From the Joker to the Riddler to Lex Luthor to General Zod , the DC Comics universe is home to some of the most iconic villain ever created . Directors like Tim Burton and Richard Donner have faithfully accommodate the cartoonish bad hombre from the pages of comical books , while filmmakers like Christopher Nolan and Matt Reeves have make out up with more grounded takes on the characters .

Not every DC villain performance is as not bad as Heath Ledger ’s Oscar - winning turn as the Joker or Michelle Pfeiffer ’s definitive portrayal of Catwoman , but that ’s what attain the best work stand out .

Tom Hardy As Bane

When he was cast to terrorise Christian Bale ’s Batmanin the role of BaneinThe Dark Knight rear , Tom Hardy was faced with the insuperable challenge of travel along up Heath Ledger ’s Oscar - winning turn as the Joker .

Hardy ’s Bane might not be quite as chilling as the Joker – his supervillain playing is much more overact - up than Ledger ’s dark performance – but he ’s every bit iconic .

John Cena As Peacemaker

James Gunn ’s reboot / sequelThe Suicide Squadintroduced John Cena ’s Peacemaker as a member of the titular squad . However , halfway through the movie , he ’s reveal to be a double agent . Peacemaker made his debut as a straightforward comedic character , but Cena show up a glimpse of his dramatic capabilities with a gleam of self-reproach when he kill Rick Flag .

With his dying breath , Flag gag , “ Peacemaker … what a joke . ” That really gets to Peacemaker , as he realizes he ’s become the thing he want to put down . The wrestler - turned - actor would get the chance to exhibit his full range when the graphic symbol got his own spin - off series . In this tailspin - off , Cena fill out out Peacemaker as a amazingly harmonic figure .

Jack Nicholson As The Joker

When Adam West had delineate Batman as a camp comedic character , Tim Burton come along to inject some much - needed dark Frank Miller border into the Caped Crusader ’s on - CRT screen adventures .

The always - brilliant Jack Nicholson dally the Joker with the same horror - pic menace as Jack Torrance . Nicholson redefined the fictitious character following Cesar Romero ’s unforgettable yet cartoonish portrayal from the West serial publication .

Colin Farrell As The Penguin

Colin Farrell is unrecognisable under all the makeup and prosthetics inThe Batman . The actor does n’t play the Penguin as a grotesque , cartoonish revulsion baddie like Danny DeVito ’s as memorable but far less nuanced turn fromBatman Returns .

Heplays Oswald Cobblepot as a straightforward mafioso . His line of reasoning legal transfer have the same lyric , darkly mirthful inflections that Robert De Niro brings to similar gangster roles in Scorsese flick .

Terence Stamp As General Zod

Still praised as one of the greatest superhero continuation ever made , the wildly entertainingSuperman IIintroduced fans to General Zod , a Kryptonian felonious leader that Superman accidentally free from the Phantom Zone , played stunningly by Terence Stamp .

seal turned Supes ’ one - bank bill nemesis from the comics into a terrific sadist . The player is responsible for one of the most iconic second in the history of comical book movies : “ Kneel before Zod ! ”

Jim Carrey As The Riddler

It would be an understatement to say thatBatman Foreveris not everyone ’s favorite Batman moving picture , but Jim Carrey gave an undeniably memorable operation as the Riddler . Like many Batman movie villain , Carrey ’s Riddler stole the spotlight from the Bat himself ( in this case , play by Val Kilmer ) . Some fans felt that Carrey ’s performance was over - the - top , but there ’s no such thing as “ over - the - top ” in a movie that ’s as wild and out there as this one .

Carrey ’s do trend was everlasting for the goofy , hypercamp , Adam Westiantone that Joel Schumacher was die for . Tommy Lee Jones makes a unavailing seek to match Carrey ’s manic energy ; he should ’ve played Two - Face as the “ straight military man ” to Carrey ’s Riddler joke .

Margot Robbie As Harley Quinn

The DCEU got off to a shaky start , but Margot Robbie ’s Harley Quinn was the clear breakout star too soon in this cinematic macrocosm ’s development . Robbie capture Harley ’s signature sly wit and manic energy to a T.

Across a fistful of film appearances , Robbie has toy Harley as both a straightforward villain who enjoys topsy-turvyness as much as her evil X and a more openhearted antihero who ’s fiercely fast to her friends .

Michelle Pfeiffer As Catwoman

Michelle Pfeiffer played Catwoman as the quintessential femme fatale seen in the comic strip , but she also brought an unnerving boundary that matched Tim Burton ’s gloomy , expressionistic , revulsion - tinged sight of Gotham City .

Pfeiffer ’s Catwoman is also a sympathetic feminist antihero , as her masked vigilante crusade is the result of ferocity and misuse at the hands of the powerful men in her life , particularly her unscrupulous party boss Max Shreck .

Gene Hackman As Lex Luthor

Christopher Reeve ’s Man of Steel occupy on his arch - scourge Lex Luthor in his first grownup - screen picnic ( and his second and fourth large - screen outings ) . Luthor was played by the not bad Gene Hackman .

Hackman has a full head of hair for a raft of the picture show , but he makes up for his lack of physical resemblance to Luthor by capturing the megalomaniac ’s eccentricities and hallucination of grandeur .

Heath Ledger As The Joker

well the most iconic performance as a DC Comics villain isHeath Ledger ’s turn as the Joker , for which he won a posthumous Oscar . Ledger ’s Alex DeLarge - inspired Clown Prince of Crime is a unfeignedly mesmerizing on - screen presence who steals every scene he ’s in .

Ledger ’s Joker is n’t just ranked among the large comical record book movie baddie of all time ; he ’s rank alongside Darth Vader and the Wicked Witch of the West as one of the great movie villain , period .

NEXT:10 Batman Villains We Would ’ve Loved To See In Christopher Nolan ’s Trilogy

Jon Kent (AKA Superman’s Young Adult Son) with Kryptonite in the background

James Gunn’s Superman and Krypto comic

Lex Luthot comic and live action

Split image of Heath Ledger as the Joker, Terence Stamp as General Zod, and Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman

Tom Hardy as Bane looking down in The Dark Knight Rises

John Cena as Peacemaker in the woods in The Suicide Squad

Jack Nicholson’s Joker laughing in Batman 1989

Colin Farrell as the Penguin wearing a bowtie in The Batman

General Zod ordering people to kneel in Superman II

Jim Carrey as The Riddler in Batman Forever

Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn letting out a battle cry as flowers shower in The Suicide Squad

Catwoman smiling confidently in Batman Returns

Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor laughing with hair in Superman The Movie

Heath Ledger as The Joker sitting in a cell in The Dark Knight

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