Who has a better Rogues Gallery: Batman or Spider-Man?

Who has a better Rogues Gallery: Batman or Spider-Man?


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Langsta

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Batman and Spider-Man each easily have the best rogues gallery of any superhero. But whose is better?

Off the top of my head ....

Batman: Joker, Catwoman, Penguin, Two-Face, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, Bane, Mr. Freeze, Clayface, Killer Croc, Black Mask, Harley Quinn, Mad Hatter, Ra's al Ghul, Hugo Strange, Ventriloquist, Maxie Zeus, Carmine Falcone, Killer Moth, Firefly, Solomon Grundy, Calendar Man, Zsasz, Man-Bat, Joe Chill

Spider-Man: Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Venom, Sandman, Electro, Lizard, Kingpin, Shocker, Rhino, Vulture, Hobgoblin, Kraven, Black Cat, Chameleon, Scorpion, Carnage, Mysterio, Beetle, Hammerhead, Jackal, Hydro-Man, Man-Spider, Dennis Carradine

It's funny how they kinda match up:
Joker = Green Goblin (hero's arch-nemesis, has a perpetual grin)
Catwoman = Black Cat (this one's pretty self-explanatory)
Penguin = Doctor Octopus (short, stocky creeper)
Two-Face = Venom (two sides)
Clayface = Chameleon (master of disguise)
Killer Croc = Lizard (green lizard-man)
Man-Bat = Man-Spider (animal versions of the hero; I'm not sure if Man-Spider is the same person as Doppleganger)
Carmine Falcone = Kingpin (fat uber-powerful mob boss)
Joe Chill = Dennis Carradine (petty no-name criminal who's basically responsible for the hero's war on crime)

And I'm gonna take it to a whole nother level: I know they aren't villains, but Azrael and Ben Reilly = the hero's successor whom nobody likes. I know that doesn't have much to do with this, but it's another thing Batman and Spider-Man have in common.
 
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Batman. Hands down.

BTW was this inspired by yesterday's Shortpacked?
20090903hamsterfight.png
 
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It's very close, but I think overall, Batman has the gallery that can better sustain lots of single-villain stories and and even carry whole acts on their own, sans Batman.

Most of the time most of Spider-Man's villains are more suited to being supporting characters who enhance to story that is still completely about Spider-Man.

Both rogue's galleries are incredibly well-suited to their protagonists but I think Batman's has the better characters overall. His B-villains are as good as almost any other superhero's A-villains.
 
It's funny how they kinda match up:
Joker = Green Goblin (hero's arch-nemesis, has a perpetual grin)
Catwoman = Black Cat (this one's pretty self-explanatory)
Penguin = Doctor Octopus (short, stocky creeper)
Two-Face = Venom (two sides)
Clayface = Chameleon (master of disguise)
Killer Croc = Lizard (green lizard-man)
Man-Bat = Man-Spider (animal versions of the hero; I'm not sure if Man-Spider is the same person as Doppleganger)
Carmine Falcone = Kingpin (fat uber-powerful mob boss)
Joe Chill = Dennis Carradine (petty no-name criminal who's basically responsible for the hero's war on crime)

I see the similarities between Green Goblin and Joker. Although Norman is more of a combo between the Joker and Lex Luthor...he's not completely given over to being insane like Joker, but even when he's in control he's an aweful person, which makes him a more interesting character in my opinion.

The Black Cat/Cat Woman comparison is a no brainer, they're pretty similar

Penguin/DocOck...i don't really see that one. Penguin's more like the Owl, and DocOck is way cooler than Penguin

Two Face/Venom...yeah, i guess. They're pretty different though, and Two Face is way cooler. But I would probably compare Two Face more to Harry (friend who goes crazy and turns bad) and I like Harry a lot more.

i would more likely compare Clayface to Sandman than to Chameleon and the two are pretty similar

killer Croc/Lizard. i can't decide which one's cooler. They're similar but also very different (croc is a thug with lizard like appearance/powers, lizard is a friend of Spidey's who accidentaly mutates himself. And he is more bestial when he's the lizard (not a criminal, but thinks like a lizard) so equally cool but for different reasons

Man-Spider is not the same as doppleganger. Man-spider is Spider-Man when he gets mutated by the savage land mutates, Doppelganger is an evil...well, doppelganger of Spider-Man who was created by a bad guy named Magus during 'Infinity War' and Man bat is way cooler than either of them

Kingpin would own falcone any day.

chill/carradine, yeah they're the same guy.

not to mention Mad hatter is sort of similar to mysterio

Scare Crow is awesome, and doesn't really have a comparable Spidey villain
Hobgoblin is also awesome and doesn't have a comparable Batman villain

and so on and so forth, we could do this all day.

