Batman Comics: A Dark Knight Dub
Project Overview
What is this?
This is going to be a series of fandubs for the comic books for the dark knight himself. Batman. This includes Detective Comics, Joker's Asylum, and Gotham Central.
For those of you unfamiliar with the character, Batman is the alias of Bruce Wayne, a wealthy American playboy, philanthropist, and industrialist who resides in Gotham City. Batman's origin story features him swearing vengeance against criminals after witnessing the murder of his parents Thomas and Martha, a vendetta tempered with the idea of justice. He trains himself physically and intellectually, crafts a bat-inspired persona, and monitors the Gotham streets at night. Kane, Finger, and other creators accompanied Batman with supporting characters, including his sidekicks Robin and Batgirl; allies Alfred Pennyworth, James Gordon, and Catwoman; and foes such as the Penguin, the Riddler, Two-Face, and his archenemy the Joker.
Requirements:
1. Please make sure your microphone is capable of recording your voice without picking up overwhelming background noises or excessive peaking/clipping.
2. You must have a Discord account, as the project will be going into production over there.
3. Your voice files must be sent in a .wav format, though if it ends up too big, .mp3 files will do as an alternative.
4. You need to have a very clear idea of both the character you're auditioning for. I would also like you to describe in the audition description what version of the character you were going for or if you were doing something original with it.
5. Open Ethnicity, POC Actors HEAVILY encouraged to audition.
6. Remember to have fun!
Thank you all so much for reading and I can't wait to hear all of your auditions!
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Batman is a dark and brooding hero with a personal vendetta against crime and injustice. Psychologically traumatized by the death of his parents, Batman has sworn to rid Gotham of the criminal elements that took his parents away from him. He is extremely pessimistic and suspicious, which often makes it difficult for him to trust people other than Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, Lucius Fox, the Robins, or Batgirl. Despite this, Batman has proved to have a great love for humanity, which was instilled by his parents. His father was a doctor, while his mother was a crusader against child abuse. Indeed, Batman's oath of vengeance is tempered with the greater ideal of justice. He refrains from killing, as he feels this would not make him any better than the criminals he fights. To protect his secret identity, Batman has constructed a fake persona he can use in his civilian identity. To the world at large, Bruce Wayne is a self-absorbed, irresponsible playboy and philanthropist. Only his closest allies know that this attitude is just an act.
You think that being a hero is fun? That it's a game? A hero is a person who stands apart. A hero is no longer part of the mainstream humanity. A hero treads the razor's edge between heaven and hell because a hero is not bound by sentimentality or the vagaries of public opinion. A hero is held to a higher standard of truth and justice.-- I'm a crime-fighter and a detective. I don't call myself a hero. It's not a job description...it's an appellation--bestowed upon one by posterity
You want to kill Gotham?! For being weak! For being afraid! For failing again and again and again! I am Gotham. Kill me.
I'll show the Arkham patients that their safety is important too. Now they know that I'll risk my life for them too. Men like this will never be tolerated. Especially... not in my house.
Dick Grayson was once Batman's first sidekick Robin, before going on to become Nightwing. The youngest in a family of acrobats known as the "Flying Graysons," Dick watched as a mafia boss killed his parents to extort money from the circus that employed them (whose name was later revealed to be Tony Zucco). Bruce Wayne, secretly the vigilante Batman, took him in as his legal ward after witnessing their deaths, and eventually as his sidekick, Robin. Throughout Dick's adolescence, Batman and Robin were inseparable. However, as Dick grew older and spent more time as the leader of the Teen Titans, he decided to take on the identity of Nightwing to assert his independence.
We all need to take off the mask sometimes. To remind ourselves that we're people underneath.
If I don't crack a joke to break the tension-- I might never put on this costume again! Call it a home remedy for my own mental well-being!
[To Bruce]
What I've gotten is the realization that you did the best you could with what you had. You weren't a perfect father but that's okay because -- probably nobody's a perfect father. No family's perfect, either. I was lucky. I was privileged. Not because of the big house and the money, but because you gave me a lot of yourself. You taught me, you showed me, you encouraged me -- you never lied to me and you never demanded that I be anything I'm not. I didn't imitate you because you insisted that I do so, but because I wanted to. Of all the men I knew, you were most worthy of imitation.
Jason Todd was the second Robin, sidekick to the superhero Batman. Jason was an orphaned street delinquent with a troubled past and violent demeanor, whom Batman attempts to reform and mentor. Years later, it is revealed that Jason had died at the hands of the Joker, but when Superboy-Prime alters reality from the paradise dimension in which he is trapped, Jason is restored to life and hospitalized, as the injuries inflicted by the Joker had not fully healed. After spending a year in a coma, he is recognized by a petty criminal who soon informs Talia al-Ghul. After some time, Talia restores his health and memory by immersing him in a Lazarus Pit. On Talia's advice, Jason determines his death was never avenged and prepares to confront Batman. When Batman expresses no remorse for sparing the Joker's life after Jason was killed, Jason is further enraged and takes up the mantle of the Red Hood.
How long did you wait before replacing me, huh? A month? A week? I trusted you... And you just left me to die! You always told me Bruce... focus on what I want to achieve... and it'll happen. Well you want to know what I want now, huh? I want you dead.
You can't stop crime. That's what you never understood. I'm controlling it. You wanna rule them by fear. But what do you do with the ones who aren't afraid? I'm doing what you won't, I'm taking them out.
I tend to judge people by the company they keep, and let me tell you... not a big fan of clowns.
