Anyone feels Batman lacks female villains ?

[scary harpy]

I want more powerful female villains for Batman. Female villains who could push Batman to the limit. Female villains who could put Batman in real danger like Poison Ivy. There is not enough of them. Agree I want see great stories with great villains regardless of the gender but I think adding more females to the mix could be even more fun and interesting.

That I agree with. I prefer villainesses over villains and would love to see more in Batman.

I hope some of you are reading Batman '66; there was a great story with Zelda the Great and a good story with Marsha, Queen of Diamonds. Also, the Widow Black (black widow) will be appearing in Batman '66.

This proves there are no weak villainesses...just weak imaginations and writing.

[scary harpy]

The problem is that most of those villains are either a. dead, b. REALLY minor/obscure, or c. barely used and forgotten about for LONG stretches of time. I think that a more accurate analysis would be that Batman lacks major and important female villains, aside from Poison Ivy. This is sadly a problem with comics as a whole, but it does stick out especially with Batman since he does have one of the best/deepest rogue's gallery in comics.

I agree with you. Batman needs more major and important female villains and this is a problem.

Some may not be deceased in the new 52. Besides, when has being dead stopped anyone in comics...especially men.

[EdwardNigma]

Batman has a ton of female villains. This is a non-issue.

[t hedge coke]

This proves there are no weak villainesses...just weak imaginations and writing.

Well, no. It doesn't really prove that, either.

That one person is doing a good story with Queen of Diamonds doesn't mean someone doing a different story with Penguin or Spellbinder has a weak imagination or weak writing.

Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Harley, and at this point, Talia are some of the most recognizable bat-villains there are. Catwoman's been in more movies than, pretty much any other villain, now, yeah? That they each have done some nice-for-others-but-ultimately-self-serving things as well as things that hurt everyone but themselves doesn't make them not villains.

[The Red Monk]

I agree with you. Batman needs more major and important female villains and this is a problem.

Some may not be deceased in the new 52. Besides, when has being dead stopped anyone in comics...especially men.

No, this is not a problem. Batman already has a shitload of female villainesses as has been pointed out to you before. A lot of them are in fact quite prominent and deadly, like Nyssa Raatko (speaking of which, she really should come back).

Also, what the heck is with the "especially men" comment? Women don't come back from the dead any less than men in comics, so knock off that shit.

What we need is to make use of more of Batman's obscure and non-obscure female villains, and stop listening to people who want to turn them into anti-heroines (as happened with Catwoman to awful results, and for some reason some people now want to happen with Poison Ivy).

I forgot Jezebel Jet. Sadly Talia killed her pre New 52. But I would welcome her return in the New 52 so DC can push her as a true A-list villain for Batman.

Jezebel Jet was a one-shot villainess that served her purpose. She does not need to come back.

[Punisher007]

No, this is not a problem. Batman already has a shitload of female villainesses as has been pointed out to you before. A lot of them are in fact quite prominent and deadly, like Nyssa Raatko (speaking of which, she really should come back).

Also, what the heck is with the "especially men" comment? Women don't come back from the dead any less than men in comics, so knock off that shit.

What we need is to make use of more of Batman's obscure and non-obscure female villains, and stop listening to people who want to turn them into anti-heroines (as happened with Catwoman to awful results, and for some reason some people now want to happen with Poison Ivy).



Jezebel Jet was a one-shot villainess that served her purpose. She does not need to come back.

Ah yes, the same Nyssa that showed up a handful of times and then was unceremoniously killed off to facilitate that godwful "Cassandra Cain goes bad" story. Bringing her up as an example doesn't help your case, it just proves my point. These characters either disappear from long periods of time, are killed off in really lame ways, or quickly fade into obscurity. So no, they are not "prominent." In no definition of the word are they prominent.

[Punisher007]

No, this is not a problem. Batman already has a shitload of female villainesses as has been pointed out to you before. A lot of them are in fact quite prominent and deadly, like Nyssa Raatko (speaking of which, she really should come back).

