Batman is one of the most beloved and popular superheroes of all time. There are many different reasons as to why Batman is so beloved, but one of the big reasons is his rogue's gallery. He has so many great villains, some of which have never been brought to the big screen. So, here is my list of 10 Batman villains I want to see in movies.
NOTE: For this list, I was only looking at villains that had not been brought to the big screen. So, if they have been in a live action theatrically released movie, they were disqualified from this list.
10. Lazlo Valentin/Professor Pyg: One of the most disturbing and disgusting Batman villains out there of the villains on the list, this is the one that I am the least familiar with. All the other ones either through animated movies, comics, or video games, I know about them more. I did some research on Professor Pyg and this is one that I do not think could be the main villain, but you make a side villain in somebody else’s movie, this could be a creepy and memorable character. Based on what I know about him, I think he will fit in with Matt Reeves’ Batman universe. His motivation involves taking body parts and making the perfect being. There is something to do with him that comments on modern day beauty standards, that adds in some relevant social commentary without it feeling preachy or anything like that. With the dark Gotham that Matt Reeves created you partner him up with a dark villain, the Joker and you have them be this duo out antagonizing Gotham that could be cool and be such dark and twisted villains for a Batman movie.
9. Andrea Beaumont/The Phantasm: This one is cheating, because she has been in a theatrically released film, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. But it was not live action, and The Phantasm is a great villain that I would love to see be brought to the big screen at one point. It seemed like there were rumors that Scarlett Johansson is playing her in The Batman: Part II, but it does seem like those rumors have been debunked. I do not know if I would rather see her in Matt Reeves or James Gunn’s universe, either way I want The Phantasm in live action. She is a great character that has a very deep backstory and connection to Bruce Wayne. You bring that to a live action film, and it can tell you so much about who that version of Bruce Wayne and Batman is. Her worldview on everything is the opposite of Batman, so she is a mirror of Batman which can provide some fitting story arcs for Batman. Technically, she has appeared in a movie, but not in live action so she is included on this list.
8. Dr. Kirk Langstrom/Man-Bat: Several of the villains on the list I am including because they are more horror-based villains and I want to see more of that in Batman movies. Especially if Matt Reeves is going more grounded and darker with his Batman, there can be some cool opportunities for some of these villains. As far as Man-Bat, he feels like a Spider-Man villain that was created to fight Batman instead. What I mean by that is it is common amongst Spider-Man villains for them to be a scientist where experiments go wrong and causes them to turn into a monster, that’s exactly what Man-Bat is. I do not know the comic origins or backstory of the character. But if you could have Kirk Langstrom work for Wayne Enterprise and it gets released to the public of some possible shady things that Wayne Enterprise is up to, that provides multiple levels of conflict for Batman in that movie. With the Matt Reeves Batman being focused on the legacy of the character, there is an interesting story to tell through that.
7. The Court of Owls: This is one that a lot of people are guessing will appear in Matt Reeves’ Batman universe. Especially when you know their comic origins dealing a lot with the Gotham underworld and ruling over a lot of Gotham. With some of the themes and ideas they established in The Batman, you see how The Court of Owls really fits in nicely with this universe. They did an animated DC movie called Batman vs Robin that had The Court of Owls as villains. I don’t think that’s a great movie, but I think there’s a lot of ideas in there that I think if they were played out in a live action theatrically released Batman movie, you can really do a lot of great storytelling. Especially if Matt Reeves wants to do more Batman movies you can tell The Court of Owls story over multiple films. That could be interesting because we have not gotten a Batman movie or franchise where the villain carries over into multiple movies. If they do with The Court of Owls, you can do something cool and unique for Batman movies.
6. Solomon Grundy: In a similar fashion to Man-Bat, I think Solomon Grundy could be a fun addition to a Batman movie because he’s more of a horror character, and there’s the whole backstory and mythology with his character that can work really well. But what I would say is I think you have him in James Gunn’s universe. He seems a bit too fantastical for the grounded universe that Matt Reeves set up. But if James Gunn is wanting to learn more comic books and silly with his universe, maybe Solomon Grundy can really fit and work with that universe. Once again, I do not think Solomon Grundy could be the main villain. He seems like the muscle to somebody else’s plan. If you ever played Batman: Arkham City, he was being used by The Penguin as this monster. Whoever are our villains in this Batman movie that is in James Gunn’s universe, have him be the muscle while the other one is the mastermind. Once again, it is a different type of threat from anything else that Batman has gone up against.
