Credit: ITMThere might be nothing more critical to the success of Batman than the villains that the Caped Crusader must face off against. Bruce Wayne might have one of the most tragic origin stories in comics, but his foes share some of that tragedy, often one-upping the Dark Knights’ tragic bringing.
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Matt Reeves is building out his BatVerse, which will likely be a trilogy. The Batman (2022) has already been released, which introduced many of Batman’s well-known adversaries. For starters, the main villain in the film was The Riddler, expertly portrayed by Paul Dano. The Penguin was also brought in, which floored the world as Colin Farrell transformed completely to take on one of the biggest villains in the Rogues Gallery.
Though he was seemingly killed in the film, we also saw John Turturro take on the infamous Carmine Falcone. He is also the father of Catwoman, who Zoe Kravitz portrayed. So far, Reeves has brought in Catwoman, The Penguin, Carmine Falcone, The Riddler, and The Joker.
Barry Keoghan also surprised Batman fans by appearing as the Clown Prince of Crime at the film’s end, as he shared a cell next to The Riddler. Though Reeves has introduced many of the main villains, plenty more should be showcased in his trilogy. Reeves has built a much more grounded universe, but plenty of Batman villains can still fit that mold or be altered to appear more grounded, like The Riddler.
Batman Villains Matt Reeves Should Introduce
10. Victor Zsasz
Victor Zsasz might be one of the most underutilized Batman villains in live-action Batman movies. The character briefly appeared in Batman Begins as he was placed on trial for multiple murders and was deemed mentally unfit to stand trial by Dr. Jonathan Crane. Zsasz was a lackey for Carmine Falcone in the film and was placed in Arkham, likely as a favor from Crane, who also worked for Falcone.
He later breaks out of prison when Ras Al Ghul attacks the city and proceeds to attempt to attack Rachel Dawes. Despite his appearance, it was more of a one-off mention that did not hold much regarding his backstory being told or utilized.
Zsasz was also showcased in the Birds of Prey film, as he worked under Black Mask. Again, Zsasz was more of a throwaway character that Helena Bertinelli quickly dispatched, making his involvement seem unnecessary.
Victor Zasz is one of the best characters that could be used in the more grounded version of the Matt Reeves Batman universe. He is a serial killer who relishes in his victims by usually marking his body with a hash mark. Sometimes he also paints his body to signify the kills. With how Reeves turned The Riddler into a murderer, he could use someone like Zsasz as a more central villain in an upcoming film.
9. Black Mask
Speaking of Black Mask, he is another of the more crime-centric Batman villains that must be incorporated correctly in the Matt Reeves universe. This is nothing against Ewan McGregor, but his portrayal of the character in Birds of Prey was not the right way to bring in such an important figure.
Black Mask, known as Roman Sionis, has two backstories that might fit the mold for Reeves’s trilogy. His first is being a character that comes from socialite parents, which he hates. In the comics, Sionis has parents that suck up to Martha and Thomas Wayne, forcing him to befriend Bruce.
Sionis despises their hypocrisy, eventually lighting his mansion on fire, killing them both. He inherits his parents’ fortune but runs the company into the ground and is offered a buyout by Bruce Wayne. Furious, Sionis breaks into his father’s grave, breaking his ebony casket and forming the pieces into a mask that transforms him into the Black Mask.
The New 52 version also sees Sionis rise through the criminal underground using his Black Mask, which has the power to persuade the weak-willed. He has dual personalities, much like Two-Face, but his mask holds an ability that allows him to use mind control essentially.
That might be a bit much to be more grounded, but the mask could somehow be altered to hypnotize people.
8. Mad Hatter
Mad Hatter is one of the most intriguing Batman villains that has not yet been utilized in a live-action film. The character has appeared in the Gotham series, but in a more avant grade version that would not work as well in the Matt Reeves universe.
Mad Hatter is otherwise known as Jervis Tetch, a man obsessed with the work Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Tetch models himself after the Hatter character. Tetch is essentially a lonely kid who finds himself living in a fantasy world, which leads to his obsession with the fiction of Carroll.
Tetch eventually becomes a neuroscientist specializing in mind control technology. Mind control technology might sound like it could be a bit too zany for Matt Reeves, but Batman already used some high-tech gadgetry in The Batman, which would match up to watch Tetch could use. Case and point, the contact lens cameras that he utilizes. Tetch could easily use some sort of recording device that might work in the same manner by controlling the mind of his victims.
7. Killer Croc
Killer Croc might be one of the most difficult Batman villains to pull off, but all DC fans would welcome him into the Matt Reeves Warner Bros universe. Croc has undergone many transformations in the comics, often becoming far more man or crocodile.
Most fans know the character as being something that is something of a humanoid crocodile that goes through massive instances of rage. Croc generally has a skin condition known as epidermolytic hyperkeratosis, essentially a degenerative skin disease. He is also known to have atavism, which traces his DNA to that of reptiles, which is why he has often appeared as both a crocodile and a man.
Essentially, he has a skin disease that worsens with time and alters his brain into a reptilian construct. This reptile DNA makes him highly violent and strong.
