Man of Steel was released almost three years ago, and though it was the first step toward the larger DCEU that fans are hoping to see on the big screen, it still featured plenty of familiar faces, especially on the bad side. General Zod, Faora, and Non all famously appeared in Superman II and though a reimagining of the characters is no bad thing, new blood is a must. Warner Bros. Pictures is tackling that head on with Suicide Squad, bringing a whole host of villains that have never been on the big screen such as Deadshot, Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang, Killer Croc, and many more. There are ton more movies set to come out in their slate, and we’ve got ten suggestions for DC villains we’d like to see on the big screen.
DC Villains: The Riddler
Jim Carrey may have famously played him in Batman Forever, but our superhero movies have evolved into something a little more sophisticated (in theory) and call for another swing at bat (get it?). The Riddler is often seen as a lower-tier Joker to some for Batman, which is why the character’s core mechanics of villainy should be augmented to make him stand apart. With this new version of Batman that’s in the world, it’s not a far stretch to imagine the version of The Riddler from the Arkham games fitting into the films. Imagine Jigsaw from the Saw movies wherein people are put in killer situations with extravagant traps and snares, forcing Batman to play a game of life or death.
DC Villains: Anton Arcane
I’m holding out hope for the Justice League Dark movie to still take shape at some point, and the perfect villain is none other than Anton Arcane. The archenemy of Swamp Thing, Arcane is not only the uncle of Alec Holland’s love interest Abbie, but also an evil genius that obsessed with immortality and experiments surrounding death. The most recent incarnation saw Arcane dubbed the “Avatar of the Rot” such as Swamp Thing is the Avatar of the Green, pitting the two of them against each other as pawns in a global conflict. Arcane has also appeared on the big screen previously, in the 1982 Swamp Thing by Wes Craven, but we don’t like to talk about that.
DC Villains: Atrocitus
How do you differentiate your reboot of Green Lantern from the 2011 bomb that few like? Warner Bros. is no doubt asking themselves this question and the answer is simple – dive head first into the canon. It’s not enough to have just the Sinestro Corps either, the other corps should be presented and among them the leader of the Red Lanterns, Atrocitus. Powered by rage (as opposed to a Green Lantern’s Will), Red Lanterns also have their blood replaced with liquid fire, which they can also use against enemies. Even more pivotal though is that Atrocitus is directly tied to Hal Jordan’s origin as Green Lantern, being the cause of death for his predecessor Abin Sur.
DC Villains: The Court of Owls
Though a very new addition to Batman’s Rogues Gallery, the Court of Owls have become very popular and for good reason. The Court is a match for Batman for a few reasons: 1. They have numbers on their side. The cult-like group has been embedded in Gotham for decades and have their fingers in every pie. 2. Their immortal attack dogs, the Talons. Talons are a physical threat to Batman like any other because they’re really capable of hurting the dark night. What makes the story with the group interesting is not only how they can best Batman but how the web of conspiracy plays out while he wears his “Bruce Wayne” mask.
DC Villains: Starro
Who better to appear on the big screen to fight the Justice League than the first villain that ever fought the group in the source material? A giant alien, in the shape of a Starfish, Starro can create clones of itself capable of controlling people but is also quite powerful in the fighting department, with the ability to fly and slight invulnerability. Given that Zack Snyder removed the giant squid from Watchmen, it’s wishful thinking to imagine he’d put a giant starfish in a movie, but how about just an opening scene where the beast is quickly defeated?
DC Villains: Medusa
It’s still unclear if the cinematic version of Wonder Woman, set to be played by Gal Gadot, will really embrace the Greek and fantasy elements of the character, but if it does, go hog wild. Bringing villains from Greek myth and planting them in the present day brings a new twist to the genre, and opens up the DCEU to exciting potential, but also allows the hero to be in her element. There are plenty to try this out, but Medusa, the snake-haired leader of the Gorgons, is a fine choice. The two have fought at many iconic locations over the years, including The White House and Yankee Stadium, so just try to act like a big screen version of either of those fights would be awesome.
DC Villains: Doctor Sivana
Dwayne Johnson revealed last year that he will be playing Black Adam in the upcoming Shazam movie. It surprised many to see Johnson take on the villain role for the film, leaving the role of Shazam wide open, but what if he’s not the villain? Black Adam has long been portrayed as an anti-hero over an outright villain, so maybe another ne’er-do-well from Shazam’s canon should come to town: Doctor Sivana. A sniveling mad scientist, Sivana is the perfect example of a golden age comic book villain that compliments the goofy nature of Shazam to a T. Sivana is most well known for creating wild inventions such as a bomb that makes people dumber. The world could use with some wackier superhero movies and treated with the proper care, it could work!
DC Villains: Reverse-Flash
Though fans got very used to seeing him in the first season of The Flash series, the Reverse-Flash should appear in The Flash film. What’s interesting about the character, that wasn’t sufficiently covered in the show, is how he is not only responsible for the worst night of Barry Allen’s life, but for every minor thing in-between too. A time-traveling speedster and maniac, the Reverse-Flash became obsessed with Barry Allen and sought to replace him in the past, another angle to differentiate the potential film version from the series. Plus we really want to hear him lay out how all of the bad things in Barry’s life where his doing.
DC Villains: Bizarro
Though we sort of got it in Superman 3 when a drunk Superman fights himself in a junk yard (it happened! Look it up!), Bizarro would be a good fight for Superman not only physically but on another level. Bizarro presents Superman with a dilemma because he’s not only a monster that can best him in a fight, but he doesn’t know what he’s doing in some interpretations, he’s like a child. The character was created to serve as a “mirror image” to Superman with some opposite powers, such as freeze vision and heat breath, so the opposition of the two would make for a fun cinematic battle.
DC Villains: The Crime Syndicate
Maybe it’s hoping against hope that The Multiverse as a plot construct will be present for the DCEU, but it is a core metric of the comics, so a boy can dream. If it is a part of the films, though, what we should see is the Justice League fighting the Crime Snydicate. The primary world of the DC continuty is called “Earth-1,” with multiple other Earths all existing with their own traits. On Earth-3, everything is opposites, so instead of The Justice League there’s the Crime Syndicate, villains based on the heroes of our world who revel in being bad. Among those on the team are Ultraman (the evil Superman), Owlman (the evil Batman), Superwoman (the evil Wonder Woman), Johnny Quick (the evil Flash) and Power Ring (the evil Green Lantern). A new iteration of the team was recently revealed in the pages of DC Comics too, including evil versions of Aquaman with Sea King and Cyborg with Grid.
Which DC villains do you want to see on the big screen? Let us know in the comments!
