The Disney fans out there should be familiar with The Mad Hatter. Yes, the little fellow with the big top hat from Alice in Wonderland. It’s a classic character from a classic children’s book, but the influence of this character stretches much further than some people may think. Example? Well, if you’re a big fan of Batman, you will know that he has the very best rogues gallery out of all the comic book heroes. It’s not hard to understand why, considering his long list of villains stretch from the totally scary, to the downright crazy. Now if you’re a casual Batman fan, you’ll know his OG villains. The Joker, the Riddler, Two-Face, Penguin, Catwoman, Mr. Freeze, Bane, Poison Ivy, just to name a few. However, he has a lot more villains who aren’t nearly as popular as the ones you’ve seen in the movies. These villains will only be known to the fans who have read many Batman comics. Heck, you probably saw them in the animated Batman series and forgot about them by now. Understandable, because these villains haven’t been utilized nearly as much as Batman’s most popular foes. I hope that changes in the years to come, but I have a feeling certain villains will make their live-action debut.
Speaking of Batman, all you DC nuts out there probably checked out the new trailer for Matt Reeves’ The Batman at DC Fandome. If you haven’t, then you’re seriously missing out. I got a lot of vibes from the Arkham games and also the Telltale Batman games. Those were seriously awesome and it looks like The Batman will have a combination of vibes from both of those games. Robert Pattinson looks awesome, and so does Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman. We’ll be getting The Batman in March, so don’t worry, it’s not too far away. And since we’re on the subject of The Batman, I think we should talk about some intriguing rumors surrounding one of its actors. Irish actor, Barry Keoghan, who recently played the mind-controlling Druig in The Eternals, is signed on to play Gotham police officer Stanley Merkel, one of James Gordon’s first partners. That’s a minor supporting role for Keoghan, but according to some leaks, he’ll be playing a much more familiar Batman character. Care to guess who it is? Oh, just his arch-enemy, the Clown Prince of Crime himself, The Joker.
Whoa, now things are getting interesting. The Batman is already supposed to have several big villains in it, so why include the Joker? Personally, I don’t think his presence is necessary, but then again, I’m always down for seeing another version of the psychotic clown. But to be honest, I really don’t believe these supposed leaks are true. Now if they do have some truth to them, then I have a theory of my own. If Barry Keoghan is playing another villain, then I think The Mad Hatter is more suited for him. Now like the leaks, this is just pure speculation. I’m not saying it will happen, but I do believe Barry Keoghan is a good fit for this underrated Batman villain. Before I go any further as to why, I think I should explain why The Mad Hatter is underrated. First of all, let’s just get the reasoning of his name out of the way. Yes, he is called that because he named himself after the same character from the children’s book Alice in Wonderland. This is a grown man who is very short and has a dangerous obsession with The Mad Hatter character from a children’s book. You’re probably wondering how a character like this can possibly be a comic book character, let alone a Batman villain. Well, there’s a point right there. He’s a Batman villain and Batman’s villains are, for the most part, totally crazy and very, very weird. With that in mind, it’s not too hard to believe that a character called The Mad Hatter could be a Batman villain, is it?
His real name is Jervis Tetch, a neuroscientist who invents mind control technology and uses it to manipulate the minds of others. His first victim was a young girl who resembled Alice herself. Yeah, he’s very creepy and he’s only gotten creepier throughout the years. A comic book villain who uses mind control on children and makes them have tea parties with him is about as creepy as it gets. Maybe this is why he hasn’t appeared in the movies yet. In fact, The Mad Hatter has made his live-action debut in two Batman shows, the first being the Adam West show and the second being the Gotham series. Now I haven’t watched Gotham and I haven’t watched the Adam West show in a while. I don’t really consider those versions to be very faithful to The Mad Hatter, because I believe he should be properly done. In fact, a creepy villain like him should fit well for the dark tone of The Batman. And yes, Barry Keoghan is the right actor to portray him.
The guy just has that look that fits for a villain. He may have already played a hero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but he can certainly play a DC villain. Barry Keoghan not only has the look, but he’s also on the shorter side, which is a must for The Mad Hatter. For his performance, he has to pull off the creepiest kind of villain there is to separate him from the rest. Now once again, this is all me just being a fan speculating because I want The Mad Hatter to have his proper debut in the movies. He could be playing another Joker, which I honestly think is unlikely. If these leaks have some truth behind them, however, then I think having Barry Keoghan play the Joker is a mistake. What are your thoughts, Batman fans? I think we should all just accept the inevitability that he’s probably just playing Stan Merkel. If not, then you never know, surprises do happen.
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