Sure, everyone knows the Batman villains like Joker, Catwoman, Penguin, Riddler....
....even Mr. Freeze, Mad Hatter, Ra's Al Ghul, Two-Face, Man-Bat, Bane, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, Deadshot, Killer Moth, Firefly and Scarecrow have gotten fans over the last decade or so...
....but, there are villains even more obscure to learn about!
Crazy Quilt
He was just an artist named Quilt, until crossing some criminals (by trying his own criminal enterprise) and blinded, which made him crazy...Crazy Quilt, that is, in
Boy Commandos #15 (May-June, 1946, by
Jack Kirby and
Steve Brodie). Only being able to see in bright colors, that changed over repeated encounters with the Boy Commandos, in
#18,
#22,
#24,
#28,
#29, and
#33...before moving over to face Robin in
Star-Spangled Comics #123 (December, 1951).
Of course, those are all technically appearances of the Earth-2 Crazy Quilt (with a Robin who grew up to join the Justice Society). The Robin (Dick Grayson) who joined the
Teen Titans first, first faced Crazy Quilt in
Batman #316 (October, 1979 by
Len Wein,
Irv Novick and
Frank McLaughlin), with a similar origin and having been put in jail by Robin before, and that Crazy Quilt returned a few times, in
Batman #368 (February, 1984) and
Detective Comics #535 (February, 1984) to face Robin (Jason Todd), part of a mass escape in
Batman #400 (October, 1986), and popping up in crowd scenes (like in
Underworld Unleashed #1 and
JLA #34) before a new, female Crazy Quilt took over in during the
Villains United mini-series.
Kite-Man
Chuck Brown had a childhood fascination with kites, and used gimmicked kites (as well as a hanglider like device) to face Batman and Robin as Kite-Man, starting with
Batman #133 (August, 1960 by
Bill Finger,
Dick Sprang and
Charles Paris). Kite-Man returned to face Batman in
Batman #315 (September, 1979 by
Len Wein,
Irv Novick and
Frank McLaughlin), then faced Hawkman, Hawkgirl and Zatanna (revealing his real name, then crashing into a tree, in
Hawkman #4 of November, 1986 by
Tony Isabella,
Richard Howell and
Don Heck). Kite-Man joins a group of super-villains in the Olympics representing the nation of Zandia in
Young Justice #23 (September, 2000), remaining in Zandia for an attack by young super-heroes from events starting in
Young Justice #48 (October, 2002, and lasting through
#51), is thought to have been killed by Joker during the
Infinite Crisis, and was killed (and eaten) by Intergang leader Bruno Mannheim in
52 #25 (December, 2006). Good grief!
Mr. Polka Dot
Batman and Robin first face Mr. Polka Dot in "The Bizarre Polka-Dot Man" in
Detective Comics #300 (February, 1962 by
Bill Finger,
Sheldon Moldoff and
Charles Paris), where the villain uses a polka dot motif to steal in Gotham. Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) and Nightwing (Dick Grayson) take him down during a night on Gotham in the flashback tale of
Nightwing #104 (Late April, 2004), is beaten by Harvey Bullock in
Batman: G.C.P.D. #1 (August, 1996), before being a part of the Army of the Endangered during the
Final Crisis Aftermath: Run mini-series of 2009, where he meets his death.
Zodiac Master
Zodiac Master first appeared in
Detective Comics #323 (January, 1964 by
Dave Wood,
Sheldon Moldoff and
Charles Paris), facing off against Batman and Robin using foretelling the future and Zodiac based weapons against the Dynamic Duo.
This was it for the Zodiac Master....
....having no known relation to other Zodiac based villains, such as
Doctor Zodiac or Madame Zodiac (who faced Superman, Batman and Batgirl over their careers.....).
Eraser
Another villain with a short run career was the Eraser, who premiered in
Batman #188 (December, 1966 by
John Broome,
Sheldon Moldoff and
Joe Giella). Commissioner Gordon calls in Batman to solve a crime where all the clues have been erased, and that leads Batman to the Eraser, who works for criminals to erase clues to their crimes.
Batman disguises himself as a criminal to hire the Eraser, who recognizes Bruce Wayne, and captures him (as the Eraser is Bruce's old school chum of Lenny Fiasco). This forces Robin into action to distract the Eraser, as Bruce escapes the Eraser's trap, changes into Batman, and rubs out the Eraser's freedom.
Dr. Phosphorus
Alex Sartorius was a scientist, working at a nuclear facility when it all when wrong, changing him into a man whose skin would combust in the air, unhinging the doctor, who planned to take revenge on Gotham City as Dr. Phosphorus (starting with
Detective Comics #469 of May, 1977 by
Steve Englehart,
Walt Simonson and
Al Milgrom), being stopped by Batman in
Detective Comics #470 (June, 1977), returning to face Batman and Batgirl in
Batman #311 (May, 1979), wounding the original Hawkman in the
Crisis On Infinite Earths, popping up in
Black Orchid #2 in 1989, becoming a foe for the
original Starman, Ted Knight, after giving his soul to Neron in
Underworld Unleashed #1 (November, 1995), and sparring with Ted Knight in
Starman #13 (November, 1995), being their for Ted's final battle in
Starman #63 to
#71 in 2000, returning to face Batman again (starting with
Detective Comics #825), as well as Batgirl, Stephanie Brown (in
Batgirl #6 and
#7 of 2010).
