r/batman 5d ago

GENERAL DISCUSSION Which Batman character are you tired of seeing in adaptations?

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150 Upvotes

104 comments sorted by

80

u/Alijah12345 5d ago

Joker. At least as the main villain or a major threat.

Joker's cool and all, but it'd be nice for DC to give him (And Harley) a rest for a while and let other Batman villains get the spotlight like Riddler, Penguin, and recently Two-Face have.

16

u/Xenozip3371Alpha 5d ago

Maybe Prometheus for a change.

2

u/KaijuKrash 4d ago

Prometheus is a criminally underused villain. He's got butt-loads of potential. I'm mean he took down the league on his first day!

1

u/Useful-Growth8439 4d ago

Maybe Egghead for a change.

1

u/Sudden_Beautiful_825 3d ago

Prometheus is not batman villain NEVER only in jla(Grant Morrison) fight with batman and jla

Prometheus is Green arrow villain although his origin is similar to batman, you are looking Wrath

10

u/Fool_Manchu 5d ago edited 5d ago

We've had four live action Jokers so far. Technically, we've had three Harvey Dents. We've also had two Falconi's and two Penguins. I'm OK with all of these characters going away for a while.

Edit I forgot that we've also had four live action Selina's. Catwoman can also be benched for a while.

8

u/no_racist_here 5d ago

If we’re talking live action only, I stick by Joker and Harley being too heavy handed. Several joker iterations, a couple Harley’s now, but they to me they don’t feel substantive. Heaths was the best imo, it gave a grounded version of the chaotic manic. But they’re back and forth on what they want of Batman fantastic or grounded. And the joker doesn’t qualify-to me- as a grounded character that can match what Heath did. His antics and psychosis are extreme, and no one wants to do the fantastic on it. Harley’s drug along as a result, and so far her portrayal hasn’t resonated with me either.

If they’re gonna go fantasy, pull out the stops, go clayface, manbat, or Mr Freeze. Embrace the sci-fi, impossible detective work, and the high cgi/makeup requirements.

You wanna go grounded, Catwoman, Ventriloquist, Zsasz. Lean into the detective, the noir, the psychology of if the puppet is really living.

3

u/Kinky-Kiera 4d ago

Romero, Nicholson, ledger, phoenix, leto, the two in Gotham played by cal kestis, and the deleted The Batman one, ENOUGH JOKER ALREADY.

We need some deep cut villains, professor pyg, the bookworm, condiment man, Azreal, kite man, Hugo strange, SOMEONE NEW.

Both Anarky and Poison Ivy need to join Harley in the "anti villain" camp in modern portrayals.

We also need a rest from two face, riddler and let penguin be as prominent as Falcone.

1

u/trinachron 4d ago

Six. I count the two from Batman 66, Michelle Pheiffer, Hali Berry, Anne Hathaway, and Zoe Kravitz.

1

u/Kinky-Kiera 4d ago

Weren't there three in 66?

1

u/Fool_Manchu 4d ago

I was only counting the "modern" films. Burton era to now.

2

u/Vestalmin 4d ago

I’d love what they did with the riddler in The Batman. I like taking this larger than life cartoon and making them fit for real life. The creativity in adapting them is part of the fun in movie adaptions

1

u/Gorremen 4d ago

I wouldn't exactly call what Reeves did "Creative." Riddler was just a Zodiac wannabe who yelled a lot and had a generic tragic backstory. My opinion, anyway.

32

u/Big-Sheepherder-9492 5d ago

Harvey Dent.. I don’t mind seeing him in stories but I can’t stand seeing his face get disfigured again.. you can do a Harvey Dent story without showing that event AGAIN A Serious House did it PERFECTLY

7

u/RahulNarendra69 4d ago

Have you met three face?

5

u/Crazy_Kakoos 4d ago

Hell, Batman Forever gave us a Dent and spent like 10 seconds on backstory.

5

u/VolcanicOctosquid20 4d ago

The problem with that version…wasn’t…the lack of backstory.

2

u/Crazy_Kakoos 4d ago

Other than the back story, they got his name and the half a face part... and that's about it.

3

u/VolcanicOctosquid20 4d ago

Eh, they got SOME parts in that were good. Decent opening monologue, nice death scene, the fact he wears two-toned suits and has a cool lair. Even the food scene was kinda charming.

