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Leaders
Theo Galavan/Azrael
Played By: James Frain
A billionaire newly arrived at Gotham City. He has plans for the city that will cause the rise of several villains.
- Adaptation Deviation: Turns out to be the Gotham version of Azrael, a major change from Jean-Paul Valley in the comics.
- Adaptational Villainy: In the comics Azrael was an Anti-Hero who tried to atone for his past with Batman. Here, he's a psychotic Serial Killer.
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: He tries to Face Death with Dignity, but Oswald brutally beating him with a baseball bat ultimately reduces him to begging for a Mercy Kill.
- Asshole Victim: Halfway through Season 2, Gordon and Penguin are fed up with his escaping justice, and decide on a long and brutal Vigilante Execution — to the point where he's actually begging to die.
- Back from the Dead: At the end of "Pinewood", thanks to Hugo Strange.
- Big Bad: For the first half of Season 2.
- Brother–Sister Incest: It's strongly implied that he and his sister Tabitha are lovers, with Tabitha referring to him as a "monster in the sack" in "The Last Laugh". There's no direct evidence of it, though; and it's possible that she was simply saying it for shock value.
- Came Back Strong: His resurrection as Azrael makes him super-strong and super-fast, and can survive being repeatedly shot, getting hit by a car and falling from a roof.
- Came Back Wrong: On the other hand, it does a number on his psyche, which latches onto the Order of St. Dumas' religious teachings rather than his actual identity. Strange uses this to manipulate Galavan into believing he is a 12th century knight.
- Canon Character All Along: While he's still a completely new character made specifically for the show, he eventually becomes the show's version of Azrael in Wrath of the Villains.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: His first death. He is beaten by Penguin with a baseball bat that he begs for a Mercy Kill. Gordon kills him via shooting him in the chest, then Penguin desecrates his corpse by shoving an umbrella down his throat.
- The Chessmaster: He organized the Arkham breakout, used Jerome and company to cause mass panic throughout the city, killed Jerome to make himself look like a hero so he could run for mayor, and blackmailed Cobblepot to murder his political rivals. He is even smart enough to have Cobblepot to pretend to try to kill him so he wouldn't be suspected of murdering them.
- Composite Character: Galavan's family history has elements of Jean-Paul Valley (connection to the Order of St Dumas) and Zachary Gate from Gates of Gotham (vengeful descendant of a forgotten Gotham founding family). The costume he wore as Azrael resembles Phantasm, but without the gauntlet and smoke. His plan to use Penguin to secure a victory for Mayor, is reminiscent of Max Schreck - and just like Schreck, ends up backfiring horribly on him.
- Cutting the Knot: After his tricky resurrection, he believes himself to be a 12th-century knight. To help him along, Hugo Strange tells him the hulking Aaron Helzinger is a demon, and the case Strange brought will give him everything he needs to destroy him i.e his weapons. Galavan instead uses the case to smash Helzinger's head in.Hugo Strange: Not exactly what I had in mind, but good enough.
- Demoted to Dragon: After being the Big Bad for the first half of season 2, he is manipulated into being an Elite Mook for Hugo Strange after being brought back in the second half as Azrael. Even when he goes off the rails later he's more of a Villain of the Week rather than a major Arc Villain.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Subverted. His whole evil plan is about avenging his family's honor but he has no personal love for his sister or niece, threatening to kill them both at various points, and very nearly actually doing so with Tabitha after she jogs a few of his memories.
- Even Evil Has Standards: A very weak and downplayed case, but Theo was visibly (at least on an instinctive level) disgusted by Tabitha tearing Bunderslaw's eye out.
- Evil Is Petty: The Waynes accused his ancestor of attempted rape 200 years ago and removed the family name from the city records, so the honor of a man his grandfather never met has to be avenged with a lot of murder.
- Expy:
- To the Batman Returns version of Penguin. An outcast from a wealthy family who suddenly returns to Gotham and plans to take it over by attracting enough good publicity to run for Mayor of Gotham, hires a bunch of freaks to do his dirty work, accelerates his plans at top speed after his "hero" facade shatters... ironically, he and this continuity's Penguin are sworn enemies thanks to a rather personal issue.
