10 Greatest Villain Introductions In Movie History

One flick before Tom Hardy's Bane was unforgettably revealed aboard a plane he intended to dramatically crash, arguably the greatest comic book villain arrival of all time went down during The Dark Knight's pulsating bank heist set piece.

As a bunch of clown-masked criminals all go about breaking into this Gotham money house, each of them discuss exactly who this Joker bloke who organised the mafia cash robbery actually is.

And one by one, this group of slimy and ruthless villains follow 'Mr. J's orders to shockingly kill each of their fellow team members after they've finished their part of the job.

In the end, the only thief left standing is the same one who ominously appeared on the sidewalk during one of the film's first shots.

And after William Fichtner's wounded bank manager passionately demands to know what this final despicable clown believed in, Heath Ledger's absorbing face-painted icon finally unmasked himself with the outrageously effective mic drop of "I believe, whatever doesn't kill you simply makes you... stranger!"

A quick grin later, folks instantly knew their Bat was about to meet his match, with Heath Ledger instantly displaying all of the menace, unhinged charm, and chaotic creepiness that would dominate the subsequent Dark Knight tale.