Phins4life 271 Posted August 22, 2012 (edited) So...topic for discussion...top 5 comic book villains in film? Perhaps Heath Ledger's Joker is a lock for the #1 spot but I'm curious to see what other names people can come up with. Probably worthy of its own thread in all truth. From the movies I have seen, let's see... 1. Heath Ledger's Joker - Captured my attention on many levels and never let it go. It had about the same shock value as seeing Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs for the first time, which enhanced my appreciation for the new take on a classic villain. 2. Jack Nicholson's Joker - The original iconic portrayal of the villain. It's kind of hard to sit the two versions side by side, because they were intentionally created with different themes in mind, and they each performed to the best of their abilities within those themes. 3. Ian McKellen's Magneto - He created a deep, charismatic character, and his chemistry with Stewart was fantastic, in my opinion. As a side note, I think Fassbender was an outstanding choice as a younger version. Seeing Magneto's transformation from good to evil was one of my favorite parts of First Class. 4. Tom Hiddleston's Loki - It isn't power that makes this a good villain role. Loki wants power and respect, things earned by his brother that he himself may never have. He's a character with ambitions that many of us have, but he acts on them the wrong way. Hiddleston captured his jealousy and frustration with Thor's greater success effectively, in my opinion, helping me to empathize with him in some ways, while still despising him enough as the villain. 5. Kevin Spacey's Lex Luthor - I hated the movie, but the one shining point in it was Spacey's performance. He did what he could with what they wanted from him without compromising the quality of his acting abilities. HM(in no particular order): Stryker from X2, Veidt from The Watchmen, Doc Oc from Spider Man 2, Ra's al Ghul from Batman Begins Note: If we're including feature length animation, Mark Hammill's Joker is in my top 5 as well. Maybe I'm just biased toward that character...idk. Edited August 22, 2012 by Phins4life 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GA_Eagle 595 Posted August 22, 2012 (edited) Agreed... Mark Hammil's Joker is awesome, as well. Edited August 22, 2012 by GA_Eagle Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Milla4Prez63 678 Posted August 23, 2012 Hamill does the best Joker without question, IMO. Yes, he blows Heath Ledger out of the water as great as he was. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteVo+ 3,702 Posted August 23, 2012 No way to compare Hamill and Ledger/Nicholson, IMO. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
seanbrock 1,684 Posted August 23, 2012 I might get flamed for this but Mark Hammil is the best Joker ever. Better than Ledger. imo anyway. I may also get flamed for this but but I would give an honorable mention to Kevin Bacon's role as Sebastian Shaw. I thought he nailed that role Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Milla4Prez63 678 Posted August 23, 2012 Obviously, you can't compare Hamill to Ledger but I do think Hamill will always be the ultimate Joker. Everytime I read the Joker in a book or comic, I just imagine him talking with Hamill's voice. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Favre4Ever+ 4,476 Posted August 23, 2012 So much of the Joker is conveyed through facial gestures, little physical ticks, body movement, etc that I think I have to go with Stevo and say it is very hard to compare the two side by side. Mark has nailed the little discrepancies in Jokers voice, and by all means mastered the voice work. Every time I think of the Joker, it's Marks voice... However, I am not sure that Mark could deliver a chilling performance on the silver screen as Ledger did. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Milla4Prez63 678 Posted August 23, 2012 So much of the Joker is conveyed through facial gestures, little physical ticks, body movement, etc that I think I have to go with Stevo and say it is very hard to compare the two side by side. Mark has nailed the little discrepancies in Jokers voice, and by all means mastered the voice work. Every time I think of the Joker, it's Marks voice... However, I am not sure that Mark could deliver a chilling performance on the silver screen as Ledger did. I don't think anyone thinks he could do it on the big screen, lol. Just that his voice is so perfect and iconic for the character. Same with Kevin Conroy, I almost hate any animated piece/video game based on Batman without those two involved. They pretty much help make the Arkham series the masterpiece it is. