5 Marvel Villains Who Would Be Right at Home in Gotham

Batman is one of DC’s biggest, greatest heroes, and he calls Gotham City his home. It’s easily DC’s most terrifying city, and even with how insane some of DC’s heroes’ homes get, none of them are even in contention with how insane Gotham is. Even ignoring how scarily good Batman is at his job, it also boasts one of the highest concentrations of heroes outside of Marvel’s New York City. Even with the Batman Family running around, the canonically highest-paid police department in the entire world, and Bruce Wayne funding every charity under the sun, crime flourishes in Gotham City. Heck, it doesn’t just flourish; it thrives.

Gotham City is home to some of the worst, most insane criminals you can imagine. Murder clowns like the Joker and duality-obsessed former D.A.s like Two-Face are at the height of super-criminality, but it seems like half the citizens are just waiting for the excuse to drive over the deep end. Gotham has its own distinct atmosphere that every villain helps build, but that’s not to say that only Gotham villains can thrive on its wild streets. Today, we’re looking at five Marvel villains who would be perfect to match against Batman over control of his home.

5) Bullseye

Gotham is no stranger to world-class assassins, and Bullseye is exactly that. He’s a merciless man who can turn anything he can hold into a deadly weapon. His uncanny skill is that, like his name suggests, he never misses a shot. Deadshot is known in DC for his incomparable marksmanship, but Bullseye can use everything from a gun to a paper clip. If he can throw it, he can find a way to kill someone with it. He regularly clashes with Daredevil, which is a surefire sign that he’d be a great villain for Batman.

There’s a subsect of Batman’s rogues gallery that is hyper-competent killers and mercenaries, and Bullseye slots in as easily as he can slot a knife into someone’s back from the front. His unique skills would give Batman a challenge like he’s never had before, given that every possible projectile is definitely hitting its mark. Bullseye’s mercilessness also makes him stand out from the rest of the mercs in Batman’s lineup, as they are typically more reserved, while Bullseye’s maniacal insanity makes him a lot more like the traditional Gotham rogue.

4) Chameleon

Chameleon is a classic Spider-Man villain. Actually, he’s the first supervillain that the Wall-Crawler ever tangoed with, and he’s proved to be one of the best in the years since. The Chameleon’s gimmick is that he can impersonate anyone down to the finest details. In that same vein, he’s taken on every role, from master spy to arch crimelord. The Chameleon has never been afraid to reinvent himself, or spend an inordinate amount of time preparing the ultimate revenge plot, be it for himself or a client.

Since Chameleon is the world’s greatest master of disguise, it only makes sense to pair him against the World’s Greatest Detective. The Chameleon impersonating someone close to Batman would force him to evolve how he solves crimes to truly uncover the criminal, and watching them match wits and constantly plan and counter-plan the other would be endlessly entertaining. The Chameleon might even try to impersonate and replace Bruce Wayne, given how much of a public figure he is, which is grounds for incredible drama and storytelling prospects.

3) Kingpin

Wilson Fisk is the undisputed Kingpin of crime. There are plenty of Marvel villains with a hand in gangs and mafia-style business, but nobody can hold a candle to the Kingpin. He’s a ruthless criminal genius who knows just where and who to push to get ahead in the underworld. He rules with an iron fist, cutting out competition and threats with a precision most surgeons couldn’t boast. On top of being terrifyingly good at constructing a criminal empire, he’s also strong enough to trade blows with Spider-Man, who can bench press cars.

Batman got his start battling the gangsters and mobsters who held Gotham City in a chokehold for decades, and Kingpin is the ultimate evolution of those foes. He’s even more calculating than Bane, more cruel than Black Mask, and more deeply entrenched in the underworld than Falcone could ever hope to be. The Kingpin would be a return to the classic style of Batman villain without sacrificing any of the high-level superheroics that those early stories lacked. He’s exactly the kind of threat that Batman should be facing, and these two would definitely hate each other to no end.

2) Arcade

Arcade is an evil genius who, like so many in his position, wanted a way to express the art that he loved so much, even if it went against just about every law you could think of. To Arcade, that art was the crafting of deathmachines unlike anything the world had seen before. He wasn’t content with the normal spike pitfalls or crushing walls, either. He designed massive, sprawling labyrinths that took inspiration from his target’s greatest fears and pinball machines. As his name implies, these machines are games to Arcade, and he loves playing them above all else.

With all that said, he’s the exact kind of crazy that thrives in Gotham. All of Batman’s best-known rogues have a gimmick and obsession, like the Riddler’s love of riddles and Poison Ivy loving plants a million times more than humans. Arcade presents a unique challenge and skillset that can definitely put Batman through the wringer in a way that none of his other foes can. Every great Batman villain brings out something different in the Dark Knight, and Arcade would definitely test his problem-solving skills like nobody else.

1) Green Goblin

Much like with Daredevil’s rogues gallery, just about all of Spider-Man’s villains would make perfect foes for Batman, and the Green Goblin is at the very top of that list. Norman Osborn is the strangely incredible mix of scarily competent and utterly insane that all the best supervillains are. On the one hand, he’s a criminal genius and ruthlessly masterful businessman who has turned Oscorp into a global name that could rival Wayne Enterprises. On the other hand, the Green Goblin is practically as stable as a bridge during demolition, boasting incredible strength, technology, and villainy that can take over the underworld in days.

In many ways, the Green Goblin is like the Joker. Both are cackling criminals with a deadly obsession with their greatest foes, looking insane one minute, and horrifyingly well-prepared the next. Norman’s ability to switch between two such distinct personas only adds to his monstrousness, meaning he can challenge Batman on the streets and Bruce Wayne in the boardroom. He’s one of the most perfect villains for Batman you can imagine, and I would absolutely love to see them clash at some point.

Needless to say, there are plenty of Marvel villains that would thrive in Gotham, assuming Batman doesn’t put them away first. Which of these iconic foes would you want to see battle the Caped Crusader? Let us know in the comments below!

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