Batman villains rehabilitated?

[moonfly7]

Anybody know of any Else Worlds or otherwise comics out there where Batman rehabilitated his villains and/or makes them heros or at least hires them at Wayne enterprises? Failing that, are there any good fanfictions that fit this description?

[NotASpiderSwarm]

Riddler went clean for a while, basically from Paul Dini's run on Detective Comics up until the New52. A really good version of the char, IMO.

[Tvtyrant]

Pretty much all of them at one point or another. White Knight has the Joker reform Gotham PD, Hush had Two-Face become a lawyer again, Ivy got redeemed a while ago, Freeze got redeemed and then rewritten as a stalker monster soon after, etc.

I think Ras and Bane are just about the only ones who haven't been, and they are more like invading warlords then consistent villains.

[Ramza00]

I think Ras and Bane are just about the only ones who haven't been, and they are more like invading warlords then consistent villains.

Both of them also were villains added to the Batman rogue gallery designed to give him more serious mastermind competition. Put another way a mirror to Batman.

One in the 70s, the other in the 90s. To my understanding Hush is a similar typed villain added in the 00s. Batman more or less gains a new similar villain every 10 years or so.

[paddyfool]

I think Ras and Bane are just about the only ones who haven't been, and they are more like invading warlords then consistent villains.

While far from rehabilitated, Bane did have a very sympathetic treatment when he appeared in Secret six, resisting torture to protect his teammates etc.

[jayem]

TV wise Catwoman gets a half rehabilitation, and I think there's some more (plus king tut gets rehabilitated every odd bump to the head)

[Lord Haart]

Well, the Justice Lords in that one mirror universe episode of JL:TAS managed to rehabilitate or kill every Batman villain… For a docile lobotomised measure of "rehabilitated", anyway. Joker manages to be a **** regardless.

[Wraith]

In No-Man's Land, the villains Lockdown and KGBeast take over Riker's Penitentiary on Batman's behalf, acting as incredibly efficient wardens for the super-criminals that had nowhere else to go. They weren't rehabilitated as such, but their talents were put to good use in exchange for leniency later on, and for Batman resisting the urge to beat them to a pulp at any given moment in the meantime.

As paddyfool mentioned above, Secret Six featured Bane and a number of other Bat-villains who were portrayed in a pretty decent light - the renewed version of Catman was, I thought, an excellent character.
To put it broadly, they were a group who splintered off from the Suicide Squad and eventually became an independent mercenary team, which meant that while shady they spent most of their time maiming other villains while not being manipulated by even worse people like Amanda Waller. They're still Bad Guys, but more of the mid-grey variety with some genuinely generous moments.

There's also a number of comics where Bruce Wayne is walking through his offices/factories and stops to greet someone who used to be a low-level goon who, instead of the customary Bat-beating, was given a business card and told to show up for work the next day. This is usually in the story lines where Batman is himself more sympathetic and more of a philanthropist than just a vigilante, so a lot of authors don't really show it.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

Ivy got redeemed a while ago

I don't know if this happened during her redeemed period, but I remember a Swamp Thing comic where Swamp Thing was lost in another dimension for a few years (it was shorter on the inside) and Poison Ivy was one of the people who barely managed to keep the Parliament of Trees (the heart of all plant life) safe in his absence.

I figured this was a case of "she may be evil, but she will always choose plants over no plants".

EDIT: thinking about it, this was probably some sort of quickly retconned averted future, but the start of it could still have been inside her redeemed period.

[Rogar Demonblud]

BTAS put The Ventriloquist on this path as well.

[LibraryOgre]

As mentioned above, Riddler got rehabilitated as a Private Investigator. The few times I saw it, he wound up having a lot of contact with his fellow rogues, and kind of had to dance a line between "I'm on the side of law" and "I'm not giving you up to Batman, Penguin, I'm protecting you."

I think part of what happened with Poison Ivy is a shift in public perception... she went from "crazy ecoterrorist" to "lady with good point but excessive methods" without changing too much.

And, of course, Bane, Catman, and Deadshot all got a bit of a polish in Secret Six. Bane was shown to have a fatherly, loyal, side. Catman had a bit of nobility, including a flirtation with Huntress. Deadshot was, of course, shown to be a complete *******, but able to be bribed into passable behavior, even if he really didn't understand WHY that was passable behavior.

Harley Quinn has also moved a bit more grey in her presentation, after they moved her away from Joker and towards Ivy.

