Batman has some of the best villains in the business 'cause they all reflect an aspect of Batman: Two-Face reflects his duality; Scarecrow, his use of fear and psychological tactics; Poison Ivy, his, er... shapely buttocks.
Major Batman villains are sometimes presented as Shadow Archetypes for the Caped Crusader, Depending on the Writer (especially ones that focus on his myriad of psychological issues). They reflect a part of Batman himself and/or like him by having a defining trauma that shaped their lives forever — except where he used it to better himself by defending the innocents and trying to prevent a repeat incident, they have crossed the Despair Event Horizon and use their Freudian Excuse to hurt others.
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Comic Books
Comic Books
- The Joker, in obsession and madness. This is explored by Alan Moore in The Killing Joke, where the Joker tries to turn Commissioner Gordon insane by putting him through "one bad day". In the end, when Batman confronts the Joker, the Joker says, "You had a bad day once, am I right?… I can tell. You had a bad day and everything changed." This is all while we see what could be the Joker's origin. The whole thing ends with Batman and the Joker laughing together at one of his jokes about two guys in a lunatic asylum.
- Two-Face, in his origin and obsession with double identities and justice. The Long Halloween also shows what Batman would become if he succumbs to the darkness.
- Catwoman, fellow master thief/spy using a motif of an animal associated with the supernatural and the night.
- Ra's al Ghul, in his aim to make the world a "better" place.
- The Scarecrow, in using fear to manipulate.
- The Riddler, in leaving clues instead of finding them, with a need to prove that brain beats brawn.
- The Penguin, a dark shadow of Bruce Wayne's fop persona (according to the widow of Bill Finger, Batman's co-creator).
- Hush, a rich kid who tried to kill his parents.
- On the flipside of Hush we have Master Bruce
, another rich kid who murdered his parents, the difference is he was a Loony Fan of Bruce Wayne who realized that his parents' deaths made him a better person and tried to do the same only to become a Deconstruction of Batman's "kid crying out for mommy and daddy" shtick personified. - Poison Ivy:
- To Batman. She seeks to be a guardian over a purified entity.
- Poison Ivy (2022): Jason Woodrue is presented as one to Ivy herself. Not only is he the one who made her what she is (and thus stands for her traumatic memories), but he also preached a pessimistic, almost nihilistic view that humanity can't be saved (and thus stands for Ivy's misanthropy). It's when Ivy actually defeats Jason that she abandons her quest to destroy humanity.
- Prometheus and the Wrath are entirely explicit about being Batman-driven-to-villainy-when-parents-killed-by-cops.
- Hugo Strange, trying to understand the mind of a criminal in order to reach a goal.
- The Captain America parallel is made rather explicit in the JLA/Avengers crossover. While Cap and Superman are set as the opposing team leaders, it's Batman who gets the "We're not so different" match, as they prove evenly matched in skill and intelligence (with Cap's strength and stamina giving him a theoretical advantage), before sensibly deciding to set aside the fight to figure out what's really going on.
- To a lesser extent, Deadshot, Catman, the original Black Mask, and Jean-Paul Valley as Batman can also be seen as shadow versions of Bruce Wayne.
- The best example may be Bane. Trained to physical perfection, Genius-level intellect, lack of parents in his formative years, and Papa Wolf tendencies.
- Occasionally he's even a Shadow Archetype to Bruce Wayne (himself... except the voice in his head that says "Here I am" doesn't call him Bruce).
- The comic A Bullet for Bullock explores Bullock's life as an honest Noble Bigot with a Badge who has managed to alienate everyone in his private life through his acts of Jerkassery. When Bullock claimed a "Not So Different" Remark, the Batman was not amused...
- Even the Ventriloquist, with the fictional persona overshadowing the real human being.
- Mr. Freeze, who lost his loved ones in a terrible day and cannot reach out to other human beings.
- Harley Quinn can be seen as one of Batman's various sidekicks. Both have a relationship with their partner, but while Batman is a Benevolent Boss who cares for them like they were his kids and gets their life back on track, Joker is an abusive asshole who sends Harley further into the criminal life.
- The Dark Knights in Dark Nights: Metal are twisted versions of the Batman:
- The Batman Who Laughs represents Batman's fear of becoming like the Joker, how much he is defined by the never-ending war with the Clown Prince of Crime, and his regret he cannot stop the Joker for good without killing him.
- The Grim Knight is a Batman from an Alternate Universe where Joe Chill dropped his gun soon after the murder of Bruce's parents, allowing Bruce to shoot him to death. The rest of his origin is basically Batman: Year One, but with Batman as a Gun Nut (as opposed to otherwise).
