I’ve racked my brain and tried to think of all the significant DC Villains that have appeared on screen but the only ones I came up with are Lex Luthor and the Batman Rogues gallery. I thought that was really strange. Is Batman really the only one with interesting movie villains? Anyway here is the roundup of DC villains as promised.
Part 1: Marvel Heroes | Part 2: Marvel Teams | Part 3: Marvel Villains | Part 4: DC Heroes | Part 5: DC Teams | Part 6: DC Villains | Part 7: Miscellaneous
THE JOKER
Portrayed by: Cesar Romero [Batman TV Series, Batman The Movie (1966)]; Jack Nicholson [Batman (1989)]; Andrew Koenig [Batman Dead End (2003)]; Heath Ledger [The Dark Knight (2008)]
There’s no question about it, Heath Ledger breathed new life into this character with his portrayal in The Dark Knight. I happen to think that Jack Nicholson’s Joker was beautifully faithful to the comics at the time. It was the Joker I knew as that was the time I was collecting every single Batman title that came out. To be fair Cesar Romero played the Joker just like his 60’s campy counterpart. Walter Koenig and the Batman Dead End film makers on the other hand decided to make the Joker more akin to the Arkham Asylum version which wasn’t a bad idea, but I just didn’t like Koenig’s over the top acting.
CATWOMAN
Portrayed by: Julie Newmar [Batman TV Series, Batman The Movie (1966)]; Michelle Pfeiffer [Batman Returns (1992)]; Halle Berry [Catwoman (2004)]
There’s something really hot about the 60’s look to me. Playboy Playmates from this era are PHWOAR! So yes I think Julie Newmar was yummy as Catwoman. Michelle Pfeiffer on the other hand was the creepy version of the character but still that costume was perfect. Now for the ‘other’ Catwoman, Halle Berry. I included her here only because of the moniker similarity but as far as I know the Catwoman in her film wasn’t even Selena Kyle.
THE PENGUIN
Portrayed by: Burgess Meredith [Batman TV Series, Batman The Movie (1966)]; Danny DeVito [Batman Returns (1992)]
Who can forget The Penguin’s trademark laugh from the TV series (HUAKK! HUAKK! HUAKK!)? Burgess Meredith certainly looked like The Penguin in the comics. A lot of folks were disturbed by Danny DeVito’s deformed Penguin though, but I thought it was a great version of the character, not so much a criminal mastermind but a bully, mob-boss type out for revenge on society.
TWO-FACE
Portrayed by: Tommy Lee Jones [Batman Forever (1995)]; Aaron Eckhart [The Dark Knight (2008)]
Tommy Lee Jones is usually a great character actor so I would like to think that his version of Two-Face was a result of bad direction from Joel Schumacher. It was totally wrong and was more like a Joker-type psychotic character. TDK’s Harvey Two-Face on the other hand is very similar to the Two-Face written by Jeph Loeb in The Long Halloween and Dark Victory which happen to be brilliant titles. And I can’t say enough about the oh so disgustingly real make-up effects.
THE RIDDLER
Portrayed by: Frank Gorshin [Batman TV Series, Batman The Movie (1966)]; Jim Carey [Batman Forever (1995)]
The Riddler just isn’t that interesting of a character in my opinion. I guess Frank Gorshin was ok but to me The Riddler was just a Joker knock-off so I thought the same about his portrayal. Jim Carey just strengthened my belief with this kooky, zany, wacky version.
POISON IVY
Portrayed by: Uma Thurman [Batman & Robin (1997)]
Again I put the blame on Joel Schumacher for this version of Poison Ivy. She really could’ve worked but again I’m guessing Mr. Schumacher turned the “FASTER. MORE CAMP” signs on and Uma Thurman was forced to ham it up. Still, she had the perfect physique for the role.
MR. FREEZE
Portrayed by: Arnold Schwarzenegger [Batman & Robin (1997)]
If Arnie didn’t have to deliver those god-awful lines of dialogue I think he would’ve pulled it off. The costume was ridiculous but worked for character. I happen to like the Mr. Freeze character especially with the origin story written by Paul Dini and somewhat used in the film. He’s a tragic character like Bruce Wayne but one who decided to take his vengeance out on society instead.
