art by Jim AparoI enjoy lists. Making them, reading them and even disagreeing with them. From Dave’s famous top ten’s to the college football poll I have always liked ranking things. I’ve been thinking of starting a gimmick feature in the Dollar Bin’s articles in the hopes of generating some regular written content either by myself or others for awhile now and guess what I came up with? The Nerdy Dozen! With this article and any like it that follow the hope is to spark discussion, so even though my opinions are the correct ones feel free to share yours as well.

Credit for this 1st topic goes to our buddy Andrew for posting and then discussing a link to another site’s list of Batman’s Best Villains which of course I didn’t completely agree with. He asked what my issues with it were and Facebook didn’t seem like the place for a 2000 word essay so here we are with my top 12 (or Nerdy Dozen) greatest foes for Batman.

12) The Penguin

art by Jason PearsonI almost left Oswald off the list but I did lock myself into having twelve answers with the Nerdy Dozen gimmick and felt he deserved to be listed for longevity. Penguin is a character that has bounced around Gotham City for decades as a sometimes notable and sometimes silly foe of Batman. At best his threat to Batman has come in the form of gimmicked umbrellas or in the hired muscle he employs to do his fighting for him. But even with his short stature, the Penguin has always been a criminal with an eye for business more than vendettas and quite a ruthless mean streak. I given Cobblepot credit for lasting as long as he has given his limitations but also for redefining himself a bit. He has turned from a pretty silly gimmicked costumed villain to a mob boss more interested in organized crime that costumed crime. He may not be anymore threatening to Batman as an individual these days, but Batman has always and will always put a lot of focus on battling organized crime.

11) Mr. Freeze

Dr. Victor Fries has most recently been portrayed as a somewhat tragic figure who loses his wife and own humanity to a sad combination of medical science and corporate greed. This re-envisioning of his current origin grew from the fantastic and Emmy Award winning episode “Heart of Ice” from Batman: The Animated Series. Batman interfered in his initial quest for vengeance for his wife and because of this Freeze holds a grudge against both him and his beloved Gotham City. But unlike most of the frequent guests of Arkham Asylum, you kind of get the feeling that if things could be returned to the way they were before that tragic accident, he would still just be a regular dude. Freeze is also a rarity on this list in that he heavily relies on his technology not only to keep him alive but also to make him a formidable foe for Batman or any other law enforcement he might encounter.

art by Jim Lee10) Catwoman

I also hesitated to put Selina on this list because I love her so much more as the anti-heroine she has become than the costumed villain she once was. But her history as both a thief and an adversary to Batman is well documented. Like the Riddler she hasn’t been the most threatening of foes to Gotham City but a lovely thorn in his side none the less. Batman is similar to James Bond in that he often ends up mixing business with pleasure but none of his other temptations have had quiet the lasting effect that his relationship with Selina Kyle has. Sadly their days as an in-continuity couple did not last as long as a lot of fans would have liked. But who knows? Maybe when Bruce comes back from the dead those crazy kids will give it another shot.

art by Brian Bolland9) Hugo Strange

This creepy professor actually debuted as a bat-villain before both the Joker and Catwoman. His origins and timeline are a bit convoluted at this point but one thing has never changed about Hugo, he is very intelligent and very dangerous. He has often been used in stories where he find himself obsessed with discovering who Batman is and even with taking over the identity Batman himself. So on several occasions he feels that he has figured it out and has also attempted to impersonate Batman on more than one occasion. Like the creepiest of Gotham City’s villains, he is usually not interested in crime for wealth he is interested in his own twisted plans which often involves treating patients like labrats and a very unhealthy obsession with Batman. Guys like this are one of the reasons guys like me grew up distrusting psychiatrists.

8) The Riddler

I first discovered how awesome the Riddler could be as a child watching Batman on TV.  Wars can wage with Bat-fans as to the merits or lack there of with that campy or classic live action program, but if you don’t believe that Frank Gorshin was awesome as the Riddler something is just wrong with you. In that series and in my favorite comics featuring Edward Nygma he is a really clever obsessive compulsive guy who loves puzzles and doesn’t want to work for a living so who better to match wits with than the World’s Greatest Detective? The rivalry here is of course decidedly one sided, but that is part of what makes it entertaining. Batman has no need or interest in proving his intelligence to the Riddler or anyone else but Nygma is obsessed with trying to outsmart Batman. For a grim crimefighter, racing around the city solving puzzles is not how he wants to spend his night no matter how much his sidekick might enjoy it. Even as Edward Nygma is currently somewhat reformed and no longer looking to commit crimes, his need to compete with Batman still has them at odds even when trying to solve the same crimes. So while the Riddler has no sidekick killings or angst over combined origins, he does offer Batman unique challenges and usually some lighter villain moments in Gotham.

art by Sanford Greene7) Black Mask

Even though he has now been around for a couple of decades, for me this guy represents the new breed of Gotham costumed criminals. He is blood thirsty and ruthless and that sort of twisted psyche is more of a gimmick for him than the mask he wears. An added spice to the feud is that he has a history to Bruce Wayne from childhood that leads to him having a grudge against both Bruce and Batman despite not knowing they are the same man. He is also responsible for the torture and supposed death of Stephanie Brown/Robin/Spoiler and doing some really heinous things to Catwoman and her family. He has no special powers or abilities and is very much involved in crime to make a buck but he is much more than you standard Gotham City thug. He was assumed to have died after being shot in the face by Catwoman, but there is a Black Mask currently trying to reestablish the identity’s rep in Gotham’s underworld.

