So I am going to work under the assumption that a good Bat villain, is a reflection of some aspect of Batman in some way, whether its his use of fear (scarecrow), his iconography (man-bat), his duality (two-face), or maybe just his plain opposite (the joker). This reflection is typically done either in a gross exaggeration/perversion, a reversal of what Batman is, or a something like an ideal that Batman is that another villain exhibits equally.

So I propose that working under that assumption a new Bat villain would need to do one of two things:

1. Not be a rehash of another villain (the creation of another Anti-Batman with the existence of Wrath, Prometheus, Owlman, and Deathstroke and many more would make the character feel really boring since we aren't exploring anything new).

2. Explore a side of Batman that has not been explored much at all. For example the seeming need for a huge family, the lack of wanting to kill, or the law is something to defend.

Do you agree? And any villain you'd like to see, and what trait about Batman would that villain reflect?

I personally would love to see two particular villains.

A villain that creates their own "bat-family", that would just be fun!

I would also like a villain that attacks judges, cops, politicians that have made morally questionable decisions that Batman has done nothing about. Like the judge who decided to keep Joker alive. This will pose an interesting question for Batman's total trust in the law even though the law itself is not perfect.

I would like a villian which would have super powers of superman level because most of gotham villians dont have super powers, someone who could stand his own for a while against Justice League

I've always hated the idea that (Batman's) villains need to be a sort of dark reflection of the hero they go against. I mean, sure, it works with a lot of villains and can lead to some interesting stories and thematic interpretations. But it really shouldn't be a prerequisite for a villain that he/she be some twisted version of an aspect of Batman. Two characters can have an interesting relationship and dynamic regardless of how similar or different the two are. It really just depends upon a) the writing and b) how strong/interesting the characters are.

I think that the best villain characters (the Joker, Poison Ivy, the Ventriloquist) start off as an embodiment of an ideal (fear of clowns, ecoterrorism, a fractured mind resulting from inability to express oneself) and then are given greater meaning as time passes. This includes the characters' dynamics with Batman. The Joker didn't start off as a character representing Batman's opposite. He underwent a great many changes over the years since his creation and reached the point he's at now through his continued interactions with Batman. The key to a lasting villain is a strong story with powerful writing. Not just that the character reflect the protagonist.

@supbatz: It's not the a villain needs to be a reflection of Batman to be interesting or a good villain. But a villain that is a reflection of Batman allows the exploration of Batman's character a bit more indirectly. What happens if Batman went too far with this aspect? What happens when someone doesn't have this aspect of Batman? What happens if an aspect of Batman is in the wrong hands? These are all fascinating questions, that are like cannon what if/else world stories, only Batman gets to kick their butt!

Dr. Hurt, Professor Pig, Ra's al Ghul are different than the typical villains he deals with. I'd also like see Ozymandias type of villain or just make Luthor his enemy for a few years. A super powered (JL level) villain could also be cool.

@batshrine: Fair enough, having a villain who reflects a "What if Batman went too far in this particular area?"-mentality makes for some interesting stories. But I don't think it necessarily needs to be a prerequisite for all of his past, present, and future adversaries.

That being said, the idea of an adversary who has a "Family" similar to his does intrigue. It might be difficult for a writer to balance so many different prominent roles in one story-arc, but the idea sounds like it'd make for a great story.

Originality

The new villian should be sane There are too many insane villians

@blackhawk000111: thats what im thinking

Dark.

maybe a magic villian

Nothing, we have too many villains already, lets try to bring back some old ones.

Yeah I agree with this.

good question...I can't add anything specific but charisma, and a personality people find interesting would be key