TheBatman universe that Reeves is introducing. Given that this is being envisioned as a new trilogy of films, there’s no telling what other characters might pop up in Gotham City during the Caped Crusader’s wild adventures.
With Pattinson’s trilogy following Christian Bale’s The Dark Knight trilogy of films, comparisons will inevitably be made. One of them is what characters the Christopher Nolan universe did and didn’t use from the Batman mythology. Given that his series was grounded in reality, it restricted what they could do as Batman comes from a universe filled with metahumans, aliens, and more. Since the film will break outside those frames, these are 10 characters that will hopefully appear that weren’t featured in the Nolan-trilogy.
Mad Hatter
One of the most intense psychological-driven foes that the Dark Knight has gone up against is the Mad Hatter. While having been in a few live-action iterations, the Alice in Wonderland-inspired criminal has yet to go toe-to-toe with Gotham’s infamous vigilante. Visually, depending on how costume and make-up is performed, Mad Hatter has always been one of the most visually intriguing villains for Bruce to battle.
He would most likely do better as a secondary antagonist similarly to Scarecrow in Batman Begins. Having Mad Hatter serve as the main foe of a film would be asking the audience to suspend their disbelief just a little too much.
Mister Freeze
Victor Fries a.k.a. Mister Freeze had his cinematic debut with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the critical and financial disaster that was Batman and Robin. With all the ice puns and bothering of the complicated character, Mister Freeze was a big joke following the film’s release. But in recent years through various media incarnations, the Schwarzenegger version has mostly been forgotten. However, the ice-themed foe has yet to make it to the big screen since the late 90s. Pattinson’s franchise is the perfect opportunity to give him a new big-screen interpretation in future sequels.
Clayface
One of Batman’s greatest monster-like foes in the comics has been Clayface, a shapeshifting troublemaker and has had that alias be used by different characters. Which of the ones that the trilogy should use is up to the filmmakers in the end as anyone of them would work. Surprisingly, Clayface has had few live-action portrayals in the last decade.
Seeing the Dark Knight go up against a giant mountain of clay on the big screen would be something new for the Batman films in general. Not only from the shapeshifting angle but also due to the fact that it is one of the few times where Batman does fight something that literally looks like a monster.
Poison Ivy
Similarly to Mister Freeze, Poison Ivy was another reason that Batman and Robin were a disaster with Uma Thurman’s attempt at the villainess. While Gotham had its unique (as well as slightly bizarre) spin on Ivy, the big screen has lacked her presence ever since the late 90s. It would genuinely be an intriguing challenge to see Reeves bring the villain into this series of movies and really portray Poison Ivy as the great female foe that she is known to be.
Solomon Grundy
Another monastery antagonist that the Caped Crusader has fought numerous times is Cyrus Gold a.k.a. Solomon Grundy. While he has had a few adventures in live-action on the small screen, a theatrical version has yet to happen. Despite The Batman set to start out with a gritty noir-feeling Gotham City, it would be a shame to not see someone like Grundy emerge down the line.
While it’s unlikely that he would be the main baddie in one of these films, seeing Pattinson go up against an over-6’7 tall creature would be incredible from a visual and action standpoint.
Harley Quinn
Despite Margot Robbie playing Harley Quinn in the ongoing DCEU, it’s becoming clear that The Batman will mostly be its own thing and not really connect with the other films.
Since the Joker appeared in Nolan’s universe, it’s only a matter of time before Reeves brings him into his franchise. When that time comes, a new version of Harley should be featured that wouldn’t conflict with Robbie’s present iteration.
Man-Bat
While Bruce has taken on a number of monstrous evil forces, nothing beats the literal beast that is Man-Bat. Kirk Langstrom, the human ego behind the monster, literally is one of Batman’s deadliest forces and deserves a cinematic adventure against the Dark Knight.
With the technology that exists today and how amazing VFX can be done when right, not seeing Man-Bat on the big screen is a missed opportunity. He would definitely be one of the less-complex villains for Batman to fight, but be one of his strongest opponents of all time.
Hugo Strange
Until Gotham’s BD Wong, the manipulative and mentally demanding Hugo Strange hadn’t shown up in live-action, neither the small or big screen.
With Hugo being one of Bruce’s most human foes, but yet most dangerous ones, it’s a wonder how he hasn’t made it into a single Batman movie in the last two decades. Since the new iteration of the iconic hero will focus more on the detective side, Hugo fits perfectly into that layer as a future big bad.
Dick Grayson
The Boy Wonder hasn’t been seen on the big screen since Batman and Robin where the latter hero was also misrepresented. With Titans’ Brenton Thwaites portraying Dick Grayson who is now Nightwing, the appeal for Robin in live-action needs to recognized on the big screen as well. While it’s highly unlikely that Dick would show up in the 2021 picture, future installments could easily introduce the teenage circus acrobat before becoming the Dark Knight’s sidekick.
Hush
Another personal villain in Bruce’s gallery of villains is Tommy Elliot a.k.a. Hush who made his live-action arrival on Batwoman this season. While he has yet to take on the villainous moniker, Hush has such a big backstory in how he comes to life due to his relationship with Bruce and that would serve as a compelling arc for a future installment. Additionally, it would be intriguing to see how a costume designer would apply his famous costume look to the big screen.