BANE
Portrayed by: Jeep Swenson [Batman & Robin (1997)]
I hate this character. Ok its an uninformed decision since I never read the Knightfall storyline but I hated the idea of Batman being beaten by brute force. Anyway at least the movie version looked pretty damn close to the comics. And since they used a body-builder for the role I guess it was a good idea to let him have one line in the whole film, “BANE!!!”
THE SCARECROW
Portrayed by: Cillian Murphy [Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008)]
I thought Cillian Murphy was a bit too good looking for the creepy character, The Scarecrow. Admittedly, Cillian has a bit of a dark strange side but i guess I’m just used to the Scarecrow of the comics and Animated Series where he’s shown as a really twisted, demented, unattractive man. In the comics of course Jonathan Crane was a bit loopy right from the get-go meanwhile the movie version lost his marbles due to inhaling his own “fear toxin”.
LEX LUTHOR
Portrayed by: Gene Hackman [Superman (1978), Superman II (1982)]; Michael Rosenbaum [Smallville (2001)]; Kevin Spacey [Superman Returns (2006)];
The Lex Luthor character has gone through numerous changes but the one I grew up with was the Gene Hackman version which closely resembled the comics character although Mr. Hackman’s version was a lot more comical. I had high hopes for Kevin Spacey but I think because Superman Returns was supposed to be a spiritual sequel to the original movies, he decided to emulate Gene Hackman’s performance a bit too much. There’s special mention here of Lionel Luthor (John Glover) who is Lex’s dad in the Smallville series because the look of the character was obviously based on one of the recent versions of Lex Luthor in the comics where we find him younger, buff, and with long red wavy hair. If I recall correctly he was supposed to be Lex’s son but was really his clone. Or something to that effect…
I grew up with the Gene Hackman version, but I love Michael Rosenbaum’s version and yes, Lionel took a lot of the backstory from the comic’s version of Lex with him killing his parents, etc. I’ve only seen bits of Spacey’s version, and I also thought it was a bit too much like Hackman’s to my liking.
Interesting to see the versions of DC villains!
I unfortunately have not seen a single episode of Smallville. Is the Lex from the show like the Lex Luthor we see in Superman: Birthright where he is actually a childhood friend of Clark? Well from what I remember from Birthright, Lex wasn’t originally from Smallville but just moved there from some big city (it may have been Metropolis even).
I have never read a batman comic in my life, although i wish that i could. This is because i am only 14 and havent had the chance to. (because i live in ky and we dont sell them here) But from reading a couple panels from the comic and from watching batman movies for as long as i remember… I have always enjoyed the Joker.
I just wish that i could read the comics to get a better idea of how he is SUPPOSED to be.
well I think Joker is very open to interpretation. Depending on the era of the book you read and the author, Joker has been portrayed as a vicious murderer, a comical crime lord, and a straight out nutjob. Like I mentioned in the blog, I love what Heath Ledger brought to the plate but I am also a big fan of Jack Nicholson’s very comic-faithful version in the 1989 Batman movie.
While I agree with a lot of what you said, I think you’re a little hard on the Riddler. While Frank Gorshin’s portrayal brought him out of obscurity it’s actually a lot closer to the Joker’s personality than Riddler’s. Just as you wouldn’t judge the characters of Two Face and Poison Ivy by Schumacher’s representation nor should you judge the Riddler. Again, he was played far too much like a poor man’s Joker than a unique character. In the comics, and Batman TAS (the original early 90s version, not including any of the remodelled characters, back when Riddler wore a suit, Robin was Dick Greyson etc.) Riddler is portrayed completely differently from the Joker, he’s a smooth talking intellectual, who prefers battles of intellect to violence and even tries to be a legitimate detective at one point. Done properly *cough* save him Nolan *cough* he can be a fascinating character.
You have a very good point regarding the TAS version(s) of The Riddler. But the purpose of my feature was to see how comic book characters have been translated to live action movies/tv shows. And in any case, The Riddler character I had seen in the comics as a kid was still very much akin to a poor man’s Joker so I guess much credit goes to Bruce Timm, Paul Dini and the lot for re-inventing the Riddler for the Animated Series