Batman Villain Led Movies Ranked

Batman Villain Led Movies Ranked

This weekend, Clayface drops in theaters. That means we have a new Batman villain led movie which now means we have 7 movies where a Batman villain led the movie. With that in mind, here is my ranking of the 7 Batman villain led movies. Let us get started!

7. Catwoman: Despite being a massive comic book movie fan and a fan of Batman, I had not seen Catwoman until watching it for this ranking. I went into this movie hearing nothing but terrible things about it and having a reputation as one of the worst comic book movies of all time. I was not ready for just how bad this movie was. It is a movie that’s titled Catwoman but does not have anything to do with Catwoman that we know from the Batman lore, our lead character is not even Selena Kyle. On every single, this movie is bad and does not do anything right. I knew this movie was going to be bad when it started, and they tie Egyptian lore into Catwoman’s origins, and she comes back to life because of magical cats. Catwoman as a character is grounded, she is a cat burglar stealing stuff. It is just a very weird thing to have a movie starring a grounded character and add in fantastical and magical elements, it does not make much sense. If that was not bad enough the plot of the movie involves Sharon Stone as the CEO for this evil makeup corporation and the final battle between Catwoman and Stone involves this makeup that gives her superpowers. It is stupid as can be and does not work at all. None of the ideas present in this movie are good and makes for a bad movie. What is frustrating about this movie is that these ideas can be fixed if it were set in Gotham and had the Batman lore and characters and I think the movie would be better. It would not be better by a lot, but it would be better.

6. Joker: Folie Á Deux: One of the most polarizing, disappointing, and unique comic book movies of all time. It is a movie that is deeply flawed and takes some big, bold swings that I do not think entirely pay off. Despite not liking the choices they make, I respect the ambition of the movie. We do not get a lot of big, bold swings that have a $200 million budget so the fact that Joker: Folie Á Deux is that is weird and different. At the same time, this movie feels like it exists to alienate the fans of Joker (2019). It feels like Todd Phillips was not happy with the response to the 2019 film and what people took away from the movie, so he made this movie as a middle finger to the fans. Is that a smart idea? Maybe not, but I like that they took a risk. I think this film feeling alienating to the 2019 film is what holds it back. The choices it makes and what it does in the back half of the movie I think is risky and I do not like it. This movie actively undoes the ending of 2019 and Arthur’s arc in that film. That is not exciting and not what I want from this movie. I remember when I first watched this movie, I left the movie with such a sour taste in my mouth because it ends on this bad note. Some people are going to love the big, bold swings and get something different out of it and instead of seeing a mess, they see a cinematic masterpiece. I wish I could have a cinematic masterpiece, but I simply cannot. With that said, the movie looks gorgeous. There are some stunning shots and visuals in this movie and how it uses the cinematography that makes the film visually appealing. Even a simple shot of Joker smoking a cigarette and the only light is the fire, it is a simple shot, but it works. Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga are giving great performances as they always do. There are redeemable qualities in this movie, but it is all overshadowed by a messy and frustrating movie. 

5. Suicide Squad (2016): This is an interesting movie because it is famous or infamous for not being good, but because of when it released during the height of comic book movies it still made $750 million. I will say this, while this movie has its fair share of flaws and it is not a great movie, I do not think it is as bad as some people make it out to be. I still have fun watching this movie, there is plenty of entertainment whether that is from the cast or the humor. I am never bored watching this movie. The big positive about this movie is the cast. Everybody in here is having a lot of fun playing these characters. The big standout here is of course Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn who is the best piece of casting to come out of the DCEU. Robbie had a breakout performance a few years earlier with The Wolf of Wall Street, but in terms of movie stardom this was the movie that propelled her to stardom. She can capture the mannerisms and the weirdness of Harley Quinn so well, and there is a reason she became a fan favorite character. With all that said, this movie is one of the most infamous examples of WB micromanaging DC movies and so after the negative response to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice but the high praise for Deadpool, they decided to rework the movie to fit the lighter tone of Deadpool. David Ayer was only given like six weeks to write the script which is not a lot. When you watch the movie, you can tell that it was reworked. They used pop songs as a way of character development, even though Ayer had an actual score for his movie and no pop songs. Jared Leto’s Joker played a bigger part in the version that Ayer wrote. Touching on Leto’s Joker, I am not saying anything new here…but it is not a good portrayal of the character. It is not a flat-out bad movie; I would not say that. There is still plenty of entertainment value here. But this could’ve and should have been so much better. 

NOTE: There is a big gap between #5 on the list and $4 on this list. The bottom three on here I would go negative on. The top 4 on the list I would give a B+ and above, so I really like the rest of the movies. 

