Mark Millar recently posted on his Twitter he knows the villains to Batman 3. Thanks to JoshW's article, many of us fanboys became enthusiastic of the possible villains. Assuming of course Millar is telling the truth, (which he very well could not be) I decided I would evaluate the possible villains that could fit into Batman 3.
Millar posted on his twitter:
"Oh, wait. Con gossip: I know who the villain(s) are in Batman 3 and the big scene outside Gotham sounds awesome. Totally timely locale."
"One of the villains is from my favourite childhood run on the character. Again, very unexpected."
So this information confirms there will be multiple villains. One of this villains he states is from his favorite childhood runs. Millar is 40 years old currently. This places the run he talks about anywhere between ages 8-16. So this character probably had a good story line somewhere between the years 1977 and 1985.
Millar also states the character is unexpected, which leads to various assumptions. He could mean maybe this villain has super powers, something VERY unexpected because of the realism and tone of Nolan's movies. It also may be unexpected because maybe Nolan has lied to us on his views of certain villains and their roles in a film. Along with those many other assumptions could also be made some more farfetched than others.
So taking this information I have compiled a list of villains and how reasonable we may see them sometime in the future on the big screen.
Lets start with villains we have already seen in the first two movies.
Scarecrow:
Likeliness: Low
We've already seen him twice. A third would be repetitive. Don't get me wrong I loved Cillian Murphy as Scarecrow in the first two movies but its time for some fresh faces. An appearance in Arkham may be all we get of Scarecrow if we do see him again.
Mr.Zsasz:
Likeliness: Low
Mr.Zsasz first appeared in 1992, well after Millar's childhood. Zsasz fits in Nolan's universe well but don't see him fitting into the current series of events following the Dark Knight. Much like Scarecrow an appearance of Zsasz is more likely to take place in Arkham.
Ra's Al Ghul:
Likeliness: Medium
Created in 1971, Ra's fits the timeline having many good stories in the 70s. Liam Neesen did a great job as Ra's and his resurrection could be seen as unexpected and is quite possible with the Lazarus Pits. However I find him returning less likely, his involvement more than likely would be one of a man behind the scenes, with his reveal later in the movie to be the surprise.
Joker:
Likeliness: Low
Arguably one of the greatest villains of all time. Heath's performance undeniably great. Nolan has stated several times he does not want to use the Joker again out of respect to Heath. To use the Joker would be the most unexpected turn of events. I know the fans would not be disappointed but, to assume Nolan has been blowing smoke up our asses all this time is very unlikely.
Two-Face:
Likeliness: Medium-High
Two-Face had a lot of good runs in the 70s and 80s fitting the childhood part. The return of Harvey Dent could be seen as unexpected, since it has been stated several times Two-Face is considered dead in the Nolan-verse. If Two-Face is reused it would be very interesting on how he is used. There are several possibilities but my favorite is Two-Face returns to exact revenge on Batman. In the end it turns out the real culprit behind Two-Face's actions is Ra's Al Ghul in exchange for letting Two-Face use the Lazarus Pits upon killing Batman.
Now that we have covered all previously used villains lets cover ones that have not been seen yet in the Nolan-verse.
Poison Ivy:
Likeliness: Very Low
Fits the unexpected bill, had runs in 70s and 80s but, none were too memorable. Highly doubt she would be used, doesn't fit in continuity of the movies and does not interest Nolan, neither does she interests many fans. Bad taste of Batman Forever keeps her out of any movies anytime soon.
Firefly
Likeliness: Low-Medium
Not a character that had many memorable runs in 70s and 80s. Not so much unexpected as he could be used as an enforcer for another villain or mob boss. Flight fight scenes could prove to be interesting, but Deadshot would be a much better choice for an enforcer type character.
The Mad Hatter
Likeliness: Low
Fits the unexpected and had runs in 70s an 80s. However his runs in 70s and 80s are rather unappealing as I found the character has become much more interesting in the 90s and 2000s. If used my favorite interpretation of him is that of a child molester who kidnaps girls that resemble Alice, would be difficult to include in Batman 3 though.
Manbat
Likeliness: Low-Medium
Considered rather unexpected, created in 70s and had some very interesting stories. Could fit into the series of events of Batman being on the run and the actions of the Manbat being blamed on Batman. Seems unlikely that he would be used because of his powered background and not a strong enough character to carry a movie on his own however, he does not fit well with too many other villains.
Mr.Freeze
Likeliness: Very Low
Was a basic themed 'joke' villain for most of his runs in the 70s and 80s. Never really became an interesting character until his appearance on Batman:The Animated Series (Which was one of my favorite Batman stories of all time). His use of powers makes him unlikely and the Governator still comes to mind when mentioned to the general public, very unlikely.
