One Batman villain has appeared twice in live-action DC movies, but he may only become an actual villain until the DCU’s The Brave and the Bold or a future sequel. Batman has faced several enemies on the big screen so far, including various takes on A-list villains such as the Joker, the Riddler, the Penguin, and Two-Face, as well as famous Batman enemies like Bane, Scarecrow, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, and Superman himself. Every live-action Batman portrayal has faced villains spanning the spectrum of realism. However, there are still many DC antagonists Batman hasn’t had the chance to fight in a live-action movie yet.
Some details in The Batman and The Penguin suggest that The Batman – Part II‘s main antagonists will be the Court of Owls — a secret society that hasn’t even been mentioned in any live-action DC movie so far. Meanwhile, the DCU’s The Brave and the Bold movie will take place in a universe filled with metahumans and superheroes. Therefore, The Brave and the Bold might choose a less realistic character than The Batman – Part II for its main antagonist.
Man-Bat Has Appeared As A Cameo In Nightmare Sequences In Two Batman Movies
Two Batman Movies Have Used Man-Bat As A Metaphor For Bruce Wayne’s Fears
Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever famously doubled down on the lighthearted elements in Tim Burton’s Batman and Batman Returns and introduced campy versions of the Riddler, Two-Face, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, and Bane. However, Batman Forever wasn’t always going to be as lighthearted, as suggested by its director’s cut. In one of Batman Forever‘s deleted scenes, Val Kilmer’s Bruce Wayne comes face to face with Man-Bat, which represents Batman’s deepest fears and his obsession with turning them into courage. This Man-Bat only exists as a nightmarish figment of Bruce Wayne’s unconscious mind.
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You’ve Already Seen The Batman’s Clayface According To 1 Shockingly Convincing DC Theory
The Batman may have been teasing one notable member of the Dark Knight’s rogues gallery for quite some time, according to a theory about the universe.
In a Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice dream sequence, Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne imagines he’s visiting his parents’ graves. After noticing blood dripping from them, Man-Bat appears and attacks him. This version of Man-Bat also represents Batman’s repressed feelings of sorrow from his childhood trauma and the monster he believes he has become. Of course, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice‘s Man-Bat doesn’t exist outside Bruce Wayne’s dreams either.
Gods And Monsters Can Introduce Several Underused Batman Characters
The DCU’s Batman And His Bat-Family Could Have Actual Monsters As Antagonists
Unlike DC movie franchises like Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight and Matt Reeves’ The Batman, the DCU’s Batman will likely meet a wide variety of metahumans sooner rather than later. The DCU’s first chapter is named “Gods and Monsters”, meaning that Batman could cross paths with godlike superheroes and monstrous supervillains. In the comics, some grotesque, inhuman, or otherwise nightmarish members of Batman’s rogue gallery include Man-Bat, Clayface, Killer Croc, Solomon Grundy, and Orca — all of whom would be too unrealistic to introduce in Nolan or Reeves’ Batman adaptations.
Man-Bat has been a member of the Justice League Dark team alongside Swamp Thing, who’s getting his own movie in the DCU’s “Gods and Monsters” chapter.
None of these Batman villains have had the chance to be the Caped Crusader’s main enemy in a movie, and they would all fit the main theme of the DCU’s first chapter. In fact, Clayface will make his DCU debut in Creature Commandos, which also features Batman villain Dr. Phosphorus. With the DCU’s first two Batman villains being monsters, it’s easy to imagine how The Brave and the Bold or another DCU Batman project could pit the Dark Knight against a powerful supervillain like Man-Bat.
- Director
- Andy Muschietti
- Studio(s)
- DC Entertainment , Warner Bros. Discovery , Warner Bros.
- Distributor(s)
- Warner Bros. Pictures