What were the motivations and goals of each major villain in the Batman movies? In the new millennium, any superhero worth their salt has a live-action counterpart, and those who are still absent from Marvel or DC's cinematic calendar will no doubt be added before too long. But more than any other comic book character, Batman has built a storied legacy at the movies. Beginning under the direction of Tim Burton in 1989, the Caped Crusader took a cartoonish turn with Joel Schumacher before being pulled in entirely the opposite direction by Christopher Nolan in the Dark Knight trilogy.
Over the years, Batman has faced a variety of villains on film, and with the best rogues gallery in comic book history to choose from, it's not surprising that many of these villains have become as famous as the Batman himself. But if a Batman movie lives or dies by the strength of its villain, the villain is only ever as good as their evil plan. Aiming too high can make a comic book criminal feel outlandish, but low ambitions mean a lack of stakes. Motivation is also important - why is [dastardly villain] doing [heinous crime] is an important question that every superhero movie needs to find an answer to.
Taking into account the main villains of all Batman solo movies, here are the evil-doers Bruce Wayne has clashed with on the big screen, and what their respective ambitions were for Gotham City and beyond.
Joker (Jack Nicholson)
Beginning as a petty street criminal, Jack Napier is already facing a life of crime when Tim Burton's 1989 Batman offering begins. After making the rookie error of sleeping with the boss' wife, Napier is the subject of a botched assassination and falls into a vat of chemicals following a tangle with the Batman. After emerging as the disfigured Joker, Napier takes over his old mob and begins selling the dangerous "Smylex" products to the citizens of Gotham. Joker's plan is to distribute the Smylex, which will not only kill those exposed to it, but leave them looking just like him. As is typical of Joker, his plan in Batman was more about breeding terror than financial gain.
The personal feud between Joker and Batman is fueled first by Napier's obsession with Vicki Vale, Bruce's own girlfriend, and later by Bruce's realization that it was Jack who killed his parents.
Penguin
Oswald Cobblepot's plan in Batman Returns is one of the most original, albeit constantly-evolving, schemes in superhero movie history. After being abandoned as a child and raised in the sewer by Penguins, Cobblepot merely wants to return to surface at first, and blackmails rich businessman, Max Shreck, to make his dream of social acceptance happen. Schrek and Penguin begin a heavily-staged PR campaign that soon turns into a run for Gotham's mayor. After Batman smells something fishy and foils the plan, Penguin decides to kidnap the first-born sons of every family in Gotham in revenge for his own traumatic childhood, but when forced further into a corner, moves on to killing everyone with an army of explosive Penguins.
Max Shreck
Although not a familiar Batman villain, Christopher Walken's Max Shreck certainly had a plan worthy of the DC comics. The smarmy industrialist had constructed a power plant that would steal electricity from Gotham City, rather than provide it. With a monopoly on energy, Shreck would have effectively controlled Gotham. The city's existing mayor rejects this proposal, giving Shreck the idea to replace his opponent with new best friend, Owald Cobblepot.
Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer)
As in the Batman comics, Catwoman wasn't strictly a villain in Tim Burton's sequel movie, instead walking the thin line between vigilante and trouble-maker. Catwoman's primary motivation in Batman Returns is to get rid of Max Shreck in revenge for his attempt to kill her. Unfortunately, the injuries Selina Kyle sustains at the hands of Shreck cause her to become wildly unstable, savagely violent and delicately light-fingered, while also intensifying her love of cats. After being apprehended by Batman, Kyle sets her sights on the mysterious superhero, wanting to frame him for kidnap and murder by teaming up with Penguin. When this relationship also turns sour, however, Catwoman and Batman begin pulling in the same direction.
Riddler
As Batman Forever took the DC superhero's movies into more cartoonish territory, it's no surprise that Jim Carrey's Riddler adopted the franchise's most madcap plan yet in Joel Schumacher's 1995 movie. As an employee of Wayne Enterprises, Ed Nygma had invented an entertainment device to make television a more realistic, virtual experience, however, the increasingly devious Nygma soon realizes the contraption has the side-effect of sucking out the user's brainwaves. Riddler hooks up a giant version of his machine that will transfer all of Gotham's brainwaves into his own mind, increasing his intelligence infinitely while leaving his victims as slobbering idiots.
Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones)
Batman Forever's Two-Face holds a long-standing grudge against Batman, since Gotham's protector failed to stop the courtroom acid incident that first triggered Harvey Dent's transformation from hotshot lawyer to hideous criminal. Although Tommy Lee Jones' villain tries desperately to lure Batman out and have his revenge, he can't quite get the job done and eventually teams-up with the Riddler for assistance. Using his new brainwave device, Riddler promises he can extract Batman's secret identity from the citizens of Gotham, giving Dent an open shot at his arch nemesis. As part of his attempts to find Batman, Two-Face kills the Flying Graysons, setting up a feud with Batman's newest sidekick, Chris O'Donnell's Robin.
Mr. Freeze
Taking inspiration from Batman: The Animated Series, Arnold Schwarzenegger's Mr. Freeze was given a tragic backstory. As the scientist Victor Fries, the catchphrase-spouting villain had been attempting to discover a cure for his wife's degenerative illness, but accidentally altered his own DNA during an accident with freezing equipment. Forced to live in a special low-temperature suit, Freeze must keep stealing Gotham's diamonds in order to power his exoskeleton and remain alive. Requiring funding for his medical research, Mr. Freeze plans to ice-over the entirety of Gotham City, holding everyone within to ransom.
