Five Villains I'd Like To See Face The Batman

After seeing Barry Keoghan become the fifth or so person (depending on whether you count the 1960s films) to portray the Joker on the big screen, I was kind of disappointed. I think the character needs a rest. Who knows when he will actually show up again though. Anyway, it got me thinking about Batman's rogues gallery, and DC's rogues gallery in general, and at who might be a potential alternative choice to more of the Clown Prince of Crime. Also, some comic book recommendations!

KILLER CROC

Art by Jim Lee

Created By: Gerry Conway (writer) and Gene Colan (artist) with his first full appearance in Detective Comics # 524 (1983).

Character Bio: Waylon Jones was originally a side-show wrestler who suffers from a condition that eventually gave him a crocodile-like appearance. This drove him insane and he adopted the name "Killer Croc" and turned to a life of crime. He has gradually gotten more savage over time

My Opinion: I'm actually pretty surprised that he hasn't shown up in a Batman movie before now even as a secondary villain. Maybe some other villain is using him. I'm thinking of something similar to Batman: Hush. You could use Jim Lee's roided up version from that storyline or maybe Penguin has the trench-coat version as a bouncer or muscle. Or with Poison Ivy (more on her later) as there's the nature connection. The character has potential whatever way you use him. I liked Suicide Squad (yeah I was one of the people) but didn't really that version of Croc. They got some parts right though.

Recommended Reading: Batman #608 - 619 (Batman: Hush), Batman: Reptilian #1 - 6

THE MAD HATTER

Created By: Bill Finger (writer) and Lew Sayre Schwartz (artist) with his first appearance being in Batman # 49 (1948).

Character Bio: Inspired by the Alice In Wonderland character, Jervis Tetch is a scientist who invents and uses mind control devices to influence and manipulate the minds of his victims.

My Opinion: I know some people may consider this is a strange choice and I must admit it is entirely inspired by one mini-series Secret Six: Six Degrees of Devastation, written by Gail Simone, with Bradley Walker, Karl Kerschl and Jimmy Palmiotti on art. Gail works magic on minor villains so when she gets one of the better known ones it is very often a sight to behold. In the story, she goes into why he is the way he is and in doing so makes him even creepier and shows that he is possibly the MOST underrated Bat Villain. 

Recommended Reading: Secret Six (vol.2)  #1 - 6 (Six Degrees of Devastation), Secret Six (vol. 3) # 1 - 7.

POISON IVY

Art by Jim Lee

Created by: Robert Kanigher (writer) and Sheldon Moldoff (artist) with her first appearance being in Batman #181 (1966).

Character Bio: Dr. Pamela Isleyis a botanist and biochemist who possesses a poisonous touch, enhanced physical abilities, and a supernatural control over plant life. She uses for the purposes of ecoterrorism. 

My Opinion: Cheating with this one but Batman has a pretty low number of female villains to choose from. Catwoman has been done a lot with four (?) different actresses on the big screen. Talia Al Ghul has appeared recently enough. The obvious choice, to me, is Pamela Isley. Her last appearance was 25 years ago in 1997's Batman & Robin. Ugh. Even before even researching this, I thought of that appearance and that I kind of wanted to see a new version of Ivy. Her status an ecoterrorist is timely with Climate Change being a hot topic. Plus there's her romantic relationship with Harley Quinn in the comics and animated appearances.

Recommended Reading: Batman #608 - 619 (Batman: Hush), Gotham Sirens, any book that has Harley and Ivy in the title lol.

PROFESSOR PYG

Art by Mitch Gerard

Created by: Grant Morrison (writer) and Andy Kubert (artist) with his first appearance being in Batman #666 (2007).

Character bio: Pyg is Lazlo Valentin, a scientist who suffered a schizophrenic breakdown that led him to become a supervillain that wears a pig mask.

My Opinion: I wanted to look at some "newer" villains and, actually, this guy would be a very good replacement for the Joker. He even has a gang of underlings called the Circus of Crime. He's also a favourite of mine. Morrison intended Pyg to seem disconnected from reality, seeing him as the "weirdest, most insane" characters in Batman's rogue gallery.

Recommended Reading: Batman and Robin # 1 -3, Batman Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes!, Batman (vol. 3) # 62.

CHESHIRE

Art by J.G. Jones

Created By: Marv Wolfman (writer) and George Pérez (artist) with her first appearance being in New Teen Titans Annual #2 (1983).

Character Bio: Jade Nguyen is a French-Vietnamese mercenary, expert fighter and is known for her knowledge of poisons. 

