Ever since 1966, the Batman film franchise has had a large number of notable performers who have gone up against the Caped Crusader on the big screen. Some are notable for the acclaim their performances received, while others are ed for the exact opposite reason.
That being said, Redditors have some notable opinions about what makes for a good portrayal of a Batman villain in the movies. The performances that they praise span the entire series of Batman films, from the 1960s to the 2010s.
Dana Delany - The Phantasm
While Mask of the Phantasm introduced a brand-new villain to the Batman mythos in the form of Andrea Beaumont / The Phantasm.
According to Reddit Captain_Cringe_, the character could stand alongside the Joker as an iconic live-action villain if she were adapted to the movies. This Redditor also praised the character's way of acting as a foil for Batman, which many of his best villains do. Even if the Phantasm never sees live action, she remains very memorable.
Jack Nicholson - The Joker
Warner Bros. wanted a big-name actor for 1989's Batman, and they secured it with Jack Nicholson as the Joker. Redditor Justice502 explained their love for the character by describing him as "a furious storm only contained by the smile "and "a very chaotic mind."
Justice502 also holds that Heath Ledger's version of the Joker seemed "much more one dimensional" when compared to Nicholson. While this may be an unpopular opinion about The Dark Knight, it's also far from a unique viewpoint, and it all comes down to what you're looking for in the character.
Frank Gorshin - The Riddler
The 1966 Batman movie, like its TV, was defined by its campy nature, which remains unique among the Batman cinematic adaptations. For Redditor charoum, this camp worked only for Frank Gorshin's Riddler, but in his case, it worked very well.
The Riddler "thrives in camp," charoum says, while the rest of the Batman villains from the show and movie "feel neutered and sterilized by it," having "lost the edge and darkness." This aspect certainly carried over into the Riddler on Batman: The Animated Series.
Tom Hardy - Bane
While fans almost got a Batman movie with Leonardo DiCaprio as the Riddler, Nolan instead wanted his Dark Knight threequel to have someone completely different from Heath Ledger's Joker as the main villain, and thus, Tom Hardy's Bane was born.
While The Dark Knight Rises, the one thing that merits a rewatch for this is Tom Hardy's Bane. Hardy's muscle mass, combined with his line delivery and his "ability to act with really just his eyes" amazed Beeslo.
Danny DeVito - The Penguin
Danny DeVito's was the second film version of the Penguin, after Burgess Meredith reprised his role from the series in 1966's Batman. However, the two couldn't have been further apart in of tone.
Meredith's Penguin was campy like the series. DeVito's, however, is in line with Tim Burton's "dark" and "gothic" vision of Batman, according to Redditor Bennington_Hahn, who called DeVito's version "iconic" and "perfect," saying he "nailed the role." Colin Farrell will certainly be following up a memorable portrayal when he takes the role in The Batman.
Aaron Eckhart - Two-Face
The character of Two-Face is all about duality, between sanity and madness, justice and injustice, morality and immorality. He is both Batman and those that Batman fights, wrapped into one individual. For Reddit grandiral99, "Aaron Eckhart's portrayal of Harvey Dent is severely underrated."
Beginning The Dark Knight as an agent of justice willing to work with Batman to take down organized crime in Gotham, once he loses his love, Rachel, to the fight, he has a "complete flip in personality" and "becomes the agent of chaos."
Cillian Murphy - Scarecrow
Cillian Murphy may have Batman Begins, and would reprise this role in small appearances for the following two films.
Redditor Jack-mclaughlin89 loved this interpretation of the character, from his acted normalcy when he's out of the mask "to when gets slightly giddy when he takes out his mask to show Carmine Falcone." The only disappointment for this is that Scarecrow is more of "a henchman." While Scarecrow may not have gotten the most face time in the franchise, he is a top-level, memorable menace.
Viola Davis - Amanda Waller
While Angela Bassett was the first to portray Amanda Waller in a live-action film with 2011's Green Lantern, Viola Davis's take on the character was "one of the only legit good things" in 2016's Suicide Squad for Redditor ThatMatthewKid.
Amanda Waller has always been tied to the Suicide Squad in the comics, and while she acts as an occasional ally of Batman, she has also often found herself at odds with him, and is a character who is never afraid to use immoral means to achieve what she wants.
Michelle Pfeiffer - Catwoman
While there was talk in the 1990s of a spinoff Catwoman film with Michelle Pfeiffer to reprise the role, what eventually resulted was the critically panned 2004 Catwoman film starring Halle Berry. But even with only a single film appearance, Pfeiffer's Catwoman has withstood the test of time.
Reddit Mcclane88 found in Pfeiffer's version a person "who was ignored and cast aside by society, adapting a new persona," while at the same time "slowly losing her sanity," reflected, according to Mcclane88, in her suit's condition over the course of the film. While Halle Berry, Anne Hathaway, and now Zoë Kravitz have attempted the role, so far Pfeiffer's is in a league of her own.
Heath Ledger - The Joker
An Oscar-winning performance is nothing to scoff at, and Joaquin Phoenix's win in 2019 marked the second time that the Joker won an actor the award, but still, the first winner remains a touchstone that's hard to top. To say Heath Ledger's Joker is iconic is almost an understatement.
Redditor elacmch sums it up best, as they say that while they actually prefer Nicholson's interpretation of the Joker, "Ledger's has the best portrayal of a comic book villain ever put to screen" from an objective standpoint, and that the Oscar was earned. When even those who don't personally prefer the character give this kind of praise, there's no doubt it's earned.
