10 Villains Who Outsmarted Batman

One of the most interesting things about The Cult storyline is that it contains a villain who, by all means, shouldn't be any kind of threat to the Dark Knight.

Deacon Blackfire has no superpowers, is only moderately strong, and doesn't even appear to have the wealth that the majority of other powerless villains rely on to carry out their twisted deeds. No, Blackfire has absolutely none of this, and yet he's exceedingly dangerous, simply because he's very good at convincing people to do as he says.

As such, when Batman encounters Deacon, you expect him to maybe trounce him immediately. Instead, the Dark Knight is the one who gets decidedly dunked on, as waves and waves of people who Blackfire has recruited decide to join the fray.

After this, the villain basically manages to totally break Batman through a mix of hallucinogenic drugs and a persuasive speech, with the hero briefly joining his roaming gangs until he manages to find some un-drugged food and clear his head. If it weren't for that convenient snack, though, that might have been the end of Batman as we know him.