Alright! Batman's rogue gallery is, by far, the most well-known in comic book history. You have some of fiction's greatest villains (The Joker) alongside some of their greatest recurring gags (Condiment King). Batman has also been frequently translated into film - and yet, it almost feels like this gallery is hardly ever tapped into.
So that's what I'm doing today. I'm dishing out some Batman villains that the movies haven't really utilized (Or maybe they did, just not well). We've even got some pretty obscure folks on here for the diehard fans.
Scarecrow
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| A Scarecrow movie for The Batman sequels is inevitable, right? |
Cillian Murphy's Scarecrow in The Dark Knight Trilogy was perfect for the intended use - Batman's one recurring villain. However, the actual Scarecrow found in the comics is a far more, shall we say, "intense" character. He could easily be the main antagonist in a Batman movie. The fear toxin would make for some pretty dynamite set pieces while the chilling and creepy Scarecrow could go down as one of cinema's all-time great villains.
Clayface
The story of Clayface is full of tragedy - Matt Hagen, an A-list actor, is disfigured in a car accident and takes an experimental beauty cream, Renuyu, in the hopes that it would transform him into his once good-looking self. Spoiler alert, it does not. He oversaturates and becomes Clayface, a deformed clay monster capable of taking the shape of anyone.
The most interesting part of a Clayface story would be some adaptation of The New Batman Adventures episode "Growing Pains," where Robin befriends a young girl who is ultimately just a portion of Clayface and is later reabsorbed by her "father." It would be... it would be quite scarring for all those watching, that's for sure.
Deadshot
Deadshot's technically already appeared in a movie: After all, who can forget Will Smith's charm in Suicide Squad? Well, that movie wasn't that great, and he never faced Batman in costume, so he's due for a second chance.
One of the things that make Deadshot unique is that he wants to actively wants to die and frequently takes missions where that has a high probability of happening. You could definitely have an Attack of the Clones-type assassination plot with a suicidal villain. That sounds... kinda fun, actually.
Ragdoll
I don't really think that Ragdoll could carry his own movie. He's a threat, just not that big of a threat. Plus, who'd want to watch a Batman v Ragdoll movie? I'm sure some folks would be into it, but the general audience would just shrug their shoulders. Most commonly known as a Flash villain, Ragdoll is a triple-jointed and extremely flexible contortionist who uses his strong public speaking skills to sway his followers to his bidding.
He'd probably work best as a b-tier henchman or accomplice to the main villain, but he would definitely scare the living daylights out of the audience.
Deathstroke
I hear you, Batfleck fans. After laboring in development for years, the Batfleck movie was reworked in favor of The Batman. I feel you. And the main villain would have been Deathstroke, who, after orchestrating a breakout at Arkham Asylum, was hunting down important people in Bruce's life after learning his secret identity. It sounds pretty awesome. Fs in the chat, boys.
Hugo Strange
The Batman Who Laughs
A fairly recent addition to the Batman lore, The Batman Who Laughs is an alternate reality Bruce Wayne from Earth -22 (Negative Earths! That's so clever!). Tragically, the Joker finds out Bruce's identity and kills most of his rogues and close allies. As he stops him, Batman is subjected to purified laughing gas, turning him into a Batman with the sadistic Joker humor and psyche. This new Batman kills most of the Justice League and what's left of his Batfamily and transforms Damian Wayne into a "Rabid Robin."
The Batman Who Laughs is a hesitant edition because he wouldn't really work as a villain in a Batman story, but rather as the main character in an Earth -22 movie. That's my take, at least. It would be a terrifying movie, but a movie all the same. The multiverse seems a bit too fantastical for these previously grounded Batman flicks.
Killer Croc
Like Deadshot, Killer Croc also appeared in Suicide Squad. And the lesson from Deadshot remains applicable: Let's just forget that ever existed. Killer Croc doesn't have to be a mindless brute or an ineffective BET.-loving inmate. He can be a terrifying monster, locked away and disgraced by the rest of the world. A cinematic equivalent of the Croc found in the Arkham games would make for one of the best Batman villains to date.