Killer Croc
Likeliness: Low
Created in 1983, Millar was 14 by then not really putting him into the childhood era but still possible. The interpretation of him in the Joker graphic novel is my favorite and would most likely be the only way he could translate into film. For those not familiar with the Joker graphic novel he is depicted as having a skin condition which gives him a scale like appearance and he filed his teeth to points. The picture above is from the Joker graphic novel. Doubt Nolan would use him as he is more of an enforcer type villain and I would very much like to see him in a movie but, doubt Nolan would use him.
Clayface
Likeliness: High
Would be very unexpected because of his powers, Millar has stated before that Clayface is one of his favorite villains. Maybe it is just a pipedream but Clayface would be the funnest to see on screen. His powers are that of variety he could be taken more realistically but still very dangerous. His shapeshifting abilities allow him to change into whomever he wishes which would work well for framing Bats in BM3. The retelling of his origin in Batman:TAS is also one of my favorite Batman stories and I feel would translate well to film. When I first read Millar's tweet the first villain that came to mind is Clayface, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for this one!
Deadshot
Likeliness: Medium-High
Created in 1950 by Bob Kane himself. Not very unexpected but would fit very nicely as an enforcer villain and would be exciting to watch. One the fan-favorites for BM3 makes me wonder with the unexpected part but could very easily be in Batman 3 for he has many uses to help develop the plot. Loved the interpretation of him in Batman Gotham Knight.
Black Mask
Likeliness: Medium-High
Another fan favorite to be the villain in BM3. Not really 'unexpected' but fits well with the Nolan-verse. I am rather uninterested in him because he would be portrayed as another mob boss and resembles the Red Skull too much especially with both movies coming out in the same year. Would make sense as the villain in BM3 though and would be quite a challenge for our Dark Knight.
Catwoman
Likeliness: Medium
Batman needs a love interest. More than likely this love interest will not just be a damsel in distress, so Catwoman fits. Fits well with just about any other villain in Batman's rougue's gallery and translates to film well.Not very unexpected at all though. I've never liked Catwoman and always felt like she was a rather annoying character (meowing and what not). Would rather not see her in BM3.
Talia Al Ghul
Likeliness: Medium-High
Alot more unexpected of a love interest than Catwoman. Created in the 70s along with Ra's she fits the timeline. I would be much more interested in seeing Talia on film as the love interest however bringing Talia into the fray makes a resurrection of Ra's much much higher a possibility. This love/hate dynamic could be played very well in her seducing Batman only for her to reveal she really wants revenge for the death of her father.
Riddler
Likeliness: Medium-High
The most expected choice as the villain in BM3. Millar's tweet makes the high possibility of the Riddler's appearance much less likely. Many people dislike the Riddler and consider him a 'poor man's Joker'. His run as a joke villain in the Silver Age ruined a lot of people's view of the Riddler. The Riddler is one of my favorite villains in his more recent incarnations. His intellect will really challenge Batman's detective skills which I want to see the most, I want to see the World's Greatest Detective really show his stuff on film. There is multiple ways he could be portrayed on film, a serial killer, a computer hacker/cyber terrorist, ect. He fits Nolan's films the best and since there is chance of multiple villains still a very high chance he will appear.
Penguin
Likeliness: High
After reading Millar's tweet the second villain that came to mind after Clayface was Penguin. Nolan states he dislikes Penguin which makes this choice very unexpected. He can very well be interpreted as a mob boss or an arms dealer allowing him to fit into the universe very well. Penguin is after all considered by many Batman's second greatest villain behind the Joker and would work well at ending the trilogy.
Dr.Hugo Strange
Likeliness: Medium-High
Sort of unexpected since he is a lesser-known Batman villain to most casual fans and the general audience. Would fit very well into Nolan's universe being hired to rehabilitate the influx of costumed criminals coming into Arkham. His true motives however are to expose the identity of Batman due to him being on the run. Could be paired very well with another villain and would help drive the plot very nicely, his chances are very high.
I considered many other villains as well but felt their chances of appearing in Batman based on the above information is unlikely. Solomon Grundy would be very unlikely due to being a magical zombie, he would be very hard to explain in the Nolan-verse. Bane appeared in the 90s well after Millar's childhood. Ventriloquist was late 80s so out of childhood as well (would be interesting to see though).
Please feel free to discuss and add any possible villains I may have missed and why they fit the mold from Millar's comments and how they fit into Nolan's universe.