Batman‘s live-action movie history includes some of the best supervillains of all time – and some villains who perhaps don’t fit into that territory so securely for DC. Over the years, Batman’s movie roster has produced a stellar ᴀssortment of actors who have donned the cape and cowl, and provided a wide ᴀssortment of Batman’s rogues gallery for them to face.
Since Batman’s rogues gallery is one of the strongest villain rosters in superhero history, bringing these figures to life is a concept that’s both naturally promising and fraught with peril if not executed to the same standard the comics generally put forth – which pays off to a varying range of degrees in all of Batman’s eight live-action movies.
Batman & Robin
In some ways, Batman & Robin‘s adaptation of Batman’s rogues gallery is uniquely solid. The film features a roster of antagonists who are otherwise largely ignored in the movie world – especially in live-action – with Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, and Bane all getting their respective time in the limelight during its run.
However, this admirable villain ᴀssortment goes some way to overstuff the movie, and inadvertently ᴀssures that no one antagonist gets the time they may have needed to do justice to their role. This is exacerbated by decisions like making Bane a relatively one-dimensional brute versus the more intelligent figure the comics often make him out to be.
All in all, the decisions made regarding Batman & Robin‘s villains go some substantial way to explaining its suboptimal critical reception, even if the film still has redeeming qualities – such as it currently being the one and only time we’ve ever seen live-action movie versions of Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy all these years later.
Batman Forever
Batman Forever‘s villain choices are some of the most divisive in the hero’s movie history, with Jim Carrey’s Riddler and Tommy Lee Jones’ Two-Face drawing true ire from some viewers, and true joy from others. This is understandable, as the film spares no expense in terms of fully delving into the over-the-top side of the comics.
In many ways, Batman Forever‘s controversial decision to disregard much of what made Batman and Batman Returns work is impossible to separate from how it depicts its villains, meaning it’s no surprise that these antagonists are often not considered when it comes to conversations about the best Batman movie villains of all time.
That said, to suggest there are no positives about these depictions of the Riddler and Two-Face would be to ignore much about the performances. The playful and overexaggerated ways Carrey and Jones play their respective antagonists mirror many classic comics in a way no other live-action movie does, and their dynamic is undeniably fascinating, even if it isn’t universally loved.
The Dark Knight Rises
Following Batman Forever‘s depiction of Bane as a muscle-bound brute, The Dark Knight Rises is able to provide a more comic-accurate villain, giving him the intellect and tactical prowess that takes the character from being just another physical threat to Batman, and instead makes him something altogether more dangerous.
With Tom Hardy taking on the role, Bane is able to be imposing in terms of his brain and brawn, as The Dark Knight Rises makes sure to draw more directly on the comic source material that shows Bane as a master strategist, and a character with more emotional depth than he’s often given when it comes to live-action adaptations.
However, The Dark Knight Rises suffers from its central villains being somewhat more divisive, as both Hardy’s Bane and Marion Cotillard’s Talia Al Ghul having some more controversial elements and moments, including Bane’s voice splitting viewers in terms of their opinions on it, and Talia Al Ghul’s death scene being criticized for not carrying sufficient emotional depth.
Batman Begins
Any movie that’s a superhero origin story is going to have a complicated equation to work out when it comes to its villains – as this kind of plot forcibly requires more solo hero time. Batman Begins manages to avoid de-centering its villains too much by making one of Bruce’s mentors a key antagonist, but this isn’t a perfect solution.
Ra’s Al Ghul is one of the most underrated Batman villains of all time, and so it’s fascinating to see him be Christian Bale’s first major enemy. Similarly, Batman Begins‘ decision to feature Scarecrow as one of Batman’s first costumed criminals is perfect given both Crane and Wayne are focused on striking fear in different ways.
Batman Begins balances its multiple villains well, also dedicating time to minor villains like Carmine Falcone, Arnold Flᴀss, and Victor Zsasz, serving admirably to flesh out not only the trilogy’s rendition of Gotham – though the fact it has to set up this world means it arguably has to focus a little less on the foes it unveils.
Batman
Without Batman, it’s not clear whether the Caped Crusader’s movie empire would have quite grown to the heights it has today – and that’s in no small part because of how the film captured the unique draw of the Joker as an antagonist, with Jack Nicholson’s Clown Prince of Crime being larger-than-life in his characterization and his schemes.
