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The Batman family enemies are a collection of supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. These characters are depicted as adversaries of the superhero Batman and his allies.

Since Batman first appeared in ''Detective Comics'' #27 (May 1939), his supporting cast has expanded to include other superheroes, and has become what is now called the "Batman family". As with most superheroes, a cast of recurring enemies to the Batman family have been introduced throughout the years, collectively referred to as Batman's "rogues gallery".
Many characters from Batman's rogues gallery who are criminally insane become patients at Arkham Asylum after they are apprehended.

The Batman family's rogues gallery has been well received, and is often considered to be one of the greatest superhero rogues galleries of all comic books.

Supervillains and themed criminals

The following fictional characters are listed in alphabetical order by the name of their supervillain persona. Each character's first appearance and brief biographies of each fictional character are also listed, pertaining to their fictional histories and characteristics in the DC Universe.
Sometimes more than one fictional character will share a supervillain persona. In those cases, the name of the character most associated with said supervillain identity will have their name in bold in their biography.

Classic rogues gallery

Listed below are the Batman family's most enduring and iconic adversaries.

Other recurring enemies

These are major Batman family enemies that have not quite reached the status of Batman's classic rogues gallery.

The League of Assassins

First appearing in ''Strange Adventures'' #215, the League of Assassins is a team of highly trained killers that was founded by Ra's al Ghul and has often swayed from working under his organization to working independently of it. The group has been led at times by Dr. Ebeneezer Darrk, the Sensei, Lady Shiva, and Cassandra Cain.

Morrison-era enemies (2007–2011)

These are enemies that were introduced under writer Grant Morrison.

''The New 52'' and beyond

In September 2011, ''The New 52'' rebooted DC's continuity. Since this new timeline began, these supervillains have been introduced. These are characters that have not been around long enough to apply to any other category.

''Batman Beyond'' enemies

Enemies of lesser renown

These enemies are categorized by their obscurity and for being less notable than other characters in this article.

Villains from other rogues galleries

When these villains debuted, they fought other heroes before fighting Batman.

Teams

The following is a list of fictional teams, groups of supervillains, gangs, and organized crime that are enemies of the Batman family, listed in alphabetical order by name. The first appearance and a brief fictional biography of each team is also listed.

Mobsters and plainclothes criminals

Besides his infamous rogues gallery of supervillains, Batman has also faced more "ordinary" enemies, such as assassins, mobsters and terrorists.

In alphabetical order (with issue and date of first appearance)

Two of Batman's mobster foes have donned costumes and crossed over to become supervillains:

* Hangman: A mysterious serial killer who murders police officers on every holiday of the year (during the ''Dark Victory'' storyline), leaving behind a version of the children's word game "Hangman" (with key letters missing) with each new victim. All of the victims are police officers who, in one way or another, helped Harvey Dent rise to his position of District Attorney. In the end, the Hangman is revealed to be Sofia Falcone Gigante, daughter of the late crime boss Carmine Falcone.
* Holiday: A mysterious serial killer who murders mobsters and others over a year (during ''The Long Halloween'' storyline). The killer's weapon is a .22 pistol (using a baby bottle nipple as a silencer) with the handle taped and the serial number filed off. Also, every crime takes place on a holiday and a small trinket representing each holiday is left behind at the scene. Alberto Falcone, the youngest son of Carmine Falcone, admits to being the Holiday killer, but then Harvey Dent says there were two Holiday killers. Batman deduces that since he killed Vernon on Halloween with a .22 pistol, he was, in fact, the second Holiday; however, later in a lone monologue Gilda Grace Dent reveals herself as the second (or technically first) Holiday, who was responsible for the first three murders.

Corrupt cops and government officials

In alphabetical order (with issue and date of first appearance)

Antiheroes and reformed, semi-reformed, or occasionally reformed supervillains

The following is a list of Batman enemies who have reformed and are more often depicted as allies of the masked vigilante than enemies.

Allies in conflict

Some characters generally considered to be allies, yet have come into conflict with Batman.

