One thing that the Batman movies have been missing thus far – on top of depicting the Dark Knight’s detective skills on-screen – is a Gotham City teeming with villains. In the comics (and, indeed, the iconic ‘60s TV series), the Caped Crusader doesn’t always catch the villains he pursues. Sometimes, they slip through his fingers and remain on the streets of Gotham. Christopher Nolan’s movies introduced this notion with the Scarecrow remaining in the background of the second and third installments following his prominent role in the first one.
But it would be great to see a Gotham filled with obscure, lesser-known of the Bat’s Rogues Gallery in Matt Reeves’ The Batman. Here are 10 B-list villains we’d like to see lurking around Gotham in Reeves’ reboot.
Mr. Freeze
With his ice-based puns and over-the-top look, Mr. Freeze is better-suited to comic books, animation, and camp live-action takes on Batman like the Adam West series than a gritty, noir-ish blockbuster. While the Batman: The Animated Series showed that Mr. Freeze could work as an A-List villain, he is a tier below the likes of Joker or Penguin.
Mr. Freeze could be a lot of fun for an opening set piece in which he crashes an event at a museum to steal some gems, only for his fiendish plans to be scuppered by the Caped Crusader.
Clayface
Clayface was a little out there for the Nolan movies, but seems to be diving headfirst into more comic book-y material.
A face-off between the Bat and Clayface could present opportunities to show off some neat Bat-gadgets. The character could even be created with practical models to make him feel more real.
Man-Bat
As an actual true-to-life bat-man, Man-Bat is more of a supernatural being than the average Batman villain. But he resembles a vampire sailing through the night sky, so he’d fit in with a glitzy, gloomy, gothic view of Gotham City.
Man-Bat may seem silly, but at his core, Bruce Wayne is tormented by bats (for various reasons, depending on which version of his origin story you go by), so having to fight a giant bat forces him to face those inner demons head-on.
Black Mask
As long as the irresistible Ewan McGregor – it’d be great to see him show up in The Batman, perhaps at an underground meeting of Gotham’s crime bosses headed by Carmine Falcone (who’s set to be played by John Turturro in the movie).
As The Batman follows a younger Bruce Wayne and, presumably, takes place prior to the events of Birds of Prey, this leaves the door open for the likes of Black Mask to be featured in the movie.
Victor Zsasz
One of the darkest Batman villains ever created, Victor Zsasz is a psychotic serial killer who carves a tally of his victims into his skin. He was teased in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, but it’d be great to see him face-to-face with the Dark Knight after his introduction in Birds of Prey.
Poison Ivy
Although Uma Thurman’s portrayal in a movie with Bat-lips – Poison Ivy remains one of the most fascinating femme fatales in Batman’s roster of baddies.
A terrific actor who can nail the balance of seduction and evil that Poison Ivy requires, like Killing Eve’s Jodie Comer, could do something great with this role.
Hugo Strange
In the comics, Hugo Strange was one of the first Batman villains to figure out the Dark Knight’s secret identity. As a psychiatrist with sinister, mind-bending therapeutic techniques, he represents a psychological threat to the Bat as opposed to a physical one.
If The Batman sees the Caped Crusader heading down to Arkham Asylum, possibly to consult with a villain on a case, Silence of the Lambs-style (or The Long Halloween-style), he could have a run-in with Strange.
Killer Croc
The DCEU already has a Killer Croc; he was first played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje in Suicide Squad. In that movie, he was very thinly drawn.
Akinnuoye-Agbaje has more than proven himself as a capable actor with his performances in Lost, The Bourne Identity, Game of Thrones, and Concussion. With the right script, he could portray a truly menacing Killer Croc lurking around the sewers of Gotham opposite Robert Pattinson’s Batman.
The Mad Hatter
As a character, the Mad Hatter isn’t substantial enough to be the primary antagonist of a movie. But he could segue the plot into a bizarre scene like the drugged-up tea party in Arkham City.
With his beautifully haunting, if razor-thin characterization, the Mad Hatter would be the perfect villain to hint at a wider criminal underworld in the movie’s depiction of Gotham.
Hush
Hush is the dark inversion of Batman. Like Bruce Wayne, Tommy Elliot is a genius who was born into a rich family. In fact, Tommy and Bruce were best friends when they were kids; however, whereas Bruce grew up to become a crimefighting vigilante, Tommy grew up to become a serial killer.
With bandages covering up a DIY plastic surgery that made him identical to Bruce, Hush is an iconic and terrifying Batman villain that deserves to make it to the silver screen.