Also, what the heck is with the "especially men" comment? Women don't come back from the dead any less than men in comics, so knock off that shit.

What we need is to make use of more of Batman's obscure and non-obscure female villains, and stop listening to people who want to turn them into anti-heroines (as happened with Catwoman to awful results, and for some reason some people now want to happen with Poison Ivy).



Jezebel Jet was a one-shot villainess that served her purpose. She does not need to come back.

I could say the same thing about most of Batman's rogue. Mr. Freeze, didn't need to see him again after Heart of Ice. Riddler, one trick pony, and so on. They could easily do more and different things with Jezebel if they really wanted to. But like most of Batman's female rogues, she shows up a few times and then is disposed of.

[Tupiaz]

No, this is not a problem. Batman already has a shitload of female villainesses as has been pointed out to you before. A lot of them are in fact quite prominent and deadly, like Nyssa Raatko (speaking of which, she really should come back).

Also, what the heck is with the "especially men" comment? Women don't come back from the dead any less than men in comics, so knock off that shit.

What we need is to make use of more of Batman's obscure and non-obscure female villains, and stop listening to people who want to turn them into anti-heroines (as happened with Catwoman to awful results, and for some reason some people now want to happen with Poison Ivy).

I think it is called character development. To do the same story again and again without nothing new is not really intresting. I haven't read any new 52 stories with Ivy however the idea that she is a activist for nature and she is running around with swamp thing does make sense. Especially when the both has a history with Floronic Man.

[josai21]

First of all the question is kinda....not to be rude....but ignorant? As has been mentioned, Batman has numerous female villains. All of whom are very prominent. If you ask a person off the street to name a female villain in comics, Poison Ivy will probably be mentioned quite a bit.

Also, the question itself is dangerous to comics. Sexism/Racism/discrimination is only an issue if you make it an issue; from either side. It is just as bad to demand women be represented more in comics as it is for a writer to refuse to create any women. Why? Because it stunts creativity. A writer should be allowed to create/write the characters they wantto without having to fill a 'quota.' Token characters generally decrease the quality of the fiction. This is not always the case, but I have found it to be true.

We live in a day and age where people for the most part are aware of the equality of others and I think to be insinuating that the writers need to do more to 'show' their awareness to the world stunts creativity. Furthermore it places the questioner in the place of the victim. Not everyone is out to get you for whatever reason. To demand more for this reason allows discrimination more room to flourish and paints the questioner as bitter. Simply put, we need to rise above such pettiness and allow comic writers (of whom I am pretty sure I can say with 99% certainty did not become writers to attack a group of people), to be free of such constraints to write Great Stories.

[geomon]

This thread is making me miss Gotham City Sirens. Think I'll go reread that soon.

[t hedge coke]

Sexism/Racism/discrimination is only an issue if you make it an issue; from either side.

No offense, but you do see why the world doesn't work that way, right?

Sometimes, it's better to ask "Is there discrimination/erasure here?" just to get a functional "No," then to never ask and just leave it assumed unchecked. Most racism or sexism, nationalism, etc doesn't go around announcing "I am a discriminatory thing!" and waving a giant flag to signal it. Most sexism, racism, or similar bigotry or bias is not expressly malicious or self-justified only by sadism, but by assuming a natural order in which these things are implicit.

Also,

We live in a day and age where people for the most part are aware of the equality of others

is assuming a whole heck of a lot. And, I don't think in any way functionally backed by the world we're living in.

[oasis1313]

The thing that annoys me about the "villainesses" is that the gals all just want to be Batman's girlfriend. I'd be curious to see a bad WOMAN--not a bad GIRL.

[RobinFan4880]

Poison Ivy, Catwoman, Harley Quinn, Joker's Daughter and Talia Al'Ghul (Maybe Lady Shiva?). That's at least 5 major enemies. Some of them can be Frenemies but that friendship is always strained, if not broken, by Batman's rigid code or conduct.