Tim Drake is a crimefighter that works with Batman. As the third Robin in the Batman comics, he served as Batman's sidekick, and he is a superhero in his own right. He currently uses the superhero identity of Red Robin. As a young boy, Tim was in the audience the night Dick Grayson's parents were murdered and later managed to discover the identities of Batman and the original Robin through their exploits. After the death of the second Robin, Jason Todd, and witnessing Batman spiral into darkness, Tim attempted to convince Dick to resume the role of Robin, stating that "Batman needs a Robin". However, Dick refused to return to being Batman's sidekick, and instead, Tim was appointed as the third Robin.
I've worked hard and long to become Batman's partner. Harder than anyone else who's ever worn this mask. So, yeah, I'm not Batman. And that means I'm doing something right.
Look, Gotham's weird, but come on. A lion? Were you going to hook up with Scarecrow and Metallo for a Wizard of Oz reunion?
Look, I know you think this is what you want. But once you put on a mask... a uniform... once you do something like this, it can become all you do. And then before you know it, you're deep down the rabbit hole of this life and you're not even sure how you got here. I started doing this because I thought I didn't have a choice. But you still do, Harper. So for me, your brother, and everyone else.... you need to be sure you're making the right one.
Barbara Gordon is the daughter of Commissioner James Gordon and an ally of Batman and Dick Grayson. From 1967 to 1988, she operated as the superheroine Batgirl. Barbara continued to operate, though was forced into retirement due to her crippling during The Killing Joke. From 1989 to 2011, Barbara operated as the data broker Oracle, using her skills in Information Technology to help both the Batman Family and other superheroes.
"Batman"? Boys, I'm insulted! I'm way cuter!
Look around you guys. This whole situation defies reason. But I'm not letting anyone run me out of my hometown. I didn't let the Joker do it and I'm damn sure not going to let a bunch of bureaucrats do it!
Started the day with shopping and too much gelato. Now? Now I'm fighting my dad's own cops. I was at this one's wedding, for God's sake. What the hell am I doing?
Cassandra Cain is a member of the Batman Family and protege of Batman. The daughter of assassins David Cain and Lady Shiva, she was raised to become the greatest weapon for the League of Assassins. However, horrified from her first killing, she fled to the Batman Family for protection. Becoming a claimant of the Batgirl identity, she helped him and Tim Drake protect Gotham. Cassandra has also used other identities, including Black Bat and Orphan.
I'll never take another life. Not even hers. So I'll pretend to go all out... and then I'll die. I don't have to do this. I can still study Batman's method. I can be good enough for the costume. I can be... mediocre. For a lifetime. Or perfect. For a year.
Weak. Without focus you're nothing. And that's what you really always wanted me to have-- nothing. But you never asked me what I wanted. I wanted to read. I wanted to talk. I Wanted a Father. I Wanted a Family. I wanted to belong somewhere!
I don't kill... but I don't lose, either.
The daughter of the criminal Cluemaster, Stephanie Brown originated as the amateur crime-fighter named Spoiler. Later, she briefly became the fourth Robin and the third Batgirl. She has also served as the love interest/girlfriend of the third Robin, Tim Drake.
If you're Batman, you need what Batman has always needed, so he isn't reduced to a muscled bag of repressed feelings in kevlar... You need a Robin.
Dear Diary, I know what my next science project is going to be called: "My love/hate relationship with Gravity."
One day we'll finish you once and for all, Penguin -- you and all the other loathsome criminal parasites! We'll wipe you out like the vermin you really are. And then this will be a good, safe, clean city -- a place where children can grow up free from your corruption and filth!
Damian Wayne is the child of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul and thus the grandson of Batman villain Ra's al Ghul. Having spent his gestation in a laboratory, Damian was raised by his mother until he was 10, at which point she left him in the care of his father, who had not been aware of his son's existence until that point in time. Damian is violent and self-important and was trained by the League of Assassins, learning to kill at a young age. After the events of Batman R.I.P. and Batman: Battle for the Cowl, Damian has taken up the identity of Robin, becoming the fifth and current person to use the Boy Wonder's identity.
Pompous old man. My father will break you into little pieces... when I tell him you're back.
I'm not like Tim, or Jason, or even Dick. I'm light-years ahead of all the past Robins in skill and training. I'm either your partner in this or I'm not.
Father... I am truly alone. But I cannot allow your legacy to languish in the hands of unworthy pretenders. You will come back to me... I know it... and when the true Batman returns to Gotham... he will find his city as he left it. Safe. Protected. Your son will not fail you.
Katherine Kane is a member of the Kane family and, through her father, the cousin of Bruce Wayne. Katherine is a wealthy heiress who becomes inspired by the crimefighter Batman and chooses, like him, to put her wealth and resources toward a campaign to fight crime as a masked vigilante in her home of Gotham City.
What is it with these crime coven people and their obsession with stories for kids? Remember Dick Van Dyke in "Mary Poppins"? Like that but with a satanic ninja twist.
I know how to catch super-criminals and psychotic murderers. Send me after Mister Freeze, the Joker, even a goddamned ghost, and I'm good. But this is something else entirely... only Wonder Woman knows how to fight Greek gods and monsters.
You want to torture me with images of my worst nightmares... my worst fears... the worst things that could happen... but the worst things that could happen to me? Already have. And I rose. My worst fears... already came to pass. And I rose. And what's my worst nightmare now? What am I terrified of being? What am I going to choose to become?! Why, Scarecrow... my worst fear is standing right in front of you. Monstrous, diseased, and alone... and you helped create me. So I'll ask you again... are you frightened now?!
