Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s current Batman run is full of B-list villains with a rich history.
We take a look at their greatest moments!
Towards the end of the interview, I asked them about B-list villains.
At that point, Zero Year, their Batman origin story, had just ended with a bang.
The arc had reintroduced both Red Hood and Doctor Death with new looks and new mission statements.
I was in love with the reinvention of Doctor Death, from evil scientist to crazed skeleton monster.
I think surprising villains.
Theres one that was almost a challenge because I feel like people like to shout his name at cons.
When youre like, Who are you gonna do?
Its not Condiment King, but theyll name people like that.
Theyre like, I want to see that!
There was one [villain] that people kept mentioning in particular.
So alright, well go there then.
You are going to see some fun characters inEndgame.
Red Hood
The Big Intro: Detective Comics Vol.
The Red Hood disappeared from Gotham after jumping into a vat of chemicals at the Ace Playing Card Company.
He decided after that night that he could terrorize Gotham a lot more as the Clown Prince of Crime.
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Rap Sheet:Batman: The Killing Joke, Batman Vol.
1 Under the Hood / Battle for the Cowl, Batman and Robin Vol.
Its possible that you end up feeling a bit sorry for the Clown by the end of the issue.
This is Moore and Bollands definitive Batman/Joker story.
Hes always pushing the limit, though, often killing or maiming criminals.
Its an insane story, for sure.
The Return:Batman Vol.
Batmans first challenge is to stop Red Hood and his organization of red-hooded minions from robbing Ace Chemicals.
Do you see where this is headed?
Okay, Ill stop teasing: Jokers pre-Flashpointorigin story stands true in this new run.
Thus, the Joker is born.
Big Top
The Big Intro:Batman and Robin Vol.
1 #1
Big Top is a fairly new villain.
Bear with me if some of these sound like a broken record.
The first thing youll notice is that Big Top is a REALLY big guy.
The first arc inBatman and Robinwas called Batman Reborn and featured many circus-themed villains.
Big Top was obviously styled after a bearded lady.
His original look is a bit more ambigious in terms of gender.
That doesnt stop Damian Wayne, then the new Robin, from maiming the guy, though.
The Return:Batman Vol.
2 #1
Snyder and Capullo reintroduced the character in the opening panels ofBatmanVol.
We get a nice panel featuring Big Top trying to crush Batman, though.
Id love to see Capullo draw Big Top again.
Professor Pyg
The Big Intro:Batman Vol.
Damian makes a deal with the Devil to keep Gotham safe in exchange for his soul.
Even though Gotham is technically protected, it is also plunged into a hot hellscape where crime runs rampant.
That should help slim the ranks of villains.
Pyg makes an appearance as a corpse left behind by Damian.
The villain is found hanging upside on a crucifix without his mask.
Rap Sheet:Batman and Robin Vol 1.
Oh, and he gives Robin a lap dance while preparing to operate on him…So theres that.
No lap dances or mutilation involved.
The Return:Batman Vol.
Zsasz sneaks out to commit his heinous killings at night.
Zsasz is put back into Arkham where he belongs.
Rap Sheet:Batman Chronicles #3, Detective Comics Vol.
Victor Zsasz had his own company and a fortune.
Although he first attempts to commit suicide, Zsasz sees the brighter side of things.
He holds an all-girls boarding school hostage during Knightfall, too.
More recently, you mightve have seen in Rocksteady StudiosBatman: Arkhamgames or on theGothamTV series.
Fun fact: Mr. Zsasz is the first villain Batman faces off against in the game.
He easily dispatches the serial killer and sends him back to his cell.
Most recently, hes played a part in the changes to Arkham Asylum in the wake ofBatman EternalandArkham Manor.
Who could be a more bloodthirsty predator than Zsasz?
Hes one of the bad guys that Damian/Batman dispatches during the issue.
Rap Sheet:Batman and Robin Vol.
1 Batman Reborn
Phosphorous Rex is another member of the Circus of Strange in Batman Reborn.
Rex is part of the first big fight inBatman#1.
Ventriloquist (Arnold Wesker)
The Big Intro:Detective Comics Vol.
1 #583
Several characters have used the name Ventriloquist throughout Batman history.
), Arnold Wesker is the most recognizable character in the role.
Ventriloquist was created by Alan Grant, John Wagner, and Norm Breyfogle in the pages ofDetective Comics.
Born into a Mafia family, Wesker watches his mother gunned down by mobsters.
Funny enough, Scarface really controls Wesker.
The puppet constantly shouts orders at his master.
Some of his many appearances include Read My Lips as well wasThe Batman Adventures#14.
He also faces off against his own puppet inBatman: Gotham Adventures#46.
Ventriloquist fights Batman in that opening scene in Arkham Asylum.
He doesnt have Scarface with him.
Instead, he has this really gross sock puppet-looking thing.
Ventriloquist is only in a brief panel, and we never hear of him again.
Will we see Ventriloquist and his gangster puppet any time soon?
She has a puppet named Ferdie that she stole from a party.
Clayface
The Big Intro:Detective Comics Vol.
1 #40
Basil Karlo aka Clayface is one of the oldest B-listers in Batman history.
In his first appearance, Karlo isnt actually the colossal, mud-based villain that we would come to know.
1 #298 by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff.
Matt Hagen is a washed-up actor who has suffered severe facial scarring in a car accident.
This is one of the great episodes ofTAS.
The villain actuallyoutsBruce Wayne as Batman after coming into contact with his DNA, but no one believes him.
Its kind of funny, until he tauns Bruce by taking the form of his recently-deceased son, Damian.
In short, things dont go well for this B-lister.
you’re free to currently find him escaping from Arkham inBatman Eternal.