- In Wrath of the Villains, he is one to both Jean Paul-Valley, the original Azrael in the comics, and the animated character Phantasm.
- Face Death with Dignity:
- He tries to do this when Penguin is about to beat him to death with a baseball bat, taunting Gordon about how this will haunt his conscience and almost looking amused when Penguin says he's doing this for his mother. But the sheer brutality of the beating ends up breaking his composure and leads to the now broken and bloody Galavan begging Gordon to kill him quickly.
- Played straighter with his 2nd death as Azrael, where he recognizes how doomed he is upon seeing Butch aim an RPG launcher at him. He just closes his eyes and quietly accepts his demise right before he's blown to pieces.
- False Friend: He pretends to be a friend and mentor to Bruce, even offering him information on his parents' killers, but is planning to have him killed as revenge for a centuries-old slight the whole time.
- Fatal Flaw: He consistently underestimates Gordon and Penguin, and his first death is caused by his inability to comprehend how far the two will go to bring him down. Likewise, his refusal to see his immediate family - Tabitha and Silver - as anything more than useful tools leads to Tabitha turning on him when he tries to kill Silver.
- Faux Affably Evil: Always comes across as polite, friendly and charismatic - enough to defer Jim and Bruce's suspicions for most of his appearances. Yet underneath he's a pyschopathic maniac who cares little for even his real family.
- Hate Sink: A slimy, heartless Smug Snake, no one shed a tear when Oswald beat the living tar out of him with a baseball bat. He loses this trait when he returns as Azrael, being much more badass and even mildly sympathetic.
- Hidden Agenda Villain: Unlike the villains of the first season, who wore their motivations on their sleeves, the audience is completely in the dark about what he wants. It's revealed in "Scarification" that he is a member of the Dumas family, and is seeking revenge for a slight by the Wayne family.
- Hidden Badass: While he usually leaves the fighting to his underlings or Tabitha, he is in fact more than capable in hand-to-hand combat (as Gordon learns the hard way in "The Son of Gotham"). This foreshadows his return as Azrael.
- Hoist by His Own Petard:
- He gets arrested because Barbara, the tool he wanted to use to kill Gordon, gives the police vital information against him.
- His stabbing Tabitha ends up driving her lover Butch to ally with Penguin to take him out for good - which they do, in spectacular fashion.
- Hypocrite: Wants to avenge his family against the Waynes, but has no qualms about ruining other families (such as when he abducts - and eventually kills - Penguin's mother) in the process.
- Ironic Name: After his resurrection, he is dubbed Azrael, the Redeemed One.
- Irony: According to Bullock, he's supposed to be a pile of ashes, not a supervillainous ninja who had just put Captain Barnes in critical condition. Later in "Unleashed", he actually does meet a fiery end—albeit not in an incinerator, but at the hands of an RPG-wielding mobster.
- It's Personal: According to him, his family built Gotham including the very foundations upon which the city rests but they were cheated out of their credit. Now he's back wanting revenge.
- Kick the Dog: In one of his cruellest moments, goes on TV after killing Penguin's mother, and passes Oswald (whose love for his mother is unquestionably one of his brightest points) off as a man "not even a mother could love".
- Killed Off for Real: Penguin and Butch blow him up with an RPG after the former threatens to shove his umbrella in a different part of him this time around. No resurrections this time.
- Large Ham: Ironically, he's pretty calm and collected when he's dealing with Tabitha or Jerome, but plays it up dramatically when he's pretending to be good; he plays it for all it's worth in his speech to Jerome in "The Last Laugh", with even a full on Aside Glance directly to the recording TV cameras. Later, his pretence to Gordon that he's haunted by killing someone is so over the top it's a miracle Gordon didn't suspect him sooner.
- Taken up to eleven as Azrael, who is prone to shouting dramatically and using the most over-the-top language possible.
- Ludicrous Gibs: Even as the nigh-invulnerable Azrael, he can still be blown to pieces by an RPG, and as Alfred notes in "Anything for You", the mess that ensues ends up being quite the cleanup job for the Wayne family's gardener.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Whatever he did to Zaardan in his first appearance either involved very precise chemistry and technology, or was outright magical. It's never clarified.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Nice job killing Penguin's mother to punish him for trying to take matters into his own hands — despite him only doing so because you refused the pragmatic alternative of simply releasing her and possibly keeping him as an (uneasy) ally! Now not only is he out for your blood, but he also ruins your Villain with Good Publicity act in front of Jim and Bullock!
