Saturday, September 20, 2014

Batman - Top 20 Rogue Gallery Members Part 4

Now it's time for the last of my Rogues Gallery list and while my Top 5 is arguably predictable as anything, there's a reason why these five members have stood the test of time and popped up in the most of media - four of whom will be prominent in the upcoming series, Gotham.

1: The Joker (Jack Napier?)


The Clown Prince of crime and the man who always has a permanent smile on his face. The Joker is the most iconic villain in all of Batman's lore and he's always appeared in some capacity in nearly every Batman related media and will always continue to do so. The Joker might have once quoted that "without Batman, crime doesn't have a punchline" but without him, the same can also be applied. I can't imagine a Gotham without him either.

2: Catwoman (Selina Kyle)


Like the Joker, it's hard to imagine a Gotham where the most infamous cat burglar and all round morally grey, Catwoman isn't prowling. Just like Clown Prince himself, Selina Kyle has cropped up in nearly every Batman related media and continues to make an impression in all of them. While some parts of her backstory (Frank Miller, I'm looking at you), don't always work, it's hard to deny that the character has something of an enduring appeal over the years.

3: Poison Ivy (Pamela Isley)


An eco-terrorist with a difference as Ivy's connection to Mother Earth has been quite literal, given the fact that she's got an immunity to toxins as well as an affinity to plant life as well. One of the most interesting members of the Gallery and definitely but a run of the mill criminal or femme fatale either, Ivy has proved to be as deadly as she looks in various incarnations.

4: The Riddler (Edward Nygma)


Riddle me this, who managed to get to number four on this list? Actually, you don't have to as it's pretty obvious, isn't it? One of Gotham's most perplexing of villains, the man's love for a good riddle and quest to show off his smarts has certainly made him into one of the trickier Rogue members to deal with, but also one of the most stimulating ones as well, intellectually.

5: The Penguin (Oswald Cobblepot)


Bringing a certain level of sophistication and class to the table and earning his position in my Top 5 would be this bird themed gangster/nightclub owner. The Penguin might be a short, portly fellow sometimes with flipper hands (depending on the incarnation), but he's also a tough bird who can cause mayhem with the best of them.

I hope you enjoyed the list. I'll be reviewing Gotham from next week onwards and there will be other Batman verse related blogs every now and then as well.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great list! I appreciate the effort you've put into putting this together. You make a lot of fun and interesting lists.

I apologize in advance,but the editor in me feels compelled to nitpick that "in nearly every Batman related media" should be "in nearly every Batman related medium".

shawnlunn2002 said...

Haha, don't worry about it. Glad you like the list. BTW - caught the opening episode for Gotham, so a review will be up soon.

Anonymous said...

I'm going to watch that (relatively) soon. I have a backlog right now, as I've been focused on writing a story for a university Fiction Writing course.