3. Batman Is Only As Good As His Rogues Gallery
Much of Batman's popularity has stemmed from the popularity of his villains, a fact DC has so much as admitted in their new DTV release Necessary Evil: Supervillains of DC Comics
. Frank Gorshin, Cesar Romero and Burgess Meredith brought the Riddler, Joker and Penguin to life in Adam West's Batman
TV series, while Paul Dini created fan favourite Harley Quinn and humanised Mr. Freeze in the
fan-voted favourite episode "Heart of Ice"
on Batman: The Animated Series
.The latter Emmy-Award winning series, however, also featured many episodes without a super-villain at all; many episodes feature Batman taking on organised crime bosses like Rupert Thorne, dirty corporation heads like Roland Daggett or common criminals and thugs. By doing so, the show went back to Batman's roots, and proved time and time again that criminals at heart are nothing more than "a superstitious, cowardly lot." Batman ensured that evildoers knew that crime doesn't pay, be it a bank robbery or world domination.