| “ | You cannot defeat me. I am a Heidelberg fencing champion. | „ |
| ~ Arkady Duvall to Jonah Hex. |
Arkady Duvall is a minor antagonist in Batman: The Animated Series, serving as the main antagonist of the Season 4 episode "Showdown".
He is an Old West outlaw, one of Ra's al Ghul's several children and an enemy of the Western bounty hunter Jonah Hex. In the late 19th century, Duvall and his father attempt to take over the United States of America by targeting their Transcontinental Railroad, but they come across Hex, who has been hired to take Duvall out for his past actions in an Eastern town.
He was voiced by Malcolm McDowell, who also played Alex DeLarge in A Clockwork Orange.
His Evil Ranking[]
What Makes Him Close to Being Pure Evil?[]
- Has no tragic backstory as far as known, already being an arrogant swordsman back during his days at the Heidelberg University's fencing club.
- Started fights, harassed a barmaid's girls and provoked duels among fellow cowboys before deciding to join his father Ra's al Ghul in his world-conquering plans. In particular, he left a girl badly injured through unknown means, which led to the barmaid to hire the bounty hunter Jonah Hex to go after Duvall.
- While unconfirmed onscreen likely because of the show's target audience, it's heavily implied that Duvall raped that Eastern girl he left badly injured, which is something no other DCAU villain has ever done (at least successfully).
- Forced countless of American workers in 1883 to build the Phoenix, an aeroship that his father planned to use to destroy the Transcontinental Railroad to force Washington D.C. into proclaiming Ra's the United States of America's leader, but unlike his father, Duvall whips some of the workers to make them finish the aircraft quickly, even appalling Ra's.
- While his father was the one behind the whole scheme, at the very least he had some participation in the operation.
- Ordered his men to drown Jonah Hex into a vat of molten lead, which is a particularly painful way to die, though he survives thanks to Ra's calling his son out for trying to get rid of an intruder without asking for his opinion first.
- Though Duvall tried to dissuade Hex from destroying the Phoenix with one of its cannons, he likely did so to survive and not because he cared for his crewmembers aboard.
- Engaged Jonah Hex in a swordfight, promising to chop Hex into pieces once defeated.
- Attempted to buy his way out from being killed by offering Hex five thousand in gold in exchange of sparing his life, something which disgusted the incorruptible bounty hunter.
- Was sentenced to fifty years of forced labor until nothing but an old frail man remained, leading his father to retrieve him from a Gothamite retirement home so he can spend the rest of his days with him. However, his fate wasn't played for sympathy and nothing shows that Duvall really changed his ways over the years or that he even reciprocated his father's love ever.
What Prevents Him from Being Pure Evil?[]
- Suffers from Fridge Horror as his worst act, that being how he presumably raped an Eastern girl, happened offscreen and it's exactly ambiguous what he did to the girl. While it's heavily implied Duvall raped her due to how seriously the girl's boss and Jonah Hex took the situation, nothing explicit is even confirmed onscreen. Because of this, plus the fact that Duvall just assisted his father in one of his world-conquering schemes, Duvall has trouble passing the DCAU's high Heinous Standards. That said, Duvall had understandably less resources due to living back in the 19th century and planned to eventually make an empire of his own, making this a minor prevention.
Trivia[]
- If it became clear, though likely through in a subtle way due to Batman: The Animated Series being a kid's show, that he did hurt that Eastern girl by raping her, Arkady Duvall would barely pass the DCAU's high Heinous Standards and thus qualify as Pure Evil.
External Links[]
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 Near Pure Evils
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Comics Other Earths Theatrical Movies Direct-to-video Movies Television Novelizations Video Games See Also | ||
 Animated Universe Near Pure Evils
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Batman: The Animated Series: Scarecrow | Sewer King | Professor Milo | Arkady Duvall | ||