Who is the Greatest Batman Villian

"...my opponent seemed to question what I meant about my statement the "greatest villain." This is up to the person's interpretation, it could be the best, strongest, most iconic, or the baddest of the bad, it is all about proving why your villain is the best or just better than my own." This lack of specificity may cause problems. But for now I'll just address points, then make 'em. "After doing some research, reading origin stories, and watching some Nolan movies I have come to the conclusion that Batman's greatest villain is Bane. I will be using Bane from the comics and from Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy," I don't think it is legitimate to simply discard canon out of hand. The movies have messed with canon a great deal, but in order to accept ONE version of Bane over another, you have to give a reason. However, that doesn't mean that the Schumacher version is MORE valid. So while the Schumacher version is a mark against Bane, there are marks in his favor, too. It isn't fair, really, to cherrypick; it all factors in. I would like to point out, however, (and, SPOILER ALERT) Bane was not the mastermind in The Dark Knight Rises; Talia al Ghul was, and DKR Bane only beat Batman because Nolan made Batman need a cane, so the Nolan version of Bane is nowhere near as awesome as the version in the comics. Bane, in the comics, has traditionally been portrayed as both strong and smart, and he certainly DID break Batman's back. However, the source of his strength has always been his undoing: Batman used Venom before Bane did, but got himself off it when he realized what it did to his head. As a response to the point about breaking Batman, first, even that victory was based on weakening Batman first, by releasing all of Arkham and waiting until Batman has exhausted himself over 3 MONTHS before ambushing him. And Bane has on occasion "gone straight", or at least behaved that way on the basis of honor. He even once died saving Batman's life, and Batman had to resurrect him in a Lazarus Pit. Second, even if I conceded this, it's not necessarily a point in Bane's favor. The Joker did not usually set out methodically to physically destroy Batman, so the fact that he has not done so is not particularly striking. He did gain the power of Mister Mxyzptlk at one point, and took pleasure in killing Batman multiple times (Emperor Joker, [1]), so if we MUST take physical victories into account, the Joker wins. Still, he has always preferred to mess with his foe's MIND, a more insidious and awesome plan. He mostly has no interest in killing Batman (particularly not in the new reboot of the DCU). Of course, he has killed a Robin (in a move where the public actually voted to let him to it, which is both messed up and a point of awesomeness), and paralyzed Batgirl (it took a reboot to get HER legs back). What he did in the Batman Beyond movie is messed up. "First, Bane can compete with Batman on a mental and physical level. He was able to steal Gotham away from Batman for 5 months in the movie The Dark Knight Rises were he established his own government and was the "liberator" for the Gotham people." As previously noted, in that movie he was a figurehead. It was Talia al Ghul who masterminded the plan and was Bane's master. But I do concede that Bane can compete with Batman on a mental and physical level. So can the Joker. In terms of brute force, obviously, by "compete" you mean "beats". But Bane is not smarter than Batman, nor is he smarter than the Joker, so what he wins in the "strength" category, he loses in the "smarts". "This leads me to my second point that Bane was able to do more in less time than any other villain. While the Joker has been around since 1940, Bane was only recently added to Batman's Rogue Gallery in 1993. In his first appearance, let me say that again in his first appearance was able to do what no other villain before him was able to do. Break him. Bane was able to break Batman's back and put him in a wheelchair until he learned to walk again. While Joker can't say that he only has dreamed of beating Batman while Bane did it in his first try." Okay, Bane did not break Batman's back in his first appearance by any means. Vengeance of Bane pre-dates Knightfall. Certainly, he wasn't around long before he was used in the attention grabbing Knightfall storyline. "Bane is one of the toughest and newest villains to Batman and has done some of the biggest damage." I agree with this point! Except its applicability to this debate. This is not about whether our respective choice is "one of" the best, but rather whether the villain is THE best. Joker was one of Batman's first major, recurring foes. The history alone is a point in his favor. He has killed Batman, he is mysterious (his origin still has not been completely confirmed), and while he certainly isn't usually as strong as Bane (unless we start factoring in Arkham City), he also does not have any specific weaknesses (Bane MUST get regular doses of his Venom, or suffer debilitating side-effects/withdrawal symptoms). Joker had his own face cut off and then stapled back on (New DCU). He created his very own "Bride of Jokerstein" (Harley). He has never been ruined as thoroughly as Bane was in the Schumacher film. He has been portrayed in multiple universes (Pre-Crisis Earths 1 and 2, InJustice League universe as Red Hood, etc.), while Bane has not. He's scarier than Bane. Heck, if we factor in ElseWorlds representations, he was the catalyst for the events of Kingdom Come when he killed Lois Lane, and he KILLED HIMSELF in The Dark Knight Strikes Back JUST TO MESS WITH BATMAN'S LIFE. His character is so messed up that just attempting to portray him may have contributed to Heath Ledger's death. He's more creative than Bane, and enjoys his role as villain more. Bane is essentially a smart, strong thug, while the Joker actually presents a challenge to the World's Greatest Detective, to solve crimes that "make sense to [the Joker] alone".[1} [1] -- http://en.wikipedia.org...(comics)