Who is Batman’s First Villain in the Original Comics?

The World’s Greatest Detective would be nothing were it not for the iconic foes he’s faced on the streets of Gotham city. But where did it all start? Who was the first villain to match wits, or trade fists with Batman? A superhero’s journey and longevity is often made or broken by the quality of their rogue’s gallery. Nowhere is that truer than with DC Comics’ caped crusader himself, one of the oldest superhero characters in American comics, The Bat-Man(as the name was originally written).

It would be easy to assume that Batman’s arch-nemesis, the so-called Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker, was his earliest villain, but that is not the case. In fact, readers would only be introduced to the Joker a year after Batman’s first appearance in Detective Comics #27 (1939). So who was Batman’s first villain? Depending on how you look at it, there may be more than one answer.

Chronologically, the first criminal ever to cross paths with Batman is Alfred Stryker in the aforementioned Detective Comics#27, “The Case of the Chemical Syndicate”. Stryker is bent on taking full ownership of the chemical manufacturing business he shares with three other men, by murdering them. The story concludes with Batman “socking” the fiendish Stryker so hard that he crashes through a railing and down, to his death, into a vat of acid. “A fitting ending for his kind,” Batman concludes. This was before the masked vigilante had adopted his one rule: no killing.

However, the first of Batman’s “arch-criminals”, as well as the first to adopt – like the Dark Knight himself – a terrifying persona, is Dr. Death, a genius mad scientist who appeared two issues later in Detective Comics#29. Armed with a deadly “pollen extract” of his own invention, his plan is simple: to exact tribute from the wealthy of Gotham. Though exactly how Dr. Death is going to execute this plan remains shrouded in mystery, he does have the foresight to attempt to trap and kill the Batman before undertaking his plan. He fails, of course. Nevertheless, this entry is further notable, because Dr. Death returns in the following issue (Detective Comics#30) making him in addition the first recurring Batman villain. Dr. Death would be re-imagined in 2013’s “Batman: Zero Year” as the monstrous scientist Karl Helfern, making him much more of a physical threat to Batman.

Canonically, a purist may argue that Batman’s true first villain, the man who pulled the trigger that split Bruce Wayne in two, is Joe Chill, who made his appearance in a flashback in Detective Comics #33. This story elaborates on the Batman’s backstory and establishes Joe Chill as the man who gunned down Thomas and Martha Wayne in front of Bruce as a child. In essence, Joe Chill is the prime mover behind the saga of the Batman, the man who created the darkness within Bruce Wayne from which the Bat would emerge fifteen years later.

So there you have it. The first criminal Batman faced as a vigilante was Alfred Stryker, the first “villain” was Dr. Death, and none of it would have happened without a young Bruce Wayne’s experiences with Joe Chill. It’s up to reader’s which of these characters they consider Batman‘s first true criminal opponent, but one thing’s for certain – none of them were the last.

About The Author