DC and HBO are looking to stack the new streaming service HBO Max with as much compelling content as possible now and in the near future. Max is becoming DC's premier streaming platform for their characters akin to Marvel with Disney+. One of the most potentially exciting reports to have come out recently is a planned revival of the beloved and acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series.
There will likely be some concerns it could prove a nostalgia cash-grab, but a modern revitalization has high potential on paper. Should it retain the long-term TV format and not be a limited series, it's exciting to think about which supervillains (other than Joke) from the legendary Batman mythos will feature and how.
Mr. Freeze
It's only natural, aside from the Joker, Mr. Freeze should make a grand return if a Batman: The Animated Series revival successfully goes through production given his history in the original. Freeze had been a Batman supervillain long before then, but he was largely a joke character called "Mr. Zero."
Once the creative team behind BTAS got their hands on him, the cryo-suit wearing, ice-gun-shooting villain became one of the best, most compelling and sympathetic characters in Batman's rogues gallery that made fans question morality and where the "gray area" lies. A reboot/soft-reboot should have all the resources needed to tell powerful, emotionally-resonant stories with Mr. Freeze.
Bane
While Bane wasn't created for BTAS, he was made in the '90s to lead him into the classic Knightfall arc in the comics. For superheroes, the best villains in their respective rogues galleries tend to come early into the hero's history, so Bane is among the "newer" but still now-classic supervillains in Batman's gallery.
He's a character meant to throw away the conventional trope of the "dumb brute" archetype, and while some stories chose to ignore that, he's spent time living up to that challenge. Knightfall and Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises showed this, and a new animated series would do well to feature and flesh out stories with Bane as the main antagonist.
Ventriloquist & Scarface
They're technically two characters, and while they featured in the original series, a revival of the series in some capacity should take advantage of the more Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures, Ventriloquist and Scarface made for genuinely thrilling episodes, taking a timid, normal-looking person and highlighting how his mental instability became larger than life and dangerous.
Just as well, it showed how people around him manipulated and exploited his vulnerability to exacerbate his illness. TNBA gave a heartfelt and satisfyingly redemption arc for him conquering his mental illness, and a new show should do something similar.
Man-Bat
One of the Dark Knight's more "out-there" supervillains, Man-Bat is exactly what the name sounds like, which is why live-action Batman projects would probably have a tough time working him in seriously. He was handled well in an animated format, though he's also been executed well in concept elsewhere. Rocksteady's trilogy finale, Arkham Knight, worked him in masterfully in of tone.
They took Man-Bat and effectively leaned into the old-school, horror monster-movie vibes and gave Kirk Langstrom an sympathetic, tragic backstory to make him fit in a more mature setting. BTAS and TNBA struck a wonderful tonal balance, but if a revival leans a bit more towards the mature, writers should still do him justice.
Riddler
He seems to be set out for a live-action renaissance like Heath Ledger did for the Joker in The Dark Knight, as Matt Reeves' highly-anticipated The Batman will have Paul Dano star as a Se7en and Zodiac Killer-inspired serial killer. Now, he's a top-tier Batman supervillain who should still get some love in a project like this.
One of Batman's several epithets is the "World's Greatest Detective" so the Riddler is a perfect villain for mystery-themed episodes in a show. It gives both characters opportunities to flex their intellectual muscles and engage in battles of wits. Focusing on this villain should be a no-brainer.
Scarecrow
Another A-lister, Jonathan Crane (A.K.A. Scarecrow) is another rogue who should see the spotlight in the revived animated series. With fear being a popular theme in Batman works, a classic supervillain like the Scarecrow whose life revolves around that aspect of the mind would make for exciting plotlines in a new show.
Nolan featured him as a great ing antagonist in his trilogy-opener Batman Begins, played fantastically by Cillian Murphy, and seeing him recurring on TV again--and in animation--would help the potential show's longevity in of episode-by-episode characters. Plus, a new animated character design for him could be fun to see, especially after seeing Jorge Jiménez's rendition of him for Infinite Frontier-era Batman comics.
Harley Quinn
This is the aforementioned supervillain whose inception in Batman mythos was in BTAS and not the comics. Along with the series as a whole, Harley Quinn proved to be a smash-hit, giving the Caped Crusader's biggest nemesis his own "side-kick" and dynamic. She's bursting with personality, but also does well in being a more literal manifestation of an abusive relationship, while the Batman/Joker dynamic is a more metaphorical one.
It's a shame the show never dove into Harley eventually coming into her own and breaking away from the Joker--like in recent comics and movies--but a revival series could make her transition, from a brainwashed victim to an antihero, a great emotional character arc.
Two-Face
Harvey Dent is another iconic villain who has seen his fair share of great adaptations since his disappointing one in Batman Forever; The Dark Knight being another example of this (played by Aaron Eckhart). Likewise, he was a compelling character in Batman: The Animated Series, as well.
Once a good friend of Bruce Wayne and Batman, as well as Commissioner Gordon, Dent's fall from grace and dark descent into Two-Face is what the Dark Knight considers one of his biggest failures. While fans don't need to see more origin stories, another animated show should make use of that backstory for engaging storytelling involving those three key characters.
Court Of Owls
For a supervillain--or supervillain group--that hasn't been featured in any of the original animated series, the Court of Owls would make for a great modern pick. Debuting in 2011 for Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's New 52 run of Batman--and created by them--the Court made for one of the greatest "new" supervillains in Batman's rogues gallery. They delivered an excellent arc in the superhero's library.
They need more places to shine, and while they'll be central in WB Games Montréal's Gotham Knights, seeing them (and Talon, by extension) in a project directly related to Batman himself on-screen would be a dream come true. They've brought the Batman to his knees physically and mentally in the comics in ways few can.
Hush
Older than the Court of Owls but still a much newer supervillain for Batman is Hush, A.K.A. Thomas "Tommy" Elliot. He was one of the more direct parallels to Bruce as he was a childhood friend whose parents also died. However, unlike Bruce, he made a dark turn and became a villain.
Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee's Hush comic book arc became a modern classic, and while an animated show should tone him/his origins down a bit if they're looking to strike a similar tonal balance to the original shows, Hush would make a great addition to the revival.