1. Deacon Blackfire
Deacon Blackfire was the first man to break the Bat. Yes, thats right. He got there a good few years before Bane did as well. Although his effect has been less lasting, the character deserves a mention here for that fact alone. In the four part 1988 series The Cult, writer Jim Starlin and horror artist Berni Wrightson took us on a darkly narcotic journey of paranoia, pain and death, as Batmans noble soul was twisted and contorted into almost nothing. The story has been criticised by many fans, and often justifiably so. However, as a character study that shows us that even the best of us can fall, The Cult has yet to beaten. Batmans shame and humiliation in this story is more shocking and painful to read than anything Bane, Dr. Hurt, Hugo Strange or even The Joker ever put The Caped Crusader through. Blackfire took The Dark Knight apart, left a dirty stain on his soul and remade him into the thing he hates most...And he did it all with a serene smile and a holier-than-thou attitude. Leading the titular cult (a group that consists initially of derelicts, down and outs and addicts), Blackfire is actually able to take hold of Gotham City in a way that very few villains have ever really managed. It took an earthquake, a plague and a veritable army of costumed nutters to accomplish what Blackfire managed in a couple of weeks. A seemingly immortal Native American Shaman, Blackfire was sealed forever in a cave for killing his Chief. However, he was rescued by some Dutch settlers and, ever since that time, appears to have survived by bathing in Human blood. He had an unambitious criminal career throughout the ensuing century, but when he discovered religion and psychotropic drugs, it all came together for him in a really beautiful way. By promising hope to the hopeless, Blackfire became the most important man in all of Gotham. In the end, during Jason Todds finest hour (and the moment which probably sent him down the eventual path towards being The Red Hood) Robin saves Batman and the pair recapture the city. Eventually, Blackfire is torn apart by his own followers, Ziggy Stardust style. To a nicer guy, it couldnt happen, I say. Like Bedbug, Blackfire did eventually appear again, but it was as a zombie during DCs mind-bogglingly awesome Blackest Night event, so I dont count that. So there you have it, 10 (actually 10 this time, as my last Batman article only featured 9 seriously, go back and check it again and then marvel at what a total fool I am) of Batmans forgotten villains. 10 repugnant nightmares that vanished too long before our hero awoke (and have yet to be recalled). Will we ever see them again? Only time will tell. So, who
should I have mentioned here? Is my research incomplete? Did Dr. Freak return and team up with King Tut in a story I missed? Let me know in the comments section below. - CQ