10 Villains Who Outsmarted Batman
Even the Dark Knight can be one-upped every now and then.
Batman is a character who is more often than not tasked with outsmarting and outmaneuvering characters that no one else could. After all, Bruce Wayne's costumed counterpart has taken down pretty much every major villain in DC's roster at this point - and those he hasn't taken out generally are only undefeated because they haven't properly taken each other on.
But, mercifully, many of the Bat's writers and artists over the years are aware that the beauty of Batman is that he's not perfect. While the Dark Knight has one-upped enough supervillains to fill a dictionary, he's also had his fair share of bad scrapes, where he's been outmatched, outsmarted, and generally outdone by his opponents.
It's always fun to see Batman save the day - but it's maybe even more fun to see him struggle every now and then, as it's the only thing keeping him from feeling like a totally invincible character.
Luckily for us, over the years Bruce has been outwitted by everyone from his own son to a random cult leader, proving that even the man with a plan for everything can still get trounced every now and then.
10. Riddler - Batman (Vol. 3) #32
At the closing of the beloved and despised War of Jokes and Riddles storyline, the Riddler manages to outsmart Batman in a very, very unusual way.
After telling Batman that all the terrible things he's done have been more to rile the Joker than to counter Batman, Edward also tells the hero that he could kill everyone he's ever loved easily. In a final, very inadvisable move, Nygma decides to tell the Bat that the only reason he hasn't murdered his family yet is because he keeps Batman around as entertainment, and so he doesn't want to break him.
Naturally, all this makes the Dark Knight more than a little angry. So angry, in fact, that he goes to kill the Riddler with a well placed knife to the face, which is only stopped by the surprising assistance of none other than the Clown Prince of Crime.
While the Joker technically gets to outsmart the Dark Knight because he's the one who stops him breaking his own rules and killing, the Riddler is the one who should get the credit for this Bat breakdown. After all, he's the one who manages to push Batman's buttons so expertly that the hero legitimately gives up all his moral codes in order to get the temporary relief of stabbing the villain clean in the face.