Batman: The Caped Crusader’s second season is here, and with the noir reboot for the Dark Knight, many of the Batman’s villains have been reintroduced in this wild time period. While the first season introduced us to characters such as Harley Quinn, the Penguin, Two-Face, Onomatopoeia, and more, the second season brought in more familiar and unfamiliar rogues from Bruce Wayne’s roster. In this list, we want to break down the reinventions that worked across the board while also sharing our choice for the worst of the roster while we’re at it.
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The Worst: The Riddler
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Caped Crusader’s Eddie Nygma is one of the biggest departures from the core tenets that made the original Riddler an interesting foe to the Dark Knight, and unfortunately, these changes didn’t work well in terms of creating an interesting story. Arguably, the Riddler is one of the biggest antagonists of the second season, regularly appearing in quite a few different episodes following his introduction in the premiere. Eddie gains the moniker of “The Riddler” thanks to the fact that he “riddles” his victims with bullets, and there isn’t a quiz or riddle to be found in his reign of gangland terror.
This feels like a missed opportunity and ultimately takes a big character trait away from Nygma, finding little to replace it with outside of having a short fuse and a desire for money and power. Outside of his name, along with his affinity for green and purple attire, there’s little connecting this Edward to the Riddler of comics and other media, and ultimately, what’s replaced isn’t enough to live up to the
5.) Thorn
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This made for a great pull from the catacombs of DC Comics lore, as many might have mistakenly believed that Thorn was Poison Ivy when she first appeared in Caped Crusader’s second season. On the contrary, Thorn has long been a part of DC lore, ironically enough predating Poison Ivy by decades thanks to her first appearance in a Flash comic in 1947. While “Thorn” does have an affinity for plants like Ivy, it’s thanks to her former life working for her father as “Rose,” her much more docile personality.
“Rose and Thorn” are two sides of the same coin, with the latter released thanks to the Riddler killing Rose’s father. While having no powers over plants in this new rendition, Thorn’s story works shockingly well here, both showing the violent nature of Gotham City while also helping to give Eddie Nygma the justice he deserves. While she might be at the bottom of our list, Thorn beat out the likes of Mr. Zero and the Scarecrow to make our top five all the same.
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The Mad Monk is one of those super villains who has a major impact on the hero but doesn’t appear nearly as often as other rogue’s gallery members. What makes this cult leader so fascinating, aside from being the second super villain that the Batman ever encountered, is both his dominion over his followers and the fact that he was a creature of the night. In Batman: Caped Crusader, the Monk leads a cult that follows the teachings of Barbatos the Bat God.
Rather than taking on his nocturnal attributes as the leader of his church, the Mad Monk is revealed to be nothing more than a charlatan, as he is using his following to simply gain more money and power. This change made for a neat twist to a character who isn’t as featured as the likes of the Joker, Bane, and Catwoman, and worked well to create a one-off adventure that saw Bruce Wayne taking on a threat that hit a little too close to home.
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This might be something of a cheat since this Mad Hatter isn’t exactly a villain in this latest Batman animated series, but recreating Jervis Tetch as a narcissistic television host somehow really works in Caped Crusader. Introduced as Hattie Tetch, the host isn’t obsessed with Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, but instead has a fashion sense that seems as though it would fit right into Wonderland. Arguably, the same arguments for why the Riddler made this list might apply to this Mad Hatter, Hattie is an intriguing character who works in a similar vein to that of the Penguin.
Cobblepot was remade from the ground up, but in those changes, he was able to create a character who worked exceptionally well in this noir setting. What’s a real shame is that Hattie most definitely will not be returning for a possible third season thanks to the events of season two, though at the very least, we can honor this Hatter by throwing her onto our top five list.
2.) The Spectre
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Arguably, this pick was very close to taking our top spot as Jim Corrigan’s return to Batman: Caped Crusader made for one of the best episodes of season two. Rather than becoming an instrument of the all-mighty like he is in the DC Comics, this Spectre finds himself being born thanks to an experiment that Corrigan undergoes to help avoid a death sentence behind bars. Luckily, even though Corrigan doesn’t have the power to bend reality like his comic book counterpart, his victims are just as terrified as he looks to wreak vengeance upon the more nefarious parts of Gotham City’s underbelly.
What makes this new Spectre work so well, especially, is the ending of his premiere episode, and how Corrigan’s super-powered return hammers home the idea of vengeance and forgiveness being forever linked. Unfortunately, there is one villain that manages to defeat Jim Corrigan on this list, and it’s one that many could have deciphered before even jumping into this article.
1.) The Joker
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The Clown Prince of Crime was first teased as a post-credits scene in Batman: Caped Crusader’s first season, hinting at a much darker version of the Clown Prince of Crime. What many didn’t expect wasn’t just the fact that he was almost completely bereft of humor, only laughing once during his time in the animated series; it was his new German accent. This iteration of the Joker is far more European than any other we’ve seen before, and this change somehow works in adding a new layer to the main villain of Batman’s rogues.
The Joker finds himself attempting to destroy Gotham City as a way to “teach” Bruce and revel in the fact that both of them are far above those that the Dark Knight wants to protect. It’s a fascinating new take on a character who has been remade more times than we can count, and it’s one of the most interesting in recent memory. This inspiration is drawn from 1928’s “The Man Who Laughs” and it shows. Easily, this new take on the Joker makes our top spot for best villains for Batman: Caped Crusader’s second season.
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