Before the Joker was an anarchist, he was a prankster in a purple suit. Before the Riddler was a masked serial killer, he was a giggly ghoul with a penchant for puzzles. And before Mr. Freeze was the sympathetic Shakespearean tragedy, he was a mad scientist with a raygun. This was how Batman's rogue's gallery was way back in 1966.
The modern array of Batman villains has certainly taken a darker turn in recent years, but they weren't always that way. In the original series, many of the Dark Knight's fiendish foes were more over-the-top than criminal menaces to Gotham City. Some of them kept elements of their original characterizations, but others were simply too goofy to live anywhere else but the '60s.
The Riddler was the first villain Batman and Robin had to contend with in the series, and he was expertly brought to life by the comedy stylings of Frank Gorshin. The so-called "Prince of Puzzles" was obsessed with word problems and brain-teasers and desperate to befuddle the Dynamic Duo. However, he started veering into the Joker's territory as his pranks and riddles got sillier and sillier.
While his green suit and vest look was perhaps his most iconic look, the green jumpsuit was not doing him many favors, as much as it looked like the comic book version. Combine the look with Gorshin's manic energy and high-pitched giggle and it made for a very laughable villain.
On the subject of laughable villains, Cesar Romero's portrayal of the Joker is perhaps one of the first versions of the character TV audiences were ever introduced to. Of course, being the Clown Prince of Crime has to allow for a certain level of silliness, and the Joker definitely had that in spades.
Right from the first uttering of his iconic cackle, it was clear the Joker wasn't playing with a full deck. Dressed to the nines in his bright-purple prom tuxes and armed with his gag weapons, the series was truly going for a more mischievous prankster version of the character. It's hard to believe this would be the same character that would blow up a hospital decades later.
From his appearance alone, the Bookworm genuinely doesn't seem like much of a danger to Gotham, unless there's a massive book shortage. Bookworm is one of the many villains in the '66 series that took heavy influence from the Riddler, the type that would leave clues and teasers to try and challenge Batman's intellect. But like the Riddler, his need to be the smartest person in the room is his downfall.
Stealing a massive collection of books isn't exactly the top crime on the Bat-Computer's reading, no pun intended. The Bookworm isn't a major supervillain, but a geeky bibliophile wanting to flex his intellect and affinity for classic literature in front of the Dark Knight.
From appearances alone, the Minstrel looks like he'd be more at home in a traveling production of Camelot or a group of LARPers in Gotham City park. Pair that with a melodramatic persona of an evil Alan-a-Dale, and it's a recipe for one of the more ridiculous characters that have ever tussled with the Caped Crusader.
Supervillains using songs and soundwaves as weapons are nothing new, sometimes it can even have devastating results. But in the case of this man-in-tights, it feels like the producers were going for a more Saturday-morning-cartoon approach than a tried-and-true member of Batman's Rogues Gallery. That all being said, at least the Minstrel was an entertaining diversion.
On paper, Lord Marmaduke Ffogg sounds like he'd be quite a compelling villain. A British socialite who maintains a facade of the upper crust but runs a secret school for thieves behind the scenes. In a modern setting, this arrangement might be the spark to a daring crime thriller with Gotham's Dark Knight, but it's Lord Ffogg himself that undermines the entire premise.
Lord Ffogg is portrayed as a British stereotype, mimicking elements from Sherlock Holmes. His weapon of choice is a giant pipe that produces various qualities and quantities of fog and smoke which he uses to make his getaways and pull off his capers. The visuals and portrayal are so ludicrous that it turns what might have been a great villain into another comedic bit.
To be fair, a gunslinger-inspired villain would be a great idea if the direction was pulled more towards A Fistful of Dollars and less toward Woody's Roundup. Shame might talk like a seasoned desperado from the wild west, but he looks and acts like an extra from the cast of Annie Get Your Gun.
Instead of rustling horses, Shame and his gang of criminal cow-pokes are after horsepower. His main offense is stealing various car parts around Gotham to create a super vehicle. It's the mishmash of themes, visuals, and acting that makes Shame worthy of his namesake. Definitely not a character Batman would have a problem trouncing.
Considered by some fans to be one of the worst villains in Batman lore by certain circles of Bat-Fans, the Puzzler is perhaps the biggest ripoff of the Riddler to ever spawn from anything featuring the Caped Crusader. Essentially using the Riddler's gimmicks with a Shakespearean theme, it was clear he was being used as a quick replacement for a better villain.
He's less of a villain of the Rogues Gallery and more of a schemer and substitute. Due to Frank Gorshin being unavailable to reprise his role, the character was pulled out to fit the scene. Easily not one of the show's best creations.
"Enjoyably ridiculous" would be the best way to describe King Tut. A professor of Egyptology who becomes the former pharaoh when conked on the head is already an outlandish concept, and Tut himself is just as hysterical. The villain's charm and character were largely owed to the performance from Victor Buono, but he has since become one of the series' most recognizable faces.
What makes the character so laughable is how committed Buono is to the act, as if the injured professor truly believes he is the reincarnation of Tutankhamen. With his elaborate costumes, props, and setpieces, the character was truly given the royal treatment anytime he appeared in the show.
Milton Berle was one of the most celebrated comedians of the golden age of film and television, and his character of Louie the Lilac. The flower-themed crook was written and performed as a parody of classic gangsters from the noir films of yesteryear. With his silk suit and tough-guy persona, Louie might have been a dastardly presence, if it weren't for his flowery themes.
Using his weaponized perfumes and plants, Louie the Lilac sought to corrupt Gotham's hippie population (known as the flower children), and get his fiendish clutches on the City's fragrance and flower market. He's not exactly the most fiendish of Batman's foes by a long shot, but at least he was a creative choice to add to the series.
Liberace as a Batman villain is a concept that would have boggled minds in the '60s as it does today. The flamboyant and eccentric pianist lent his talents to the original series as Chandell and his evil twin, to musical and comedic results. A famous musical genius who is blackmailed by his evil twin is a comic-book-worthy plot, but its delivery is as extravagant as Liberace himself.
Essentially created to give the show an extra oomph of star power, the villain was simply a villainous version of Liberace. Along with his piano themes and musical motifs, the name "Chandell" is obviously a reference to Liberace's use of chandeliers and candelabras in his performances. In reality, a character this ridiculous wouldn't last five minutes in Gotham today.
