Just Another Batman Blog

This latest installment of Batman Villains is going to be all about nostalgia. Most of the time, I complain about squandered opportunities back in the day to make villains more than two dimensional crooks with a theme, and celebrate the recent adaptations, and reimaginnings that have revived characters like the Joker , Mr. Freeze , and the Mad Hatter . But, there is at least one character that has gone the other direction. What happened to Bane? In 1993, Bane makes his debut in the Knightfall story arc. Created by Chuck Dixon, Doug Moench, and Graham Nolan, Bane was supposed to be both a physically imposing villain, and an intelligent criminal mastermind, influenced heavily by the famous Doc Savage character of 1930's pulp. Bane's character is made famous in Knightfall for physically crippling Batman, breaking his back after besting him in hand to hand combat. This is definitely one of the most iconic images in Batman history, right up there with the death of Jason Tod...

I began playing Arkham Asylum again after reading a bit about the new Batman Arkham Origins game set to be released in October. Although the Joker is clearly the main antagonist (as he ought to be in a Batman game), I had forgotten how many other villains had substantial importance to the plot. Some of the supporting villains in this game were reimagined, saved from the borderline ridiculous reputations created in earlier incarnations. Poison Ivy is one of these characters. Almost doomed from the start, Poison Ivy was created in 1966 by Robert Kanigher and Sheldon Moldoff and debuted in Batman #181. She is a reaction to the growing feminism and environmentalism of the time and fit right into the "campy villains with a theme" trend of the 50's and 60's. Connected with plants and ecology, Poison Ivy becomes a vengeful Mother Nature type of character, extracting revenge on people for abuses to the environment. JT Krul was instrumental in developing the character...

Many Batman villains are highly intelligent with severely warped psychosis.  Mr. Freeze is a good example of a highly intelligent scientist bent to extreme measures, making him turn to crime to fund his obsession. Created in 1959 by David Wood and Sheldon Moldoff, Mr. Zero is a prime example of the thematic camp villains committing crimes based on their theme. Mr. Zero's name was changed on the Batman television show to Mr. Freeze, which was then changed in the comics to match. Mr. Freeze has a few origin stories, all of them resulting in his body chemistry changing, requiring his need to wear a supersuit that keeps his temperature below zero. Originally, Mr. Zero was researching cryo-technology, weaponizing it. His freeze weapon backfired and turned him into a sub-zero freak. Paul Dini re-imagined the character as a brilliant scientist whose wife Nora became terminally ill. Dr. Viktor Fries cryogenically freezes his wife until he can find a cure.  An accident during...

Awhile ago, I started writing pieces about Batman villains. Today's post is about Catwoman, most recently portrayed by Anne Hatheway, although not ever named Catwoman in the film, the character has similar traits, appearance, and modis operandi, and shares the same alter ego, Selina Kyle. Selina Kyle, The Cat, or Catwoman, debuted in 1940 in Batman #1, the same issue that debuted The Joker . Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, Catwoman appears as a cat themed cat-burglar (clever) wielding a whip. A femme fatale character, Selina Kyle seems to have similarities to several film noir actresses, and Irene Adler from Sherlock Holmes. Her original origin cast her as a former flight attendant with amnesia who began a life of crime. Later stories have her recant this statement, admitting she lied. In 1987 Frank Miller rewrote the origin, casting Selina as a reformed prostitute, turned cat burglar. In Jeph Loeb's Long Halloween/Dark Victory saga, there is a strongly hinted, but...

Another installment of my Batman Villains series... I find this particular rogues gallery far more interesting than any other in comics. Today's villain is the Mad Hatter. Usually dismissed as a lesser, goofier foe, Jervis Tetch, the Mad Hatter, was introduced in Batman #49 in 1948, created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. His origin suggests he is some sort of scientist, but does not use a Dr. title in front of his name, unlike other villains in Gotham with scientific backgrounds.  He has an obsession with hats, and, more importantly, with Alice's Adventures in Wonderland . This is the first of many villains to turn up in Gotham with Wonderland themes. This one-time appearance would be his last until 1987.   There is also a period during the campy 50's and 60's where a different Mad Hatter appears, created by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff. This hatter does not appear to have a Wonderland theme, and over emphasizes his obsession for hats. Like all campy villa...

I've written about arguably the best hero/anti-hero in the history of comics before. The Batman was introduced in 1939 by DC comics in their Detective Comics issue number 27. The creation of Batman was influenced obviously by Zorro, the Scarlet Pimpernel, The Shadow, and the Phantom, and less obviously by Sherlock Holmes and Doc Savage. However, as I've stated before, what has made this particular hero the most popular among the pulp heroes listed above is not so much the flying rodent paraphanalia, or even the comic medium, but rather his villian/rogues gallery. For example, the most famous Sherlock Holmes villain is Dr. Moriarty, but most would have trouble identifying another. I'd be surprised if anyone could name a Doc Savage villain (John Sunlight), or Zorro, or The Shadow (he knows, though, he knows). Villains, in fiction, are pretty necessary when telling heroic stories. Heroes, especially in comicbook mediums, need antagonists, foils, to match up against. Witho...

Batman. What a great character. Of all the super heroes created in the last 100 years, Batman is definitely the most intriguing. There are tons of other comic book superhero characters out there, some have more interesting premises and themes like the Wolverine, Hellboy, Spawn. Even lesser known characters from Batman's same publishing company (DC) on the surface have potential to be more interesting like Firestorm, Animal Man, Swamp Thing, Doctor Midnite, and Deadman. However, Batman towers above everyone else in popularity in the comics universe, and in pop culture. The fact that until recently, Batman (Bruce Wayne) was one of the few DC heroes from the Golden Age (1938-1950) to not die or retire and be replaced by another younger character attests to his popularity and staying power. Boom Tron made him their Badass of the Week  in July. Batman's origin has been told by numerous writers in numerous mediums. Not only is Batman printed monthly in several comic titles, but...