#70 - Cornelius Stirk
First Appearance: Detective Comics #592 (Nov 1988)
And now... a tiny taste of your friend's terror. ~Cornelius Stirk
There are villains, there are terrifying villains, and then there's Cornelius Stirk. Stirk takes the Scarecrow's modus operandi and adds in a pinch of Hannibal Lecter with a side Jigsaw for a little more horrific flavoring, and the result is something that will haunt your dreams. A man with his face utterly and disgustingly deformed, he uses fear to raise his victim's norepinephrine levels, then kills them and eats their hearts. Yup, that's his schtick. He scares you, kills you and then eats you. So uh, yeah. That's um... really, really, freakingly, ridiculously awful and gruesome.
I have to say that when I think of Batman's most hardcore villains, this is the guy that tops the list. Conceptually I can't think of a villain that comes close to as, well, awful as Cornelius Stirk. Of course, he wouldn't be so bad if he wasn't so damn good at what he does. And that's where Batman comes in. Stirk is one of the villains that brings out the detective side of things for Batman, and his misadventures highlight the more cerebral side of horror that only a superhero franchise like horror can provide.
Greatest Cornelius Stirk Story Ever Told: Batman: Shadow of the Bat #46-47 - When your name is the title of the story, you know that it's your time to shine. In a two-parter simply titled "Cornelius Stirk", Stirk gives his finest, and one of his most frightening, performances as Batman tangles with both him and the Penguin.
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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)
