While the 2019 smash-hit movie Joker demonstrated the titular character's popularity, in the comics it's obvious that many villains at least have a claim to the title of Batman's arch-nemesis. DC has oversaturated its world with various versions of the Joker and some comic fans now feel like the Clown Prince of Crime is over-hyped. With the richest rogues gallery in comics, Batman has a lot of potential nemeses.
Batman's Gotham City is renowned in comics for its unique and versatile roster of iconic comic book villains. These characters range from small-time crooks like Mad Hatter and Ventriloquist to heavy hitters like Bane and Two-Face. There are plenty of reasons to consider some of these villains as better matches for Batman's wits than Joker and many potential candidates to replace the murderous clown as Batman's number one villain.
10 Hugo Strange Is One of Batman's Most Intelligent Villains
Introduced in 1940, Hugo Strange is one of the Batman villains who pose a significant psychological and intellectual challenge to The Caped Crusader. Indeed, not only is he smart, he was one of the first villains to discover that Bruce Wayne is Batman. As a brilliant mind who wants to reform Gotham, his dark methods make him an important anti-Batman figure as well.
Even following his death, Hugo Strange returned to the DC universe to haunt characters from beyond the grave as a ghost. Although his role has been diminished in recent years, it wouldn't be difficult to reinvent Strange as something like Batman's own Lex Luthor.
9 Mr. Freeze Is A Sympathetic But Formidable Villain
Although he is an older villain, Freeze found new life in the Batman The Animated Series version that explored his tragic motivations. With a dying wife, Freeze turned to crime to fund his research in order to keep his beloved Nora alive. In his quest for revenge and his wife's preservation, he pursues an ice-themed criminal career throughout Gotham City.
Freeze's cryo-tech freeze guns fit his name perfectly, and he has been known to plunge Gotham City into sudden, deadly winters. While Freeze's backstory may be sympathetic, he's undoubtedly one of the toughest villains in Batman's rogue's gallery.
8 Penguin Represents The Organized Crime That Inspired Batman's Origin
Numerous explorations of Batman's origin have highlighted how organized crime was a motivating factor in turning the orphaned billionaire into a costumed crimefighter. Issues like police corruption and the ongoing strife of the Maroni and Falcone crime families kept Gotham in a perpetual state of chaos.
While Batman dealt with many of those problems, the void left in the underworld was soon filled by the new crime boss, Penguin. While the villain can seem like a joke, many stories have portrayed him as a ruthless and cunning force to be reckoned with on the streets of Gotham and its underworld.
7 Hush Gave Batman One of His Most Iconic Mysteries
The legendary "Hush" story arc, by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee, saw Batman tested to his limits by the appearance of a new and mysterious villain known as Hush. The bandaged villain seemed to be behind a number of Gotham-based crimes and attacks and eventually was revealed as Bruce Wayne's childhood friend Thomas Elliott.
Another anti-Batman, in this case, a rich kid who murdered his own parents, Hush has since shown up on and off, recently serving as a villain in Tom King's "City of Bane" story in Batman. Like Harvey Dent, Hush was once Bruce Wayne's friend and Batman has tried to rehabilitate him over the years. However, the villain remains unmoved.
6 The Riddler Is The Dark Knight's Greatest Intellectual Challenge
Riddler is best-known known for testing Batman's wits and using riddles to taunt The Dark Knight in the wake of his crimes. Leaving Batman to decipher his puzzles, Riddler provides some of Batman's most complicated mysteries, both in and out of comics.
As one of Batman's classic Golden Age villains, the Riddler is one of Batman's most intelligent foes and has been known to mastermind plots against The Dark Knight. Although the villain has largely retained his classic appearance, his success in The Batman may soon lead to a makeover in the comics.
5 Deadshot is DC's Most Dangerous Assassin
While many know Deathstroke as Batman's assassin rogue, Slade Wilson has always been more of a Teen Titans nemesis than Batman's. Deadshot, however, is a classic and deadly assassin who has given Batman some of his toughest close calls in fights.
The assassin who never misses has been known to wreak havoc in Gotham City when he isn't off on a Suicide Squad mission. One of his best recent stories in Detective Comics saw Deadshot taking Gotham's elites hostage and battling Batman on a desolate island.
4 Joker May Be The Agent of Chaos But Scarecrow Is The Master of Fear
Although Joker is typically the biggest name in Gotham City villain known for inspiring terror, Scarecrow is quite literally the master of fear. Using his fear gas to instill chemical terror in the people of Gotham, Scarecrow has managed to take over the city as often as Joker, most recently in "Fear State."
Jonathan Crane's villainous alter ego plays on Batman's worst fears in order to challenge him, and his fear toxins allow him to plunge the entire city into fear-fuelled chaos. The Scarecrow's latest design has given him one of the most haunting looks in comic books. Batman is known for using fear to his advantage, making Scarecrow an important foil for the hero.
3 Two-Face Presents One of Batman's Biggest Moral Dilemmas
Another of Batman's older villains, Harvey Dent's Two-Face represents a moral and psychological dilemma for Batman. While Harvey Dent was a good man and old friend of Bruce Wayne, Two-Face is a deadly criminal who terrorizes the city.
Two-Face's random crimes, decided by the toss of a coin, make him incredibly unpredictable. In Two-Face, Batman has a friend trapped inside an enemy, which gives him a unique villain. As much as Bruce Wayne has attempted to rehabilitate Harvey over the years, Two-Face has always reasserted control, forcing Batman to make hard decisions when they meet.
2 Ra's al Ghul's Wisdom and Assets Make Him A Formidable Enemy
Ra's al Ghul, head of the League of Shadows, has been a major threat to Batman since the 1970s. First appearing in Batman #232 by Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams, the Demon's Head's plans of order through destruction have served as the basis for some of Batman's biggest challenges.
As the grandfather of Batman's son, Damian, Al Ghul also occupies a permanent role in Bruce Wayne's life, complicating his position as a protector and a father. Ra's centuries of experience, established power structure, and martial skills make him a deadly threat to any who stand in his way.
1 Bane Combines Strength and Intelligence To Form Batman's Perfect Mirror
The creation of 1990s team Chuck Dixon and Graham Nolan, Bane is one of Batman's few equals. Beginning with his victory midway through the Knightfall saga, he established himself as one of the few villains who could best Batman and conquer Gotham.
Bane combines brains with muscle, whereas most villains typically wield one or the other. The work of Tom King on Batman further developed him as The Dark Knight's true arch-nemesis, when Bane finally seized control of Gotham, albeit with the assistance of Thomas Wayne's Flashpoint Batman.