What is a hero, or villain, without a cause? Some tragic origin stories influence characters to devote their life to fighting the very crime that caused them such trauma. Others, however, become the criminal themselves in attempts to avenge their lost childhood or cope with the darkness inside.
The DC universe is particularly great at writing characters with upsetting, and incredibly in-depth, backstories, most notably those within the Batman franchise. Their pasts humanize them, adding layers to their story and motivation. Given how devastating the pasts of these troubled characters are, it's no wonder they turned out the way they did.
8 Man-Bat
Kirk Langstrom is the Jekyll and Hyde of the Batman franchise. Dr. Langstrom was a geneticist so invested in his work, he was mocked by his peers and beginning to lose his wife. Kirk was also slowly becoming deaf, so he decided to take the research he had done on the enhanced hearing of bats and find a cure. After much research, he created a serum. However, his funding requests were denied, and so, he had no choice but to test his cure on himself.
Though his hearing is restored momentarily, he started to black out and lose control of his own body, mutating into a man/bat hybrid, an experiment gone wrong. To free himself from the monster he is becoming, he attempts to commit suicide. But before that happens, the beast takes control of him, flying away from his lab. Batman later helps him reverse his experiment, but that doesn't mean he is cured. Now, he involuntarily transforms back and forth between Kirk Langstrom and Man-Bat, and has lost everything in the process.
7 The Ventriloquist
There are multiple versions of this character's origin story, each as troubling as the next. The one referenced most often follows the story of Arnold Wesker, a quiet man who was orphaned as a young boy. It is said that Wesker watched the murder of his own mother, which led to his dissociative identity disorder diagnosis. One day, the once-timid boy burst out into a barroom brawl after years of suppressing his upset and anger.
As a result, he is sent to Blackgate Prison. Here, Arnold murders another prisoner, who had previously whittled a tree into a puppet called Scarface. Wesker claims he is possessed by Scarface to do all the heinous crimes he's committed. Others think that Wesker uses the puppet to act out a second, darker personality; a result of his traumatic childhood.
6 Poison Ivy
Dr. Pamela Lillian Isley was a botanist who fell in love with her professor, Marc LeGrande. Knowing how she felt about him, Marc persuaded Pamela to help him steal an Egyptian artifact, which contained ancient herbs.
Once the theft was complete, Marc became paranoid; he began to fear that Pamela would report him to the authorities. To ensure this didn't happen, he poisoned her with the herbs she helped him steal. However, this didn't kill her as he anticipated. Instead, it had an opposite effect, making her immune to natural toxins and disease. With her newfound power, Pamela became 'Poison Ivy' and turned to a life of crime, swearing to save nature from the evil of man.
5 Mr. Freeze
As a child, Victor Fries would freeze animals in attempts to preserve them, extending their lifespan. His parents, worried about his strange behavior, sent him to a boarding school. Different from everyone else, Victor struggled to make friends and quickly became depressed. Soon, however, he met Nora and the pair soon fell in love.
After they married, Nora was diagnosed with Huntington's Chorea, a life-threatening disease. Victor attempted to extend the time they had left together by experimenting with cryogenic technology. This experiment went drastically wrong and his lab was destroyed. Fries miraculously lived but after the accident, his body could only survive sub-zero temperatures. With the love of his life's condition gradually getting worse, Victor turned to a life of crime in order to gather the money he needed to cure his sick wife, becoming Mr. Freeze.
4 Killer Croc
Waylon Jones suffers from epidermolytic hyperkeratosis, a condition that makes his skin scaly and reptile-like. As a result, he suffered abuse and prejudice from birth. After his mother passed away and his father abandoned him, Waylon's aunt, an abusive alcoholic, took him in.
He was bullied throughout school by his peers, which led him to turn to crime. By the time he was 16, he had already gone to prison. Here, he murdered a fellow prisoner for mocking his appearance. Upon his release, he joined a freak show wrestling alligators, and was given the name 'Killer Croc' before succumbing to a life of crime.
3 Bane
Sentenced to life in prison from birth for the crimes of his father, Bane was destined for the path of corruption from the beginning. Bane, imprisoned on the remote island, dedicated his life to molding his mind and body into the perfect weapon. As an adult, Bane was forced to trial a new drug by the name 'Venom' and, although the drug almost kills him, he starts to take advantage of its strength enhancing side effects.
Inevitably, Bane became so addicted to the drug that he must take it every 12 hours to avoid its severe side effects. As a result of the Venom, he gained superhuman strength, allowing him to escape prison and flee to Gotham City.
2 The Riddler
Edward Nigma was a genius child who would often score high in school exams. Craving validation from his father, he would use these good grades in hopes of receiving praise. Instead, his father would beat him, accusing him of being a cheater. Nigma would also attempt to impress the other kids in his class by solving puzzles faster than everyone else, but this only led to him being bullied.
Used to rejection, Edward went mad. He soon developed an unhealthy obsession for riddles. As an adult, the traumatic events of his childhood led him down a path of crime, eventually taking on the name 'The Riddler'.
1 Jason Todd
Jason Todd has taken on the mantles of heroes, villains and anti-heroes alike since his introduction in Batman #357, and he has a backstory like no other. Jason's father was a criminal who ended up in prison. Upon his release, he didn't return to his family, leaving Jason fatherless. His mother was a drug addict, forcing Jason provide for the family from a very young age. He would steal car parts and sell them for cash. Jason became an orphan when his mother died of an overdose and, since he was from a poor family, he had no choice but to fend for himself.
He meets Batman, who takes him on and trains him to be the new Robin. Things are finally looking up for him; that is, until he discovers the woman he thought was his mother was not his birth mother. He sets out to find his biological mother, and once he does, is beyond happy to be reunited with her. It isn't long, however, before he finds out she is working alongside the Joker, sending him medical supplies and funds from the agency she works with. She hands Jason to Joker, which leads to Jason being kept in a warehouse. Here, he is beaten and murdered.