Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, and appearing for the first time in DC Comics’ Detective Comics #27 in 1939, Batman has had a long and ever-expanding list of supporting cast members. And every couple of years, when DC announces another Batman film reboot, the Dark Knight gets a new list of allies and enemies, most of whom are usually drawn from the comics. So isn’t it surprising that it almost always comes down to the same handful of characters?
Most fans and Bat-historians agree that the 1966 Batman: The Movie, starring Adam West, was the first proper Batman film. Even though Lewis Wilson technically donned the pointy-eared cape for the first time in 1943’s Batman theatrical serial, the accepted history of Batman movies starts in 1966 and covers over a dozen individual films. Not all of them were officially Batman films, but they all did feature the character in some way. And yet, across all those movies, we only ever see the same few names over and over again.
Sure, not every character in the Caped Crusader’s colorful comics history has what it takes to make it to the big screen. Some are too ridiculous (cough, Condiment King, cough), some are just not that important, but some of these characters make so much sense for the movies that it’s a shame they haven’t had a film adaptation yet. To be clear, many of these characters have made their way to television, mostly through the Fox series Gotham and DC Universe's animated Harley Quinn series (now on HBO Max). But they haven’t made it to the movies — not yet, anyway.
Now to get on with it, here are 11 Batman characters who need to get a film adaptation:
Kite-Man
Charlie “Chuck” Brown is a joke. He’s always been a joke and his kite-themed villainy has never amounted to much in a world of Banes and Jokers. He’s made a few appearances in animation, most recently in the Harley Quinn animated series, but that’s about as far as he’s gotten in terms of adaptations. Kite-Man almost made it onto James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad but he was dropped because Gunn felt the character had been used as a punchline far too many times. That’s a very good argument but what a lot of people don’t know is that Kite-Man has one of the most tragic origin stories of any Batman villain.
As a part of DC's Rebirth relaunch, Batman Vol. 3 #27 by Tom King and Clay Mann revealed that Chuck Brown used to be a regular down-on-his-luck henchman. Caught up in the middle of a war between the Joker and the Riddler, Chuck’s life and sanity were destroyed by the latter for nothing more than a sick joke. It’s a heartbreaking story that could become one of the best Batman movies ever. If someone actually got around to making it, that is.
Psycho-Pirate
Arguably one of Batman’s most powerful enemies, Psycho-Pirate’s only appearance in live-action was as little more than an easter egg in the Arrowverse crossover episode "Elseworlds". There have been two versions of the character in the comics: The first, Charles Halstead, had no superpowers. But the second, Roger Hayden is a different matter. As Psycho-Pirate, Hayden uses a mask that allows him to manipulate people’s emotions, a great weapon for a supervillain. But despite his powers (or maybe because of them), he has never been included in a Batman film to date. That said, it’s really just a matter of time before someone finds a way to bring this crazy character to the big screen.
Lady Shiva
One of the deadliest fighters in DC Comics, Lady Shiva / Sandra Wu-san was first introduced in Dennis O'Neil and Ric Estrada’s Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter #5. She has been a recurring enemy and occasional ally of Batman for years. Besides training Batman and at least one Robin, Lady Shiva is also the mother of Cassandra Cain; an important Bat-Family member who has taken the mantles of Batgirl and Orphan.
Lady Shiva has had multiple appearances in animation and she was featured in the terribly short-lived Birds of Prey TV series, played by Sung-Hi Lee. While the League of Shadows has always been the go-to martial arts villains for Batman films, Lady Shiva is a formidable and complicated character who deserves her time on the silver screen.
Leslie Thompkins
Besides Alfred Pennyworth, Leslie Thompkins is the closest thing to a parent that Bruce Wayne has ever known. And you thought this would just be a list of villains, didn’t you? Leslie runs a free clinic and is one of the few people in Gotham who knows who Batman really is. She was there to comfort Bruce when his parents died and she’s tried time and again to dissuade him from his life of vigilantism.
