It's incredibly hard to write a good villain character. And somehow, the Batman universe has tons of them. It seems like everyone who invades Gotham City also leaves a mark on the audience. Today, I want to go over all the best Batman villains and talk about some lessons we can learn from them as writers. Let's dive in. 1. The JokerIt would be hard to find a bad guy more famous and more influential than all the many iterations of the Joker. His core function is to be the thematic opposite of your hero. And as Batman changes through his writers and directors, so does Joker. Batman is order; Joker is chaos. This spans the test of time. Screenwriting Lesson: Your villain doesn't need a sympathetic backstory. Sometimes, the most terrifying antagonist is the one whose motivations are purely philosophical. The Joker works because he forces Batman to see all the many sides of evil without reasoning.2. Catwoman (Selina Kyle)Catwoman is the perfect example of a character who elevates a story through moral complexity. She's not purely a villain; once in a while, her goals align with Batman's. And they also sort of are dating? There's always tension here - which side will she be on? Screenwriting Lesson: A compelling antagonist doesn't have to be evil. They just need to disagree with the hero about what's happening. Their relationship with the hero becomes a central conflict in itself.3. The Penguin (Oswald Cobblepot)The Penguin has gone through a lot of...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Yesterday