Batman has the best bad guys in all of comics. From the Joker to Two-Face to Poison Ivy, each one represents a dark reflection of different aspects of Batman’s character. Joker is the chaos to Batman’s order. The duality of Two-Face and Harvey Dent reflects the duality of Batman and Bruce Wayne. Poison Ivy is all about sexuality, which underlines Batman’s own manliness and sexual prowess. Ladies. All of the classic Bat-villains are a dark, twisted version of Batman himself. You can’t say the same thing for any of Spider-Man’s villains.

Best. Rogues Gallery. Ever.

So with The Dark Knight Rises due to come out this weekend, I’ve decided to share with you my favorite Batman villains. You already know that my favorite character from the world of Batman is his sidekick Robin. But what about the bad guys? Here is the list of my top 6 Batman bad guys! And I would love to hear your own choices in the comments!

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Honorable Mention: Catman and Deadshot 

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Irrefutable proof that cats and guns belong together

While it’s true that Catman and Deadshot both started out as Batman villains, I have come to love and enjoy them for their more recent careers as anti-heroes. They are both super awesome, buuuut they don’t qualify for this list anymore. Sorry guys. Catman is Thomas Blake, a former washed up villain who remade himself into a manly man by living with some lions in Africa and going all feral. Deadshot is Floyd Lawton, the greatest marksman in the world. They both joined up with the Secret Six, which is hands down the greatest comic book published by DC Comics in the past 10 years. They are great anti-heroes, and I never even knew them as villains.

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6. Clayface

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Clayface represents Batman’s own ability to take on multiple identities/covers

There have been a ton of different Clayfaces in the comics, all with different origins and abilities. My favorite Clayface is the one from Batman The Animated Series in the mid-90s. I liked the monstrous look, enjoyed the fun shapeshifting powers, and absolutely loved the pathos-filled origin. That cartoon knew how to make its villains cool. So while I can’t say if any of the comic book Clayfaces ever lived up to the power of the cartoon, I can say that the Animated Series Clayface is the best of them all. Sort of like how the Animated Series Mr. Freeze became the only Mr. Freeze that mattered, that’s how it is for me and Clayface. Matt Hagen was a lost, broken man who never wanted to be turned into Clayface. But once it happened, he wasn’t going to waste his new potential – unless you call petty revenge a waste. In the end it was pride that unmade him, too proud to accept Batman’s help, or too broken to think that anybody could care about him as an actual human being. Tragedy always makes for good villains.

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5. Harley Quinn

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Harley is to Joker, as Robin is to Batman; she represents taking a partner

As does comedy. I wrote in a previous list that I just don’t care for the Joker, so don’t expect him to show up on this list. But Harley Quinn, his henchwoman, is pretty fun. Especially in the fact that she’s grown beyond the Joker. Harley has a life and a character all her own, and I enjoy that far more than when she’s being mistreated by ‘Mistah J’. She hangs out with Poison Ivy, and sometimes the new Suicide Squad. She’s badass and funny, in ways that the Joker has long since surpassed. Plus Harley has a human side and can feel emotions that just wouldn’t work for the Joker. So she’s all the funny, none of the over-the-top insanity. Plus Harley is a great example of how the fans can impact a franchise. Harley was created on a whim for a single episode of Batman The Animated Series, but she became so popular that she became a signature character in that series, and is now an institution in fandom. Not bad for a henchman.

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4. Riddler

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Riddler is a twisted version of Batman’s own genius intellect and detective skills

I didn’t fully understand the Riddler until I read this comic/puzzle at MightyGodKing. In that comic, the Riddler describes his battle with Batman as such: “What makes life worth living is competing against the very best; someone who can figure out my plan as I tell it to him. After all, if I didn’t tell him my plans, they’d just…succeed. How is that fun? You see, we’re playing no-limit, world-level death chess…and he’s the only other grandmaster around.” After that, it was like a light bulb went off over my head. Of course he tells Batman his plans. It’s not about actually succeeding at crime, it’s about proving that he’s smarter than Batman. Because we all know that Batman is the greatest human being on the planet, and Riddler is just smart enough to think he can match wits with him. I like that about Riddler. He’s smart, he’s clever, he has a great fashion sense, and his fight against Batman is not about greed or murder or insanity; it’s about trying to prove that he’s better than Batman, which is a really neat villainous motivation.

