Warner Brothers’ decision to develop a Joker origin story is baffling given the fact that DC comics has plenty of other interesting villains they could make a successful movie about instead.
The DC comics universe is with filled fascinating characters. Some of them are iconic, with major pop-culture presence and loyal fanbases, and some of them terrifically underrated, known only to the most die-hard of comic book fans.
Many of these characters — the iconic along with the underrated — have never made the jump to a live-action film, despite how well their stories would translate to the big screen.
Related: 3 reasons I don’t want a Joker origin film (and 1 silver lining)
In fact, one of the reasons I don’t want a solo Joker film is because I think it’d actually translate pretty poorly onto the big screen.
I believe that in order for a movie to be engaging and interesting, there has to be some part of you that cares about the main character, that is somewhat, in some way, cheering for them.
A Joker movie that does this essentially undoes the entire character and point of the Joker. This is not a character we’re meant to cheer for or hope will be redeemed, he’s a character we’re meant to hate and fear.
This is why you’ll notice that basically all the villains I chose for this list tend to toe the line between villain and antihero — with a few of them switching over to the hero side of things at various points in their history.
I’d rather watch a movie with a compelling, complex lead who I can at least understand if not exactly fully support.
Plus, I’m just not interested in spending two hours watching an unrepentant villain create chaos and do evil on the big screen when I basically have to wake up every morning and watch our president do it in real life.
With that said, here are five villains (/anti-heroes/sometimes-heroes) I’d rather see on the big screen instead.
Black Adam
First of all, they already cast Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Black Adam.
Second of all, they already cast DWAYNE “THE ROCK” JOHNSON AS BLACK ADAM.
Third of all, THEY ALREADY — well, you get the point.
Rather than making another Joker movie that’s unconnected to the overall DCEU mythology and as starring someone who hasn’t even been cast yet, WB should instead move forward with a film that they’ve already stated would connect to the DCEU and would be led by one of the most successful and well-liked actors in all of Hollywood.
I could go into further detail of course and talk about how Black Adam was initially chosen by the wizard Shazam to inherit great power because of his goodness but became corrupted by his powers.
I might discuss how Geoff Johns — current president of the DCEU — and David S. Goyer — the writer for The Dark Knight Trilogy, Man of Steel and Batman vs. Superman — tweaked Black Adam’s character to make him more of an anti-hero than straight up villain (an approach I’m sure the movie will likewise take).
But really, what more do you need to know other than the fact that they already cast Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Black Adam?
Catwoman
Now that we have a truly great female fronted superhero film in Wonder Woman, I can stop being angry about Catwoman and truly embrace it for what it is: an absurdly terrible film that firmly belongs in the ‘so bad it’s good’ category.
The 2004 film, starring criminally underused Halle Berry as Selina Kyle, is basically a masterclass in what not to do when making a female comic book film — to the point where I actually turned to my husband halfway through the film and asked if it was actually a parody (it is not, to my best knowledge).
And while the movie is definitely great for laughs and ridicule, Catwoman the character — and audiences everywhere — deserve better.
Neither 1992’s Batman Returns nor the 2004 film adapted the comic book version of Selina’s origin story, instead both going the route of having Selina Kyle get resurrected by a bunch of cats.
However, the actual comic book history is much more down to earth and interesting, filled with the tragedy and psychological trauma that you can expect from your standard Batman villain.
Selina Kyle grew up with neglectful mother and an abusive father, and was eventually orphaned at a very young age. She became a thief to sustain both herself and those she cared about, and at various times in her history has taken in less fortunate girls and women and cared for them.
Catwoman celebrates her status as a thief and is certainly part of the criminal class of Gotham City; however, she’s always been written as a character with a very strict — if somewhat unconventional — moral code, which at times has made her more ally than enemy of Batman.
Indeed, despite her long history of crime, she has an equally long history of romance with the caped crusader — a storyline that would be fantastic to see on the big screen opposite of Ben Affleck’s Batman.
A movie about a young orphan who goes from barely surviving on the streets of Gotham to becoming one of the greatest jewel thieves in the world while also giving Batman both kisses and kicks to the face sounds like a fantastic film.
It would be a movie that would appeal to an audience starved for good female storytelling and give the amazing Catwoman the solo movie she truly deserves.