Mad Hatter
Barring rumors that he'll appear as a drug dealer in the upcoming The Batman, Mad Hatter is criminally underrated. One of my all-time favorite Batman villains after watching Batman: The Animated Series, Jervis Tetch is a somewhat tragic and sympathetic scientist working on mind-controlling technology. After falling in unrequited love with his secretary Alice, he begins to reshape the world with his technology in Alice in Wonderland fashion. That's the cornerstone for a visual dazzler of a movie right there.
Poison Ivy
Poison Ivy appeared in Batman & Robin. Let's forget that existed, though. If Poison Ivy was ever to come back to the big screen, it would probably be best to stay away from the sly seductress characterization... an introverted ecoterrorist more akin to the one found in Harley Quinn would be the recommended route (But if they can pull off a Megara-type Poison Ivy, by all means, go for it). And speaking of Harley Quinn, a Poison Ivy/Harley Quinn team-up against Batgirl would be absolutely incredible.
Firefly
Like Ragdoll, I don't see Firefly carrying his own movie. He works best as a mercenary for some third party that services the plot in the first act in some way. A pyrotechnics expert that fell from grace in the film industry, Garfield Lynns is reshaped by poverty in Gotham and turns to a life of crime. With his skill set, he builds a flying mech-suit and... does crime... like I said, not an A-list villain.
Vandal Savage
Technically more of a Superman/Wonder Woman/Justice League villain, Vandal Savage would make for one heck of a Batman movie. Or Star Trek movie. Vandal Savage was a caveman exposed to gases inside of a meteor that granted him immortality (Because science). He spends the next 50,000 years as a scourge and conqueror of human history. 50,000 years of transforming his body into peak physical condition with a vast knowledge of fighting strategy and tactical savagery. He would, at the very least, be a formidable opponent for the Batman.
Professor Pyg
Completing my trinity of villains that couldn't carry their own movie, Professor Pyg would probably work best as a minor, minor character in a larger crime circle for the Maronis or something. Professor Pyg is a surgeon who, after years of drug abuse and underlying issues, begins to see humans as broken and in need of fixing... in the form of extensive, often animal-based, surgery. He would be a terrifying cameo villain, that's for sure.
Talia al Ghul
Talia al Ghul did appear in The Dark Knight Rises. However, she was played by Marion Cotillard, the rare actress that I've actively hated in every movie I've seen her in. Talia al Ghul is nothing without her father, and The Dark Knight Rises takes place after his death. There's a place for her to grow. Seeing her and Bruce in a big, sweeping, Lawrence of Arabia-type desert epic would be awesome. Or a single mom HBOMax show about her raising Damian Wayne (Probably shouldn't say that, don't want to give them ideas).
Calendar Man
Sean Gunn as Calendar Man is bad casting. It's all in good fun and fine for a cameo for The Suicide Squad, but if he ever shows up in another movie... please recast. He just... wasn't Calendar Man. Calendar Man is a cold and heartless serial killer that commits crimes on significant dates. He's often seen as a joke villain, but anyone who's read The Long Halloween will tell you otherwise.
Let's just hope that one day they can heavily adapt The Long Halloween into a movie and include Calendar Man as the Hannibal Lecter-type that we all know and love. New classic villain.
Hush
Introduced in the Batman: Hush comic, Tommy Elliot is a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne who grows envious of Bruce after he inherits his family's fortune from his parents' murders (Tommy doesn't have the most healthy relationship with his parents). After finding out Batman's identity as Bruce Wayne, a now grown Tommy develops the Hush persona to try and destroy Bruce Wayne and coerce other rogues into doing the same, still unjustly resenting him. It would be a pretty cinematic thriller.
Mr. Freeze
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