- Nobody Calls Me "Chicken"!: Done subtly in "Mommy's Little Monster" when Penguin tells him he comes from "a long line of cowards", making him decide to kill Penguin himself - which naturally leads to Oswald escaping.
- Non-Action Big Bad: He's got some seriously impressive combat skills, but usually leaves the torture/murder side of things to Tabitha and his other underlings.
- Not Enough to Bury: The second time around he gets shot at point blank range with a bazooka and his body is completely disintegrated.
- Obviously Evil: He's such a Smug Snake and his good reputation is built entirely on events that would be Contrived Coincidence even if we didn't already know he staged them.
- Oh, Crap!:
- He has this reaction when Gordon reveals that he knows that he had Penguin's mother killed.
- And again when Penguin shows up at Wayne Manor to save Bruce, Jim and Alfred. With Butch. And a rocket launcher.
Galavan: Ooooh. - Once Done, Never Forgotten: A big deal is made of his dying twice, to the point where Jerome is visibly upset about being upstaged by Galavan after himself coming back to life.
- Pre-Mortem One-Liner: Before his sister ices Sionis, after the latter had just asked Barbara to accompany him: "She doesn't want to go where you're going."
- Revenge by Proxy: "Scarification" reveals that his family, formerly a ruling family in Gotham, was removed from the records by the Waynes after Caleb Dumas, his ancestor, was accused of raping Celestine Wayne. Centuries later, Theo orders a series of arson attacks on Wayne buildings, and seeks to kill Bruce, who most likely had never heard of the Dumas.
- Revenge Myopia: The Waynes were the ones who destroyed his family two centuries ago, but he sees nothing wrong with unleashing untold suffering upon the people of Gotham who had absolutely nothing to do with the original feud.
- Smug Snake: Even when Gordon has caught him red-handed about to sacrifice Bruce, he can't help bragging that he'll just escape justice again.
- The Sociopath: He has no problem plotting the murder of a child and doesn't even care about his own immediate family, even threatening to kill Tabitha and Silver on different occasions.
- There's No Kill like Overkill: He ends up blown to pieces by Butch's RPG.
- Took a Level in Badass: While he's already proven to be quite the badass when he takes down Gordon in a fight, he becomes an even bigger threat once he becomes Azrael in Season 2B.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: An interesting case in that while Theo's plan involving the Maniax did involve murder and chaos, no one could have had any idea that his getting Jerome to unleash his full potential would indirectly bring about the worst monster that Gotham would ever see.
- Villain Ball: He can't seem to help making bad decisions where Gordon and Penguin are concerned.
- When he decides to kill Penguin himself, instead of shooting him on the spot he decides to give him an Any Last Words? moment which allowed Penguin to slash his throat and then escape.
- In the Season 2 Fall finale, after getting apprehended, Gallavan decides to taunt Gordon on the fact that he will most likely get out of jail again quickly. Gordon decides to kill him knowing this fact.
- Villain with Good Publicity: Even though he's only recently arrived to Gotham, he is already well regarded enough to stand in for the Mayor in public events. But nobody knows he is secretly a villain. He even stages himself to be a hero, by "saving" the city in killing Jerome to make him appear to be the hero.
- Would Hurt a Child: His ultimate plan is to kill Bruce Wayne and he has absolutely no problem threatening the same to Silver.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Once Sionis rejects his proposal Theo wastes no time ordering Tabitha to kill him in a most gruesome way. The same goes for Jerome, whom he killed to make himself look to be a hero.
Tabitha Galavan
Theo's sister and his main lieutenant - unlike him, she's perfectly prepared to get her hands dirty in their plans. She eventually turns on him after his Villainous Breakdown starts threatening Silver. For tropes regarding her, see her entry in Gotham - Criminal Groups.
The Maniax
Barbara Kean
The Ax-Crazy ex-fiance of Jim Gordon, Barbara is broken out of Arkham by the Galavans to use as a weapon and distraction against Jim, but doesn't always stick to their plan. For tropes regarding her, see her entry in Gotham - Criminal Groups.
