The Batman family enemies are a collection of supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. These characters are depicted as adversaries of the superhero Batman and his allies. Since Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939), his supporting cast has expanded to include other superheroes, and has become what is now called the "Bat-family". As with most superheroes, a cast of recurring enemies to the Batman family have been introduced throughout the years, collectively referred to as Batman's "rogues gallery". Many characters from Batman's rogues gallery who are criminally insane become patients at Arkham Asylum after they are apprehended.

Supervillains and themed criminals

The following fictional characters are listed in alphabetical order by the name of their supervillain persona. Each character's first appearance and brief biographies of each fictional character are also listed, staying to their fictional histories and characteristics in the DC Universe. Sometimes more than one fictional character will share a supervillain persona. In those cases, the name of the character most associated with said supervillain identity will have their name in bold in their biography.

Classic rogues gallery

Listed below are the Batman family's most enduring and iconic enemies.

Other recurring enemies

These are major Batman family enemies that have not quite reached the status of Batman's classic rogues gallery.

The League of Assassins

First appearing in Strange Adventures #215, the League of Assassins is a team of highly trained killers that was founded by Ra's al Ghul and has often swayed from working under his organization to working independently of it. The group has been led at times by Dr. Ebeneezer Darrk, the Sensei, Lady Shiva, and Cassandra Cain.

Morrison-era enemies (2007–2011)

These are enemies that were introduced under writer Grant Morrison.

The New 52 and beyond

In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. Since this new timeline began, these supervillains have been introduced. These are characters that have not been around long enough to apply to any other category.

Batman Beyond enemies

Enemies of lesser renown

These enemies are categorized by their obscurity and for being less notable than other characters in this article.

Villains from other rogues galleries

When these villains debuted, they fought other heroes before fighting Batman.

Teams

The following is a list of fictional teams, groups of supervillains, gangs, and organized crime families that are enemies of the Batman family, listed in alphabetical order by name. The first appearance and a brief fictional biography of each team is also listed.

Mobsters and plainclothes criminals

Besides his infamous rogues gallery of supervillains, Batman has also faced more "ordinary" enemies, such as assassins, mobsters and terrorists. In alphabetical order (with issue and date of first appearance) Two of Batman's mobster foes have donned costumes and crossed over to become supervillains:

Corrupt cops and government officials

In alphabetical order (with issue and date of first appearance)

Antiheroes and reformed supervillains

The following is a list of Batman enemies who have reformed and are more often depicted as allies of the masked vigilante than enemies.

Allies in conflict

Some characters generally considered to be allies, yet have come into conflict with Batman. In alphabetical order (with issue and date of first appearance):

In other media

Antagonists from other media

Reception

Batman's rogues gallery has received critical acclaim, cited by many journalists as one of the greatest rogues galleries in all of comic books. Newsarama ranked Batman's villains as the second-greatest comic book rogues gallery of all time, only preceded by that of Spider-Man, stating that "the Dark Knight Detective is one of comics' most enduring, most iconic, and most popular characters, and none of that would be possible without the denizens of Gotham City's dense and dangerous underworld. Batman may be a household name, but the Joker, the Penguin, Mr. Freeze, Catwoman, Two-Face, and the Riddler are just as recognizable." The internet blog io9 observed that "much of the appeal of Batman is that, unlike other superheroes, he's simply a person who has pushed himself to the edge of his natural limits. The flipside of that, though, is that the villains he faces are also by and large simply people with a single, notable obsession—and that's why they're so much more interesting than the usual set of villains." According to What Culture!, "Batman's villains stand in stark contrast to the other rogues galleries in comics lore; they're an unusual collection of freaks who generally blame the Dark Knight for their existence to begin with. Batman villains are usually cut off from reality, often coming to terms with a deranged part of their psyche—mirroring the darkness and split that also defines the Bat." HitFix praised Batman's rogues gallery, stating that "Great heroes are defined by the villains they face, and no group of evil-doers, murderers, criminals and psychopaths are greater than those stalking Gotham City. From murderous clowns, to cerebral assassins, to brutish monsters, Batman has a literal murderer's row of foes that constantly test his crime fighting acumen."

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