Arkham Asylum is where the worst of the worst in Gotham City are sent to be locked away;
not only for their crimes, but to protect the public. It’s a place filled with both
metahumans and criminal masterminds, and of course, the clinically insane who have reached
homicidal levels of crazy. So in other words, pretty much all of Batman’s most notorious
members of his rogue gallery. So today we’re counting down our picks of the most dangerous
inmates in Arkham Asylum. We’re looking at inmates who are a high security threat
while being locked up inside of Arkham; the kinds that are a threat to the guards and
visitors at the Asylum, as well as a major threat if they were ever to break out of the
horrid institution. So with that in mind, let’s jump in!
10 Zsasz Victor Zsasz is pretty f**king scary. Sure
he doesn’t have supernatural powers like some of the other villains on our list, but
he’s bat sh*t insane, and oh so dangerous. While the Gotham television series doesn’t
quite do him the justice that other adaptations like the Arkham video games do, Zsasz is definitely
not a character to take lightly. For context - all of those tallies on his body? There’s
one for each and every person he’s killed. He’s proud of his kills, he wears them like
a badge of honour. Zsasz also operates in a much more subtle fashion compared to other
inmates locked up in Arkham; he isn’t a showman, and he keeps to the shadows. Needless
to say, if he were to break out of Arkham, he’s the kind of threat that would have
both citizens and the Gotham PD shaking in their boots.
9 Man-Bat Kirk Langstrom, aka Man-Bat, is another example
of a vicious villain who needs a special holding cell. Or, at least when he’s under the influence
of his serum, that is. Langstrom was a zoologist who attempted to extract a bat’s sonar sense,
and tested the formula he created on himself, which resulted in him transforming into this
hideous half man half bat hybrid. When he has his serum, his intelligence depletes,
and he goes on a mad rampage, becoming almost incontrollable, with his strength, endurance
and agility reaching superhuman levels, along with the ability to see in the dark thanks
to his bat like abilities. Needless to say, Kirk is much easier to subdue and keep locked
up in Arkham when in his human form, but if arriving at Arkham in his man-bat form, well,
let’s just say the security guards better have a whole lot of tranquilizers on hand.
8 Professor Pyg Professor Pyg is one messed up Batman villain.
This sick SOB’s MO is to perfect people by making them into Dollotrons; this is a
process of his in which he bonds false doll faces to his victim’s face in a permanent
and gruesome manner, using the likes of hammers, ice picks, cordless drills, you name em. One
of the weirdest and most insane villains to ever be written into Batman’s comics, he’s
genuinely disturbed; a trait that should not be taken lightly. The one reassuring thing
about Pyg is that while he’s kept secure in Arkham, he’s less of a threat than others
on this list, but the second that he gets the chance to continue his work, well, let’s
just say you’d want to be far, far away from this inmate.
7 Clayface When he was first introduced by Bill Finger
and Bob Kane back in Detective Comics issue 40 in 1940, Clayface aka Basil Karlo was a
b list actor who began a life of crime under the guise of a villain he once played in a
horror film. It wasn’t until the 50s that the shape shifting version of Clayface came
to be, as science fiction villains were on the rise during the start of the silver age.
Karol wouldn’t return until after Crisis on Infinite Earths. Clayface has the capability
of using it’s claylike anatomy to transform it’s self, and also concoct items like weapons
out of its body. Clayface is an example of a villain at Arkham who requires a special
cell to contain him in order to ensure the safety of everyone in the facility, and to
ensure that he won’t be able to break out by any easy means.
6 The Penguin Compared to others on our list, the Penguin
is by no means a villain who is physically intimidating. Instead, it’s this criminal
mastermind’s intellect and connections that makes him threatening in Arkham. Considering
Oswald Cobblepot is one of the foremost powerful villains in Gotham City, whenever he’s locked
up in Arkham, he’s well protected. You do NOT want to get on his bad side, or surely,
you’ll suffer major consequences. The Penguin has proving his ingenuity and cruelty on many
an occasion, and even when he’s locked up, he’s still got major influence over what
happens outside of Arkham’s walls, and of course, within them.
