This weekend, DC Studios steps back into Gotham City, but without its Caped Crusader, Batman. Warner Bros. has done the standalone villain movie treatment before with 2019’s Joker, a film that pulled in $1.079 billion globally at the box office, but the DC Universe will have its first run at it with the release of Clayface. The film, directed by James Watkins and written by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, is a body horror-psychological thriller focusing on Matt Hagen, the second iteration of the character introduced in DC Comics’ Detective Comics #298 in 1961, courtesy of creators Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff. It’s a character that could’ve very well been introduced as a villain in a Batman film, but his backstory is interesting enough that it warranted a solo film with its own distinct style. Since Batman has such an extensive and impressive rogues’ gallery, they all can’t be included in his films, so we’re breaking down five of his foes that could be served by having their own standalone movies.
5. Man-Bat
Since Clayface dabbles in body-horror territory, the DC Universe might want to try its hand with a monsterverse entry by giving the villain Man-Bat a shot on the big screen. Man-Bat originated in Detective Comics #400 (created by Frank Robbins and Neal Adams) in June 1970 as Dr. Robert Kirkland ‘Kirk” Langstrom, a zoologist who experiments with bat DNA to create an extract that could give humans the sonar sense of the winged animals in the hopes of reversing his growing deafness. As is the case with most of these things, Langstrom begins testing on himself and is mutated into an anthropomorphic half-bat hybrid that is feral and acts purely on instinct.
Comic books have several characters like this (Morbius, The Incredible Hulk, and The Lizard in the Spider-Man comics spring to mind), but the DC Universe could do something tragically dark with the material, kind of reminiscent of what they’ve done with Clayface, that could utilize some amazing practical effects for Langstrom’s transformation into the titular character. There is also a richly human story here because Langstrom’s intentions are good before his horrific transformation. He’s someone who wants to not only help himself but to improve mankind. The tragedy is that sometimes that best of intentions can breed something that can become more dangerous than what we’re trying to combat, and that could lead to some fascinating storytelling on the big screen.
4. Poison Ivy
With news that a Poison Ivy series is in the works from The Penguin showrunner Lauren LeFranc, there is another reality where her character could also offer up some complex storytelling on the big screen. Created by Sheldon Moldoff and Robert Kaniger, Poison Ivy first debuted in Batman #181 in June 1966. Poison Ivy is a botanist named Pamela Lillian Isley who takes on her alter ego as an ecoterrorist when she declares herself to be nature’s daughter and vows to protect the supremacy of nature by lashing out against all of humanity. She has the ability to control all plant life through an elemental force known as the Green, which only aids in her mission to secure the sanctity of nature at all costs.
Poison Ivy has been given the big screen treatment before (portrayed by Uma Thurman in 1997’s Batman & Robin) and has even made small screen appearances on Batman: The Animated Series and the Fox television series Gotham, portrayed by Peyton List, but this supervillain and sometimes antiheroine could be given the proper movie treatment to flesh her out even more with a standalone project. She has a moral perspective that puts her in a bit of a grey area that could lead to solid storytelling, especially with the issue of climate change and biopolitics at the forefront. Her extremist ideas would make her a viable threat, especially with her enhanced abilities, but it would be more nuanced than a villain hell-bent on world domination.
Her endgame would be clear but her intentions would prevent her from being a standard villain with the typical tropes associated with a character such as hers. Also, should they choose to, there is potential to present her beyond her femme fatale persona and make her more of a layered anti-hero. There’s an angle here that could make a Poison Ivy film project a pretty intriguing psychological thriller if done right.
3. The Ventriloquist and Scarface
A psychological thriller dealing with dissociative identity disorder could be effectively explored in a film focused on The Ventriloquist and Scarface. The first and original iteration of the character was introduced in Detective Comics #583 in February 1988, created by John Wagner, Alan Grant, and Norm Breyfogle. Arnold Wesker is a meek and mild man whose darker persona comes through his ventriloquist dummy, Scarface, who is dressed as a 1920s gangster with far more grit and a penchant for violance than the man seemingly controlling him.
