Of all the comic book heroes, no one has a more notorious or popular rogues gallery than Batman. Each villain has his or her own quirks and a devoted fanbase, but so many of them are overlooked because they fall short of the penultimate Batman villain: the Joker. The Joker is without a doubt Batman's greatest and most famous foe and is also arguably the greatest villain in all of comics. The insanity, the humor, and the spontaneity, along with great performances from Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, and Mark Hamill, have made the Clown Prince of Crime so endearing over the years. But what about the rest? All of Batman's other opponents have existed in the Joker's shadow so long, they don't always get the respect they deserve. So today, we're going to count down the top 10 Batman villains who aren't the Joker. Some are obvious, some are a little surprising, but they're all great threats for the Dark Knight.
10.
The Penguin
On the surface, there isn't anything intimidating about a short, squatty man in a top hat with a thing for birds and umbrellas, but that's where you'd be wrong. The Penguin is one of Batman's oldest and most popular foes, and the character is also one of the most complex. Whereas most of Batman's enemies are psychopaths and murderers, Oswald Cobblepot is perfectly sane, completely aware of all his actions. Over the years, we've seen two different versions of the Penguin: the suave aristocrat and the social outcast, and while the prior has become more common as of late, the latter makes the character much more sympathetic, especially in Batman: The Animated Series and the Joker's Asylum story arc, and even in the Batman Returns film as well. While he has shied away from major crimes in recent years, unlike his comrades, he is not out of the criminal underground completely, operating instead in relative safety behind the front of the Iceberg Lounge, and even though he spends his time dealing in petty crime, there is always the potential that the Penguin will once again spread his wings and strike again.
9.
Calendar Man
Calendar Man had been a joke since his inception in 1958 thanks in no small part to some bad costumes and puns. That all changed with his inclusion in the 1996 series The Long Halloween. While an unknown murderer preys on the Gotham criminal population, even Batman is stumped as to the killer's identity, leading him to turn to an unlikely ally: the Hannibal Lecter-esque Julian Day. Day's obsession with dates and holidays has made him unpredictable, but combine that with the intelligence he shows in The Long Halloween and the frustration he shows over being forgotten about in an era of much more prominent and deadly villains, and Julian becomes a time bomb waiting to go off. Although he hasn't acted yet, the day is coming when Calendar Man proves once and for all that he is not someone to laugh at.
8.
Victor Zsasz
When I did my post about the 13 greatest horror movies, I rated The Texas Chainsaw Massacre so high because of the realism of the killer. That same principle applies here to Victor Zsasz. Men with umbrella guns, women controlling plants, guys with freeze guns, and plots to release deadly laughing gas on a city are all directly out of the comic books. But stabbing people at random because you're crazy? That's completely plausible, and that's what makes Zsasz so scary. No rhyme, no reason, just murder. Zsasz has said that he believes his only purpose in life is to kill, which he sees as a gift to give to the useless, mindless people of Gotham. He takes pride and pleasure in his killing, carving a tally into his flesh for every one of his victims. And if you need proof of how proficient he is, take a look at the marks on his hands, arms, back, chest, etc., and if you find an empty spot, rest assured it's reserved for Batman.
7.
Hugo Strange
Each of Batman's villains seems to have their own obsession. Harvey Dent has his coin, Penguin has his birds, and Calendar Man has his dates. Hugo Strange has an obsession, too: Batman. His only concern in life is figuring out who Batman is, and as he slips further into madness, becoming the Batman himself. Strange is one of the Caped Crusader's most dangerous foes simply because of what he knows. On several occasions, Strange has deduced that Batman and Bruce Wayne are one and the same, only to have the Dark Knight make him forget or second guess himself. This is a constant problem for Batman, who as he deals with the countless other criminals of Gotham, must always remember that somewhere out there, there is a brilliant psychologist who is only a step or two away from uncovering Batman's identity and bringing him down for good.
6.
Poison Ivy
Female superheroes are fairly rare in the world of comics, and female supervillains even more so. That alone makes Poison Ivy rare, but in the Batman universe, there is one more factor that separates Ivy from the crowd: she is one of the few Batman villains who actually possesses any superpowers. Whether it be her control of deadly plants, creation of new hybrids, ability to ensnare men with her pheromones, or poison them with a touch or a kiss, Pamela Isley is a force to be reckoned with (and on a personal note, the Poison Ivy levels were always the most annoying/difficult levels of every Batman video game I ever played). Uma Thurman's portrayal of the character in the disaster that is Batman and Robin was a little too campy, as was the rest of the film, but go back to the comics or even the animated series to get a sense of the real direness of the character. With a goal to protect and empower all the world's plants at any cost, Poison Ivy is one villainess that Batman hates to tangle with.