Alfred Pennyworth is Bruce Wayne's butler at Wayne Manor. He knows that Bruce is secretly Batman and aids him. After Bruce Wayne's parents were killed, Alfred raised the young orphan and reluctantly aided him in his quest to become Batman. His many skills—ranging from cooking to medicine—make him Batman's staunchest ally, along with a formal demeanor that grounds the Dark Knight and deflects those who might otherwise suspect Batman's true identity.
I'm sure you are familiar with how Master Richard became the first Robin. And how Master Bruce brought him here to Wayne Manor, to try to help him. A noble gesture, I'm sure you'd agree. Unfortunately, Master Bruce had no idea how to act around a child. He'd never been around children. He'd hardly even been a child himself.
We soldier on undaunted, you and I, Master Bruce. And if I may say so, sir... I couldn't beg, borrow or steal a finer way to live my life.
There are reasons not to kill. We've discussed these before. To say that murder is immoral is too vague. Killing, even once, even with reasons, strips you of your humanity. I do not mean this in an abstract way. Though we move about the world as individuals, the human race as a whole is spiritually-- necessarily, scientifically-- a single entity. You cannot afford to revoke that citizenship. You cannot work meaningfully for humanity from outside of it. I know you know this. I know you.
James Gordon is Commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department and one of Batman's most trusted allies. He shares the hero’s deep commitment to ridding the dark and corrupting city of crime. He is somewhat skeptical of Batman's vigilante method but recognizes the necessity of Batman and the two have a mutual respect and tacit friendship. Gordon is the husband of Sarah Essen Gordon, and the father of Barbara Gordon, the second Batgirl and original Oracle.
Ironic, isn't it? Here we are feeling good about the drop in the crime rate... and all the while, two old sociopaths have been hiring and training most of the city's thugs to wage their own crazy war.
The signal goes on and he shows up. That's the way it's been, that's the way it will be. Anything else about the man I couldn't tell you.
This is our city. And when Hell is unleashed, we don't run and hide, we stand up. And there's a symbol, a symbol we all know stands for what we can do. What we are capable of. Tonight needs more than just one hero. It needs a city. It needs all of us. Tonight we need to do what he does for us every night. Tonight, we all need to be Batman.
Lucius Fox is Bruce Wayne's business manager who unknowingly runs the business interests that supplies Batman's equipment needs as well as financing his operations. Lucius is often depicted as directly involved in Batman's activities, serving as Bruce's technical supplier and ally.
NOTE: African-American POC preferred for this role.
I hope you don't mind me saying so, but you look like hell, Bruce.
I once tried to talk your father into coming into the business. Told him being a doctor drives you crazy. Whatever you do, people just get sick again. You make no progress. [...] In a dark voice, he said, "you're right, Lucius, I am crazy. But the sick need someone crazy enough to believe they can be better. So what else could I be?"
Never be afraid to show people who you are. Take pride in the fact that you inspire. And above everything else, my son... Represent. Always represent
Harvey Bullock is a GCPD officer known for his dislike of Batman and his alliance with Commissioner Gordon. After inadvertently giving Gordon a heart attack, however, Bullock turned over a new leaf. His character later developed into a well-meaning cop who (probably) was exceedingly clumsy. He also formed a close bond with Robin, based initially on their mutual love of old movies. After this, he was a Bishop in the spy organization Checkmate.
Listen, Batman... Maybe a weak sister like Commissioner Gordon puts up with some costumed freak mixin' into police business... I don't.
You know, I've been thinking, why do villains flock here... like birds? So many. Clustered. Why didn't a second-rate villain like Magpie move to somewhere like... like... apache junction? She'd rule in Arizona. Hell, even England. They got like, what... two heroes in the whole damn country? Imagine what Crazy Quilt could pull off there. But no. They cling to Gotham and tell the same story over and over. Always ending with them in jail or Arkham.
My view is, when it comes to Gotham, you don't know it, brother. It knows you. And the moment you think otherwise, the moment you get too comfortable... that's when it stabs you in the back. Because above everything, Gotham is a mystery.
Widely considered Batman's arch-nemesis, the Joker has also been responsible for numerous tragedies in Batman's life, including the paralysis of Barbara Gordon and the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin. He is a homicidal, psychopathic, ruthless, sadistic, maniacal, insane, manipulative, intelligent, and diabolical lunatic and master criminal who wants nothing but chaos and anarchy wherever he goes, as well as reveling in the suffering of others. His malevolent, sadistic sense of humor and psychopathic tendency of murdering whoever he wants to depicts him as Batman's greatest foe and not even Poison Ivy or even Two-Face could possibly beat the Joker. The Joker is a genius but uses his intelligence for evil schemes in Gotham. However, he does not have any plan to kill Batman because he is "just so much fun" because he always plays his little "games".
I'm not exactly sure what it was. Sometimes I remember it one way, sometimes another... If I'm going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice! Ha Ha Ha!
A lunatic goes into a butcher shop and says: "A bag of carrots, please." "This is a butcher's! Get lost!" Next day, same lunatic, same shop. "A bag of carrots, please." "I told you- this is a butcher shop! Now beat it! Next time I'll nail your feet to the ground!" Third day, same lunatic, same shop. "A bag of nails, please." "This is a butcher shop. We don't have any nails!" "In that case, I'll have a bag of carrots!"
Both of us trying to find meaning in a meaningless world! Why be a disfigured outcast when I can be a notorious Crime God? Why be an orphaned boy when you can be a superhero? You can't kill me without becoming like me. I can't kill you without losing the only human being who can keep up with me. Isn't it IRONIC?!
