Last week, in preparation for the release of The Dark Knight, we asked which Batman movie was your favorite. The clear winner, with 59%, is Batman Begins, the reimagining with an all-star cast that lead into The Dark Knight. The previous first Batman movie came in second with 20%, and the first animated Batman movie, Mask of the Phantasm, third with 6%.
Since many, many people went out and watched The Dark Knight last weekend (myself included), I thought I’d see where people might think the franchise is headed next. While Batman Begins foreshadowed who would show up in its sequel, (slight spoiler) The Dark Knight merely sets up a new status quo, but one that does suggest that we haven’t seen the last of Bale’s Batman.
So hey, let’s wildly speculate:
[poll id=”87″]
If you want to talk about anything in The Dark Knight that would suggest your choice or choices, just be sure to put a spoiler warning in front of it.
Batman versus the World…
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Not sure who just yet…gonna think on it…
Definitely not Superman, though…such an appearance wouldn’t fit the style or story that Nolan is going for…
A friend of mine and I had a few thoughts on the matter:
– The Riddler could be someone who figures out Wayne’s secret and threatens to expose it. ‘E. Nigma’ could be a pen name or screen name of a blogger (maybe someone we’ve already met?). He is a narcissist, so he challenges the Batman to figure out who he is by dropping clues.
– Clayface could be a talented actor/master of disguise, not necessarily a shape-shifting thing.
– Penguin could just be a short, fat mob boss.
– Catwoman is always a great idea. Especially in tight leather.
Seriously, if Superman is in the next one I won’t even bother watching it (in the theatre or on DVD)
Anthony Michael Hall has expressed some interest in playing a Batman villain apparently, and since he made an appearance in this one (slight spoiler, but nothing major I promise), it wouldn’t be a stretch to use him as Clayface, or even Riddler per Avaril’s suggestion.
Catwoman though, always has a special place in my heart of Batman baddies 😀
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My wife and I had a rather extensive conversation about exactly this after leaving the theater at 3am Friday morning. One thing that Begins and Dark Knight really have going for them is the realism of it all when compared to other comic book movies (and even movies like Pirates). I definitely think Catwoman is very likely for the third movie, and my other votes go to Mr. Freeze and the Riddler because they are the most believable villains on the list.
Mr. Freeze I’d really like to see because of how horribly he was mangled in that-movie-that-wasn’t-really-about-Batman, and how much potential the character could have in a movie. The Riddler I’m not so hot on, he’d have to definitely be portrayed in a sinister way or else he just wouldn’t stand up to Batman in these movies at all. I also voted for Clayface because I think that’d be cool.
Now, my personal belief is that Superman would be badass. The first movie established Batman, the why, and the how of him as a character. The second movie established his resolve and enforced the why of it. I think introducing something like Superman into the fold could turn the whole thing on its head and just the prospect of that excites me. Plus at this point I trust Nolan would do it well, the scenes in Hush with Superman in them were really good, and then the early issues of Superman/Batman had some excellent interplay between the two also, so those are my main hopes for any possibility of that in a movie. I doubt it’ll happen, but I think it could be done really well.
OK, here’s my thoughts, stealing from what people have said before (and spoilers, of course):
-The mob got all their life savings torched and 500+ of their members thrown in jail (probably, or else the whole thing with Dent was meaningless.) That means there’s a big vacuum for new organized crime, so that’s plenty of chances for other mob-type villains to move in like Penguin and/or Bane.
-Bruce Wayne’s love interest got blowed up, thus the introduction of Catwoman could work.
-As Avaril points out, we saw someone who’s very good with numbers (and without many scruples) figure out Batman’s ID, thus making him a possible Riddler.
