Villains

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VILLAINS

MR. FREEZE

Dr. Victor Fries was one of Gothcorp's most brilliant scientists and cryogenic researchers, however he was unable to cure his wife Nora of a deadly disease. His research in cryogenics was eventually cut off by the bureaucrats at Gothcorp.His experiment to create a cryogenic freezing chamber to house his wife until a cure could be found was interrupted by Ferris Boyle, C.E.O. of Gothcorp, and his security guards. A fight ensued, accompanied by an explosion. In the explosion, Dr.Fries was smashed into his cryogenic freezing tanks. The accident soaked Dr. Fries's entire body with the freezing solution and rendered him unable to survive outside of a sub-zero environment. He vowed revenge on those who had wronged him. He was forced to create a vacuum tight suit which maintained his body temperature at 50 degrees below zero. The suit's cybernetic processor also tripled his strength. After building a laser-powered cold gun, Mr. Freeze was born. Driven by hatred over the destruction of his life and maddened by his condition he pursues a life of crime and vengeance by destroying Ferris Boyle and crippling Gothcorp. His plans are stopped by Batman. Mr.Freeze becomes bent on destroying Batman since he blocked his mission for revenge. He is a quiet, but dangerous adversary. Mr.Freeze is an angry and saddened man, who is sentenced to Arkham Asylum when apprehended. A special cell is designed to maintain his need for a frozen environment. He is alone and his only motivation comes from his wife's music box, which he holds as his last piece of the happiness he once had. He is viewed as a loner by the rogues gallery, and generally does not hold alliances with any of the other inmates of Arkham. Batman knows he is a dangerous adversary, and that the traumas that have occurred in Mr. Freeze's life are scars which will never heal. First Comic Book Appearance Batman #121, February 1959.

POISON IVY

Pamela Lillian Isley was a well-known and highly successful botanist. After learning she has a hyperactive immune system that causes her body to reject any infection,poison, or outside contamination, she dons the guise of "Poison Ivy" and begins a career of crime. Those who spurn or commit acts that harm plant life or the environment become the object of the evil affections of Poison Ivy. She is evil yet can be incredibly seductive in luring men to do her bidding. Her crimes are often targeted toward wealthy men. She is known to use poison perfumes and lipstick as well as plant creatures of her own design. The animated series introduces Poison Ivy as a botanist who works for a cosmetics company developing new fragrances. When she sees then DA Harvey Dent destroy an endangered plant during the ground-breaking ceremony for Stone Gate Prison, he becomes the first object of her evil affections. After almost killing Dent with her poisonous lipstick, she is apprehended by Batman. This incident with Dent causes a great rift between Ivy and Two Face, who has a great animosity toward her. She is known to have an occasional partnership/friendship with Harley Quinn. She is not liked by the various members of the rogues gallery, but is greatly respected. First Comic Book Appearance Batman #181, June 1966.

PENGUIN

Born with a short, wobbly body and a bird like nose, Oswald Cobblepot's appearance made him an outcast in his rich, debutante family. Their rejection drove him to become violent criminal. In keeping with his family's tradition of wealth, the Penguin lives a life of crime and evil, yet executes it with his own self proclaimed high society class and style. He commits crimes with the theme of the various birds he loves. Unlike most of the "Rogues Gallery," The Penguin is in control of his own actions and perfectly sane, creating a unique relationship with his arch enemy Batman. The Penguin's trademark is the various deadly umbrellas he uses to execute his evil plans. The umbressas are equipped with all kinds of technical wizardry. He has often tried to outwit Batman with his well planned robberies. He resents Batman's skill in foiling his capers, and has, on occasion, planned to be rid of the Caped Crusader. In the Warner Brothers movie, Batman Returns, Oswald Cobblepot (played by Danny DeVito) was portrayed as a freak from birth who had a grudge against the family and humanity that rejected him. With the aid of the Red Triangle Gang, and Max Shreck, he became a mayoral candidate, and, with Catwoman, tried to set Batman up as a criminal. First Comic Book Appearance Detective#58, December 1941.

