Some of these fights are pretty intricate and harrowing, such as Metallo shooting Superman with a sliver of kryptonite.
That aspect of their friendship is what makes "Public Enemies" such a rewarding experience: seeing their bromance and how they uncomplainingly support and protect each other no matter what.Īnd while they do that, they’re also in a series of superpowered punch-’em-ups that pit them against a variety of enemies, ranging from the relatively obscure (Black Spider, Nightshade) to the famous (Captain Marvel, Hawkman). And yet they are both noble and deeply moral at their core, which is what makes them so compatible despite their differing outlooks and ways. Superman is open, emotional, bright and sunny, while Batman is taciturn, emotionally reserved, dark and more than a little weird. Speaking personally, I really enjoy the friendship between Batman and Superman, primarily because their relationship is a study in contrasts. And their enemies are getting progressively more powerful as they approach Luthor, even as they try to come up with a solution to save the Earth from total destruction. This will be important.Ĭlaiming that the kryptonite meteorite has driven Superman insane, Luthor puts a bounty of one billion on his head – and now Superman and Batman are up against money-hungry attackers from both the villain and hero sides of the aisle. Batman manages to rescue Superman from Metallo’s ongoing attack, but soon Superman finds that he’s been framed for Metallo’s murder.Īlso, a meteorite made of kryptonite is about to smash into the Earth, and Luthor has appointed himself the Big Brain who can save us all from it.
And his suspicions are apparently proved correct when Luthor arranges a meeting… which turns out to be a trap so that his old enemy can be taken down by Metallo. However, Superman bluntly refuses to believe that Luthor has reformed, and believes this is all some kind of elaborate scheme. A third-party candidate winning? Now you know comic-book stories are science-fiction.
But the real meat of the movie is the powerful friendship between two very different men, one an energetic and morally-powerful alien and one a dark brooding guy with problems expressing his feelings.Īfter the American economy collapses, Lex Luthor runs for president as a third-party candidate, and somehow manages to win despite his past as a supervillain. government, which is not the same thing at all.Īnd that concept is enough to carry most of "Superman/Batman: Public Enemies," with Superman and Batman going up against progressively more powerful enemies from both the hero and villain categories. No, this refers to the two most famous superheroes in the world being enemies of the public. With that housekeeping out of the way, here is our ranking of “Batman” villains from worst to best.For the record, the title does not refer to Batman and Superman being enemies with each other, as in Batman v. Additionally, all four villain performances from the 1966 “Batman” starring Adam West are in a league of their own, as the conceptions of those characters originated on television with the ’60s series. This list only considers villains from live-action movies that have titles alluding to or naming Batman - thus disqualifying not one, not two, but three Jokers in Jared Leto, Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Hamill, along with plenty of other performances. However, considering that the superhero genre has expanded to cinematic universes, spin-offs and complicated content architectures, it’s necessary to set a few parameters for such a ranking.
Before these additions are unveiled to the public, Variety is taking a look back at the franchise’s history of supervillains, pitting memorable performances against each other. With this Friday’s release of Matt Reeves’ “The Batman,” the pantheon of villains that the Caped Crusader has fought on the big screen will see three new arrivals: Colin Farrell’s Penguin, Zoë Kravitz’s Catwoman and Paul Dano’s Riddler.
That’s almost never been a problem for “Batman” though the franchise has arguably been defined more by its rogues gallery than by Batman himself, with most of the antagonist roles offering the opportunity for actors to capture oversized egos and laissez-faire shtick. The cultural landscape has reached a state where a new comic book adaptation is unleashed on the public practically every other week, yet the genre can still struggle to offer truly memorable villains for its marquee heroes to battle.