While opinions vary, The Joker is widely considered Batman's most feared and iconic villain due to his pure chaos, psychological torment (like paralyzing Barbara Gordon), unpredictability, and high civilian casualty rate, but newer threats like The Batman Who Laughs and terrifyingly realistic foes like Professor Pyg also rank high in fear factor. Other contenders for "most feared" or "toughest" include Bane, Scarecrow, and Ra's al Ghul, each presenting different threats.
Deathstroke, as well as Bane, are formidable adversaries due to their cleverness and strength. Even with all of these potent antagonists, one thing is abundantly clear: the Joker is far and away the most dangerous.
In the comics, however, Batman has always had one villain that dwarfs all of the others in terms of terror. This villain is known as The Batman Who Laughs. The Batman Who Laughs has terrorized Batman and the DC universe with his presence, and rightfully so.
Professor Pyg
There are just too many scary guys calling it home. Case in point: Professor Pyg. Professor Pyg is obsessed with perfection, so much so that he's willing to kidnap people and surgically attach faces—and even animal heads—onto their bodies.
Darkseid was part of the Fourth World series, in which the planet Apokolips and the planet New Genesis were at war. Unlike the utopia on New Genesis, Apokolips lived up to its name as a diabolical hellscape. Its leader, Darkseid, is truly evil incarnate.
While you'll find names like Bane, General Zod, Ra's Al Ghul and Lex Luthor on this list, it's pretty clear that the most popular villain in the DC universe is the Joker.
The Best Movie Villains Of All Time
DC Comics is famous for its spectacular super-villains. Batman has The Joker, Deathstroke, The Riddler, and more. Superman has Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Darkseid, and others. The Flash has Eobard Thawne, Captain Cold, Captain Boomerang, and so on!
Batman one million is the sole warden of a jail the size of a planet. He's got telepathic powers laced into his attacks, he can fly, create holograms, and is capable of knocking Batman out with one hit. And he keeps up with Superman one million who has fifth dimensional imp powers.
In his comic book appearances, the Riddler is depicted as a criminal mastermind in Gotham City. He has an obsessive compulsion to incorporate riddles, puzzles, and death traps in his schemes to prove his intellectual superiority over Batman and the police.
Ben Affleck's Batman is the darkest and grittiest, shaped by loss and years of brutal crime-fighting. His intimidating presence and fearsome combat style make him the most realistic and terrifying version, embodying a darker, morally complex hero.
Created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Joe Staton, he first appeared in Millennium #2 (January 1988). Extraño is noted for being the first openly gay superhero in DC Comics.
The four big pillars of DC moving forward, according to the man in charge of its parent company, are Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman... and Supergirl.
Bane's true objective was to kill Batman to achieve his own sense of peace, and he believed that the Dark Knight was a dark figment of his imagination as he rotted away in his Santa Prisca prison cell, and then to conquer Gotham City and forge his own criminal empire.
Ahead, enjoy Entertainment Weekly's ranked list of the 25 best horror villains of all time.
The Best Villains of All Time
Hottest Super Villains
Characters like The Riddler, Lex Luthor, and Lobo have all turned from villainous roles to become heroes in unconventional ways. These unique transformations, from private eyes to space heroes, showcase the complexity and depth of DC's character development.
Vandal Savage (Vandar Adg) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is said to be a Cro-Magnon warrior who gained immortality and advanced healing abilities after encountering a strange meteorite during prehistoric times.
The Joker
He is Batman's arch-nemesis introduced in Batman #1 in 1940. Previously, Batman had been in Detectives Comics, but within a year he was allotted his own title. He's had as many reboots and redesigns as the Dark Knight himself, and his origin story has been retold to each generation in a different way.