It’s a bad time to be a criminal in Gotham because The Batman is finally here. Directed by Matt Reeves, this new take on the Dark Knight is a grounded and gritty take on DC‘s most popular vigilante that sees Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson) take on the deadly Riddler (Paul Dano)
Easily the scariest big-screen Batman villain we’ve had since Heath Ledger smudged clown make-up all over his face and teamed up with Christopher Nolan, The Riddler is a fantastic foil for Batman. He’s just as smart as the world’s greatest detective, but his complete lack of morals makes predicting his next move almost impossible for Bruce.
Can Batman stop him? Well, we’re not telling you here, but we’ve been thinking about the future. The Caped Crusader’s rogue’s gallery is often described as the best in the history of comicbooks, and we were wondering which Batman villain Reeves will have Bruce battle next? Warning light spoilers for The Batman follow, but here’s our pick of the baddies we’d like to see in The Batman 2.
What Batman villains would we like to see in the sequel?
- Riddler
- The Penguin
- The Court of Owls
- Mr Freeze
- Bane
- The Joker
- Dr Hurt
Riddler
Just because Bruce captured The Riddler at the end of The Batman doesn’t mean his career as a villain is over. If we know anything about Arkham Asylum, it’s that security can be a bit lax.
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Perhaps Paul Dano’s riddling reprobate could return with another scheme? After all, as his mysterious neighbour told him, “everyone loves an encore”.
The Penguin
We loved The Batman but if we had one complaint it would be that we didn’t get enough of Colin Farrel’s Penguin. Yes we know we’re getting a TV spin-off featuring the bird obsessed mobster, but what can we say? We’re greedy.
A sequel could see Penguin, real name Oswal Cobblepot, filling the power vacuum left in the wake of Falcone’s death. We’re sure the resulting gang war would keep Bruce busy for a few nights or more.
The Court of Owls
The Court of Owls are a relatively new group of villains, but they’ve been immensely popular. There are more than a few teases as to their existence in The Batman universe, and we think they’d make an extraordinary foe for Bruce to tackle on his next adventure.
The Court is effectively a criminal cabal made up of Gotham City’s oldest and wealthiest families. Working from the shadows, this organisation has manipulated the city for centuries for their own ends.
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It makes sense that this nefarious secret society would make their presence known after The Riddler’s attack as well. The villain went out of his way to expose “the rotten heart” of Gotham after all. We wouldn’t be shocked if Bruce started investigating other wealthy families in the city, perhaps exposing The Court in the process.
R-Patz himself has lent weight to this happening during a Vanity Fair Q&A where he said, “I was definitely kind of thinking that Court of Owls is probably going to be in the sequel, definitely seems like… I mean, I’m literally just guessing.”
Mr Freeze
Ok, this one’s a bit of a reach considering the cultural wine stain Arnold Schwarzenegger left after playing Mr Freeze but hear us out. Mr Freeze is one of the most tragic Batman villains around with a heartbreaking origin story (courtesy of Batman: The Animated Series) that we’d love to see adapted for live-action.
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Sure it may be weird to see a man using a freeze ray in the grounded Gotham that Pattinson’s Batman inhabits, but if anyone can make it work, it’s Matt Reeves. The man made us believe apes could talk! Making a Mr Freeze movie should be child’s play comparatively.
Bane
Bane sort of got teased in The Batman (if that green liquid Bruce injected himself with is what we think it is), so we wouldn’t be surprised if he turned up in Gotham.
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Super strong and a genius, Bane is basically Batman without the moral compass. We’ve seen him twice before on the big-screen, but neither incarnation of the popular villain really got him right. Maybe Reeves could be the one to finally deliver a comics accurate Bane?
The Joker
The Joker and Batman go together like bacon and brown sauce. They’re meant to be together, and everyone knows it. There’s certainly some evidence (no spoilers from us) that The Joker may appear in The Batman sequel, but it seems a bit obvious?
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Obviously, everyone expects Batman to meet the Clown Prince of Crime, but we’ve had three other Jokers in less than two decades. So perhaps Reeves will surprise us all and not bring the Harlequin of Hate to the big screen again? Which leads us to our final prediction…
Doctor Hurt
A slightly more obscure Batman villain, Doctor Hurt, was introduced by Grant Morrison during his epic Batman RIP storyline. Doctor Hurt is variously implied to be simply a brilliant psychologist, an immortal ancestor of the Wayne family, a demon, and even Thomas Wayne himself (Batman’s dad).
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The vicious villain worked with a group called The Black Glove to finally kill the Caped Crusader. As such he dedicated himself to destroying the Dark Knight’s mind, body, and soul. Why might he appear in a hypothetical Batman 2?
Well, the news that Thomas Wayne wasn’t as squeaky clean as Bruce thought seems like a reference to Batman RIP. Also, The Riddler’s giggling neighbour bore a slight resemblance to Hurt in the comics.Maybe the not so good doctor will be in, for the next movie?
The Batman is in theatres now.