In alphabetical order (with issue and date of first appearance):

In other media

Antagonists from other media

* Roxy Rocket (appeared in '' The New Batman Adventures'', '' Superman: The Animated Series'', and '' Batman: Chaos in Gotham'', voiced by Charity James) – Roxy Rocket is a minor supervillainess. Her first appearance was in ''TNBA'' episode "The Ultimate Thrill", where she works for the Penguin to steal valuable jewelry. Her crimes were benign, unlike other Batman villains in Gotham City. At the end, she was defeated by Batman and taken to Arkham Asylum. Her next appearance was in the ''Superman: TAS'' episode "Knight Time", where she attempts to relocate to Metropolis, but is easily defeated by Superman. When Superman had asked her why Batman's enemies are relocating to Metropolis, she explains that Batman has been missing for some time. Her final appearance in the DCAU was in the game ''Chaos in Gotham'', where she is one of the inmates that escaped Arkham Asylum. Her first appearance in the DC Universe was in ''Detective Comics'' #822, where she has stolen an ionic thruster from S.T.A.R. Labs' Gotham bureau, but her first comic book appearance dates back to 1994, where she appeared in '' The Batman Adventures'' Annual #1.
* Francis Gray (appeared in ''The Batman'', voiced by Dave Foley) – Francis Gray is a villain that bears many characteristics from Green Arrow villain Clock King. In his only appearance, "Seconds", he is presented as a failed clockmaker and thief. While in prison he develops the ability to rewind time, due to his increasing desire for a do-over. His crime was actually petty by stealing a pocket watch, but he accidentally set off a chain of events that led to deaths; he got the blame by purely circumstantial evidence. Come New Year's Eve a decade later, Batman and Batgirl attempt to stop him by bringing Grey's son to him; however, the poison he planned to detonate went off regardless. The grief allowed him to rewind all the way back to his original crime; he decided against it, resulting in a new present day where he and his son are fixing clocks together.
* Red Claw (appeared in '' Batman: The Animated Series'', voiced by Kate Mulgrew) – The enigmatic leader of an international terrorist organization also named the Red Claw, known as the "most ruthless terrorist alive". She made her debut in comics in 2021.
* Angel "Bird" Vallelunga (appeared in '' Batman: Arkham Origins'', voiced by Christian Lanz) – Introduced in ''Batman: Vengeance of Bane'' and continuing through '' Knightfall'', Bird is Bane's second-in-command and closest confidant among his lieutenants Zombie and Trog. Elaborated on in the game where like his superior, Bird has no known criminal record prior to his incarceration. It is heavily rumored that Bird grew up in the same maximum security prison Bane was born and raised in Santa Prisca. In a side-mission to the game, Batman was investigating the man responsible for distributing the drug Venom throughout the streets of Gotham. Cornering Bird in one of the Penguin's nightclubs, Batman was able to stop Bird and his men from continuing to distribute the drug.
** In '' Gotham'' Season 5, Bird resembling his ''Arkham Origins'' appearance as a military ally to Bane appears as part of his Delta Force occupying Gotham. He was played by David Carranza.
* Kabuki Twins (appeared in ''The Batman'') – The Kabuki Twins are villains created exclusively for ''The Batman''. They are presented to be the silent henchwomen for the Penguin. No origin or alter egos were presented to them, but the Penguin explains he acquired them during his trip to Asia.
* Condiment King (appeared in '' Batman: The Animated Series'', voiced by Stuart Pankin) – In his first and only appearance in the DCAU, he attacks the Crown Restaurant, only to end up fighting Batman. He was identified as Buddy Standler, a former comedian who was brainwashed by the Joker using the Mad Hatter's mind-controlling devices. When Batman defeats the Joker and his plans were exposed, it was assumed that Standler was cleared of all charges. The Condiment King later appeared in the comics as the alias of Mitchell Mayo.
* HARDAC (appeared in '' Batman: The Animated Series'', voiced by Jeff Bennett) – HARDAC stands for Holographic Analytical Reciprocating DigitAl Computer. In its first appearance, "Heart of Steel", it was created by Dr. Karl Rossum as a supercomputer to duplicate his late wife and daughter, who died under mysterious circumstances. It later gains a mind of its own. duplicating Gotham's powerful citizens and law enforcement, even learning Batman's secret identity. However, it was ultimately destroyed by Batman and Batgirl. In its final appearance, it creates a duplicate of Batman, who ends up fighting the real Batman. Batman fakes his death when the duplicate pushed him off a cliff, causing the duplicate to kill itself as well. Batman begins to wonder if HARDAC was beginning to have a soul.
* Rumor (appeared in ''The Batman'', voiced by Ron Perlman) – Rumor (real name Mario) was a villain that bears similar characteristics to Batman villain Hush. Mario is the bodyguard of a scientist and businessman, Paul Karon, who was disabled by the Joker. To remove his failure, he decides to kill all of Gotham City's costumed criminals. Though he could have been left to the criminals by Batman and Robin, they decided against letting an act of karma take placed, getting everyone arrested.
* D.A.V.E. (appeared in ''The Batman'', voiced by Jeff Bennett) – D.A.V.E. (Digitally Advanced Villain Emulator) is a villain exclusive to the show. His only appearance was in the episode ''Gotham's'' "Ultimate Villain Mastermind". In it, the villain Hugo Strange creates D.A.V.E., an artificial intelligence that was programmed to adapt the personalities of Gotham's supervillains. Because of the combination of insane intellects, D.A.V.E. believed himself to be a human criminal whose brain was trapped in a digital prison, which he escaped. He then accessed a technology company computer and created a robotic body for himself, stealing a lab coat from one of the scientists working there. By stealing financial data he was able to determine Batman's secret identity and invaded the Batcave, but was defeated when Batman revealed to him that he was an artificial lifeform.
* Temblor (appeared in ''The Batman'', voiced by Jim Cummings) – Temblor is a villain created exclusively for ''The Batman''. He was the first supervillain to face Batgirl in his only appearance, "Batgirl Begins, Part One". In it, he was a corporate saboteur hired by Poison Ivy (then known as Pamela Isley) to destroy a chemical processing plant. He uses specifically designed armored gauntlets to generate shockwaves.
* Carl Grissom (appeared in ''Batman'', portrayed by Jack Palance) – Gotham's top crime boss. and the boss of Jack Napier (who would later become the Joker). While being targeted by district attorney Harvey Dent, Grissom discovers that his mistress Alicia is having an affair with Napier. Upset, Grissom hires corrupt cop Max Earnhart to have Napier killed at Ace Chemicals as the latter raids the facility to find important documents. However, he fails as Napier is attacked and disfigured by Batman and transforms into the Joker after falling into a vat of chemicals. As revenge for being set up, Joker goes to Grissom's penthouse and kills him.
* Hideto Katsu (appeared in ''The Batman'', voiced by Keone Young) – A corrupt businessman and leader of a Yakuza family. He is a former victim of Catwoman's robberies. In his only appearance, "The Cat and the Bat", he sets a bounty hunt for Catwoman after she unsuccessfully attempted to steal a valuable item from his possession. After she came back and stole the artifact, Katsu and his clan ambushed Catwoman, only for the latter to be saved by Batman. After defeating the Yakuza, Batman discreetly gave a mini disk that was hidden in the artifact to the police that revealed Katsu's connection to the Yakuza.
* Roland Daggett (appearing in '' Batman: The Animated Series'', voiced by Ed Asner) - The owner of Daggett Industries, who projects himself as an honest and caring businessman, but is in reality ruthless and despicable, caring only for his image, power and wealth. His first appearance was in the two part "Feat of Clay" episode. Daggett is responsible for the creation of Clayface (Matt Hagen) and uses him to blackmail competitors such as Wayne Enterprises' Lucius Fox. Using Hagen as a would-be assassin after getting him hooked on his miracle face-shaping drug ReNuYu, he eventually ordered Hagen to be killed with an overdose after Fox escapes. This overdose changed him into Clayface who attacked Daggett before defeated by Batman. Daggett has also had other schemes making him the enemy of Catwoman, when her cat Isis was infected with a virus of his design. Daggett planned to release the virus and make a fortune from the cure, until he was caught and jailed.

