All 5 Villains In Batman Begins

Batman Begins, the first film in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, featured multiple bad guys for Gotham City’s protector to fight. When it comes to superhero origin stories, Batman’s is right up there with Spider-Man and Superman as a story that’s probably been told enough times at this point. Every new incarnation of Batman, whether live-action or animated, tends to at least flashback to the night Thomas and Martha Wayne were murdered, setting in motion the events that led their son Bruce to use his family fortune to fight crime.

While 2005’s Batman Begins again depicted the death of Bruce Wayne’s parents, it also did something that hadn’t yet been done on the big screen: showcase the early years of Batman. In 1966’s Batman: The Movie and 1989’s Batman, the titular hero was already fully formed and terrorizing the Gotham underworld when the film began. With Batman Begins, fans finally got to see Bruce’s time toughening himself up by willfully entering into dangerous locations and situations, then subsequently learning the brutal techniques of the League of Shadows.

Adding to Batman Begins‘ feeling of freshness was the use of villains that had never before been depicted in a live-action movie, such as Ra’s al Ghul and The Scarecrow. This choice made sense, given the plot, as this still developing version of Batman wasn’t quite ready for a signature foe like The Joker or The Riddler. Here’s the full roster of opponents Batman battled in his first Nolan outing.

Ra’s al Ghul (Liam Neeson)

Ra’s al Ghul was first introduced to the world of DC Comics back in 1971, and has been a consistent thorn in Batman’s side ever since, along with several other DC heroes. In Batman Begins, Ra’s is played by Liam Neeson, although that’s revealed in a third act twist. Up until then, Bruce had thought a decoy played by Ken Watanabe was Ra’s, and had been killed when the League of Shadows’ temple had burned down.

Near the end of the film, Batman confronts Ra’s on Gotham’s monorail train, preventing him from releasing Scarecrow’s fear toxin into the city’s water supply. As is usual for the Caped Crusader, he refuses to personally kill Ra’s, but does allow him to die when the train crashes. Many felt that action was out of character for Batman, as his established code probably should’ve compelled him to save Ra’s life instead of allow him to be killed.

The Scarecrow, aka Dr. Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphy)

First appearing on the pages of DC Comics all the way back in 1941, The Scarecrow is one of Batman’s oldest foes, and famously uses fear to torment and get the upper hand on his opponents. In Batman Begins, Crane (played by 28 Days Later‘s Cillian Murphy) is a psychopharmacologist working as the head of Arkham Asylum. The problem is, Crane is even more insane than most of the patients in his care, and is utterly devoid of ethics.

Crane conspires with Ra’s al Ghul and the League of Shadows to try and destroy Gotham City by releasing his fear toxin straight into the water supply. Batman is able to prevent that mission from succeeding, but not without getting a taste of the toxin himself, and losing The Narrows to chaos. Unlike Ra’s, The Scarecrow survives the film, making amusing cameos in both 2008’s The Dark Knight and 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises.

Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson)

First appearing in DC Comics back in 1986, Carmine “The Roman” Falcone is the top mafia boss in Gotham City, controlling the city’s non-supervillain criminal underworld. Played by Michael Clayton‘s Tom Wilkinson in Batman Begins, Falcone played a vital role in Bruce Wayne’s eventual evolution into Batman, sparing his life after Bruce confronted him solely to illustrate the level of power he truly wields in the city.

Falcone happily teamed up with Scarecrow and Ra’s al Ghul to smuggle in needed ingredients for their plan to unleash fear toxin on Gotham’s residents, in exchange for Crane using his influence as head of Arkham to get Falcone’s henchmen ruled insane and not sent to prison. After Batman orchestrates Falcone’s capture by police though, the don tries to blackmail Crane, and quickly comes to realize why that was a terrible decision.

Victor Zsasz (Tim Booth)

He may not get much to do in Batman Begins, but Victor Zsasz is actually one of the deadliest villains in the world of DC, even without superpowers. Introduced in 1992, Zsasz is a serial killer who loves his work, and gets off on torturing his victims. In some portrayals, he’s also sometimes an assassin for or right-hand man to a bigger bad guy. Zsasz is a true psychopath, with no redeeming qualities, and infamously carves a mark onto his body for every kill.

In Batman Begins, Zsasz, who in the film is an assassin for Carmine Falcone, is put on trial, only to be ruled insane thanks to Jonathan Crane. He’s sent to Arkham, but later breaks out, and attempts to attack Rachel Dawes during the chaos in The Narrows. Thankfully, Batman is able to save her. Interestingly, promotional materials for The Dark Knight revealed that Zsasz remained at large, which certainly wasn’t good for anyone in Gotham.

Joe Chill (Richard Brake)

First appearing in DC Comics back in 1939, Joe Chill is – at least in most depictions of Batman’s origin story – a mugger who shoots and kills Bruce Wayne’s parents Thomas and Martha in an alley outside of a movie theater. In most versions, Chill is a simple lowlife hood looking to rob a wealthy couple, and there’s no ulterior motivation for his actions. This works well, as it gives Batman a reason to hate all criminals, petty or otherwise.

In Batman Begins, Chill (played by 3 From Hell‘s Richard Brake)  is convicted of murdering the Waynes, and serves 14 years in prison before flipping on his cellmate, who happens to be Carmine Falcone. This was a dumb move, as immediately after Chill gets parole, Falcone’s assassins kill him. That act angers Bruce, who had planned to kill Chill himself and get revenge for his parents. Thankfully, that didn’t happen, and Batman was ultimately born.

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