The beauty of DC Entertainment‘s extensive television roster is that they get to tap into the lower-tier villains that we’ll likely never see on the big screen, and some that probably should go to the movies but just won’t. Across Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow, and Gotham, we’ve seen A-listers like Captain Cold and Ra’s al Ghul and D-listers like the Royal Flush Gang, Vartox, and Golden Glider. With Gotham, The Flash, and Arrow all-renewed, and Supergirl very likely to follow, we’ve got 10 villains we want to see appear across the shows.
DC Villains: Metallo
Supergirl has already shown it’s not afraid to do their own versions of primary Superman villains, and since it seems like a solo Superman movie isn’t happening anytime soon, they should give Metallo a try. Different versions of the character have different abilities, but recently the character has been able to absorb any metal and make it part of his exo-skeleton to make himself a gigantic swiss army knife of pain. Every version of Metallo, however, is powered by Kryptonite, his secret weapon in trying to defeat either Superman or Supergirl.
DC Villains: Abra Kadabra
Perhaps the best thing about The Flash is that it is willing to fully embrace the wackiness of its comic book basis, and that includes the cheeky villains. One of the Scarlet Speedster’s foes that has yet to appear is Abra Kadabra, but he could make a perfect fit. Abra Kadabra comes from a time in the far future when stage magic is no longer a thing, however he wants terribly to be a magician and travels to the past to make it happen. Some iterations have his powers coming from 64th century technology whereas others make him an actual wizard, either version of which could work on the series.
DC Villains: Cluemaster
Arrow has gotten lucky with the inclusion of some higher-up Batman villains like Deadshot, Deathstroke, and even Solomon Grundy, but there are some they’re just never going to get, like The Riddler. Nevermind that the character currently appears on Gotham, it’s likely he could make his way onto the big screen again in another solo Batman movie. So what’s the next best thing? Cluemaster! There is a difference between Riddler and Cluemaster too, and it’s all in the name. One leaves Riddles, one clues. It’s ripe for snark from Team Arrow and even some meta-jabs at being a one-note villain.
DC Villains: Maxie Zeus
One thing Gotham has done well is reaching throughout the entire history of Batman comics and pulling out villains and characters from every version. Penguin, Riddler, Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Hugo Strange, Mister Freeze, there’s a ton of different characters. The show is already a live-action cartoon in how over-the-top it can be, so go all in and bring to life Maxie Zeus. As the name implies, the villain thinks that he himself is the thunder god from Greek myths. More often than not he’s a goofball of a villain, but he can still be a dangerous crimelord.
DC Villains: Cobalt Blue
You can never have enough speedsters on The Flash. Not only because they’re the only types of powerful characters that put up a real challenge for Barry, but it’s just plain cool on a visual level to see those characters move on screen. Now I don’t expect The Flash to take the full comic book approach to Flash villain Cobalt Blue, because his true backstory is quite wacky. As the comic tells it, the night Barry’s mother gave birth she actually had twins; however a woman in another room also gave birth and her baby died. The doctor, in his drunken wisdom, took the second Allen baby and gave it to the other woman, telling the Allens their second child was stillborn. What makes Cobalt Blue a different kind of speedster is that he himself isn’t one – he uses the powers of his adoptive families’ “blue flame talisman” to absorb Barry’s speed. It sounds silly sure but if any show can do it, it’s The Flash.
DC Villains: Mongul
Mongul would be an excellent challenge for Supergirl not only because of his physical superiority but where he calls home. Mongul has long been physically superior to Superman and has a list of superpowers as long as the man of steel himself. Furthermore, the character controls Warworld, a giant weapon disguised as a planet used to conquer other worlds. The character’s first meeting with Superman involved him taking over of Warworld, and the two heroes that helped him in the story? Supergirl herself and Martian Manhunter.
DC Villains: White Rabbit
Though technically a Batman villain, White Rabbit isn’t integral enough to the Dark Knight’s mythos to really be a base player in Gotham. That in mind, the scantily-clad escape artist could give Oliver Queen a run for his money, specifically in how fast she is. There is a lack of female villains on Arrow, and what makes White Rabbit interesting is she can appear as her supervillain and secret identity to taunt Oliver Queen, especially now that he’s single.
DC Villains: Doctor Death
Batman’s first supervillain encounter, and first recurring supervillain. Doctor Death is a pretty basic villain as far as things, a mad scientist hoping to use his ability in making poisons to extort money out of people. Things never go well for the character and though he may be photogenic in his first appearances, he quickly becomes a decayed skeleton of a man who hides behind a gas mask. The most recent version saw him become an outright monster, which isn’t all that farfetched for Gotham either!
DC Villains: Music Meister
You won’t find this character in any comic book, but he can be found in the outstanding animated series Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Music Meister, voiced by Neil Patrick Harris who should reprise it for live action, is capable of controlling people and forcing them into song and dance. This might sound silly to some, but it is prime comic book silliness. The Flash has had comparisons drawn to Buffy the Vampire Slayer namely because of it’s core group of characters, and one of the best episodes of that series was a musical.
DC Villains: Cyborg Superman
When David Harewood was cast as Hank Henshaw in Supergirl, we all assumed this meant he would be the techno-villain at some point. Even early episodes teased this only to reveal that Henshaw was actually the hero Martian Manhunter in disguise. A recent episode revealed J’onn J’onzz took on Henshaw’s role at the DEO after the real one fell off a cliff. This being a comic book-based show means there’s no reason the real Henshaw is immediately dead, and perhaps he needs some robotic limbs to make himself whole again. The inclusion of Cyborg Superman not only gives Supergirl a great villain to square off against, but allows Harewood to stretch his acting muscles and play two roles.
Which DC villains would you like to see on TV?
