In 2013, Warner Bros. kicked off a new franchise with Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel, a darker and grittier take on our beloved Superman, paving the way for a new superhero cinematic universe. While the beginning of the DC Extended Universe was pretty rocky, their recent movies have been massive improvements, showing us some serious promise for the future. With a total of seven movies under their belt, the DCEU has introduced some super cool heroes but they have unfortunately fallen short in the villain department. With Lex Luthor and The Joker, two of DC’s most iconic villains already on the stink list of many fans, the DCEU should seriously consider introducing more complex and sinister villains. The comic world of DC has many iconic and incredibly evil villains to work with and with a high number of DCEU films on the way it is the perfect time to consider what DC villains we need to see in the DCEU.
5. Gorilla Grodd
Talking apes in a movie? Now that sounds very familiar, so what can be added on to that to make it different? Give one of them the powers of telekinesis and telepathy and to top it all off, make him an evil megalomaniac. That’s right the DCEU needs to include everyone’s favorite evil gorilla, better known as Gorilla Grodd. What makes him so evil? Well, for starters he desires to rule over Gorilla City with an iron fist and if that’s not enough, he also likes to eat brains. One brain he particularly wants to chow down on is the brain of his archenemy, the Flash. If Grodd were to succeed in snacking on the brain of The Flash, he would obtain his speed force powers, making him one fast and nearly unstoppable evil Gorilla. Grodd is a villain because of his insatiable hunger for power and his relentless pursuit to obtain it, plus his telekinetic abilities make him a serious threat to not only The Flash but the entire Justice League as well. With The Flash movie hopefully entering the production stage soon, the chances of Gorilla Grodd making his debut in the film would be rather unlikely, but he is definitely a villain that should be explored in future installments.
4. Eobard Thawne
Speaking of the upcoming Flash movie, if there is any villain that should take on the scarlet speedster, it should be his greatest enemy known as Eobard Thawne, more commonly known as the Reverse-Flash. The Flash has several evil speedsters that have a grudge against him, but Eobard Thawne without a doubt takes the cake. Why is that the case? Well, it’s because his hatred for Barry Allen runs deep on a personal level and this causes him to destroy Allen’s life in the worst ways possible. He’s been responsible for the many tragedies that have befallen on Allen and will even travel across time to just to make him suffer, making him a true textbook sociopath. The CW show has already done so much with this character, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be just as impactful in the DCEU. Since he is Barry Allen’s greatest enemy, he should be the one Allen challenges speedster to speedster in his own solo film.
3. Ra’s al Ghul
One of Batman’s most menacing villains, Ra’s al Ghul is an international terrorist and the leader of the League of Assassins. His ultimate goal is to wipe out most of humanity, believing it will bring balance to the world. Sounds like a cliché villain, but what makes him interesting is his twisted sense of honor. Despite his rivalry with Batman, he desires to make him his successor, even offering his daughter, Talia, to be his bride. While Batman continuously refuses, Ra’s doesn’t give up on making Batman his successor, creating an interesting dynamic between them. The source of Ra’s al Ghul’s power comes from his Lazarus Pit, a pool of mysterious chemicals that has prolonged his life for centuries. With his unlimited resources and access to a pit that grants him immortality, Ra’s al Ghul would not only serve as a high level threat to Batman in the DCEU, but to the whole Justice League as well. He knows how to operate in the shadows while having his underlings do the dirty work and make entire civilizations crumble from within. In the famous JLA: Tower of Babel comic, he orchestrated a plan to destroy the Justice League by stealing Batman’s contingency plans to neutralize his teammates and even altered the plans to kill them. His introduction in the DCEU would also bring members of his family into the mix as well, including Talia al Ghul and her son with Batman, Damian Wayne, creating new relationships for Batman to be explored. Ra’s al Ghul is the perfect villain to play as mastermind, leader, and fighter to go up against the Justice League and even take over leadership for the Legion of Doom. Would any villain choose to follow Eisenberg’s Luthor over the Demon’s Head? Very unlikely.
2. Brainiac
With Henry Cavill’s involvement as Superman still remaining unconfirmed and a rumored Supergirl movie in development, the future of the DCEU Superman is unclear but if there is one thing fans want to see is a Superman villain done right. With Eisenberg’s Luthor and Doomsday falling pretty flat, there are several other villains that can still prove to be a serious threat to the man of steel. If there is one villain that can give him a run for his money, it’s the green android known as Brainiac. As one of Superman’s greatest enemies, Brainiac’s primary goal is to obtain knowledge by literally stealing cities and shrinking them to be placed into bottles and discarding the remnants or in other words, destroying what’s left of the planets he invades. He is responsible for stealing the Kryptonian city of Kandor and in some incarnations, he is directly responsible for the destruction of Krypton. He has even served as a member of the Legion of Doom, making him a significant threat to the Justice League as well as Superman. If a Man of Steel 2 or even a Supergirl movie makes it to the big screen, then Brainiac would serve well as the main antagonist, given his history with the Kryptonians and their home planet. His powers and immense intelligence, along with the awesome powers of his skull ship, make him a high level threat for the entire Justice League to go up against.
1. Darkseid
Who else but the very character that was the inspiration behind the creation of Thanos? The tyrannical ruler of Apokolips and one of the very few villains that can make Superman bleed known as Darkseid. Yes, his existence has been confirmed in Batman vs. Superman during the Knightmare scene and Steppenwolf even dropped his name in Justice League, making his debut in the DCEU inevitable. While it cannot be confirmed when he will make his big debut on the big screen, we can certainly confirm that he exist, and that only means that the heroes of the DCEU are in serious trouble. Darkseid is considered to be the greatest enemy of the Justice League, being able to go toe to toe with the whole team on his own with minimum effort. As alien despots go, he’s the cream of the crop, with a particular desire to acquire the Anti-Life Equation, a strange kind of mathematic formula that will allow him to have complete control over all sentient beings. He’s the ultimate big bad of the world of DC and if the DCEU has a villain to respond to the likes of Thanos, then Darkseid is the big baddie to turn to. With the future of the Justice League sequels seemingly being left on the bench, it’s hard to say when we will see Darkseid come on board and kick superhero butt, but granted that his presence in the DCEU has indeed been confirmed, it’s more than likely that we will finally get to see him make his entrance.
Final Thoughts
The amount of villains to choose from the DC universe is quite the gamble, but it is a fun gamble. Since the DCEU is fairly new, there are literally dozens of villains that can still be chosen for the big screen, so depending on which heroes get their own movies, it’s all a matter of when and where can the best villains can be shown at the right time. Let’s just hope they can avoid the big CGI and overly goofy villains that don’t belong.awesome powers
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