Batman has had one of the most consistent batting averages when it comes to good-quality films in both live-action and animation. Batman’s adventures have always swept the world, with everyone falling in love with the stories and the characters featured within them. The billionaire crime fighter isn’t the only interesting character in his films either, as there are plenty of wonderful characters in the Batman films aside from him.
But with a plethora of great characters also comes a fair share of terrible, underdeveloped, underutilized, and often useless characters.Even the best pictures have poor characters, and the Batman movies are no different, unfortunately. Not even Batman’s master detective skills could have sniffed out these rough portrayals before audiences saw them for the first time in theaters.
1Aunt Harriet Cooper (Madge Blake)
‘Batman: The Movie’ (1966)
For many, Aunt Harriet Cooper (Madge Blake) was a character who held down the entire 1966Batmanseries and the film as well.It’s often claimed thatAunt Harriet Cooper doesn’t do muchbesides a whole lot of getting in the way of the main plot, thus serving as a perennial nuisance and occasional victim for Batman to deal with and save.
Aunt Harriet Cooper often finds herself getting kidnapped, becoming confused at the mayhem, and overall standing in the way of Batman (Adam West) and Robin (Burt Ward). Many of the main plots, the theatrical film included, seem to be completely possible without the inclusion of Aunt Harriet Cooper. Thus,her inclusion feels pretty useless and annoying, and poor Madge Blake doesn’t do much to improve everyone’s lousy opinion of this frustrating character.
Batman ‘66
2Alex Knox (Robert Wuhl)
‘Batman’ (1989)
Alex Knox (Robert Wuhl) is one of the main reporters in the Gotham Globe, working alongside Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger) and investigating rumors surrounding the mysterious figure known as Batman (Michael Keaton). Unfortunately for the otherwise great Robert Wuhl,his character is more annoying than entertaining.
To be fair, Alex Knox does get a good moment towards the end of the film whenJack Nicholson’s Joker enacts his master plan, displaying some courage and actually serving a purpose. At the end of the day, the character fails at the important things he needs to do in his plot. Knox had two goals: secure the story and save his partner when things got tough. He failed to do both of those things, making his character a bit of a failure and an annoying source of comic relief.
3Max Shreck (Christopher Walken)
‘Batman Returns’ (1992)
Max Shreck (Christopher Walken) was an original character created specifically forBatman Returns, and to the plight of the writers, he did not land how they hoped he would. Max Shreck is a bit of a failure of a character, so much so that he never appeared in any other Batman media outside those directly connected withBatman Returns.
To put it simply, Shreck was an absolute moronic character. His most iconic moment is the scene in which he, after seeing Bruce Wayne in the Batman costume… asks him why he is dressed up as Batman. Sure, this is the man who is the boss of the likes of Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer) and an ally to Penguin (Danny DeVito), but one doesn’t just come back from a moment like that.The ever-reliable Christopher Walkenis at least having fun in the role, but he can’t do much beyond that.
Batman Returns
4Dick Grayson/Robin (Chris O’Donnell)
‘Batman Forever’ (1995)
Robin is easily the most iconic superhero sidekick character in fiction, period. It doesn’t get more recognizable than Robin, so when the time came for him to make his first appearance in a legit theatrical film, hopes were high. Sadly, many were pretty disappointed by the representation of the character inBatman Forever.
The Dick Grayson iteration of Robin has an understandably large group of fans. But the Dick Grayson/Robin (Chris O’Donnell) inBatman Foreverdidn’t capture the essence of the character. Throughout the film, Robin seems to get in the way and make things more difficult for Batman rather than being actually helpful. Helping Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones) back up to his feet, only to get captured by him a moment later? Come on, Robin. The Boy Wonder is a brilliant crime-fighter, something the movie did not show at all.
Batman Forever
5Barbara Wilson/Batgirl (Alicia Silverstone)
‘Batman & Robin’ (1997)
Aside from Robin, one of Batman’s other most popular sidekicks is Batgirl. Usually, she is depicted as Barbara Gordon, daughter of Commissioner James Gordon and a close ally of the Bat-Family. However,Batman & Robindecided to keep the Barbara name and go in a different direction with her lineage.
