5. Colonel Brass
Batmans rogues gallery has a lot of Doctors, Misters and Professors, so it seems only right that he has a Colonel in there somewhere as well. Created by comics legends Archie Goodwin and Marshall Rogers, Brass has origins that tie him into the re-construction of Wayne manor, as well as the backstory of the Wayne family itself. Brass begins life as a kid on the streets of 1920s Gotham, He is very street smart and calculating, regularly committing acts of theft and petty vandalism against the security forces that patrol the slums. This brings him to the attention of Detective (later Commissioner) Gillian Loeb, who eventually brings him to Jack (AKA Patrick) Wayne, Grandfather of Bruce. Impressed by the boys moxy, Jack puts Brass to work for him, (in a manner which eerily foreshadows Bruce Waynes adoption of young Jason Todd, many years later). Brass becomes a rival of Jacks genteel young son Thomas, while Jack begins involving Brass more and more in his business dealings. Of course, Brass is crooked, abusive and power hungry but, Jack doesnt mind (not until he turns over a new leaf and becomes a philanthropist many years later, anyway). An adult Brass goes off to fight in the Second World War, eventually becoming a mercenary for hire and leading a rag tag band of highly trained killers. When he returns to Gotham, he is involved in an altercation with Thomas Wayne that leads to Thomas finally standing up for himself and becoming the character that Batman readers are more familiar with. Brass, now dying of some unspecific ailment, returns to Gotham on the pretence of obtaining a large amount of gold hidden under the foundations of Wayne Manor. His plan? He engineers a gang war in Gotham and, in the ensuing chaos, he goes after the gold. Batman bests him, of course, and Brass blows himself up in the Batcave, hoping to take Wayne Manor (and thus, The wayne Legacy) down with him. Of course, due to Bruce strengthening the foundations many years earlier, his plan fails and he only manages to blow himself up. As a villain, Brass was charming and intelligent; he was also a shrewd tactician and a thoroughly ruthless bastard. The brass plate on his bald head and his brass gauntlets added an element of gimmickry to him that better tied him in with the other, more traditional, villains in Batmans rogues gallery. Brass will likely never appear again, the one story he appeared in (it was Siege from LOTDK) was riddled with continuity problems and probably isnt considered canon (although I personally like to think it is, because its an excellent read). In addition, he dies fairly conclusively, in the Batcave of all places, not long after having deduced Batmans secret identity (like so many Golden Age villains before him). Still, the character was a great antagonist and Siege was a great Batman story from the 2000s that deserves to be re-discovered.