Dr. Harleen Quinzel, also known as Harley Quinn, served as a humorous female sidekick to the Joker. she is completely devoted to the Joker, totally oblivious to his psychotic nature and obvious lack of affection for her. Bubbly, energetic, and charming, Harley often hides her demented mind behind a childish exterior, which she can combine with the flirtatious demeanor of a woman who is aware of her good looks and will use them to get what she wants. She is also much more intelligent than she lets on, often causing friend and foe alike to underestimate her.
Ladies and jerks! There's been a slight change in tonight's show. Insteada the opera robbin' you for somethin' like a thousand bucks a seat -- we're gonna rob you! Believe me folks, I've seen it already. I'm doin' ya a big favor!
Between you and me, I find persistence extremely sexy.
You lock up the weirdos, the crooks, and the geeks! Yer a hero to all of the boys in blue -But this time, baybee, the joke's on YOU!
Known for his purple domino mask and green question mark-covered costume, either as a skintight catsuit or a business suit and bowler hat, and his special question mark-shaped cane, the Riddler is obsessed with riddles, puzzles, and word games. He delights in forewarning police and Batman of his capers by sending them complex clues. The Riddler's criminal modus operandi is so deeply ingrained into his personality that he is virtually powerless to stop himself from acting it out. He cannot simply kill his opponents when he has the upper hand; he has to put them in a deathtrap to see if he can devise a life and death intellectual challenge that the hero cannot solve and escape. However, unlike many of Batman's themed enemies, Riddler's compulsion is quite flexible, allowing him to commit any crime as long as he can describe it in a riddle or puzzle.
Life's full of questions, isn't it, Batman? Though, naturally, I prefer to think of them as riddles.
What fun would that be? The whole point of the game is to outsmart the competition... with the danger that they'll outsmart you!
[Talking about The Joker]
My answer is simple. He can't kill Batman because he's a fraud. You see, I solve puzzles. And what's a bigger puzzle than the Joker? So I solved him. Everyone projects such tragedy on you. Guessing at your start. Your cruel father. Your poor wife. Your dead child. What terrible something made you white and green and mad. But we both know that's a little bluff, isn't it? There's no pain in you, no suffering. Not really. Not yet. No, no, this, you...this--it's all an act. You're not white and green and mad. You're just white and green. You laugh. And you kill. You joke. You say whatever. I get it. But under that façade of yours, you're just a plain, normal man. There's no father, wife, kid, insanity. There's just average, boring you.
One of Batman's oldest foes, the Penguin is often presented as a gentleman of crime, often developing elaborate schemes whilst presenting himself as innocent of many of his activities. An eccentric criminal mastermind, he is well-known for his love of ornithology and the use of technology-fitted umbrellas. He's the manager of the Iceberg Lounge, a popular nightclub that serves as a front for his illegal financial stature. The Penguin is sane and doesn't theme his crimes around a psychotic obsession. He does, however, possess a keen intellect and often puts on an aristocratic personality, starkly contrasting against more demented enemies like the Joker. As a result, his relationship with Batman is often somewhat less tense than it is with other villains. Whenever he is apprehended for a crime, he is sent to Blackgate prison instead of Arkham Asylum.
You can tell your boss -- whenever the Hell you find him -- that the Penguin is no longer his partner in this endeavor... but once again his enemy.
You know why people are afraid of the dark, don't you? It's a very basic loss of control, a certainty that while you suffer the disorientation of blindness... other creatures are moving through your territory, staking their own claims, manipulating your environment to suit their own needs. I'll tell you something, though. You have no need to fear those creatures who use the darkness to their advantage... Not as long as you stick to the one who's controlling the light...!
We are dinosaurs, you know. You and I... we appreciate style, finesse, not like nowadays, where any two-bit punk with spandex and a homicidal attitude thinks he's a hero.
Selina Kyle, also known as Catwoman, is a jewel thief from Gotham City and one of Batman's most-well known enemies. An orphan who learned to survive on Gotham's streets, Selina took to thievery to survive... but determined to do it in style, she learned martial arts and trained extensively to perfect her skills in cat burglary. Her criminal activities are often tempered by a reluctant altruism, making her an inconstant villain and occasional ally to Batman. She regularly eludes capture by the Dark Knight and maintains a complicated relationship that frequently fluctuates between flirtatious to romantic.
[To Batman]
What am I to you? An ally? Competition? Some stupid damsel in distress? I know there's something about me you want. I can tell. You go all rigid when I'm around. Let's do it. Right now. Take off the masks. No secrets.A girl's entitled to a little fun once in a while, isn't she?
Someone once said, "all cats are grey in the dark." It's time I became something more...something different. Something like...dark royalty.
Little is known of the early years of the nearly immortal Ra's, but it is accepted that he has lived for many centuries due to the Lazarus Pits' mysterious brews that restore his youth. A brilliant master of strategy and organization, Ra's al Ghul's goal is to save the Earth from ecological devastation by destroying most of its population. He recognizes Batman as both a worthy foe and a possible ally—except that Batman cannot accept his dystopian worldview. Batman also shares a love-hate relationship with Ra's daughter, the beautiful Talia. Ra's also commands a legion of followers dedicated to bringing his version of an earthly paradise to fruition.
I have knowledge which is alien to you, for I have tasted food fresh from dark fertile soil, and I have filled my lungs with untainted air, and I have quenched my thirst with water clear as the first day of creation, and you have not -- because you can not. Those things do not exist on this world any longer. They have been destroyed by man's lust for dominance -- a lust I know well, for at times it all but consumes me. All is corrupt, all is sick, all is dying. As am I. As are you.
