The Batman family enemies are a collection of supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. These characters are depicted as adversaries of the superhero Batman and his allies.
Since Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939), his supporting cast has expanded to include other superheroes, and has become what is now called the "Bat-family". As with most superheroes, a cast of recurring enemies to the Batman family have been introduced throughout the years, collectively referred to as Batman's "rogues gallery". Many characters from Batman's rogues gallery who are criminally insane become patients at Arkham Asylum after they are apprehended.
Contents
Supervillains and themed criminals
The following fictional characters are listed in alphabetical order by the name of their supervillain persona. Each character's first appearance and brief biographies of each fictional character are also listed, staying to their fictional histories and characteristics in the DC Universe.
Sometimes more than one fictional character will share a supervillain persona. In those cases, the name of the character most associated with said supervillain identity will have their name in bold in their biography.
Classic rogues gallery
Listed below are the Batman family's most enduring and iconic enemies.
The League of Assassins
First appearing in Strange Adventures #215, the League of Assassins is a team of highly trained killers that was founded by Ra's al Ghul and has often swayed from working under his organization to working independently of it. The group has been led at times by Dr. Ebeneezer Darrk, the Sensei, Lady Shiva, and Cassandra Cain.
Morrison-era enemies (2007–2011)
These are enemies that were introduced under writer Grant Morrison.
The New 52 and Beyond
In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. Since this new timeline began, these supervillains have been introduced. These are characters that have not been around long enough to apply to any other category.
Enemies of lesser renown
These enemies are categorized by their obscurity or for being less notable than other characters in this article.
Villains from other rogues galleries
When these villains debuted, they fought other heroes before fighting Batman.
Teams
The following is a list of fictional teams, groups of supervillains, gangs, and organized crime families who are enemies of the Batman family, listed in alphabetical order by name. The first appearance and a brief fictional biography of each team is also listed.
Mobsters and plainclothes criminals
Besides his infamous rogues gallery of supervillains, Batman has also faced more "ordinary" enemies, such as assassins, mobsters and terrorists.
In alphabetical order (with issue and date of first appearance)
Two of Batman's mobster foes have donned costumes and crossed over to become supervillains:
Hangman: A mysterious serial killer who murders police officers on every holiday of the year (during the Dark Victory storyline), leaving behind a version of the children's word game "Hangman" (with key letters missing) with each new victim. All of the victims are police officers who, in one way or another, helped Harvey Dent rise to his position of District Attorney. In the end, the Hangman is revealed to be Sofia Falcone, daughter of Carmine Falcone.
Holiday: A mysterious serial killer who murders mobsters and others over a year (during The Long Halloween storyline). The killer's weapon is a .22 pistol (using a baby bottle nipple as a silencer) with the handle taped and the serial number filed off. Also, every crime takes place on a holiday and a small trinket representing each holiday is left behind at the scene. Alberto Falcone, the youngest son of Carmine Falcone, admits to being the Holiday killer, but then Harvey Dent says there were two Holiday killers. Batman deduces that since he killed Vernon on Halloween with a .22 pistol, he was, in fact, the second Holiday; however, later in a lone monologue Gilda Grace Dent reveals herself as the second (or technically first) Holiday, who was responsible for the first three murders.
Corrupt cops and government officials
In alphabetical order (with issue and date of first appearance)
Antiheroes and reformed supervillains
The following is a list of Batman enemies who have reformed and are more often depicted as allies of the masked vigilante than enemies.
Allies in conflict
Some characters generally considered to be allies, yet have come into conflict with Batman.
In alphabetical order (with issue and date of first appearance):
In other media
Antagonists from other media
Baby-Doll (appeared in Batman: The Animated Series, originally voiced by Alison La Placa and later by Laraine Newman) - Introduced in her self titled episode, Mary Louise Dahl is a washed-up actress who became bitter and insane after falling into obscurity and suffering from a disorder that prevents her body from growing to adulthood, making her appear to be a child. She had a plan to kidnap her old co-stars from Love That Baby, but was stopped by Batman. She later returned as the partner-in-crime and lover of Killer Croc.
