When it comes to the supervillains of DC, it doesn’t get any better than Batman villains. Representing the diabolical best of the dim, gritty, and disturbing playground of Gotham City, these delinquents stand in perfect opposition to the crime-fighting Caped Crusader; whereas the world of Superman is exemplified by shining heroics.
Batman is defined by the evildoers that terrorize it from within its deepest shadows. What makes them stand out is that they are all just a few shades of grey away from the Dark Knight himself. That, and they enjoy dancing with the devil in the pale moonlight.
Harley Quinn
Rounding out the Gotham City Sirens is the bubbly killer, Harley Quinn. It’s quite a testament that a sidekick who got her start on a children’s animated TV show has quickly become one of the top Batman’s most popular associates. Originally intended as a one-off for the Batman: The Animated Series episode Joker’s Favor.
The character was such an overnight hit that she was brought back several more times. From there she broke into comics, quickly becoming a best-seller. A solo series followed, along with a spin-off comic with the aforementioned Sirens. To top off her mallet-wielding success, Margot Robbie’s portrayal in the DC Extended Universe has turned the character into a movie star.
The Court of Owls
The members of the Court of Owls are the newest Batman villains and they rank as some of the most powerful and deadly. This group has run Gotham City from behind the scenes for over a century. They appeared for the first time in the DC New 52 and Scott Synder created them as the ultimate bad guys.These are millionaires and billionaires who created an underground club that pulled strings that affected both heroes and villains, and it helped corrupt Gotham City. Using assassins called Talons, they also remain dangerous, as well as manipulative. The group is almost impossible to bring down, and they are Batman’s greatest threat.
Ra’s Al Ghul
While most of the best Batman villains limit their criminal scope to Gotham City, Ra’s Al Ghul operates on a whole other level. A super-intelligent, mystical international assassin, the Demon’s Head adds some much-needed gravitas to the rogue gallery. Ra’s is a man sick of the worst crimes of humanity and seeks to use genocide as a means to restart the world.
On top of that, he respects Batman, so much so he is constantly trying to convince the Caped Crusader to succeed him as the leader of the League of Assassins and marry his daughter: Talia Al Ghul. After his rise in popularity due to Batman Begins, Ra’s Al Ghul has become a bit of an overused cliche puppet master character.