Clayface
Like most characters in DC’s constantly rebooted/retconned universe, Clayface has had a variety of origin stories attributed to him. However, it’s his most current iteration that I think would translate best onscreen.
The villain who is known as Clayface was once the famous actor Basil Karlo, an arrogant movie star who suffers a disfiguring accident and through a warped series of events that only ever happen in comic books, becomes the shapeshifting human mudpack known as Clayface.
He’s often been depicted as angry and selfish and prone to arrogant fits of rage — but he’s never been outright evil. While on the receiving end of plenty of Batman’s punches, he’s also occasionally joined up to help save Gotham City from bigger, badder and truly evil bad guys.
A more recent turn of events has likewise left him with increasingly less ability to shape his form into something resembling human, which has led to an interesting tension as he attempts to hold onto his humanity even as his actual ability to look human erodes further and further.
The most recent run of Detective Comics actually has Clayface as a part of a newly formed superhero team, with Batman and Batwoman acting as mentors and trainers to the fledgling heroes.
I can absolutely imagine a Clayface film that begins with his fall from grace, takes us through his crime laden middle, and ends with him as Batman’s protege. That to me sounds way more interesting than two hours of Joker’s cruel brand of anarchy.
Cheetah
While Wonder Woman herself is an iconic character, her rogues gallery is far less famous.
While you could name any number of Batman or Superman villains, the average person would be hard-pressed to list even one member of Wonder Woman’s rogues gallery.
Which is a why a movie that centered on Cheetah would be so great to see on-screen — not only does she have a fascinating and little-known story, you’d likewise have a female fronted supervillain movie that’s related to the most successful female superhero of all time.
In current DC Rebirth run, Cheetah — once known as Barbara Ann Minerva — is actually one of Diana’s first friends. As a prominent archaeologist and a speaker of about seven different ancient languages, Barbara Ann is contacted by the U.S. government to serve as a translator for Diana when she first arrives from Themyscira.
The two become fast friends, first because Barbara Ann is the only one that can actually understand Diana, then just because they find that they enjoy one another’s company.
Unfortunately, this is the comic book world and nothing great lasts forever.
Barbara Ann goes deep into the jungles of Bwunda to track — and prove the existence of — the god Urzkartaga. Before she goes, Diana gives her a radio tracker that will give a signal should Barbara Ann run into trouble.
Which of course she does. However, unknown to both her and Diana, the tracker has been deactivated — which means that Diana never gets the signal to come save the day and leaves Barbara Ann on her own to become corrupted by the Urzkartaga.
She emerges as the vicious Cheetah, a rage-filled killer who blames Wonder Woman for her transformation.
Unlike many of the villains on this list, Cheetah has historically been less anti-hero and more of a traditional villain. However, what makes her so compelling in this newest rendition of her character is how steadfast of a friend Diana has remained through it all.
A female supervillain with a tragic backstory who likewise highlights the compassion of Wonder Woman? Sign me tf up, please.
Mr. Freeze
Yes, we’ve already seen Mr. Freeze in Joel Schumacher’s Batman and Robin. And yes, that movie did a serviceable job when it came to Mr. Freeze’s — once known as Victor Fries — origin story.
But a character as tragic and fascinating as Victor Fries deserves better than a confused performance from Arnold Schwarzenegger in one of the worst comic book movies ever made.
Victor Fries supervillain origin story is couched in tragedy.
A lonely, awkward but brilliant scientist, Victor Fries falls madly in love and marries his beloved Nora. Unfortunately, she develops a rare and fatal disease, which pushes Fries to cryogenically freeze her while he attempts to find a cure.
However, the experiment goes awry (either by accident or through the machinations of CEO Ferris Boyle, depending on whichever version you’re reading) and a major accident occurs, turning him into a man who can only survive at subzero temperatures.
Depending on the version, Mr. Freeze either commits crimes to avenge the death of his wife during the accident, or he commits crimes solely to obtain the money and materials towards curing his cryogenically frozen wife Nora.
Either way, he is a man whose almost every action is motivated by love. Now when I say that, I don’t mean that it makes him a good man, and given what he’s done in the pursuit of that, it also doesn’t make him a necessarily admirable one.
What it does do, though, is make him a unique villain with a sympathetic backstory and compelling narrative — all things that would make for a fantastic villain origin film.