[Rogar Demonblud]

Harley did that back in BTAS, so like a year after she debuted.

[Tvtyrant]

While far from rehabilitated, Bane did have a very sympathetic treatment when he appeared in Secret six, resisting torture to protect his teammates etc.

Was that before or after he reconquered Gotham from both the Arkham villains and the Court of Owls only for Batman to jump him? That was probably my favorite Bane arc, because it shows that all he needs is to leave Gotham alone but beating Batman is more important then any ambition or philosophy.

[Traab]

Bane had an entire arc where he was the brother of bruce wayne and a good guy iirc. Cant remember the full details of that set. Honestly, im pretty sure every bad guy in every comic book series has had at least a brief face turn before of course going back to heel status. Its a pretty common story trope.

[Tvtyrant]

Bane had an entire arc where he was the brother of bruce wayne and a good guy iirc. Cant remember the full details of that set. Honestly, im pretty sure every bad guy in every comic book series has had at least a brief face turn before of course going back to heel status. Its a pretty common story trope.

That's... Some bad writing. Less redemption and more just retconning him into a completely unrelated character. Someone kidnapped a baby and flew it to Prisca to torture it for an unrelated person's crimes?

[Anteros]

In recent history you have Catwoman who is obviously part of the Bat family now. Clayface was also recently a part of the team in Detective Comics. Red Hood goes back and forth between a member of the family and being a discount punisher depending on who is writing him.

[jayem]

There's also a number of comics where Bruce Wayne is walking through his offices/factories and stops to greet someone who used to be a low-level goon who, instead of the customary Bat-beating, was given a business card and told to show up for work the next day. This is usually in the story lines where Batman is himself more sympathetic and more of a philanthropist than just a vigilante, so a lot of authors don't really show it.

Seeing Philanthropist and vigilante. That would work really well with Green Hornet. "I need someone on the inside of the Daily Sentinal, someone who looks just like a model citizen till my plan is ready..."

[HolyDraconus]

To slightly hijack the thread, is there a Bat villain that HASN'T be rehabbed? I remember Penguin rehabbed, and if you count Harley Quinn the show, Kite Man is on that boat too ( or atleast, doesn't do criminal things). Hell, of the main rogues, I think Man-Bat and Victor Zsasz are the only two that doesn't have an appearance as turned.

[Rynjin]

It would be...very odd if Zzasz were ever rehabilitated. Of all Batman's villains he feels the most irredeemable, besides the Joker. He's too much of a very REAL kind of villain for a redemption story to ever be taken seriously.

[J-H]

But Doctor, I am Pagliacci has a sane Joker... but it's an fanfic AU with no Batman and some other changes.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

IIRC, Martian Manhunter actually managed to turn Joker sane once. Doing it drove MM insane, but still...

And there was one comic where Batman died and Joker went straight.

[Wraith]

To slightly hijack the thread, is there a Bat villain that HASN'T be rehabbed? I remember Penguin rehabbed, and if you count Harley Quinn the show, Kite Man is on that boat too ( or atleast, doesn't do criminal things).

Ra's and Tali al Ghul haven't ever been on a "redemption" plotline, to my knowledge. Ra's is unapologetically fanatical to his cause and even being dead a few times hasn't changed his mind, whereas Talia has occasionally broken away from the League of Shadows, but usually only to start up her own enterprise or to sign up with someone even worse, like Lex Luthor.

Lady Shiva is similarly above such petty things as morality, she just intends to be the greatest martial artists no matter what it takes. She has repeatedly fought the entire Bat-family and almost killed most of them, but has also trained a lot of them including Batman, both for money and for the prestige of being able to say that she did it.

Black Mask is an unrepentant monster, kind of like Joker only his schtick is "evil" rather than "insane".

Calendar Man is an interesting example. He used to be a joke villain with a gimmick like stealing all the chocolate in the city on Valentine's Day or whatever, up until The Long Midnight when he was turned into a character more like Hannibal Lector. That includes the glass-fronted cell at Arkham, the weirdly prophetic knowledge of what was going on, and his sinister flirtation with the people sent to interview him.
Not only has he not had a redemptive arc, but the best one he's been in has actually made him scarier.

[Durkoala]

But Doctor, I am Pagliacci has a sane Joker... but it's an fanfic AU with no Batman and some other changes.

This was excellent, thanks for sharing it.

Spoiler

Show

Although, saying there's 'some' changes is a very large understatement.

