The DCU’s Batman Needs To Learn 1 Crucial Villain Lesson From the MCU’s Spider-Man

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As a huge movie fan, I’m really excited to see how the DCU eventually brings Batman to life. But honestly, they’d be smart to look at what Marvel’s doing with Spider-Man. Both Batman and Spider-Man are legendary heroes who’ve been on screen a lot, but right now, Spider-Man’s future in the MCU feels really solid. The DCU’s Batman? It’s still a bit up in the air, and they could learn a lot from Marvel’s approach.

The movie Superman is the first film in the new DC Universe, introducing characters like Hawkgirl, Guy Gardner, Mister Terrific, and of course, Superman himself. While we’ve seen hints of other DC heroes, many fans have noticed that Batman is missing. Because Matt Reeves is already making The Batman films separately, it will likely be a while before we see a Batman movie connected to the main DCU, titled The Brave and the Bold. This delay actually gives the DCU time to study how Marvel successfully relaunched Spider-Man with Brand New Day.

The DCU’s Batman Needs To Make As Much Use Of The Hero’s Rogues’ Gallery As The MCU’s Spider-Man Is

Batman movies have consistently struggled with their villains, despite the character having one of the greatest collections of enemies in comic book history. Gotham City is famous for its villains, arguably more so than any other superhero’s city. However, the films tend to rely on the same few well-known bad guys, ignoring many other iconic characters from the comics.

Villains often reappear throughout the Batman film series. The Joker has been portrayed in films directed by Tim Burton, Christopher Nolan, Zack Snyder, Todd Phillips, and Matt Reeves. Two-Face has shown up in movies by Burton, Nolan, and Reeves, with another appearance planned. The Penguin has been featured in films by Burton and Reeves, while The Riddler appears in movies by Reeves and Burton. Bane has been in films directed by Burton and Nolan, and Catwoman has appeared in films by Burton, Nolan, and Reeves. This demonstrates a clear pattern of revisiting classic villains within the franchise.

Let’s look at how the Marvel Cinematic Universe has approached Spider-Man’s enemies. Films like Spider-Man: Homecoming and Far From Home introduced villains – Vulture, Shocker, and Mysterio – who hadn’t appeared in any previous movies. No Way Home was unique, bringing back classic villains like Green Goblin and Doc Ock from past Spider-Man films through the multiverse. Now, Brand New Day will continue this trend, featuring Tombstone, the Hand, Scorpion, Tarantula, and Boomerang – all new to live-action Spider-Man movies.

The Spider-Man movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have wisely avoided retelling villain stories we’ve already seen, and the new DC Universe should follow suit with Batman. There are plenty of iconic Batman villains—like Clayface, Man-Bat, the Court of Owls, the Mad Hatter, and Solomon Grundy—who haven’t been brought to life on the big screen yet. Instead of constantly revisiting the Joker or Two-Face, it would be exciting and original for the DCU to focus on these lesser-known characters.

If The DCU Abandons Iconic Batman Villains, Some Fans Won’t Be Happy

A key promise of the new DC Universe is that it will be more faithful to the original comic books. Because of this, it would be hard to justify leaving out some of Batman’s most famous enemies. Villains like the Joker, Two-Face, Catwoman, and the Penguin are popular because they appear in so many well-loved Batman stories. Leaving them out would prevent the DCU from adapting many important storylines from the comics.

This creates a tough spot for the DCU, because they’ll likely face criticism no matter what they do. If they leave out iconic villains, comic book fans might be disappointed that the new DC Cinematic Universe doesn’t include classic storylines like the Batman-Joker rivalry. But if they do include those villains, some fans might feel like the new Batman movie is simply repeating ideas from past films.

The ideal approach is a combination of both strategies. Similar to how the Marvel Cinematic Universe handles its stories, the DC Universe’s Batman films should feature a variety of smaller villains in addition to the main bad guys. This would give lesser-known characters a chance to appear and still include Batman’s most famous foes. It will be interesting to see how DC Studios addresses this, as they are likely already discussing it internally.

Which Batman villain would you most like to see appear in the DC Universe? Share your thoughts in the comments and join the discussion on the ComicBook Forum!

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2026-04-06 01:42