These 7 Criminals Are The Real-World Versions Of Batman Villains

Comic book villains tend to be outlandish and wild in how they commit crimes, so as to be a better match for the larger-than-life heroes that seek to foil them. Just look at examples like Clayface or Killer Croc, a man of shapeshifting clay and another who is partially a reptile. But sometimes life can be stranger than fiction. Such is the case with these real life criminals who seem to mimic some of Batman's most famous villains.

1. Mr. Freeze  Now this is one you might be surp-ice-d (I'm so sorry) to see here, as he is a pretty extreme concept for a villain with his ice theme and cold lasers and various similarly-themed devices. But Victor Fries isn't the only one keen on having his victims "cool off."

The thought of me not fitting in another ice pun makes my blood run cold.

Richard "Iceman" Kuklinski was a contract killer for the Decavalcante Crime Family in the '50s and '60s who developed a habit of freezing his victims for lengthy periods of time before disposing of them in an attempt to prevent authorities from knowing the actual time of death.

I think I'm actually out of ice puns, luckily for you.

2. The Penguin, also known as Oswald Cobblepot, is a man who is fond of his umbrellas and birds. Oswald frequently makes use of umbrellas as guns, swords, shields, and pretty much whatever else he needs to further his criminal goals and fight Batman.

Mrak mrak mrak.

Well it turns out The Penguin wasn't the only with that thought. There is an as yet unsolved murder that happened in London, England where a man, suspected to have been a KGB agent, killed a man with a poison dart fired from an umbrella gun.

When the Iron Curtain fell, more of the guns were discovered in a depot, leading to suspicions being confirmed.

3. Catwoman is, unsurprisingly, a master cat burglar and sometimes rival, sometimes love interest of Batman. She brings an all new meaning to crazy cat lady, but her whip and infiltration skills are nothing to scoff at.

Plus Michelle Pfeiffer was just way too awesome in the role.

Well, someone decided to try their hand at cat burglary too, but leaned toward the cat part more than the burglary. Apparently this was the best sketch the police could make of the suspect after she stole $86 from a shoe store in New York.

I mean, the costume clearly worked then, if they couldn't identify her!

4. Two-Face was formerly a lawyer named Harvey Dent who had half of his face damaged in a court room attack by an angry mobster (or explosion if you're a fan of the Dark Knightmovies). Afterwards, he became a supervillain obsessed with opposites and a love of flipping coins.

I imagine getting that many half-n-half suits is quite expensive.

Juan "Two-Face" Rivera-Velez even has the same name for his alter ego, after scarring half of his face in a car accident. This Two-Face was a criminal enforcer for the Morales crime family in Camden, New Jersey.

But he's currently serving two life sentences for murder, so I doubt you'll run into him anytime soon.

5. Edward Nigma, The Riddler, is a man obsessed with puzzles and questions and riddles. He leaves clues to his crimes that can only be solved by the shrewdest minds, and always lays out incredibly convoluted schemes.

But seriously, just follow the trail of outfits tailored to have "?" all over to find him.

The Zodiac Killer had a very similar MO of sending puzzling letters to law enforcement and leaving mysterious clues at the scenes of their crimes. The biggest difference is that the Zodiac Killer was never actually caught.

And, according to an ongoing joke about Ted Cruz, the Zodiac Killer even ran for president of the United States this year.

6. The Clown Prince of Crime, The Joker, is one of the most famous villains in all of comics. His wacky schemes and incredible boldness are known to all, and he's the truest nemesis that Batman has.

Is this your card?

While John Wayne Gacy doesn't have the criminal mastermind part down for The Joker, he certainly has the terrifying clown part, being known for sexually assaulting and murdering 33 teenage boys in 6 years and being referred to as the Killer Clown.

This clown was no laughing matter.

7. The Mad Hatter aka Jervis Tetch is an obsessive man. His passion for Alice in Wonderland is matched only by his love of hypnotism and mind control devices. 

He also sometimes has gadgets built into his hats, but that's just ridiculous.

A Moldovan man by the name of Vladimir Kozak was apparently able to hypnotize bank employees into giving him money, and was able to steal as much as $40,000 through this method.

Hey if it seems stupid and it works, it isn't stupid.

So maybe Batman's collection of villains isn't as entirely unrealistic as you first suspected.

Know any other real life supervillain stories? Let us know with a COMMENT!