It’s very fitting for the first major live-action Batman movie to have been the story of the epic rivalry between Batman and the Joker, and this story allows its leads to lean into emphasizing the differences between them, defining the ways that audiences would think of and perceive both from this point onward.
While 1989’s Batman is undeniably important in terms of its place in the Dark Knight’s filmography, this setup also ultimately means the release doesn’t get to explore as much of or about Batman’s rogues gallery as other films in the catalog, though this choice obviously paid off in terms of its critical reception and legacy.
The Batman
The Batman‘s 176-minute runtime manages to accomplish no easy feat: making two of the Batman villains conventionally considered the most goofy into grounded and gritty antagonists in its world. Throughout their comic and on-screen history, both the Riddler and the Penguin have often been characterized as somewhat more whimsical figures, even though both have some darker stories.
Despite this history making it harder to provide convincing versions of the two villains in a more serious and down-to-earth universe, The Batman nails both figures in a way that lets them be considerably reimagined while also staying true to the core elements of their characters and the source material the film draws from.
The Batman‘s Riddler is the darkest live-action movie version of the character to exist by a considerable margin, and this suits the story and the stakes inherently, while also allowing Paul Dano to take his version of Edward Nashton into grim but undeniably engrossing serial killer territory, complete with his own sinister death traps for those who’ve gained his ire.
While The Penguin show provides a much more in-depth depiction of Oz Cobb and his road from troubled child to Gotham kingpin, The Batman does a solid job of setting the proverbial wheels of his story in motion, with Colin Farrell adding plenty of nuance and charm to what could otherwise have been a one-note kind of character.
The realism of The Batman is rounded out by having Carmine Falcone – head of the Falcone crime family – also serving as a core villain in the movie, further grounding its world, and adding further intrigue to the stories of Batman, Catwoman, the Penguin and the Riddler by having them all tie to the crime boss and his dark history.
Batman Returns
Catwoman and the Penguin are two trickier Batman villains to pull off in a way that truly draws audiences in. As a figure who often veers between being a villain and a hero in whatever story she appears in, Catwoman is a naturally complex figure whose romances with Batman makes her doubly important to get right.
The Penguin is simultaneously one of Batman’s less threatening seeming villains, and also one of his most dangerous antagonists in a lot of ways – a concept that can be hard to communicate given he’s not as inherently imposing as the likes of Bane or Killer Croc. However, Batman Returns manages to get both of these complicated DC figures right.
Michelle Pfeiffer’s Selina Kyle is arguably one of the best on-screen depictions of Catwoman of all time – balancing her mystique and heroic potential with an unhinged and unpredictable take on the character – and Danny DeVito’s Oswald Cobblepot is equal parts gothically menacing, and delightfully and cartoonishly comicbook-esque in his schemes and tools.
While the original Batman‘s depiction of the Joker is also something special, Batman Returns‘ wider range of antagonists and nailing of some trickier figures does give it the advantage over its predecessor when solely looking at both films handle adapting Batman’s rogues gallery on-screen.
The Dark Knight
Given The Dark Knight contains one of the most rightfully praised Batman villain performances of all time, one of the most underrated Batman villain performances of all time, and the return of Cillian Murphy’s delightful take on Scarecrow, it’s perhaps no surprise it can be considered the best Batman movie ever in terms of its rogues gallery.
The glowing reviews of Heath Ledger’s take on the Joker truly stand up to the test of time. Revisiting his frenetically energetic villain – who is able to be entertaining yet intimidating, frighteningly unpredictable, and truly lethal – is as enjoyable and engaging over a decade later.
That said, The Dark Knight‘s other antagonists are often underappreciated because of how strikingly good Ledger’s Joker is. Aaron Eckhart’s Two-Face is a key part of the film’s story and its core tragedies, and his steady spiraling provides a great contrast to the Joker’s story that enhances them both.
Combine these with Cillian Murphy’s suitably eerie and yet entirely grounded-feeling Scarecrow making some cameos, and The Dark Knight‘s roster of Batman villains gains that extra edge over its film peers in a few different ways, cementing it as the best Batman movie of all time when it comes to the film’s villains.
