The villains that Batman spends his free time fighting are not what many would call good people. Villains like Two-Face and Joker have spent the better part of their years killing and terrorizing Gotham citizens either for profit, fame, the desire to rule, or simply just because they got a kick out of it. But that doesn’t mean that they never got a raw deal. In fact, many of Batman’s biggest villains had some pretty bad circumstances that drastically affected them.
Some of Batman’s villains tried finding redemption, others simply tried a new approach to life, only to find themselves being punished for it or end up in a much worse place than before. And that’s not even getting into how foes like Joker or Mr. Freeze suffered because of bizarre editorial decisions. They might not be the best people around, but read on to see 7 Batman villains and the worst things that DC Comics did to each of them.
7. Killing Ra’s al Ghul
Image Courtesy of DC Comics
It’s honestly amazing that an old bastard Ra’s al Ghul chilled out as much as he did by the time Infinite Frontier rolled around. He and his grandson Damian Wayne got along really well, with Ra’s even briefly mentoring Damian. But things took a turn for the worse in the “Shadow War” crossover when Ra’s was killed. Now ordinarily that’s not a problem, but this death vaporized him and seemingly made resurrection impossible. Now Ra’s is a specter, bonded to Damian’s girlfriend Flatline, with seemingly no way to return to the land of the living.
6. Locking Two-Face’s Good Side Away
After reading comics for so long, it becomes tough to watch Two-Face trying to go straight. His most recent attempt was in his self-titled All In miniseries. He put his legal mind to good use settling affairs in the criminal underworld. But, as is usually the case, Harvey Dent’s Two-Face personality had other plans in mind. He launched a coup for control of the body, succeeding and locking Harvey away, seemingly permanently. It’s so sad watching someone who clearly wants to do good, never able to overcome their worst half.
5. Condemning Bane to Hell
We all like to think redemption is possible, but for Bane, it really isn’t. Secret Six featured an arc where Bane went to Hell on a mission, only to discover that he was destined for eternal damnation. Despite the strict code of honor he’s adhered to, it isn’t enough, and Bane will indeed go to Hell when he shuffles off the mortal coil. And when you rob a guy like Bane of hope, you can’t be surprised when he decides to go full villain again and not even try to become a better person.
4. Giving Joker the ‘3 Jokers’ Problem
Image Courtesy of DC Comics
Just before the Rebirth era began, DC Comics decided to make a huge retcon that the Joker wasn’t actually one person, but rather, three people. No one knew what the hell this meant, and it wasn’t until Batman: Three Jokers revealed that the original Joker had ‘jokerized’ a few replacements. This book was not received extremely well, but it was as close to a canonical answer as fans would get. At least until the Zdarsky run on Batman retconned the three Jokers as being different aspects of Joker’s mind. A wild save, but one that fans accepted a lot better.
3. Undoing Riddler’s Redemption
Maybe it’s just me, but as a Riddler fan, I never got over this one. In the years before the New 52, the Riddler had abandoned his villainous past in favor of becoming a private detective. He was still an egotist and a show-off, but he had become an extremely interesting ally who actually teamed up with Batman every so often. At least, until a bomb went off in his face in Batman, and he abandoned his new life to indulge in his old habits. I still look at the Riddler and see all the potential DC squandered with him.
2. Everything Harley Quinn Went Through
Image Courtesy of DC Comics
Let’s be blunt, what Harley Quinn went through is worse than most of the stuff on this list. She was in love with the Joker, someone who didn’t reciprocate her feelings and abused her physically and mentally. This lasted for years, and it was incredibly hard for her to break away for good, which she eventually did. While she’s in a much better place nowadays and she’s officially done with the Joker, everything Harley Quinn went through back then stands out as some of the worst treatment any DC character has suffered through.
1. Retconning Mister Freeze’s Marriage
I can’t think of a story that drew as much anger as this one did. Everyone knows about Mister Freeze’s tragic backstory with his sick wife, Nora. Well, in the New 52, DC Comics decided to put a twist on that classic story and make it so that Victor and Nora were never actually married. Instead, Nora was a cryogenics subject from the ‘40s that Freeze was obsessed with, projecting feelings of love and intimacy onto. Thankfully, DC heard the outrage and quietly rectconned the retcon, restoring Mister Freeze’s proper origin.
What’s the worst thing you think that happened to a Batman villain? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts on the ComicBook Forum!