Just Another Batman Blog

  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 . The Joker  has done it 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 is a bit of a crazy retcon, but stay with...

Another new character appearing during Scott Snyder's Batman run, The Dollmaker is not to be confused with previous DC villains also using the same name. Created by Tony S Daniel and Ryan Winn for their run in Detective Comics, this Dollmaker first appeared in 2011 in Detective Comics vol 2, #1. Almost as soon as he debutes, Dollmaker disappears, in the shadow of another bigger villain. He helps the Joker  escape from Arkham. Joker has his face removed and reattached, aided by the Dollmaker. Once the Joker is out, Snyder's Death of the Family storyline begins. Despite Dollmaker's seemingly throwaway role to launch Death of the Family, he actually is a pretty interesting villain. In summary, he is a 2nd generation serial killer, obsessed with body parts in a very Frankenstein-like way. He wears his father's face, Wesley Mathis, a serial killer executed by Jim Gordon in self defense. Dollmaker has created a "family" of Frankenstein monsters which includ...

The 12 issue miniseries Hush was published in the regular  Batman monthly title in 2003. It was amazing, and really got me hooked on Batman stories. The title character Hush, created for this particular story is one of those retconned characters that don't feel forced and helped to give Batman's infamous backstory a bit more foundation. Tommy Elliot, first appearing in Batman #609, was created by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee as one of Bruce Wayne's childhood friends from the same social status. Elliot is a sociopath, murdering both parents for the family fortune, jealous of Bruce Wayne for losing his parents first, and devoting a life to plotting revenge, for some reason. Eventually he returns to Gotham, partners with the Riddler and puts together a scheme involving many Batman villains with the goal of taking down Batman/Bruce Wayne. This makes the 12 issue Hush storyline great, as it incorporates a large portion of the Batman villains gallery, mixes it with a who-dunnit my...

It seems like the biggest challenge for contemporary comic writers is creating new characters that are as interesting and potentially as longlasting as the more classic characters. How do you create a villain for Batman, for example, that is as terrifying and dangerous an adversary as say... the Joker ? Grant Morrison had a run on Batman and Robin that not only had to create an interesting storyline without using Bruce Wayne as Batman, but also had to develop a new Robin (Damian Wayne) who initially wasn't very popular (the test tube son of Batman and Talia? Really?). Morrison did pretty well, and created some new interesting villains in the process. Professor Pyg is one of these new characters, and perhaps the most interesting, most twisted, original Batman character in the last 30 years. His first appearance is in Batman #666 (2007), created by Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert. Professor Pyg doesn't really become developed though until 2009 when he appears in Batman and ...

She is DC's Bonnie Parker. She is Gotham's Mallory Knox. She is Mary Brunner in clown makeup, and a murderous Esther Greenwood. Harley Quinn is the most unlikely star of the Batman villains rogues gallery. Considering how mostly male and mostly sexist the comics industry was (and still is, although it has become better) in the 90s, the development of Harley Quinn is pretty interesting. As you scroll down, I have added additional Harley Quinn art, which shows the evolution of the character's costume, from completely covered catsuit, to almost nothing. Pretty indicative of the male dominated industry. Initially, she was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm for the Batman Animated Series as a sidekick and foil for the Joker in episode 22 "Joker's Favor". Arleen Sorkin should also get credit for creating Harley Quinn as well, as her blueprint for the character was used by Paul Dini. Harley Quinn initially was supposed to be a one act character. She fits i...

The Scarecrow was created in 1941 and appeared in World's Finest Comics #3. Another character created by the Bob Kane/Bill Finger combo that brought us many of the early Batman characters, Scarecrow makes two appearances in the '40s but is almost unrecognizable from the character used later. This original Jonathan Crane is a university professor with a case of bibliomania, and has obvious parallels to the Ichabod Crane from Sleepy Hollow. This professor dresses up as a scarecrow to commit crimes to earn money to afford more books. He also apparently has a hat fetish, and leaves clues like the Riddler . In 1967 Gardner Fox reimagined the character as a psychology professor. This Dr Crane specialized in anxiety and phobias. He becomes obsessed with fear and mass hysteria and often conducts unethical studies and experiments. The character and his origin, like most older comics characters, have been amended and tweaked to include a history of abuse and ridicule, job expe...

Dr. Hugo Strange (not to be confused with Marvel's Doctor Strange, or Nedor Comic's Doc Strange) appears in Detective Comics months before Batman #1 (the first appearance of the Joker and Catwoman). Dr. Hugo Strange is also very much like another early villainous doctor, Dr. Death. Their physical appearance, and their use of science to create weapons may lead one to question whether the two early characters are that much different. They appear six months apart and are nearly identical. This character was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger.  Strange originally operates as the leader of a gang, and uses science to create fog machines and super strong 15 foot mutant henchmen. He is also the first villain to deduce Batman's identity, and attempts to auction off the information.   Strange gets reinvented in the early '90s as a psychiatrist obsessed with the Batman, and tries to become the Dark Knight. In the Prey and Terror storylines, he works with the GCPD...