It doesn’t matter what hero you love in the vast world of comics, nothing beats Batman’s rogues gallery. From iconic foes like Mr. Freeze or The Joker, Batman tends to take on his fair share of weirdos. Obviously, they all can’t be incredible. Yet, there are quite a few unsung attempts at making the next big bad guy. Every now and then, a creative team will design and work out a character that will soak in the spotlight, but for whatever reason doesn’t seem to catch on. So, let’s reset the clock and give a few of these not-so-popular villains another fifteen minutes of fame!
Zeiss
Created by Ed Brubaker and Scott McDaniel in the pages of Batman #582-583 in 2000, Philo Zeiss immediately establishes himself as Gotham’s next big thing. As a mercenary and bodyguard, he ambitiously sought out conflicts with Batman believing himself to be superior. Partly, because he wears specially made cybernetic goggles used to study and store the skills of his enemies. Typically, Zeiss is an arrogantly overconfident combatant, but he can back it up with enough preparation. Ironically, this strength doubles as his greatest flaw. Now, though the character has successfully made several comic appearances and one animated cameo, Zeiss hasn’t been significant in a long time. Philo Zeiss isn’t much more than a quick study, but there’s always room for a smarter class of mercenary.
Recommended Stories: Batman Vol. 1 #582-583 (2000), The Question: Pipeline (2011).
Miracle Molly
Initially seeming like another edgy Harley Quinn knock-off with a cyberpunk make-over, James Tynion IV’s Miracle Molly proved to be more than meets the eye. Originally known as Mary Kowalski, she erases the memory of her boring life and is reborn into the “Unsanity Collective.” As Miracle Molly, the once shy programmer becomes a flashy activist leading tech-positive movements in Gotham City. While not being much of a straightforward villain, Molly’s growing cult of mind-wiped volunteers is a quietly haunting feature of Gotham’s underworld. Like Poison Ivy, Batman seems to want to leave her alone until she becomes a problem. Sadly, writer’s haven’t found a use for Molly and she faded from memory all over again. Though, I’m sure she’s still out there whisking people away from their lives like Peter Pan underneath all of our noses.
Recommended Stories: Batman Secret Files: Miracle Molly #1 (2021).
The Wrath
At the begining of the New 52, John Layman set out to revive another classic Batman analogue. While there’s been several versions of the character, the New 52 version unites his story in a definitive amalgamation. In direct contrast to Batman, Wrath loses his parents to the actions of the police department. Since then, the villain dedicates his entire life to cop killing and various acts of corruption. What sets this variant apart from other more likeable anti-Batmen is his expensive vendetta against law enforcement. He even has a paid teenage sidekick. Personally, his initial unoriginal costume makes him seem far more unstable than his boring 2013 armor. Out of all of the foes on this list, Wrath is the least likely to reappear, but an organized killer with his vast wealth could’ve made real trouble for the Batman and the GCPD.
Recommended Stories: Detective Comics Vol. 2 #22 (2013).
Mister Bloom
After inventing one of the most popular organizations in DC Comics, Scott Snyder attempted to create another iconic villain with the mysterious Mister Bloom. While his identity remains largely unknown, Bloom is essentially a mutant drug dealer creeping around Gotham. Despite first appearing as a foil during Gordon’s time as Batman in Super Heavy, Bloom would continue to make cameos here and there. Namely, his temporary membership of Task Force Z. In any case, Bloom is sort of the villain who keeps giving. Bloom has a plethora of superpowers, a scientific mind, and a creep factor of 1000%. Still, with newer villains like Peter Undine (Poison Ivy) stealing his look, Bloom must up his game if he’s ever going to play on the big stage again.
Recommended Stories: Batman: Superheavy (2016), Batman: Bloom (2016), Task Force Z.
The Absence
Once, Una Nemo was head over heels in love with Bruce Wayne. Nowadays, Una has lost her head entirely. Apart of Grant Morrison’s strange Batman and Robin baddies, The Absence first appears as a jilted psycho stalking, kidnaping, killing people associated with Bruce Wayne. What’s neat about this villain is that beyond her delusion, Nemo is extremely resourceful and diabolically petty. In spite of her horrible but wacky appearance, what little remains of Nemo’s one track mind also makes her uniquely unstable. There’s no telling if or when the character will return, but she’s definitely capable of filling the void of a capable Gotham City femme fatale.
Recommended Stories: Batman and Robin Vol. 1 #17-19 (2009).
Emperor Blackgate
Batman has fought his fair share of nobodies, but Ignatius Ogilvy is the self-proclaimed emperor of the nobodies. At first, Ogilvy began his career as Penguin’s boy friday, working his way up the ladder to caporegime. However, when Cobblepot unexpectedly finds himself behind bars, Ogilvy steps up in a real way. Unfortunately, this influences the bottom feeder to call himself “Emperor Penguin” and flip on his boss. Even after suffering defeat, Ogilvy just gives himself superpowers and tries to take over the prison as Emperor Blackgate. As another rogue from John Layman’s Detective Comics run, Emperor Blackgate teased a now non-existent revenge scheme with Wrath. Maybe two guys with imposter syndrome will be better than one?
