THE BATMAN: 8 Characters Who Could Be A Huge Part of The Franchise On The Big AND Small Screens

THE BATMAN: 8 Characters Who Could Be A Huge Part of The Franchise On The Big AND Small Screens

The Batman is fast approaching, and with at least two spinoffs coming to HBO Max, we have some ideas about heroes and villains who could be added to Matt Reeves' rebooted franchise over the next few years.

Feature Opinion
By JoshWilding - Sep 28, 2021 09:09 AM EST
Filed Under: The Batman

The Batman looks set to bring the Dark Knight back to the big screen in a big way as Robert Pattinson dons the cape and cowl for a reboot that looks set to spawn sequels and small screen spinoffs.

This take on Batman promises to show why Bruce Wayne is the World's Greatest Detective, and while we know a lot of familiar faces will join him in this adventure, who could follow down the line? We're excited for fresh takes on The Riddler, Detective Jim Gordon, The Penguin, and Alfred Pennyworth, but there are definitely more comic book heroes and villains we could see in this DC Universe.

From Batman's fellow Gotham City heroes to familiar faces from other franchises and characters you may not know all that well from the comic books, the possibilities are, in many ways, endless. This grounded reality is vastly different to the wider DCEU, and all of these characters have the potential to shine in the world Reeves appears to be creating both on the big and small screens.

To find out who we could see in The Batman franchise down the line, hit the "Next" button below! 
 

8. Julia Pennyworth

Julia


Andy Serkis is going to play Alred in The Batman, and it should be interesting seeing what vision Reeves has for his dynamic with Bruce Wayne. After all, their relationship is one we've seen explored on the big screen on many, many occasions, so perhaps the stage could be set for future stories to feature the Caped Crusader working alongside a new ally: Julia Pennyworth.

Alfred's daughter and a potential love interest for Bruce Wayne, she was a member of the Special Reconnaissance Regiment and allied herself with Batman to take down a crime lord. 

After learning that the Dark Knight and Bruce Wayne were one and the same, she served in a similar role to Alfred for months, and it would be a lot of fun exploring this dynamic, especially as it would be something completely different and someone new for Batman to bounce off in the Batcave. 
 

7. Azrael

Azrael


Azrael is a very interesting character who has been utilised in various video games and TV shows over the years in a lot of different ways. In the comics, Jean-Paul Valley was the latest in a line of assassins for the sinister secret society of The Sacred Order of St. Dumas, who manipulated the man they dubbed Azrael into going after Batman. 

This is a character who could easily be teased in The Batman, especially as Reeves appears to be leaning into some sort of conspiracy in Gotham City (with a possible Court of Owls tease in the teaser trailer). Making Azrael one of their agents would work nicely, and he'd make for a solid departure from the typical Batman villains we've seen on screen so many times before.

Azrael is a fascinatingly complex character, and Jean-Paul could quite easily make a cameo of some sort in The Batman (or one of the spinoff shows) to set the stage for the rest of this trilogy. 
 

6. Matches Malone

Matches


Okay, this technically is Batman and not a separate character, but it's about damn time we get to see the Dark Knight suit up as this small time criminal who infiltrates the underworld and uses what he learns to help him take them down as Gotham City's protector. Yes, we're talking about Matches Malone!

Reeves has promised that this will be a detective story, so the hero taking measures like this makes perfect sense and it could lead to some really dramatic and tense scenes featuring his underworld alter-ego. It would certainly give Pattinson the chance to stretch his acting chops, anyway. 

It's been established that there was once a real Matches, so perhaps he could be used as a supporting character in the show revolving around Gotham City P.D.? He could be the lead's informant, and a series of tragic events could be what leads to Batman choosing to use Matches as his alter-ego.
 

5. Nightrunner

Nightrunner


Nightrunner was introduced during Grant Morrison's Batman Inc. era of storytelling. He's a 22-year-old French citizen of Algerian origin that lives in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France, who Bruce handpicked to be that country's Batman. 

While he could keep that background (and absolutely should, especially as he's one of only a handful of Muslim superheroes), making him a Gotham City vigilante who has been inspired by Batman not only opens the door to some different stories moving forward, but possibly even lays the groundwork for The Outsiders to assemble somewhere down the line. 

Making Nightrunner one of Selina Kyle's allies seems like the most sensible option for this movie, as it might to cool to watch her lead a ragtag group of street level vigilantes and thieves down the line. Her meeting with Batman could even inspire that, though another possibility is that Bruce could meet this hero when he's forced to pursue one of his foes overseas. 
 