Instead, the film turns her into the niece of Batman’s iconic butler, Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Gough), named Barbara Wilson (Alicia Silverstone). Unfortunately for the otherwise talentedAlicia Silverstone, this version of Batgirl is an empty shell of a character. Coupled with the film’s infamously campy tone and the misguided humor that dominates every scene,Batman & Robin’s Batgirl is Batgirl in name only.
Batman and Robin
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6Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes)
‘Batman Begins’ (2005)
The first film inChristopher Nolan’sThe Dark Knighttrilogy is severely underrated, consistently compared to its highly regarded sequel film,The Dark Knight. One aspect of the film that makes it inferior to its incredible sequel is the writing, especially when it comes to Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes). Rachel is a big player inBatman BeginsandThe Dark Knight, but her introduction in the former leaves a sour taste in people’s mouths.
It must be said that the negative reception to Rachel is not Katie Holmes’ fault. She tries her darndest with what she’s given, but the role is simply uninteresting and underdeveloped, and the writing for her role is lackluster and holds the film back a bit. Rachel is probablythe most wasted character inThe Dark Knighttrilogy, a disappointing turn of events given Holmes is a talented and accomplished actor.
Batman Begins
7Coleman Reese (Joshua Harto)
‘The Dark Knight’ (2008)
Coleman Reese (Joshua Harto) is an employee of Wayne Enterprises who plays a major role in the 2008 hitThe Dark Knight. When Coleman Reese discovers that Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) is Batman, he decides to go to Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) and, soon after, goes on Gotham Tonight with the intention of revealing Batman’s identity to the world.
Sadly, Coleman Reese is the worst character inThe Dark Knightsolely due to the fact thathe is just an all-around jerk. His attempt to blackmail Wayne Enterprises with a PR fiasco makes himincredibly unlikable, not to mention stupid, as Fox exhibits his lack of self-preservation by wanting to blackmail a vigilante like Batman. When Reese eventually becomes a target thanks to the Joker’s (Heath Ledger) twisted game, he gets saved by Bruce Wayne, and seeing him humbled down is quite satisfying.
The Dark Knight
8John Daggett (Ben Mendelsohn)
‘The Dark Knight Rises’ (2012)
If there’sa roleBen Mendelsohncan playwell, it’s the snobby and annoying rich guy, and boy, oh boy, does he play it well in 2012’sThe Dark Knight Rises. Although generally considered a solid conclusion to the trilogy,The Dark Knight Risesis also quite messy, and John Daggett is certainly part of that,becoming the worst character in the film for all the right reasons.
Of all the villains inThe Dark Knighttrilogy, John Daggett is one of the most evil without even having any sort of super abilities. He’s just an all-around terrible dude who is there to provoke the audience’s hatred, thanks to just how much of a dislikable human being he is. Unfortunately,the character comes across as simple and one-dimensional, a walking suit who occasionally delivers exposition and snobby insults. He’s more annoying than menacing, and his role was larger than necessary.
The Dark Knight Rises
9Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg)
‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’ (2016)
If there’s anything thatBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justicehas, it’s mixed reviews across the board. An overwhelming majority of fans disagreed with the portrayal of Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) as the film’s villain. One would honestly be living under a rock if they did not know about the divisive response to the film’s depiction of the iconic supervillain.
A character who was supposed to be the big mastermind behind a masterfully diabolical plot to take down The Dark Knight and the Man of Steel turned out to be more of a bad joke. Luthor was further brought down by the overacting given by Jesse Eisenberg, who seems to be playing a different character than Lex Luthor completely. An Oscar nominee,Eisenberg’s talents got wasted in the DCEU, giving him a character with no real meat or purpose.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
10Pete Savage (Alex Ferns)
‘The Batman’ (2022)
2022 brought audiences one of the best superhero and Batman films in a very long time.The Batmanblew audiences away with its stellar writing, cinematography and performances. Even a film filled with dozens of incredibly compelling and interesting players still isn’t invulnerable from a couple of rough-around-the-edges characters, andThe Batman’s worst offender is Pete Savage (Alex Ferns).
Jim Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) is the best character inThe Batman, but he’s not commissioner yet; the title belongs to Pete Savage, who meets his end as the next in the long line of Riddler’s (Paul Dano) victims.Unfortunately for Pete Savage,his character was underutilized, and his death didn’t have the impact it should have. At least, his death allows Gordon to become commissioner once more, but in a movie that juggles so many characters, whatever screen time Savage had would’ve been better utilized elsewhere.