[HolyDraconus]

It would be...very odd if Zzasz were ever rehabilitated. Of all Batman's villains he feels the most irredeemable, besides the Joker. He's too much of a very REAL kind of villain for a redemption story to ever be taken seriously.

So its kinda funny that you said this. Cause I was like, you're right and laughed, and you probably was like, yup, and laughed and we all just kept going... but..

Spoiler: but....

Show

Season 2 of Harley Quinn happened... and Zzasz freaking reformed. WHAT THE ****!

[Ramza00]

Calendar Man is an interesting example. He used to be a joke villain with a gimmick like stealing all the chocolate in the city on Valentine's Day or whatever, up until The Long Midnight when he was turned into a character more like Hannibal Lector. That includes the glass-fronted cell at Arkham, the weirdly prophetic knowledge of what was going on, and his sinister flirtation with the people sent to interview him.
Not only has he not had a redemptive arc, but the best one he's been in has actually made him scarier.

Sidenote I crave more Calendar Girl content.

[Devonix]

A lot of times when a Batman villain get's rehabilitates. They don't quite go back to villains naturally. It's just that another writer wants to use them in a story and just ignores that they were rehabilitated. Take The Riddler. He went straight for quite a while as a great detective, and had some wonderful stories with batman and other detectives in DC.

Then one day without warning he was a villain again without explination. Two Face went straight for a number of years, but after 52 they wanted to reset Batman's status quo so he went villain again. I'm pretty sure Clayface is still a good guy right now.

[Psyren]

So its kinda funny that you said this. Cause I was like, you're right and laughed, and you probably was like, yup, and laughed and we all just kept going... but..

Spoiler: but....

Show

Season 2 of Harley Quinn happened... and Zzasz freaking reformed. WHAT THE ****!

Wasn't that Rule of Funny? Bane's random hole in the ground with him as the sole "warden" for a few weeks being far more effective at rehabilitation than years of Arkham (until Harley arrived, of course) was more or less the joke, no?

(And the hole wasn't even his idea, it was just Dent getting rid of him and his constant nagging to be a more equal partner, because Bane got the Knuckles Boom treatment - again, due to Rule of Funny.)

Calendar Man is an interesting example. He used to be a joke villain with a gimmick like stealing all the chocolate in the city on Valentine's Day or whatever, up until The Long Midnight when he was turned into a character more like Hannibal Lector. That includes the glass-fronted cell at Arkham, the weirdly prophetic knowledge of what was going on, and his sinister flirtation with the people sent to interview him.
Not only has he not had a redemptive arc, but the best one he's been in has actually made him scarier.

I kinda love the idea of those gimmicky joke villains getting remade into more hardcore baddies. MovieBob's idea of Clock King becoming an A-list Flash villain stuck out to me as an idea with potential.

[Wraith]

I kinda love the idea of those gimmicky joke villains getting remade into more hardcore baddies. MovieBob's idea of Clock King becoming an A-list Flash villain stuck out to me as an idea with potential.

One of the things that I have always loved about Batman is, this applies to his entire rogue's gallery. And some of the best stories occur when the writers decide to exercise that possibility, as they did in The Long Halloween.

The Penguin is some guy with congenial birth defects who dresses in a tux and makes bird puns. He's also Oswald Cobblepot, underworld crimeboss and Godfather-type figure who could make Al Capone look like a poor street urchin if he ever decided to do so.

The Riddler, as has been mentioned above, is one of the single most intelligent people in the DC world, hamstrung only by his crippling OCD to make his crimes into a game. When he goes straight, he's like Sherlock Holmnes and runs rings around just about everyone he comes across.

Waylan Jones is a big, dumb brute with bumpy skin and a bit of super-strength that, nonetheless, doesn't quite stack up to anything like the guys that Superman has to tangle with. He's also Killer Croc, an enormous redneck Actual Cannibal who lives in the sewers and stalks human prey when he comes out under the cover of darkness.

...Condiment Man would be a bit of a stretch, to be fair, though you could probably come up with some kind of serial poisoner, or possibly a Soylent Green situation depending on your... tastes.

[Psyren]

Condiment Man being Kite Man's sworn archnemesis in HQ was genius - and they used it not only to remix a bunch of tired rom-com cliches into something fresh, but also for some of the most entertaining dialogue I've heard on the show.

[Ramza00]

I want a future where we get live action Clayface and Kite-Man, played by James Marsden as Clayface, and Chris Evans as Kite-Man.