Should the new Batman movies go fantastical?

[bluerayer]

Im talking using the likes of Killer Croc or Clayface? What do you people think?

 

[FeedOnATreeFrog]

Makes no difference to me.

 

[bluerayer]

Well, i would really like to see Clayface...

 

[FeedOnATreeFrog]

I'd like Clayface too, but not because I think the Batman movies 'should' go fantastical.

 

[BattleAngel]

I'm about to post this in the Villains thread, but here's my take on Clayface just as he's going from his normal self (Tom Waits) to monster form.

 

[Rorschach2012]

Yes for sure. Bring on Clayface and Freeze

 

[bluerayer]

I'm about to post this in the Villains thread, but here's my take on Clayface just as he's going from his normal self (Tom Waits) to monster form.

Wow, that looks like The Thing! (The movie with Kurt Russel, not the Marvel character)

 

[BattleAngel]

Wow, that looks like The Thing! (The movie with Kurt Russel, not the Marvel character)

For sure! I think Clayface would be truly an awesome villain- a bit of a sympathetic sap (I'm imagining him being a little like Marv from Sin City), with a combination of the cool factors of the T-1000 and The Thing.

 

[bluerayer]

For sure! I think Clayface would be truly an awesome villain- a bit of a sympathetic sap (I'm imagining him being a little like Marv from Sin City), with a combination of the cool factors of the T-1000 and The Thing.

 

[bluerayer]

I'm about to post this in the Villains thread, but here's my take on Clayface just as he's going from his normal self (Tom Waits) to monster form.

You sculpted that? Cool!

 

[jonathancrane]

My answer to the inquiry is yes. I love the Nolan films dearly (he's one of
my directing heroes,) but they need to depart from the secularizing mindset. Arkham Origins would be a terrific example to use, in terms of balancing the fantastic v. secularized tension.

 

[bluerayer]

My answer to the inquiry is yes. I love the Nolan films dearly (he's one of
my directing heroes,) but they need to depart from the secularizing mindset. Arkham Origins would be a terrific example to use, in terms of balancing the fantastic v. secularized tension.

 

[jonathancrane]

Additionally, I would like to see Batman do some detective work. Retire the 'Villain Trying to Destroy Gotham City' plot and focus on Bruce solving a larger mystery. Affleck has directed a detective film before (Gone Baby Gone) and it would be nice having him show off Batman's intellectual prowess. After all, he is the World's Greatest Detective: what we have seen of him onscreen (thus far) is a capable forensic specialist, whose deductions are formed via committee.

Audiences accept plots that are based on the destruction of a locale; considering the super-massive fanbase Sherlock has, it would be that hard to appeal to it. After all, Sherlock (of which the source material informed Batman in his early days) did not pursue a 'destroy the city' plot until the third series. Even though it was added on as an after thought and wink to the comics of Alan Moore.

But, considering how much the studio has rehashed its current "Universe" Properties (Man of Steel was Superman II and Star Trek 09 thrown in a blender) its unlikely we will have an engaging mystery with raised personal stakes. Instead, it will be another Villain X wants to destroy Gotham because of Motivation Y.

Bleh.

 

[Morcego]

Definitely yes. A fantastical, horror tone would be the way to go, imho.

 

[BattleAngel]

Additionally, I would like to see Batman do some detective work. Retire the 'Villain Trying to Destroy Gotham City' plot and focus on Bruce solving a larger mystery.

Ay-frickin-men.

Instead, it will be another Villain X wants to destroy Gotham because of Motivation Y.

Bleh.

I second that Bleh. But if BvS kills it, I'm fairly certain Affleck will direct a solo Batman and will take it in the direction we really want.

 

[NinjaTurtleFan]

Well, if you're bringing Batman into Superman's universe along with Wonder Woman then it's pretty obvious this new Batman will be a fantastical take. It's essentially like Iron Man--- he's fighting alongside a god, a virtually indestructible being, and an ass-kicking woman.

