It’s no secret that Batman is one of the most popular characters in all of comics. With new villains popping up constantly, he’s accumulated a handful that weren’t his initially. This has led to a lot of misconceptions about who is and who isn’t a Batman villain. With enough villains in Gotham as there already are, it’s about time for some of those villains to return to their original enemies. It’s one thing if there were a villain or two that worked better for him, but there are at least seven we found that weren’t his. It’s about time he let go of these villains and returned them to their natural habitat.
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With what seems to be a return to form for Batman, now would be the time to redefine his rogues’ gallery. Our only hope is that these villains give up their crusades against Batman and focus on where they can be stars. It’s difficult to become a star when every villain fights against Batman. The ’90s were filled with so many villains that came and went, all because they wanted a piece of Batman.
7) Deathstroke for Nightwing
Deathstroke was first introduced as a villain when Nightwing, then Robin, led the Teen Titans. Despite being the team’s primary assailant, he’s always harbored a grudge for Nightwing in particular. As the years progressed, he slowly became a Batman villain. While they’re evenly matched in a lot of aspects, their personalities don’t work off of each other. Whereas with Nightwing, Dick can banter with Deathstroke and provoke him easily in battles.
Nightwing has a small rogues gallery as it is, but Deathstroke needs to be his once again. Thankfully, Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths has helped fix that. As the two most powerful points in the universe, their rivalry has slowly pulled them back together. Our only hope is that this returns as the status quo for both characters. One of the world’s deadliest assassins losing to the greatest legacy hero is always going to be iconic.
6) Professor Pyg for Nightwing
Yes, Professor Pyg debuted as a Batman villain, but it was in the era of Dick Grayson as Batman. Pyg likely wouldn’t know this due to being incredibly high during the encounters, but it would make sense for Nightwing to have him as one of his rogues. Batman already has a million different serial killers, and Pyg currently shines as his top one. They make for great foes, but Pyg against Bruce has always felt hollow.
If he could make the connection that he was fighting Nightwing, the dynamic would be restored greatly. On top of that, it would restore some much-needed urgency to Mr. Zsasz as well. Zsasz has gone downhill since Pyg took the spotlight. In any event, this would kill two birds with one stone and take away some of the burdens held by Batman.
5) Onomatopoeia for Green Arrow
Onomatopoeia becoming a Batman villain has been an interesting thing to watch happen. He started off fighting Green Arrow during the Kevin Smith run and was perfect as a new villain for Green Arrow. Then Kevin wrote a few Batman stories and brought him over to fight the big bad Bat. Ever since, he’s been stuck as a Batman villain. Sounds of Violence, his debut, was a perfect Green Arrow story, setting the two up as great rivals, yet they’ve only fought TWICE.
While he did return to Green Arrow in Joshua Williamson’s run, he appeared in the animated show Batman: The Caped Crusader. Just like that, the already obscure villain was sent back to Gotham and reinforced as a Batman villain. Becoming yet another serial killer in Gotham. Green Arrow has the perfect snarky attitude to balance with the over-dramatic insanity of Onomatopoeia. Green Arrow is in a similar state to Nightwing that they both need more villains to their name, and this should be one of Oliver’s.
4) Killer Moth for Batgirl
Killer Moth was another villain that started off as a Batman villain but was never taken seriously. A classic Silver Age foe that was never the most serious but has some loyal fans. Moth would later be retconned into being Batgirl’s first villain in Batgirl: Year One. This was the best possible scenario for both characters. Moth has constantly slipped between the cracks as a Batman villain, but facing off against one of the sidekicks fits his M.O. perfectly. It’s a newer rivalry that’s stuck with fans and should be explored a lot more. Just having him appear more in general would be a win, but against Batgirl in her title would be justice for them both.
3) Solomon Grundy for the Justice Society of America
Solomon Grundy is a very strange case as a Batman villain. He started off fighting Alan Scott when he was Green Lantern. That should be an open and shut case, but for those unaware, Scott was originally based in Gotham before Batman even existed. It makes sense that he’d stay in the city and become a Batman villain, but he’s far too powerful for Batman. Sure, it may be cool for Batman to take on a zombie, but it always feels like overkill.
As the years went on, he’d follow Alan Scott as a Justice Society of America villain. Green Lantern is a much more powerful hero than Batman, but still, he feels far too powerful for one hero. Bringing in the rest of the JSA to defeat this inhuman zombie creature makes a lot more sense. Thankfully joining the Injustice Society in Jeff Lemire’s JSA title has brought this status quo back wonderfully.
2) Captain Boomerang for The Flash
Captain Boomerang has been a lot of things over the years. Originally a Flash villain, then one for Batman, and a member of the Suicide Squad. He’s done a lot in his time, but seemingly ends up in Gotham more than you’d think. After being released from prison, he’d return to Gotham and end up killing Jack Drake, the father of Tim Drak,e aka Robin. This has always been a controversial change to the lore for all involved, but why was he in Gotham to begin with?
It’s always been strange to me that he’s tied so closely to Batman despite being a premier member of the Flash’s villain team, The Rogues. If anythin,g I could see him having a rivalry with Tim Drake rather than Batman, but he always felt more natural with the Flash. Something about this man thinking he could take on the fastest man alive with just a boomerang will always be iconic and works better in general.
1) Anarky for Robin
Lastly, we have Lonnie Machin, aka Anarky, a teenage anarchist dead set on causing as much chaos to the foundations of Gotham. Machin would parade around as an adult despite being a child. Despite this, he’s still trying to fight Batman. His true age would later be revealed to Tim Drake as Robin after he took down Anarky by himself during Knightfall.
Ever since then, Anarky, despite having a grudge against Robin, keeps going after Batman. Robin, much like Nightwing, doesn’t have many villains to call his own, and having Anarky would be perfect. Having someone around Tim’s same age who rival him as the would-be destructor of Gotham would give Robin a proper sense of urgency. Something both Tim and Lonnie have desperately needed.
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