Greatest Batman Villains, Part One

“Who is your favorite villain?”  That’s the question I get asked the absolute most in regards to Bat-fandom.  It’s not an easy question to answer, but answer it I will.  To do that, I present you with:

My Top 15 Bat-Villains

Honorable Mentions

These guys are all extremely credible villains, but in a field so crowded, not everyone could make the cut.

Killer Croc

 

First appearance (Batman #357, March 1983)

Mr. Freeze

 

First appearance (Batman #121; March 1968)

Poison Ivy

 

First appearance (Batman #181, June 1966)

Scarecrow

 

First appearance (World's Finest Comics, Fall 1941)

Professor Hugo Strange

 

First appearance (Detective Comics #36, February 1940)

#15- Harley Quinn

 

Ms. Quinzel

Not always the dual hair-toned, shorts wearing psychopath that Margot Robbie will play in 2016’s Suicide Squad, there’s one thing Harley Quinn has always been: Awesome.  First appearing on Batman: The Animated Series, Harley has since been adapted into the comic book world, where she has transformed as a character completely different than the sidekick of The Joker as she was introduced.  Now starring in three separate comic titles (Harley Quinn, New Suicide Squad, and the June debuting Harley Quinn and Power Girl), Harley has become one of DC’s most well-known characters, even appearing on the cover of the crossover event Convergence.

#14- Carmine “The Roman” Falcone

 

Carmine as he appears in Batman Begins

With his first appearance in Batman #404, the opening issue of Frank Miller’s “Year One”, Falcone has remained a staple of Batman’s origin since the late-80s.  The character has made prominent appearances in The Long Halloween and Dark Victory, but has largely remained in Batman’s past until 2014’s Batman Eternal weekly series.

#13- Jason Todd

 

Boy Wonder no more

Yes, one of Batman’s greatest villains is a former Robin.  Thought dead at the hands of The Joker, Jason Todd went on to become the murderous vigilante known as Red Hood.  Holding a grudge against Batman for not avenging his believed death, Jason took matters into his own hands against the Clown Prince of Crime.  Ultimately, Red Hood began operating under Batman’s rules again (no killing, duh) and became a fixture in the Batman Family once more.

#12- 

How would a list of Batman’s villains be complete without the scum that began it all?  One night, after a viewing of The Mark of Zorro, Bruce Wayne’s parents are gunned down before his eyes.  The origin of Batman was told in Detective Comics #33, but the gunman remained unnamed until July 1948’s Batman #47 where he was revealed as Joe Chill.

#11- The Penguin

 

Batman #169

For a villain who is oftentimes viewed as comedic, the audience of Fox’s Gotham can attest that Oswald Cobblepot is far from it.  A mainstay of Batman’s rogues for seven decades, Penguin adds a bit of flair to the already flamboyant collection of criminals.

#10- Court of Owls

 

Creepy mf-er's

Owls creep me out.  Always have.  The introduction of the secret society known as the Court of Owls in September 2011’s Batman (vol. 2) #1 did nothing to help matters.  Operating in shadows and whispers in Gotham City since its inception, Batman learns of the Court’s existence and becomes their target.  Along with their well-armed, zombie-like soldiers known as the Talons, the Court of Owls are the best addition to the Batman mythos in at least 15 years.

#9- The Riddler

 

First appearance (Detective Comics #140, October 1948)

Riddle me this: who can pull off not only a question marked jumpsuit, but also a bowler hat and cane?  Obviously, Edward Nygma.  The best villains challenge their heroes in ways that no others can.  In the case of The Riddler, it’s Batman’s wits that he matches with.  Riddler fancies himself smarter than the Dark Knight, which (almost) always is his undoing.

#8- Hush

 

First appearance (Batman #609, January 2003)

Young Tommy Elliot took childhood jealousy to the extreme when he masterminded a plan to completely destroy everything that Bruce Wayne/Batman holds dear.

#7- Two-Face

 

Two-Face as he appears in 2011's Arkham City video game

With his psyche as split as his scarred face, former Gotham District Attorney Harvey Dent is as obsessed over duality (and his coin) almost as much as Batman is obsesses with bringing justice to his city.  His first appearance came in Detective Comics #66 (August 1942).

#6- Catwoman

 

First appearance (Batman #1, Spring 1940)

What better adversary than someone you love?  Oftentimes the person with which we are infatuated is the same to cause us pain.  No more true is that than with Batman and Catwoman.  Two people who are diametrically opposed to one another in ideology, but are so very similar despite that.

 

Superman!  Wtf, bro?

Just as every Batman needs a Robin, every Batman needs a Catwoman.