Jerome Valeska
A young psychopath who previously killed his mother, Jerome is broken out of Arkham by the Galavans as part of the Maniax, part of their plan to make Theo mayor. Of course, it's when he starts laughing that things really take off. For tropes regarding him, see Gotham - Jerome Valeska.
Aaron Helzinger
Aaron Helzinger
Played By: Stink Fisher
An Arkham patient and former member of the Maniax.
- The Big Guy: He towers over the other members of the Maniax.
- The Brute: He's the one who lifts the bodies of the shipyard workers over the ledge to throw them off the roof. He's also able to dish out a savage beating to Gordon without sustaining so much as a scratch.
- Dumb Muscle: There's a trend with these tropes... Barbara chooses him to be her "friend" in Arkham because he's easily the biggest guy there and could protect her from harm. He also falls for her charms relatively easily.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: When he sees Oswald has ice cream and no one else does, he doesn't take it well.
- Psychopathic Manchild: Like Amygdala in the comics, he has the mind of a child. He also killed his whole family with his bare hands.
- Sole Survivor: Aside from Barbara, he's the only one of the six inmates that Galavan broke out of Arkham who's not dead. Hugo Strange does has the resurrected Galavan (now calling himself Azrael) kill him as a test towards the end of the season but it unlikely he died by getting hit with a briefcase.
Richard Sionis
One of the potential Maniax members, during their first meeting he declines membership and is subsequently executed by Tabitha. For more about him see his entry here.
Others
Silver St. Cloud
Silver St. Cloud
Played By: Natalie Alyn Lind
Theo Galavan's niece and ward.
- Adaptational Villainy: In the comics, she is a good person, but on the show she's a willing accomplice of the Galavans. She has a change of heart in the Winter Finale.
- Arch-Enemy: She attempts to assert herself as a major enemy towards Selina, although Selina seems to disregard her as such after she and Bruce effortlessly outsmart her and expose her as the Smug Snake she truly is.
- Becoming the Mask: Seeing Bruce willingly risk his own life to save hers in exchange even after her various emotional manipulations, Silver comes to care for him during the Season 2 winter finale, this time for real.
- Big Bad Wannabe: She thinks that she's a chessmaster like her uncle, but Selina proves that she's not as capable at being a villain as she thinks she is.
- Birds of a Feather: Invoked by Galavan. Silver is a socialite in the making who comes from a wealthy, high-class family like Bruce, and both have yet to acclimate to Anders Preps for similar reasons (he's been predominantly homeschooled, she was studying abroad in Geneva for two years). A good impression in their first few meetings and Bruce is instantly hooked.Silver (on being the new kid at school): "Then we shall brave it together."
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Seems like a convincing Nice Girl around Bruce, but alone with her aunt and uncle or with Selina, she shows her true colors.
- Silver might actually be a sheep in bitch's clothing wearing sheep's clothing over that, as indicated by her desperate attempt to stay within her uncle's good graces (and thus stay alive) throughout "Worse Than a Crime" as well as her subsequent Heel–Face Turn once she finally chooses to risk her own life to save Bruce's. In the previous episode, she also cries out for Bruce when it appears he's about to be executed by a hitman, which may or may not have been genuine alarm and concern for his well-being even if at that point in time it wasn't enough to override her own self-concern.
- Bullying a Dragon: She taunts and threatens Selina, who among other things, is an experienced cat burglar and armed robber, has clawed out a grown man's eyes, and killed at least one person by this point in the series.
- Break the Haughty: Selina hires a fake hitman to submit her to torture in order to get information out her that would help Bruce. After realizing she's been outsmarted by Bruce and Selina, they point out how pathetic of a villain she was. She breaks down crying out Bruce's name after he severs his ties with her for good.
- Broken Pedestal: She becomes this to Bruce. He reveals that he truly did love her, but after listening to Selina, he learns of her dark side.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: She was last seen escaping a building with Tabitha, then never again afterwards.
- Didn't See That Coming: She never knew that Bruce and Selina were smart enough to trick her into giving them information and uncovering her villainy.
