Rocksteady's Batman Arkham series is famed for the ways it changed the gaming industry. From the mass popularity of Detective Vision lookalikes to the widespread replication of the freeflow fighting system, its mark can be seen to this day.
But a comic book hero is only as good as their comic-book villains, and Batman's rogue's gallery across the Arkham series is immense, only growing with each game. Some are small-time crooks, and others have ambitions on a gargantuan scale, but they all leave an impression that is unforgettable.
Updated April 8, 2022 by Hilton Webster: Batman is a character that's always on the minds of fans, one of a string of popular characters with endless renditions in play. But with Rocksteady's Suicide Squad on the horizon and the recent success of Robert Pattinson's Batman, it can be fun to take a look back at how some of the shared villains compared to Rocksteady's.
11 Catwoman
Catwoman is a funny one to mention, because she's never quite strictly villain. From her earliest appearances in comics, to her latest in The Batman movie, she's an iconic character who plays by her own rules. To be a hero or a villain are irrelevant labels for her. What she does, she does for herself, and no one else.
The Arkham rendition is no different. With movement meant to be agile and elegant like a cat, she's also not afraid to bare her claws in a fight. She gives a different view to Gotham. She's not exactly in Batman's way, but she isn't making things any easier for him too. She shows a side to Batman that's more than justice-seeking vigilante.
10 Hush
One of the side missions in Arkham City has players tasked with uncovering the mystery behind a series of seemingly random murders. At first, one would be forgiven for thinking it was the work of Zsasz, the serial killer from Arkham Asylum, but these bodies all share one similarity: heavily scarred faces, removed with surgical precision.
Hush's appearance in City then comes as a shock, wearing the makeshift face of Bruce Wayne himself. This makes his reappearance in Knight all the more unsettling, as players take control of him as if he actually is Bruce Wayne, before finally being stopped by Batman. He's by no means the strongest villain, but instead, one that posed a more personal threat, and one exacted with deadly exactness.
9 Two-Face
Two-Face is one of Batman's most iconic villains in general, let alone in the Arkham games. An attorney-turned-criminal, Two-Face is an embodiment of the scales of justice.
In the Arkham games, he still has this threatening aura, and in truth is almost more a villain for Catwoman than he is for Batman. Though his role is more towards petty crime and simple robberies, his most heinous act is being judge, jury, and executioner to Catwoman in City.
8 The Arkham Knight
It might seem unfair putting the Arkham Knight so low on the list, seeing as they're the literal namesake of Batman: Arkham Knight, but they hold some critical flaws in storytelling that go against their otherwise enjoyable character. Touted as a wholly unique villain, the Arkham Knight's identity is in fact Jason Todd, a previous Robin only introduced to the Arkham continuity within this game.
The issue holding the Arkham Knight back is that the Red Hood DLC exists, and leaves no question for who the Arkham Knight is. Despite this, they're still imposing but fall slightly short of the intrigue they were built around. For a character whose identity ends up feeling forced in, the Arkham Knight is still a surprisingly great villain.
7 Ra's Al Ghul
Ra's Al Ghul is one of Batman's most interesting villains. Unlike many of Batman's adversaries that are only somewhat abnormal and have grand plans for their villainy, Al Ghul is, well, close to immortal. He is centuries old, using the League of Assassins as a means to control the world from the shadows.
Al Ghul was even the one behind the actual creation of Arkham City, using Hugo Strange as just a public face. Though ultimately defeated in this instance, he once again appeared in Knight, now on his last drop of immortality and looking for a successor. Though the final choice is left to the player, it is undeniable that an undying enemy is one to endlessly fear.
6 Penguin
Aside from the suitably funny name, Penguin is a criminal in the most traditional sense - he's a mobster. He's especially interesting in that Batman is of no extra interest to him and is just another inconvenience. Though in the film he may not be more than the right hand man of Falcone, he's the big bad of his own here.
Even in the games, he's just doing his own thing, taking little bits of help to get Batman off his back. His only moment of shared support is in Knight, where he smuggles weapons into Gotham to assist the militias fighting Batman. He's old-fashioned, but it's respectable how he simply shows no sign of intimidation.
5 Poison Ivy
Poison Ivy is an interesting villain in the series, teetering between the realms of heroism and villainy on a whim, not unlike Catwoman herself. In reality, she has her own interests and mostly wants to be left alone, taking assistance from anyone who will help her achieve that.
This trait carries across the whole series. She just wants her plants to flourish and will work towards that by any means necessary. Though this is usually in opposition to Batman, it is to his benefit in Knight, where she even sacrifices herself to defeat Scarecrow's fear gas so that her plants can survive.
4 Harley Quinn
It can be hard to view Harley Quinn as independent from the Joker thanks to him being the catalyst that turned her from a caring psychiatrist to a mad villain. She's unpredictable and fierce, her only sureness being that everything she does is to protect her one-sided love, the Joker.
She doesn't get her own time to shine until Knight, where she is a key player in organizing the hunt against Batman for killing Joker. Her motives are still overshadowed by her love of the Joker, which shows just how deep in his control she was. It's a tragic sight, seeing all the power she has still being abused by a ghost.
3 Riddler
The Riddler could almost be classed as the pseudo-primary antagonist of the series. He is the one constant across Batman's entire escapades, only growing in annoyance with each game. While his recent film incarnation may have deeper intent with his obsession, Rocksteady's Riddler creates macabre puzzles just to convince himself he's smart.
He's a wonderful villain, be he covered in question marks or dressed like the Zodiac Killer. He's just a scorned man with too much time on his hands, and somehow way too much money to burn on large-scale experiments. Whole underground racetracks, even. He's great because of his absurdity. There's no grand ambition at all, just a battered and bruised ego in need of a massage.
2 Scarecrow
Scarecrow has always had the ability to be the most fearsome villain, seeing as he literally preys upon the fears of others, making them seem alive. But he was also the orchestrator of some of the most memorable sequences across the series, from the fear-induced visions of Batman's parents to the toxin-engrossed Gotham.
Even in City, he had some small presence in a hidden bunker that showed he was organizing his greatest plan. In truth, he posed the greatest threat to Batman, ultimately resulting in the death of the Batman as an ideal. So of course, the man who holds power over the fear of others ranks close to the top.
1 The Joker
Who else could it have been, really? Far and away, the Joker is Batman's most iconic villain, and likely one of the most well-known villains there is in media. He is constantly unsettling, the maniac laughter reason enough to be on edge, and brought to life by the incredible voice work of Mark Hamill.
So powerful is Joker that even following his death in City, he remains a spectre in the lives of both Harley Quinn and Batman, commenting upon your every action. After all, no one really dies in comic books.