10 Evil Video Game Villains You Couldn't Wait To Kill

3. The Joker - Batman: Arkham Knight

Batman Arkham Knight Joker Fire
Rocksteady

Despite having no physical presence to speak of, The Joker manages to be deadlier than ever in Rocksteady's Arkham Knight. Killed off at the end of City, the Clown Prince of Crime is alive and kicking as part of Bruce Wayne's subconscious in this third game, showing up to taunt Batman, sabotage his attempts at heroics and sing him sweet lullabies before eventually attempting to take him over from the inside.

Your mental roommate constantly invades your privacy, playing on your greatest fears and berating you for failing to save close allies. Although he doesn't have any elaborate traps set up to hurt you in the real world, the creeping encroachment on Batman's psyche is the most insidiously evil thing the character does in the whole trilogy, made even worse by the fact that there's no easy way to claw him out.

Likewise, in the best twist in the series, the finale changes perspectives entirely, having you play as The Joker as he succumbs to his own fear of being forgotten. It's a surprisingly tragic moment, as his legacy crumbles into nothing and he's haunted by the spectre of Batman.

Still, it's satisfying to actually beat him for once, in a way that doesn't have any strings attached.

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Contributor

Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.