It was a hard choice, but I'm going to pick Spidey. That being said, I think Batman's going to win b/c the tone of his book is more dark and gritty so the villains often come across as more twisted, while Spidey's books are usually more family friendly and the villains can come off as goofy.
BTW was this inspired by yesterday's Shortpacked?
20090903hamsterfight.png

:lol::lol:
 
Batman. Any day of the week, it's Batman. Seriously. I think, all around, Batman's a more iconic character though, and his concept lends itself well to designing cool antagonists.

Honestly, I don't think Spidey's villains are even all that great.
 
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Batman has some fantastic villains... but to be honest, the naming lets some of them down slightly..

The Lizard is far cooler than Killer Croc. That just sounds lame...
 
While I like Spider-man's I think Batman has more iconic and classic rogues Gallery. Also most of batman's are deeper than Spider-man's as they kinda ave to be as batman has no powers his villains tend to have more personality while spider-man's tend to be things he can use his powers on.
 
I think it comes down to this: Spidey and Batman have pretty much the best rogue galleries in superhero comics. When it's between these two, it's clear that Spidey's best villains are Doctor Octopus, Green Goblin, and Venom. Spidey has other good villains like Electro and Vulture and Rhino and whoever, but those three are in a class all by themselves. Consider those three "tier 1" and the rest "tier 2".

Batman has one "tier 1" villain: The Joker. After that, he has Two-Face, Catwoman, Penguin, Bane, Ra's Al Ghul, Scarecrow, etc.

And I think if you look at that, you'll notice that as good as Spidey's is, Batman's 'equivalent' villains (in terms of substance) outclass Spidey's. Spidey's top three villains have a tough time competing with just the Joker. Joker's sidekick is good enough to get her own series. Once you factor in characters like Two-Face and Catwoman, it becomes apparent very quickly.

I think, also, the reason is Batman has been blessed with better writers than Spidey. Batman has had stinkers, but Batman never had the Clone Saga. Twice. Or Maximum Carnage. And so on and so on.
 
I think it comes down to this: Spidey and Batman have pretty much the best rogue galleries in superhero comics. When it's between these two, it's clear that Spidey's best villains are Doctor Octopus, Green Goblin, and Venom. Spidey has other good villains like Electro and Vulture and Rhino and whoever, but those three are in a class all by themselves. Consider those three "tier 1" and the rest "tier 2".

Batman has one "tier 1" villain: The Joker. After that, he has Two-Face, Catwoman, Penguin, Bane, Ra's Al Ghul, Scarecrow, etc.

And I think if you look at that, you'll notice that as good as Spidey's is, Batman's 'equivalent' villains (in terms of substance) outclass Spidey's. Spidey's top three villains have a tough time competing with just the Joker. Joker's sidekick is good enough to get her own series. Once you factor in characters like Two-Face and Catwoman, it becomes apparent very quickly.

Well put.

Random: Kraven the Hunter and Mysterio don't get enough credit or development, either of them is potentially as good as most Batman villains.
 
It's very close, but I think overall, Batman has the gallery that can better sustain lots of single-villain stories and and even carry whole acts on their own, sans Batman.

Most of the time most of Spider-Man's villains are more suited to being supporting characters who enhance to story that is still completely about Spider-Man.

Both rogue's galleries are incredibly well-suited to their protagonists but I think Batman's has the better characters overall. His B-villains are as good as almost any other superhero's A-villains.

I really don't think it's that close at all. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any of Spider-Man's villains other than the Goblin who are interesting for any three-dimensional reason. The only interest I have in Spidey villains are their powers and how awesome they look in fights.

