Recently, The Batman director Matt Reeves doubled down that his upcoming sequel won’t lean into fantastical elements, instead focusing on more realistic themes. But that means that for 20 years, since Batman Begins, every Batman movie will have gone for the realistic approach. But DC Comics‘ Batman stories often go big and fantastical. While Reeves’ Dark Knight is staying “real,” we’ll soon have another big-screen Batman, the new DCU’s Brave and the Bold. We hope this version of Bruce Wayne does the opposite of Christopher Nolan and Matt Reeves’ version, and finally gives us sci-fi, fantasy, and larger-than-life elements from the comics at last. These are the main elements we hope to see in the DCU Batman to differentiate from the past two decades of movies.
The Sci-Fi Freak Villains
So many of Batman’s classic villains lean into science fiction, and have been ignored in live-action film for the past 20 years. There’s Poison Ivy and her control of plant life, the shapeshifting Clayface, and the tragic “science gone wrong” characters like Mister Freeze and Man-Bat. All remain iconic Bat foes. Yet because of the campy Batman and Robin, it seems they’ve blacklisted Freeze and Ivy. But it’s been almost 30 years. It’s time for their redemption on the big screen. They can portray them as sci-fi villains without leaning into camp like the Schumacher movies. Just look Batman: The Animated Series. They don’t fit into Matt Reeves’ Gotham, but hopefully they find a place in James Gunn’s DCU.
The Supernatural Foes
Famously, the Dark Knight mostly fights colorful criminals, and then tragic sci-fi freaks next most. But he also has incredible enemies that lean into the realm of the supernatural. Yes, we’ve seen Ra’s al Ghul in Batman Begins, in the form of Liam Neeson. But they stripped the character of all of his supernatural trappings. We want a version of Ra’s that is truly an immortal despot, thanks to his constant dips in the mystical Lazarus Pits. We want to see that version of Ra’s, and his daughter Talia, on screen. Also, the zombie Solomon Grundy is due for a big-screen appearance, and maybe even the spectral Gentleman Ghost. Let’s hope DCU Batman gets a little spooky when he arrives.
The Vampire Villains
This falls into “supernatural enemies,” but Batman has fought enough of the undead they should have their own category. Going back to the Dark Knight’s earliest days, Batman has crossed paths with several bloodsuckers. In 1939, he fought a vampire called the Monk. In later years, he fought the vampiric seductress Nocturna, and even became a vampire when he fought Dracula himself in the trilogy Batman/Dracula: Red Rain comics. There was even a The Batman vs. Dracula animated film several years ago. Two dark souls in dramatic capes, one good, one evil? This deserves the cinematic treatment at some point. Here’s hoping the DCU Batman goes there someday. We just hope he carries wooden stakes in his utility belt.
The Mystical Allies
Just as Batman has supernatural enemies, he also has supernatural allies. Characters with actual ties to the magical realms who help Batman out in times of need. We saw this recently with voodoo expert Papa Midnight in Batman: Caped Crusader, but Bruce Wayne also had friends like Jason Blood, a.k.a. the immortal demon Etrigan, and the sorceress Zatanna. We love the scenes in comics and cartoons where Batman has to admit he’s not an expert in everything and goes to a strange occult bookstore and ask for help from someone who has an expertise he doesn’t. We’d love a scene like this in a live-action film.
The Bat-Family
This isn’t really sci-fi or fantasy per se, but modern grim and gritty cinema sees Batman working with a bunch of youngsters as too ridiculous. But we don’t care, they’re crucial parts of Batman lore and it’s time they got their due. We already know The Brave and the Bold will feature Damian Wayne as Robin, and probably Nightwing too. But we want to see the rest of Batman’s allies on screen. The modern post-Nolan Batman films have totally shied away from Batman having any partners, probably as a reaction to the Joel Schumacher films. But Batman has so many amazing allies, and we’re not just talking about the Robins. There are several Batgirls, the Huntress, and the Signal. It’s high time cinema reclaimed Batman’s partners, and made them as cool as they are in the comics.