Top 5 Fridays: Villains I'd Rather See In Batman Other Than The Joker

Obviously we're all reading Snyder and Capullo's Batman Endgame and we're all counting down the days until the next issue comes out on Wednesday.  With that in mind I figured I'd go against popular opinion and talk about characters that should be featured in Batman besides the Joker.  Don't get me wrong, I love the Joker and all, but we've already had a big story with him last year and bringing him back in this title just seems a little like a waste.  "Waste" meaning that there are so many other characters to tell stories with and obviously not a "waste" in the sense that it won't sell, because as you all know it would take years even with every Batman title featuring the Joker for people to stop buying the books.  So yes, we all love the Joker, but I want to see more from Snyder and Capullo and our Clown Prince of Crime is hogging up all the panel space............ Actually even though they have said up and down that this is the Joker in Endgame, it still feels like this whole thing is a Scarecrow hallucination to me, but for right now we'll go with what the creators have told us and that this is the Joker and we go with that so I can complain about it and tell you what characters I'd rather see these two creators work on other than Senor Payaso.  Let's see if I have any oddballs in here and if I can make a valid point for a change.







#5.  Two-Face

Now I love Two-Face and he might actually be one of my favorite Batman villains, but the reason that he's so low on the list is that it seems like Snyder is only really interested in writing a magnum opus for each of his stories in Batman.  I just really can't see Two-Face being apart of an eight part story arc and fans really caring for that long while he simply flipped his coin and made plans dealing with the number two.  Now I know that the character has evolved a little since the days of that shtick, but in our hearts we know that those gimmicks will always be Two-Face to us.  Seriously though, the real reason that Two-Face is on this list is because I love the character and I don't want his story to end with Tomasi's Batman and Two-Face where it appeared that he shot himself.  I just can't let that stand, so instead of the Joker I'd much rather see Snyder and Capullo showing us that Harvey survived his brush with suicide.




#4.  Black Mask

Again, like Two-Face I dig this character but the only reason that I would ever really want him to be in Batman is because I trust Snyder to make him the crime boss that we all know him to be and what he should be.  It all comes down to him showing up in Batman so that I can see how Capullo would draw him and so Snyder can fix him from that awful version we saw in Detective Comics Annual #1 where he had mind control powers and we all cringed and closed the issue never to open it again.  Roman Sionis needs to be fixed and we all know that Batman sells like gangbusters so if you throw him into that book, people would get behind the character's return and I would be happy because the character would then be recognized by people who casually pick up Batman's book and that's it........Mind powers..................Bah!




#3.  Killer Croc

The reason I want to see Killer Croc get a shot at the main Batman title is because as of right now it seems that Snyder is only interested in writing about smart Batman villains.  We've had the Court of The Owls, Mr. Freeze, Joker, Red Hood, Riddler and Joker............ You see what I'm talking about with the Joker here?  So let's bring in a fun villain, but someone who isn't exactly a rocket surgeon and throw him at Batman.  I really loved Killer Croc's Villain's Month issue and even though he had a really strong beginning in Arkham War, he was completely shut down by Bane and that's the last we really saw of him besides for Batman Eternal, but there's so much going on in that title that I'm not counting it a pure Killer Croc story.  I want the big Snyder epic featuring Waylon Jones and the less fortunate of Gotham starting their own civilization underground and what it would mean for Batman.  You know, an actual Gotham Underground that people could get behind......... and like.




#2.  Killer Moth

Kind of like Two-Face, Killer Moth is just a favorite of mine and I really want to see more of him in the New 52.  So why not in Batman?  We haven't seen this character since Green Arrow's Zero Year tie-in where he was first starting out and I'm curious to see how he's fared over the past five years in trying to convince people that moth's are fierce.  It would just really be a good time and maybe Killer Moth has spent the last five years coming up with an actual plan and Snyder can do his magnum opus thing and turn it into a giant arc.  While it's unlikely that anyone will ever take Killer Moth seriously, if anyone was going to do it, it would be Snyder and Capullo.  I know it's the new millennium and a brand new universe for DC Comics, but I kind of want Killer Moth back to his costume here.  It's just so ludicrously great.




#1.  Mr. Freeze

I want everyone to close their eyes and think back to the strange world of the 90's.  Is everyone ready?  Are you picturing baggy jeans, hacky sack and chains on your wallets?  Good then you can remember how cool Mr. Freeze was after his character was introduced in Batman TAS.  The animated series brought a depth and sadness to the character that we had never seen before and Mr. Freeze became that tragic villain that became a monster out of love.  Well jump 2012 and Scott Snyder has turned him into a psychopath with no redeeming qualities and because of this he's become a less interesting character that I could really care less about now.  The reason I have Mr. Freeze in the #1 spot even after complaining right there is because Snyder changed Mr. Freeze's origin because he had planned on doing something with the character and for whatever reason......... he never did.  What we're left with is a cold nut job that we don't care about anymore while we read more Joker stories.  So instead of reading Endgame right now I would much rather be given a reason for the change in Mr. Freeze and possibly by the end of that arc, he might be a character worth reading again.  Oh and this character makes no sense to me going short sleeve.......... So stop that.


That's it for this Top 5 Friday and possibly for many readers of it because I said I'd rather see another character other than the Joker....... In case you didn't know that is punishable by stoning in some countries.  If you're getting a little tired of Snyder's long winded stories or the Joker taking away other character's panel time, let me know who you'd rather see and if you feel I'm full of shit with my picks, let me know that too, I had a pretty decent week and could use some reasons to cry this weekend.  I hope you enjoyed this week's list and we'll see you back for another installment in seven.  Boosh!