10 Best Batman Villains You Totally Forgot Existed

There is no question that Batman has the most iconic rogues gallery. You may have never picked up a comic in your life but you're still familiar with foes like the Joker, Riddler, Catwoman, and of course, Polka Dot Man.

But after 80+ years, you'd think DC Comics would give some of the lesser-known villains a chance. Batman has faced serial killers, gangsters, supervillains, cyborgs, gods, aliens and yet, 90% of his stories focus on the same seven or eight enemies.

Some baddies are intriguing, sinister, captivating, and yet, they've only made a handful of appearances. They've been absent from the comics for so long, it's easy to forget they ever existed in the first place. This is unfair since some characters could be just as popular as Bane or Poison Ivy if they appeared more often.

For decades, Deadshot, Mister Freeze, and Scarecrow were forgettable villains. But once creators expanded on their backstories (Freeze was considered dead wood before Batman: The Animated Series came along with Heart of Ice), they became among the most recognisable faces in all of comics.

Which begs the question, what other awesome supervillains deserve a chance in the spotlight?

Ancient Greek fabulist, Aesop, is renowned for his episodic moral stories. The Tortoise and the Hare, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, and Androcles and the Lion, are among the most well-known tales in all of literature.

With over a hundred fables under his belt, many of which have a grisly conclusion, it's no surprise that someone with a twisted mind would emerge from Gotham who was inspired by the Greek author.

One of a number of different characters introduced by Paul Dini and Dustin Nguyen during their criminally underrated stint on Batman in the late aughts, Doctor Aesop is a crime lord that punishes his victims by using the lessons of Aesop's Fables.

It may sound silly as a concept but hey, so does the Riddler or the Penguin. Because most of the stories revolve around ferocious animals, Doctor Aesop has a seemingly endless supply of creatures to use for his crimes including lions, bears, wolves, and foxes. Because he forces his victims to endure potentially lethal trials to learn a moral lesson, Doctor Aesop sounds akin to the horror icon, Jigsaw, rather than the Ancient Greek author.

Interestingly, Doctor Aesop has only had one brief encounter with Bruce Wayne and wasn't even in his Batman persona.