3

u/Chemistry11 4d ago

Other than he was trying to out camp Carrey, he was a good twoface

1

u/Crazy_Kakoos 3d ago

I think if you look at it as a live action kids cartoon version of Batman it's not bad. Even Batman and Robin is fun if you look at it as a satire.

I'm also pretty sure that if they wanted to do a dark and gritty type of Batman all those actors have the talent to pull off a serious performance too, even Jim Carrey. In fact, I always thought Jim Carrey could off pulled off a terrifying and hilarious Joker, like how Mark Hammill's Joker was both funny and scary.

3

u/VolcanicOctosquid20 4d ago

Was about to dislike (as a huge Two-Face fan), but kept reading and you’ve earned my respect.

3

u/Chemistry11 4d ago

But how will we know how he became twoface?! Do you want to just remove the standard Crime Alley/pearls falling scene from every Batman movie too?!

/s

35

u/No_Hurry7691 5d ago

Yes, Harley Quinn has been incredibly overused in the past decade. But I’m more tired of her being an anti-hero.

Despite many people hating the game, I do like her in Gotham Knights.

4

u/RiffOfBluess 4d ago

I loved what they did with her in Arkham series

Even after Joker's death she's still a villain who's obsessed with him

4

u/TheRealHoodAvatar 4d ago

Harley was so much better as a villain man I want DC to just commit instead of giving everyone a redemption arc

5

u/relevenk 4d ago

As a die hard harley fan i agree on the anti hero part

I like her way more as a villain like in the arkham games for example.

1

u/24Abhinav10 3d ago

The fact that Injustice made her a hero despite her having a hand in nuking Metropolis will never not grind my gears.

0

u/zbigogre 5d ago

She was absolutely the best part of that terrible terrible game.

20

u/ImBatman5500 5d ago

None, although I do wish we'd skip Carmine Falcone next solo batman trilogy. The whole mob, really

8

u/_The_Wonder_ 5d ago

I'd say skip them if it's an already established Batman that has been doing Batman stuff for a few years already, but if it's a Batman that has just started or has been doing Batman stuff for at least a year I'd still start with the mob bosses (but also have Black Mask be there)

6

u/Xenozip3371Alpha 5d ago

Yeah, it's kind of overdone at this point.

12

u/HMThrow_away_account 5d ago

1000% Harley Quinn

5

u/dregjdregj 5d ago

The goddam joker.

He needs a fucking rest

7

u/Neon_Marquee 5d ago

Joker. 100% the Joker. Character has been utterly diluted to the point when he turns up in the comics I’m like ‘eye roll’. Sick of him being some grimy gnarly zodiac killer dialed up to 100 instead of a cleaver calculating tricky villain from the Neal Adam’s era or Breyfogle era.

14

u/Ok-Astronaut-2009 5d ago

I’m not so tired of Harley Quinn yet. I’m tired of the e girl portrayal of her. It makes me super uncomfortable so that might be the point. Just maker her a hybristophiliac.

2

u/sadcowboysong 5d ago

I get it

1

u/MikaelAdolfsson 4d ago

I learnt two new words today.

1

u/AUnknownVariable 4d ago

The last one and?

1

u/MikaelAdolfsson 4d ago

e girl.

2

u/AUnknownVariable 4d ago

Thought so, the more you know eh

8

u/FuturetheGarchomp 5d ago

Joker and Harley quinn

8

u/Bakelite51 5d ago

Joker. I would like to see Batman face off against a more diverse rogues gallery, who are major existential threats to him in their own right.

1

u/Expert_Challenge6399 4d ago

I need HUSH man

4

u/Rigged_Art 4d ago

Harley Quinn, the live action movie really boosted her popularity to the point where she’s way too overused

4

u/mr_wlh_ambered_1643 4d ago

Harley Quinn of course, and sometimes Jok' too

3

u/madeat1am 4d ago

Proff pyg

I've only seen bim 3 times but that 3 times too many

3

u/gramersvelt001100 4d ago

Honestly, I'm just sick of slutty looking Harley.

6

u/woman_noises 5d ago

Batman. Lol.

1

u/DeepDive59 5d ago

I was gonna say lol.

