If there’s one hero who is enjoying a surge of fame right now in the DC Universe, it has to be Batwoman. Hot off the heels of her television series' debut, the hero is more popular now than ever before. The cousin of Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, Kate Kane is a military-trained soldier who dedicates herself to fighting evil.
An icon for many thanks to her original approach to Batman’s legacy and becoming one of the few heroes to be out and open as a lesbian, one thing fans want to know is who are Batwoman’s enemies? Let’s take a look at the ten best Batwoman rogues, ranked.
10 Endless Winter
This first villain is unique in that they were not originally a Batwoman villain. Delores Winter was actually an aspiring actress in the 1940s, who was set to get her big break before the Ultra-Humanite kidnapped her. He performed emergency surgery to swap their brains, becoming the actress for his own purposes while disposing of her.
However, Delores survived, being resurrected by a doctor obsessed with the actress. She became obsessed with cosmetic surgery, trying to regain her former beauty, and once even arranged to have Icemaiden’s skin taken and placed on her. Eventually, Delores was used by Prometheus to attack Batwoman to distract the hero from his own plans.
9 Falchion
The next villain is interesting as his actual history is not super well known, but he had a powerful presence in Batwoman’s life. Falchion was the leader of the secret organization MEDUSA, which was named after his mother, the real-life Medusa of Greek Mythology. His brother was Pegasus.
With a decelerated aging process, control over magic, and expert combat skills, Falchion was a force to be reckoned with for Batwoman. However, the shapeshifter Maro Ito posed as Sister Sune to get close to Batwoman and the DEO. Once in, Ito managed to end Falchion’s life and take over the MEDUSA organization.
8 Green Fairy
Another unique villain that is part of Kate Kane’s rogues' gallery is Green Fairy. Surprisingly underutilized by DC Comics, Green Fairy was one of the many villains released from Arkham Asylum by Wolf Spider following his break-in into the facility. This led to a few confrontations with Batwoman herself.
Green Fairy is able to exhale a concoction of mind-altering fumes that turn anyone caught in her path into vulnerable victims, making her a dangerous foe to battle. She is a villain who deserves more recognition in DC Comics.
7 The Knife
A recent foe introduced during the DC Rebirth era is The Knife. Otherwise known as Tahani, Knife was a young girl who ended the life of a man in order to gain food. This act led to Tahani being discovered by Safiyah Sohail, a powerful woman who was grateful to the young girl for ending the life of a troublesome business partner.
Years later, Tahani and Safiyah grow intimate, although the former leaves for eight years to train as an assassin, even spending a spell under the League of Shadows. However, upon discovering Safiyah with Kate Kane, Tahani's hatred for Batwoman grew.
6 Wolf Spider
One of the best kinds of villains for any hero (story-wise) has to be those who started out as friends. Much like Thomas Elliot, Bruce Wayne’s friend who became Hush, Batwoman had a friend who was also a rich playboy. Kate Kane’s friend was Evan Blake, who went on to become a prominent art thief called Wolf Spider.
After stealing a series of paintings from depression-era artist Eisenstadt, it was revealed that Wold Spider was hired by the grandson of Grantham, a cruel businessman, as the paintings created a map to a boatload of money. Batwoman fought Wolf Spider but was forced to let him escape in the conflict.
5 Maro
One of Batwoman’s adversaries who was responsible for the creation of several of the hero's enemies was Maro, aka Maro Ito. The shapeshifting villain was a warlock who had the ability to bring urban legends to life. Using black magic to commit crimes and bring these legends to life, Maro created the Weeping Woman, Bloody Mary, and even transformed Killer Croc into a more monstrous version of himself.
Ito did all this in service to Medusa. After infiltrating Batwoman and the DEO’s operation and getting close enough to end the life of Falchion, MEDUSA's leader, Ito would also take over as the head of the organization named after the Greek monster.
4 Savior
One of the most compelling villains of the DC Rebirth era has to be Savior, aka Tim Drake. A future version of the New Earth version of Tim Drake, Tim became Batman in his future after Bruce was gunned down by Batwoman, leading to a darker timeline that forced Tim to take a zero-policy stance against criminals.
Tim then was captured by Mr. Oz, but soon escaped with the Earth 0 version of Tim Drake, and sees an opportunity to stop his future. He goes after Batwoman, taking down nearly the entire Bat-Family until Tim and Batwoman stop him and Brother Eye.
3 Weeping Woman
One interesting thing that came from Batwoman’s battle against the organization MEDUSA was the villains based on urban legends that were created. One villain was The Weeping Woman, a villain based on a very popular urban legend known as La Llorona.
The villain was a single mother who had her children taken away in Gotham City after she had one drink, and the grief and pain of losing her children allow Maro to transform her into the Weeping Woman, a watery ghost. However, upon learning she was used by Maro to do unspeakable acts, she drowned Maro, ending his life and breaking the curse holding her on the mortal plane.
2 Nocturna
One of Kate Kane’s most invested villains has to be Nocturna. Otherwise known as Natalia Mitternacht, was introduced as a Batwoman villain in the New 52 era of DC Comics. She was an inmate of Arkham Asylum, on trial of the deaths of several of her former husbands, making her a black widow of sorts.
In reality, she was a vampire, who was also a thief. Despite being given opportunities to flea during the Night of the Owls storyline or when Wolf Spider freed her, Nocturna chose to stay, beating her conviction and going on to become infatuated with Kate. Natalia manipulated Kate into letting her bite the hero's neck, and then Nocturna controlled Batwoman to end her engagement to Maggie Sawyer.
1 Alice
Probably the most important villain in Batwoman’s rogues' gallery is Alice, aka Beth Kane and Kate's twin sister. Along with her mother and sister, Beth was kidnapped by terrorists when she was twelve years old. When their father led a rescue mission, the siblings' mother was shot and the terrorists faked Alice's passing as well.
Taken and believed dead, Beth lost her sanity and became Alice, taking inspiration from the classic novel and speaking only in quotes from the book. She went on to lead the Religion of Crime and become Batwoman’s greatest foe, creating one of the most personal battles in the superhero’s career.