10 Comic Book Villains Humiliated By Batman

2. Joker - Mad Love

Batman Mad Love Puddin
DC Comics

Mad Love is one of the most beloved episodes of Batman: The Animated Series (rebranded as The New Batman Adventures by that point), but it was first told in the show's tie-in comic, The Batman Adventures.

Written by Paul Dini and with art from Bruce Timm, the story provides an in-depth look into Harley Quinn's origin and the full extent of her abusive relationship with the Joker. After her anniversary plans end with her being thrown out a window by Mr. J, she decides there's only one way to win her puddin's affection: capture and kill Batman.

And she succeeds! But Joker isn't happy. If anyone's going to take Batman down, it's going to be him, and so he lashes out at Harley once more, leaving him alone with the Dark Knight. The two fight again, but Batman's able to use Harley's successful scheme to his advantage, taunting the Joker that she came closer than he ever has to actually killing him, and concluding the jibe by calling him "puddin'".

The Clown Prince of Crime snaps completely, which enables Bats to overpower him more easily. It's one of a select few moments where Batman has been able to break through the Joker's facade, and also probably the best.

Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.