Villains we need to see in this Batman solo franchise

[Mr. Fantastic]

I hope WB is able to go into the project without having a billion dollars in mind. While it may not set records, a smaller-scale Batman film could still turn a nice profit. Something in a similar ballpark as Logan.

If they are expecting Reeves to deliver on the same scale that Nolan did, I think we may be in for a rough ride.

This is WB. If they thought turning Batman into a monkey would make a billion dollars, they'd go for it. The only reason they're going back in this direction is because they're chasing the Nolan money.

 

[guitarsingerguy]

I think its kinda sad that Red Hood,Court of Owls,Hush and Dr Hurt are being tossed around as potential villains. These characters were literally created in the last decade and none of them are classics. The only recent villain I'd call a classic is Professor Pyg. Now I love Dr Hurt, huge Morrison fan but Pyg and Prometheus are superior candidates. Hush just sucks and so does Black Mask frankly. Red Hood is overused and overdone at this point and the Court I cant take seriously at all. Every comic and tv show and animated film they starred in ends up fodderizing them.

I'd personally like if the Reeves trilogy of films kick off with an intro villain. Say Batman fights off Pyg in the opening scenes of the first movie, then Man-Bat in the next film and so on.I think monsters can be done in that manner. As for main villains I'd like Poison Ivy, Hugo Strange and Deathstroke. Also I wouldn't mind a reverse Knightfall film where Batman goes to Santa Prisca, infiltrates Pena Duro and takes down Bane who is operating an international criminal empire from there. I know its like Tom King's I am Suicide story but that one had shoddy execution. Court and Hush though? I probably wont even watch it in cinema.

There are great stories to be mined there with BOTH Hush and the Court.

 

[guitarsingerguy]

Yeah...because having metahumans was what went wrong with JL

Alas, studie execs always learn the wrong lessons so I'm sure that's what they're thinking.

Also, how are Hugo Strange and Dr. Strange related at all besides sharing a last name? Fox and Marvel literally used the same character

Clearly the poster doesn't have the brightest outlook for the general audience to not be borderline ******ed, but...can you really blame him?!

 

[Omegabat]

There are great stories to be mined there with BOTH Hush and the Court.

I have read every story with Hush and COO and seen Gotham and Batman vs Robin. I find them rubbish.

I can write elaborate reasons but just watch the Bond film SPECTRE and that sums up my problems with both concepts singlehandedly. Its almost as if it was made as a warning to Batman directors to not use Hush and the Court.

 

[guitarsingerguy]

This is WB. If they thought turning Batman into a monkey would make a billion dollars, they'd go for it. The only reason they're going back in this direction is because they're chasing the Nolan money.

Hell...if you turn Batman into a monkey, I'd basically GUARANTEE you a million dollars. That's a genius idea actually. Just get Andy Serkis to play a full mocap simian Batman. Boom! 10 billion dollar B.O., AND Oscars galore!!!!!

 

[Boom]

This is WB. If they thought turning Batman into a monkey would make a billion dollars, they'd go for it. The only reason they're going back in this direction is because they're chasing the Nolan money.

See, I think expecting a billion dollars off these movies is what's getting WB into trouble. It's probably how they've been justifying these crazy-stupid budgets.

A billion dollars is hard enough to achieve on its own merit, and right now it's safer to assume that Nolan's last two Batman films were outliers. Let Reeves make a smaller, more personal Batman movie on a tighter budget. If it gets strong reviews, it'll make them a nice profit regardless of whether or not it hits a billion. I just think going into this movie expecting that much money is only going to be a disservice to Reeves. He cannot replicate something that might very well have been a lightning-in-a-bottle type deal.

 

[shauner111]

Yeah...because having metahumans was what went wrong with JL

Alas, studie execs always learn the wrong lessons so I'm sure that's what they're thinking.

Also, how are Hugo Strange and Dr. Strange related at all besides sharing a last name? Fox and Marvel literally used the same character

It's not even close to being a main problem, but I do believe that it NEVER works when Batman is put against metahumans in live-action. Partly because they don't do it well and also because you're getting CGI characters and it looks terrible. Audiences don't respond to it. Just because it works in animation, doesn't mean it'll work in live-action.

They're not related. I never said they were. But you underestimate how little the general audience knows when it comes superhero movies. It's also more about the filmmaker wanting to be original. Two different characters, sure, but selling a main villain with the same name is a risk of confusion and comparison. Marvel and Fox used Quicksilver and none of them had much screentime, none of them were the selling point when it comes to marketing, none of them had their own Marvel Studios solo film beforehand.

 

[shauner111]

[/b]

Clearly the poster doesn't have the brightest outlook for the general audience to not be borderline ******ed, but...can you really blame him?!

LOL exactly.

 

[OutOfBoose]

General rule: those we haven't got yet or those that were butchered by awful adaptation (Ivy, Freeze).

 

[shauner111]

Agreed. If they've been done well in the past, they should be given cameo sized roles only if they're essential to any universe like Joker/Catwoman. Not that I wouldn't mind a full on Joker story with a new actor, but it's not necessary.

 

[C Prometheus]

In terms of villains with personal connections that haven't been used yet:

Court of Owls (Talon)
Hugo Strange
Hush
Red Hood
Simon Hurt

Without prior setup, I think using Red Hood right out the gate is risky. That story really only works if you're invested in Jason Todd as a character.