Wesker is born into an organized crime family and develops dissociative identity disorder after seeing his mom be slain by a rival crime family. His only outlet through life was ventriloquism, and his DID comes through his dummy that channels that persona of Al Capone. It might sound silly on the surface, but there is a dark story here that could really work and, at the same time, could be darkly humerous as both sides of Wesker’s personality take shape. The depth of the storytelling is what stands out here because Wesker’s repressed anger and guilt would be a great push and pull for any actor game enough to take on the role. As Scarface orders hits on those who wrong him, Wesker is apologetic, resulting in the true battle being with his very own mind.
There is a grounded noir approach that could be utilized here that would mesh well with a psychological drama diving into the psyche of the character. One could see someone like David Fincher doing something truly great with this material involving a man at abusive and psychological odds with something he created.
2. Scarecrow
More horror territory could be explored with a Scarecrow standalone movie, a villain that could project some truly terrifying images into your mind through his fear toxin. Created by Bill Finger and artist Sheldon Moldoff, Scarecrow first appeared in World’s Finest #3 in 1941, but he eas revived by writer Gardner Fox in Batman #1989 in 1967 with the introduction of his signature fear toxin. Scarecrow’s alias is Dr. Jonathan Crane, a clinical psychologist and professor of psychology who ultimately turns to a life of crime.
Crane, who was abused and bullied in his youth, becomes obsessed with the fear that was inflicted upon him and develops a hallucinogenic drug to wreak havoc on Gotham City. Scarecrow has been seen in various media incarnations, most notably in live-action form portrayed by Cillian Murphy in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy. While he has emerged as one of Batman’s most enduring foes, there is great standalone potential because Scarecrow’s motivations aren’t tied to gaining power or wealth.
He has a sadistic desire to watch people succumb to his experiments and see what happens as fear begins to destroy their minds. Scarecrow’s intelligence makes him deadly and deeply psychological, and, mixed with his tragic upbringing that was plagued with bullying and abuse, he could make for a pretty nuanced villain that might be more frightening because he’s beyond the point of being reasoned with. Manipulation through fear is his true power, and that makes for a fascinating and frightening concept that could go to some pretty horrific places.
1. Mr. Freeze
If anyone deserves proper big-screen treatment, standalone or otherwise, in Batman’s rogues gallery, it’s Mr. Freeze. He deserves live-action redemption for his campy portrayal in 1997’s Batman & Robin, courtesy of Arnold Schwarzenegger, and given the potential that was expertly explored on the Batman: The Animated Series episode “Heart of Ice,” it’s very possible that a standalone film tackling his origins would make for a compelling movie. Created by writer Dave Wood and artists Sheldon Moldoff and Bob Kane, Mr. Freeze debuted in Batman #121 in February 1959 as a mad scientist named Mr. Zero, who has to wear a special cryo-suit to survive after a physiology-altering mishap that turns him into a criminal equipped with freezing weapons that are his signature.
However, it was in 1992 that Mr. Freeze was reinvented by writer Paul Dini, producer Bruce Timm, and artist Mike Mignola for Batman: The Animated Series. Transformed into more of a tragic villain, Victor Fries is a scientist in Gotham City who is involved in a lab accident while trying to cryogenically preserve his terminally ill wife. As Mr. Freeze, Victor turns to crime to fund his research in a desperate and obsessive need to cure his wife, and nothing will stand in his way. This is the origin story that could be served well on he big screen because he would be a villain that would grab the sympathy of the audience. He’s not a bad guy in the traditional sense, who is driven by greed or pure chaos. He’s just a man who wants to save the woman he loves.
It would make for an interesting conundrum for moviegoers because, depending on how far they had him go, audiences would question their own moral compass and grapple with whether these circumstances would make them do the very same thing. From a visual standpoint, the sub-zero aesthetic could be given a desolate and cold palette through cinematography that would only add to the tragedy of the story. As for who his adversary would be without Batman, Ferris Boyle would provide the perfect standalone roadblock for Mr. Freeze as the GothCorp CEO who is directly tied to his transformation.
He fits the dirty CEO stereotype as being greedy and ruthless, and once he discovers Victor is using his equipment to keep his wife alive, he’s uncaring and orders his guards to pull the plug, resulting in an altercation that he believes leaves Fries and his wife dead. Not only do we get a tragic story of a man fighting to keep his wife alive, but there is also a nice revenge tale that could be explored against the man who turned him into someone who can only survive in sub-zero temperatures.
Clayface opens in theaters nationwide this Friday.
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