10 Batman Villains You Will Never See on the Big Screen (Again?)

 #10 – Solomon Grundy

Who is he – Cyrus Gold was a normal citizen of Gotham City at the turn of the century, but after a local prostitute got pregnant with Gold’s child and tried to extort money from him, things took a turn for the strange. After Cyrus refused, the prostitutes pimp stepped in and struck Gold with the heavy end of a shovel and buried him in Slaughter Swamp (appropriately named). Fast forward 50 years and for yet unknown reason Solomon Grundy is what wonders out of the swamp. He doesn’t remember who he is and the now zombie Supervillian is only interested in the death of Batman. As a product of his new form he also has superhuman strength, Invulnerability, and the ability to resurrect himself.

Why we won’t see him – Solomon Grundy is a zombie. Simply put. Despite the fact that Batman is a fictional character, part of his attraction is that the audience can picture the movies taking place in the real world. Once you start adding zombies to that, the connection is a bit lost to say the least. Not to mention until recent events, Mr. Grundy was dumb. Other than his strength and inability to die, he stands little chance against Batman and if you wanted a smart and strong villain to go against Batman then there are a few higher on the list then Solomon Grundy…but I would never mention who because, “Speak of the devil and he shall appear.”

Why we are ok with it – Despite the fact that he was on my previous list as being one of the top Batman villains, his appeal doesn’t transfer well to the big screen. Part of what makes him great is his relentless ability to keep coming back which would be hard to show in a 2-3 hour movie. In addition to his lovable stupidity which most people don’t want to see in a movie villain.

#9 – Catman

Who is he – His real name is Thomas Blake. You have probably heard of him, as he is a world famous trapper. Once that got boring he decided to become a cat burglar. Using an ancient African cloth that he thinks gives him nine live he took on the persona of Catman. *Yawn*

Why we won’t see him – He is too much like Cat Women, and doesn’t have the following or the connection to Batman like some of the other villains in the gallery. Simply put, it wouldn’t draw the crowd that Hollywood needs to dump a load of money into a blockbuster. And after all, that is all they care about.

Why we are ok with it – Catman? Really? Not only does no one know who he is, but the people who do know who he is don’t want to see him in a movie. It’s the same reason he isn’t in the comic anymore. He isn’t a character people care about. His references would make for a good Easter egg though.

#8 – Hugo Strange

Who is he –Hugo Stranger is refered to as “the most dangerous man in the world” by Bruce Wane. Little is known of Strange’s past, other than he a psychologist, schizophrenic and chemical genius and he has a obsession with Batman. But Hugo doesn’t want to destroy Batman, he wants to become Batman, often times plotting his way of take the Dark Knights place. Much like the Riddler, his very very small connection with reality, which as time passes seems to be decreasing.

Why we won’t see him – It been done! Well kind of. As far as hollywood is concerned at least. He is the crazed mad man who wants nothing but to see the downfall of batman… sound familiar? Plus he is not a very recognizable character. Unless you have read the comic books, or played Batman Arkham City you probably don’t know who he is and that doesn’t translate well to box office money (hence Green Lantern and the lack of any Aquaman movies)

Why we are upset it – Because it hasn’t been done! That is the biggest problem with Hollywood. Give the nerds what they want and we will give you our money. Hugo Stranger is one of Batman’s most formidable villains, and his difference is that he could win. After all, he knows who Batman is! (Him and everyone else in the Nolanverse) Killing Batman isn’t even his main goal, Hugo wants to become Batman.

#7 – Man-Bat

Who is he – Meet Dr. Kirk Langstrom, he is bat scientist. When he discovers he is slowly going def. Wishing he could have the sonar hearing that he favorite creature has, he decides to develop an extract intended to do give humans that exact trait. And what better human to use as a test subject then himself. When all of a sudden (go figure) things go terribly wrong. The side effect of his exact is that it transforms him into a humanoid bat-like monster. (Side note, why has no scientist in comic book history realized it’s never a good idea to test anything out on yourself?)

Why we won’t see him – Much like Solomon Grundy and a few other people on the list, he is just to supernatural to be in the Batman movies. Not to mention his story line sounds exactly like the last Spider-man movie, just remove bat and add lizard. It’s just not original

Why we are ok with it – No one wants to see Batman versus Man-Bat. It’s a little too over the top. Plus all of the irony we would be drowning in.

#6 – The Mad hatter

Who is he – A very smart research scientist with an amazing skill of hypnosis by the name of Jervis Tetch develops the delusion that he is the reincarnation of the Mad Hatter, you know, from the story. And much like the character he embraces, he has an unqunching thirst for headgear. And what piece of headgear is rarer then Batman’s legendary cowl. The Mad Hatter often times commits crimes inspired by the famous tale or involving some sort of hat, helmet, or hypnosis amplifier in order to make his great skill that much greater.

Why we won’t see him – He is more of a cult character. His following isn’t huge, but the following he does have is stronger. He is small and it might be hard for fans to see him as a threat to Batman. Not to mention the copyright issues when referencing a character from a studio as power as (Name has been removed due to ongoing legal issues)

Why we are upset it – He’s a pretty cool character. It seems that in a lot of comic book movies today, the makers are looking for a character that isn’t as well-known, but can still be an on screen presence. Mad Hatter would be a perfect example of this. He is the right amount of crazy mixed with an interesting back story that would bring people to the theater, IF (and it’s a big if) he was done right. Don’t want to see another Riddler mishap.

