Random Most Shockingly Violent Things Batman Villains Have Ever Done (15 items)

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  (#13) Ra's al Ghul

  • Batman Begins, The Dark Knight Rises, Batman: Under the Red Hood, DC Universe

  Given that he's been around the block a few times thanks to the healing powers of the Lazarus Pit, and given that he's almost the literal face of evil, it's hard to choose just one horrible thing that Ra's al Ghul has done. His actions in Batman: Contagion might take the cake, though, thanks to the mass casualties and devastating after-effects of his plan. 

  In that story, Ra's al Ghul did his usual: He tried to wipe out large parts of the world. Except this time, he actually succeeded. He released a deadly disease through Gotham City, and although Batman and friends eventually stopped it, they couldn't prevent thousands from perishing. The after-effects of this disease were devastating, leaving Gotham in such a crippled state that when a huge earthquake came and almost destroyed the city, it became a no-man's land.
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  (#10) Bane

  • Justice League: Doom, The Dark Knight Rises

  Most readers already know about Bane's most brutal act in Batman comics. That's because it's the center of one of the biggest, most painful Batman stories ever. That's right, in Batman: Knightfall, Bane "broke the bat."

  Most people just remember this story as the one where Bane lifted up Batman and broke his back over his knee, but in reality, there was so much more to Bane that made him different than an overpowered thug. When he set off to hunt Batman, he first staged a massive prison break that flooded the streets with crooks. Batman and his allies had to track them all down, and this tired Batman out every night. Bane studied Batman every chance he got so he could learn his patterns and routines, then waited until the Dark Knight was most exhausted to spring his trap. Bane revealed himself to Batman ready to fight; poor Bats just didn't stand a chance. In the now-iconic moment, Bane destroyed our hero's spine with a huge slam on his knee.
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  (#5) The Joker Murdered Robin With A Crowbar

  The Joker has done some deeply, deeply horrific things to the Bat Family. While some of the members of Batman's rogues' gallery are more campy than sinister, those who underestimate the Clown Prince of Crime usually wind up dead - or worse. In the landmark story arc Batman: A Death in the Family, Jason Todd learned that lesson the hard way. 

  The Joker bludgeoned Todd to death with a crowbar (at the behest of an audience poll, because people are terrible), leaving Batman to find the bloody, mangled corpse of his young ward in the wreckage of a collapsed building. Although Todd later returned to life (a version of Superman punched a hole in reality; it was a whole thing), his demise stood out as the Joker's most merciless act in DC continuity for years.
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  (#7) Professor Pyg Turned Human Beings Into Horrifying Doll Slaves

  In addition to looking like something straight out of a fever dream after you just watched Babe and Saw back-to-back, Professor Pyg has the terrifying rap sheet to back up his menacing appearance. See, Pyg is obsessed with perfection. And his version of "perfection" involves mind-altering drugs, genital mutilation, hardcore neurosurgery, and attaching creepy doll masks to people's faces. 

  Pyg creates an army of these "Dollotrons" in the appropriately numbered Batman #666 and is later crucified for his crimes. A brutal end for a brutal man.
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  (#1) Joker

  • Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Batman: The Animated Series, Fight Batman Fight!, Batman: New Times, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2, Batman Forever, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, Batman: Under the Red Hood, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, The Batman vs. Dracula, The Batman Superman Movie: World's Finest, Batman, Batman, DC Universe

  Choosing the most shocking thing the Joker has ever done is really an impossible task. He's just committed so many heinous acts that singling out any one as the worst isn't easy. One of his most savage acts, though, happened when Brian Azzarello reintroduced the character in his graphic novel, Joker.

  The Joker resumed his mantle as the Clown Prince of Crime after spending a long time in Arkham Asylum. Upon his release, he found one of his henchmen, Monty, had started to make a name for himself in the Joker's absence. This might have been okay on its own, but the Joker then learned Monty hired his beloved Harley Quinn to dance at his strip club. This sent the Joker into a rage - one that led to this scene, in which he skinned Monty - alive. The Joker then pushed Monty out onto his own club stage so he could get a taste of what it was like to be seen as nothing more than a piece of meat. The scene was gory, disgusting, and absolutely shocking.
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  (#6) The Joker Crippled Barbara Gordon

  There are worse things than death, at least for some people. Barbara Gordon, longtime member of the Bat Family and daughter of Commissioner Gordon, learned just that when the Joker shot her in the spine. She had devoted her life to fighting crime as Batgirl, and she was robbed of the ability to continue doing so.

  The worst part? She was just an ancillary part of his heinous plan. In The Killing Joke, the Joker sets out to prove that everyone is one bad day away from insanity. The man he chose to prove his point: Jim Gordon. That's right, he wasn't even trying to drive Barbara crazy. She was just collateral damage on his way to her father, who in turn was just a pawn in the Joker's eternal struggle against Batman.

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