Top 10 Worst Batman TV Show Villains

I wanted to do this list a long time ago but my memory of the show was so hazy I didn't bother. Well now that I've fixed that by watching all 120 episodes, we can finally discuss the ten villains I thought were the worst. There were a lot of villains that came through this show, and some were obviously better than others. What about a favorite list? Nah because that would be so easy it's not fun. Joker would be #1. 

So in order to make this list the character needs to be a complete fail. Sometimes a lame villain can be brought up by a good actor having fun playing them. And other times a great villain can be done in by an actor who isn't interested at all. These ten have the whole package. 

#10.Louie the Lilac

Wow, I really forgot what this character was all bout. He is higher than I expected because he was better than I remembered. He was kind of well played (the first time anyway). However the concept and master plan is still ridiculously stupid. He was a gangster who now wanted flower power. Just in case you forgot this was made in the 60's. And in his second episode Milton Berle did nothing to appear even remotely interested in being there. 

#9.Sandman/Lola Lasagna 

While it's not his fault Catwoman was jammed into the episode, he truth is I don't think there is any way he could have filled a whole show. The gimmick was lame and the plot so weak they had to jam a Catwoman plot in there. As for Lola, she was jammed into a Penguin store and added very little if anything. Ethel Merman is always a delight but she had nothing to do. 

#8.Zelda the Great

She wasn't even really a villain. She was a wanna be magician being forced to do evil things by a magician who was the real villain. This was so lame I couldn't even be bothered to remember his name (or look it up again). This was the first episode in my re-watch that utterly bored me. I am glad Anne Baxter came back as Olga because she is a great lady. But this villain was just plain dull. 

#7.Clock King

So let's go over this one. I forgot the episode two seconds after I saw it. The villain had a lame clock gimmick that went nowhere. And the actor did nothing to make the role memorable. This was an awful villain from start to finish. So awful that I forgot him yet again while making this list! The only upside is the actor Walter Slezak is having fun with the role. 

#6.The Puzzler

While I can understand that this was supposed to be a Riddler episode, that doesn't excuse the lackluster performance we get from Maurice Evans. True the plot is stupid but the villain was lame. Riddler has a reason for his riddles, what the heck motivates this guy? The whole thing is so confused we get an aviation plot, for reasons. 

#5.Lord Marmaducke Fogg and his sister Penelope Peasoup

This was a mess on several levels. The script was a drawn out mess, but it didn't help that the villains were just so boring. Two jewel thieves, and that somehow means Batman and Robin have to go to London. All Fogg had was a fog maker in his pipe, and I never knew England was always foggy. I love Glynnis Johns but she provided even less here. These two were so dull they needed a third character who flipped back and forth whether she was good or evil. And while she was a little more interesting, not enough. 

#4.Nora Clavicle

I had a hard time with the choice. As an episode, it's a mess. But that rampant sexism in the show isn't the villain's fault. So let's take the sexism out and what do we have? A boring woman's rights activist who wants to blow up the city with exploding mice for the insurance- so she replaces the male cops with women knowing they would be useless. Great plan. The big problem that puts her is that the actress Barbara Rush just can't bring a thing to this role to make it interesting. 

#3.The Minstrel

This guy couldn't settle on a gimmick it felt like. He had a weird medieval lair but would sing lame songs all day. Then it was presented like he was as smart as Batman. Not a bad idea but they never really made that believable. Van Johnson was a a fine actor I'm sure but he presented nothing here to make him stand out in any way. 

#2.The Archer

This is easily the most phoned in performance I saw on this show. Did Art Carny even care? Why did he even sign up for the role? The Archer was a bad idea anyway, a robin good knockoff who liked applause for some reason. I don't remember Robin Hood being into applause (of course I don't know much about that character anyway). The worst part is that this was the first episode of the season 2. What a start. 

#1.Riddler played by John Astin

It's easy to say that the reason Astin wasn't very good is because he had Gorshin's shadow hoveving over him. But if you remember, we had three different actrress's as Catewoman and they each brought something special to the role to make them work. Fans love all three. The same with the actors playing Mr.Freeze, none of them wee horrible and they each played the character to their strengths. Astin seemed to be channeling Gorshin at times and other times Gomez Addams. It's possible he was just the wrong actor for the role, period, but just because Gorshin put his mark on it doesn't mean Astin couldn't. Especially when unlike these other characters here, Riddler was not made up for the show. Yeah the episode was lame no matter who played Riddler, with him leaving puzzles and using a pen light weapon which was totally unbelievable, but Astin took an opportunity to do something different with a character and wasted it. It was so bad producers begged Goshin to return in season 3, which he did thankfully. 

That's all for now my friends. Happy Batman Day!