#5 – Clayface (Any of them)

Who is he – Probably one of the most reinvented character in the Batman Universe, Clayface has had no less than eight different beginnings. There is the original, an actor who was driven insane and become  the persona of a villain in one of his movies. Then you have the treasure hunter who finds a radioactive pool in a cave and decides to go for a swim. His blood was used to make another Clayface by the name of Preston Payne. Or my personal favorite the female clayface who was subject of a simply lab transformation. And I’m pretty sure Robert Downy Jr. played one, but I could be wrong. With so many different variations, they even at one point teamed up together to form the Mudpack.

Why we won’t see him – Which one would you do? There is just to many different variations. Not to mention, very similar to Solomon Grundy, he is just not a believable enough character. despite the fact that Batman is fictional, most of his villains are in the relm of possibility. He doesn’t have too many fantasy villains. Clayface falls into that list. All the shapeshifting and larger than life theatrics, it’s just too much for a Batman movie. Also he would take a lot of CGI.

Why we are ok with it – Been there, done that. Picture Spiderman’s Sandman and X-men’s Mystique having a child…. Wait…on second thought, don’t picture that. Anyways, there is Clayface. We would much rather see something new.

#4 – Zsasz

Who is he – Victor Zsasz was a very wealthy man at one point in his life. After his parents died he went into a depression and gambling spiral. Once all the money was gone he came to the conclusion that life was not worth living and that he was nothing more than a robot going through the motions of life. So he goes to Gotham Bridge to jump to his death. But as luck would have it on the way there a homeless man tries to rob him. During the altercation Victor kills the man and it is at this point he comes to a revelation. We are ALL robots, and he determines it is his duty to set us all free. In Vicotr’s mind, his “gift” to us is our own death, and he keeps count of his victims through tally marks he carves into his body.

Why we won’t see him – He’s a little too heavy. At his core he is a insane serial killer. Batman has become noticeably dark over the years, but it is still a movie that you can bring your (over 13) kids to. Introducing a character like Zsasz would make this task a bit harder. Not to mention he primarily works alone. He doesn’t have the typical henchmen that you see in all the superhero movies.

Why we are upset it – He’s a really cool character. He has even made it into the Nolan Batman movies as a reference. (see court room scene in Batman Begins) And his level of crazy is right up there with Hugo, Joker and some of the others. But he is also a somewhat complex character which would take a great actor to do it well. If done wrong it could be a big mistake (See Riddle reference again)

#3 – Calendar Man

Who is he – His full name is Julian Gregory Day. As in the Julian and Gregorian calendar… insert pun here. His gimmick is he commits crimes on certain days. The crime he commits will usually correspond with the day it is, either a holiday, or anniversary, etc. His crimes are usually so petty and ridiculous that he has become a joke among both criminals and heroes in the DC universe. He often times even changes he costume to go with the holiday. Dumb? Maybe. fashionable? Definitely.

Why we won’t see him – How do you make a movie about a man obsessed with dates? It would have to take place over the corse of the entire year. Plus, whose his sidekick, minute man?

Why we are ok with it – As I’m sure we all know, almost every character, good and bad, in a comic book has to have a gimmick. Whether it be an animal like a bat, or penguin, or a theme like riddles or Zombies, we get it. HOWEVER does every idea have to wind up on the pages of the comic book. There wasn’t one guy in a meeting somewhere who said, “Um, guys….really?”

#2 – Penguin

Who is he – The famous Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot. He was born to a very rich family in the upper level of gotham’s rich, but he’s physical deformities made him an outcast. Short, obese and with a birdlike nose all Oswald wanted was to be excepted as a wealth member of society. Armed with a large variety of trick umbrellas, a top hat, and monocle Penguin now owns a night club and is a bit of an underground mob boss.

Why we won’t see him – For the most part there are only two reasons Hollywood would re-do a villain, either he is the arch-enemy such as Joker and you almost have to put him in the story somewhere, or the character was so popular the first time that the potential for box office money is great. Penguin falls into neither category. Although he is one of the more well-known villains in Batman’s Rogues gallery, his popularity over the years has decreased and hollywood can see that.

Why we are ok with it – He isn’t that cool. He is short, fat and owns a night club. He stands no chance against Batman and he has little entertainment value. Even in Batman Returns you don’t ever see Penguin and Batman go at it, because it just doesn’t make sense. And in this day and age of explosions, over the top CGI, in-depth plot points, and explosions who wants to see a movie that would last all of 5 minutes dragged out into 2 hours. That’s almost as bad as making the main character blind or something…

#1 – Legion of Doom

Who are they – Picture the Avengers, but Evil! With Members like Bizarro, Lex Luther, The Joker, Gorilla Grodd, Riddler, Scarecrow, Solomon Grundy, and many many more they are the collection of bad guys. They are the worst of the worst and the best of the best.

Why we won’t see him – Because Hollywood has zero imagination! They have no idea who they should be targeting as potential audience. The make comic book movies for people who don’t read comic books, and those of us that do are either stuck with a story line that isn’t true to our favorite characters, or characters that we never wanted to see on screen in the first place.

Why we are upset it – It just makes sense. With the popularity of the Avengers, it’s evident that fans what to see more of their favorites and want to see them together on the big screen. So rather to copy that, like with a Justice League movie, lets see the villains team up this time. All your favorites side by side! That could mean huge box office money, not to mention how cool it would be to watch!!

By: Oberon Sexton