Scary Villians

General goings on in the 1966 Batman World

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BatmanFan102
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Scary Villians

Post by BatmanFan102 »

Did any of the villains actually scare you?

I watched the False Face episodes last night, and he was scary. Not just the mask, not just the voice, but the fact that he was such a master of disguises.

Mad Hatter also freaked me out in my youth with that hat and those really wacky looking eyes inside the top of his hat.

In his first episode, Joker was somewhat scary to me, but not for very long.
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Jim Akin
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Re: Scary Villians

Post by Jim Akin »

As a kid, FF and Mad Hatter (and the Super Instant Mesmeriser) definitely scared me. Sanders' Mr. Freeze, too. And I was totally freaked out when the mummy opened its eyes in The Curse of Tut.
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Pengy
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Re: Scary Villians

Post by Pengy »

I think False Face was the only villain who genuinely had a creepy vibe to him with that plastic featureless mask. Even his laugh was creepy.
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Hecate1966
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Re: Scary Villians

Post by Hecate1966 »

The Joker always spooked me, also The Riddler (though a lot less so).
I feel terrible about saying it but the Penguin... meh.
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Gernot
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Re: Scary Villians

Post by Gernot »

I remember being terrified for Batman and Robin whenever they had to face King Tut and Penguin, and "duel" with them. King Tut's Tutlings with their swords, and even though they only did so once, Penguin and his goons with umbrellas. I can STILL hear Dad's voice: "DON'T run with scissors or umbrellas! You'll poke an EYE out!"

I was always scared for our heroes! :lol:
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Riddler Fan
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Re: Scary Villians

Post by Riddler Fan »

I don't think any of the Bat-Villains ever scared me. It was a case of seeing what familiar face was playing the part. Being only 10 years old when the show first came on the air, the only actors I recognized was John Astin from The Addams Family and Art Carney from The Honeymooners.

That being said, the Bat-Villains who I thought was the most evil were Riddler, Joker and Penguin. Some of the deathtraps were quite scary. Like when Joker tries to gas B&R in a chimney, or feeding Robin to a giant clam. Penguin's vacuum chamber was scary as was the shooting gallery. Riddler trying cut Robin in two, trying to drown B&R in quicksand, dripping them into a vat of hot candle wax and tying them to giant spinning wheels. Catwoman too had some pretty grizzly deathtraps like trying to roast B&R on huge grills, or seeing Batman fight a tiger. So it was the Bat-Villains actions not their characters that gave this 10 year some nightmares.
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Hecate1966
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Re: Scary Villians

Post by Hecate1966 »

Like when Joker tries to gas B&R in a chimney...
'The Joker Trumps an Ace' is the first episode I remember seeing as a kid, at my uncle's house. The whole 'drowning in gas, if you can stay afloat so long...' thing just spooked me out. O.o Probably why I still find The Joker so scary.
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BATWINGED HORNET
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Re: Scary Villians

Post by BATWINGED HORNET »

I never found any of the villains scary at all. Others have mentioned False Face, but he--along with the score composed for that episode--made him seem strange, like some throwback villain, but certainly not frightening.
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Progress Pigment
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Re: Scary Villians

Post by Progress Pigment »

The early Joker and False Face. And I think the mildewed Louie the Lilac scared me a little in reruns when I was eight.

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LittleLouisGroovy
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Re: Scary Villians

Post by LittleLouisGroovy »

False Face. To this day, that shot of him reflected in the vending machine gives me the creeps. Also, while I didn't find Zelda herself frightening, the sight of Aunt Harriet suspended over a vat of flaming oil did scare me. And I agree with Progress Pigment -- the mildewed Louie the Lilac did have a certain scariness.
BatmanFan102
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Re: Scary Villians

Post by BatmanFan102 »

False Face most definitely was the scariest of them all. I never understood why he wasn't featured more than once (one week's worth of episodes that is to say ).

Mr. Freeze was another scary one, due to his powers.

Mad Hatter I concur was very scary especially with that top hat...(shivers)
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The Joker
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Re: Scary Villians

Post by The Joker »

The Joker did in his first episodes THE JOKER IS WILD/BATMAN IS RILED. He seemed so maniacal and crazy when he laughed so endlessly. He was really creepy when he and his gang commandeered the Gotham City television studio and broadcast "What's My Crime?". The in-your-face close-ups of him on television are very memorable as is the clown make-up from the opera scene. JOKER GOES TO SCHOOL eps also came across to me as eerie/creepy but to a lesser degree. I think that's why I became fascinated with the character was from that curiously creepy/scary element in him.
False Face also gave me the creeps. Mr. Freeze a bit too in the cold suit & helmet with freeze gun (not the smoking jacket!) :)
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JWLJN
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Re: Scary Villians

Post by JWLJN »

None scared me as a kid (I knew it was just a show...) but for some reason The Joker in the beginning of the movie (the credits in the yellow spotlight) looked a bit weird to me. I could see Preminger's Freeze being a bit scary to some kids, too.

-J\/\/
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Dr. Shimel
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Re: Scary Villians

Post by Dr. Shimel »

I think George Sanders' Mr. Freeze was by far the scariest of the three, considering his revenge angle, how he had planned on torturing the Duo and just the Nazi-like vibe emanating from him, courtesy of the German accent.

Otto's performance might have been in that category, if it hadn't been for the 21 "Vild"'s, which tends to almost put him in the category of Dr. Cassandra & Cabala--would-be hipsters who are anything but that.

Eli Wallach's effort was entertaining, but by that point in the series, the humor had taken over and there was nothing overly menacing about him.
Quarhog
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Re: Scary Villians

Post by Quarhog »

The Riddler was easily the maddest foe of the Dynamic Duo: he was also the most violent - provided the odds were already in his favour, naturally. Batman's other adversaries were always trying to kill him with a variety of gasses, heavy objects and so on; but did anyone else match the Riddler's capacity for hands on assault. In his very first episode ('Hi Diddle Riddle') he contemplates a helpless Robin while brandishing a scalpel; and later in the same story after Robin speaks out of turn is obviously about to hit him (HE - HE - HE!) before Batman bursts in. In subsequent episodes he snatches away Robin's regulator while underwater, tries to push him down on to a bed of spikes and is just about to push him off a window ledge. Does any other 'Batman' villain possess such an anti-social track record...?
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