Top 100 Batman VILLAINS

10 - Prometheus

#10 - Prometheus
First Appearance: New Year's Evil: Prometheus #1 (Feb 1998)

" I took the name because I wanted to take fire from the Gods themselves. Steal their knowledge and techniques and use them against them." ~Prometheus

We've talked about a lot of anti-Batmen; those created to parody (Batzarro), to highlight one specific attribute of Batman and turn it on its head (Black Spider, Reaper), to explore the Bat's willpower (Man-Bat), and to even imagine a polar opposite of the Bat (Owlman, Wrath). But none of them truly encapsulate the complete epitome of what the Batman is NOT like Prometheus. And thanks to some unknown creator by the name of Grant Morrison, we're now able to truly explore a Bruce Wayne whose sole purpose is everything that Batman's isn't - the self.

Batman is often seen as a tool for vengeance in the name of his parents, and similarly that's what Prometheus is: his parents were thieves killed in a police chase, leaving him orphaned and seeking vengeance. While Batman seeks vengeance by providing justice to the downtrodden, Prometheus seeks vengeance by providing what he lost, and that is power beyond that of the law. Prometheus, like Batman, has an extremely brilliant, tactical mind, and he can see not only the next step, but four or five more down the line. Of course, where Batman enhances his skill with new technology, Prometheus enhances his technology with new skill; inside of Prometheus' helmet is a processor that can be loaded with programming to give him the skills of any human being he wants. He can fight on the level of Batman, or Black Canary, etc., so long as he has the right disc or flash drive. And where Batman uses his home as a shell to hide his sanctuary, Prometheus uses a shell for sanctuary to hide his home, which is one of my personal all-time favorite bases in comics:

Batman's tangles with Prometheus are beyond legendary. In fact, Batman's first run-in with Prometheus results in the entire Justice League being defeated by Prometheus single-handedly (including Batman!!), only to be stopped by the timely intervention of Catwoman. Of course, rematch time was even more impressive, resulting in the single best Batman fight of all time:

Honestly, this has to be the single most creative way Batman has ever defeated a villain, and not just any villain, either. This is one of those "I literally am smart enough to beat the entire Justice League with ridiculously brilliant and simple strategies" villains. Who else can pull this off? Deathstroke, and maybe... someone else on this list. Regardless, Prometheus is the perfect opposite to Batman, the ultimate mirror image, the worthiest adversary, and my pick for #10.

Greatest Prometheus Stories Ever Told:
#1 - JLA: Strength in Numbers/World War III - It has to be comboed together; this two-parter sees Prometheus defeat the JLA and then come back for second helpings during my single favorite JLA story ever told.

#2 - JLA: Cry for Justice - If you hate this story simply because of the one spoilerific death near the end, then you just aren't reading this right. This isn't a story about the heroes, this is a story about the villains, and especially how one villain can drive heroes to villainous acts. Regardless of what you may think, Prometheus wins at the end of this story. The art is immaculate and the story is honestly quite riveting.

#3 - Faces of Evil: Prometheus - Honestly, this is a tie with New Year's Evil: Prometheus. Both stories help provide some great backstory proving his legitimacy.