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3. Penguin

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Penguin is a dark, evil version of the playboy socialite Bruce Wayne

I don’t like the insane super-villains. The wild, wacky maniacs who are out of control. Penguin is the epitome of the more grounded, down-to-Earth bad guys that fill a major part of Batman’s Rogues Gallery. I love businessman Penguin. I like that he’s essentially just a traditional crime boss with a grotesque appearance. I like that being a villain is just business for him, that he owns a place like the Iceberg Lounge and operates – at least partially – as a legitimate businessman in Gotham City. I like the idea that he can sit down for a tete-a-tete with Batman and not automatically get himself beaten up, because he knows that, in business, sometimes you have to work with people you don’t like. I don’t like the cartoonish, buffoonish Penguin though. He’s a vicious, wicked, petty little man, but he’s smart and devious. He may not be able to take Batman in a fight, but there are many other ways to battle the bat.

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2. Man-Bat

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‘Man-Bat’…’Batman’…Come on, do I have to spell it out for you?

Bats are my favorite animal, and not just because of Batman. Ever since I was a kid and did a science fair project on whether or not bats were birds or beasts, I have loved those freaky little flying badasses. So when I learned in Batman The Animated Series that there was a villain who was basically a giant were-bat, I was hooked! Man-Bat looks awesome, with his giant leathery wings and monstrous appearance. That Man-Bat also has a cool backstory as Dr. Kirk Langstom is just icing on the cake. He’s like Curt Connors, the Lizard, in that Langstrom is a good guy while his alter ego is a villain. I love it when Batman goes to Langstrom (or his wife Francine) for science help, like he did a few times in the cartoon, and often does in the comics. I like that Kirk and Francine are this husband and wife team on the fringes of Batman’s allies. And how adorable is it that Langstrom actually has a Man-Bat family, complete with were-bat kids? Fantastic stuff.

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1. Catwoman

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Catwoman represents the fun of dressing up in black leather and running around on rooftops – only she does it for crime

I had to think a long time about this, because I’m not really in love with any of Batman’s villains. None of them illicit the same excitement out of me as, say, Robin the Boy Wonder. So in putting this list together, I looked over all of the Bat’s villains and I tried to think of who I was most excited to see in a comic, who worked best as an antagonist, and who best fit the criteria for what I like in a bad guy. I settled on Catwoman. Unlike most of the other characters on this list, I never particularly cared for Catwoman in Batman The Animated Series. It’s comic book Catwoman that I really like. She fits that realistic, grounded mold, in that she’s just a normal person who decided to put on a costume. She’s also something of an anti-hero, a bad guy who can be good from time to time. Catwoman’s relationship with Batman brings out the best in him, giving him feelings and responses that have nothing to do with locking her up in prison – though he does that too, on occasion.

I love how Catwoman’s special place in Batman’s life impacts the interactions she has with other characters, like Superman, and especially the different Robins. I also love Catwoman’s costume – the modern one, the costume featured in Batman: Arkham City. Her Animated Series costume wasn’t that great, nor are the preview images we’ve seen for The Dark Knight Rises. I like the black leather, the cute cat head piece and the goggles. Those are great goggles. And I love Catwoman’s origin, and how it’s a dark twist to Batman’s own decision to dress up in costume. Catwoman was inspired by the Bat, and decided to also dress up – only she’d be a thief instead of a vigilante.

So I’m very excited to see Anne Hathaway in The Dark Knight Rises this weekend. Nobody expected Heath Ledger to make a great Joker, but we all know how that turned out. So I have a lot of faith in her being absolutely awesome. I guess we’ll find out soon enough! I can’t wait!

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Who are your favorite Batman villains? I am a fool for leaving the Joker off the list? Go ahead and tell me so, I can take it. Who do you think have been the best Bat-villains on the big screen? Or the worst? Tell me in the comments!