Batman / Enemies / Henchmen
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Althoug most henchmen are forgetable nameless extras that onlye appear one time, some have become recurrent characters and some have even become trademark of their bosses.
The first recurrent henchman to be created is Dala, the assistan and accomplice of the Mad Monk, but she only appeared once and is seen again almost seventy years after that. Ubu, the ever jelous and overprotective bodyguard of Ra's Al Ghul, possibly modeled after the henchmen of the James Bond villains, became almost as recurrent as his boss from the moment he was created. However Batman states that he believes he doen't face always the same "Ubu".
Out of the regular freak-like Batman villains from Gotham Ciy, Scarface / the Ventriloquist is the first to have recurring henchmen introduced along with him. Rhino is almost invariably seen whenever his boss is out of Arkham, and when he is in prison, Moose, his sister replaces him. Mugsy is not as recurrent, but is also seen frequently. Around that time the Joker used Tweedle Dee and Tweddle Dum, known as independent villains in the past as henchmen. Bane's men, also introduced along with his boss, seem more like a super team with a leader than a crime boss with his henchmen and have their personalities well defined.
Specially with Harley Quinn, the henchgirl of the Joker, who eventually becomes one of the most developed characters of the series, Batman: The Animated Series put a lotof stress on the use of recurrent henchmen. She is eventually introduced to the comics continuity, but before that, the Riddler gets his own similar henchgirls Query and Echo.
[edit] List
| Image | Name | Real name | Boss | Writer | Artist | First appearance | Date | Appearances (aprox.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dala | The Mad Monk | Gardner Fox | Bob Kane | Detective Comics #32 | September 1939 | 1 in Earth-2 | |
| The henchgirl and assistant of Nicholas Tepes a. k. a. the Mad Monk | ||||||||
| Ubu | Various | Ra's Al Ghul | Denny O'Neil | Neal Adams | Batman #232 | June 1971 | |
| The right hand and bodyguard of Ra's Al Ghul. There is actually more than one "Ubu", for there is an entire tribu of ubus. | ||||||||
  | Rhino and Mugsy | |||||||
| Rhino | Frederick Rhino | Scarface | Alan Grant and John Wagner | Norm Breyfogle | Detective Comics #583 | February 1988 | ||
| Mugsy | Unrevealed | |||||||
| The most trusted henchmen of Scarface, they appear almost every time he does outside Arkham. Rhino is even onece asked to become the ventriloquist. | ||||||||
| Harold | Harold Allnut | The Penguin | Dennis O'Neil | Denys Cowan | Detective Comics # The Question #33 | Dec 1989 | |
| A mute and mishapen mechanical genius once employed by the Penguin to create weapons. He ended up working for Batman at the batcave. | ||||||||
 | Harpy | Maxie Zeus | [[]] | [[]] | Detective Comics # Batman # | 19 | ||
| A | ||||||||
 | Bane's Henchmen | |||||||
| Zombie | Unrevealed | The Penguin, Bane | Chuck Dixon | Graham Nolan | Batman: Vengeance of Bane | January 1993 | ||
| Trogg | Unrevealed | Bane | ||||||
| Bird | Unrevealed | Bane | ||||||
| They are all loyal to Bane and help him break the Batman. Bird used to work for the Penguin. | ||||||||
| Actuary | The Penguin | Chuck Dixon | Graham Nolan | Detective Comics #683 | March-April 1995 | |||
| A mathematical genius who applies formulas to aid the Penguin in committing crimes. | ||||||||
 | Query and Echo | |||||||
| Query | Diedre Vance | The Riddler | Chuck Dixon | Kieron Dwyer | Detective Comics Annual #8 | 1995 | ||
| Echo | Nina Damfino | |||||||
| Former biker women, that used to rob convenience stores dressed in sexy costumes. They join the Riddler at a low point in the lives of all three of them and become a relatively succesful gang. Both are well-trained with firearms and boast impressive combat skills. The costumes they wear are catsuit-like clothings with black net stockings and a big question mark logo over the chest. Their suits are either green, like that of the Riddler, or purple to contrast with it. | ||||||||
| | Que | The Riddler | [[]] | [[]] | Batman & Superman: World's Finest #2 | 1999 | ||
| Harley Quinn | Harleen Quinzel | The Joker | Paul Dini | Bruce Timm | Batman: Harley Quinn | In TV: September 11, 1992 In DCU: October, 1999 | |
| A former criminal psychiatrist who fell in love with the Joker and became his most famous accomplice is the first enemy of Batman to be introduced in an animated series and receive their own line of comics. She wears the clothing of a traditional harlequin jester. Her crimes as an independent criminal motif is to impress the Joker, who she affectionately refers to as "Puddin'" and "Mr. J". | ||||||||
 | The Quintets | |||||||
| Lester Wilde | Lester Wilde | Harley Quinn | Karl Kesel | Terry Dodson | Harley Quinn #4 | March 2001 | ||
| Lewis LeBeau | Lewis LeBeau | Harley Quinn, The Mad Hatter | ||||||
| Buster | Unrevealed | Harley Quinn | ||||||
| Kenny Two-Bear | Unrevealed | Harley Quinn | ||||||
| Nixon Two-Bear | Unrevealed | Harley Quinn | ||||||
| A gang gathered by Harley Quinn to work independently from the Joker. | ||||||||
| Stallion | Rudy Hanrahan | Blockbuster II The Penguin | Chuck Dixion | [[]] | Detective Comics # Nightwing #14 | November 1997 | |
| After being fiorced to retire from pro-football due to knee injuries, Randy Hanranhan worked for the Penguin as a debt collector. He has been seen working for Blockbuster. | ||||||||
| | Mr. Fun | Athena The Penguin | [[]] | [[]] | Detective Comics # Batman # | , 19 | ||
| A | ||||||||
 | Tallyman II | The Great White Shark | [[]] | [[]] | World's Finest Comics #101 | , 19 | ||
| A | ||||||||
