10 Comic Book Villains Humiliated By Batman

7. Bruce Wayne's Many One Liners - DC Animated Universe

The DC Animated Universe was a thing of real beauty. Between Batman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, Static Shock and Justice League - plus the several animated movies that tied into those shows - the likes of Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, Eric Radomski, Shirley Walker, Andrea Romano and so many others managed to craft what many would consider to be the definitive version of the DC mythos.

A lot went into making the DCAU so special, and obviously one of the most important aspects was the voicework. Romano, who worked as a voice director on all the DCAU projects up until the series' conclusion in 2007, was responsible for casting Kevin Conroy as Batman/Bruce Wayne and Mark Hamill as the Joker, and they both got plenty of opportunities to shine in the various shows and films.

Conroy especially has had plenty of iconic moments as the Caped Crusader (that "I am the night!" speech a particular highlight), but one aspect of his performance that has sort of slipped beneath the radar - more so than his excellent singing skills - is his ability to deliver Miami Vice-level zingers at a moment's notice. Like, they could be violations of Batman's no killing rule, they're that good.

The two most memorable though? The one in the Batman/Superman movie, where Harley Quinn mournfully exclaims "Puddin!" as the Joker goes down in Luthor's flying wing, to which he responds with "At this point, he probably is; and also the closing speech in Batman Beyond's "Sneak Peek", where he incorporates the villain's own TV show - "The Inside Peek" - into his burn.

As Ian Peek loses his solid state and begins to plummet straight down, Bruce states that "it's about as inside as you can get."

Brutal. Just brutal.

Content Producer/Presenter
Content Producer/Presenter

Resident movie guy at WhatCulture who used to be Comics Editor. Thinks John Carpenter is the best. Likes Hellboy a lot. Can usually be found talking about Dad Movies on his Twitter at @EwanRuinsThings.