The Batman (title confirmed by Ben Affleck… though he did say he may change it) is coming (in 18 months if you believe Random WB Exec #52)! Written by an Academy Award winning writer (Affleck) and directed by & starring the director and star (Affleck!) of the Academy Award winning film Argo, The Batman is DC’s best chance at finally knocking a DC Extended Universe movie out of the park! In addition to cinema’s greatest Batman actor (AFFLECK!), we know The Batman features Deathstroke (Joe Manganiello), my favorite version of Alfred Pennyworth (Jeremy Irons), and Commissioner Jim Gordon (J.K. Simmons).
I’ve already made a list of “5 Batman Villains New to Cinema I DO want to See in The Batman” – Part 1 and Part 2 – but now I’ve deemed it necessary to list 5 Batman Characters I DON’T want to see in the film.
5. CATWOMAN
In both the films and the comics, Catwoman is played out. She is not be the only prominent character who’s had more than one cinematic go-around (Harvey Dent/Two-Face has had 3 cinematic incarnations, if you count Billy Dee Williams’ 5 minutes as Dent in Batman), but we have seen her four (4!) times: Adam West’s Batman, Batman Returns, Catwoman, The Dark Knight Rises. Making matters worse, the latest version (Anne Hathaway) was forgettable, incorrectly characterized, and poorly used overall. “Don’t you want to see her done right?” you may ask. “No, not this character.”
In addition to being the most used big screen Batman villain, Catwoman/Selina Kyle has a relationship with Batman/Bruce Wayne far too complex and impossible to shoehorn in unless she gets about half the screen-time. Michelle Pfeiffer had more screen-time than perhaps even Michael Keaton, crushing both identities and her relationship with Batman in Batman Returns. There are much better female characters to use, like Poison Ivy. I hope she shows up eventually!
4. HARLEY QUINN
No, this isn’t a sexist list. In fact, it’s the opposite, as the two female characters are not among the three I want to see the least! The three I really don’t want to see are all total bros.
We’ve seen what was basically a Harley Quinn movie in Suicide Squad. And according to WB, we’re getting a Harley Quinn solo movie down the line, with Margot Robbie returning to star as Quinn, and the possibility of a focus on female characters like Poison Ivy, Catwoman, Batgirl, etc. There is already plenty of Harley Quinn to come in the DCEU, so why waste The Batman‘s running-time with her? Like with Catwoman, do something new!
Most importantly, I don’t want The Batman turned into a bloody Hot Topic commercial. The costume designer behind Suicide Sqaud should be fired.Or given a bigger budget?
3. NIGHTWING / ANY Other “Bat Family” Member
Batman will have spent plenty of time with allies by the time we get to The Batman. He worked with Superman and Wonder Woman in the climax of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and he’s just one in a crowd of several more powerful heroes in 2017’s Justice League. He already has the required Gordon and Alfred on his side. While I wouldn’t mind adding Harvey Dent (the DA, not the criminal boss) as a supporting character, I want to see Batman physically fight crime on his own for the first time in the DCEU. Leave the team-ups to the multiple Justice League movies they will make.
I don’t want to see ANYONE from the Bat Family which includes Batgirl, Batwoman, multiple Robins, etc. Among the two most likely to show up, is Dick Grayson aka Nightwing. Grayson was Batman’s 1st Robin, who upon growing up adopted his own title, Nightwing, both striking out on his own and assisting Batman when he needs it. Zack Snyder already confirmed the Robin Costume we see in BvS is Jason Todd’s (more on him next), but in the comics, before Tood came Grayson. The DCEU will hopefully be simplified, eliminating Grayson all together, making Jason Todd the only Robin referenced in these movies.
2. RED HOOD / ANY version of Jason Todd
I just don’t want these movie to get crowded with too much history and complicated relationships!
In the comics, Jason Todd was the 2nd Robin, only to be murdered by the Joker.Through the magic of comic books, Todd came back with a vendetta against Batman, pissed Batman continues to not kill Joker & other villains even though Joker murdered him. He fights crime and wants the Joker’s head, but Red Hood and Batman do not see eye-to-eye; Red Hood using guns to kill villains and Batman usually doesn’t like guns.