5.
Ra's al Ghul
Batman's goal over the years has been to try and maintain some resemblance of order in a world dominated by chaos. So, when someone else approaches him and says that he also wants to eliminate this depraved criminal world for the betterment of society, you'd expect Batman to be right beside him. Instead, you get Ra's al Ghul, one of Batman's most intimidating and complex foes. The magic of the Lazarus Pits has granted him immortality, and in his centuries of life, he has become a genius in so many fields. He is a master manipulator, as seen in Batman Begins and JLA: Tower of Babel. His power has grown over the years to the point that he has become an opponent for several characters in the DC universe. Still, his greatest aspect is his warped altruism that would seek to create a great new world at the expense of destroying the world we have now. No other character has walked the line between potentially good and absolute evil so well as Ra's al Ghul, and with his daughter romantically linked to Batman and his grandson Damien taking the mantle as Robin, he will be more personally involved in Batman stories in the years to come.
4.
The Riddler
This one is my personal favorite on the list, and it's due in part to the original Batman character. When Batman debuted in 1939, it was in Detective Comics, and he was touted as the world's greatest detective. The incredibly intelligent aspect of the character was what appealed to me, and if there is anyone in Gotham that can match wits with the Bat, it's Edward Nigma. Desperate to prove that he is the smartest man in the city, the Riddler is only held back by his own compulsion to leave clues to his crimes behind. Unfortunately, the character lost some of its credibility following Batman Forever and to many comic fans, he became a prancing maniac in tights. But the Riddler is much more dangerous than that, as seen by his mastery and manipulation of other villains in the Hush story arc. His flipping back and forth between semi-hero and lunatic right before the relaunch added even more depth to the character, and even thought he may not be a physical threat, whatever it takes to get himself noticed, you can bet the Riddler will put hid mind to it.
3.
Bane
One of the worst things about Joel Schumacher's Batman and Robin was the movie's treatment of the character Bane. He was portrayed as a brain dead lackey, no better than a DC Hulk ripoff. True, Bane is abnormally strong, but every superhero has at least one foe who's main power is that they can break through walls or pick up a car. What raises Bane above that is his intelligence. Bane had spent so many years in a godforsaken prison reading and learning that he could have become a member of high society if it weren't for his murderous rage. He's complex, switching from hero to villain, and sympathetic, keeping a teddy bear with him growing up in prison. But of course, Bane's major claim to fame is that he has done something that no other villain has been able to do: he manipulated every one of his compatriots and broke the Batman, both physically and mentally. He is the perfect blend of both brain and brawn, and his upcoming appearance in The Dark Knight Rises will surely add even more to Bane's legacy as perhaps Batman's most dangerous opponent.
2.
Scarecrow
What drove Bane to Gotham City is what has become Batman's greatest weapon in his war on crime: fear. Fear rules in Gotham, and Batman has used his ability to inspire fear to keep moat of the city's criminals in line. But what works for Batman also works for the Scarecrow. Dr. Jonathan Crane is another brilliant psychologist who specializes in the study of phobias but uses his knowledge as a weapon, driven by the torment he received from others as a child. A quick dose of toxin and your worst fears come to life, whatever they may be. Scarecrow has the honor of being one of Batman's only truly scary villains, part comic book character and part horror movie antagonist. Surprisingly, his shining moment thus far came in the Arkham Asylum video game, really digging into Batman's head, and for video game fans, it was one of the most fun parts to play. Scarecrow is the flip side of the fear coin, to steal a pun from another Batman villain, using it for evil. He is both obsessed with what scares Batman and scared of the Bat himself, which compels him to chase after Batman and will no doubt lead to countless battles in the future.
And number one is.....
1.
Two-Face
One of Batman's greatest foes is also one of Batman's greatest tragedies. Bruce Wayne took the cowl to protect good people like his parents from low life criminals like their murderer, and he had a pretty good track record until Harvey Dent. Harvey was Bruce's ally, his way out of his vigilante life, someone who could do in a courtroom what Batman did on the streets night after night. That all changed went Dent took a splash of acid to the face, and along with his skin, Harvey lost his mind and his identity. He is possibly Batman's most unpredictable opponent; there is no set list of what he will or won't do, as he makes every decision with the flip of a coin. Two-Face blames Batman for what happened to him, and to an extent, Batman feels the guilt as well. One of the animated series's best episodes was Two-Face's origin episode, in which Bruce is haunted in his nightmares by Harvey asking why he didn't save him, which Bruce ties right back to his parents' death. Even Harvey struggles with is own identity, occasionally switching to reluctant hero, only to fall back into violence and chaos. Two-Face's complexity, humanity, tragic origin, and depravity make him the second greatest Batman villain of all time.
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