Batman villains are just a superlative study of real human tragedy and sinister madness. I can't really think of any Batman villains that are just there for the sake of giving Batman 'something to fight' (Superman's got billions of those kinds of enemies). A lot of this has to do with the Animated Series, I guess, but even going back to the Bob Kane stuff there are some truly incredible stories and backstories around these antagonists.

Interesting: I was going to point out that Black Cat was just a sorry, shameless Catwoman ripoff, but just thinking about it now, that's not really the case. Catwoman wasn't the carefree, athletic, "the only side I'm on is my own" anti-villain the way she is now until the mid-eighties when Year One came along. Before that, she was a superficial femme fatale, complete with guns, goons and a hideout. Black Cat, however, was as she is now (very similar to today's Catwoman) from her inception. Did Frank Miller rip off Black Cat on purpose?

Also, the guy in the cartoon arguing against Batman is dead wrong. The Joker, The Penguin and The Monk are such awesome criminal names, that they're used by real gangsters, in real life.
 
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The Flash has the best Rogues Gallery in my opinion... Batman comes close because there are so many good ones...

I actually really don't like Spidey's rogues. They're not very well conceived, and even the good ones, like Norman Osborn, are rarely used to their potential... I mean, the guy's the perfect median between Lex Luthor and The Joker... I'm digging Dark Reign for them using him well, but there's only been a couple times I've seen him handled that well... But besides him, Kraven, and The Kingpin (whose always fit better against Daredevil), there's not really any character I get excited to see are showing up in upcoming storylines.
 
I actually really don't like Spidey's rogues. Even the good ones, like Norman Osborn, are rarely used to their potential... I mean, the guy's the perfect median between Lex Luthor and The Joker... I'm digging Dark Reign for them using him well, but there's only been a couple times I've seen him handled that well...

yes.
 
Well put.

Random: Kraven the Hunter and Mysterio don't get enough credit or development, either of them is potentially as good as most Batman villains.

I have a particularly soft spot for Mysterio.

The Flash has the best Rogues Gallery in my opinion... Batman comes close because there are so many good ones...

I actually really don't like Spidey's rogues. They're not very well conceived, and even the good ones, like Norman Osborn, are rarely used to their potential... I mean, the guy's the perfect median between Lex Luthor and The Joker... I'm digging Dark Reign for them using him well, but there's only been a couple times I've seen him handled that well... But besides him, Kraven, and The Kingpin (whose always fit better against Daredevil), there's not really any character I get excited to see are showing up in upcoming storylines.

I think that the problem here is that Batman attracts a higher quality of writers, on average, than Spidey.

The Green Goblin is horribly overused as "Spidey's Lex Luthor/Joker" as you say, when the character is clearly neither.

Venom has been neutered with repeated over-exposure as a vigilante ("Lethal Protector") or a gorram prop (Scorpion now has the venom suit! Flash has the venom suit! Frog-man has the ****ing venom suit!).

And Doctor Octopus was often treated as Green Goblin II because, y'know, Green Goblin died for twenty ****ing years and so he was just picking up slack. Now that Goblin is back, Doc Ock does nothing at all anymore.

Not that that's how it should be. I love those three characters and would write the hell out of them. Any one of them is capable of THE DARK KNIGHT level of awesomeness for Spidey.

They're just wasted a lot, much like Joker is often just insufferably rubbish.
 
The Green Goblin is horribly overused as "Spidey's Lex Luthor/Joker" as you say, when the character is clearly neither.

he's not exactly the same as either of them, but he encompasses the main attributes of both of them. As I see it, Luthor and Joker represent opposite end of the spectrum for really dangerous villains. Luthor is really dangerous b/c he's influential, powerful, ambitious, resourceful, rich, and in a lot of ways untouchable. Joker is really dangerous b/c he's crazy and that's it. He has not real motivation besides causing mayhem and toying with Batman.

Norman Osborn/Green Goblin has both those aspects. He's both sides of the spectrum. He's powerful, influential, ambitious AND crazy. He tries to keep the crazy in check, but when it gets out he's nuts.
 
a gorram prop (Scorpion now has the venom suit! Flash has the venom suit! Frog-man has the ****ing venom suit!)

The fact you against this, you can officially murder my family , rape their corpses, Defecate on them , video tape it and force me to watch the tapes and i will still :heart: my Bassest buddy! (yes +1 pun)
 

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