Croc was brought into Suicide Squad, portrayed by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. This would be the version that Matt Reeves might use, as he is less of a monster and more of a grounded man that is massively strong but has a horrible skin disease.
6. Mr. Freeze
Dr. Victor Fries might sound like too fantastical of a character to incorporate in a grounded movie, but he is arguably one of the best Batman villains that needs some redemption. The last time we saw the character in a live-action film, he was being portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger, and whatever iteration Joel Schumacher was going for in that particular film.
Despite that horrible version existing in the world, Mr. Freeze has the right kind of obsession that would work well in Matt Reeves’s Batman films.
Fries attempts to save his wife from her terminal illness when a lab accident turns his body temperature to sub-zero levels. He must then wear a suit that regulates his temperature, keeping him alive. While this might sound like it cannot be done in a grounded Batman film, he could easily be altered to wanting to keep his wife alive and not giving him a gun that makes everything ice.
5. Scarface
The Ventriloquist and Scarface were popular in Batman: The Animated Series but have disappeared out of favor regarding the cavalcade of Batman Villains. Arnold Wesker suffers from multiple personality disorders, making one of his personalities a puppet that “controls” him named Scarface.
Though Wesker believes that he is under the control of Scarface, the puppet is just a manifestation of one of his more disturbing personalities. Scarface becomes one of the most prominent crime figures in Gotham, and the psychotic nature of the character would be perfect for the Matt Reeves trilogy. Imagine a man talking through a mobster-styled dummy. It’s the right of psychosis that would work well in a grounded Batman film.
Again, The Riddler allowed a certain level of insanity, obsession, and murder that would be mirrored the correct way by a man who murders under the direction of a puppet.
4. Bane
Considering how great he was reworked for the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy, it’s difficult to place Bane on this list. Still, he is one of the biggest Batman villains (literally) and should be given the proper comic-accurate treatment.
Bane is generally a character of South American descent who escapes from prison and holds massive strength after being experimented on with a concoction closely related to Venom. Though it would be difficult for Matt Reeves to work Venom into his films, we think it has already happened.
At the end of The Batman, there is a moment where Batman injects himself with some liquid to keep fighting. One might think it’s simply adrenaline to keep him from passing out, but we believe his experimentation and scientific mind could have led to creating something close to Venom.
Should that be the case, it would be easy to bring the origin of Bane into the fold without fans questioning it all that much. Bane could quickly be reintroduced and eventually become the powerful adversary to Batman that he has been for decades. We need a massive South American Bane that can beat down Robert Pattinson’s Batman.
3. Clayface
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We have all been asking for the day Clayface enters the live-action space. He is arguably the most requested of the Batman villains simply because he always is monstrous.
A few versions of the character might end up in the Matt Reeves universe, but his original origin story would make the most sense.
Essentially, Clayface started as an actor named Basil Karlo, who is driven insane when he finds out a classic film he made was being rebooted without him starring in it. To get back at the creators for not calling him, he dawns a costume from a past movie he was in, a character named Clayface.
His obsessive and insane nature would be the type of grounded version of the character that Matt Reeves could use in his films. Still, fans have been asking for the more monstrous version, who is Matthew Hagen.
Matthew Hagen is also an actor who is obsessed with his appearance. Hagen uses a creme developed by Roland Haggert, which is called Renuyu. This compound makes him highly addicted, eventually forming into his DNA, making him the shapeshifting monster we all know and love.
Though we are unsure if Matt Reeves would ever go this route to showcase Clayface in his films, he has been rumored to be appearing.
2. Scarecrow
Dr. Jonathan Crane is one of the best Batman villains in the Rogues Gallery and has already been adapted quite well. Christopher Nolan made Crane one of the central villains in Batman Begins, and the fear toxin he uses in the film also seemed very believable.
Matt Reeves could do something similar with his own version, allowing Crane to use some sort of chemical composition still to mess with Robert Pattinson’s version of Batman. Considering Pattinson’s version relies much on brute strength, he could be blindsided when his armor and fighting capabilities are no match for the drug blending that Crane possesses.
He is also not a villain that wants to dominate the world or wants a lot of money; he only wants to experiment on the citizens of Gotham to showcase how fear can be used more radically. He is the perfect type of character that Matt Reeves could use in his universe.
1. Hush
We wanted to put Two-Face here, which would be the obvious choice, but we thought it would be better to go a little bit more outside the box by adding Hush. Hush might be one of the newest Batman villains out of those listed, but he is pretty fascinating.
Hush is initially known as Dr. Thomas “Tom” Elliot. Tom grows up side by side with Bruce Wayne and is often referred to as the dark mirror of Bruce Wayne. Instead of seeing his parents die, he attempts to kill them to inherit their fortune. However, his plan is foiled by Thomas Wayne, which leads to Tom resenting and hating Bruce.
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He covers himself with bandages as his costume and torments Batman as often as possible—using his expertise in medicine to enact his revenge and crimes. Pattinson’s version of Bruce Wayne would be the perfect age to go back and see him grow up with Tom, only to see him become the supervillain, Hush.
What Batman villains would you want to see in Matt Reeves’s universe? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!