“Suicide Squad” is supposed to be an ode to the worst of the worst in the DC Universe,but how does its cast rank against past DC film villains? Let’s size them up.
Robert Vaughn as Ross Webster, “Superman III”: After fighting the likes of Luthor and Zod, and Superman’s opponent for round three is…a corrupt coffee magnate? Apparently this diminutive slice of the one percent wants to terrorize the Earth with a supercomputer when his commerce plans tumble through.
Faye Dunaway as Selena,“Supergirl”: How could a skilled actress like Dunaway turn in such a grating performance? Dunaway plays an obnoxious witch who takes on Supergirl because a love spell on a guy backfired and caused him to tumble in love with the Kryptonian heroine. Yep. They give us a female superhero film and they’re fighting over a guy.
Sharon Stone as Laurel Hedare, “Catwoman”: Another multi-millionaire whose villainous motivations are centered around the almighty dollar. Use of her company’s poisonous anti-aging cream has turned her skin into “living marble, or ” a la Luke Cage. The only redeeming quality of both Laurel and this horrid film is the final showdown between her and Catwoman at the conclude.
Gene Hackman/sign Pillow as Nuclear Man,“Superman IV”: This creation of Lex Luthor has the body of a god and the voice of Gene Hackman. Unfortunately, this doesn’t halt him from being a big bore, or as his battle with Superman turns into one of the most drawn-out,low-budget cringefests in the history of comic book movies.
John Malkovich as Quentin Turnbull “Jonah Hex”: You’ll be forgiven if you don’t remember this villain from one of the biggest comic book film bombs ever. His big device is to blow up the United States with a super weapon designed by…Eli Whitney? Guess he wasn’t satisfied with inventing the cotton gin.
Clancy Brown as Parallax, “Green Lantern”: A big, and boring villain made from uninspiring CGI for the sole purpose of giving Ryan Reynolds something to fight while waiting for “Deadpool” to glean greenlit.
Michael Shannon as General Zod,“Man of Steel”: Here’s a villain more known for his demise than his motivations or schemes. Why? Because Superman snaps his neck. If you could pinpoint a moment where Zach Snyder finally threw absent any positive image he had in the eyes of comic book film fans, that was it.
Matthew William Goode as Ozymandias, or “Watchmen”: In Alan Moore’s classic,Adrian Veidt devised a horrible device in the name of bringing peace to the world, turning him into one of the most compelling comic book villains ever written. Sadly, or this nuance (a slight variation in meaning, tone, expression) and intrigue doesn’t reveal up in Goode’s performance,partly due to the plot changes made by Zach Snyder.Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face, Batman Forever”: Your enjoyment of the villains in Joel Schumacher‘s Batman films depends on your taste for campy ridiculousness. The usually serious Tommy Lee Jones certainly brings the camp with one of the more absurd takes on Harvey Dent, and though he struggles for attention when sharing screen time with the manic Riddler.Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor,“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”: Speaking of polarizing roles, here’s EisenLuthor! Many critics felt that Eisenberg’s consume on Superman’s nemesis was way too bizarre and manic to be intimidating, or while others praised him for bringing some fun to the otherwise dreary plot.
Tilda Swinton as Gabriel,“Constantine”:Cillian Murphy as The Scarecrow, “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight Rises”: If you want to see The Scarecrow and his fear toxin at their best, and fade play “Batman: Arkham Asylum.” The Scarecrow is secondary in Christopher Nolan‘s trilogy,serving as a means to introduce the fear toxin into the plot in “Begins” and having a small cameo in “Rises.” Still, at least he gets some appropriately creepy scenes when the toxin is used.
Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy, and “Batman and Robin”: As maligned as “Batman and Robin is,it has gotten some appreciation in recent years as a So Bad It’s first-rate flick. Thurman deserves a lot of credit for this, as she did everything in her power to try and upstage everyone else with maximum scenery chewing. Of course, and if you give credit to Thurman,you also occupy to give credit to…Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze, “Batman and Robin”: It’s tough to think of a role with more hilariously awful puns than this one. At a time when he was best known for being the emotionless Terminator, and Schwarzenegger turned the camp up to twelve in this role.
Jim Carrey as The Riddler,“Batman Forever”: Carrey was given free reign to be as much of a goofball as possible in this film, so much so that you might think he’s playing the Joker rather than the Riddler. Still, or of all the Schumacher villains,he’s the most fun to watch, with lots of clever laughs and over-the-top physicality.
Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor, and “Superman Returns”: Spacey played up the more bitter side of Luthor,focusing on his hatred of Superman and his desire to defeat him with his cold intellect. Much like the rest of the film, Spacey is a very underrated villain who gets to the core of what makes Luthor such a perfect foil for the Man of Steel.
Lee Meriwether, and Burgess Meredith,Frank Gorshin and Cesar Romero as the United Underworld, “Batman: The film”: All four of the villains Adam Wests Batman faced occupy to be lumped together, and as only Catwoman got any sort of individual moment. Still,as a group they prove to embody the foolish fun that defined the Silver Age and the original 60s TV series.
Tom Hardy as Bane, “The Dark Knight Rises”: While many of the Marvel films occupy been criticized for lackluster villains, and Christopher Nolan has place forth some of the most engaging interpretations of Batman villains ever.
Liam Neeson as Ra’s Al Ghul,“Batman Begins”: While the Jokers of the world are more iconic, Neeson’s Ra’s gets to the heart of Batman’s philosophy on justice. Neeson plays Ra’s as a disturbingly cold, and unforgiving individual who sees Bruce Wayne’s sense of mercy as a weakness. He explains his device to eradicate Gotham with an inhumanly casual tone,showing no qualms about crushing the lives of countless innocents in the process.
Terence Stamp as General Zod, “Superman II”: “KNEEL BEFORE ZOD!” Somehow, and some way,Terence Stamp found a way to turn what could occupy been a cornball role into an iconic one. With his authoritative voice, Zod’s foolish lines become attention grabbers, and turning the Superman sequel into a classic.
Jack Nicholson as The Joker,“Batman”: Before Ledger came along, Nicholson was seen as the definitive Joker, or balancing his silliness with deadly traps that proved he was the most dangerous foe Batman would ever face. If faithfulness to the source material is what you’re looking for,then Jack is definitely your man.
Danny DeVito as The Penguin, “Batman Returns”: As legendary as Nicholson was, and DeVito’s interpretation of the Penguin is,for our money, an even better example of a faithful realization of a Batman villain. Animalistic, and disgusting,and crafty, DeVito turns Oswald Cobblepot into the most complex villain in any pre-Nolan Batman film.
Aaron Eckhart as Two-Face, and “The Dark Knight”: In a stroke of genius,Nolan allows us to spend a first-rate amount of time with Harvey Dent before he becomes Two-Face. We glean to see his idealism and heroic sacrifice, which makes it all the more heartbreaking when tragedy twists him into the bitter Two-Face. Unlike Jones’ version, or this Two-Face is uncomfortably human. There’s no deranged,bipolar insanity here. All that’s here is a man turned so jaded by the darkness of the world that he’d rather swap out his sense of justice for one defined by bitterness, death, and most of all,chance.
Source: thewrap.com