Who’s the best bad guy on “Gotham”? We all have very strong opinions on this, but only one of us can be right. What follows is our ballot, as we rank all the bad guys we’ve seen so far. This list will be updated with new villains as they come in season 3 and beyond, and as characters warrant reevaluation.
33. Harvey Dent (Nicolas D’Agosto)
Not actually a villain yet, so technically he sucks. I’m sure he’ll move up once he becomes Two Face. For now, he’s just generally unhelpful as Gotham’s DA.
32. Mr. Freeze (Nathan Darrow)
Hopefully now that he looks hilarious he’ll grow a personality instead of just moping around all the time.
31. Sal Maroni (David Zayas)
So annoying and bad at being a gangster that I’m surprised he survived almost to the end of the first season.
30. The Electrocutioner (Christopher Heyerdahl)
The “Gotham” showrunners have so far missed out by not having him back since Mr. Freeze and Firefly came along. We’re due an evil teamup of villains who carry elemental guns. Get on it.
29. The Red Hood Gang
The only reason I didn’t completely forget about these guys is because there was a callback to them late in season 2.
28. The Spirit of the Goat
This is technically several people, and the actual “goat” is, I guess, the evil therapist (Susan Misner) who managed to convince people to become serial killers. Anyway, points added for excess complexity. Points subtracted for being otherwise boring.
27. Commissioner Loeb (Peter Scolari)
Exactly the sort of corrupt police commissioner Gotham needed: incredibly unlikeable and irritating. You’d enjoy watching him get his, admit it.
26. Mayor James (Richard Kind)
A bumbling, but fun, idiot. It was really kind of a bummer that Galavan didn’t kill him.
25. Matches Malone (Michael Bowen)
Only has two scenes, but one of them was that one where Bruce Wayne’s mom and dad get murdered. Because he murdered them. In his other scene he shoots himself in the face. Points for having an efficient arc, I guess.
24. Carmine Falcone (John Doman)
A little too vanilla for “Gotham,” and doesn’t really fit in in the new wacky world of Batman villains. So, yeah, get outta here.
23. Silver St. Cloud (Natalie Ayn Lind)
Finally, Bruce Wayne has met a girl who can relate to how rich he is. Unfortunately, she’s also trying to kill him, and it’s impossible to tell when she’s being sincere. She thinks dolphins can read minds, though, which is pretty dumb even if she was just trying to be poetic. Children, ugh.
22. Basil aka Clayface (Brian McManamon)
Basil, who after he’s resurrected by Hugo Strange can shapeshift, brings tremendous sitcom-ish potential to “Gotham.” His face is hilarious.
21. Zaardon (David Fierro)
A truly delightful fake villain who belches a blue smokey toxin. Even in death he entertains.
20. The Lady (Michelle Gomez)
Pretty much a video game villain, having had her business ruined by single dude (Jim Gordon) who fought off her army of hired killers.
19. The Court
Haven’t seen much of this secret cabal that runs Gotham yet, but they’ve had a hand in lots of the wacky events that have taken place so far. Their masks are funny.
18. Gerald Crane and Jonathan Crane (Julian Sands, Charlie Tahan)
Tragic figures on “Gotham” tend to be pretty meh unless they, like, are so tragic you start to feel real emotions about them. The Cranes (Jonathan will eventually become the Scarecrow) actually manage to pull that off!