I completely agree with you on Red Hood, actually. At first I'd thought for sure that Reeves would start with him, but seeing as how he wants to do a trilogy, it makes way more sense to save Red Hood for the second or (more likely) third film.

Personally speaking, if I were Reeves here, I'd probably go with the following order:

1. Court of Owls or Dr. Hugo Strange
2. Hush
3. Red Hood

The original Batman: Hush comic was what set up the possibility that Jason Todd had risen from the grave, so while that storyline as it is could never be adapted to a film exactly, I think there's certainly ways for Reeves to loosely adapt it into a 2 hour/2.5 hour long film that features a subplot on Jason and leave the door open for Red Hood to wrap things up in the trilogy.

 

[Jplaya2023]

We've already seen;

joker - twice
pengy
riddler
freeze
catwoman
bane - twice
2 face - twice
race al ghul
riddler
scarecrow

How about a movie with the freaks like clayface, and killer croc (Who both were created by cadmus experiments running a mock and batman must stop them)

 

[shauner111]

Croc is not a good or bright character. I never understand that suggestion. What a waste that would be, and why? Just so some fans can see batman fighting a crocodile man in a sewer?

 

[cryptic name]

Croc works great as hired muscle if you get a crime boss type like Black Mask or Penguin in there.

I'd really like to see something set in Batman's early career (but not an origin) where the mob is losing it's grip on the city and the freaks are coming into their own. Throw in Rupert Thorne to represent the old world and maybe he's in a mob war with Two Face or Black Mask.

I also really dig the idea s Hugo Strange as a sort of pop psychologist leading like a PR war against Batman while he's secretly obsessed with him. Maybe he third act sees an unhinged Strange trap Batman inside Arkham and free the inmates and we see a few classic villains.

 

[Boom]

Pick any of these and I'm happy.

Clayface
Hugo Strange
Hush
Mad Hatter
Penguin
Riddler
Simon Hurt

 

[shauner111]

Mad Hatter should never see the light of day.

 

[Boom]

Mad Hatter should never see the light of day.

 

[David H.]

Give me Egghead, Bookworm, King Tut and Zelda the Great.

 

[shauner111]

He's a terrible silly character. There's no originality there to make something compelling that people would want to see, other than maybe a tiny group of comic book fanboys. Luckily these movies aren't made for those people. I can only see a cameo or Easter egg in his future.

 

[Rorschach2012]

Mister Freeze and Clayface are the ones I’d most want to see.

 

[Astro13Zombie]

Mister freeze is my main want from this new trilogy.
He’s an amazing character and he deserves to be done properly in live action.

A story with him could be kept small.

It could give us a Batman with a heart.

It would be a story where Batman has to question what’s right.
Which Reeves has said he wants.


I’d also love

Riddler or Hugo Strange

 

[MadderMaximus]

General rule: those we haven't got yet or those that were butchered by awful adaptation (Ivy, Freeze).

*thumbs up*

Though he's getting up there in age, I've wanted to see Ed Harris as Mr. Freeze for a long time.

 

[metaphysician]

Nice thing is that Mr Freeze isn't an especially hard role, physically. Or rather. . . fights are done in a giant suit, with makeup and SFX. Shouldn't be too hard to have stuntmen do the heavy labor.

 

[shauner111]

Freeze will one day be awesome in live action. Am I the only one that would have loved Michael Shannon as that character? I really don't think it's happening anytime soon though. Hopefully WB gives Freeze the greenlight while I'm still alive. It would have to be a director that has complete control and who loves that character. I don't think it meshes well with Reeves' noir detective Fincher style that he's about to tackle. Maybe next time.

Clayface doesn't work for me in live action. CGI characters are simply not interesting to me, especially as a main villain. The BTAS version that fans want works better in animation. I can see a John Carpenter esque Clayface working though. A horror/slasher film where Batman is investigating this b actor who has snapped, going around stalking and murdering people that were involved with a film production. Using a mask or several from his current/past characters to blindside innocent people. I'd be totally down for that in a Reeves movie or a future reboot. Just not the shape shifting blobman that fans think of. Sometimes I imagine Bale's Batman in between the era of Begins and TDK, taking down a Clayface version like that.

 

[Osiris-Rex]

We've already seen;

joker - twice
pengy
riddler
freeze
catwoman
bane - twice
2 face - twice
race al ghul
riddler
scarecrow

How about a movie with the freaks like clayface, and killer croc (Who both were created by cadmus experiments running a mock and batman must stop them)

Batman villains in live action theatrical release movies:
Joker - 4 times- Cesar Romero, Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, Jared Leto
Catwoman - 4 times - Lee Meriwether, Michelle Pfeiffer, Halle Berry, Anne Hathaway
Harvey Dent/Two Face - 3 times - Billy Dee Williams, Tommy Lee Jones, Aaron Eckhart
Penguin - 2 times - Burgess Meredith, Danny DeVito
Riddler - 2 times -Frank Gorshin, Jim Carrey
Bane - 2 times - Jeep Swenson, Tom Hardy
Poison Ivy - Uma Thurman
Scarecrow - Cillian Murphy
Ra's al Ghul - Liam Neeson
Talia al Ghul- Marion Cotillard
Carmine Falcone - Tom Wilkinson
Sal Maroni - Eric Roberts
Victor Zsasz - Tim Booth
Mr. Freeze - Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Killer Croc - Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Harley Quinn - Margot Robbie
Deadshot - Will Smith