4. Dick Grayson

Robin


We're still at a very early stage in the Dark Knight's career when we meet him in The Batman, but that doesn't mean the door couldn't be left ajar to a fresh take on Robin being introduced. 

Reeves making room for Dick Grayson in this movie seems unlikely; however, a tease isn't outside the realm of possibility, even if it's as simple as Bruce taking Selina Kyle to a circus right at the end of the movie. Perhaps that's a little too on the nose, but we'd love to see a reinvented, grounded Robin who could ultimately suit up as Nightwing in this fresh take on Gotham City. 

One exciting possibility for his introduction is that it's a vigilante Dick who pursues Oswald Cobblepot in his planned spinoff because he blames the gangster for the murder of his parents. 
 

3. Green Arrow

Green-Arrow


This may be a reboot, but there's really no reason it can't still tie into the wider DC Extended Universe. We doubt that will be the case in The Batman, but moving forward? Let's make it a priority. 

Batman and Green Arrow have always had something of an interesting relationship, and a grittier Green Arrow who has pursued a Star City criminal to Gotham City crossing paths with Batman before being told to go back to his own town would be fun to see in a future instalment of the franchise. 

This would help establish the new Batman's attitude (he's never played well with others) and opens the door to that version of Green Arrow appearing elsewhere in the DCEU. We're not expecting Reeves to set up a new Justice League, but this is a character deserving of a big screen reboot.
 

2. Holly Robinson

Holly


We know that Catwoman will be making an appearance in The Batman, and after Reeves is done exploring Selina Kyle's origin story, it would be great to see Holly Robinson join her as an ally. A former prostitute who was a friend and ally to Catwoman, she even suited up in her costume for a time, and adding another female character to this movie would be no bad thing.

Her comic book history ended up being ridiculously convoluted, but Reeves can stick to the basics.

She doesn't necessarily have to be a former prostitute, but getting some insight into what Catwoman does and the sort of people she helps would do her character a world of good. Making Holly a well fleshed out character in her own right and following her on the streets of Gotham City would add another dimension to this story that other Batman movies haven't really touched on. 
 

1. The Batman Who Laughs

Laughs


Honestly, introducing a villain from the Dark Multiverse feels like a real departure from what Reeves is going for, especially as we know he's aiming for a grounded origin story that delves into Batman's detective skills. 

If he wants to get a little more fantastical with the sequels, though, using a post-credits scene to introduce The Batman Who Laughs (or even revealing that he's been pulling the strings, Hush-style) would be extremely exciting. We don't want to get too ahead of ourselves here, but just imagine if this were to lead to Pattinson's Batman teaming up with Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton's!

Pitting the hero against a monstrous version of himself who is part-Batman and part-Joker would be unlike anything we've seen on screen before, and is arguably even more interesting than watching Bruce take on the actual Joker (for the umpteenth time) in a future movie. We don't think this will happen, but stranger things have definitely happened...
 

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EZBeast
EZBeast - 9/28/2021, 9:37 AM
I’m still waiting for the court of owls…
dracula
dracula - 9/28/2021, 9:42 AM
@TheFireForce - Really Batman might be the only classic comic character who continues to add interesting villains to their rogues gallery.

most new villains seem to be forgotten after their introduction stories
JFerguson
JFerguson - 9/28/2021, 10:26 AM
@dracula - Morlun was a nice add to spidey’s rogues
JFerguson
JFerguson - 9/28/2021, 11:04 AM
@Waddles -
Who are we kidding? Big Wheel will always be the peak of spidey antagonists

dracula
dracula - 9/28/2021, 9:39 AM
hopefully Matt Reeves gets to use Robin
Doomsday8888
Doomsday8888 - 9/28/2021, 9:40 AM
It's because of people like Wilding that Metal sold so much and those f*ckers just HAD to make a sequel with Batkek and Perpetua.

Curse you.
inkniron
inkniron - 9/28/2021, 9:40 AM
Sadly, they seem to only really feel the need to include Joker, Catwoman, Penguin, Bane, rinse repeat.

