Villains Appreciation

[Pengy]

The Penguin is my top favorite. Burgess Meredith embodied the character so well it was like watching the comic book character come to life on screen.

He should have gotten an emmy.

[Edward Nigma]

I can't put all of the villains in ranked order (best-to-worst) as trying to find gradations of worthiness between Lola Lasagne, Nora Clavicle and Minerva becomes, for me, an exercise in distinctions without differences.

Still, I can put together a Top Ten:

01 Riddler (Frank Gorshin) (Season 1 and movie)
Really set the standard for a Bat villain from the get-go.

02 Penguin (all seasons and movie)
Of the 'Big Four', the Penguin suffered least from the show's drift from satire to comedy to self-parody. The Penguin was always the same even in the lame adventure with Lola Lasagne.

03 Joker (Season 1)
Great in the first season but became progressively sillier thereafter.

04 (tie) Catwoman (Julie Newmar) (Season 1 + Sandman episodes)
04 Catwoman (Lee Meriwether)
04 Catwoman (Eartha Kitt)
All three were dynamite and brought something unique to the role of Catwoman. Season 2 Catwoman suffered from the same problems that plagued the Joker.

07 Bookworm
Great, edgy villain from Season 1 with interesting motivations.

08 False-Face
Again, another bizarre but fascinating Season 1 villain.

09 Riddler (John Astin)
I know the Astin Riddler episodes part the Bat faithful like Moses parting the sea but I like Astin's alternate take on the Riddler.

10 F.R.E.D.
Best supporting character in Season 3 hands down!!!!!

[clavierankh]

Fred was
Fernando
Ricardo
Enrique
Dominguez
one of Shame's henchmen.

[Edward Nigma]

What about the Riddler Boxing Epi?

I'm not overly fond of the Riddler's Season 3 appearance. Due to the change in the show's tone, he had become silly rather than manic and psychotic. I feel the same way about the Joker in Season 3. Surf's Up! Joker's Under! and The Joker's Flying Saucer are both fun, enjoyable episodes BUT the Joker as a villain is sadly lacking.

[Batfan 66]

Not in order, my favorite villains were:

Riddler
Joker
1st Mr. Freeze
Zelda
Mad Hatter
False Face
Catwoman
Penguin
King Tut
Bookworm
Egghead
Shame
Marsha

Thoughts on these guys:

Minstrel and Archer too similar, didn't like either much.
Clock King handicaps himself, stiff, odd character.
Did not like the puzzler.
Sandman was weak, was much better as The Keeper on Lost in Space.
Black widow talked like she was half drunk...
Lola Lasagne was boring, handicapped the Penguin.
Louie the Lilac really weak! His "First, I corner the perfume market, second, rule the world! ' type of attitude was odd...
Olga weakened Egghead
Prudence? First of all, I was confused on what her angle really was, what did she want? Why was she playing both sides, what for?
Nora Clavicle....bleh.

But who am I to talk, right? I watch and love every episode, and cannot deny it All these villains had a hand in making the show great, so in the end, I'm not complaining