Recommended Stories: Detective Comics Vol. 2 #13-20 (2012-2013).
The Arkham Knight
Peter Tomasi attempted to adapt Rocksteady’s Arkham Knight under a brand new alter ego, Astrid Arkham. Born within the walls of the infamous asylum, the various crazies of Arkham Asylum raise her over the decades in their image. Eventually, Astrid began to think of herself as the chosen advocate of the criminal underworld, capable of ridding the city of Batman’s influence. While forcing the same tired militia concept used by the Peacekeepers, Wrath, and The Colony, The Arkham Knight has never lived up to the hype. Ditching the knight gimmick in Task Force Z was a good idea, but liberating or defending current and former inmates could become a more engaging direction. At the very least, it would make the anniversary character worthy of the mantle.
Recommended Stories: Detective Comics #1001-1004 (2019).
The Abyss
Hired by Lex Luthor and inspired by Batman, The Abyss put fear in the hearts of criminals in Badhnisia. Sadly, all the power and rejection gets to him and he becomes another sick vigilante killer. A killer with the ability to move through darkness and impressively blind victims. Now, after Joshua Williamson’s original story, Detective Cayha forcibly assumes the mantle of Abyss with the intention of cleaning up the streets. Predictably, DC never adds Cayha to Batman Inc. and the extremely powerful villain nor his heroic counterpart ever return. Still, it would be cool to see what kinds of dark stories an invisible avenger could lead.
Recommended Stories: Batman Vol. 3 #119-121.
The Architect
Also known as Zachary Gate, The Architect was one of the few enemies who know Gotham better than Batman. Hailing from Scott Snyder’s Batman: The Gates Of Gotham, the mad inventor mostly exists to threaten the five families of the city. Later, the character briefly returns in Batman & Robin: Eternal as a secondary antagonist.Despite the character’s gnarly steampunk look, he isn’t much of a challenge for Batman physically. Moreover, after the invention of Snyder’s Court of Owls, Gate’s inclusion seems unfortunately redundant. If the character has the opportunity to return, there should be a refocus on redesigning Gotham how he sees fit. If Gate were to change and develop Gotham under his nose, then he would become an unpredictable fixture in his rogues gallery. Personally, his character seems like the perfect excuse to integrate the Wonder Tower aesthetic from Batman: Arkham City.
Recommended Stories: Batman: Gates of Gotham (2011), Batman Eternal #21 (2014).
Honorable Mention
For one reason or another, a villain may get the spotlight in a television show or a movie, but fail to have a lasting presence in the comic books. Likewise, some concepts established in the comic books may have had a shorter shelf life than intended. In the interest of those fascinating characters, here is my honorable mention of costumed unsung Bat-Villians we should’ve maybe seen more of:
- Scarebeast & Fright – First appears in Judd Winnick’s As The Crow Flies (2005) as a violent but brawny new transformation for mainstay Batman rogue, Scarecrow. Likewise, his doctor, Dr. Linda Friitawa (a.k.a) Fright, becomes an indispensable part of Black Mask’s organization at one time.
- The Designer – First appears in Joshua Williamson’s Batman Vol. 3 #89 (2020) as a short-lived power broker for super villians.
- Lil Rudy – First appears in Batman Annual #14: Eye Of The Beholder as a slick but sociopathic Patrick Bateman type killer.
- Silver Monkey – Reinterpreted in Beware The Batman (2013) as a mischievous mercenary leader within the League of Assassins.
- Mr. Toad & The Cirque Du Strange – First appears/dies in Batman and Robin #1 (2009) but has a bigger role in Beware The Batman (2013).
- The Phantasm – First appears in Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm (1993) as a former lover of Bruce Wayne moonlighting as a vigilante.
- Crytoon – First appears in Batman: Gargoyle Of Gotham (2023) as a onyx black psycho obsessed with cartoons.
- The Kabuki Twins – First appear in The Batman (2005) as stoic twin assassins for the Penguin with hand blades.
- Egghead – First appears in Batman (1966) as a genius egg-themed conman.
- The Victim Syndicate – First appear in James Tynion IV’s Detective Comics run (#948) as a group of grotesque victims of Batman’s war on crime.
In Closing
It doesn’t matter how many villains I list here, because every year there will be more to forget. Honestly, for every Phantasm, there’s a Punchline. At the same time, Batman has numerous other quality villains that have stood the test of time. Nonetheless, I hope readers and writers alike never write off these oddballs and find a place for their stories to live in your hearts. Take care, dear reader.
English (US) · 