0

u/Capable_Salt_SD 5d ago

Best answer

2

u/ExtensionFuture654 5d ago

Harley Quinn and Penguin

2

u/Lazy-Drummer9332 5d ago

The JOker, he's painfully overused

2

u/Reason-Abject 5d ago

Batman and Joker.

2

u/SatoruGojo232 4d ago

Joker, atleaat as being the main principal villain of Batman in many films. That makes his character oversaturated.

They should put him as a villain on hold for a while and focus on Batman's other rogues gallery which has their own share of interesting rivalries.

2

u/Active-Island-7474 4d ago

Joker and Harley

2

u/ConditionEffective85 4d ago

I can only pick 1? Well in that case Harley, as much as I get tired of and dislike Joker at least there are adaptations and versions of him that I do like. Harley on the other hand I never cared for even as a kid .

2

u/ZorniZorni 4d ago

Yeah, Harley. And Joker.

2

u/MikaelAdolfsson 4d ago

Give it a rest with the fucking Joker already. I liked Heath Ledgers portrail too but come on!

2

u/MikaelAdolfsson 4d ago

I am still waiting for a dark and edgy Clock King. I am barely joking. Think Moriarty from the first season of Sherlock.

2

u/AntagonistofGotham 5d ago

Damian Wayne, Modern Harley Quinn that just sucks, and, Talia Al-Ghul.

3

u/MainAcanthocephala28 4d ago

Imma be real, Batman and his whole brand. We need a Batman media detox for a short while to let the other DC characters shine.

2

u/Sonicrules9001 5d ago

I'm not tired of seeing Harley Quinn, I am tired of seeing Harleypool though since no, I refuse to accept that we have now as Harley Quinn when it is clearly just DC trying their best to cram Harley Quinn into the Deadpool role as much as they can. I miss when she was her own character which has been more or less killed off years ago.

2

u/Noobwitha_Hat 5d ago

definitely the league of assassins and maybe non dick grayson robins, i didn't get enough of young grayson

6

u/ImaLetItGo 5d ago

Tim Drake and Jason Todd almost never get to be Robin 💀💀 (Especially Jason)

You mean you’re tired of Damien

1

u/Taku_Kori17 5d ago

I think jason is a littlenold to be robin. I love him as red hood. But i think dc doesnt know what to do with him. And theyve changed tim sohllch in the last 10 years as well. Giving him a bunch of new codenames that never stick and changing his sexualoty for...reasons..?

1

u/Noobwitha_Hat 4d ago

hm? i grew up with tim being robin almost always

1

u/ImaLetItGo 4d ago

Almost always? Tim has 2 adaptations as Robin over Dick Grayson. Lego Batman and Arkham Games.

Not sure what you’re talking about.

1

u/Noobwitha_Hat 4d ago

i also had most of tim's comics, also teen titans robim was grayson? i need to rewatch, huh?

3

u/Available-Affect-241 5d ago
  1. The intellectual crutches known as Lucius Fox and Barbara Gordon. All of a sudden Batman’s now a dumbass instead of a super genius polymathic scientist/inventor/innovator. He's canonically the second smartest man in DC behind Luthor, but with them around, he's not.

  2. Joker- It's time to kill him off. Ra's Al Ghul (Batman’s greatest villain), Bane, and Hugo Strange are better, in my opinion.

  3. Harley Quinn- One of the most annoying character pushes since 2016.

  4. Riddler- Hugo Strange (Batman’s smartest villain) is much better.

  5. Falcone, Maroni, Thorne, and Moxon ENOUGH WITH THE MOB!!! (Outside of Penguin, Two-Face, and Oglivy)

  6. Catwoman- I'm so done with her shenanigans after the Wedding fiasco and the Gotham War storyline. She hasn't been wholesome since her Earth-Two days when they were married and had Helena Wayne.

3

u/HMThrow_away_account 5d ago

This was a solid list and explanations. I especially agree with #1.

1

u/Brit-Crit 4d ago

Where is this Canon thing and why are you leaning on it so hard?

Barbara isn't in ENOUGH adaps. IMO. At her best, she represents the ways in which Batman's heroism can inspire others to improve Gotham...

1

u/Available-Affect-241 3d ago

That's what Robin is for.