Riddler is refreshing, but they just need to dive deeper into that bag of rogues.
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 9/28/2021, 10:22 AM
@inkniron - no Clayface has been, to me, a crime, a travesty, of epic proportions. Loved him on the Animated Series. Manbat too. Akin to having a terrible Mr Freeze. Honestly I liked the Mad Hatter in Gotham, except of course they just had to go all incest up on that juice, but I guess that’s probably not one they’ll adapt.
inkniron
inkniron - 9/28/2021, 11:04 AM
@TheWalkingCuban - @Waddles -

I never watched the animated series, so I'm not even sure which version of Clayface they used. I'd love seeing him. They could probably do a nice amalgamation of a couple versions.

If Reeves introduces him, teaming back up with Steve Zahn would be a great call IMO.

As for if he brought in Hatter, Dominic Monaghan would be perfection.

Dr Kirk Langstrom? William Jackson Harper.
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 9/28/2021, 11:07 AM
@Waddles - haha poor little fella
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 9/28/2021, 11:12 AM
@Waddles -
@inkniron -
Heck yes to Steve Zhan! As the dvd case read for that Vietnam movie he was in with Bale, “Steve Zahn is a relation”, (couple letters were scratched), “funniest movie since I Am Sam” “did it start yet?” Etc
inkniron
inkniron - 9/28/2021, 11:21 AM
@Waddles - He truly is. His favorite role of mine is probably Employee of the Month


He plays slightly off kilter so well.
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 9/28/2021, 11:22 AM
@Waddles - and you know who hack black should play

KaminaYEAhaaaaaaa!
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 9/28/2021, 11:22 AM
@TheWalkingCuban - *jack
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 9/28/2021, 11:34 AM
@Waddles - man Kyle Gass should’ve been in way more movies. Now he’s all fat. And bald. Hey you know what?… nah, it’s crazy, it’s nothin, forget I brought it up but since you asked PUT THE MAN IN MORE MOVIES
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 9/28/2021, 12:27 PM
@Waddles - yes man abbot and Costello aaaand Peet
Origame
Origame - 9/28/2021, 9:41 AM
Green arrow? Come on. Definitely not the place to introduce him.
UXASIS
UXASIS - 9/28/2021, 9:58 AM
Batman Who Laughs would be better for a JL or a team-up movie, not for a street level Batstory.

I'm always a big fan of Azrael and Clayface. Azrael could bring up some cool mysticism and bring some Winter Soldier vibes with him.

Clayface could shapeshift into Bruce Wayne and wreak havoc across Gotham and destroy Bruce's life.

Please no more Ra's al Ghul and League of Assassins - Court of Owls would be a lot more refreshing.¨

Anyway I always envisioned Batman to be more suited for an HBO tv show, the budget wouldn't need to be that high (only the Batcave and Batmobile are the expensive aspects).

The season 1 villain, would be Flamingo (a cannibal-assassin could bring something cool).
TheFinestSmack
TheFinestSmack - 9/28/2021, 10:08 AM
Holly Robinson, you say?
tugboy
tugboy - 9/28/2021, 11:10 AM
@TheFinestSmack -



TheFinestSmack
TheFinestSmack - 9/28/2021, 11:30 AM
@tugboy -
GhostDog
GhostDog - 9/28/2021, 10:32 AM
The movies have yet to really EXHAUST and take ADVANTAGE of the Batman mythology; particularly the more strange and supernatural aspects



xfactor
xfactor - 9/28/2021, 10:33 AM
No Azrael please. I never cared for the character much and don’t think he should be focused on in any capacity. And where’s clayface? There’s so much in that character alone that would translate so well on the big screen if done right (not talking effects wise, I’m talking performance wise. There’s a lot psychologically going on there )
bkmeijer2
bkmeijer2 - 9/28/2021, 11:04 AM
@xfactor - if they go with whole secret societies in Gotham thing, then I feel the Order of St. Dumas should be a part of the story
Repian
Repian - 9/28/2021, 10:44 AM
Onomatopoeia
Repian
Repian - 9/28/2021, 4:51 PM
@Waddles - I don't know if Kevin Smith has a portion of the character, but Onomatopoeia would be perfect for Matt Reeves' Bat-universe. Also, I know the character imitates sounds, but it would be great if he imitates voices. The trained bird is used in hunting so that its song attracts other birds of its species. Thus, Onomatopoeia imitates the voice of a family member or friend. He attracts you and you are prey.
bkmeijer2
bkmeijer2 - 9/28/2021, 11:03 AM
How about we just start with getting a proper Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Time Drake, Barbara Gordon, Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain first?
inkniron
inkniron - 9/28/2021, 11:09 AM
@bkmeijer - How about just starting with Dick? Gotta have a good Dick to get me excited and wanting more.
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