Poison Ivy
Poison Ivy is an eco-terrorist who values the lives of her plants above those of fellow humans, and she develops personal beef with Bruce Wayne after discovering Wayne Enterprises was funding the scientist who tried to kill her, Dr. Woodrue. However, Ivy's true goal is the pursuit of a new environmental project that will help safeguard nature, but at the expense of millions of human lives. After being turned down by Bruce, Ivy turns to Freeze, hoping to repopulate the planet with plants once everything is frozen over and pesky humans are firmly out of the way.
Bane (Robert Swenson)
Batman & Robin's Bane was relegated to a common thug, much to the chagrin of DC comics fans. Bane was a South American convict injected with the experimental Venom drug by Ivy's scientist colleague. After Ivy threatens to expose his inhumane tests, Dr. Woodrue attempts to kill her, but doesn't expect a resurrected Ivy to be brought back with a plant life power-up. After dealing with Woodrue, Ivy takes his guinea pig, now known as Bane, to act as her muscle for the remainder of the film.
Ra's Al Ghul
As the head of the League of Shadows vigilante group, Liam Neeson's Ra's al Ghul is no stranger to conflict and destroying enemies, but problems arise when he and his assassins deem Gotham City itself beyond saving, claiming the city must be destroyed for the greater good of humanity. Batman disagrees, obviously, and stands up for his home town, despite its prevalence of crime, inequality and corruption. This conflict is neatly foreshadowed in Bruce's League of Shadows training, in which the budding Batman is asked to execute a criminal and refuses.
Ra's al Ghul's elaborate plan involves poisoning Gotham City's water supply with Scarecrow's Fear Toxin and then using a huge microwave emitter (freshly stolen from Wayne Enterprises) to evaporate the terrifying solution and render it airborne, afflicting the entire city and sending them into a downward spiral of madness. Fortunately for all involved, Batman manages to protect his city and kill his old mentor, but this wouldn't be the last Christian Bale would hear of the al Ghul family.
Scarecrow
Unlike the strategic and calculating Ra's, Cillian Murphy's Scarecrown sits firmly on the insane end of the Batman villain spectrum, and his motivations and goals are far less defined than those of his bearded criminal partner. While working as a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum, Dr. Jonathan Crane was able to manufacture and test a Fear Toxin that could trigger living nightmares and hallucinations and render a subject paralyzed with terror. By working with Ra's, Crane hoped to perfect his Fear Toxin and supposedly cure fear itself as part of an ongoing interest in the subject that dated back to his teens. However, Crane's obsession also derives from a deeply troubled childhood and the sense of superiority control over others' fear would give him.
Joker (Heath Ledger)
Heath Ledger's Joker notoriously didn't have a plan in 2008's The Dark Knight. The scarred villain even makes a speech about the futility of planning ahead and mankind's illogical need to have a set course, so much so that even the most horrific acts would be forgiven if they were deemed "part of the plan." As Alfred so eloquently puts it, some men just want to watch the world burn, and Joker's only real aim is to expose the inner madness and chaos hiding beneath Gotham City's facade of control and order. The closest thing to a plan Ledger's Joker executes is his philosophically-tinged dual boat scheme, in which a boat of convicts and a boat of regular Gotham citizens hold each other's lives in their hands.
Two-Face (Aaron Eckhart)
After Batman opted to save him instead of his lover, Rachel Dawes, Harvey Dent becomes the vengeful Two-Face and teams-up with Joker to get payback on those who supposedly wronged him. Anyone deemed responsible for Rachel's death comes into Dent's sights, as he adopts a new brand of "fair" justice: a coin flip. In truth, Dent's grief is merely being manipulated by Joker, with Ledger's villain clearly delighted that Gotham's "white knight" is now doing his own murderous bidding.
Bane (Tom Hardy)
Tom Hardy's Bane is infinitely better than the version seen in Batman & Robin, even with the indecipherable rambling, divisive final twist and ridiculously easy death. Essentially, Bane is doing the bidding of Talia al Ghul, having served as her protector since she was a child. Consequently, Bane's actions in isolating Gotham City and preparing a nuclear bomb are all to pave the way for Talia's own machinations. Bane also executes a personal take-down of Bruce Wayne, breaking him physically, mentally and financially in revenge for the death of Ra's al Ghul.
Talia Al Ghul
Despite The Dark Knight Rises' Bane being a smarter cookie than Batman & Robin's version, it's Talia al Ghul who serves as the brains of their operation. Talia infiltrated Wayne Enterprises and seduced Bruce, gaining his trust and earning herself access to a controversial fusion reactor that could potentially provide clean energy to all of Gotham. Unfortunately, the reactor can also potentially be turned into a neutron bomb, and Talia much prefers the second option. By detonating the bomb, Talia hopes to finish her father's work from Batman Begins, destroying Gotham City once and for all. However, her Batman master plan is also designed to methodically bring down Bruce Wayne, the man responsible for her father's death, and watch him slowly crumble. Unfortunately, Talia doesn't count on Bruce's miraculous prison workout and a rapid trip home in time to save the day.