4. Clayface: The latest Batman villain movie on this list and as I just said, I really dug this movie. This was one of my most anticipated movies of 2026 and the fall and leaving the theater, I got exactly what I wanted. What I loved about this movie is that it feels so fresh and different within the comic book movie genre. It is a body horror film, and we do not have one of those inside the genre. This is the first time that we have gotten a full-blown horror film in the genre, we have Blade and Constantine that dabble in the supernatural, but I would not say those are horror movies. Clayface is a full-blown horror movie with gnarly and nasty imagery from beginning to end. It helps that Mike Flanagan wrote the script as he is one of the top guys in horror right now. The other thing that works so well about this movie is that it lets Clayface be a villain. They did not try to make him an anti-hero like the SPUMC movies did. No, Clayface does evil and bad things in this movie and they let him be a villain. That is what I liked about The Penguin, Joker (2019), and this film, they let our lead be a villain. There is a sense in which you feel bad for him because he starts off as a normal and good person but slowly turns into the monster, but the monster is what we want from the character in the other sense. I liked our lead actor and his performance in the movie; he was able to balance the different sides of the character well. But most importantly, when this movie ended, I was excited to see more of the character, and I hope we get more of him sooner rather than later. To be clear, it does have its flaws in the movie. I do wish that Gotham were handled differently, I wish it felt more like a character and lived in. Especially since this is our introduction to Gotham in the DCU, I was disappointed by that. There are a few other things in terms of the side characters and pacing, but overall, I dug this movie. 

3. Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn: A movie that is a lot more polarizing than I thought it would be. I remember watching this movie opening night and leaving the theater, I really dug the movie and watching the movie six years later, I still really dig this movie. I do not really get why people hate this movie; it has fun characters, vibrant colors, and a fun world to explore. But hey to each their own. What I like about this movie is that it is not this big ambitious movie about the city, the world, or the multiverse being in trouble. It is a movie that takes place in Gotham City, and it is a small-scale crime movie. When we have so many comic book movies that are trying to be this big and ambitious story, it is refreshing to get this movie that is the complete opposite. Beyond that, it is a very stylized movie where you have the title cards for each of our characters appear on screen. The stylized nature of the movie fits perfectly with the chaotic energy and vibe of Harley Quinn and her being an unrealizable narrator it adds in this extra layer of fun to the entire thing. Speaking of Harley Quinn, I really love what they do with her. They give her a character arc; she does grow and change throughout the film, but she is still the same Harley Quinn that we see in both Suicide Squad movies. Robbie continues to be so much fun in this role and since she is the title character she gets more moments to be fun and wacky. Also, I love Ewan McGregor as Black Mask, he is playing such a despicable and petty villain that you hate. It is fun to see an actor like McGregor having a blast with this role and he is one of the most under-appreciated castings in comic book movie history. The movie does not have any big issues in my mind; it is a fun movie, but it is not a top tier comic book movie in my mind.

2. The Suicide Squad (2021): After a disappointing Suicide Squad movie directed by David Ayer, James Gunn took over the franchise and delivered a much better Suicide Squad movie that I love. The movie does have several similarities with Guardians of the Galaxy in exploring these ideas of misunderstood weirdos. But the Suicide Squad members themselves are different enough from the Guardians of the Galaxy plus mixed with this R-rating and tons of violence, I do not view the movies similar at all. With that said, this movie does deliver a lot of what Gunn is good at. Which is taking these misunderstood characters and making them these great fan favorite characters. He takes a character as weird as Polka-Dot Man and turns him into this great character that gets his victory moment in the third act. Only Gunn could make a great character out of somebody named Polka-Dot Man. But he is also able to do this with other characters like Ratcatcher II and King Shark. I love that WB and DC gave Gunn full creative control to tell the Suicide Squad movie he wanted to tell. It is unashamedly goofy, corny, violent, and nasty. We live in an era where so many comic book movies are generic and can feel like corporate products. You watch this movie and all the genericness of other comic book movies is not at all present in this movie. It feels like WB learned their lessons after the 2016 failed and they let Gunn have full creative control with this movie. It is also very practical, in terms of using practical environments. The opening sequence on the beach has a bunch of explosions, they were filming on a beach with explosions. When you know it is practical and the actors were there, it feels so much more real compared to green screen and CGI.

 

1. Joker: I was very curious to watch this movie again. This was the first time I would re-watch this movie since Joker: Folie Á Deux came out. Given its placement on this ranking, you can assume that I still really dig this movie. Honestly, my thoughts and feelings on the film did not really diminish based on Folie Á Deux. I find Joker to be one of the most interesting and unique comic book movies out there. As this movie does none of the norms we see in most other comic book movies. Most movies end in a big CGI fight with a showdown between our hero and villain. This movie’s third act is all about explaining movies’ thesis and the messaging. It is a movie that is focused more on messaging and having something to say rather than entertaining the audience. Since we do not have a lot of comic book movies like that, getting one like this is really refreshing. It has a very distinct and unique voice in an oversaturated genre. It does what other comic book movies should do which is pulling in outside inspirations. The obvious inspirations and points of comparisons with this movie would be Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy, both Martin Scorsese movies. Why has The Dark Knight aged well with time? Because it does not feel like other comic book movies. Joker might age well because it is doing something similar. It is one of the big reasons why I appreciated and loved this movie and why it is still one of my favorite comic book movies. From there, you also must talk about Joaquin Phoenix. This movie and this role give a world class actor like Phoenix to really shine through and be awesome. He is having to play this character at different stages, starting off normal but slowly transitioning into the chaotic and madness of the Joker. I know a lot of people might not be as high on this movie after Folie Á Deux and I get that, but that is not my experience with the film.