Will your favorite villain make the top five???  Will The Joker end up at the top of the list???  Tune in tomorrow to find out!  Same Bat-Time!  Same Bat-Channel!

-Josh

Sources: excerpts from primary source interviews; Wikipedia

 
Batman, related characters, and images in this blog are owned and trademarked by DC Comics, a division or Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc.

The Man Without Fear: Marvel's Daredevil

It’s been my prediction (and hope) that the future of television lies in the bolstering model of instant streaming.  With the number of Netflix Originals growing from zero to over a dozen in just three years, series’ like House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black are paving the way for other series which may have too niche a market for cable or network television.

As they are with most cultural advancements, Marvel has placed their name at the forefront of this content delivery model by announcing not one, but five series, later announced to be partnered with Netflix, to be released over the next few years.  Set to deal with more “street level” characters than their costumed counterparts on the big screen, these series are led by The Man Without Fear, Marvel's Daredevil, premiering its initial season (consisting of 13 episodes) on April 10^th, 2015.

I just finished the first episode and I have to say, it is better than I expected.  And I expected a lot.  The concept is right up my alley: a superhero (my favorite Marvel character at that) paired with a street level crime show?  Sign me up.  But I didn’t think it would be this good.  The first episode is directed by Phil Abraham, a guy I know best as the director of 13 episodes (several of which were nominated for Primetime Emmys) of one of my favorite shows on television, Mad Men.  His directorial credits also include an episode each of Breaking Bad and The Sopranos, and two episodes of Sons of Anarchy.  Right off the bat, Abraham’s involvement in the series bring quite a bit of credibility from some heavyweight prestige format dramas.  I took notes while watching the first episode and quite a few of them involved how well shot the episode is.  Seeing Abraham’s name in the credits explained every single bit of that.  Being a cinematographer by trade, Abraham knows how to frame a shot.  The scene just after the opening titles (which are f***ing DOPE, by the by) takes place in a Catholic confessional.  The ever so slight zoom toward Matt Murdock’s face as he gives a monologue adds a startling amount of gravity to a scene that otherwise might have fallen flat.  Speaking of Mr. Murdock, he is portrayed by Charlie Cox, a British actor whose credits include last year’s Academy Award nominated The Theory of Everything, an episode of Downton Abbey, and roughly two seasons’ worth of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire.

 

Based on how dark this show will get, I don't think anyone will say that Mr. Murdock looks at life through rose-colored glasses.  That, and he's blind.

Cox portrays Matt Murdock well in this first 53 minute outing, and I have no doubt he’ll do even better as the season progresses to darker depths.  One thing I was weary to see how it was visualized is the “sonar-like” effect Matt’s superpower gives him.  How do you show that on screen without being hokey?  According to the showrunners, and to my delight, you don’t.  Killing the extra sounds, focusing solely on what Matt is hearing, and slowing down the motion on screen displays Matt’s power well, in my opinion.

 

Foggy Nelson, Matt's law firm partner and best friend

One thing Marvel-ites tout over DC fans is the live action depictions of Marvel characters typically contain more humor than their DC counterparts.  Daredevil continues this trend with the light-hearted banter between Matt and his law firm partner and friend, Foggy Nelson.  Quick asides during meetings with a real estate agent, and later their first client, Karen Page, show this quite well.

 

Ms. Karen Page

Speaking of Karen Page (with whom I fell in love halfway through the episode), she is played by the lovely Deborah Ann Woll of True Blood fame.  Her character is at the center of the inciting incident for the entire plot of the season.  Essentially, she is being framed for murder by a crime boss for whom she used to work.  Her innocence in the murder is proven quickly by Matt and his ability to detect whether or not someone is lying based on their heart rate.  This same ability later brings into question in Matt’s mind just how much she knows about her former employer’s criminal activity.

 

Absorbing Man versus Battlin' Jack

One of the coolest things in this episode was just how closely knit it is with the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Nothing is directly said at all, but subtle hints are dropped throughout the episode.  A quick shot in the gym where Matt is training shows a fight poster from his dad’s boxing career.  The poster is promoting a fight between Matt’s dad, “Battlin’” Jack Murdock and Carl “Crusher” Creel.  Fans of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. might recognize that name as a villain that appeared in the first episode of this season of AoS.  Creel, known to comic fans as the Absorbing Man, is actually a Hulk villain.

 

Absorbing Man on the second season premiere of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Another instance is concerning the purchase of Matt and Foggy’s offices for the Murdock & Nelson law firm.  There’s mention by the real estate agent of a cut in the price due to the “incident” (to which Matt responds, “Is that what we’re calling it now?”).  I didn’t pick up on this at first, but when a second mention is made later on, I realized they were talking about these guys:

And this:

Mentions like this really help to bring the show in tighter to the MCU continuity and give a sense of real world consequences that the Avengers and their actions have on the rest of the world.