Ferris Boyle (appeared in Batman: The Animated Series, voiced by Mark Hamill) - Introduced in the episode "Heart of Ice", Boyle is the CEO of GothCorp and directly responsible for the accident to Victor Fries that resulted in his becoming Mr. Freeze. Boyle would later have his legs frozen and nearly be killed by Freeze, until Batman subdued Freeze and exposed his crimes to reporter Summer Gleason, though the manner in which Batman obtained the evidence leaves it unclear if Boyle was sent to prison. Boyle would appear in comics written by the same writer Paul Dini.
Ferris Boyle appears in the DLC Cold, Cold Heart for Arkham Origins, voiced by Stephen Tobolowsky.
Ferris Boyle appears in Batman: Arkham Shadow, voiced again by Stephen Tobolowsky. He is shown as an inmate of Blackgate Penitentiary, where the Rat Cultists hustle him for protection money.
Condiment King (appeared in Batman: The Animated Series, voiced by Stuart Pankin) – In his only appearance in the episode "Make 'Em Laugh", he attacks the Crown Restaurant, only to end up fighting Batman. He was identified as Buddy Standler, a former comedian who was brainwashed by the Joker using the Mad Hatter's mind-controlling devices. When Batman defeats the Joker and his plans were exposed, it was assumed that Standler was cleared of all charges. The Condiment King later appeared in the comics as the alias of Mitchell Mayo.
Roland Daggett (appearing in Batman: The Animated Series, voiced by Ed Asner) – The owner of Daggett Industries, who projects himself as an honest and caring businessman, but is in reality ruthless and despicable, caring only for his image, power and wealth. His first appearance was in the two part "Feat of Clay" episode. Daggett is responsible for the creation of Clayface (Matt Hagen) and uses him to blackmail competitors such as Wayne Enterprises' Lucius Fox. Using Hagen as a would-be assassin after getting him hooked on his miracle face-shaping cream Renuyu, he eventually orders Hagen to be killed with an overdose after Fox escapes. This overdose transforms Hagen into Clayface, who attacks Daggett before being defeated by Batman. Daggett Industries would later appear in the mainstream comics and other media, with Daggett himself being established to exist in Detective Comics Annual #1.
Reception
Batman's rogues gallery has received critical acclaim, cited by many journalists as one of the greatest rogues galleries in all of comic books. Newsarama ranked Batman's villains as the second-greatest comic book rogues gallery of all time, only preceded by that of Spider-Man, stating that "the Dark Knight Detective is one of comics' most enduring, most iconic, and most popular characters, and none of that would be possible without the denizens of Gotham City's dense and dangerous underworld. Batman may be a household name, but the Joker, the Penguin, Mr. Freeze, Catwoman, Two-Face, and the Riddler are just as recognizable."
The internet blog io9 observed that "much of the appeal of Batman is that, unlike other superheroes, he's simply a person who has pushed himself to the edge of his natural limits. The flipside of that, though, is that the villains he faces are also by and large simply people with a single, notable obsession—and that's why they're so much more interesting than the usual set of villains." According to What Culture!, "Batman's villains stand in stark contrast to the other rogues galleries in comics lore; they're an unusual collection of freaks who generally blame the Dark Knight for their existence to begin with. Batman villains are usually cut off from reality, often coming to terms with a deranged part of their psyche—mirroring the darkness and split that also defines the Bat." HitFix praised Batman's rogues gallery, stating that "Great heroes are defined by the villains they face, and no group of evil-doers, murderers, criminals and psychopaths are greater than those stalking Gotham City. From murderous clowns, to cerebral assassins, to brutish monsters, Batman has a literal murderer's row of foes that constantly test his crime fighting acumen."