Ragdoll

*Really irons out the kinks.*
―Ragdoll after getting crushed between gears.[src]

* Ragdoll
* Peter Merkel

**Ragdoll** is an enemy of Batman. He is a jewel thief that got into conflict with Catwoman.

## Physical Appearance

He wears a ragdoll costume that's brown and grey. He has a noose around his neck and the eye slits are X-shaped. As Peter Merkel, he has blond hair, a black coat with a white shirt and grey pants.

## Personality

He has a rather whimsical personality and a high-pitched voice and usually has fun with whatever he's doing.

## History

In *Ragdolls to Riches*, he interrupted Catwoman in her theft of a painting featuring a cat. He showed off his powers and contorted in different poses and positions before they fought,and he ended up locking her in a glass cube, but Batman came and saved Catwoman,though Ragdoll got away. As Peter Merkel, he got a drink at a bar and used his powers to grab the glass and drink from it, which shocked the bartender. He later raided Wayne Manor as Ragdoll and took another priceless valuable and collected it in his lootbag. The villain then left Wayne Manor and drove across the streets where he got into another fight with Catwoman which saw his loot getting stolen by her and trapping him in a sewer pipe, but he once again escaped, and planned to hit the Gotham Clocktower next to steal two rare diamonds, but Batman and Catwoman interfered, and all three got into a fight which ended up with Ragdoll getting trapped in between the gears and Catwoman taking his diamonds and throwing them to Batman.

In *Team Penguin*, he joined Penguin's team along with other supervillains to defeat Batman, Robin and Batgirl. He helped the team take out the security by climbing through a vent and taking the guard out. He also helped them steal a chemical, and when the Dynamic Trio arrived, Batgirl got trapped by Ragdoll then slammed him against some pipes. The two sidekicks then jumped at Ragdoll, but he escaped and they knocked into each other. Ragdoll suggested changing the name to "Villains United", which Penguin rejected. When Penguin ordered them to steal a ruby-encrusted penguin, he and the other members turned against him, disappointed that their work was all for a "stupid bird"; they attempted to leave, but were stopped by a mutated Killer Moth. Robin later defeated Ragdoll by kicking him in a vent.

In *Rumors*, he was captured by Rumor along with Firefly and Killer Moth as part of his plan to execute all of Gotham's villains,and when he was freed,he attempted to attack Batman and Robin along with a large group of his enemies but was frozen by Mr. Freeze.

## Powers & Abilities

* **Contortionism**: Ragdoll is a contortionist and able to contort in various different unusual ways. A master thief and triple-jointed contortionist, **Ragdoll** is capable of bending his body in all sorts of impossible ways. Even able to survive in ways where a normal human would be crushed to death, like between the gears of a clock. He was able to hide seemlessly in a small box and Penguin's hat.
* **Agility**: Ragdoll is very agile.

## Relationships

### Enemies

#### Catwoman

Catwoman found Ragdoll an annoyance as he constantly got her in way.

## Appearances

### Season 4

* *Team Penguin*
* *Rumors*

### *The Batman Strikes!*

* Issue #24
* Issue 45 " Gotham Girls: Honor Among Thieves" (cameo)

## Trivia

* In the comics, the Ragdoll is an enemy of the original Flash, Jay Garrick.
* This is the first animated adaptation of Ragdoll.
* He is usually written "Rag Doll" in the comics and other media.
* It is unknown whether this Ragdoll was based on the original Ragdoll, Peter Merkel, or his son and second, Peter Merkel Jr.
* In *The Batman Strikes! #24*, Ragdoll is given a plush very similar to the comic version's original design by Catwoman.
* Due to similarities with the Scarecrow (especially with his *Batman: The Animated Series* design), many fans tend to mistake Ragdoll for the character.