After The Penguin: 7 Batman Villains that Deserve Their Own TV Series

The Penguin showcased one of Batman’s classic villains and delivered one of the best shows of the year in the process. The Penguin is likely to be in contention for a host of awards as a result, and if fans weren’t already anticipating The Batman II, they surely are after that finale. While it’s not clear if we’ll ever get a Season 2 for The Penguin, one can’t help but look at Batman’s iconic rogues’ gallery in hopes another villain might received the same impressive treatment, and that’s just what we’re doing right here. Here are seven Batman villains that absolutely deserve their own series.

Two-Face

While this list isn’t specific to Matt Reeves’ The Batman universe, Two-Face would be the next logical extension of that universe, and would be a big beneficiary of the TV series format. The Batman doesn’t introduce Harvey Dent into the mix yet, but after what The Riddler did to Gotham and the bloody battle in the Gotham Underworld in The Penguin, the city sure could use someone like Harvey Dent to come in and clean house.

That’s the perfect way to bring in Dent, who could come in and immediately win over a beaten down city in The Batman II. You could go one of two ways and still get great results, and the first path would be to have Dent transformed into Two-Face towards the end of the film and then have an eight episode series explore his trauma and the eventual full transformation into the villain we all know. Another method would be to have Dent just be a key figure in The Batman II and then in the series have viewers get to know him in a much deeper way before the transformation happens towards the end of the show, keying up a big role in The Batman III.

Catwoman

Sticking with The Batman side of DC, another character perfectly suited for a solo series is Catwoman. Catwoman played a central role in the first film, and those who followed The Penguin know that Selina was revealed to be Sofia Gigante’s half-sister, teasing that they will encounter each other in next film.

[RELATED: The Penguin Star Colin Farrell Reveals Pivotal Scene Cut from the Finale Episode]

A full storyline between the two could be explored thoroughly in a television series, as opposed to being one of several main plot points in the next movie, though this could also be touched on in the film and then play out in a series that would set things up for The Batman III. Kyle has also run across not only Batman but Penguin as well, and you could easily fold those relationships and dynamics into the series and explore more of Selina’s past as well.

Talia Al Ghul

Here’s where we start to swerve from The Batman universe, though this could still apply to that world at some point down the line. The person we’re talking about is Talia Al Ghul, otherwise known as the Daughter of the Demon and the mother to the best Robin, Damian Wayne. While Ra’s al Ghul commands much of the attention in both comics and film, we’ve never really had the chance to see Talia get that kind of shine on the big or small screen (outside of the animated series), and anyone who knows her history knows how great an in-depth series based around her could be.

Following Talia’s story would allow you to explore the League of Assassins through a lens outside of Ra’s or Batman, and even if Batman isn’t a part of the story for the majority of the series, you could still have Batman as a factor given Talia’s feelings for him and their rollercoaster relationship.

With Brave and the Bold set to introduce Damian Wayne and Bruce to the DC Studios universe, this would be a perfect series to set the stage for that and introduce several important characters and concepts into the world ahead of time. Depending on when it took place, this could also act as a series that introduced Talia and Damian’s initial dynamic before he goes to live with his father, and we could also witness how Talia is willing to put her dad’s vision aside when it comes to Bruce and his survival. There are a number of factors that would be intriguing to explore over the course of several episodes, and you’d still get some big, action set-pieces as well, making Talia a great candidate to get some solo shine.

Hush

Hush is one of DC’s most popular Batman stories for a reason, and DC shocked the world when it revealed the story was getting a sequel. With the story brought back into the limelight, it would make a lot of sense for DC to bring Hush to the big or small screen, and while there’s potential with both, he would be most perfectly suited for a longform series.

The character of Hush was eventually revealed to be Bruce’s childhood friend Thomas Elliot, immediately giving him a tether to Batman that few others have. That also feeds directly into why Hush hates the Waynes, as Thomas Wayne saved his mother after Elliot tried to kill her. When he’s older, Elliot returns and manipulates Batman’s enemies into wearing him down over time, all the while teasing that Jason Todd is back from the dead (before he actually returns from the dead mind you).

This put Batman on his heels, which is not something we typically see, and once the reveal was made there was even more to explore in subsequent stories. Hush would come back and cause havoc in Bruce’s life several times, nearly killing Catwoman at one point and then literally taking on Bruce’s face in another story later on. A series following Batman investigating and trying to piece together who Hush is could be fantastic, though a series that explored things from Hush’s perspective would also be intriguing, as he moves pieces around the board to throw Bruce off his trail. Either way, count me in for Hush making it to the small screen at some point in the future.

Bane

Only a few have found a way to defeat Batman, but there are even fewer who managed to break him. The first was Bane, the venom-juiced villain that would wear down the Bat and almost make him paranoid in the lead-up to the battle that would change everything. Bane would break Batman’s back in an iconic encounter, and though Batman would eventually return, it was a victory that has been ensconced in Batman lore.

Crazily enough, though, Bane would return and conquer Gotham as his own in the hit story “City of Bane,” and this story would lead to another now-famous moment when Bane enforced his rule over Gotham by killing Alfred in front of Robin. Again, few can claim this kind of impact on Batman, and whether a series follows Bane’s rise in prison and eventual breakout before making his way to Gotham or his takeover of Gotham and unseating of the Dark Knight as Gotham’s top force, you’ve got a winner regardless.

Clayface

There are a multitude of Batman villains that would be wonderful subjects for a show format, but few have as much potential as Clayface. There’s already two stories that would translate beautifully to the small screen, with one being the origin story that turned Basil Karlo into the shape shifting Clayface. That story involves Batman but in a rather limited way, and much of the series would just be following along Basil’s trajectory from A-List movie star to chemically altered villain, as there’s a lot to be explored throughout that journey.

The other story ripe for translating is the relatively recent Batman: One Bad Day: Clayface, a stellar series of one-shots that focused on different Batman villains. The story moves Clayface to Los Angeles as he creates a new identity and tries to recapture his dream of being one of the Hollywood greats. This story throws him into a familiar but, in several ways, very different setting, and gets in touch with the character’s aspirations as well as the lengths he will go to in making those dreams happen. You could also pick and choose elements from both of these stories to create an altogether different portrait of the villain, and all three ways hold limitless potential.

Joker

Well, you just knew Joker was going to be on this list, because you can’t get around Batman’s greatest nemesis of all time. Outside of Batman, Joker has some of the most iconic portrayals on both the small and big screen, so it’s not like Joker needs another TV series. That said, he’s iconic for a reason, and now that the character is probably on ice for a while in the films thanks to the recent Joker sequel, it might be a perfect time to bring him to the small screen once again.

Bringing things full circle, Joker was actually set up in an unused alternate scene from The Batman. While he was largely kept in shadow, the performance from Barry Keoghan is still incredibly disturbing and chilling, and begs to be featured in some way down the line. While it’s not known if he will make a debut in The Batman II, featuring his story in a solo TV series would certainly be a great way to bring him into the world without stealing the attention away from other big villains and stories the sequel wants to focus on. That performance made a major impression, even in a scene that ultimately didn’t make it into the movie, so it would be a shame to waste it and not follow that story through in some form or fashion.

Well that’s our list, and there are many others that could easily make this list. You can let me know your picks on Twitter and Threads @mattaguilar and on Bluesky @knightofoa!