A rebooted Dark Knight soared into theaters in The Batman, bringing fans one of the best big-screen portrayals of the character as well as the dark city he protects. Gotham City was brought to life in a new way that brought the best out of the worst in the city as the villains shone just as brightly as The Batman.
It's not always easy to tell the bad guys from the good guys in Gotham City, as The Batman revealed the extreme corruption that plagued City Hall and the GCPD. However, there were still a few villains that stood out from the rest in The Batman that we'll take a closer look at to see who left the biggest impact on Gotham City.
Spoilers for The Batman to follow.
8 Selina Kyle Was A Cat Burglar Who Was Inspired To Become Catwoman
Zoë Kravitz starred as Selina Kyle, a talented cat burglar who also worked at the secretive 44 Below club in The Penguin's Iceberg Lounge. She was a waitress who also moved the "Drops" drug for the Falcone Crime Syndicate.
She was inspired by Batman's vigilantism to take on her own costumed identity as Catwoman to try and steal important documents for her ill-fated girlfriend, Annika. Selina doesn't sit on the same level as the other villains in Gotham City, and her time working with Batman may have started her on the path to becoming more of an anti-hero in future installments.
7 District Attorney Gil Colson Worked For Falcone To Steal Millions
The corruption ran high in Gotham City, as Batman and Selina Kyle discovered when they tried to identify a few of the higher-ups who were hanging out in the 44 Below club. Gotham City's District Attorney Gil Colson (played by Peter Sarsgaard) was revealed to be corrupt and working with Falcone to stela millions from Thomas Wayne's fund for the city.
He was also revealed to be a "drophead" which made it easy for The Riddler to get the drop on him and use him in one of his schemes to unmask the truth. Colson died when he refused to name his connection to Carmine Falcone, potentially freeing up the District Attorney spot for another member of Batman's rogue gallery in the near future.
6 William Kenzie Was A Corrupt GCPD Officer Who Worked For Falcone
Batman was able to uncover a few of Gotham City Police Department's other rotten cops during his investigation into The Penguin and his operation at The Iceberg Lounge. He broke the nose of one of Penguin's enforcers (played by Peter McDonald), which made it easy to spot him again during his day job as a narcotics detective.
Batman learned his name was William Kenzie, a character who appeared in the Gotham Central comic series. Kenzie leaked important information to both Batman and James Gordon about the real power in Gotham City after he was captured by Catwoman for the murder of Annika. Kenzie revealed that he worked for Falcone, just like everybody else in Gotham City.
5 Riddler's Army Of Vengeance Was Spurred Into Action By A Serial Killer
While the serial killer who called himself The Riddler was ultimately caught by police after he committed a series of political murders that culminated with his assassination attempt on the mayoral candidate, his threat was far from over. It was revealed that he had managed to instigate a group of radicalized followers into carrying out his final attack on the people of Gotham City.
Riddler's army adopted the same look as the serial killer they followed, though they usurped Batman's own identifier as "Vengeance" to guide their mission. This ultimately helped inspire Batman to follow a more heroic path instead of continuing to instigate people like the Riddler.
4 The Mysterious Arkham Prisoner With The Haunting Laugh Could Be Big
Fans were rewarded with a brief tease at a possible future villain in the final moments of The Batman, as the mysterious role held by Barry Keoghan was revealed to be "Unseen Arkham Prisoner." The mysterious villain commiserated with the incarcerated Riddler over his plans to bring down Gotham City, ending with a telltale laugh that haunted the audience.
While it's unclear what the inmate did to end up in Arkham, it's clear that The Batman was teasing the possible debut of The Joker, Clown Prince of Crime and one of Batman's greatest villains. Fans weren't given much to go on besides what looked to be some potential trauma to his face, the brief tease was enough to build hype for Joker's full debut in the sequel.
3 Oswald "Oz" Cobblepot Is A Powerful Crime Boss Known As The Penguin
Colin Farrell wowed fans with his take on Oswald "Oz" Cobblepot as he disappeared into the role of The Penguin, one of Falcone's top enforcers who also ran Gotham City's Iceberg Lounge. The Penguin attempted to cooperate with The Batman initially when the Dark Knight crashed the Lounge, though that all changed after Batman chased him down in the Batmobile.
He aspired to become one of Gotham's biggest crime lords, which became an achievable goal after The Riddler helped bring about the fall of Falcone and his respective crime family. The Penguin was more than ready to pick up the pieces and take control as the new head of Gotham City's underworld.
2 The Riddler Is A Masked Serial Killer Who Called Out Gotham's Injustices
Batman was horrified to learn that his actions as a vigilante had indirectly inspired Edward Nashton to become the masked serial killer known as The Riddler, played masterfully by Paul Dano. Nashton had a troubled life growing up in Gotham City, and he revealed during a live stream that he was a drophead at a young age.
This led him to seek out and explore the corruption in Gotham City that failed to keep him safe as one of the city's orphans. The Riddler was brilliant, motivated, and ready to murder anyone he felt deserved to die in order to help him unmask the truth. The Riddler also revealed that he had figured out the secret identity of Batman, further adding to his overall threat.
1 Carmine Falcone Controls The Police And The Underworld Of Gotham City
Turturro surprised fans with his appearance as crime boss Carmine Falcone, head of the Falcone crime syndicate who was revealed to be the corrupt ruler of Gotham City's political interests as well as the GCPD. He was also revealed to have ratted out rival crime boss Sal Maroni, which made him The Riddler's ultimate target to expose.
Batman also learned that Falcone was likely the man who ordered his parents murdered, and he was revealed to have also murdered Annika. He attempted to murder Selina Kyle even after learning that she was his daughter. However, Falcone was The Batman's worst villain because he used Wayne's fund to rebuild Gotham as his own personal piggy bank, leading to the city's fall.