asylum, Bruce hired Jack Napier to help him pretend to be dead, after which he dressed as a Bat and hunted down people who had any hand in the corruption of Gotham and the fall of his family. Stalking and tormenting Thomas through the story, Bruce lured him to the abandoned Wayne Manor and dragged him to his basement, where he kept his foes in inhumane conditions, and revealed that he knows Thomas' involvement in the death of his parents. Making Thomas suffer for his sins, Bruce ended up victorious, with the ownership of Wayne Industries going to Alfred, who is loyal to him, and Court of Owls being unable to beat him.
• Whistle: A New Gotham City Hero:
  • E. Nigma, aka The Riddler, is the affable mastermind behind Gotham's "greening." Born Eddie Nachtberger, the childhood best friend of Naomi Zimmerman, Nigma's descent into drugs and parties saw him enter the criminal underworld and become one of Gotham's most infamous supervillains. Eventually deciding to get sober and reinvent himself after alienating the Zimmerman family, Nigma sets out on a crusade to revitalize Gotham, working with Poison Ivy to destroy local community centers, drive down property values, and buy up real estate so he can rebuild the town. Along the way, Nigma works to reconnect and make amends with the Zimmermans, reaching out to Naomi's daughter, Willow, to offer her a job organizing underground poker games with Gotham's elite he uses to finance his criminal activities. Unquestioningly loving and supportive of his old friends, even funding Naomi's cancer treatments and helping Willow's financial situation with no strings attached, Nigma's charisma and geniality see Willow deciding to remain his friend even as she secretly works to undermine his plans as Whistle.
  • Pammie Isley, aka Poison Ivy, is Nigma's partner in the greening of Gotham. Once taken advantage of and subjected to horrific experiments that left her with control over plants and a poison kiss, Pammie remade herself into a charismatic supervillain out to see plants reclaim the world. Pammie, with her powers, helps Nigma destroy local community centers in Gotham for his plan to renovate the town, intent on claiming her own plot of land from the fellow villain where she can begin her green revolution. Upon befriending Willow, Pammie mentors her in becoming the game runner for Nigma's illegal poker games, helping her pick the right clothes and attitude needed to become a smooth, charming operator in her own right, and encourages her to stay in school to avoid the mistakes she and Nigma once made. A surprisingly decent role model despite her proclamations of valuing plants more than human lives, Pammie continues to act as a valued friend to Willow even after talking her way out of police custody upon being caught at the scene of one of her crimes.

Crossovers

• Batman & Captain America: This incarnation of the Joker lacks many unsavory traits of other versions. Receiving information from a mysterious figure, he decides to use a nuclear weapon to blackmail Gotham City into paying him $1,000,000. He first plans to build his own nuke, successfully obtaining radioactive material and cleverly escaping from Batman in the process. When this approach fails after Batman and Captain America foil an attempt to kidnap Robert Oppenheimer, he changes tack and decides to steal a prototype atomic bomb. After succeeding, he learns that his informer is Red Skull. Declaring his hatred of Nazism, Joker tries to kill the Skull, and helps foil his plan to nuke Washington, D.C. Years later, he helps plot and execute a scheme to permanently De-power Superman, only narrowly failing. Then he spends several years masquerading as his own non-existent successor as part of a long-term ploy to kill Dick Grayson, the second Batman, cheerfully turning himself in after he succeeds. Some time later, tormented by Dick's vengeful ghost, he refuses to break, and when he realizes his death is inevitable, he accepts it with quiet grace. Ruthless, witty, and able to roll with the punches, the Joker demonstrates that he's earned his title of "Clown Prince of Crime".
• Batman/Daredevil: In this universe, Two-Face is a supervillain and former lawyer who attended law school with Matt Murdock. Two-Face steals the formula for an organic computer from Wayne Tech and goes to NYC and teams up with Mr. Hyde. Hyde and Two-Face go on a crime spree and kill some civilians. Two-Face is giving Hyde pills to increase his intelligence. Those pills are in fact the formula for the organic computer and the more pills Hyde takes and the more adrenaline he uses, the faster the computer will grow in his brain until it kills him. Two-Face will go on to sell the computer to the highest bidder. Two-Face almost succeeds, only stopping after Daredevil appeals to his humanity and stops Hyde from killing a teenager.
• Batman & Spider-Man: New Age Dawning: The Kingpin, aka Wilson Fisk, is the powerful criminal mastermind who controls all criminal organizations within New York City. Providing Ra's al Ghul with resources that help him to carry out terrorist acts around the world, Kingpin objected when Ra's wanted to cause destruction in New York. Eventually being forced to seemingly submit to Ra's, due to his desire to cure his dying wife, Kingpin then sabotaged Ra's plans by reprogramming his satellite, causing it to blow up and then revealing that he knew all along who Ra's was and what he planned, sneaking Batman and Spider-Man into Ra's base and outsmarting "The Demon", putting a stop to his plans before they even began.

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