Every Batman Movie Villain Ever Ranked From Worst To Best

Max Shreck (Christopher Walken) is the only villain on this list created specifically for the Batman movies - he had no basis in the comics and was entirely conceived by Batman Returns screenwriter Daniel Waters.

Despite that, and ultimately playing third fiddle to both Catwoman and the Penguin, Shreck is a memorable antagonist in his own right - a string-pulling industrialist sociopath who serves as a somewhat more grounded counterpoint to the film's other villains.

Christopher Walken is terrific as the all-too-real businessman scarcely concealing his malevolence beneath a superficially slick facade.

The character might also suffer the most hilariously brutal death of any Batman movie villain: smooched with a taser by Catwoman and charred to a skeletal crisp.

It's easy to appreciate why Batman movies tend to stick to established players rather than rustle up their own invented villains, but Max Shreck is sure proof that it can indeed work.