Your skills as a detective are legendary and well-founded. You came here following clues. Answering riddles. But I have another mystery, detective. A mystery as yet unwritten by the pen of destiny. I present it to you, Batman, as it is a question only you can answer. Is Batman Eternal?
Do you think this matters? You are but seconds in my life! Only I know humanity for what it truly is! Only I can see the grand movements of generations! Only I, undying, can live within this world and protect it from itself!
Talia is the daughter of Ra's al Ghul, the granddaughter of Sensei, the half-sister of Nyssa Raatko, on-and-off lover of Batman, and the mother of their son Damian Wayne. She has alternately been depicted as an anti-heroine that is constantly torn between being an ally and an enemy of Batman due to her loyalty to both him and her father.
Father has only truly respected one other man. The detective. The one known as the Batman.
A pattern has formed. I assist you in procuring "teachers," men and women who possess very dangerous skills that you hope to cultivate. You study under them for a period of time, expand your repertoire...and then half of them wind up dead.
Before he was murdered, Jason had the potential to be a great man. I believe with the proper guidance -- that could still be the case. I believe he deserves that chance.
Bane is an escaped convict from an island prison in South America and a super-villain/assassin. Bane has abnormal physical strength as a result of having undergone experiments involving a derivative of the drug Venom. He became known as "The Man Who Broke the Bat" when he broke Batman's back, forcing Bruce Wayne to give up the Batman persona while he recuperated.
The Batman is Gotham City. I will watch him. Study him. And when I know him and why he does not kill, I will know this city. And then Gotham will be MINE!
I broke you once, and I can break you again. I am here to be king.
DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?! I am not a joke. I am not a riddle! I am not a bird or a cat or a penguin! I'm not a scarecrow or a plant or a puppet! I am not your broken friend! I am not your regretful teacher! I am not a child's fairy tale! I am not a circus act here to amuse and frighten you! I am not another of your madmen howling at the moon! And I... I am not... I am not some rich boy playing dress-up! I am BANE!
The Scarecrow is an overly-obsessive and deranged ex-professor of psychology who uses a variety of drugs and psychological tactics to use the fears and phobias of his adversaries. He does not commit his crimes for wealth, but rather as a form of "research" to further study the effects of fear on humans (later, he does it to satisfy his psychopathic desires), making Gothamites his unwilling guinea pigs.
Fear is primal. Raw. Blood pressure increases. Veins in your skin contract. Your immune system shuts down. Even if you attempt to steel against fear, ... it is undeniable. Fear makes us human. That was the conclusion of Charles Darwin. Who am I to argue? I'm a man of science, too. A psychologist. But few know my academic achievements. If you know me at all, you know me as ... the Scarecrow!
By the time I get done with you... you'll understand what fear is all about.
You see, that's why I understand you, Batman. You fear nothing. Except fear itself. That's why you're driven to prove yourself over and over. Just like me. Except you can't. Because I've mastered fear... and you still run from it.
Obsessed from a young age with Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, Jervis Tetch, a brilliant neuroscientist, embraced a delusion that he was the incarnation of a character in the story, the Mad Hatter. Using his hypnotic skills for mesmerism, Tetch as the Mad Hatter has committed many crimes, often themed around the book that inspired him and his love of hats and headgear, going so far as to plant his hats, ranging from pith helmets to bowlers, with mind control chips to amplify his hypnosis skills. Above all other headwear, he covets Batman's distinctive cowl and will stop at nothing to acquire it.
You are trying to understand madness with logic. This is not unlike searching for darkness with a torch.
At last we are ready, my dear friends in blue,
Hurry each of you to your positions.
The evening is on us, and if Batman stays true,
Shortly he'll try to foil our ambitions....We have all the time in the world... ALICE.
Dr. Victor Fries was an accomplished cryogenicist whose beloved wife Nora was stricken with a fatal degenerative disease. Fries placed her in suspended animation while searching for a way to cure her. But GothCorp's CEO Ferris Boyle stopped funding the research—and Nora's life—and pulled the plug, triggering an accident that transformed Fries' body into a cold-blooded form that must always be kept at subzero temperatures; at normal room temperature he will die. Wielding several freezing weapons, he wears a protective cryogenic suit in his quest to somehow restore his wife to full health and avenge her fate—which he partly holds Batman responsible for.
Just why do you do what you do? It doesn't seem like the sort of lifelong dedication that one makes arbitrarily! Is that what it's all about, Batman? A personal vendetta from your own tortured past?
What's wrong, Batman? Surely, a little ice can't stop the mighty crime fighter!
Time for you is now frozen. Your world will remain at absolute zero. No pain. No sensation. No regrets. God, how I envy you.
Poison Ivy is the alter ego taken by Dr. Pamela Lillian Isley, one of the world's most prominent eco-terrorists, motivated by an obsession with plants, misandry, botany, and extremist environmentalism with a desire to save the world from the evils of man through any means necessary. A genius scientist and meta-human with hybridized plant DNA, Poison Ivy uses mutant plants, will-bending pheromones, and toxins from plants and her bloodstream for her criminal activities. Ivy has also developed a special relationship with fellow villain Harley Quinn, with the two often being depicted as recurring partners-in-crime, friends, and, sometimes, love interests.
You... Still the Dark Angel, immune to my allure, ever tempted, never succumbing. And you've come to save them... how noble, Batman... how wretchedly, disgustingly noble.
Did you truly believe your efforts tonight would get me to change? To be grateful? Don't hold your breath waiting for an apology. You know who I am and what I am.
Life endures. It adjusts and grows stronger. The weeds you try to kill become super-weeds, immune to your poison. And so you increase your toxins and poison the world in a cycle of madness. I call it forth, the power of the plants, even from the terminator seeds that should not grow. I am the guardian of the Green. I am Poison Ivy.
