Batman wasn't the first superhero to hit the big screen — that was Superman. However, when Batman hit theaters in 1989, it proved that a comic book adaptation aimed more toward adults could work, and it started a franchise that lasted four movies before the colorful, cartoony aspects of Batman & Robin caused it to die out.

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Christopher Nolan brought it back to life a decade later with his Dark Knight Trilogy and created arguably the best comic book movie of all-time in The Dark Knight and some truly disturbing and affecting villains. With the DCEU still working on Batman movies, here is a look at the villains of all the Batman movies to date, from weakest to strongest.

TWO-FACE (BATMAN FOREVER)

Harvey Dent has been around since the first Batman movie, with Billy Dee Williams playing him. He returned in Christopher Nolan's trilogy with an excellent portrayal. However, his incarnation in Batman Forever is just the worst.

This is disappointing since Tommy Lee Jones is a great actor. He didn't care about the role, and the film made Two-Face a bumbling fool.

RIDDLER (BATMAN FOREVER)

Jim Carrey was great as The Riddler, but he posed very little danger to Batman. In the movie, Riddler was Edward Nygma, someone who idolized Bruce Wayne and had an idea for an invention of his own. When Bruce told him it was too dangerous, he went nuts.

The Riddler is a villain who is mostly a prankster, albeit a dangerous one. The Riddler in Batman Forever was at least better than Two-Face, but he was still nowhere near the power levels of anyone else.

POISON IVY (BATMAN & ROBIN)

Batman & Robin had a lot of problems. Chris O'Donnell, who portrayed Robin, said that the entire movie was an advertisement for toys and George Clooney publicly apologized for the film. However, one thing that was fun was Uma Thurman's performance as Poison Ivy.

Thurman brought sex appeal to Poison Ivy, and she even had the big moment of killing Jason Woodrue before making Batman and Robin fight each other for her affection. But in the end, she provided little danger to the Caped Crusader.

TALIA AL GHUL (THE DARK KNIGHT RISES)

Talia al Ghul was one of two Femme Fatales who wrapped Batman around her finger and twisted the knife in his back. However, she will never reach the level of the Catwoman and remains low based on the fact that she was only a puppet-master.

Yes, Talia sent Bane to break Batman and she was the mastermind who ruled over Gotham City. But when her deceit was revealed, her defeat was imminent and she provided no threat when she stepped out of the shadows.

PENGUIN (BATMAN RETURNS)

Tim Burton created possibly his Batman masterpiece with his second outing, Batman Returns. In this movie, there were three bad guys in Max Shreck (who is not on this list), Catwoman and Penguin. When it comes to Penguin, Danny DeVito knocked it out of the park with his portrayal.

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However, there is a lot of Penguin not shown in this movie. Burton chose to make him a sympathetic madman, someone whose parents threw him away as a baby and grew up alone in the sewers. His death was tragic and he was a great character, although not as powerful as his comic book counterpart.

SCARECROW (BATMAN BEGINS)

Scarecrow was almost an afterthought in the Dark Knight Trilogy even though he appeared in all three movies. He was one of the main villains in Batman Begins and used his fear toxins to great effect. While working with Ra's Al Ghul, he drove Gotham City insane.

Scarecrow messed with Batman as well, using the fear toxins to keep him from knowing what is real from what is imaginary. However, Batman is a smart guy, and once he was able to figure out how to block the toxins, he beat Scarecrow easily.

RA'S AL GHUL (BATMAN BEGINS)

Ra's Al Ghul was a secret villain Batman Begins in that the man that Bruce Wayne thought was Ra's Al Ghul (Ken Watanabe) was just a decoy pretending to be the leader of the League of Shadows. The real Ra's Al Ghul was Liam Neeson, who helped save Bruce and then returned to betray him.

Ra's Al Ghul might not have the power all to himself, but he leads the entire League of Shadows, which makes him extremely dangerous. He was also more than a match for Batman in hand-to-hand combat and gave the Caped Crusader a run for his money.

CATWOMAN (BATMAN RETURNS)

Catwoman from Batman Returns is possibly the most iconic villain in the movie's history. Michelle Pfeiffer was all sex appeal and delivered a performance that makes her one of the favorites of any woman to ever put on the latex and portray the Batman antihero/villain.

In Batman Returns, Catwoman was a tragic character since she was just an average secretary whose boss (Max Shreck) tried to kill her. She returned, teamed with Penguin, became a burglar and murderer, and then won the heart of Batman. She was the one person Batman couldn't bring himself to beat.

MR. FREEZE (BATMAN & ROBIN)

One of the most unforgivable things that Batman & Robin did was make everything a joke. There were puns, one-liners, goofy slapstick, and even a moment where Batman pulled out an American Express credit card with the name Batman on it. Then there was Mr. Freeze.

Arnold Schwarzenegger delivered cheesy one-liners ("Freeze!"), and it was cringe-worthy. However, Mr. Freeze had a tragic backstory as he just wanted to save his beloved wife, something that made the one-liners worse. With that said, his brilliance and technology made him one of the most powerful villains Batman ever faced.

JOKER (BATMAN)

Who is the best Joker? Ask an entire generation of fans, and it is Jack Nicholson. In Tim Burton's Batman, Nicholson brought the Clown Prince of Crime to life in a very different manner. Instead of the psychotic clown, he was a mob leader who had no problem killing his rivals.

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However, he was determined and never gave up. He was more than a match for Batman and took the Caped Crusader to the limit before he finally fell to his death from the clock tower. For a generation of fans, there is no better Joker.

TWO-FACE (THE DARK KNIGHT)

Aaron Eckhart did something amazing with his portrayal of Two-Face. The character that Tommy Lee Jones turned into a joke became the most tragic villain in DC Comics movie history. Harvey Dent was the best of the best; even Bruce Wayne realized that Harvey could do more good for Gotham than Batman could.

However, in a tragic accident, Harvey lost half his face and the woman he loved to the Joker. The best man in Gotham City became a calculating murderer, and Batman had to stop the one man he believed in the most.

JOKER (THE DARK KNIGHT)

Joker in The Dark Knight was not only one of the most powerful characters in Batman movies, but one of the most dangerous in any comic book adaptation. That is because Joker is not someone who wants to accomplish a real goal or do anything because he believes in it.

This Joker believes in nothing. He is an anarchist who just wants to watch the world burn. He has no rhyme or reason, inflicting pain and destruction to society. When someone has nothing to lose and nothing to gain, how can anyone stop them?

BANE (THE DARK KNIGHT RISES)

The most powerful villain in any Batman movie was Bane from The Dark Knight Rises. He was working for a cause he believed in, bringing down modern society and creating a new utopia. He was doing everything for Talia Al Ghul, a woman he loved.

Just like in the comic books, Bane broke Batman. It was a scene directly from the comics, where Bane picked up Batman and broke his back. Yes, Batman won, but it took everything he had to match up to Bane.

NEXT: Superman: Ranking His Movie Villains, From Weakest To Strongest