Batman Movie Villains: 7 Perfect Performances & 7 That Sucked

7 Perect Batman Movie Villain Performances

7. Scarecrow - Cillian Murphy (The Dark Knight Trilogy)

In the end, it's a slight shame that Scarecrow isn't given more to do in the Dark Knight sequels, but by the time he reappears in The Dark Knight, he's already made his real impact.

Scarecrow is the perfect mirror to Bruce Wayne. In a trilogy obsessed with the idea of duplicity and the clash of expectation versus reality (Nolan's Gotham is essentially all one big masquerade ball), the disparity between his professional image and the nightmarish creation he becomes in the minds of his fear toxin victims is just wonderful.

As much as the sight of him as the ghoulish Scarecrow is deeply impactful, it's Cillian Murphy's unassuming, almost Patrick Bateman-like Dr Jonathan Crane that gives him balance and an added bite to the scare factor.