-In the comic Dark Knight Returns, a new commissioner declares war on Batman, and he has to fight a SWAT team… and it’s specifically noted that the fact he puts a young kid in danger makes it even worse. Eventually, a certain outside secret hero who wears red, white, and blue is called in to take him down. Which leads me to…
-BB and TDK tried very hard to stay pretty grounded in the world of superheroics, with the gadgets being more “James Bond” level than “DC Universe” level. But the end of BB and all of TDK were about escalation- maybe the next level of escalation beyond costumed crazies are costumed craziness with powers, which MIGHT open the door to Superman, or just allow someone like Mr. Freeze to be a bit more believable. Or maybe theoretical third movie is the bridge between the Batman franchise and an eventual “World’s Finest/Batman vs. Superman” movie.
Yes, I had a lot of time to think about this yesterday…
They could possibly do something with Ra’s daughter Talia – maybe even bring back Ra’s himself in some capacity.
Bane would be interesting as long as they do the character justice – more like he was when originally introduced rather than the abomination that was showcased in Batman & Robin.
What’s tough for me is to think of any villian that could be used (other than perhaps Ra’s) that could possibly be equal to what The Joker was in The Dark Knight. The Joker is Batman’s ultimate nemesis. Anybody else is peanuts when they’re compared. Batman has a whole asylum of villians to beat down but The Joker is on a whole other level.
It’s going to be tough to make the next movie nearly as satisfying.
Very true… both for having used all the villains that really could be called Batman’s archnemesis, but for having made a really incredible movie!
That’s why I think Superman may be the only way to top it…
I honestly don’t think Mr. Freeze would be that much more out there than the Scarecrow or Joker were, but I think he has the potential to be WAY cool.
Axen: Thank you! I actually forgot to mention right away that one of my early thoughts was they might bring back Ras Al’ghul. Not sure how good / satisfying that would be, but it’d definitely be interesting and he is one of the few villans that can match a well-trained / established Batman.
I miss Harley Quinn…
Given everything said already heres my two pennies (Spoilers blah blah)
Batman vs Superman- while the idea is “solid” I honestly feel it would kill what is turning out to be one of the most solid series to date. Heres why:
-We now see batman as human as a super hero can be, hes hurt OFTEN, hes taking on massive feats of men but wearing thin as he does, and the pyschological aspect of it is bearing down on him. Case to be made: Human.
-Thus the addition of someone like Superman would really undermine all the work the director has put into making us feel that even as a normal human, batman is achieving great things.
-all in all, the director/writers/etc can do MUCH better then superman.
The idea of Mr. Freeze, and clayface are too.. comicy(?) for my taste. Though the characters are solid all the villans weve seen to date in BB and TDK have been routed soundly in basic human stats. The Joker is about the farthest end of the spectrum I think Id like them to go, and even he stayed very human (IE Pencil instead of a electric hand buzzer that kills people?). Scarecrow was well done, Two face was EXTREMELY well done (and Im one glad they didnt drag him out), and the joker was probably one of the BEST (if not THE BEST) jobs of a pyschopathic genius I have ever seen.
I honestly dont know who Id like to see as the next batman villan. Preferably a character they can make as “real” as possible. Weve seen Joker and Ras play puppet masters, maybe something in a different direction then that?
in the end, Please no superman, and I think we can do better then Clayface and Mr. Freeze… but thats just my opinion.
Spoilers ahead:
With the end of the movie clearly setting Bats up to be hunted by the police it would be an interesting twist to have main “villian” be Commissioner Gordon as he tracks down his friend and bring him to justice.
Batman vs Cops = awesome everytime.
I concur you could have the methodical villain angle taking over the mob scene (Bane/Penguin). Penguin is kinda silly though, and Bane is a physical match (or superior) with venom… which is a believable in Nolan’s world.
I oppose Mr. Freeze and Superman as clashing with the feeling of this conception of Batman. Would not feel right.
Riddler could go a million ways, from being a ‘new hero’ that works with the law, but is actually bad, to just a genius that totally fucks with Batman.
Catwoman works as a tweener/love interest, possible Robin Hood type that maybe crosses some of the lines Batman won’t… such as robbing from Wayne Industries for the poor?