Now that the movie The Dark Knight has introduced Joker and Two-Face as Batman villains (and Ra’s al Ghul, Scarecrow and to a lesser extent Mr. Zsasz in the previous movie), MSNBC wrote an article on who should be the villains in the next film which is surely also to be directed by Christopher Nolan. They note the fact that Nolan has made the series more realistic, so obviously some of the sillier villains and the tone from the 60’s TV show are right out. But as one would expect from a non-comics publication, they have made some glaring omissions.
Among their choices, ranging from best idea to worst, are: Catwoman, Talia al Ghul, Penguin, Killer Croc, Clayface, Black Mask, Man-Bat, Riddler, Scarface, Cluemaster, Penny Plunderer, Chandell (?), and Bat-Mite.
Okay, these guys get an “F” for the mere mention of Bat-Mite. Also Chandell, Penny Plunderer and Cluemaster are such obscure and silly villains, they should have just suggested Orca and let it be over with. Catwoman would be met with jeers, after the awful Halle Berry movie. Riddler was already ruined forever by Jim Carrey. And Scarface is a ventriloquist doll…that may have worked in the cartoon, but not in a Nolan film. Here are my suggestions, and though some of these characters are also obscure they could make a much better (serious) movie.
Careful, there may be some minor spoilers for Batman comic stories herein.
Mr. Freeze: Yes, Arnold probably wrecked any chance of a serious Mr. Freeze in a Batman movie, but I’m convinced it would still work if a bit more drama was added. He is more of a tragic character, and was done very well in the animated series. (Odds 1000:1)
Deadshot: A cybernetic or gadget-oriented assassin; probably would be better as a secondary villain but may be interesting with a few changes to his character thrown in. (Odds 750:1)
Lady Shiva: Ultra high-end assassin and one of the only people in the DCU who is a better martial artist than Batman. May be interesting if they used her as a love interest / foe, but I’m not sure if people would like the fact that she could beat up Batman. (Odds 500:1)
Poison Ivy: I’m convinced this character could be done in a more serious manner than her treatment in Batman & Robin. Perhaps they could do the eco-terrorist angle a bit more realistically. Elements of her character may be too similar to those of Scarecrow in Batman Begins. (Odds 500:1)
Prometheus: Despite the silly helmet, an interesting concept for a villain: he has the world’s best fighters’ moves programmed into his helmet, making him a threat to Batman and other superheroes. See Grant Morrison’s JLA. (Odds 500:1)
Calculator: A previously very silly villain who now primarily uses his intellect in his nefarious endeavors (see Birds of Prey). May be an interesting intellectual foil for Batman but probably has limited use as a primary villain due to his lack of fighting skills. (Odds 300:1)
Cassandra Cain: Cassandra is the daugher of an assassin and is taught from birth to fight and kill, and is also mute; Batman takes her in and tries to tame her murderous nature, allowing her to become the new Batgirl. She might be a good addition for a redemption story. (Odds 300:1)
Firefly: Basically just a guy in an asbestos suit with wings who sets stuff on fire. Any stories with him would probably echo The Dark Knight because of the “wanton destruction” angle, but he could easily be made more interesting. (Odds 100:1)
Holiday: From the Long Halloween series, Holiday was so named because he murdered all of his victims on holidays and left a trinket representing the holiday at the corpse. They could use this device if they wanted to tell a murder mystery, which would be a welcome switch from having an over-the-top supervillain tearing up the screen in each movie. (Odds 50:1)
Hush: From the Jeph Loeb / Jim Lee arc, Hush is basically a dark mirror of Batman. Adapting the actual story of Hush might be too convoluted for the screen, since it involves almost all of Batman’s rouges’ gallery, but they could bring him in as a solo villain who messes with Batman or hires other people to mess with him. (Odds 50:1)
Bane: Probably the most glaring omission from their list. Although I suppose you can’t do Knightfall in a big budget film (since it would put the star of the movie out of comission for almost the whole thing) you could do a different story or rewrite it so he is gravely wounded instead of paralyzed. Bane is actually an intelligent, multi-layered character unlike how he was portrayed in Batman & Robin as Poison Ivy’s bodyguard. (Odds 20:1)