Is DC In Their Villains Era?

By: Rick O’Donnell

Despite the flop of the latest Joker movie, Joker: Folie A Deux, DC might not be ready to turn the page on their villains just yet. The initial Joker movie crossed $1 billion at the box office despite having the R rating. Yet, DC is looking to launch their latest reboot of their shared universe, officially the DCU. However, their success with the bad guys might give them a new direction and focus going forward.

Aside from Todd Phillip’s success with Joker, there have been plenty of villains or anti-heroes sharing our screens and expanding their digital catalog. James Gunn had success with his reboot of The Suicide Squad. In the animated department, Harley Quinn is in the works with season 5 and it’s spin-off Kite Man: Hell Yeah! is allegedly in the works for season 2. Both shows feature a more adult theme and a step away from the drama and into comedy.

Then, of course, there’s (HBO) Max’s The Penguin series, a spinoff of Matt Reeve’s movie The Batman. The majority of fans are loving it right now as Collin Farrell in brilliant as the title character and Cristin Mioliti has social media buzzing as Sofia Falcone. With a Sopranos-like take on organized crime in Gotham, the two leads in The Penguin should easily be brought up in awards conversation. Farrell is unrecognizable as Oswald and Mioloti steps far away from the household mom she portrayed in How I Met Your Mother. An A-plus for both actors gives this villain show shine.

Then, eagle-eyed views came out of New York Comic Con with renewed hope for the DCU after the Creature Commandos trailer dropped. Not only are the Commandos bringing in villains such as Dr. Phosphorus, and the shows main antagonist Circe, but fans were quick to sniff out one of Batman’s oldest foes, Clayface. The Bat-villain first appeared in Detective Comics dating back to 1940. To be fair, it’s not his first appearance in animated form having both appeared in Batman: The Animated Series and Harley Quinn, as well as other media.

With the villains on the rise, should the DCU lean into these stories a bit deeper? Aren’t we tired of the same old Batman movies with yet another version of The Joker? Can we move past casting Lex Luthor as the main villain in the Superman films, at least right away? Both villains are a commanding presence and deserve to be in this universe. However, DC continues to shoot themselves in the foot by their first offerings being villains that are already compared to beloved actors before them. It’s time to build these worlds outside the 4 piece box. With DC having so many great stories to choose from in the form of comics, let’s see what villains can draw a crowd.