The Daredevil fan in me really wants to see an appearance made by the original yellow suit.  I know it won’t happen, a little wink and a nod would be pretty cool, though.

 

Cover to Daredevil: Yellow #1 written by Jeph Loeb, who is now the head of Marvel's television division

In his pair of outings as a vigilante in this episode, Matt sticks with a set of black pants and a black shirt.  It will be interesting to see how he transitions into the red costume later in the season.

One thing I loved about the episode was how origin light it was.  As I’ve mentioned in earlier posts, I’m not huge on straight origin stories, mainly because I feel the origins could be told better than by showing everything on screen and in sequential order.  This episode achieves both of those goals in the first scene (a very well done, emotional scene showing how Matt lost his sight in a childhood accident) and later in a strategically placed flashback during a fight scene (the flashback features his father and the aftermath of a fight).  In just those two scenes, we got the cause of Matt’s disability and the reason for his powers to develop and the beginnings of his devotion to law and justice in the scene with his father.  Easily done in less than three minutes where other shows may have taken an entire episode.

Quick thoughts:

• The attempted murder on Karen was well done.
• I love the legal aspect of the show.  A procedural cop drama has been done to death, but a procedural law show?  That’s different.
• “It’s perfect ‘Chechnyan’s kidnap a pre-schooler’ weather, Vladimir.”  LOL.
• I love how the mysterious crime boss (SPOILER ALERT: it’s Kingpin) gets a Voldemort-esque treatment from the criminal underlings.
• The fight scenes are very gritty.  It helps to show Matt’s inexperience.
• But at the same time, he’s not THAT inexperienced.  We’ll get to see his training in flashbacks in later episodes, I assume.
• The events of The Avengers (2012) serve as a backdrop for the entire episode and the plot of this season.  I love it.
• I really want to see Bullseye, but I believe it’s been confirmed that he will not appear this season.

Daredevil's most well known and deadly villain, Bullseye

All in all, it was a fantastic first episode.  I can’t wait to binge on the rest of the season.  I plan to write two more posts (one covering episodes 2-7 and one covering 8-13) for the show in the next week or two. 

As always, thanks for reading!

-Josh

All characters, and images in this blog are owned and trademarked by Marvel Comics, a division of the Walt Disney Corporation.

The Needs of the Many...

Leonard Nimoy

1931-2015

Before this blog, before I left school, before my first kiss, before I even loved Batman, there was Star Trek.

 

Some of my earliest memories are of my mother and I (back in the good ol’ days before she remarried) watching reruns of The Next Generation.  I know it wasn’t necessarily her first pick of shows to watch, but I was awestruck.  And she saw that.  I have vivid memories of spring and summer time Saturday evenings watching the exploits the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise and marveling at the technology on the screen.  When Steve Jobs died in October 2011, I remember instantly thinking that the world had lost, not only a genius, but the man that brought us closest to Star Trek becoming a reality.

The vision Star Trek and of Gene Roddenberry, creator of the franchise, was of a better life than what mankind had at the time (and today, if I’m being honest).  No war, no poverty, no hate.  One of the more overt messages Star Trek transmitted was against racial prejudice.  Lieutenant Uhura, portrayed by Nichelle Nichols, was one of the first prominent black actors on television.  In the episode "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield", Captain Kirk and the crew encounter a race of people locked in a constant civil war.  Despite the crew not understanding the basis for their hated, the aliens find their difference to be obvious: half of their race has white skin tone on the left side of their face and the right half is black, whereas the other half of the race has the reverse (black on the left, white on the right).  This lamp-shaded the idiocy of the racial divides of the United States in 2015 1969.

Spock, one of my favorite characters since first being introduced to the character over twenty years ago, is probably the most iconic and influential characters in the entirety of the franchise.  The man behind the ears, Leonard Nimoy, was the reason for that.  Appearing in the entirety of the original Star Trek series, six films dedicated to that cast (directing two of them), two episodes of The Next Generation, and bridging the gap between the original crew to the crew of the reboot films with Zachary Quinto taking over as the character of Spock, Leonard Nimoy was referred to as the “conscious of Star Trek’.  I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Nimoy at a convention years ago.  It was brief, but I knew instantly why so many loved him.

He was an actor.  He was a director.  He was a writer.  He was a poet.  He was a mentor.  He was a husband.  He was a brother. 

He was a father. 

He was a friend. 

He was a good man.

I'll leave you with his final message to the world.  Great words to live by.

 

Live long and prosper.

-Josh