In Batman V Superman, we saw Jason Todd’s Robin costume, with “Ha-Ha Joke’s On You Batman!” spray painted on it, memorialized in the Batcave. Suicide Squad delivered a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Easter Egg confirming Harley Quinn herself may have done the act in the DCEU. Leave it at that! No flash-backs to Todd and Batman fighting crime, and no appearance of Red Hood, who needs a movie dedicated to him alone IF we do ever see him (I hope we won’t). And, for God’s Sake, no weird mash-up character revealing Deathstroke is Jason Todd. Yuck!
1. Jared Letos’ JOKER
I don’t like this version of the Joker, I just don’t. I don’t like the Gangster angle and Jared Leto made the strangest choices. They were brave, like Heath Ledger’s, but it backfired for Leto. Normally I would say the Joker should be in at least one of each Batman Actor’s films, but honestly, I never want to see Jared Leto’s Joker in the DCEU ever again.
Is it too late to recast the role? If we could get Walton Goggins involved, I say we give his Joker ALL the screen time! Just look at the dude laugh! (For examples of him playing a laughing psychopath, watch American Ultra or Vice Principals.)
Best part is, about half the pictures on Google Images are of Goggins laughing.
Consider it, DC?
Strange would work particularly well with Deathstroke. Deathstroke’s origin could be tweaked so he is less a mercenary and more a product of Hugo Strange’s hypnosis and obsession, just like Night-Scourge. Or, if Strange is head of Arkham in the DCEU, he could also be responsible for releasing Deathstroke to do his dirty work. It would be fun to watch a movie where there is the actual threat of Batman’s secret identity going public, and, if Deathstroke had said information it would make him an even bigger threat for the Dark Knight.
The Court of Owls were introduced as one of the first villains in 2011’s premiere of DC Comics’ “Reboot,” The New 52. Created by writer Scott Snyder (not Zack!) and artist Greg Capullo, the men behind nearly all issues of the incredible New 52 run of ‘Batman,’ The Court of Owls are an organized crime group and secret society the likes of which Batman has never faced. Organized crime is nothing new in Gotham, but the Court has secretly controlled Gotham since Colonial times. Made up of Gotham’s oldest and wealthiest families, they have used money and political power to shape Gotham to their liking, having an even greater influence on the city than the legacy of the Waynes. Completely unknown to Gotham’s great protector Batman and his alter ego Bruce Wayne who seeks to improve his city with his fortune, they have bases and hideouts based all over the city, even in Wayne structures. Their existence is but a fairy tale to even Bruce, living on mainly though a nursery rhyme:
Talons are their deadly assassins, basically an army of undead soldiers selected by the Court of Owls over the centuries, kept in a “deep sleep” until needed. When called upon, this army is dangerous indeed, not stopped by bullets, knives, or most of Batman’s tricks, because… well… I did say they were, “basically undead.”
Unlike the Court of Owls, Clayface has been a Batman mainstay for over 50 years. In that span of time, there have been many versions Clayface, but my favorite representation was how he was interpreted for Batman: The Animated Series in the 90’s. Without going into every version of the character, Basil Karlo is a well known actor (often presented as washed up or recently fired) who undergoes an experiment/accident that leaves him in the form of a giant mud monster. The powers that come with such a transformation give him super-strength and the ability to shape-shift to impersonate anyone; Batman’s friends and foes, or even Bruce Wayne himself!
Clayface could be used a number of different ways with Deathstroke. He could pose as a fake Bruce Wayne after Deathstroke takes Batman out of the picture (for a time, Batman obviously comes back and wins in the end). He could be a secondary villain who torments Batman between Deathsroke attacks, or even serve as the villain Batman fights in the opening act, before Deathstroke is on the scene. He could even be an ally to Batman, like in this year’s run of Detective Comics following the latest “Soft Reboot,” Rebirth, becoming Bruce Wayne or Batman to serve as a false target for Deathstroke. The possibilities are nearly endless when the people Clayface can become are.
BREAKING GEEK Radio: The Podcast 