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Favre4Ever+ 4,476 Posted August 23, 2012 I don't think anyone thinks he could do it on the big screen, lol. Just that his voice is so perfect and iconic for the character. Same with Kevin Conroy, I almost hate any animated piece/video game based on Batman without those two involved. They pretty much help make the Arkham series the masterpiece it is. If he couldn't act like the Joker, then you kind of killed your argument. While the voice is iconic and will be remembered for a long, long time... Being one dimensional doesn't vault someone into the "best ever" category. I'd rather keep them separate, as I said before... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Milla4Prez63 678 Posted August 23, 2012 If he couldn't act like the Joker, then you kind of killed your argument. While the voice is iconic and will be remembered for a long, long time... Being one dimensional doesn't vault someone into the "best ever" category. I'd rather keep them separate, as I said before... Just because he can't act the role out in front of a camera, doesn't automatically make Heath better. Mark Hamill IS the Joker as far as I'm concerned and while Heath Ledger's performance was amazing and in my case, life changing, he is 2nd to the animated Hamill Jokers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Favre4Ever+ 4,476 Posted August 23, 2012 Just because he can't act the role out in front of a camera, doesn't automatically make Heath better. Mark Hamill IS the Joker as far as I'm concerned and while Heath Ledger's performance was amazing and in my case, life changing, he is 2nd to the animated Hamill Jokers. Who said Heath was better? I said judge them separately. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Milla4Prez63 678 Posted August 23, 2012 Who said Heath was better? I said judge them separately. I agree, I just think his voice is just iconic for the Joker and there is no better version. In film or TV. Anyways, this is (kinda) funny, Batman Roast. lol Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteVo+ 3,702 Posted August 23, 2012 I agree, I just think his voice is just iconic for the Joker and there is no better version. In film or TV. So you're saying they should be judged separately, yet there is no better version than Hamill's. Seems like a contradiction. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Milla4Prez63 678 Posted August 23, 2012 So you're saying they should be judged separately, yet there is no better version than Hamill's. Seems like a contradiction. Just because two things are different and can't really be judged in the same way, doesn't mean you can't like one better than the other. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteVo+ 3,702 Posted August 23, 2012 Just because two things are different and can't really be judged in the same way, doesn't mean you can't like one better than the other. As long as we're talking subjectively, not objectively. I still can't say whether I like Hamill more or less than Nicholson/Ledger, but to each his own interpretation, I suppose. Changing the subject slightly, I'm curious as to who will play Batman whenever they decide to do the reboot. And furthermore, what villains will they pick? I'm guessing they'll stay away from The Joker, but they could do Harvey Dent/Two-Face, and they will most certainly do The Riddler. Any casting speculation? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Milla4Prez63 678 Posted August 23, 2012 There has been speculation about Arnie Hammer playing Batman for a while. He was reportedly cast into the role for the last trashed Justice League project from a few years ago. As for villain, one lesser known guy I'd love to see done in a movie is Hush. It is personal for Bruce and a very dark/disturbing story, he would've fit in the Nolanverse perfectly. But I think the reboot needs a more SciFi feel to it. It needs to be if it will exsist in the same universe as Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, etc. I still want to see Mr. Freeze done right, and he'd fit into that. I'd love to see Killer Croc like he is in the Arkham games, but a lot of people would confuse him with Lizard from the new Spidey movie. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Milla4Prez63 678 Posted August 24, 2012 lol I'm pretty pissed off, I was doing my top 10 villains list and the page randomly exited out to nothing for no reason. I was halfway done and put some good work into it lol. So I'll just put out the list and add explanations later because I'm too mad to go re-do my work lol. I've been wanting to do this for a while too after my top 10 heroes list. I think my lesson is to write these long things out in Microsoft Word or something first lol. 10.Mandarin 9.Green Goblin 8.Mr Freeze 7.Penguin 6.Venom 5.Doctor Doom 4.Scarecrow 3.Loki 2.Two-Face 1.Joker Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteVo+ 3,702 Posted August 24, 2012 Venom is such an awesome villain...I kinda hope the Spidey reboot gives that one another go. Speaking of, any idea who the villain will be in the second movie? I heard there was a post-credits scene in TASM but it was ambiguous. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Favre4Ever+ 4,476 Posted August 24, 2012 Norman Osborn (aka Green Goblin) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Milla4Prez63 678 Posted August 24, 2012 Norman squeeked in because of his recent post-Goblin stuff, I went into detail about it before I lost all my work lol. For shits and giggles, the just missed the cut list (no specific order): -Darkseid -Magneto -Bane -Carnage -Ultron -Red Skull -Ozymandias -Thanos -Killer Croc -Baron Zemo -Poison Ivy -Abomination -Sabretooth Just a few of characters I thought of, I'm probably forgetting some too lol. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GA_Eagle 595 Posted August 24, 2012 Killer Croc is an ok villain but not a favorite of mine. He and Solomon Grundy pose a physical challenge for Batman because of how strong they are but lack dearly in mental capacity, which is the what makes Batman really awesome. Bane is the best of both worlds and it makes him a cool villain. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Milla4Prez63 678 Posted August 24, 2012 The more I think about it, the more I want to swap Mandarin with Magneto. Also, I wasn't a big Killer Croc fan until the Arkham Asylum version. Just disturbing and chilling. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteVo+ 3,702 Posted August 24, 2012 For those of you Batman comic-book fans, what's the 411 on Dr. Hugo Strange? From my limited understanding he seems like a cool villain, and apparently he was one of the first villains to discover that Batman's identity was Bruce Wayne. Possible villain for the reboot? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Milla4Prez63 678 Posted August 24, 2012 For those of you Batman comic-book fans, what's the 411 on Dr. Hugo Strange? From my limited understanding he seems like a cool villain, and apparently he was one of the first villains to discover that Batman's identity was Bruce Wayne. Possible villain for the reboot? If you play Arkham City, you can see a little more on Strange. But he is really just obsessed with Batman and wanting to BE Batman. He indeed discovers his secret identity and wishes to kill Bruce so he can be Batman himself, in a way. There is a couple different versions of the character, I remember the animated show version was auctioning off the secret identity of Batman to the highest paying villain. But none of them ended up belieiving Strange lol. I think he could work in film, but he'd need someone else because I'm not sure he can hold an entire movie on his own as the villain. I still think Hush would work well in a movie, I even wrote my own little-BS Batman movie script where Hush was unveiled as the villain in the end lol. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vin+ 3,121 Posted August 26, 2012 http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/08/26/wachowskis-rumored-as-justice-league-director-contenders Warner Bros. is actively looking for a director to finally bring their live-action Justice League of America movie to life. Ben Affleck recently shot down reports that he might do the film, and now there's a rumor that the studio is looking at not one but two filmmakers to direct JLA: Lana Wachowski and Andy Wachowski. According to Moviehole, the sibling directors behind the Matrix trilogy, Speed Racer and the upcoming sci-fi epic Cloud Atlas are on the studio's list of possible contenders to helm JLA, which was scripted by Gangster Squad's Will Beall. The site claims the studio is "apparently jazzed with Cloud Atlas, and love that it’s as much a spectacle as it is a showcase for the immense ensemble involved, so it makes sense the W’s are under consideration. Justice League needs to be as big on character, as it does bells & whistles, and the Wachowski’s could probably offer that." Moviehole cautions, however, that the Wachowskis "definitely like to work at their own speed, and definitely like to do their ‘own’ thing as opposed to being merely one ‘cog’ in a venture, so I can’t see them jumping through hoops to pull the strings on a ‘we want it done now’ large corporate statement like this. Still, exciting possibility nonetheless." The Wachowskis are no strangers to adapting DC Comics for the big screen. They produced the feature film version of V for Vendetta and once tried to turn Plastic Man into a movie, but to no avail. Mad Max's George Miller came closest to making JLA a few years ago, casting Armie Hammer as Batman, Common as Green Lantern, and Adam Brody as Flash. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites