With the recently revealed slate of DCU projects, many fans are wondering what characters might appear as revisited or new DCU villains. In some cases, the answer may be obvious, in others it’s unclear. Here are my picks for upcoming DCU projects’ villains and why they are a good fit for these films/series.
[Note: The Batman Part II isn’t on my list because it’s not part of a new DCU. If you want to check out possible villains for that Elseworld, take a look at my article on possible villains in Matt Reeves’ Batman universe.]
All for Amazo in Creature Commandos
Amazo has the ability to copy superpowers and is best known as a Justice League villain. Creature Commandos will probably release first and Amazo as the villain could be a perfect fit.
The Creature Commandos are a team of military superhumans, and for this reason, fighting Amazo could be a challenge for them. With the team’s more contemporary interpretation, I think the story may be set in the 21st century.
It’ll be interesting to see how a mix of these strange characters will fight tough, unconventional, villains like Amazo. Not many people know who the Creature Commandos are. Utilizing the not-so-popular-but-familiar villain may be a way to get people interested in the stories of this team.
Atomic Skull in Superman: Legacy
With Superman: Legacy taking place in a new universe with a new actor, the film should not be another origin story. Fans already know how Clark became Superman and how much family and life values passed on from his father matter to him. Superman: Legacy will follow a young Clark Kent balancing being a journalist and a superhero.
All descriptions of this film suggest that it will be inspired by Superman: Man of Tomorrow. This early version of Superman becomes a symbol of hope for people. In the film Man of Tomorrow, the villains were Lobo, Lex Luthor, and Parasite. While we may see at least one of them in this project, the real villain could be Atomic Skull.
He’s almost as powerful as Superman, creates radiation bursts, and has a genius-level intellect. Imagine the fight between Superman and a villain who’s equal to the Kryptonian.
The government as DCU villains in Waller
After the events of Peacemaker season 1, Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) is no longer hiding in the shadows. She’s publicly accused of breaking the law. All her secrets with the creation of Task Force X and burying government files are now public. In this series, the villain will most likely be the government itself, which wants to make a scapegoat out of her.
This is a very awkward situation for Waller. She’s always been very careful, keeping her life a secret and pretending it doesn’t exist. Now she must go to court and fight for her freedom. A very likely scenario is that in order to fight the government, Waller will create another Suicide Squad to make all witnesses disappear.
Henry Bendix in The Authority
The Authority is not a well-known superhero team from DC. Their goal is to stop crime and keep people safe no matter what. They don’t care about morality or the methods necessary to win. They were formed as part of the remnants of another superhero team called StormWatch. In this case, the villain may be Henry Bendix, as he was previously known as their boss.
However, it probably wouldn’t be the original version of this character, but one from an alternate universe.
In the comics, the original Bendix was replaced by a psychopath who tried to stop people from creating a crime-free world. When he murdered an entire team of superheroes called The Changer, he was sentenced to death. Later, the original Bendix returned and learned that The Authority now ruled America. He broke up their team, but it wasn’t long before they fought him.
Supernova as a new DCU villain in Booster Gold
In the comics, Jon Carter is the father of Booster Gold, a loser from the future who travels to the past to become a hero. Jon is the third person to wear the Supernova costume. He is known for his work with villains such as Despero, Black Beetle, Ultra-Humanite, and Per Degaton. One of their main tasks was to become powerful. To do so, they decide to go back in time and change history in their favor.
The Booster Gold series will focus on Booster and his story, but I believe we’ll also get a lot of time travel, varying from fun Easter eggs to story arcs. It’s possible we’ll even see Booster, Rip Hunter, and Jon together on screen, which would be quite an epic scene for comic book fans.
Although the third incarnation of Supernova seems a bit underrated to me, if he’s the villain, we are still in for quite a treat with a father-son battle for the safety of the timeline.
Azrael in Batman: The Brave and The Bold
In Batman: The Brave and The Bold, Damian Wayne will finally make his live-action debut, after nearly 20 years as the Dark Knight’s son in the comics. If you’ve watched the animated trilogy about Batman and his son, you’ll know that they’ve faced off against Deathstroke, Talia Al Ghul, and the Court of Owls.
While Court of Owls is somewhat of an obvious choice to finally debut in a Batman film, I think making Azrael the villain for The Brave and The Bold might be a better option.
Azrael is a vigilante and assassin created by the Order of St. Dumas seeking to restore justice to Gotham City through religious extremism. If you’re familiar with the Batman Arkham games, then you know that Azrael tried to take the place of the Dark Knight. In this film, he could try to recruit Damian, who is looking for another “father figure” after being sort of disappointed with Batman’s moral stance.
Despero in Lanterns
The Green Lantern series will focus on Hal Jordan and John Stewart as they explore the universe and learn about mysterious events taking place in various parts of the galaxy. I think that Sinestro won’t be the villain. It may be too early to show him as a Yellow Lantern, so he’ll remain a Green Lantern at least until the end of the series’ first season. Red Lanterns and especially Atrocitus could appear in the series, but not as the main villains.
The way I see it, a great character who could be the mysterious secret villain for the project is Despero. He is a powerful telepath who can cast illusions impossible to see even by the most powerful members of the Justice League. His quest to control powerful races and parts of the galaxy no matter the cost is precisely the task for the Lanterns to undertake.
Krem in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is a highly acclaimed comic book series by Tom King. It’s a great story that explores the unknown emotional and vulnerable parts of Supergirl. When she left Krypton in an escape pod just like Kal-El, she had a purpose to fulfill. After landing on Earth, the roles changed and it was Kal’s purpose to take care of her.
Frankly, I don’t think that in this type of project, there has to be a main villain who wants to destroy the world or the galaxy.
Woman of Tomorrow focused mainly on Supergirl, her memories of Krypton, her search for purpose in life, and her relationship with Ruthye. The story of this comic book series is so beautiful and moving that we don’t need to see any villains. In the comics it was Krem. If the story of this comic is heavily adapted into a movie, he is the obvious choice to be the bad guy in it.
The Old Gods in Paradise Lost
As far as we know Paradise Lost will tell the story of Themyscira, home of the Amazons long before Wonder Woman was born. We will see political issues and problems between the Amazons as well as their origin story. The Old Gods are one of the most important parts of DC’s history, as they are responsible for creating important things in the universe.
Zeus created Themyscira and imprisoned the Amazons there. The conflict between the Amazons and Zeus/other Gods that led him to seal their fate could be part of the series. They could show the daily life of the Amazons as well as how the Gods work to keep the world safe.
Anton Arcane in Swamp Thing
Swamp Thing will probably be one of the last projects in the “first chapter of the first book” of the new DCU. The villain for this project should be Anton Arcane. He’s the archnemesis of Swamp Thing. Arcane is the avatar of The Rot also known as the force of decay and is rot to all living things. The opposite of Swamp Thing. We could see their fight between “life and death”, which is both highly symbolic and emotional.
A few years ago there were plans for Guillermo del Toro to make his own version of Justice League: Dark with horror elements. Swamp Thing was an important member of the team back then. Unfortunately, this project was canceled, but with his own film in prospect, I hope we’ll see some of that horror vibe.
Who do you want to see as the new DCU villains?
Do you agree with my picks for new DCU villains? What DC villains do you want to see? Let us know on Twitter or The Cosmic Circus Discord. And if you haven’t already, check out our episode of The Cosmic Circle, The Cosmic Circus Podcast, where Brian, Drew, and Anthony discuss the new DCU Slate!
Cosmic Circle Ep. 18: New DC Slate Discussion