Harvey Dent was Gotham City's amiable and courteous district attorney and one of Batman's strongest allies until Sal Maroni threw acid in his face, hideously scarring him. It also fractured his mental state, causing him to become Two-Face, a criminal mastermind obsessed with duality and the number two and is one of Batman's greatest enemies. His former good luck charm, a "two-headed" silver dollar with one side defaced, has been seen as a reflection of Dent's half-scarred visage. He flips it to decide the fates of his victims. Despite Batman's efforts to reform his former ally, Dent is consumed by his fixation on chance. His crimes are designed to prove his diametric philosophy.
You should know better by now. Fate has chosen... and cannot be denied.
Why are we doing this? Because we are now two faces. One good, the other bad. Half-and-half. Fifty-fifty. Opposite and equal. And we're deadlocked. When that happens... we let the coin decide.
You see... the very nature of the law is arbitrary. You've got a better chance of justice in this town by, say, flipping a coin, than putting yourself at the mercy of this or any other court.
Tommy and Bruce Wayne were childhood friends, and unbeknownst to Bruce, dark reflections of each other. A childhood sociopath, Elliot tried to kill his parents so he could inherit their fortune. When his plan failed, due partly to the surgical skills of Bruce's father, Dr. Thomas Wayne, Elliot blamed Bruce. An incredibly skilled surgeon as an adult, Elliot planned an elaborate revenge scheme on Wayne. He disguised himself as the villain Hush, his face covered in bandages, but in the end, he was defeated and unmasked by the Dark Knight. Hush still plots revenge against Batman, generating complicated schemes with surgical precision.
Who is Tommy Elliot? There are many ways to answer that, Doctor. Tommy Elliot is a cipher. A ruined shell, a lost child, a distorted shadow of another man... a whisper barely heard amid the shrieks and laughter echoing through the halls of Arkham. The House of Hush.
How can you...ever hope to protect Gotham's future... when you're so naive of its past?
A master strategist would have killed me when he had the chance. It's clear you lack the foresight... or the nerve. So I'm your prisoner. You know I'll escape.
Roman Sionis, a former business executive and mafia boss who originally hated Bruce Wayne rather than Batman, wears a black wooden mask and leads the cult-like society of False Facers. Black Mask eventually became a mob boss controlling large sections of Gotham City's criminal underworld. Following the suspicious death of his multi-millionaire parents, Sionis had inherited their fortune and went on to bankrupt their company. Saved by a buyout by Bruce Wayne, Sionis came to resent and hate Wayne. Fixated on the concept of masks, Sionis carved one from his father's black coffin and sought revenge; his ensuing battle with the Dark Knight caused his mask to be burned into his skin, remaking him as the Black Mask. Sionis is now a feared gang leader and one of the most powerful mob bosses in Gotham, with a burning hatred for Batman.
I am the new, undisputed, absolute crime lord of Gotham City. I am everything this city deserves -- and more. I am the darkness that fills the heart of every living soul in this sordid little town... including the blackest, most twisted soul of all... I think you know who I'm talking about.
Know that the mask destroys one identity while creating another of greater power. As Roman Sionis I was weak, but as Black Mask...there is no one stronger.
All the martial arts ninja training in the world doesn't matter a tinker's damn. The only thing that counts is whether or not you have the will to do what needs to be done. That's why I win, even though you beat me.
Dr. Kirk Langstrom, a scientist specializing in the study of bats, developed an extract intended to give humans the bat's sonar sense and tested the formula on himself because he was becoming deaf. While it works, it has a horrible side effect: it transforms him gradually into a hideous humanoid bat-like monster.
My life hasn't exactly gone the way I planned. I have a lot more to offer the world than losing my mind and trying to eat Batman... I was a respected scientist once... I thought, perhaps, if I could make some sense of this strangeness, they'd respect me again?
I did this, Batman. This is my fault. I created the Man-Bat Serum. And It's my responsibility to fix it.
[Screech like a bat, seeing as how Man-Bat doesn't exactly speak]
Waylon Jones, also known as Killer Croc, is an alligator-wrestler and sideshow-freak turned Gotham City mobster, sewer-dwelling super-criminal, and enemy of Batman. He is motivated due to having been born with a rare mutation that caused him to have reptile-like skin, leading to a lifetime of abuse and prejudice which drove him to madness.
This battle... this struggle to keep any sense of normality... Just when I get a taste of it, it's taken away... This life is a living death.
Now I'm gonna tell ya somethin' and I want ya ta listen good. Tell all your friends. This belongs to Croc now. All of Coney belongs to Croc now. All of it.
You know what your problem is? You're a monster when it suits you. Me? I'm always a monster!
Having decided that the lawbreakers of Gotham City needed a costumed protector just as honest citizens had Batman, Killer Moth emulated the Dark Knight in every way, copying his paraphernalia and building on his legend to create his own super villain identity. He eventually came to resemble a dark mirror image of Batman, even adopting the alter ego of a wealthy philanthropist similar to Bruce Wayne. Moth was motivated by greed rather than justice and only served the criminal underworld for a price. His bizarrely ingenious weaponry, such as "Mothmobile" modeled on the Batmobile and an incapacitating cocoon gun, did not protect him from consistent defeat at the hands of Batman.
The Bat watches over straight citizens, He does what cops can't do. What about the crooks? Who do they turn to in order to get the job done for them?
The new secret identity of Killer Moth will be Bruce Wayne!