My Opinion: I decided to go for a villain outside of Batman's rogues gallery for my final choice. At first, I thought of using Lex Luthor but he is as over-exposed as the Joker in my opinion. So, once again, Secret Six influences my choice as I first became aware of the Cheshire character in Villains United as part of that team. (Gail Simone had previously used her in Birds of Prey but I read that after). She's an expert at deception and she has a name that makes you think of a cat (so brings to mind Catwoman). Also, she could probably take Batman in a fight or at least give him a good one. It's a bonus that she, being a woman, fills a gap I pointed out in Batman's villain list. It'd also be nice to see an Asian villain on screen.

Recommended Reading: New Teen Titans Annual #2, Birds of Prey #63 - 67, Villains United #1 - 6

Five DC Black Label Books I'd Like To See

 I've been a big fan of a number of the DC Black Label books. They remind me of Marvel MAX. Creators can take beloved characters and do different things with them as they are not (at least I don't think) set in the DC proper. This means they don't break one of the rules, which I think creators should largely follow, with rare exceptions, in that they should put the toys back the way they found them. Someone can remind me who to attribute the quote, I'm paraphrasing, to. Anyway, one of things I enjoy doing is "fantasy booking" so I've decided to come up with 5 Black Label books I'd like to see.

SECRET SIX / JOKER'S SIX / RIDDLER'S SIX

Declan Shalvey (a) Gail Simone (w)

Yeah I know Gail has done a long run on Secret Six but I LOVE that series SO much. Also, I kind of want to see what she would do if she could pick a new Six from any villain on the DC books. She did wonders with Bane so I'd like to see her work on say Riddler's Six or Joker's Six and what crazy reason they have for creating a team. Also, if you read Gail's creator-owned books like Leaving Megalopolis (with Jim Calafiore) and Clean Room (with John-Davis Hunt), you know she can go to a darker place.

I picked Declan Shalvey as I love his work. I know he is busy with creator-owned work like Time Before Time and Old Dog but I'd hope he could fit in a short series or one-shot. Also, he can draw some creepy stuff. I think of some of the things in his Moon Knight run and a particularly creepy villain from his Venom run.

THE HAUNTED TANK

PJ Holden (a) Jimmy Palmiotti (w)

PJ Holden may hate me for wanting him to do another war book but nobody can deny that he is very good at them. I'd hope that the "haunted" aspect would allow him to go in a bit of a different direction or maybe the angle would intrigue him.

Jimmy Palmiotti has moved into doing a lot of Kickstarters as it allows him (and his co-creators) the freedom to go in a more adult direction as he believes that there is an audience for that (the success of his campaigns seems to bear that out and I've backed a lot of them). The title of his book Sex & Violence sort of says it all. The Haunted Tank seems like the quirky kind of book that Jimmy could do some fun stuff with. If I was the editor, I would just say "Have at it!"

HELLBLAZER / CONSTANTINE

Donna A. Black (a) Maura McHugh (w)

Donna A. Black has a style that screams emotion and darkness and horror to me. There's a psychology to it that feels like would suit the world of John Constantine. I can only imagine that physical horrors she could create for him to face or how she could show the things the haunt his mind.

Maura McHugh is known for her horror writing and she has done some great stuff with Judge Anderson. I feel there is some crossover with these characters in what they face in their lives. Also, with two Irish creatives involved, could we see John face the Sidhe or some Irish horror? It would be fun to see something authentically Irish go after him. The titles "Irish Eyes" just popped into my head.

HAWKMAN / HAWKWORLD / HAWKUNIVERSE

Cian Tormey (a) Michael Carroll (w)

Michael Carroll's writing experience on Judge Dredd and more recently on Proteus Vex means that he suitably qualified to take this book in a several directions: the cop / detective style of Hawkworld series I love or a grand space opera. Indeed, his superhero book series, the New Heroes / Quantum Prophecy series, shows he how well he does superhero stories too. All these works also show he can go in a darker direction too. I'd be interested to see what Hawkman he would want to do.

Cian Tormey has really made his name for himself and he recently signed an exclusive with DC Comics. Everyone can see his superhero skills quite plainly on Superman but he has also done some darker stories with the likes of Doctor Doom in The Darkhold. I'd be curious to see what he would do with Hawkman and what he and Mike would come up with together.

THE DEMON / BLOOD OF THE DEMON

John McCrea (a) Garth Ennis (w)

I know we've seen this before but, in my experience, if you let Garth Ennis be Garth Ennis (e.g. Punisher MAX and Batman: Reptilian), you get some really dark, interesting and entertaining books. Pushing the Demon into darker areas seems like a way to make that happen. Being Garth Ennis, I'd imagine he might pull in some quirky, obscure characters from the darker side of the DC Universe.

John McCrea did some great work on The Demon but I think it would be cool to see what he would do with the gloves off. His many collaborations with Ennis show that his art really meshes with Garth Ennis' dark sense of human and I can only imagine the kind of characters they could cook up. Or who else might show up from their previous collaborations. 

