10 Best Batman Characters That Didn't Come From The Comics
4. Lock Up
Lock Up was an interesting villain in The Animated Series, but it’s a shame he only appeared in a single episode. Like the best characters here, he managed to show us Batman in a new light.
Like Batman, he just wants to make Gotham a better place, and he too turns to vigilanteism to make it happen. However, while Bruce Wayne ultimately loves his city and wants to save it, Lock Up calls Gotham an open wound, festering with violence.
Before becoming Lock Up, Lyle Bolton was a guard at Arkham and had the place running smoothly. However, once Batman discovers he’s been torturing inmates, Bolton is promptly sacked. Soon after, chaos returns to Arkham. It’s a social commentary that is still painfully relevant today; how far should we go to keep the peace?
His targets offer some deeper questions too. Once he assumes the identity of Lock Up, it’s not criminals he takes down. Instead, it’s the politicians, reporters and corrupt police he feels are responsible for the culture of violence in the city.
He at least ends on a great sign off. Lock Up is happy to have been captured because now he can keep a closer eye on ‘his’ prisoners forever.