Ranking the Batman film villains

[Edd Grayson]

1. The Joker (Jack Nicholson)

Nobody has managed to top Jack for me, he was fun and sinister, playful but homicidal and he did that probably enjoying every minute of it.

2. Two-Face (Aaron Eckhart) - Perphaps the most tragic of Batman villains but also one that was underused in the movie he was in. If he had been more on screen I'd probably rank him at number one.

3.The Joker (Heath Ledger)

I admire the late Heath Ledger for doing his own take on the character but he just couldn't top Jack for me.


4.Bane (Tom Hardy)

Great casting choice, very threatening and cunning. Lacking the venom of the comics though. The only reason he didn't make top 3 is because my top 3 simply outclassed him in my opinion.


5. The Penguin ( Burgess Meredith)

He was the brain behind the villainous plot of the 1966 movie, the perfect campy Penguin and the definitive portrayal of the character on screen for me so far.

6.The Penguin (Danny DeVito) Another actor who had a different take on a classic character but he couldn't really top the classic.


7. Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman)
It was pretty hard for me to rank her and here's why:
Seductive and deadly, Uma Thurman's Poison Ivy deserved a better movie than the one she was in IMO.


8.Max Schreck (Christopher Walken)- I liked Walken in the role but his character just wasn't all that interesting.


9. The Riddler (Jim Carrey)- An attempt to mix Cesar Romero's Joker with Frank Gorshin's Riddler for the 1995 audience. A fun character, but over the top and not really threatening.


10. Ra's al Ghul (Liam Neeson) - I like Ra's but he was barely in the films compared to what Joker, Bane and even Two-Face got.


11. Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy) - Same complaint that I had for Ra's. Also I find Scarecrow to be a very interesting character, there's more to him than what was presented in Nolan's films.

12. Talia al Ghul

An OK villain for the final film in the Nolan trilogy but not very impressive to me.

13. Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones) - Got the character all wrong and made him too comedic. Not a good idea.

14. Mr Freeze (Arnold Schwartzenegger) - Another tragic character who was ruined by the makers of Batman & Robin. I can't really blame the actor, it wasn't Arnold's fault that Freeze turned out that way, unlike Jones who intentionally made Two-Face a joker wannabe.

15. Bane ( Jeep Swenson) - As far from the comics as you can ever see, this one was just a mindless brute, even worse than the most common henchman because Bane really could've been done much better as we saw years later.

Special mention to Bob the Goon, the best henchman in my opinion,

Now ranking the Catwoman actresses, because I see Catwoman as more of an anti-hero:

First spot is undecided between Michelle Pfeiffer and Lee Meriwether, two actresses who made very different Catwomen but each of them nailed it IMO. Second place to Anne Hathaway, who was good in the role but not especially memorable for me.

[batman60s]

1. Riddler (Frank Gorshin)
2. Joker (Heath Ledger)
3. Penguin (Burgess Meredith)
4. Joker (Jack Nicholson)
5. Penguin (Danny DeVito)
6. Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy)
7. Catwoman (Michelle Pfieffer)
8. Bane (Tom Hardy)
9. Two-Face (Aaron Eckhart)
10. Ra's al Ghul (Liam Neeson)
11. Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones)
12. Joker (Cesar Romero)
13. Catwoman (Lee Meriwether)
14. Catwoman (Anne Hathaway)
15. Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman)
16. Talia al Ghul
17. Riddler (Jim Carrey)
18. Mr Freeze (Arnold Schwartzenegger)
19.  Bane (Jeep Swenson)

[Edd Grayson]

What makes Frank Gorshin better than all the rest for you?

I mean, the man was awesome as the Riddler, but not that deep...

[The Laughing Fish]

2. Two-Face (Aaron Eckhart) - Perphaps the most tragic of Batman villains but also one that was underused in the movie he was in. If he had been more on screen I'd probably rank him at number one.

I would've agreed with you on this if Two-Face was done justice like in BTAS, but unfortunately I found Dent's transformation into Two-Face to be terribly rushed and absurd; he continues having a vendetta against Gordon for lacking the guts to stand up to the corruption in the police department, but he spared the Joker? The one who was directly responsible for Rachel's death?!  So the moral of the story is stay angry at everyone else who betrayed you or let you down, but show mercy for the madman who had been trying to kill you and your loved one during all this time?

[Edd Grayson]

It was not mercy, if the coin had landed on the other side, Joker would've been dead. It was chance. Justice according to Harvey Two-Face.

[The Laughing Fish]

It was not mercy, if the coin had landed on the other side, Joker would've been dead. It was chance. Justice according to Harvey Two-Face.

The problem I have with that though is Two-Face was willing to take as many chances as possible by threatening Gordon's family as a way of 'getting' back at him for not standing up to the corruption within the police, which according to Harvey it might have prevented Rachel from being killed. Yet he uses chance to decide whether or not he should kill the guy who Dent knew was behind his girlfriend's death?

The problem I have with Two-Face in this movie is he comes across as more of a vengeful character rather a true psychopath; he panics when he find's Rachel's name on the Joker's hit-list and he then he tries to use the coin to scare a schizophrenic henchman into revealing the Joker's whereabouts. He goes from doing all he can to stop the Joker at all costs during the first half of the movie, but when he gets disfigured and she dies, he lets the Joker manipulate him and relies on the coin to determine if he lives or dies? This might've worked better if Dent showed signs of believable psychosis earlier on during the movie like in that two part BTAS episode (I don't count him punching a mobster in court since that came across as comic relief, or even him threatening the schizo since he was acting out of desperation no matter how irrational it may have been), to the point he became so disoriented that he can't recognize the Joker or even lack the cognitive ability to make a decision for himself. But the way how he became Two-Face was just not believable, and the whole chance aspect just felt shoehorned.  That's why I said it felt like Dent showed mercy to the Joker.

[Edd Grayson]

yeah, The Joker should have no part in the creation of Two-Face. They are two very different villains and the Joker should NOT have "chosen" Harvey for anything. Harvey is his own man.

[The Laughing Fish]

yeah, The Joker should have no part in the creation of Two-Face. They are two very different villains and the Joker should NOT have "chosen" Harvey for anything. Harvey is his own man.

Exactly! If anything, Harvey becoming Two-Face and going on a vengeful homicidal path deserves its own movie. If The Dark Knight was at least split into two parts, part one would end halfway through right after Rachel dies, and part two picks up where it left off by having Two-Face emerge, then I think the story would have been better for it.

[Edd Grayson]

I always thought Two-Face should have his own movie to shine on as the only villain. Maybe the new franchise will see my idea come true. I can hope...