Big Finish Favourites: Historical Figures

 I have been wanting to do some pieces about Big Finish audios as such a big fan of their work. This one was inspired by my listening to a recent audio Harry Houdini's War and looking at some of my favourite audios featuring historical figures. I had fun looking back through my downloads to find some appropriate audio stories. I remembered the Mary Shelley stories but had forgotten about 100 which features my favourite audio companion. Anyway, here are my three picks:

100

Publisher's Summary:

Times, dates, numbers, anniversaries... They are all essential ingredients of the Doctor's seemingly infinite travels. Here, he emerges from the TARDIS to embark upon four separate adventures, all of them fundamentally connected by the concept of '100'. He meets Mozart, visits ancient Rome, goes to a funeral and spies on himself.

Sometimes, a Time Lord's life can be quite hectic.

Four one-part stories:

1. 100 BC by Jacqueline Rayner

The Doctor and Evelyn arrive in Rome, 101 BC, approximately, October. They meet a young lady of 19, Aurelia. She mentions her husband - Julius Caesar. Evelyn is excited, but her excitement soon turns to confusion. Surely you can't heal a wound in time with just a bit of sticking plaster?

2. My Own Private Wolfgang by Robert Shearman

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Born in 1756, a veritable wunderkind - playing music for the crowned heads of Europe as an infant, composing by the time he was five years old. But it's tempting to wonder whether his amazing longevity has overshadowed his creative genius - would Mozart's music be better respected, maybe, if he'd died as a young man? Would he be a legend of music, rather than of scientific curiosity, if he'd never lived to compose the film score for the remake of The Italian Job?

3. Bedtime Story by Joseph Lidster

Once upon a time...

Jacob Williams is going to tell the tale of Sleeping Beauty but he realises he has told that one too many times so, instead, tells of how he once met this man called the Doctor...

It's a tale of love and death and a family with a terrifying secret...

4. The 100 Days of the Doctor By Paul Cornell

Someone has assassinated the Doctor.

And he only has 100 days to find out who did it.

My Review:

This anthology (as mentioned) is full of stories based on number 100 to celebrate the 100th story in the Doctor Who Main Range. All feature the Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) and my favourite audio companion, Dr. Evelyn Smythe (Maggie Stables), For the purpose of this theme, we should look at the first two stories. The first one, 100 BC, is a fun story with Evelyn and the Doctor going to meet Julius Caesar. Kind of. It shows how Evelyn is willing to stand up to and overrule The Doctor and, in my opinion, establishes their relationship enough that you don't need prior knowledge (but I would recommend listening to all her stories). The one I really enjoy is My Own Private Wolfgang. It is just a fun, silly concept. How a long lived Mozart has ruined his legacy by doing things like film scores. I also like the title. 

The Silver Turk

Publisher's Summary:

Roll up! Roll up! To the great Viennese Exposition, where showman Stahlbaum will show you his most wonderful creation, the Silver Turk — a mechanical marvel that will not only play for you the fortepiano, the spinet and the flute, it will play you at the gaming table too!

But when the Doctor brings his new travelling companion Mary Shelley to nineteenth-century Vienna, he soon identifies the incredible Turk as one of his deadliest enemies — a part-machine Cyberman.

And that's not even the worst of the horrors at large in the city...

My Review:

Of all the Doctors who could have could have Mary Shelley (Julie Cox) as a companion, I think the Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann) is the best suited. Especially early in his adventures. She joined him in the audio Mary's Story (not necessary to listen to to enjoy this one) and goes on some adventures (we get to hear three of them). The Silver Turk is the first one and I enjoyed it as it has elements that are similar to Frankenstein and it stars one of Doctor Who's best villains a Cyberman. All of the adventures have an appropriate tone for a story starring Mary Shelley and are worth listening to. I don't think you need any prior Eighth Doctor experience to enjoy them either.

Harry Houdini's War

Publisher's Summary:

The world is at war, and Harry Houdini wants to fight for his adoptive country. He might get the chance, when an old friend crashes his New York show.

The Doctor is on the trail of a Central Powers spy ring, which has somehow acquired unearthly technology. But he is also keeping a dangerous secret…

Finding himself on the run behind enemy lines, the world’s greatest escape artist has to work out who he can trust – and fast.

My Review:

I wanted to listen this one ever since I first saw the title. Houdini (John Schwab) is such an interesting person and, as established fans would know, has been referenced a number of times by the Doctor on the TV show. This is a Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) and Peri (Nicola Bryant) so is easy to pick up from the TV show. The Doctor needs Houdini's help with a Central Powers spy ring but, as is common with the Doctor, he's keeping something to himself. I think John Schwab does a great job. You instantly feel that Houdini has a rapport with the Doctor (they've met before). Some fun references for fans.