Off the top of my head, I cannot think of any other superhero that has that many distinctive and interesting female villains. Heck, many popular heroes can't even claim dominion over 5 female characters if you lump supporting cast and regular villains into one pile!

Every hero could benefit from more prominent female villains but, if I had to pick, I would put my focus on bulking other heroes up before Batman, if only to give everyone else a chance to get some more iconic villains.

The thing that annoys me about the "villainesses" is that the gals all just want to be Batman's girlfriend. I'd be curious to see a bad WOMAN--not a bad GIRL.

Joker's Daughter doesn't want to get into Bruce's pants.

[scary harpy]

A more complete list:

1. Alley Cat
2. Athena (Celia)
3. Baby Doll (BTAS)
4. Calamity Jan
5. Calendar Girl
6. Carnivora
7. Catwoman
8. Cleo Starr
9. Crazy Quilt 2
10. Crime Doctor (SSoSV)
11. Curare
12. Dala Vadim
13. Double Dare
14. Dragonfly
15. Duela / Joker's Daughter
16. Echo
17. Enigma / Riddler's Daughter
18. Fay Gunn; Ma Gunn
19. Fright
20. Gunbunny / Pistolera
21. Harley Quinn
22. Harpy (Iris)
23. Illuminata
24. Inque
25. Jane Doe
26. Jet-Set Jessie (Hostess ads)
27. Julie Ceasar
28. Kitten
29. Lady Clay (clayface 4)
30. Lady Shiva
31. Lady Vic(tim)
32. Lazara
33. Leather
34. Lynx
35. Ma Murder (Mabel Mhurder)
36. Ma Parker / Ma Mayhem
37. Madame Zodiac
38. Magpie
39. Marsha, Queen of Diamonds
40. Mime
41. Minerva
42. Nocturna (Natasha Knight)
43. Nora Clavicle
44. Nyssa Raatko
45. Olga, Queen of Bessarovian Cossacks
46. Orca
47. Pagan
48. Panara
49. Pigeon-Person (Hostess ads)
50. Pix /The Tatooed Woman [Ariadne Pinxit]
51. Poison Ivy
52. Queen of Hearts
53. Query (Riddler)
54. Quiz (Riddler)
55. Ravenna
56. Red Claw
57. Romana Vrezhenski
58. Roxy Rocket
59. Ruby Ryder
60. Sable Lady (Hostess Ads)
61. Samantha Voz (The Witch)
62. Scarecrone
63. Scorpiana (Club of Villains)
64. She-Bat / Francine Langstrom
65. Silken spider
66. Slash
67. Spellbinder III (Lady Spellbinder)
68. Stilleto
69. Sugar & Spice
70. Tarantula
71. Thanatos (Sophia Santos
72. The Black Widow
73. The Crimesmith
74. The Elemental Woman
75. The Getaway Genius - Roy Reynolds' daughter
76. The Hangman – Sophia Ramone
77. The Manikin (Miranda)
78. The Mime
79. The Phantasm
80. The Siren
81. The Sirens
82. Tiger Moth
83. Ventriloquist 2 (Sugar) and Scarface
84. Vicious
85. Violet
86. Vox (Lisa)
87. Warlock's Daughter
88. Whisper A'Daire
89. Zelda the Great

[Conch22]

I really wish they would bring the Phantasm into the books and use Nyssa more.
Batman doesn't necessarily lack female villains as some of the most popular examples in the comics medium would be quoted from his rogues, I feel you could make more of an argument that he lacks non white villains (which speaks more to the age they were made in) . Bane, KillerCroc, lady shiva. Thats it. I recall a bat villain being introduced in a video game during the Hush storyline that was supposed to be a big deal (designed by Jim Lee ) but Hush is remembered more than SunTzu, I wanna say they called the character. Obviously a non white character, had a decent design, designed by a superstar artist, wasn't accepted by the fandom. I'm sure there's alot of great characters that appear in a single issue or arc but don't catch on like some readers would like