JOKER

Next to nothing is known about Batman's greatest enemy, except that he operated as an enforcer/hitman for various crime bosses under the name Jack Napier, before becoming the "Clown Prince of Crime." The Joker first encountered Batman during a botched robbery at the Monarch Playing Card Factory. He escaped by leaping into a drainage vat of chemical waste, but later discovered the toxins bleached his skin chalk white, dyed his hair fluorescent green, and stretched his lips into a hideous, permanent red grin. It's not hard to understand why such a transformation snapped his already unstable mind. The Joker's methods are simple:gain pleasure in breaking every law and moral statute known to man. More importantly, he makes the crime funnier by playing a game of cat and mouse with Batman. Joker views every crime, infliction of pain, and murder as the ultimate joke -- mocking Batman. Joker's trademarks are his razor sharp playing cards and the laughing gas Smilex, a chemical that infects his victims with the same ghastly grin as his own. Extremely intelligent despite his lunacy, the Joker often accesses information within Gotham City that should only be available to government officials and the police. His only real motive is bringing Batman as close to the edge as possible. Joker strives to outdo Gotham's other villains as well, for if they have the honor of doing Batman in then he has no purpose. To The Joker Gotham is merely a stage on which he performs. The Joker is Batman's deadliest foe, a certified madman with whom he has done battle on many occasions. One of the classic stories in the Batman-Joker saga is The Killing Joke, in which the Joker tries to convince Batman that all it takes to turn a sane man into a lunatic is one incredibly bad day. Batman has come close to killing the Joker on many occasions. Two of most memorable are A Death in the Family, in which the Joker kills Jason Todd and The Dark Knight Returns, Batman just stops short of killing the Joker. In the Warner Brothers movie adaptation of Batman, the Joker was played by Jack Nicholson. In the movie, Batman creates the Joker by knocking Jack Napier into a vat of acids at Axis Chemicals. It conveniently turns out that Jack was the killer of Bruce's parents - Thomas and Martha Wayne. First Comic Book Appearance Batman #1, Spring 1940.

SCARECROW

Jonathan Crane was interested in the study of human fears and phobias ever since he was a child. Nicknamed the "Scarecrow" as a teen- ager, Crane was bullied and chastised for his scrawny appearance. The boys would call him Icabod Crane, for his resemblance to the fictional character.Crane loved the character, except when he came upon the part when Icabod is disgraced by his nemesis. He was outraged by the fear that overwhelmed Icabod and swore to never expose his fears to a bully. Crane was a Professor of Psychology at Gotham State University until his experiments in fear became too dangerous. He lost his job due to his obsession with inspiring terror in his patients and students. Crane turned to a life of evil and used various drugs, chemicals, devices, and his expertise in psychology to terrify whomever crossed his path. He took the name "Scarecrow" which the bullies gave him as a boy, and would use it to become one of the most feared criminals in Gotham. The Scarecrow has been known to pollute Gotham's water supply with his fear toxins, infect professional athletes with his chem- icals, then bet against their teams for the money to fund his evil experiments. He even had one of his henchmen spray Batman with his toxin, in the hope of driving him mad with fear. A sick and twisted man, his ultimate goal of crippling Gotham State University was foiled by Batman. He was sentenced to Arkham Asylum where he became even more dangerous by gaining criminal contacts with the likes the Mad Hatter, who also shares a sick interest in various types of mind control. These contacts would aid him in his quest to bring Gotham and Batman to it's knees with fear. First Comic Book Appearance Worlds Finest Comics #3, Fall 1941.

TWO-FACE

Once Gotham City's distinguished District Attorney, Harvey Dent was known as a true guardian of law and order. On the cusp of apprehending mob boss Rupert Thorne, Thorne learned of Dent's other side and knew if it was exploited it could ruin Dent's career. When a fight ensued between Dent and Thorne's men, a freak explosion destroyed the left side of Dent's body. The trauma was powerful enough to force his alternate personality to dominate, and left Harvey in a state where right and wrong no longer held any meaning. He becomes Two Face. He feels as though this is the way he was meant to be, living in a world of chaos, without the order and justice he once upheld and believed in. His world revolves around chance, more importantly the flip of his coin. It is no ordinary coin as it is double sided, clean on one side, and covered by scars on the other. Every decision Two Face makes falls on the flip of his coin. It is judge, jury and executioner. When the "Good Heads" turns up Harvey is in control. When it's "Bad Heads" however Two Face shines and becomes more dominant than Harvey can ever be. Yet there always seems to be a piece of Harvey which is strong enough to linger within the mind of Two Face when he is committing his ungodly acts. However, Two Face is the dominant personality. First Comic Book Appearance Detective #66, August 1942.

RIDDLER

Edward Nygma was a computer and electronics genius who was fascinated with puzzles and riddles since childhood. Extremely intelligent and a bit odd, he would cheat at school and feel superior to his classmates. Nygma's obsession and love for committing crimes lead him to don the guise of "The Riddler." Edward's transformation allows him to lose all sense of reality. He becomes completely wrapped up in the evil and criminal behavior which is warping his mind. He needs to be the Riddler to truly express the real Edward Nygma, in turn completely separating himself from any normalcy he once had. The Riddler uses a vast array of computer and electronic gizmos in his arsenal, but is best known for the lethal use of his "?" cane. It is his trademark. When his plans are ultimately foiled by Batman, The Riddler's hatred turns to an obsession to outwit and ultimately destroy Batman. His hatred is fueled by the surprising intellect Batman possesses, which leads to his solving of Edward's riddles. His twisted mind is only concerned with creating the ultimate riddle related crime, which Batman can never solve. First Comic Book Appearance Detective #140, October 1948.

