In this blog post I will be looking at main villains and their partners/sidekicks (not henchmen or Molls) from the Batman TV series who have never appeared again, in any Batman project. So that this blog post isn’t just a simple list I will be looking at instances where they could have appeared again, potential reasons for them not appearing again and if there were plans for them to appear again at any point.
Though not always the case, it is potentially the case, that these villains did not appear again because of issues with likenesses. Although this doesn’t always stop a villain appearing again e.g. Colonel Gumm appears again in Batman 66 Meets The Green Hornet with his face covered by glue to avoid issues with using Roger C Carmel’s likeness.
Eivol Ekdal (from Season 1 Episode 9: Zelda The Great, Season 1 Episode 10: A Death Worse Than Fate)
Interestingly this villain had appeared in the comics prior to the TV series, in Detective Comics Issue 346 in the story “Batman’s Inescapable Doom-Trap”. In fact it was this story that was adapted when Eivol Ekdal made his appearance in the Batman TV series. The significant change made to this story was to change the character of Carnado, into a woman called Zelda. Zelda would appear again in Batman 66 Issue 9 in the story “Zelda’s Great Escape”. With Zelda having turned full villain and indeed becoming a mentor in this story it seems there was no narrative need for the manipulative Eivol Ekdal to be pulling her strings so to speak. Zelda would also appear in a quick cameo in a jailbreak scene in Batman: The Brave and the Bold Season 1 Episode 5: Day of the Dark Knight! But again Eivol was nowhere to be found.
Pussycat (from Season 2 Episode 40: That Darn Catwoman, Season 2 Episode 41: Scat! Darn Catwoman)
Catwoman’s singing protege appeared in only one Catwoman story. Given that Catwoman appeared again later in the TV series without her sidekick it obviously isn’t strange to see Catwoman without Pussycat. With the Batman 66 comics being set almost solely in the run of the TV series and featuring stories we didn’t see in the show it seems a shame that we haven’t seen Pussycat again. In the Issue 11 story “The Joker’s Big Show” we even see an inmate talent show in which she could’ve showcased her singing, but given that more central villains were used and the musical pairing of The Siren and Chandell were featured arguably it left no need for Pussycat’s singing, or for that matter, The Minstrel’s musical talents either!
Interestingly, G Allen Black, artist, writer and co-creator of the Jet Pack Pets, pitched Pussycat to DC Comics for the Batman 66 comics as evidenced by his Tweet;
Freddy “The Fence” Touche (from Season 2 Episode 50: Batman Displays His Knowledge, Season 3 Episode 26: Minerva, Mayhem and Millionaires)
Appearing in the Catwoman episode “Batman Displays His Knowledge”, and again in the final episode of the series, Freddy The Fence has not been seen since the series ended despite animated series, animated films and Batman 66 comics featuring almost every Batman 66 villain under the sun in various group shot cameos and multi-villain stories. Given his nature as an independent character there are no instances where his absence feels strange or indicative of a change, unlike others on this list.
Lola Lasagne (from Season 3 Episode 3: The Wail of the Siren (Uncredited), Season 3 Episode 4: The Sport of Penguins, Season 3 Episode 5: A Horse of Another Color)
Nora Clavicle (from Season 3 Episode 18: Louie’s Lethal Lilac Time (Uncredited), Season 3 Episode 19: Nora Clavicle and the Ladies’ Crime Club)
Dr. Cassandra and Cabala (from Season 3 Episode 24: The Joker’s Flying Saucer (Uncredited), Season 3 Episode 25: The Entrancing Dr. Cassandra)
Each of these four villains would appear in only one story in the TV series and never again. In Batman 66 Issue 27 we would see Bane for the first time in Batman 66 continuity. The artist and colourist, for this story “Bane Enters The Ring”, Scott Kowalchuk, explains in a post on his blog
click the Kowalchuk header to read his blog post
how he had an idea for each of these characters to form a part of the League of Shadows for a later story alongside Bane in a sequel of sorts to “Bane Enters The Ring”.
Interestingly, we would see The League of Shadows in the mini series Batman 66 Meets Wonder Woman 77 but it would not be what is laid out in Scott Kowalchuk’s blog post.
Calamity Jan (from Season 3 Episode 20: Penguin’s Clean Sweep (Uncredited), Season 3 Episode 21: The Great Escape, Season 3 Episode 22: The Great Train Robbery)
Shame’s fiancee Calamity Jan is absent from all of Shame’s subsequent appearances in Batman 66 Issues 3,8,30, Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders and Batman vs Two-Face. She even seems to
have been replaced in Batman 66 Issue 8 by an unnamed woman.
Maybe?
Minerva (from Season 3 Episode 25: The Entrancing Dr. Cassandra (Uncredited), Season 3 Episode 26: Minerva, Mayhem and Millionaires)
Minerva hasn’t appeared again since the TV series ended. But then again, has she?… In Batman 66 Issue 2 at the end of the story “Chandell’s Chanteuse” we see The Sandman leaving with a woman on his arm, she is not named, nor does she have any lines, but bares a distinct resemblance to Minerva. This appearance from The Sandman is to set up his story in Issue 5, “The Sandman Says Good Night”, in which Minerva or should I say, the unnamed woman, does not appear.