5 Killer Croc Killer Croc is an obvious inclusion on this
list. LOOK AT HIM. Killer Croc also requires his own specially made holding cell, often
depicted as the sewers of Arkham Asylum. This is because of his deadly strength and sheer
size. In addition to those traits, he also has enhanced endurance and speed, with skin
that is nearly impenetrable, even from high caliber weapons fired from a distance. So,
needless to say, he’s not a villain whose cell you’d want to accidentally wanted into.
4 Great White Shark Great white shark ak Warren White is the perfect
example of the kind of affect Arkham can have on an individual. While his origin story might
not be as popular as Harley Quinn’s, both of which are tied integrally to Arkham, Great
white shark’s is perhaps more ruthless since his transformation was a means of survival
rather than the product of manipulation. Prior to his time in Arkham, Warren White, who first
appeared in Arkham Asylum: Living Hell issue 1 in 2003, was a crooked financier, who was
nicknamed Great White shark for his ruthlessness when embezzling millions from his company’s
pension fund. When he was caught, he plead insanity which led him being sent off to Arkham.
He had multiple run ins with some of Gotham’s worst, which forced him to be even more ruthless.
Then, he was locked into a freezer, which caused severe damage to his body physically.
But in order to keep up with the harsh environment at Arkham, he embraced his new deformities,
sharping his teeth into points in order to look more like a shark; an intimidation factor
that has greatly helped him become a criminal mastermind behind Arkham’s walls. A man
whose willing to go to those lengths is not someone you want to be anywhere near.
3 Bane Brawn and brains, what’s not to love? Well,
if you work at Arkham Asylum, the combination of those traits ain’t something you look
forward to encountering on any given 9-5 shift, that’s for damn sure. Bane is both immensely
strong and incredibly intelligent. Bane was born and raised in prison; born in Pena Duro,
a notoriously difficult prison, he grew up alongside hardened criminals, learning the
ins and outs of the prison lifestyle, working his way up to a top dog position. He’s broken
out of prison many a time, being somewhat of an escape artist. And while he may be given
a limited amount of Venom while he’s locked up in Arkham, weakening him through withdrawals,
he’s still got his intellect, and often manipulates his way into getting his liquid
life force back.
2 Poison Ivy Poison Ivy is traditionally a villain in the
DC universe, but in more recent times, around the New 52, the character has dabbled in being
an anti-hero from time to time. Ivy’s attacks are often aimed at protecting the environment,
from endangered species to threats towards ecosystems across the globe. Her unique brand
of eco terrorism often finds her in the grey area of ethics, but that being said, there’s
nothing she won’t do for her cause. So what makes her deadly over at Arkham? Poison Ivy’s
body contains pheromones that make people susceptible to mind control. So you can see
why she’d be such a deadly inmate. While some strong minded individuals like Batman
are capable of occasionally withstanding her mind control, you can bet your butt that most
of the employees at Arkham Asylum aren’t.
1 The Joker
If Poison Ivy’s biological manipulation didn’t do it for you, well, surely the clown
prince of crime’s more off kilter ways of manipulation will. The Joker has that je ne
se qui Look at what he did to Harley Quinn.
And in Frank Miller’s the dark knight returns,
the Joker manages to manipulate his way out of Arkham once news of Batman’s return surfaces,
with the villain feigning that he’s returned to sanity to the point where he and his psychologist
land a spot on a popular talk show in Gotham. What does he do? He uses his Joker toxin to
straight up MURDER the entire studio audience, his doctor, the crew, the host, pretty much
everyone in that studio, and then escapes. Classic Joker behaviour. There’s no length
he wouldn’t go to in order to encounter his beloved Bats, or to creatively murder
a slew of people in a way he found comical. Dude’s all about the joke, with the butt
of that joke often being mass homicide.
There we have it friends! What other Arkham inmates do you think some of the most dangerous
villains? Give us a shout in those comments below! If you dug this video, spread the love,
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one! In the meantime, thanks for watching! I’ll catch you all in the next video!