Posts

The Pale Lady

-
Image
  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 al
Read more

The Felon's Fiduciary

-
Image
  Created in 2020 by James Tyrion 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 the other characters on this blog...  Catwoman , the Penguin , Black Mask , Two Face , Riddle
Read more

A League of Their Own

-
Image
  This is a group whose membership changes depending on the era, the writer, and the medium. The League of Assassins, also known as the League of Shadows, was originally created by Denny ONeil and Neal Adams for Strange Adventures #215 in 1968. I already featured a few members of the League in this blog.  According to DC canon, The League was founded by Ra's Al Ghul in 1013 AD. However, if Ra's Al Ghul is intended to be the historic imam Hassan-i Sabbath, than the League was actually founded in 1090. The League carries out missions to destabilize, destroy and allow reformation of what they consider to be decadent and irredeemable societies. The League is a global terrorist organization, with a purpose seemingly higher than usual terror groups whose goals are more oriented toward national or religious solidarity.  The League began as a foil for Batman, but due to its global nature, is also an opponent of Deadman,  the Green Arrow, Richard Dragon, Black Canary, The Question, Th
Read more

NaNa NaNa NaNa NaNa.... CatMan! (is lame)

-
Image
  Thomas Blake, the Catman, was created by Bill Finger and Jim Mooney in 1963 for Detective Comics #311. His origin revolves around his costume. The cat costume is made from mystical cloth from Africa, gives him enhanced abilities, including possibly 9 lives, which he uses to commit high-end heists. This origin is much like many other pulp fiction characters from the same era, reliant on mysticism and magic from far away, under developed lands, and misunderstood, "uncivilized" cultures. This can kindly be described as colonized fiction, but harshly and truly described as racist.  Just like several other characters written in the 60s, Catman had a distinct cat theme, much like his older female counterpart  Catwoman  (duh). He even had a tiger as a pet. At first, Catman's capers (crazy themed crimes probably are best described as capers) revolve around cat-themed merchandise. Often Catwoman is wrongfully accused of Catman's crimes, and she retaliates.  Eventually he, li
Read more

The Spoiled Slaughterer

-
Image
 Tell me if you've heard this one...  "the only good criminal is a dead criminal". This idea of a character going on a crusade to rid the world of the criminal element can be found all over. It's the plot of The Boondock Saints. Kick-Ass is built around this premise. In Gotham there are a few characters that attempt to be vigilante killers. The Red Hood kills. Anarky kills. The Clownhunter kills. Nobody kills. This Batgirl villain, The Spoiled Slaughterer, Daybreak, the Butcher Brat herself, Knightfall also kills.  Created in 2012 by Gail Simone and Alitha Martinez for Batgirl #10, Charise Carnes has an interesting origin story. Daughter of a shady Gotham real estate mogul, Carnes is betrayed by her first boyfriend, forced to watch him torture and murder her family, and then gets framed for it.  While in Arkham, Carnes befriends Jim Gordon Jr, Commission Gordon's serial killer son. She decides certain criminal minds can't be rehabilitated and should be termina
Read more

A Magical Cannibal

-
Image
  Cornelius Stirk has probably the least scary name for someone truly horrifying. Created in 1988 by Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle for Detective Comics #592, Stirk is a cannibal with mind altering powers.  A serial killer is bad enough, there is already one of those in Gotham. Stirk, though is a cannibal. And to make things worse, he can make people see him as someone else. Apparently, a hypothalamic disorder allows him to change his appearance in other people's minds. This allows him to camouflage himself as someone his victim trusts, long enough to murder them.  He eats hearts. He believes by eating the hearts of his victims, he can gain norepinephrine and extend his life. Norepinephrine is an actual hormone produced by the human body in bigger doses, like adrenaline, when the body is under stress. Stirk believes fear brings out the hormone, which he desires, so he scares his victims first. This seems like it would be pretty easy to do, considering he's going to murder them.
Read more

Worst Villain Ever

-
Image
  I've said it before on this blog, and I'll say it again, good villains in fiction need good criminal motivations. Good Batman villains need to be more than obsessed with beating Batman. The idea of a villain plotting and scheming to take down Batman, like some Western gunslinger kid looking to out shoot the most notorious outlaw, is only really good and compelling maybe one time. We had that one time in Batman comics, it was called Knightfall . After Bane's storyarc, we didn't need to revisit a personal crusade to tear down and ruin Batman for no other reason than bragging rights. However, comicbook writers continued to do just that. We got Bane, followed by Hush, followed by the worst character ever created, and then the Joker... multiple times? This is getting out of hand.  Simon Hurt was created by Grant Morrison in 2008, based on an unnamed scientist character created by Sheldon Maldoff and Charles Paris for a one issue story in Batman #156 in 1963. His backstory
Read more