The ultimate Batman villain is a deranged psychopath who acts as more of an agent of chaos than an organised criminal. Also known as the Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker is the arch-enemy of the Dark Knight — one capable of such unthinkable evil that can make even Batman shudder.
Batman and Joker
It is true that Batman also has quite a few memorable villains that comprise a well-regarded rogues' gallery, and people are likely burned out on him battling Joker, but the two have been built up as mortal enemies.
And from this moment, the Riddler becomes the Batman's greatest threat of all time. As he has proved, if he can evade all of Batman's security features, there is literally nothing he can do to stop the Riddler from killing a Robin, starting with Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain, short of killing him.
The ultimate Batman villain is a deranged psychopath who acts as more of an agent of chaos than an organised criminal. Also known as the Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker is the arch-enemy of the Dark Knight — one capable of such unthinkable evil that can make even Batman shudder.
Bane has a great deal of respect for Batman; this isn't a secret, the two have fought many times and even become allies at one point. Bane would even take up the mantle of Batman at a later date, when Bruce is once again not around.
Jarro grew attached to Batman and even often calls him “father”. He wanted to prove to Batman that he can be the best Robin and even convinced Batman to give him a chance. Jarro became the new Robin and was even said to be Batman's favorite Robin, admitted by Batman himself.
There's no doubt that recalling the fate of his parents is Bruce's biggest fear and regret. No matter who kills Batman's parents in different media, it's the catalyst to the person he becomes. Bruce spent all his childhood and early adulthood scared of remember what had happened.
The revelation came in the pages of Detective Comics #1017, in which orphan Miguel Flores, having been rescued by Batman and Robin, tells the Dark Knight that his favorite superhero is Superman. Batman reveals that Superman is his favorite too.
Riddler is one of the most intelligent enemies Batman has ever faced, but he's not a fighter.
General Dru-Zod is one of Superman's more prominent enemies. Once the Military Director of the Kryptonian Space Center, Zod had personally known Jor-El when he was an aspiring scientist.
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.
Robin, Batman's vigilante partner, was introduced in the Spring of 1940, Alfred Pennyworth, Batman's butler, was introduced in 1943, and Barbara Gordon was introduced in 1967. The "Batman family", or "Bat-Family", is the informal term for Batman's closest allies; generally masked vigilantes operating in Gotham City.
The Mandarin - Considered by many to be Iron Man's greatest foe, the Mandarin is a Chinese nobleman, scientist and former diplomat turned criminal mastermind. His true power comes from his superhuman mastery of the martial arts and ten rings of power he recovered from an alien spaceship.
The Batman Who Laughs (Bruce Wayne) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the evil counterpart and alternate version of Batman within the Dark Multiverse.
This raises the question as to why Batman was scared of Lex Luthor specifically. The reason Batman's other villains can't compare is that Lex Luthor is the literal foil to Bruce Wayne. Bruce's greatest fear is becoming the very evil he fights against every night, which explains Batman's no-kill rule.
Mild spoilers for Batman: The Knight #10 aheadA lot of people think that Batman's greatest skill is fear because it's a powerful weapon against his enemies, but Batman's actual true power is compassion. Bruce may use terror to keep criminals in line, but when it comes to actually saving people, fear doesn't help.
Batman has trained many young heroes as Robin, and while they have all been impressive on their own, DC just confirmed that one stands above the others in terms of power: Damian Wayne is the most powerful Robin.
In the post-Crisis DC Universe, Jason Todd was tortured and killed by The Joker in the infamous “A Death in the Family” storyline, and while Todd has been resurrected since then, it remains one of the Dark Knight's most tragic moments (and one of The Joker's cruelest).
As for Batman, the Joker respects Batman so much he often seems to define himself by Batman. If Batman is more lighthearted, the Joker becomes more fun. If Batman becomes more serious, he becomes more dangerous in response. Batman and his world seem to be the only things the Joker cares about.
While many may point to the injuries inflicted on Batman by Spawn, Bane, or Hush as the closest he's come to death, one other fight takes the cake. When a Predator showed up in Gotham on a hunt, anyone reading the comic knew he would eventually come into conflict with Batman.
The Norman version of the Green Goblin is usually regarded as Spider-Man's archenemy.