Posts

Fluid Fowl

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Recently, the new Bruce Timm Batman animated series dropped. There is so much to like about this new Batman series. It takes place in a noir setting somewhere in 1930s to 40s America, but without the systemic racism and misogyny. Its packed with Batman Universe easter eggs, like a Killer Croc cameo and a Carrie Kelly appearance. Most of the show seems to be a carefully crafted universe with an adult noir theme. However, one episode stands out as a little off... The first episode introduces this new Gotham City universe. Reeking of corruption, full of intrigue ready to be uncovered by a detective, this Gotham seems to be grounded in a sense of modernity despite its obvious homages to a gritty past. And then... super weapons and overt terrorism? Given the rest of the show's detective noir mystery feel, the first episode is more Batman 60s Camp, than Prohibition-era gangster Batman.  The episode, however, is the premier, and events in this episode set the stage for the rest of the se...
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The Original King of Crime

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  This is probably the most obscure villain to be featured yet here. With only a handful of appearances, and only two being more than a cameo, this guy is for the weirdo diehards. First appearing in 1966, The Monarch of Menace was created by Robert Kanigher and Sheldon Moldoff. He had only one other full appearance in a Batman story in 1981, 15 years later. Mark Russell brought him back as a cameo in 2020, and he's made 2 other cameos since.  Introduced in Detective Comics #350, Batman describes the Monarch of Menace as the only criminal to elude him and escape into presumed retirement. However, the Monarch's son gets caught committing crimes using his father's alias. Batman and Robin use the son as bait to lure the Monarch back to Gotham and have him arrested. When Batman goes missing after a battle with Ra's al Ghul , the Monarch resurfaces again. He capitalizes on Batman's disappearance and claims he has captured the Batman, using that lie to defraud other crimin...
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Shoot em Dead

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  There is a long list of assassins in Batman's villains gallery. I have a post devoted to a gang of them .  Deadshot is another assassin, another character with excellent training, no superpowers, and impeccable aim, who "never misses" his intended target. The most recognizable iteration of this character was resurrected in 1979 for Detective Comics #474 by Terry Englehart, Marshall Rogers, and Terry Austin. They gave him his signature iron clad, robot eye, arm mounted guns look. Technically, the character was created by David Vern Reed and Lew Schwartz in 1950 for Batman #59. However, as the image below shows, there doesn't appear to be anything similar. They could be considered 2 separate characters. However, they do share a name and origin. Floyd Lawton debuted in 1950 as a child of rich parents, like many other characters on this blog, including Bruce Wayne, Tommy Eliot , Jaina Hudson ,  Roman Sionis , Charise Carnes , and Oswald Cobblepot . Like these other char...
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Better than a Full House

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  The Royal Flush Gang aren't really a Batman exclusive team of villains. They were created in 1966 by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky for The Justice League of America #43. So, technically, since Batman is a member of the Justice League, this counts. But also, I like this concept, and it's my blog... This is a gang of thieves, the theme is playing cards, obviously, and the five members of the team identify with a different face card. There are a few different iterations of this group.  The first group dressed all as Clubs, and then changed to Spades. Kerry, Queenie, Jack, Thomas Dillon (the Ten), and Amos Fortune used "stellaration" to change their luck and help commit burglaries. They fought the Justice League three times, and the Joker . They were all killed during their last battle with the Justice League.  The second group is the most recognizable. Created in 1982 by Gerry Conway and Don Heck. I'll come back to them...  There are a few other versions of the Roy...
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Boppin 'em on the Head

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Jaina Hudson, the White Rabbit, was created in 2011 by David Finch and Paul Jenkins for Batman the Dark Knight vol 2 #1 . This storyarc is a rewrite of the early 90s Vengeance of Bane and Knightfall storylines . Jaina Hudson appears to be a gun for hire, and assumes the roles of Zombie and Bird from the original story, working with Bane and several other villains to run Batman ragged so Bane can break him.  This character has a strong upside. Like Bruce Wayne, Jaina Hudson is a rich socialite. An Indian American daughter of a diplomat, and heir to her mother's Bollywood money. She has some kind of condition that allows her to split herself into two separate entities, forming a second persona, the White Rabbit. The character hasn't been developed aside from this. Her motives are a mystery, the origin of her powers are also undisclosed. How she is connected to Bane in the first place is also vague. She has only 24 appearances in the comics, usually in cameo.  The White Rabbit p...
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The Pale Lady

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  Another in a short list of compelling female Batman villains, Natalia Knight, Nocturna, was created in 1983 by Doug Moench, Don Newton, and Gene Colan for Detective Comics #529. I am surprised I hadn't heard about this character more, or why she hasn't been used more frequently, as she ticks off a lot of boxes character-wise.  An orphan, like our hero, Batman, Natalia Knight is adopted by a Gotham mobster. She attempts to turn away from her criminal family and becomes an astronomer, working at Wayne Enterprises. Another in a long line of science-based Batman villains, Natalia is a victim of a lab accident (obviously), which essentially turns her into an albino. After this, she rejoins her adoptive brother Anton Knight and his inherited crime family. The two of them start a career of breaking and entering, and burglary. So, to recap, Nocturna is a female thief, and gangster, a scientist, and an accidental monster, and creature of the night. On the surface, she appears to be a...
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The Felon's Fiduciary

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  Created in 2020 by James Tynion IV and Guillem March, the Underbroker is a cool addition to the Gotham underground. I've written extensively on this blog about the difference between cartoon villains, and grounded criminals. I have brought up the idea that most criminals do not see themselves as bad people, and commit crimes for a variety of reasons and motivations. As I've said before, there are no Snidely Whiplashes running around tying damsels to train tracks, but there sure are plenty of Bernie Madoffs and Whitey Bulgers running rackets and pyramid schemes.    The Underbroker appears to be what the Terrible Trio could have been. Through his law firm, Graves Willock and Crain where he is a senior partner, Harlon Graves launders money for Gotham's criminals by hiding it in the hedge funds he manages. The Underbroker is THE banker for Gotham Crime. His clients must include most of the other characters on this blog...  Catwoman , the Penguin , Black Mask , Two Fac...
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