5. Slade Wilson/Deathstroke: Deathstroke is one of the more fun and interesting DC villains, because he is not really attached to one specific hero. He of course fought Green Arrow on Arrow multiple times, but he has fought Batman several times, including in Batman: Arkham Origins. That is why he is not higher up on the list, because he is not a Batman villain in the traditional sense or like most of the other villains on this list. But I think a grounded Deathstroke movie could be cool, and we already know that a Deathstroke/Bane movie is in the works. We will be getting Deathstroke brought to the big screen in the next couple of years. When will we see him fight Batman on the big screen or appear in a. Batman movie? I have no idea. Regardless, I think Deathstroke is a cool character to bring to the big screen. I would love it if they did like a $50 million Deathstroke movie with Chad Stahelski directing it. You do a Deathstroke movie with the choreography of the John Wick franchise, you at once have a movie that I am so excited for. I would prefer if we got the character in James Gunn’s DC universe, because that way, we are seeing him in a more populated universe interacting with different characters.
4. Jarvis Tetch/The Mad Hatter: This is a character that I want to see brought to the big screen, but I almost want his own movie. You have this character with The Mad Hatter, that is so obsessed with Alice in Wonderland, and especially with Alice in particular. You could make a creepy and disturbing film about The Mad Hatter that is more like Joker. You turn this Batman villain that’s typically just the punch end of jokes because of his name and his appearance and you do a creepy and disturbing take on the character, and if it’s done right, it can make the audience reinterpret their thoughts and opinions on The Mad Hatter as a character. I do not know if having a movie called The Mad Hatter will make people think that it is a Disney movie based on the character from Alice in Wonderland. If we cannot do that, then maybe we do The Mad Hatter in Matt Reeves’ Batman universe. But you do the pitch that I said earlier, which is a dark and disturbing take on the character. Really lean into the dark side of the Batman universe. It might surprise some people that he is this high up on the list, but there is a lot of cool potential with this character.
3. Dr. Hugo Strange: Ever since I played Batman: Arkham City, I have wanted to see Hugo Strange in a Batman movie. I pitched an idea a few years back about what I would do with The Batman: Part II, and Hugo Strange was the main villain of that movie. What is fun about Hugo Strange is that he is not the guy that is out there fighting Batman, he is the mastermind manipulating everything and creating this big, evil plan to defeat Batman. That is what his role was in Batman: Arkham City, where we had the boss fights against Mr. Freeze and Ra’s al Ghul, all leading up to the confrontation between Batman and Hugo Strange. I think you could do something like that in a movie or over the course of multiple films, so you really feel Hugo Strange’s wrath and power and the threat he provides and not just doing one movie where he is one and done. Honestly, I could see him working in either Matt Reeves or James Gunn’s universe. I think there’s benefits to him being in either universe, but I would be happy either way.
2. Thomas Elliot/Hush: This is one that I could very well see happen in Matt Reeves’ Batman universe, because Thomas Elliot was mentioned in The Batman. So, it has already been set up that Thomas Elliot is out there, and with what they are doing with Robert Pattinson’s Batman with the themes and ideas, Hush could really fit into that universe. More importantly, he fits the grounded world well. He is not a big imposing threat like Killer Croc or Solomon Grundy, and he does not lean into the supernatural elements of other Batman villains. Therefore, he can be a guy that is both the mastermind and is also out there fighting Batman at the same time. We also have the Batman: Hush comic book, so there is even more source material you can pull from for this character. He also appeared in Batman: Arkham City (like several villains on this list). Once again, I think if you can tell Hush’s story over the course of multiple films and really dive in deep to his character, you can easily make Hush one of the great Batman movie villains. Because there is so much potential to do with the character that can make a great and imposing threat to Batman and even Gotham City as a whole.
1. Jason Todd/Red Hood: James Gunn has openly said that his version of Batman, the Batman in the DCU, will focus on the Bat-family. Given Jason Todd is a former Robin, it is likely that we could see Red Hood in the DCU. Red Hood is such an interesting character that can make for a great Batman villain if told over multiple films. If we see Jason Todd as Robin, working with Batman and then we see him as Red Hood, there is some great stories to tell there. When you have the showdown between the two of them, it can feel like Anakin vs Obi-Wan in Revenge of the Sith but could probably be done better then that movie if they took their time to build out Red Hood and his motivations. You can also make a great version of the Joker that you hate because of what he did to Red Hood. You of course have one of the great Batman graphic novels of all time with Death in the Family, you do an adaptation of that and that is ripe with source material. They did the animated Batman movie, Batman: Under the Red Hood that is fantastic. Despite Batman having a fantastic rogues gallery filled with so many villains that I want to see brought to the big screen, Red Hood is the one that I think has the most potential and the one I want to see brought to the big screen.
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