- The Dawnbreaker represents Batman's fear of how dangerous he would be with superpowers but lacking his adult discipline, his inner despair taken to its extreme, and his inability to get over his parent's deaths.
- The Devastator is a Batman giving into despair, not recognizing how important his friendship with Superman is, and both the fear and regret that he can't fully trust the Man of Steel anymore.
- The Drowned represents Batman's fear of going too far in the fight against superhumans, his love for Catwoman, and his inability to trust anyone but himself.
- The Merciless is a Batman becoming like his enemies if he broke his no-kill rule, his ignorance of how Wonder Woman helps him see the good in people, and his regret that he really cannot end his crusade as his enemies keep coming back.
- The Murder Machine represents Batman's fear he isn't as self-sufficient as he thinks, his disillusionment over his father-son relationship with Alfred, and regret of cutting off other people.
- The Red Death represents Batman's fear of losing members of the Bat-family, how his love for them has clouded his judgement, and regret for those he failed. Some of his dialogue and his Speed Force quirk imply he might also represent Batman's fear of old age slowing him down.
- Red Hood and the Outlaws: Red Hood, to Batman. After being revived, Red Hood trains with the All-Caste, a secret, somewhat mystical sect of warriors who mirror Batman's League of Assassins. Red Hood is also Crazy-Prepared like Bats, with safehouses around the globe, each one full of weapons and supplies.
- Amanda Waller represents Batman's paranoia and what could happen if he became The Unfettered in his pursuit of justice.
Films
Films
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: After two decades of fighting crime, Batman has become cynical and apathetic towards the world. His crimefighting methods are less about protecting the innocent and more about punishing the guilty, to the point even ordinary citizens fear him. Superman, who also struggles with insecurities in this film, begins to see Batman as the kind of person he could become if he ever lost his faith.
- The Dark Knight Trilogy
- Harvey Dent and Batman of The Dark Knight are shadows of each other — both had a day where they lost the people most important to them, which changed their lives forever. The difference being that Rachel Dawes was there to push Bruce back into believing there's good in the world worth fighting for, whereas for poor Harvey there was just the Joker showing up to mess with his head some more.
- The Dark Knight Joker tries to draw parallels between himself and Batman:"Don't talk like you're one of them [normal regular citizens]...To them, you're just a freak. Like me."
- Bane to Batman in The Dark Knight Rises. Christopher Nolan said Bane was what Bruce Wayne could have become if he had stayed in the League of Shadows in the first film.
Video Games
Video Games
- Batman: Arkham Asylum: Victor Zsasz claims his life reached a turning point when his wealthy parents died, leaving him rich but lost and alone in the world, and a desire to find some purpose to live for. Just like Bruce Wayne back then, except that Bruce didn't find his purpose in killing people.
- Batman: The Telltale Series: At his core, John Doe / The Joker is a mirror of Bruce and Batman... but with the worst traits overshadowing the good ones. Both he and Bruce have established issues with socializing with people (John's lack of social awareness, and S1 Bruce's struggle to host a fundraiser), they both have romantic tension with dangerous women, need people to help set them on the right path (Bruce's potential support to steer John right and Alfred's disapproval of violent actions and subsequent approval of non-violent actions), they both hide a darker aspect to themselves (John has a growing dark side — the Joker — just waiting to get out, while philanthropist Bruce Wayne beats criminals with his bare hands as the Batman). In the Vigilante Path the Joker becomes a Vigilante after being inspired by Bruce's trust and being enraged at the corruption of the Agency, not unlike how Bruce lost his parents to a corrupt Mayor. This is Lampshaded by Alfred, who notes the Joker is a mirror of Batman even where Bruce is darkest.
Western Animation
Western Animation
- Batman: The Animated Series:
- Batman
- This version of the Clock King, Temple Fugate, shadows Batman's Crazy-Prepared tendencies.
- The rare heroic version in Harvey Bullock. He very much does what Batman does as he bends (read: breaks) the law quite regularly to get results. Also, much like Batman and his seemingly harmless alter-ego Bruce Wayne, Bullock seems inept as all hell but is as capable of a fighter as Batman when surrounded by bad guys or Mooks. He also has that "one rule" he'll never, ever, EVER break, for all his flaws, Bullock is one of the few regular Joes in Gotham that will never take a bribe.
- Batman
- Batman Beyond
- Zander was supposed to be a dark mirror to Terry McGinnis before he turned into a dinosaur man.
- Like Bruce, Ra's al Ghul wants to carry on his goals via a younger successor.