Garfield Lynns, also known as Firefly, is a pyromaniacal serial-arsonist in Gotham City. Garfield was originally a pyrotechnics expert who lost his job and turned to crime, carrying out arson attacks and torching huge parts of Gotham in the process. However, one day, when Garfield set alight to a chemical factory, it raged out of control, and he was horribly scarred all over his body. Upon recovering, Lynns made a special flame-retardant and heat-insulated battlesuit and numerous incendiary gadgets and weaponry- including a military-grade flamethrower, jetpack, napalm, launchers, and a self-designed flame sword for close-combat purposes.
How does it feel to watch everyone you've tried to protect burn to death?
Garfield Lynns is gone-- forever! But in his place is one they shall never forget!... One whom they shall know as The Firefly!
Yes, you beat me... but at least I had my day in the sun! For a while, even you were afraid of me! You can't take that away from me!
Arnold Wesker is a ventriloquist with multiple personalities. His puppet is a gangster named Scarface. Under the puppet's psychological influence, Wesker is a dangerous and ruthless criminal and crime boss. It has been implied that the Ventriloquist suffers from multiple personality disorder. Wesker was originally a timid orphan whose deep repression erupted into a barroom brawl, resulting in him being sent to Blackgate Prison. There, he encountered the ventriloquist dummy Scarface and promptly murdered the man who'd carved the dummy. The two are now inseparable, directing a series of criminal activities. While most believe that Scarface is a tool by Wesker simply acting out a dark side to his personality, the Ventriloquist sees himself as a reluctant lackey who is forced to do Scarface's bidding.
NOTE: Arnold only has the standard North-American accent when he's the one talking. When it's Scarface, it's a thick New York accent.
You should count yourselves lucky, working for me. I ain't no glock of wood -- I got the grains to take us places!
[Arnold talking to Scarface]
You! How could you? For once I was happy! Why couldn't you stay out of my life?![As Scarface]
Excuse me? Who are you calling dummy? Do I look stupid to you? Am I a moron?! [...] The problem with these knuckleheads: they got no class.
Lazlo Valentin or Professor Pyg is a deranged enemy of Batman, broadly considered to be amongst his darkest and most disturbing. Pyg is a twisted surgeon, obsessed with the myth of Pygmalion and notions of physical perfection. Due to this, he kidnaps Gotham citizens to horrifically transform into his obedient, "Dollotrons". Professor Pyg is also the leader of the Circus of Strange, a syndicate of circus-freak-themed meta-human criminals.
Strange how the worst place in the world can be... anywhere. Even the safe, normal world you knew can become a chamber of horrors.
Terror, decay, dollies, and the smell of searing flesh make the most joyous combination, wouldn't you say? It's why I've dedicated my whole life to this art...
You are all here tonight because you appreciate art. You know viewing art makes us better. It gives form to the things that dwell in our minds, laundries and gentle goats. But the act of creation is not always as transcendent for the creator. Just ask the great master painters, who dabbed brushes tainted with lead pigments on their tongues...and were driven into tormented, painful insanity. Not that anyone noticed, of course. For, you see, to create is to be frustrated...possessed of an eternally pregnant womb that will bear no perfect spawn...only stunted, gibbering mutants. Perhaps it's because ideas sit too long, turning to vinegar instead of wine. Perhaps the cask must be carved open...so the smiling, happy grape babies can spill across the tiles in a hot purple tsunami.
Basil Karlo, the original Clayface, was an actor who was driven mad when he heard of a remake of the classic horror film he had starred in, Dread Castle, and that he wouldn't be in the leading role. Adopting the persona of "Clayface", the villain of one of his old films, he became a serial killer targeting the cast and crew. He was eventually stopped by Batman and Robin. Later versions of the character reimagined him as being transformed into a behemoth of shapeshifting, clay-like flesh.
Mad? Oh, yes, the traditional accusation! And next you'll be telling me it's all because I'm misunderstood! All the great monsters were misunderstood! Mr. Hyde-- Frankenstein's creation-- Dracula-- The Golem-- all of them! But not me! Not Basil Karlo! Not the Ultimate Clayface! My intentions will be clear from the start! I will take what I want-- when I want it! And any who stand in my way shall-- burn!
Fools! They play at murder, not realizing that I do not pretend, but shall in reality bring death!
How we, a victimized minority, can lay claim to the fame and fortune that is deservedly ours. - How we can acquire power beyond our wildest dreams! - How can we finally best the Caped Crusader, whose very existence each of us has a reason to hate... the cursed Dark Knight of Gotham City-- Batman! - And how can we kill him!
Calendar Man is known for committing crimes that correspond with holidays and significant dates. He often wears costumes to correlate with the date of the designated crime. Gotham City's hopes for a day off are often clouded by the knowledge that any holiday of note is likely to be shadowed by Calendar Man's presence.
Thirty days hath September, April, June, and November. All the rest have thirty-one... Except for February alone.
Just so we understand each other. The Calendar Man is being forgotten. I can't have that.
You're too late! You can't stop the seasons turning!
Victor Zsasz is a prolific serial killer and an enemy of Batman. Zsasz is a difficult killer to track as he has no modus operandi outside of posing his victims' corpses in lifelike poses and carving a tally-mark into his flesh for each kill. Zsasz is motivated by believing all life to be meaningless cycles of pain and that he is saving his victims from having to live on.
This one was a homeless guy, trapped in a hopeless life. This was a woman who just couldn't stop cheating on her husband. This guy wanted to kill himself, but didn't have the courage. All lost souls that I freed from their earthly woes...
Oh, every scar is a story... A lot of stories. A lot of real happy endings.