Killer Croc
The Big Intro:Detective Comics Vol.
All in all, the appearance of a monstrous reptile.
By the time he was an adult, hed been pushed into becoming a sociopathic killer.
For most of his criminal career, hes sought to take over Gotham and kill the Bat.
Once a pro wrestler, Killer Croc turned to a life of crime.
This episode continues the shows great streak of pointing sympathetic lights towards some of the grislier villains.
Killer Croc fights the Dark Knight in Arkham in that very first scene of the run.
Currently, Croc works for Catwoman, who is now the head of her own crime family.
Flamingo is one of the poor saps who gets a beating from Damian in this issue.
Throughout Revenge of the Red Hood, readers are warned that something really bad is coming to Gotham.
Flying in a big pink plane (his whole theme is pink), he arrives with bloodsoaked hands.
(Morrison has said that they based Flamingos design on Prince.)
Still, no body is recovered by police.
Flamingo is one of Arkhams inmates who attack Batman during the breakout in issue #1.
This guy is to insane to push out of history.
Tiger Shark
The Big Intro:Detective Comics Vol.
1 #147
Tiger Shark was created by Bill Finger and Dick Sprang for the story Tiger Shark!
The villain looked more like a scuba diver with skis and a gun than anything else.
Im sure it was pretty menacing for the time.
You cant make this stuff up.
Oh wait, yes you’re free to.
Rap Sheet:Detective Comics Vol.
Snyder and Jocks Tiger Shark likes to murder people and stuff their corpses in dead killer whales.
Later, in Tiger Sharks underwater lair, Batman is held over a tank full of killer whales.
I expect you to die, Mr. Wayne.
The Return:Batman Vol.
The issue is more about introducing Harper Row, who would later become Bluebird inBatmanVol.
Dollmaker (Barton Mathis)
The Big Intro:Detective Comics Vol.
This is Tony S. Daniel at his most grotesque.
In the show, Barton loves pouring a flexible polymer into young womens throats and dressing them like dolls.
Again, Dollmaker pushes this story into very dark territory.
A proper serial killer in a show full of corporate corruption and mobsters.
Lance and his daughter Laurel and plans to turn them into dolls.
The Return:Batman Vol.
This is the stuff of nightmares, folks.
Im hoping Snyder and Capullo bring him into the fold in Endgame or in the aftermath!
Reaper
The Big Intro:Detective Comics Vol.
That man was The Reaper, a dude dressed like his namesake who didnt mind murdering the bad guys.
He killed lots of them, which got Batmans attention.
Thus began the Year Two storyline.
Are alarms going off in your head?
Year Two was quickly pushed out of continuity in the aftermath.
Note that Denny ONeill introduced a separate Reaper named Dr. Benjamin Gruener inBatmanVol.
1 #237 (1971), but hes not the guy were really talking about here.
Tony S. Danieldidbring Gruener back many years later in #692.
This sends Batman back to the dark places.
Should he kill Chills son?
Its one of the best Batman animated tales ever made.
The Return:Batman Vol.
2 #19
Reaper only appears in a recording during the in-betweener adventure before Zero Year.
The vigilante planned to unleash a toxin-dosed flowers at a Falcone family funeral.
With a little help from Robin, Batman is able to stop him.
Just check out how Capullo draws this guy.
Hes right at home, after years drawing Spawn.
I need more Reaper, baby!
Doctor Death
The Big Intro:Detective Comics Vol.
1 #29
Technically, Doctor Death is the first supervillain introduced in the Batman mythos.
In the earliest stories, the Doctor always has a big henchman to do his bidding.
But Jabah, Mikhail, and Togo cant protect him from the Dark Knight.
The Return:Batman Vol.
2 #25
Doctor Death is my absolute favorite B-lister in the current run.
Zero Year, although its the story of Batmans origin, will undoubtedly be remembered by its villains.
Both the Red Hood and Doctor Death stole the show from The Riddler, in my humble opinion.
Hellfern tests the serum on himself and becomes the monstrous, skeletal Doctor Death.
Technically, Snyder and Capullo have reintroduced him as one of the first supervillains in the new Batman mythos.
Long live Doctor Death!
Joe Chill
The Big Intro:Detective Comics Vol.
But it wasnt until Batman Vol.
1 #44 that Finger and Kane gave the mugger a name: Joe Chill.
Depends on who you ask.
But Batman becomes obsessed with him every time the two cross paths.
What is the true nature of Joe Chill?
Rap Sheet:Detective Comics Vol.
1 Year Two, Batman Vol.
Its grandiose from the first panel to the very last.
When Batman has the chance to finally punish his parents murderer, does he do whats necessary?
Revenge is a dish best served…chilled.
Okay, Ill let myself out.
The Return:Batman Vol.
2 #37
Joe Chill has only JUST appeared in the pages ofBatman.
Remember that B-lister Snyder teased back in the interview above?
Well, hes the first one to make an appearance in Endgame.
Their first appearance, in turn, was inDetective ComicsVol.
Perhaps hes not even worth considering a B-lister.
More like a Z-lister?
Still, Crazy Quilt has his moments.Batman: The Brave and the Boldintroduces the villain to modern audiences.
He tries to blow up Grayson and Bludhaven with a giant laser cannon.
But Batman stops him just in time.
The Return:Batman Vol.
2 #38
Nope, it was Crazy Quilt who Snyder was talking about all along.
You might remember Dr. Hellfern (Doctor Death) and Hugo Strange, as well.
Decker has had a much less successful outing as a villain than the other two.
Capullo even styled him to look like Vincent Price.
Crazy Quilt is a really nice touch for the book.
