10 Movie Villain Reveals That Were Genuinely Surprising

7. The Phantasm - Mask Of The Phantasm

One of the best Batman movies ever made, 1993's Mask of the Phantasm made the risky decision to introduce an entirely new villain for The Caped Crusader to battle. The titular Phantasm isn't just a regular Joker-style rogue however, but is actually analogous to Batman himself. There is one key difference, though: whereas The Dark Knight beats up mob bosses, the Phantasm kills them.

Outside of tracking down the vigilante, the film features a brilliantly-written plot about Bruce Wayne falling for Andrea Beaumont, a woman he was actually engaged to in his youth. It's a surprise, then, when it turns out that she's actually the Phantasm, spurred on to avenge the deaths of her parents at the hands of hired criminals.

Consequently, not only is the twist itself rather shocking, but it achieves the rare feat of deepening Andrea's characterisation. It's not just a cheap gimmick, but serves to strengthen the relationship between her and Bruce on a much more tragic level.