Batman: The Animated Series/Villains
From Pop-Cult Guides
| DC animated Universe: Chronology |
| Batman: The Animated Series | Superman: The Animated Series | Batman Beyond | The Zeta Project | Static Shock | Justice League | Movies |
|
| Characters: Heroes and Supporting · Villains · Minor · Organizations | Places and Props |
| Episodes | Movies | Web animation | Comics | Video games | Cast and crew | Broadcasting | Awards | Internet sites | DVD releases |
The Phantasm and general storyline for the movie Mask Of The Phantasm were modified from the Mike Barr-penned story "Batman: Year Two," which ran in Detective Comics #575-578 in the late 1980s; the villain in the comics was named The Reaper.
Other new villains like Red Claw and the Sewer King were invented for the series, but to little acclaim. In the episode Tyger, Tyger, Dr. Emile Dorian and his spawn, Tygrus were created, whose story was inspired by the H.G. Wells novel The Island of Dr. Moreau and William Blake's Poem The Tyger.
In addition, Mr. Freeze and the Mad Hatter's stories were revised to make them more tragic figures. The same case with Clayface, who was reinvented, with some tragic elements of the Basil Karlo version from the early comics and most of the 1960s shape-changing Matt Hagen version. Some characters like Count Vertigo and the Clock King were completely modified in costume and personality.
As in the comics and most versions, the most frequent adversary of Batman in the series is the Joker, who often messes with the hero on a very personal level. Due to her success as a popular character, the Joker is followed in appearances by Harley Quinn. The Penguin was also used with frequency, especially whenever Batman is dealing with weaknesses like blindness, unconsciousness, and identity or car troubles. Other villains that had several appearances during the show were Two-face and Catwoman who were often in conflict between being good or evil and sometimes played the role of friends of Batman/Bruce Wayne. Another character with high popularity during the show was Poison Ivy, whose popular partnership with Harley Quinn was succesfully translated into the comics afterwards.
Along with the most popular villains, the Scarecrow, the Mad Hatter, Scarface and the Ventriloquist, Killer Croc and the Riddler were also notable for appearing often in supporting roles besides the episodes focused on them, creating the feeling that the series had a very tight villain community that often interacted with each other.
Batman's conflict with Ra's Al Ghul and his daughter Talia was portrayed for the first time outside comics in this animated series. Both characters, whose portrayal was very close to their comics versions, appeared in several occasions and their relationship with Batman was explored in The Demon's Quest a two part story written by Denny O'Neil, who created them in the comics.
During the series, some of the villain's henchmen were frequently featured. Some of the most prominent were Ra's Al Ghul's bodyguard, Ubu (DCAU); Scarface's gang, consisting of Rhino and Mugsy; Thorne's secretary, Candance; and several members of the gangs gathered by the Joker.
Some other villains like Rupert Thorne, Roland Dagget or the Penguin after the last season, often function more as the villains behind the villains. Being responsible for the actions or events that lead to the creation of criminals like Two-Face and Clay-face, the comeback of Catwoman and Batgirl, or the arrival of Bane, who was mostly portrayed as a highly efficient villain for hire against Batman.
Contents |
[edit] Super villains
[edit] Mobsters
[edit] Henchmen
In the series, some henchmen transcended the anonymity their kind typically has within the genre. Harley Quinn, who went from henchgirl to a very recurrent and popular independent threat on her own, is the most notable example. Others like Candance and Rhino and Mugsy, while never independent, in one occasion each, go as far as manipulating their bosses for their own benefit, becoming in fact the intellects behind the plot. Some others, like Moe, Lar and Cur, Captain Clown, the Penguin's waitresses, and Mr. Freeze's Moles, whether as part of their gimmick or not, are almost mindlessly obedient and rarely speak a word. Additionally, the Joker, the Penguin, the Sewer King and Mr. Freeze, trained animals to serve them in different ways.
Some henchmen are almost invariably present whenever their bosses appear, like Ubu for Ra's Al Ghul and Rhino and Mugsy for the Ventriloquist. Meanwhile, Joker's different henchmen, Rocko and Henshaw and Moe, Lar and Cur are not as indispensable for their boss, but his recurrence in the show puts them among the most commonly seen. Although mostly based on the Batman Returns version, the Penguin keeps the 60s show costume of a long list of disposable henchmen named after birds (only Falcone is seen twice), but by The New Batman Adventures he settles with a trio of waitresses that run his new Iceberg Lounge when he's indisposed.
At least a couple of episodes the show has henchmen returning as an element to establish continuity and time awareness. That's the case of Frankie, who is working for Thorne when Harvey Dent becomes Two-face and is seen again when the later frames Thorne for his fake kidnapping. Rocko and Henshaw are seen henching three times for the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series and disappear in the later episodes and in The New Batman Adventures (replaced by Moe, Lar and Cur), save from one episode which takes place in the past, when Dick Grayson is still Robin.
The tradition of recurrent identifiable henchmen for certain villains was increased in The New Batman Adventures, in which the Penguin and Mr. Freeze get female get notable gangs of female trios and it is carried on in The Batman, in which The Joker, The Penguin, the Ventriloquist, Killer Croc and, to a relative degree Black Mask and the Riddler have permanent associates.
[edit] Continuity
| This DC animated universe characters exist in the same continuity with: |
|---|
|
Batman: The Animated Series Characters | Villains Superman: The Animated Series characters Justice League / Justice League Unlimited |
[edit] External links
- Batman: The Animated Series/The New Batman Adventures at The World's Finest, a site with a complete guide to the DC animated universe. It's the source of a great deal of the related images in Pop-Cult Guides.
- The Animated Batman, an Unofficial Guide, a site with a complete guide to Bruce Timm's Batman. It's the source of a great deal of the related images in Pop-Cult Guides.