BANE

Shrouded in mystery, Bane appeared in Gotham City assigned to eliminate Batman for crime boss Rupert Thorne. Besides being a man of great physical size and power, Bane's strength is augmented by "Venom," a Super Steroid that increases his strength, physical size and durability for limited periods of time. It should be noted that Bane's strength is matched by his intelligence and cunning. He prefers to manipulate his target until they are most vulnerable, and then strike. After a short confrontation, Batman defeated Bane. Bane is of course the man who broke Batman. Not too much is known about Bane's past other then the fact that both his parents were imprisoned within Santa Prisca Prison. Bane's father died in prison just before he was born and because of the law, the son of the prisoner was to complete his's father's sentence if the father died. Since he was not born yet his mother was put into the prison where Bane was then born. As a child he was placed into the solitary confinement cell where he saw a bat demon which made him want to find it and break it. Some years later Bane was placed under experiments with the super steroid that was known as Venom. With the drug Bane became bigger as well as stronger and this allowed him to break out of jail with the help of his friends Trogg, Zombie, and Bird after killing the warden. When Bane arrived in Gotham City he hunted down Batman and to bring him out he broke all the in-mates out of Arkham in order to tire him out before breaking Batman. Eventually, he found out Batman was in fact Bruce Wayne and went to Wayne Manor where he found the un-masked Batman and beat the tar out of Batman and eventually took him over the knee and broke the back of Batman. With Batman broken he thought he could over-run the city and take all the money of the city. That was until Azrael whom was given the mantle of the bat beat the heck out of Bane allowing him to be arrested and thrown into Black Gate. In prison Bane became really out of shape until KGBeast helped him by beating him up so that he would be able to help get him in shape. Eventually, Bane became strong once again and broke out of jail and swore to get rid of all the Venom in Gotham City. First Comic Book Appearance Vengeance of Bane, 1992

CATWOMAN

Catwoman is the most successful cat burglar in Gotham City, with a love for felines. Her most effective weapons are her speed and agility and her sexuality.Her background is (currently) unsure (see Catwoman #0 for further details), but she may have been abused as a child and run away to the city to escape her father. There she took up crime as a means to support herself, and was inspired by Batman to take on the identity of Catwoman. There has always been a special magic between Batman and Catwoman- on Earth Two, Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle were married. In the Warner Brothers movie, Batman Returns, Selina Kyle (played by Michelle Pfeiffer) was portrayed as a quiet, lonely secretary who was almost murdered by her boss, Max Shreck. The trauma of this event brought out her darker, baser character, which she lived out in the persona of Catwoman. As her alter ego, she took revenge on Shreck, and on Batman, with the help of the Penguin. She discovers Bruce's secret identity, but mysteriously disappears after killing Max Shreck. Selina Kyle has always had a thing for cats. She is a sophisticated, yet vengeful woman who is both as beautiful as she is deadly. Selina Kyle is a strong animal rights activist. However, as Catwoman she often takes matters into her own hands. This brings her into conflict with Batman. Catwoman has a somewhat different relationship with Batman than the rest of his rogues gallery. She is attracted to Batman and he shares that attraction in return.However, the law separates the two from anything more. It should be noted that while Catwoman and Batman have had their encounters, so have Selina Kyle and Bruce Wayne. First Comic Book Appearance Batman #1, Spring 1940.

HARLEY QUINN

Harlene Quinzelle was a brilliant and very successful criminal psychiatrist. After encountering the criminal mastermind, The Joker, at Arkham Asylum, Harlene develops a fascination with the madman's maniacal psyche. She begins to treat him, only to find herself completely under The Joker's control. Unable to break his hold on her, Harley enters a world of crime as The Joker's criminal accomplice and lover, Harley Quinn. Harley quickly becomes one of the Dark Knight's deadliest enemies, as she carries out The Joker's every evil whim. She develops a villainous friendship with Poison Ivy and the two become sisters-in-crime by virtue of their shared hatred for male domination in the criminal underworld. Although her true personality has been sub- jugated by The Joker, beneath it all Harley remains a sweet lovable person. Upon her arrest, she is deemed mentally unbalanced and sent to Arkham Asylum - not as the brilliant doctor she once was, but as one of Gotham's criminally insane on the other side of the padded cell. First Comic Book Appearance The Batman Adventures #12, September 1993.

VICKY VALE

A top reporter for the Gotham Globe, Vicki Vale dated Bruce Wayne at the same time as harbouring an obsession to find out the Caped Crusader's secret identity. Bruce has often daydreamed about revealing his identity to her, especially when she tired of his playboy persona and dated a tough friend, Horton Spence. In the 1989 Warner Brother's movie Batman, Vicki Vale was portrayed as a photo journalist who came to Gotham to get a photo of the Batman by Kim Basinger.

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