Next Bat villain odds

Back before THE DARK KNIGHT was released, our resident Top
Ten expert Jim Law gave us his list of who Christopher Nolan and his team of
geniuses should consider as the villain for whatever the next film in his Batman
series should be.  Now that THE DARK KNIGHT has hit theaters and broken all
kinds of records, rumors have already begun to swirl on exactly who that villain
would be.

I’ve already received e-mails about Angelina Jolie as
Catwoman and Johnny Depp as The Riddler so now’s a good time to take a look at
Jim’s choices, throw in some dark horse candidates and check out the odds on
favorites to battle the Bat next. 

Clayface

Like Mr. Freeze (see below), Clayface has a memorable episode
from “Batman: The Animated Series.”  But also like Mr. Freeze,
his concept may be a bit too much for Nolan’s grounded vision.  A giant,
malleable mass of clay in human/monster form would be something perfect for
SPIDER-MAN but not quite something that would work well in this trilogy.  ODDS
– 100:1

Black Mask

Black Mask is sort of like Red Skull of the
Batman world, he has a black mask (natch) burned onto his face.  Though he
has no super powers (other than a big brain), he’s disfigured face might be a
little too Two-Face.  He’s a great comic villain but his translation to
screen would be far too difficult.  ODDS – 90:1

Hush

Hush (Dr. Thomas Elliott) would normally make a
decent villain for a Batman film but he has a few things working against
him.  One, he’s a relatively new character having only been created in
2002.  Two, he’s not very well-known at all.  Finally, in his one
major story, all he does is mastermind a plot against Batman using other
villains to fight for him.  That may make him a minor supporting character
in a film but hardly enough to run the show.  ODDS – 80:1 

Mr. Freeze

Despite having the unfortunate connection to
BATMAN AND ROBIN and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s one-liner spewing abomination,
Freeze is one of the deepest and darkest foes in Batman lore. Just check
out the classic “Heart of Ice” two-parter from “Batman: The
Animated Series.” Unfortunately, Nolan is dedicated to keeping his
Batman films firmly entrenched in the real world. Sadly I think it mighty
difficult to find a real-world scenario that has a man shooting freeze rays out
of a gun. I’d love to see it happen but I think we’re stuck with Ahnuld.
ODDS – 75:1

The Riddler

With Heath Ledger winning raves for his
performance as a laughing lunatic, the rumors already swirling around popular
villain The Riddler. But it’s because Ledger left such a mark on The Joker that
I don’ t think Nolan and his crew would try to mine such similar
territory.  It’s a possibility but a remote one.  ODDS – 60:1

Bane

Bane is perhaps best known for being the villain
that broke Batman’s back after escaping from Arkham Asylum.  While some
aspects of the character would work well (addicted to an experimental drug,
highly intelligent, wrongly imprisoned), his physical looks would need some
revamping.  The villains in Nolan’s film (Scarecrow, Ra’s al Ghul, Joker
and Two-Face) aren’t masked and muscle-bound like the drugged up Bane. 
It’s possible Nolan and crew could make it work but they’d need to ditch the pro
wrestler look and go for something more low-key.  ODDS – 50:1

Catwoman

Because of the popularity of the character and
the fact that Michelle Pfeiffer played the most memorable villain from the first
series of films, a lot of people assume Catwoman is a shoe-in for the next
film. Except for writer David Goyer. Recently he said, “everyone
says you have to use the Penguin or Catwoman. Well, I completely disagree.”
As do I. I think it’s the way-too-obvious choice for this crew. ODDS – 35:1

Poison Ivy

If BATMAN BEGINS was brown and THE DARK KNIGHT
was blue, the third Batman film could be green for POISON IVY.  OK, maybe
that would be a little Schumacher but the character is not as out there as you
might think.  Costume aside, she’s just a botanist who could be using
natural toxins to help manipulate Gotham.  It’s a bit similar to Scarecrow
but with a little massaging, it could work.  ODDS – 30:1

Talia al Ghul

Daughter of BATMAN BEGINS villain Ra’s al Ghul,
Talia is a frequent love interest for Bruce Wayne.  Many thought Katie
Holmes was playing Talia in BEGINS before it was announced she would be starring
as Rachel Dawes.  For reasons we won’t get into to deeply here, Bruce could
use a new female friend and one that also doubles as a villain (and the daughter
of a man he killed) could certainly ratchet up the tension.  Like her
father, she has no discernable superpower other than hand-to-hand combat and
sword training.  A pretty even match for Bruce, eh?  ODDS – 20:1

Harley Quinn

Now here’s a way to capitalize on The Joker’s
popularity without exploiting it.  The Riddler would just be more of the
same but Harley would allow them to follow a natural progression after the end
of THE DARK KNIGHT.  They’d have to ditch the classic costume but a
revenge-fueled plot against Batman by a former Joker accomplice would make for
an interesting ride.  ODDS – 8:1

Penguin

Before Heath Ledger was cast as The Joker, there
was a lot of speculation on the web that Penguin was a part of THE DARK KNIGHT
and that Philip Seymour Hoffman was offered the part.  Despite Goyer’s
assertion above that he disagrees with Penguin, I still think he’s a very likely
candidate.  Mainly he has no crazy gimmick (a la Mr. Freeze) or absurd
superpower.  He’s just a wealthy, slightly disfigured mobster-type who
delights in sadistic crimes.  (Bonus points for appearing in “The Long
Halloween,” an often-sourced inspiration for BATMAN BEGINS.)  Sounds
almost perfect for Nolan’s universe.  ODDS – 2:1 

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