6) The Scarecrow

art by Jim BalentThis is yet another member of the Honor Roll at Arkham that often commits crimes more because of his crazy than for any material gains but there might not be a better idea for a Batman than Jonathan Crane’s alter ego. We have a hero who seeks to gain an advantage on his foes by intimidation battling a guy who is obsessed by the study of fear. Of course for Crane the match-up has not worked as well as he would have liked because he has a natural phobia of bats and this has only evolved into a bigger fear of the Batman. Also not in Scarecrow’s favor is the fact that he is usually depicted as being physically frail so he is no match for Batman in regular combat. But his ability to use the fears and phobias against his foes with a variety of physiological tactics as well as drugs of his own creation make him a very dangerous foe. So despite attacking Batman at one of his strengths, the Scarecrow is often quite a formidable opponent to Gotham City’s protector.

art by Guillem March5) Poison Ivy

If Pamela Isley walked into Wayne Enterprises as an environmental activist she’d probably get a sizeable donation and a dinner invitation from Bruce Wayne. As the eco-terrorist Poison Ivy, she often leaves Batman a little conflicted about her but usually not at all supportive of her methods. It often seems as if there is a mutual attraction between the two but this can also be explained by how Ivy uses her powers to manipulate men. Not all of Ivy’s thoughts and ideals about people and plants are wrong, but where she most often runs afoul with Batman is her disregard for the law and often for human life. This system of doing the right thing the wrong way usually leads to breaking the law and often to murder which in Gotham will always get you a confrontation with Batman. Like several other notable members of this rogues gallery, Ivy is currently somewhat reformed but it is more what suits her at this time than a true change in ideology.

4) Two Face

art by Tim SaleBatman is big on the responsibilities he has and imagines that he has. As Harvey Dent as struggled with who he is since his scarring at the hands of mob bosses, Bruce has struggled with his feelings toward his former friend. It is a very personal and volatile relationship between the two as both have struggled with how to handle Harvey’s battles not only with the law but with himself. Sidekicks play a role in this feud as well as Two Face has developed quite a rivalry with the Robin’s as well. While Dick Grayson in particular does not share the same emotional attachment to Harvey that Bruce does, Dent has often been more fixated with killing the original Robin than his mentor. Perhaps more than any other villain Batman has tried to help and reform the former DA of Gotham City and with each success or failure to make him anything other than other inmate at Arkham their connection grows a bit more.

art by Matt Wagner3) Himself

Ok, you knew I had to throw a curveball in here somewhere and some might discount this entry as cheating but hear me out. Perhaps more than any comic book legend Batman makes mistakes and those mistakes often come back to hurt him and others. But even beyond the mistakes, Batman is not exactly a mentally stable fellow and his decision making can at times be so flawed it leads to him having to battle his own demons on a much larger scale than you and I ever would. He has had two sidekicks killed (so far) both of which were really poor choices to have in that role. Speaking of mentoring, when he need a break after hurting his back he picked a violent psycho to protect Gotham over his protégé Dick Grayson. Of course there is also his secret files which are not always so secret and have lead to things like Rā’s al Ghūl defeating the entire Justice League, a massive gang war in Gotham City and something we’d all rather not talk about Brother Eye. Plus his lifestyle and attitude towards his mission often lead to major problems dealing with the important people in his life or even being happy. My point is that even as awesome as Batman is, he is often his own worse enemy.

2) Rā’s al Ghūl

art by Howard PorterThe feud between the Demon’s Head and the Dark Knight is both bitter and complicated. Years ago Rā’s sought to bring Batman into his organization and family as the successor to his empire and mate for his daughter. This has been a mixed bag for both men as Bats did take a fancy to his daughter Talia and the results of their attraction lead to the birth of a son. But Rā’s and his organizations are ruthless and bent on world domination as much as helping it which of course does not vibe with Batman’s own agenda. Things were instantly personal between the two men and the woman caught between them when Batman rejected both of their advances to join the family and a bitter feud has been the result ever since. He is not the physical equal of the Dark Knight when it comes to combat but for a guy that’s like 600 years old he’s no slouch either. He is also one of the few people in the DCU with even more money and resources than Bruce Wayne so money and power are not barriers for any scheme he may have. Ghūl also knows not only of Batman’s secret identity but many of his other secrets so Bruce Wayne has to constantly be on guard because there are no boundaries or rules when battling the League of Assassins. Given the sort of power he has and wants to have, he has done battle with heroes and villains across the DCU that stand in his way. It is the personal aspect of their encounters that makes Batman his most frequent opponent and Rā’s one of the Dark Knight’s deadliest foes.

art by Doug Mahnke1) The Joker

I doubt anyone would have a different character in the top spot. In a Dollar Bin episode from way back in 2007 (episode 40 for long time listeners) Adam, Kris, Tre and I crowned the Joker as not only the greatest Bat-villain ever but the greatest comic book villain ever. Lofty praise indeed. I think the Joker is a fantastic character on his own in the DCU but he really only works in the long term against Batman. Regardless of if he was created to be the perfect foil for Batman or not, that has been the result and the Joker more than any other costumed villain emphasizes the opposite side of the Batman coin. If you out him against Green Lantern or the Flash for an issue it makes for an interesting culture clash. And the Joker is awesome enough to make you want to see that sort of thing. But in the long term, they were meant to battle each other perhaps more than any other two characters in comic book history. And there long term relationship has been a costly one for not only Batman but also everyone connected to him. No one has hurt Batman more or made him ponder his own mortality or morality than the Joker. And considering the head start he has, it is likely no one ever will.

So that was my Nerdy Dozen for the Batman’s Greatest Foes, what’s yours?