The DCEU is now all set to emerge as the biggest superhero franchise. There are many exciting projects in the pipeline that may revitalize its stance. Recently, new updates were given in a news report including Henry Cavill’s return as Superman. However, the best thing that is happening right now with the franchise is the development of its villains.
Dwayne Johnson-starrer anti-hero ‘Black Adam’ is all set to hit the screens on October 21, 2022. Another news that emerged from the report is that Matt Reeves is developing scripts to revive the villains in the DCEU for a standalone film. As we all know, a film is as good as its antagonist. The grey zone, if explored well with its antagonist, will give the film an extra boost for nearing perfection. Over the years, Warner Bros. and DC Comics have given some outstanding etchings of comic book villains on celluloid. Here is the list of the Top 10 DCEU villains.
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10) El Diablo – Suicide Squad
In comic books, there are three iterations of the antagonist El Diablo. However, in 2016, David Ayer introduced the 2008 iteration of the character chat on Santa’s in DCEU. Jay Hernandez portrayed the character of El Diablo which is a Spanish translation of “the devil”. The character has had the gift/curse of pyrokinesis. In the film, he kills his wife and children due to his inability to control his powers. Jay played the character with a pitch-perfect volume of darkness and self-awareness. The climax scene is where we see the potential of the antagonist when he protects Task Force X from Incubus and his sister, Enchantress. He turns himself into a skeleton of fire.
9) Ares – Wonder Woman
There was a distorted calmness before the storm when the character of Ares was steadily introduced in 2017’s ‘Wonder Woman’. In this superhero story of feminist ethos, David Thewlis played Sir Patrick Morgan aka Ares. The God of war was the son of Zeus who hated the humanity that his father created on an island, Amazons. The film did not give the origin story of the antagonist, but his hatred for humanity grew over time. Finally, when he came to earth, he continued the efforts to wipe out humanity with the help of Doctor Poison and German General Erich Ludendorff during World War I.
8) Doctor Poison – Wonder Woman
The character gets shadowed due to the male presence, but Elena Anaya sketched Dr. Poison aka Isabel Maru. The vulnerability, threat, and intelligence are very well encapsulated in this menace of a character. She works for Ares and General during World War I to create a mustard gas with the base of hydrogen instead of sulphur, but the Allied forces steal her formula. She successfully creates a gas mask and energizer to provide the General superhuman powers.
7) Doctor Sivana – Shazam!
Shazam! brought humor to the DCEU, which did not sit well with some of the fans, but the antagonist compensated for the flaw. Thaddeus Sivana or Doctor Sivana was the sorcerer in the film played by Mark Strong. Mark had all the doings of a villainous presence on the screen. He already portrayed a villain in Ryan Reynolds-starrer ‘Green Lantern’. Sivana was rejected to be in the Wizard’s staff, so he goes out to free the Seven Deadly Sins from the Eye of Sin. There is again a grey area that explores the twisted obsession to win after a failure.
6) Black Mask – Birds Of Prey
Black Mask, also known as Roman Sionis played by the ever-brilliant Ewan McGregor, is one of the hurdles for Batman in Gotham City. He gets ousted from the family business which leads him into sinister work. He is on a quest to acquire the Bertinelli family’s diamond. During his quest, he meets Harley Quinn, Dinah Lance, and Cassandra Cain, who kills the psychopath, sadistic, and power-hungry rival of the caped crusader.
5) Bane – The Dark Knight Rises
One of the toughest rivals of Gotham’s Dark Knight, Tom Hardy brings that physicality and fatality to the character of Bane. The physical strength that Bane derives is from the vial of energizer that Dr. Poison creates to make the general more powerful with superhuman abilities. The more one inhales, the more power one derives. Bane again comes from a prison life deprived of piety. He succeeds in breaking the back of Bruce Wayne with his knee, proving to be a dangerous adversary of the Gotham resident.
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4) Lex Luthor – Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn Of Justice
Jesse Eisenberg played the famous arch-enemy of the Kryptonian in ‘Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn Of Justice’. He is the megalomaniacal billionaire, who wants to kill Superman in any which way possible. He even pits Batman against him, but his intentions do not come to fruition. The genius ability of Lex to sketch the destruction of Superman with intellect is one of the interesting antagonist arcs.
3) Amanda Waller
It was unfathomable and great at the same time to see the actor of Viola Davis’ stature play a DCEU villain. Amanda Waller is smart, human, and the most loved villain in the DCEU. Amanda is the director of A.R.G.U.S who recruits metahumans to stop the evils of Enchantress and later destroys any information on Project Starfish. The betrayal in the process to destroy the Jotunheim base leads her to infiltrate Project Butterfly.
2) General Zod – Man Of Steel
One of the earliest DCEU villains, General Zod played by Michael Shannon in Man Of Steel is a complex character. The arrogant, deadly, and yet vulnerable, Zod had it all in him to destroy the earth making an interesting foe to the DCEU Kryptonian superhero.
1) Joker – The Dark Knight
The artistic frames and the complexity that Christopher Nolan brought to the clown prince are magical. In this prequel to Batman Begins, Nolan puts the Cape Crusader and the villain, Joker in a yin-and-yan situation. The grey zones of the vigilante played by the ever-fatal Heath Ledger are where there is a confluence of the individuality of the superhero and the social consciousness of the antagonist. In this gripping tale from Gotham, the two collide. One for his justice and one for his responsibility.
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