Reception

Batman's rogues gallery has received critical acclaim, cited by many journalists as one of the greatest rogues galleries in all of comic books. Newsarama ranked Batman's villains as the second-greatest comic book rogues gallery of all time, only preceded by that of Spider-Man, stating that "the Dark Knight Detective is one of comics' most enduring, most iconic, and most popular characters, and none of that would be possible without the denizens of Gotham City's dense and dangerous underworld. Batman may be a household name, but the Joker, the Penguin, Mr. Freeze, Catwoman, Two-Face, and the Riddler are just as recognizable."

The internet blog io9 observed that "much of the appeal of Batman is that, unlike other superheroes, he's simply a person who has pushed himself to the edge of his natural limits. The flipside of that, though, is that the villains he faces are also by and large simply people with a single, notable obsession—and that's why they're so much more interesting than the usual set of villains." According to ''What Culture!'', "Batman's villains stand in stark contrast to the other rogues galleries in comics lore; they're an unusual collection of freaks who generally blame the Dark Knight for their existence to begin with. Batman villains are usually cut off from reality, often coming to terms with a deranged part of their psyche—mirroring the darkness and split that also defines the Bat." HitFix praised Batman's rogues gallery, stating that "Great heroes are defined by the villains they face, and no group of evil-doers, murderers, criminals and psychopaths are greater than those stalking Gotham City. From murderous clowns, to cerebral assassins, to brutish monsters, Batman has a literal murderer's row of foes that constantly test his crime fighting acumen."

See also

* List of Batman supporting characters
* ''Batman Family''
* List of Batman comics
* List of Superman enemies

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

* ''The Essential Batman Encyclopedia'' by Robert Greenberger

{{Batman characters

Enemies
Batman family