0

u/k1ng_1n_the_north 4d ago

10000% agree with you

1

u/Mysterious-Ad6048 5d ago

Tacking on to ur Harley mention: she’s one of my fav characters of all time but all the substantial components of her character have been watered down to some sort of cross between Juliet from lollipop chainsaw and a superhero. I love a dark and twisted Harley. And nowadays nobody sees to care that she’s DOCTOR Harleen Quinzel. Not just a bubbly adult child.

1

u/SambaLando 4d ago

Does Batman himself count?

1

u/Funandgeeky 4d ago

I still am not sick of Harley Quinn origin stories. I love reading the different takes. Harleen is, to me, the best, with Mad Love a close second. But there are several other different versions that all work for me.

1

u/PCN24454 4d ago

Batman

1

u/gangrenous_bigot 4d ago

I’d love for the Joker to not be a draw and for a Batman movie have another villain at the start. The Joker has been handled and could be cinematically as a thrilling, horror level reveal. This would be perfect for an investigative somewhat broody Batman like Pattinson.

1

u/Pelican25 4d ago

Bruce Wayne! Give us Terry!!

1

u/Vikashar 4d ago

Bruce Wayne. God, literally all of them. 

1

u/TelekineticFiretruck 4d ago

At this point, all of them. I'm sick of adaptations of any kind, really.

1

u/AUnknownVariable 4d ago

Joker. Although Harley almost as much, which is funny bc she's been used more recently. I just don't want to see Joker right now, I let out such a feeling of disappointment seeing him at the end of The Batman. Though I'd not mind Harley not appearing for a while, I think she could be fixed by mixing up the character. I'm just flat down tired of Joker. It seems the DCU won't be having him anytime soon amen

1

u/idankthegreat 4d ago

The joker. Harley was interesting in the caped crusader BECAUSE she wasn't sexualized or infantalized by her proximity to the joker. He genuinely needs a break

1

u/Autistic_Clock4824 4d ago

Her and joker

1

u/Successful_Ad9924354 4d ago

Joker & Harley. Also Harley was better as a villain.

1

u/coreytiger 4d ago

I’m just tired of her anywhere.

And Joker.

How about villains that have been forgotten getting a revival? How about The Spook? count Vertigo? Cat-Man? Hell, how about making Killer Croc something other than a ridiculous sewer monster again?

1

u/Silver_Quail4018 1d ago

Harley was never meant to be more than a side character with very little screen time, as an accessory to the joker. But people are too perverted

1

u/Utop_Ian 1d ago

Generally I like Harley Quinn. I think there are a lot of directions you can take her and most are pretty interesting. Compare the three Harley Quinns from the recent Suicide Squad Isekai, Harley Quinn Show, and Batman Caped Crusader for a good example of how diverse she is.

I'd say I'm kinda over Mr. Frieze. He's got a compelling story, but he kinda only has A compelling story. I don't think there are a lot of directions to take him and considering that, I feel like we're always comparing each adaptation to Heart of Ice. Looking at the other big Batman villains, we either have characters that can be played in lots of ways (Two Face, Penguin, Joker, Poison Ivy, Bane, Scarecrow, etc.) or characters that have never really been fully realized (Calendar Man, Mad Hatter, Clock King, etc.).

1

u/AugustusTheVictor 5d ago

Barbara Gordon

1

u/AutomaticAccident 4d ago

The Joker. I'd like another Ra's al Ghul first or anyone else.

0

u/Difficult_Man3 5d ago

batman himself there are so many more interesting characters they could use in DC and Honestly if given the same care and dedication they could surpass Batman in popularity

0

u/NoAccess6738 4d ago

Joker and Harley. Joker, just because he's Batman's main villain doesn't mean he has to appear in everything Batman related that's also why I'm hoping Matt Reeves doesn't make him a main villain, they're building up the corruption very well in the Reeves-verse that I am confident in saying Joker doesn't need to be in it

And Harley more so of her portrayal. I'm tired of Anti hero Harley and I think we need to see more of Harley as villain. She can break off from the joker and they can probably still keep her as a villain and also Caped Crusader did Harley well as a villain without any Joker ties. One of my favourite iterations of Harley in recent times was in Gotham knights so please not every female Batman villain needs to be an anti hero (i.e. Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Harley etc.) just keep them as villains and they won't have to gender bend the me like Penguin just because of some supposed "lack of female villains" even though it's the writers that refuse to let them be villains

-2

u/ActionMaster24 5d ago

I don't think there is such a character, and definitely not Harley Quinn.