#82 - Tally Man
First Appearance: Batman: Shadow of the Bat #19 (Oct 1993)
"Everyone has to pay the Tally Man." ~Tally Man
Tally Man's origin is particularly dark. When he was a boy, his mother was being extorted for money by a tax collector; the boy used a fire poker to kill the collector, sending his mother into a spiral that resulted in her suicide. Ultimately, Tally Man would snap due to this and use the guise of an old-time tax collector to collect the debts owed him by Gotham and also Gotham's underworld.
Tally Man is one of those great, hardly ever utilized side villains with tons of potential. He's more murderous than the Joker and just as crazy, with a bizarre circus-like outfit and a penchant for gunplay. He's worked both solo and as a lead henchman (most memorably for Two-Face in No Man's Land), and in both types of situations, he's been a real asset to the storyteller, setting up real dangerous and interesting plots that make you want to just say "Damn, this guy is nuts... but I love him for it."
Greatest Tally Man Story Ever Told:Batman: Shadow of the Bat #34 - Nightwing's run-in with Tally Man during Dick's first tenure as Batman is a doozy. One thing I should mention about Tally Man; he's got this hilarious sideplot of not ever running into the same Batman and yet assuming they're all the same guy. He first fights the Azrael-Batman and is bested, seeks vengeance on the Nightwing-Batman and is bested, and when he faces Bruce Wayne for the first time, assumes he's the same guy as before and demands vengeance again. It's really quite humorous. Too bad we don't get more sly subplots like that.
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Top 100 Batman VILLAINS
RandomName basically describes it. It's a list of the top 100 Batman villains. (Note: This isn't MY list. So, if you don't agree with it, don't freak out and rant in the comments)
