The "Anti-Batman" Dilemma

Apologies in advance for the louder/compressed parts of the video. Moments like those will not be in future videos.

Fun fact: Catman wasn't originally made to be a Batman doppelganger, only created one year after Batman and belonging to a completely different publisher. Catman originally was just a man raised by cats, and he was a hero who had his own comic line with a sidekick named kitten. This comic was actually extremely popular, but the publisher eventually went out of business and catman fell into the public domain. This is why you can find the character in multiple different IPs, from DC comics to Fairly Oddparents.

Owlman is the most interesting doppelganger to me and has so much potential.

Azrael was also a great anti-Batman. Knightfall is a great read

The Batman Who Laughs has such a cool design, but they ran him into the ground because of how popular he became, he's sorta treated like how Injustice Superman is treated by fans. In my opinion, Owlman is the perfect doppelganger for Batman. Not only sonce owl's are seen as predators to bats, but they both are based on animals that operate the best during the night and are often be used as symbols of fear and darkness.

your talk is good, but killer moth is the greatest simply because he was in lego batman. were the others in lego batman? didn’t think so.

Prometheus was intended to be a parody of the typical “anti Batman” trope but then he just kinda stopped being that and turned into exactly what he was supposed to be a satire of Btw the best anti Batman is Bane and it’s not even close (yes I think he counts they literally compare their backstories and mirror them multiple times) and no deathstroke fans slade isn’t a “Batman but evil!” Character….

The problem with these bizzaro Batman types is that Batman himself already looks like a villain so it’s hard to make an evil doppelgänger of him. Another reason they never caught on is Batman already has WAY WAY too many “rival” type characters as is. Let’s see we got Bane, Ra’s, Hush, red hood back when he was mostly an antagonist, Failsafe (who’s just a poor man’s D.A.V.E.) ghost maker, owlman, Prometheus, wrath, kgbeast, BMWL, Talon, and sadly as much as I don’t like deathstroke being a Batman villain I have to count him too and I’m probably MISSING some here! He really doesn’t need anymore!

Each anti-Batman needs to represent a different facet of the Bat. Prometheus is the big-time evil Bat that can wreck any hero with prep time, Killer Moth is works the streets by protecting crooks, and the Wrath is the soldier who's waging war on Gotham's police.

Call me boring, but I think its more interesting to have a character who is a moral and philosophical dark mirror to a superhero than just "Hero but evil." Because a lot of dopplegangers fail on what makes their rival interesting philosophically but understand it visually.

A real shame Killer Moth wasn't really in the Arkham games. Like, he was mentioned, there were easter eggs, etc, but it could have been pretty cool to have a whole side mission about him.

Killer moth is still the greatest

4:08 Killer Moth 7:22 Catman 10:08 Wrath 15:34 Prometheus

Killer Moth actually really works at what he is - the comedic relief underdog - the loveable loser we all root for. I don't get why so many people online insist on making him a serious threat as if Batman Mythos really needed him to be one. Moth has found his niche within the rogues gallery and he works pretty well within that niche. Also - I don't think it's the design why Anti-Batmen don't really stick - it's their personality. Their Anti-ness is so superficial that it is actually really boring. I mean, it is just as you said, so many of Batman's villains already clearly reflect his personality that a pure "Evil version" isn't needed. And what is the purpose of an Anti-Batman anyway? To have a Villain that is a true equal? Both in physical ability, access to resources, and tactical ability? Well in that case we already have an Anti-Batman who managed to stick around as a serious threat. It's Bane. Bane is everything you would get out of an Anti-Batman with the sole exception that his silhouette isn't a straight-up recoloring of Batman's. Aslo also, dude - the entire loud equals funny joke really hurts your video, man.

The one thing that bothers me about the wrath is that the killer is connected to one of the established characters. One of the most important characters. The cop that did it has to be a Joe Chill. A do nothing nobody who’s only act of note was making Batman/Wrath. But his character being someone who hates the police because one of them got away with murder essentially scot free is amazing. And very deliberately uncomfortably realistic. Any person in the wrong place at the wrong time can get shot and Justice is hard to get.

I think there is also an at least decent anti Batman in “Batman: Detective”. Essentially a criminal that Batman didn’t let die, killed the family of a merc woman who actually trained with Batman before he was Batman, and she decides to wear a full white bat suit and attempts to kill everyone Batman has saved (more street level saving with records rather than universe scale). It kinda ends up being a less valid version of the red hood concept but still has some interesting tidbits. Hell you could consider red hood an evil Batman (he even has done it directly at times) but it’s not much of an exact and he’s usually a good guy nowadays.

great video but the sudden changes in volume made it hard as a headphone user. jokes would probably turn out the same without the volume spike maybe have camera shake for emphasis instead so it’s a visual display instead of auditory. either way can’t wait to see the next video

DC Catman is a really weird but fun take of the character but I prefer the orginal David MerryWeather - Catman from the 40s. Keep up the great work I learned a lot watching this.

I think black mask is the best one. Instead of witnessing his rich parents deaths, he orchestrated it. Rather than use the inheritence to fight crime, he uses it to buy his way in essentially. And where you have the "batman's mask is Bruce Wayne," black mask's mask is... his whole personality now. I think he's perfect reflection. He's the perfect anti for both Bruce and batman

I still think The Batman's version of Wrath is the best "Evil Batman" we have that's not a literal evil Batman like Owlman or The Batman Who Talks. He's a great amalgamation of the other anti-Batmen you mentioned. He's got the backstory and look of the original, but the color scheme of Catman helps him stand out against the Dark Knight while not looking completely garish like his comics counterpart. Not to mention Scorn's monochromatic color scheme is a great contrast to the bright and colorful Robin as well, so kudos there. And he's got the inverted morality and M.O. of Killer Moth as a protector of criminals, which really digs into the motivation of Batman and warps it. Wrath's parents were arrested/killed like Bruce's, so he dedicates his life to protecting others against those who wronged him in the past. The catch is, he's protecting evil people from those who wish to seek justice. It's much more interesting than him just being a glorified serial killer with a hate boner for cops.