So, yeah, I'd bring in Mr. Freeze, Ventriloquist, Penguin, all those villains Nolan didn't use in fear of being "too campy" or couldn't fit in with his universe. I would like the grittiness and realism of the Nolan movies as far as characters' actions and for Gotham City to feel like a real place, but the villains should be more comic book-like. Joker falls into a vat of chemicals that alters his appearance; Killer Croc looking less like a man and somewhat reptilian; Two-Face having acid thrown in his face; Mr. Freeze using a freeze gun.

I mean it's been years since the Burton and Schumacher movies so there's been a lot of time to get these characters right and not fall into the same holes as what happened before and not make these characters feel gimmicky or 60's Adam West, but look at the Marvel films, for example, they have all these fantastical villains and characters but they all feel like we could see them walking down the street in New York or there is S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters somewhere... that's what D.C. and Warner Bros. need to do. "Man of Steel" was the start of it. Now, they just need to continue it.

 

[bluerayer]

Reposting these awesome shots of my favourite fantastic bat-villain Clayface:

 

[Rorschach2012]

Love that interpretation of Clayface. Yes. They MUST go fantastical. If they intend to embrace the comics fully, they've gotta go fantastical. Batman's universe is supernatural and unrealistic and that's what I love about it.

 

[-Nam rorriM-]

Yes. Before it becomes stale. Nolan's style worked but let's go all the way. Introduce it slowly if you must

 

[Ipodman]

Joker wasn't fantastical?

But in all seriousness, I would love to see Freeze and Poison Ivy done "properly"... and Clayface would be quite terrifying under a good director who knows horror

 

[shauner111]

Love that interpretation of Clayface. Yes. They MUST go fantastical. If they intend to embrace the comics fully, they've gotta go fantastical. Batman's universe is supernatural and unrealistic and that's what I love about it.

Not always.

 

[Lead Cenobite]

Not always.

One of Batman's earliest villains was a vampire, an actual vampire, not just some goth nut who files his teeth and bites a lot during sex.

 

[Oswald]

One of Batman's earliest villains was a vampire, an actual vampire, not just some goth nut who files his teeth bites a lot during sex.

So? Since that moment the character and his universe have been principally realistic, and I say this because you can tell the basic about Batman's story without any supernatural element. Personally I think all the important villains (with the exception of Clayface, Man-Bat and Solomon Grundy) can be expressed in realistic terms and their essences wouldn't be altered. Yes, even Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy. Nolan showed it was possible, and I hope that's the path the next films will take.

 

[Lead Cenobite]

So? Since that moment the character and his universe have been principally realistic, and I say this because you can tell the basic about Batman's story without any supernatural element. Personally I think all the important villains (with the exception of Clayface, Man-Bat and Solomon Grundy) can be expressed in realistic terms and their essences wouldn't be altered. Yes, even Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy. Nolan showed it was possible, and I hope that's the path the next films will take.

I'm just saying there's been a precedent for the supernatural in Batman comics since the year the character was created, ans since then there's been plenty of examples of science fiction and fantasy, plus he shares a universe with the Justice League and the New Gods. Batman has almost always been more out there and surreal than Nolan allowed him to be in his movies. Just because he isn't fighting vampires, demons, gods, mutants, and aliens in every single issue, that doesn't mean they cease to exist whenever a writer decides to do some ultra-gritty, grounded detective story that could work as the plot of a CSI or Law and Order.

 

[Oswald]

I'm just saying there's been a precedent for the supernatural in Batman comics since the year the character was created, ans since then there's been plenty of examples of science fiction and fantasy, plus he shares a universe with the Justice League and the New Gods. Batman has almost always been more out there and surreal than Nolan allowed him to be in his movies. Just because he isn't fighting vampires, demons, gods, mutants, and aliens in every single issue, that doesn't mean they cease to exist whenever a writer decides to do some ultra-gritty, grounded detective story that could work as the plot of a CSI or Law and Order.

But the demons, gods and extraterrestrials provide nothing to the Batman mythos, they're fine to Superman or others fantastic heroes, but Batman is a human and his enemies and the menaces he confronts are also human. For me Batman against a fantastic creature has so much sense as Superman against the Joker or another human psychopath: that is, nothing.

It's true there has been fantastic characters and plots along Batman's story, I'm not gonna deny it, but, in the base, they're dispensable in the path of Bruce Wayne.