Random Most Shockingly Violent Things Batman Villains Have Ever Done (15 items)

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  (#4) Riddler

  • Batman, Batman: Under the Red Hood, Batman, Batman Forever, DC Universe

  An egotistical maniac who's absolutely insane, the Riddler is one of Batman's smartest and deadliest enemies. During the time when seemingly every supervillain had a daughter of some sort (including Duela Dent, who has claimed to be just about every supervillain's daughter), the Riddler introduced his own offspring, Enigma. Not much is known about her, but she spent some time in Deathstroke's villainous Titans East group before eventually teaming up with dear old dad.

  What happens when two extremely egotistical villains work together? Nothing good. At the end of Batman #712, Enigma insulted her father's intelligence, saying he's nothing but a washed-up joke. This infuriated the Riddler who asked in return, "What's purple and green and bleeds profusely?" Then Enigma screamed. Readers haven't seen her since - and it doesn't take a genius to solve the riddle of what happened to her.
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  (#13) Ra's al Ghul

  • Batman Begins, The Dark Knight Rises, Batman: Under the Red Hood, DC Universe

  Given that he's been around the block a few times thanks to the healing powers of the Lazarus Pit, and given that he's almost the literal face of evil, it's hard to choose just one horrible thing that Ra's al Ghul has done. His actions in Batman: Contagion might take the cake, though, thanks to the mass casualties and devastating after-effects of his plan. 

  In that story, Ra's al Ghul did his usual: He tried to wipe out large parts of the world. Except this time, he actually succeeded. He released a deadly disease through Gotham City, and although Batman and friends eventually stopped it, they couldn't prevent thousands from perishing. The after-effects of this disease were devastating, leaving Gotham in such a crippled state that when a huge earthquake came and almost destroyed the city, it became a no-man's land.
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  (#12) The Court Of Owls Trapped Batman In A Labyrinth

  It isn't often that comics can introduce a brand new villain and actually have them succeed. There's a reason why the heroes have been fighting the same villains for decades: People just usually prefer what's familiar. That's why it was such a pleasant surprise in the New 52 when Batman introduced the Court of Owls, a secret organization within Gotham with immense power and influence.

  One of the worst things these masked villains ever did was treat Batman like a literal rat in a maze. They sent a highly trained assassin named Talon after him and he ended up holding Batman captive in a gigantic maze built by the Court of Owls for over a week. There wasn't any food, and the only thing they provided Batman was a constant supply of spiked water, which caused horrific hallucinations. Of course, Batman broke free eventually, but the week-long torture stands as one of the worst things to ever happen to the Caped Crusader. 
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  (#7) Professor Pyg Turned Human Beings Into Horrifying Doll Slaves

  In addition to looking like something straight out of a fever dream after you just watched Babe and Saw back-to-back, Professor Pyg has the terrifying rap sheet to back up his menacing appearance. See, Pyg is obsessed with perfection. And his version of "perfection" involves mind-altering drugs, genital mutilation, hardcore neurosurgery, and attaching creepy doll masks to people's faces. 

  Pyg creates an army of these "Dollotrons" in the appropriately numbered Batman #666 and is later crucified for his crimes. A brutal end for a brutal man.
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  (#5) The Joker Murdered Robin With A Crowbar

  The Joker has done some deeply, deeply horrific things to the Bat Family. While some of the members of Batman's rogues' gallery are more campy than sinister, those who underestimate the Clown Prince of Crime usually wind up dead - or worse. In the landmark story arc Batman: A Death in the Family, Jason Todd learned that lesson the hard way. 

  The Joker bludgeoned Todd to death with a crowbar (at the behest of an audience poll, because people are terrible), leaving Batman to find the bloody, mangled corpse of his young ward in the wreckage of a collapsed building. Although Todd later returned to life (a version of Superman punched a hole in reality; it was a whole thing), his demise stood out as the Joker's most merciless act in DC continuity for years.
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  (#6) The Joker Crippled Barbara Gordon

  There are worse things than death, at least for some people. Barbara Gordon, longtime member of the Bat Family and daughter of Commissioner Gordon, learned just that when the Joker shot her in the spine. She had devoted her life to fighting crime as Batgirl, and she was robbed of the ability to continue doing so.

  The worst part? She was just an ancillary part of his heinous plan. In The Killing Joke, the Joker sets out to prove that everyone is one bad day away from insanity. The man he chose to prove his point: Jim Gordon. That's right, he wasn't even trying to drive Barbara crazy. She was just collateral damage on his way to her father, who in turn was just a pawn in the Joker's eternal struggle against Batman.

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