- Evil Counterpart: To Selina. Both are young girls with an interest in Bruce Wayne; but while Selina is a Loveable Rogue who cares for Bruce, Silver is a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing who manipulates Bruce for her uncle's gain. Of course, given Silver's ultimate Heel–Face Turn and Selina's later development, they end up being similar.
- False Friend: She's acting as a friendly girl with a crush on Bruce, but is really toying with his emotions.
- Faux Affably Evil: As we see in her "girl talk" with Selina, she nonchalantly threatens to kill her if she interferes in her plans for Bruce.
- Fille Fatale: She's sent by her uncle to seduce Bruce.
- Heel–Face Turn: After trying to fake one doesn't get Bruce's trust, she simply tells him the truth, that her uncle will cut her off or kill her if she doesn't get a kiss from him. Bruce plays along when Theo shows up to save her, and Silver is so touched that she interrupts the ceremony to kill Bruce, buying a precious few seconds for the cavalry to show up.
- High-Heel–Face Turn: Discounting her aunt, who turns on Theo for her own reasons, Silver is the only known member of the Order of St. Dumas to wash her hands clean of the cult and repent.
- Honey Trap: Her role in her uncle's plan is to serve as a kid-friendly version for Bruce. She's quite proud of her success.Silver: "See this finger?" (raises her left little finger) "I have little Bruce wrapped tight around it."
- Kick the Dog: As if threatening Selina's life wasn't bad enough, she coldly mocks her for the fact that she has no mother and says nobody will care about Selina at all if she were to die.
- Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: The dark to Selina's light, ironically, considering whose side she's on.
- Light Is Not Good: Usually dresses in light colors when not in school uniform and is a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing.
- Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Invoked in-universe, as she is introduced dancing barefoot on a restaurant’s fountain, and from them on is all quirky and beautiful and friendly towards Bruce, but it's later shown to all be an act.
- Manipulative Bitch: She's toying with Bruce's feelings under her uncle's orders and clearly doesn't care the least about him (at least at first).
- Related in the Adaptation: Her comic counterpart has no connections whatsoever to the Order of St. Dumas, much less being a relative of one of his descendants.
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: She tries telling Bruce that he's not capable of enacting such heroics in Gotham, but he coldly tells her that she doesn't know him at all.
- Smug Snake: She practically brags about how villainous she is, and then fails spectacularly at backing it up.
- The Sociopath: At first glance she appears to be one, seeing Bruce as nothing but a target for her to trick and she doesn't care what her uncle has planned for the kid.
- Subverted in "Worse Than a Crime" — she gradually grows remorseful and ultimately pulls a Heel–Face Turn, making her more of a pragmatist than this.
- Teens Are Monsters: At the start, she's just as monstrous as her family. Subverted when she pulls a Heel–Face Turn.
- Underestimating Badassery: It turns out that she shouldn't have viewed Bruce and Selina as weak because they kidnap her, submit her to fake torture, and dupe her into confessing information for them.
- Villain Ball: When alone with Selina, she drops her phony nice girl act and reveals her true colors while nonchalantly threatening her. Because of this, Selina is now fully aware of her intentions for Bruce and is now working to stop her. Subverted when it's revealed that Selina never fell for her act in the first place and knew the type of person she is, so nothing she could have done would have prevented this outcome.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: She hasn't been seen since escaping a building with Tabitha. Since Tabitha resurfaces later, it can be presumed that she found Silver a better home and life somewhere far away from Gotham.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Following the above Villain Ball moment, Selina tries to out Silver, but between her lack of evidence and Silver's ability to cry at the drop of a dime, Bruce's trust in Selina is damaged, allowing Silver to better wedge herself between them.
Father Creal
Father Creal
Played By: Ron Rifkin
Leader of the Order of St. Dumas and an associate of Theo Galavan.
- All Monks Know Kung-Fu: His and the other brothers' fighting style owes a lot to the East.
- Evil Old Folks: This rather scrawny looking old man is a terror in hand-to-hand combat. His particular order seems to be something of a Religion of Evil.
- The Man Behind the Man: Theo Galavan is the Arc Villain of the first half of Season 2, but even he submits to Creal's authority.
- Sinister Minister: Evil monk, to be specific.
- Undignified Death: Bullock shoots and kills Creal just as he jumped into the air, causing his body to be blown backwards, sliding across the floor.
