Summary
Batmanhas consistently had one of the largest and best rogues galleries in comics.Characters like The Joker,The Penguin, The Riddler, and Two-Face all debuted in the pages of a comic book, and have followed the Caped Crusader when he appears in movie and video game adaptations. Not every enemy of Batman originally came from the comics, though. Harley Quinn is now a household name, and she first appeared inBatman: The Animated Seriesbefore being folded into the comic books alongside the rest of Batman’s villains.
With new and interesting characters continuously being introduced to face-off against Batman, many fans would think that the many video games that have featured the character would introduce some new great villains. Batman does need someone to fight with his fists, after all. Sadly,outside theArkhamseries,Batman video games have tried introducing new villains, but it seems that they’re all easily forgotten.
The firstLEGO Batmangame took the world of Gotham and converted it into a linear series of levels that players navigate by solving puzzles and breaking through LEGO objects. Players control Batman and Robin as they fight through a series of some of his most famous rogues, including The Penguin, The Riddler, Catwoman, and The Joker. However, another villain joins these ranks, and it is likely that this is the first time that many gamers have encountered the characterKiller Moth.
Granted, Killer Moth is a villain who appears in Batman comics, but they have no business running with some of the hero’s most iconic enemies as a main boss in a video game. Killer Moth does reappear inthe twoLEGO Batmansequels,but is not featured much else outside this video game franchise. As such, it is safe to assume that Killer Moth has been largely forgotten by anyone who encountered them.
4Roxy Rocket
Batman: Chaos In Gotham
Batman: Chaos In Gothamis a side-scrolling beat-em-up game for the Game Boy Color which featured the same version of Batman that is seen in Bruce Timm’sBatman: The Animated Series. That show was instrumental in forming many new fans' impressions of Batman’s rogues gallery, and even added some new enemies to the franchise. One of those enemies isRoxy Rocket, who did not have a huge role in the show, but did feature as a main boss inBatman: Chaos In Gotham.
The plot of this game sees the player trying to round up a series of villains who have escaped Arkham Asylum. Many of the escapees include big-name baddies, such as Bane, The Joker, and Mr Freeze. However, Roxy Rocket also finds herself among this esteemed company in her largest role in a Batman game yet. The character still pops up in the background of Batman comics from time to time, butwithout an inclusion in theArkhamseries as yet,fans can almost guarantee that Roxy Rocket is now a forgotten Batman villain.
Arnold Flassis a character in the Batman comics who also appears in the movieBatman Begins.However, this corrupt cop acts as more of a villain for Jim Gordon and the people of Gotham in Christopher Nolan’s iteration. He doesn’t become a real enemy of Batman until the two clash inthe era’s obligatoryBatman Beginstie-in game.
The game largely follows the events of the movie, and players get to control Batman as he sneaks his way through levels and takes out goons with his martial arts skills and gadgets. Unfortunately, the movie does not provide the video game with enough action to create a ton of levels, so the developers were left to innovate. One of these innovations made Flass a main villain, one who is in control of enough goons to fill a level, and players must eventually fight and interrogate the foe to progress. It was a great set-up, but it is yet to be repeated with Flass in any other games. Therefore, the grudge between Arnold Flass and Batman in video games has been left to the wayside.
2Bonk, Ghoul, Woof, And Chucko
Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker
The sequel/spin-off ofBatman: The Animated Seriestakes place in a future version of Gotham, where Bruce Wayne is training a new version of Batman inBatman Beyond. The series ran for three seasons, and it received a feature length movie calledBatman Beyond: Return of the Joker,and a tie-in game to go with it. With The Joker returning to Gotham, he brings with him a new set of powerful henchmen namedBonk, Ghoul, Woof, and Chucko.
In the show, these goons are mainly there to look intimidating, but the video game uses them as mini-boss encounters. These hulking brutes stand out enough to provide a challenge on each level, but are not used much in other media. With Batman having so many other villains based on large monsters, it isunlikely that these four goons will be used again in the future.
The main draw for players of the 2003 video game,Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu,is that it featured a new villain for the hero who was exclusive to this story. In this action beat-em-up, players got to play as Batman, Robin, Nightwing, or Batgirl, and work to help stem a prison break that was orchestrated by the unknown villain,Sin Tzu.
Sin Tzu is an Asian warlord with the power of mind control, and it is clear that the game’s creators were hoping toadd another unique character to theBatmanmythos,just as the animated show had done with Harley Quinn. Unfortunately, the game received mixed reviews, and Sin Tzu has been relegated to another Batman villain from a game who has been forgotten. The warlord did return in a 2016Suicide Squadcomic, but it is doubtful that Sin Tzu will receive another spotlight as big as his own game any time soon.
