CHUD.com Community › Forums › ARTS & LITERATURE › Comics & Anime › Who's the evil Batman?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Who's the evil Batman?

post #1 of 23
9/10/08 at 12:22pm
Thread Starter 
A friend and I were recently discussing about how most of the major superheros have in their rogues gallery, an evil counterpart: someone with very similar powers who serves as a dark reflection of the hero. (That some of these villains are occasional good guys is besides the point.) Here's what we came up with:

Superman - Bizarro
Spider-Man - Venom
Captain Marvel - Black Adam
Green Lantern - Sinestro
Hulk - Abomination
Flash - Professor Zoom
Iron Man - Iron Monger
Wolverine - Sabretooth

That's what we came up with. We're not experts, but we've read our share and seen the movies. There may have been more.

We drew a blank on Batman - Ra's al Ghul seems to have his intellect and resources, but their methodology is so different. Is there one we're forgetting? We had no one for Captain America either, although my friend mentioned Crossbones, whom I had never heard of. His wikipedia entry suggests similar fighting abilities, but I don't know if that's enough to make him the "evil Captain America."
Reply
post #2 of 23
9/10/08 at 12:24pm
Black Mask or Man-Bat.
Reply
post #3 of 23
9/10/08 at 12:29pm
The villain in the comic right now.
Reply
post #4 of 23
9/10/08 at 12:37pm
If you are talking about opposites, as many of them are, it's the Joker. Batman, a man with no powers, a rational detective against a mad man with no powers who is completely irrational.
Reply
post #5 of 23
9/10/08 at 12:38pm
Azrael was pretty much the evil Batman, or more accurately, Batman without limits. But he's fairly modern and didn't last very long

And Captain America's is the Red Skull. Duh.
Reply
post #6 of 23
9/10/08 at 12:41pm
Joker is evil Batman. It's all in The Killing Joke.
Reply
post #7 of 23
9/10/08 at 12:43pm
Prometheus.
Reply
post #8 of 23
9/10/08 at 12:47pm
Thread Starter 
See, we brought up Joker, but we didn't think he fits. Yes, he's a perfect foil for Batman (a madman vs. someone highly structured and controlled) but to fit the other examples, we were looking for someone with similar abilities - the martial artist, the keen mind, the gadgets, everything that makes Batman who he is. Black Mask and Prometheus I don't know - I'll look them up. Thanks for the suggestions.

The Red Skull is Captain America's arch-nemesis yes, but that's not what we were after. (If that was our list, Superman's would be Luthor, and not Bizarro. We were trying to think of those villains whose abilities mirror the hero's.) Can the Red Skull fight like Cap? I'll admit I don't know.
Reply
post #9 of 23
9/10/08 at 12:55pm
You could argue for the Riddler -- he's got just as analytical a mind as Batman, and in The Long Halloween and Dark Victory he was the go-to guy for criminals looking for mysteries to be solved.

And the Red Skull was pretty much the German Captain America -- Hitler picked him to prove that he could make a common bellboy (which the Skull was at the time) into a better Nazi than some of the officers on Hitler's staff.
Reply
post #10 of 23
9/10/08 at 12:57pm
While not a particularly well-known villain, The Wrath was conceived as Batman's opposing number. His parents were killed by cops, he turned to a life of crime in protest, etc...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrath_(comics)
Reply
post #11 of 23
9/10/08 at 12:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bendrix View Post
While not a particularly well-known villain, The Wrath was conceived as Batman's opposing number. His parents were killed by cops, he turned to a life of crime in protest, etc...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrath_(comics)
Huh. That's Prometheus' story, too.
Reply
post #12 of 23
9/10/08 at 1:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by The LD View Post
Huh. That's Prometheus' story, too.
I was unfamiliar with Prometheus outside of the his JLA appearance 15 years ago, but it's rumored that he was inspired by the Wrath, if Wikipedia is to be believed.

To be honest, every single one of Batman's nemeses have had a story highlighting them to be a darker version of Bruce Wayne. Joker = irrational Batman. Two-Face = Batman if he let the Wayne/Batman split go unchecked. Catwoman = female Batman with less scruples. Penguin = Batman who uses his wealth for crime instead of crimefighting. Man-Bat = Batman reversed. Hush = Batman who hated his parents. And so on.

I think it comes from Batman not having any powers. A mirror Superman is easy and fairly specific, because all you do is replicate the powers. With Batman, you're mirroring various aspects of his personailty/modus operandi, which gives you the writer a lot more opportunity.
Reply
post #13 of 23
9/10/08 at 2:25pm
Thread Starter 
Good point - I think there's an extra on the recent animated batman DVD (Gotham Knight I think it's called) that discusses something similar. Most of Batman's villains reflect one aspect of him. In addition to the ones you mentioned, Bane reflects his strength, and Mr. Freeze shares with Batman a tragic origin. (At least as Mr. Freeze's origins in the animated series goes. I think the comics went with it.) Both men lashed back at the world in response to a painful loss, just in different ways.
Reply
post #14 of 23
9/10/08 at 2:28pm
Frank Miller or Grant Morrison.
Reply
post #15 of 23
9/10/08 at 2:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brad_Lohan View Post
Frank Miller or Grant Morrison.
If we're going down that road, Joel Schumacher.
Reply
post #16 of 23
9/10/08 at 2:50pm
Ra's Al Ghul.

He's the evil opposite, at least the Batman Begins version. He's an extreme version of what Batman can be, the only difference is he doesn't wear a costume. But really, he is Batman taken to a degree where he let misanthropy take over him.
Reply
post #17 of 23
9/10/08 at 2:59pm
Good point, not to mention just like Wayne he's got the resources and influence to do it.
Reply
post #18 of 23
9/10/08 at 5:22pm
Batzarro!
Reply
post #19 of 23
9/10/08 at 6:36pm
There is Batman's magical sprite equivalent: Batmite.
Reply
post #20 of 23
9/11/08 at 1:13am
Catman?

Don't laugh at me.
Reply
post #21 of 23
9/11/08 at 2:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dax View Post
Catman?

Don't laugh at me.
If youre talking Catman after Gail Simone had her way with him, i wont laugh...we'll be seeing him and batman fight in the next issue of Secret Six, I think.
Reply
post #22 of 23
9/11/08 at 2:12am
Why can't I find a picture of evil, mustachioed Batman from Superfriends? You've failed me internet.
Reply
post #23 of 23
9/11/08 at 6:39pm
Thomas Wayne, as of now.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Comics & Anime
CHUD.com Community › Forums › ARTS & LITERATURE › Comics & Anime › Who's the evil Batman?