It’s amazing to think that for all the villains that Batman has faced off against in his movies, there are still so many great ones that haven’t yet made their big-screen debut. The films have already gone through some of the most popular foes (in the Joker’s case, multiple times). But there are other underrated villains yet to be seen.
Of course, it makes sense to showcase the big-name Caped Crusader villains. But fans have already seen enough of the Riddler or Catwoman. With a new DCU, it’s time for the Dark Knight to start digging a little deeper into his rogues’ gallery for future films. How is it that Batman has yet to fight something like Man-Bat on-screen? Or go up against the likes of Hugo Strange. Heck, even fighting a foe like Killer Moth could make for a fun one-off story. Read on to discover eight underrated rogues that Batman somehow hasn’t fought in a feature-length film adaptation.
8 The Ventriloquist
First Appearance: Detective Comics #583
The best Batman villains are always a little bizarre, and few are more bizarre than Arnold Wesker, aka the Ventriloquist. The Ventriloquist is exactly what his name implies: a man who operates as a crime boss by utilizing a dummy named Scarface. The twist is that Wesker projects his criminal intent into Scarface, making it seem like the dummy is the one running the show. He’s an unusual Batman foe, but let’s face it, Batman’s at his best when he’s going up against those a bit more unhinged than he is and Ventriloquist would make a hell of an antagonist.
7 Mad Hatter
First Appearance: Batman #49
Joker may be seen as the creepiest Batman foe, but the truth is, the Clown Prince of Crime pales in comparison to Jervis Tetch, the Mad Hatter. Tetch is as mad as his name implies, viewing the entire world around him with the upside-down logic of a Lewis Carroll story and a sick obsession with women he deems to be his ‘Alice’. Mad Hatter can be an uncomfortable villain to deal with admittedly, but with his mind-control technology, he’d be a good threat for Batman to take on in a film that sees Bruce deal with Gotham’s more unseemly villains.
6 Killer Moth
First Appearance: Batman #63
Interestingly enough, Killer Moth almost made his feature film debut in Batgirl before the project was shelved, meaning DC’s coolest anti-Batman has yet to make his official debut in a movie. Killer Moth was created to be the criminal underworld’s ‘Batman’ and has all the gadgets and toys required for the job. How cool would it be to see Batman fighting a copycat who wants to protect the criminals of Gotham in the same way Batman protects the civilians? Hopefully, Killer Moth will get to spread his wings and fight Batman in the James Gunn and Peter Safran-led DCU.
5 Hugo Strange
First Appearance: Detective Comics #36
As fun as it is to see Batman fight people who can match him physically, it’s just as entertaining to see those who can match wits with Bruce Wayne. Hugo Strange is a criminal mastermind and talented psychiatrist who knows how to bend the human mind to his will. He has an obsession with Batman and was one of the first people to ever figure out the hero’s secret identity. While he’s no match for Batman’s brutality, he’s more than a mental match for Bruce, and seeing how Batman reckons with a mind like Hugo Strange would be incredibly fascinating.
4 Man-Bat
First Appearance: Detective Comics #400
While almost all of Batman’s villains have a degree of tragedy to them, few got as raw a deal as Man-Bat. Dr. Kirk Langstrom wanted to make the world a better place by helping the deaf community. However, during his noble work, Langstrom was transformed into a giant half-bat/half-man creature. And to make matters worse, Langstrom has never been able to find a permanent solution to his condition, meaning he’s often an uncontrollable monster. It’d be a great way to switch up things by having Batman fight a villain that doesn’t actually want to hurt anyone at all.
3 Hush
First Appearance: Batman #609
Batman: Hush is one of the most well-known stories in Batman lore. Tommy Elliot was Bruce’s childhood friend who grew up resenting Bruce’s life and, after growing apart from Bruce, returned to make his life hell as the villain Hush. Hush is just like Batman: he’s methodical, he’s a great fighter, and he knows how to manipulate people. The films have done a good job with most of Batman’s rogues, but they’ve never given fans a villain that could make for a good cat and mouse story in the way that a villain like Hush could.
2 Professor Pyg
First Appearance: Batman #666
Professor Pyg was technically introduced as a villain for Dick Grayson when he was filling in for Bruce Wayne as Batman. But no matter who is wearing the costume, Professor Pyg is one of the most insane and, frankly, scariest villains the Dark Knight has ever fought. Pyg, aka Lazlo Valentin, is a former agent of the secret spy organization Spyral. But Valentin went mad after he was exposed to a mind-control substance he was working on. Pyg suffered a breakdown and formed the Circus of the Strange, an underground cabal that tried taking control of Gotham at one point.
Make no mistake, Pyg is as dangerous as he is crazy. Sure, he’s not the most physically intimidating foe, but he leads an army of Dollotrons, mind-controlled and surgically modified by Pyg. There’s little doubt that aspects of Professor Pyg would have to be toned down for a wider audience. But if done correctly, Professor Pyg could be the best live action villain since Heath Ledger’s Joker. Granted, Professor Pyg is almost certain to make people uncomfortable, but with the right actor and director, Pyg could go down in history as one of Batman’s best on-screen villains.
1 The Court of Owls
First Appearance: Batman #6
Ever since they debuted, fans have been champing at the bit for a live-action adaptation of the Court of Owls. The New 52 Batman started out as strong as can be with the revelation that Gotham was secretly controlled by a shadowy collection of old-money elites known as the Court of Owls. Not only are they rich, but they’re incredibly dangerous, having amassed a cache of highly-trained assassins known as Talons over the years. Worse, Batman has never been able to permanently root them out of Gotham, only keep them at bay and reduce the amount of damage they do.
When it comes to modern Batman foes, few are as well-loved as the Court. Both their introductory arc and the crossover event “Night of the Owls” both got fans incredibly hyped in the comics. A movie that takes what worked with this secret organization and translates it into a film could do incredibly well. After all, fans have seen plenty of Batman movies that have seen him go up against a few villains at once. But they’ve never seen Batman trying to take down an age-old conspiracy nestled right in the heart of the city he’s sworn to protect.
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