One of the core principles of the original Batman Beyond television show was to either create new villains for Terry McGinnis or take forgotten ones from the Silver Age and reinvent them for a new era. That’s precisely how we got Blight, he was based off of the then forgotten Dr. Phosphorus and False Face based on, well, False Face. Outside of those two prominent examples, it was an excellent philosophy that should carry on into the comics today. The current runs have always existed in a weird spot of whether or not they’re canon but still have loyal followers. So in the spirit of Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, and Bruce Timm, here are some of Batman’s foes that would honestly fit a lot stronger as Batman Beyond villains.
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Remaining as one of the strongest Batman fandoms ever, all due in part to giving him his own rogues gallery, giving Batman Beyond some different villains from the current Batman lore it could be very interesting.
1) Mr. Bloom
I don’t know what it is with Scott Snyder and creating so many characters and concepts that feel straight out of Batman Beyond but here is a prime example. Created in the DCYou era of Batman with Jim Gordon as Batman, Mr. Bloom has all the makings of a Beyond villain. With a drug that can make people “bloom” along with shape changing abilities, Mr. Bloom stands above the others.
We never got to know his name and Bloom’s impact was small in the grand scheme of things. Having one-ish stories as a Batman villain, Bloom deserves a comeback as a major rogue. There’s plenty of opportunity for it: a new shady drug dealer in Neo-Gotham, it’s all right there. That and I just wanna see him comeback, he’s too cool not to.
2) The Great White Shark
Originally a mobster in Gotham with a terrible case of frostbite, we have Warren White aka The Great White Shark. He’s had maybe 30 appearances to his name yet he’s got a great look and name. Instead of being an underling for Black Mask, he could be his own mob boss in the Beyond era. All you’d have to do is change up a tiny bit of his origin and you got an even scarier threat.
While he just resembles a great white shark, the man himself has severe pale skin and sharpened his teeth so changing him up a bit wouldn’t be too hard. With the concept of splicing human and animal genes together in Batman Beyond, just splice him with DNA of a great white shark. You’d have to work around the shark gills but give him some extra bloodlust and the ability to breathe underwater and he’s a reborn. Fighting Batman and then pulling him into the water could be a fun fight.
3) Maxie Zeus
Often the butt of jokes for many writers, Maxie Zeus is a gangster who believes his is the Greek god reincarnated. He might be the most prominent character on this list but he’s calling for a Beyond reinvention. All he has is the look and the mental disorder believing he’s Zeus while only recently having a weapon that shoots electricity. He’s needed a makeover for a long time now.
Instead of believing he’s Zeus, he could use that as an act as a mob boss. Using more futuristic tech to make himself believable as the Greek God, is a new idea waiting to happen. Cybernetic implants are a thing by that point in the timeline and could be a rival gang leader to Great White Shark. They could even do a similar thing that was done with Thor in The Ultimates 2, where nobody can tell if he is Zeus or not. Would be a fun mystery for us and Terry alike.
4) Gotham and Gotham-Girl
Okay, villain might be a little bit of a stretch here. First appearing in the beginning of Tom King’s Batman run we have Gotham and Gotham-Girl. Their names are little on the nose but they are artificial superheroes with the powers of Superman just in Gotham. Now with shortened life spans due to gaining the abilities, they are bombs waiting to explode. With the power usage tied directly to what remains left of their lives sounds perfect for Beyond.
In Beyond, Terry didn’t have any rivals to him as Batman. He had a lot of villains and outside of a Justice League two-parter, there were never more heroes. That’s where these two could come in. Much like the terrific trio, they could both start as heroes and end up like villains much like they did in King’s run. A good concept just felt like the wrong era of Batman to end up in. They’d make a fun dark duo to fight Terry.
5) Mutant Leader
Already being a good deal into the future we have the Mutant Leader. Famously the first threat Batman faces in The Dark Knight Returns, Mutant Leader feels like a beyond prototype. You already have the Jokerz street gang and the rivals, the T’s, so why not include the Mutants? They’re not like Marvel’s version despite the leader wearing some Cyclops shades, but the mutants are definitely more mutated outcasts of some sort. Maybe add some splicing and you got a stronger version of the Mutants.
The Jokerz always felt a bit one-note as a gang and don’t get me started on the T’s. The Mutants may not have been a major threat in the time of Beyond but have the potential to be a huge threat for Terry. There could always be some factions splitting off similar to the original story they came from. Maybe even give the Mutant Leader a name just to give him something a but extra, he would fit so naturally here.
What Batman villain do you think works better as a Batman Beyond villain? Let us know down in the comments.
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