Magpie
Margaret Pye was a jewel thief, fascinated by shiny things, so going by the name Magpie, as she faced off against Superman and Batman in one of their
first meetings in
Man of Steel #3 (November, 1986 by
John Byrne and
Dick Giordano).
Magpie returned to face Batman and Robin (Jason Todd) as unrest grew towards super-heroes (even the ones in Gotham) in
Batman #401 (November, 1986). Magpie didn't take advantage of Neron's offer in
Underworld Unleashed #1, ending up in Arkham Asylum, and dying in
Batman #651 (May, 2006).
Zebra Man
The first Zebra Man (Jake Baker) appeared in
Detective Comics #275 (January, 1960 by
Bill Finger,
Sheldon Moldoff and
Charles Paris)...
...and was defeated by Batman when the Caped Crusader stole the villain's powers magnetic powers, and used them against the villain!
The 1960s were a weird time for the Batman....
Inspired by this villain (and others Batman faced around this time like Clayface and Planet-Master), Kobra created Strike Force Kobra, with his own Zebra Man (with a mohawk, as it was the 1980s) to use his magnetic powers against Batman and his team of super-heroes,
the Outsiders, starting in
Outsiders #21 (July, 1987 by
Mike W. Barr and
Jim Aparo), being defeated in
Outsiders #22 (August, 1987), and waiting all the way until
Infinite Crisis #7 (June, 2006) to appear again!
Mime
Camilla Cameo was the daughter of mob boss Oscar Ortin, also known as the Fireworks King, who made a lot of noise when he committed crimes.
The lady who would become Mime took to a more artistic life, first ballet, then mime, all while trying to live a quiet life. That life wasn't too successful, so, the Mime took to crime, using a gun (with a silencer), to commit crimes (and keep the noise down). This caught the attention of Batman and Robin (Jason Todd), who stopped her while she was attempting to silence a rock and roll concert (with the feedback of sound deafening the girl), all in
Batman #412 (October, 1987, by
Max Allan Collins,
Dave Cockrum and
Don Heck).
Orca
Grace Balin was a marine biologist at Gotham Aquarium, turned into a whale like creature called Orca in
Batman #579 (July, 2000 by
Larry Hama,
Scott McDaniel and
Karl Story), trying to steal a diamond, but being defeated by Batman over the next few issues in
Batman #581 (September, 2000). Orca returned, being infected with the Joker virus in
Joker: Last Laugh #2 (December, 2001), in a flashback in
Batman #652 (June, 2006), before going belly up in
Detective Comics #819 (July, 2006), being killed by the Tally Man.
Condiment King
Relishing his condiments, Mitchell Mayo turned to crime, but really wasn't all that good at it as the Condiment King. Premiering on the
Batman: Animated Series, the Condiment King first appeared in the comics in
Birds Of Prey #37 (January, 2002 by
Chuck Dixon,
Marcos Martin and
Alvaro Lopez), being captured by Blue Beetle (Ted Kord), Robin (Tim Drake) and Black Canary, who prevent him from setting off a mustard gas bomb (being a little more dangerous than when he faced the original Batgirl and Robin, in a tale told in
Batgirl: Year One #8 of September, 2003). CK returned in
Robin #171 (April, 2008), then was rubbed out as a part of the Army of the Endangered in
Final Crisis Aftermath: Run #4 (October, 2009).
Tarantula
Catalina Flores was an FBI agent living in Bludhaven, near Dick Grayson's (as well as the All-Star Squadron's
Tarantula, Jonathan Law), with her first appearance in
Nightwing #71 (September, 2002, by
Devin Grayson,
Rick Leonardi and
Jesse Delperdang). Catalina admired Tarantula, taking on the identity to fight the crooked cops of the city in
Nightwing #75 (January, 2003). Tarantula is a bit brutal in her enforcement of the law, but she has reason to be, as John Law (along with many other residents of Dick Grayson's apartment building) are killed by Blockbuster in
Nightwing #89 (March, 2004), leading Tarantula to kill Blockbuster in
Nightwing #93 (July, 2004), with Nightwing failing to act to stop her. Nightwing goes on the run with Blockbuster for a time, turning her in in
Nightwing #100 (February, 2005). Appearing next defending Bludhaven from OMACs in
Robin #143 (December, 2005), she becomes one of many villains looking for redemption in
Secret Six #1 to
#6 (2008/2009), stealing a "get out of hell free" card from Neron, but sacrificing herself to stop Junior (the sister of the Secret Six's Rag Doll).
March Harriet
Harriet Pratt was an escort and a grifter who was recruited by the Mad Hatter to be a part of his Wonderland gang, as March Harriet, in
Detective Comics #841 (April, 2008 by
Paul Dini,
Dustin Nguyen and
Derek Fridolfs)...
....along with Tweedledee and Tweedledum (who had been Batman villains prior to this as well, as had the Mad Hatter), and newer villains like the Lion, the Unicorn, the Walrus and the Carpenter.
All these villains were lucky enough to have faced Batman or members of his family, so have the likelihood of a longer life in medium outside of comics, but one would hope other heroes' villains can get some love as well (as have villains who have faced Batman, like Flash's
Captain Boomerang and Hawkman's Gentleman Ghost, or Green Arrow villains like the
Clock King). After all, at one point, even Deadshot,
Scarecrow and Poison Ivy were barely used villains.
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