Batman is a symbol to them -- the man who is always right, the man who always wins. None of his foes has ever beaten him -- not even me, I have to confess. But you could do it, Arkham.
Carmine "The Roman" Falcone is is a powerful Mafia chieftain nicknamed "The Roman", where his stranglehold over Gotham City's organized crime. He is also often depicted as being Catwoman's estranged father whom she holds a vendetta with.
That maniac killed my sister, my nephew...and my son. Do you know what my people call this last year? The Long Halloween. Johnny Viti, my nephew, was the first one to die. On Halloween night. It could have stopped there. But it didn't. And we both know why. You and the cops just let it continue because he was killing our people. Mia famiglia! And you stand here and act like your hands are clean.
Hahahahaha! You really don't get it, do you, Bats? You have no idea what's happening, no idea who's been pulling the strings behind the curtain.
Jail? Does he actually believe that any of my men would spend even a minute behind bars? Does he not understand that the Gotham City Police Department is just another part of a city firmly under my control?
Professor Hugo Strange is a major adversary to Batman. He is Batman's oldest adversary and one of his most dangerous foes. Initially, a mad scientist who utilized various scientific methods to fuel his schemes, Strange has often been depicted as obsessed with Batman's identity and even donning the role himself. He is also one of the first foes to learn of his dual identity of Bruce Wayne.
So, you know my name. Good, because I know everything about you. Your darkest secret. Your ultimate weakness. I know who you are, Bruce Wayne.
Genetic enhancement is not enough. Sometimes, more drastic measures are necessary. Sometimes, the gene pool demands to be thinned.
Only I can face Gotham's madness and not be overcome. I have perfectly optimized my brain chemistry. I am the one sane person in an insane city. Tonight, I confront you with your monstrous inadequacies. Then, as Cro-Magnon met Neanderthal, I club you, skin you and wear your hide. Because you're unfit for it. Gotham City needs Batman. And after tonight... Batman will be me.
Solomon Grundy is a zombie supervillain who has clashed with many heroes over the years, including Green Lantern, Superman, Batman, the Justice Society of America, and the Justice League of America. Cyrus Gold was born sometime around the early 19th century. In the year 1895, he had carried on an affair with a local prostitute from Gotham City named Rachel Rykel. According to Rykel, she was pregnant with Gold's child and sought to extort money from him for her silence. Cyrus met with her for a secret negotiation at Slaughter Swamp, several miles outside of Gotham. When Gold refused to yield to blackmail, Rachel's pimp, Jem, dashed Cyrus across the back of the head with a shovel. They buried Gold in the swamp, content that no one would ever come looking for him. For fifty years, Gold’s body interacted with the detritus and sour vegetation of the swamp. Through an as of yet unknown process, Cyrus Gold's corpse transformed into a rotting, vegetative undead monstrosity that the world would soon come to know as Solomon Grundy.
Snakeface steal souls? Give Grundy back his soul, Snakeface, or Grundy crush! Do you hear Grundy? Give it back! Where is Grundy's soul, snakeface? Tell Grundy!
You think Grundy is afraid of fire? Grundy is not afraid of anything! Grundy does not even feel the fire! All Grundy feels is hate!
Little red cape man thinks he can stop Grundy! Grundy kill little red cape man!
Lady Shiva is one of the most deadly assassins in the DC Universe. Shiva has also trained the third Robin, Tim Drake. Having dedicated her life to the study of combat, she is a human weapon living for the thrill of a good fight. Her daughter is the vigilante Cassandra Cain, who she conceived with assassin David Cain as the perfect warrior. In addition, she was a mentor to the Question. She has been involved with the Birds of Prey, the Brotherhood of the Fist, the League of Assassins, and the Secret Society of Super-Villains.
I could kill you with the slightest movement of my hand. I choose not to, because it will hurt more. Do you see? This was your chance. I only came into the light to see if my daughter was worthy of attention. She wasn't. You just lost Gotham City. The shadows will engulf everything. The city will die. If you have any sense, tell the ones you love to run.
Tell me, girl. What am I? Do you think I am some great force of evil? Is that it? Is that what they've made you believe? I've done many evil things. I will do many more evil things. But that is not what I am. That is not why I am here. And Shiva will never yield.
Do not suppose I acted on your behalf, for if you do, I will be forced to prove you mistaken.
Floyd Lawton, better known as Deadshot, is a mercenary and known to be the world's greatest marksman and one of the most lethal assassins in the world. Lawton has created an armored suit that aids him in his battles against Batman. Deadshot has had a longstanding rivalry with Deathstroke.
Life has given me a unique perspective. Some of us are guns. Some of us are targets. And some of us are bullets. Waiting to be fired.
Sometimes you've got to take a little damage... to blow someone's brains out.
Let me tell you something about me. Life is the most valuable thing we have, right? When you take a life, that should mean something, right? When I killed my brother, I felt nothing. No guilt, no remorse -- nothing. And he was the one person in this world I ever gave two damns about. They lied to me -- about the importance of life. The only life anybody really cares about is their own and I don't even care about that. You understand? I'm just killing time, waiting to die.
Vicki Vale is a reporter for the Gotham Gazette and a love interest of Bruce Wayne. Her irregular relationship with Bruce leaves her unaware of his identity as Batman, although she has speculated that they are the same person.
Reading something other than the latest bestseller is the quickest escape from the mediocrity of the herd mind.
You puzzle me, Bruce! Sometimes I wonder if you're really the socialite playboy you pretend to be!
Bruce Wayne isn't here to see this, Batman-- but I'm sure he wouldn't mind his girl kissing you!
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