Well, a few of them, anyway. It’s Supers/Comic Book Month at ScreenAge Wasteland! I’m sure there’s some snappier name for it, but that’s what I’m going with for now. Lucky for me there are PLENTY of monstrous characters in both superhero movies and non-super comic movies. I threw out an open call for ideas during the weekend thread and we’ll probably see a few of the ones folks came up with – including the batch from today!
I could honestly draw Batman villains every week for a year and always have a good time doing it. There’s just something about Bats that leads to his rogue’s gallery being dominated the monstrous and deranged. The go-to villain is always the Joker, and between film, TV and animated versions I could keep myself plenty busy with him alone. There are so damn many other interesting characters, though – Killer Croc, Solomon Grundy, Clayface, Poison Ivy, Bane and more – so I was happy when I got a couple of suggestions for less well-known bad guys.
Billy Dhalgren threw out the Mutant Gang Leader from The Dark Knight Returns. Frank Miller’s seminal comic book changed my life when I was a kid. It was really the first comic that I remember reading that wasn’t just a fun escape – it was something more. I almost disqualified the character though, as there hasn’t been a real live action adaptation of the original graphic novel. Then I remembered the animated version!
liquidsoap89 nominated the Scarecrow from Batman Begins, and I have to admit I’d already considered him, so I was happy to add him to the lineup. I don’t think Cillian Murphy really got enough screen time with that character and I’ve always been a fan of the design.
Danny DeVito’s Penguin is an old favorite that I just had to add. I hated him when I saw Batman Returns for the first time, but he’s since grown on me, like fungus. It’s an almost stereotypical Tim Burton design and he’s disgusting and scary in equal measure.
I still haven’t seen The Batman, (feel free to check out the Spoiler Thread if you have!) but I’m looking forward to it. I’m sure there’s got to be some fun bad guys to draw!
What about you? Who (or what) is your favorite Batman villain? Movie, TV or otherwise!
