Film - Batman's Rogues Gallery (Part 3)

On Monday, David Ames started fantasy casting his Batman's Rogues Gallery. Today he concludes his epic list, starting with a Cobblepot...

Find Part 1 of David's Rogues Gallery here.
Find Part 2 of David's Rogues Gallery here.


The Penguin

One of Batman’s more well-known villains, Oswald Cobblepot is a crime boss and a wealthy resident of Gotham City who sits atop the crime families in Gotham. He is smart, resourceful, and not afraid to fight. He runs the Iceburg Lounge, a bar and casino, where he makes most of his wealth and issues most of his criminal orders. He is an especially dangerous villain mainly because unlike so many of Batman’s rogues, Penguin is completely sane.

I have always wanted to see Philip Seymour Hoffman play this role. I think that his intelligence has been shown in films like Capote, Almost Famous, and Doubt and we know that he can play an amazing villain because of his role in Mission Impossible: 3.

Poison Ivy

This fiery redhead was once the beautiful Dr. Pamela Isley, an accomplished botanist who became an eco-terrorist because of her obsession with plants and her view that humanity murders plants for selfish reasons. Poison Ivy is also one of the few Batman rogues who actually retains some sort of “powers” as she can control and manipulate plants. This actress must be sexy yet dignified and must be able to pull of the insane attachment to plants which is the prime character trait of this villain.

While searching for this actress, I was worried that I would have to venture outside of the realm of natural redheads but then I remembered that Jessica Chastain is both sexy and an accomplished actress. We have seen her range in films like Interstellar, The Martian, Mama, The Debt and Texas Killing Fields, but it was her amazing and chilling performance in Crimson Peak that made her perfect for this role.

Ra’s al Guhl

The near immortal leader of the League of Assassins, Ra’s was the one to train Bruce Wayne and turn him into the amazing fighter he became. His name translates into “the Head of the Demon” as he is the leader and near-god of the organisation. He wants to cleanse the world of filth and corruption and build a better world on its ashes. He utilises the magical qualities of the Lazarus Pits to remain young and strong but the pits have played havoc with his mind. The actor portraying Ra’s needed to be older and dignified but also have the ability to go to dark places.

For this role, I thought that Jason Isaacs would be a perfect cast. He has the older look but still somehow is intimidating. When he speaks he has an air of intelligence and dignity which is needed in the role. His turns in the Patriot, The Harry Potter Series and Fury all showcase his incredible ability.

The Riddler

Known also as Edward Nigma (Enigma…get it), The Riddler is a genius with a penchant for riddles and clues. He is widely respected by the other Batman adversaries because of his dangerous intellect, especially the Joker who thinks that the Riddler has kept Batman sharp. The actor playing The Riddler needed to be tall and lanky and have an air of intelligence which permeates the rest of his being.

This was the casting that made me want to write this entire article. I think that David Hyde Pierce could be an amazing older Riddler. His role as Niles Crane in Frasier helped this casting but it was when he played the psychopath in The Perfect Host, I knew that he could be an amazing villain as well.

The Scarecrow

Beginning life as Dr. Jonathan Crane, a criminal psychologist and psychiatrist, Crane specializes in the study of fear. As the Scarecrow, Crane developed numerous toxins which increase the natural fears of his victims causing many of them to go insane. He was somewhat of a throwaway character in his original inception but has since become a credible and serious threat to the Dark Knight, especially in the Batman: Arkham video game series. The actor to play Crane needed to have the right body type, tall and lanky, and in my opinion should also have a quality that makes him stand out somehow from his peers.

For this role, I truly enjoyed Cillian Murphy’s casting and portrayal. Although I thought he was great, I chose someone who I think fits a little more into the original idea of the character. Adrien Brody is an accomplished actor who has the body type and the acting chops to take the Scarecrow and create a whole new character, much in the same way Ledger was able to with the Joker. His roles in Summer of Sam, The Pianist, Predators, and The Village show that he as the ability to do so.

Solomon Grundy

Solomon Grundy is basically a giant zombie with super strength who is almost impossible to kill. My favourite biography of the character is that he was a worker whose wife was raped and killed by his boss and then she committed suicide. The foreman feeds her to some crocodiles and Grundy kills them all out of revenge before taking his own life. There was something amiss and he came back as a mountain of a man who is virtually unkillable. The actor needs to have a presence and be a larger, hulking man to play Grundy.

We have seen Ron Pearlman play this type of role so many times. He is a large, imposing actor with personality to spare. Sadly his personality won’t be as on the surface with this role but he would fit perfectly and with his performances in The Hellboy Series, Blade II and Sons of Anarchy I know that he could do the character some real justice.

Talia al Guhl

Talia al Guhl is the beautiful and dangerous daughter of Ra’s al Guhl. Like her father, she is an accomplished assassin. She is also deeply in love with Bruce Wayne/Batman and is consistently trying to convince him to marry her and take of the League of Assassins. She has had sex with Batman numerous times and in one instance even bore his son, Damien Wayne (the new Robin). The actress playing her needed to have an otherworldy quality and beauty and still seem as though she was powerful.

Olivia Wilde has the look. Let’s face it: she is beautiful and sexy and everything that an assassin should be. Her roles on House, The Black Donnellys and Vinyl and in films like The Lazarus Effect and Alpha Dog have all shown that she has the range to play the woman.

Two-Face

Once an amazing and fearless District Attorney, Harvey Dent fought the war on the mob with a passion that was both incredibly effective and dangerous. He became a broken man after a criminal threw acid at his face, scarring one side permanently. Because of this, Dent became obsessed with duality and turned to a life of crime in which everything must be decided with the flip of a coin. The actor portraying Dent needed to have a larger than life personality and still retain the intelligence of the DA. They would also need to have the ability to lose control and snap at a moment’s notice.

For this role, Jon Hamm has both the look and the acting chops. We have seen him play amazing characters in Mad Men and Million Dollar Arm and as looks go, he fits the bill perfectly.

Victor Zsasz

Victor Zsasz is one of the most twisted of Batman’s rogue’s gallery. He was a rich young man whose parents had died and who had amassed a fortune after their death. He fell into depression, turning to gambling and eventually lost everything to the Penguin. He was about to kill himself when a homeless man attempted to rob him. Zsasz took the man’s knife and murdered him, discovering the rush and thrill of the kill. From then on, he murdered without regard for the age or gender of his victims. He would position the corpses in lifelike poses and then carve a tally mark into his skin. The actor who would play Zsasz need to have an understated quality to his performance but the ability to go bat-shit insane at the drop of a hat.

Let me just say that I have a man crush on Ben Foster. I think he is an incredible talent who doesn’t get the respect he deserves. He can play nuanced characters who struggle with certain aspects of themselves like his roles in The Messenger, 3:10 to Yuma, Pandorum, and Alpha Dog. In those roles he has shown a talent for being both quiet and reflective while also insanely intense. His roles in 30 Days of Night and especially Hostage have shown that he can definitely play crazy too. I want more than anything for Disney to cast him as a Sith but that is a different article.