Morena Baccarin played a version of the character on Gotham. However, even though every Batman movie shows Bruce’s surrogate father Alfred, not one has featured Leslie, the only mother-figure that Bruce had growing up.
Azrael
Depending on who’s writing the story, Jean-Paul Valley aka Azrael is either a madman or an anti-hero. Created by Dennis O'Neil, Joe Quesada, and Peter Milligan, the character briefly became Batman when Bane broke Bruce’s back.
Eventually, he was removed from the post after he started putting a little too much “Crusader” into the Caped Crusader. Brainwashed into being an assassin by religious zealots called the Order of Saint Dumas, Azrael has wavered between insanity and righteousness more than a few times.
Gotham featured a version of the character played by James Frain, but a movie could really help flesh out this occasional hero. Azrael would make a great villain or reluctant ally for a movie Batman and Jean-Paul’s favorite weapon, a flaming sword, is just made for the big screen.
Punchline
A more recent addition to the Batman mythos, Punchline was created by James Tynion IV and Jorge Jiménez. As the Joker’s latest partner in crime, Punchline has become very popular with fans since her introduction in 2020.
Obsessed with the Clown Prince of Crime, the college student who would become Punchline was trained in the creation of specialized poisons by the Joker himself. But that doesn’t mean she can’t get up close and personal too, using a set of knives to slice and dice her opponents.
Punchline has been described as the anti-Harley Quinn, and while everyone loves Margot Robbie’s Harley, it would be amazing to see what the movies do with this breakout character. Let's hope it doesn't take as long for Punchline to turn up in a movie as it did for Harley.
One of the Robins Who Isn’t Dick Grayson
The problem with constant rebooting is that most of the Batmen haven’t even had one Robin, let alone the five canonical ones. And whenever someone does bring a Robin into the mix, as Joel Schumacher did with his Batman films, it’s always, always, always Dick Grayson. While Dick is the most iconic Robin, his successors aren’t exactly forgettable. The Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown, and Damian Wayne versions of the character are all fan-favorites in their own way (as is Carrie Kelly in Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, even though her place in the official DC canon has been disputed), and it would be nice just once to see one of them get a shot at the movies. Our best bet of seeing most of these characters is a Batman movie where Bruce is either old or dead and Dick himself has become Batman. Whether that actually happens or not, we’ll just have to wait and see.
Clayface
In a way, it’s a good thing that Clayface / Basil Karlo hasn’t made it into films in the past. This is because the shape-shifting supervillain (and occasional hero) requires some advanced animation to bring to life. While that level of technology wasn’t available in the early years of Batman films, it does exist now and that means it’s high time someone gave Clayface a cinematic makeover.
Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, Clayface is one of the oldest Batman villains. In most of the many origin stories given to the character, Basil Karlo was an actor who experimented with a dangerous chemical that turned him into the muddy monster he is today. Considering his origins as a movie star, it’s ironic that Basil never got to be in a film, though versions of the character have appeared in Birds of Prey, Gotham, and most recently, as a hilarious scene-stealer voiced by Alan Tudyk in Harley Quinn.
Duke Thomas
Another new entry into the legion of Batman’s allies, Duke Thomas / Signal is a metahuman vigilante training under the Dark Knight. Unlike Bruce’s previous partners, Duke insists on not being another Robin and creates his own identity, serving as a polar opposite to Batman in many ways.
Created by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, Duke lost his parents in a Joker attack and led a youth vigilante movement called “We Are Robin.” After becoming Batman’s partner, Duke has become Gotham’s daytime protector. His powers allow him to see beyond what normal human eyes can manage and it’s been hinted that he may be immortal. He’s a truly unique member of the Bat-Family and it’s really just a matter of time before he gets a film adaptation, with or without Batman.
The Phantasm
First appearing in the cult classic 1993 DC animated film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, Andrea Beaumont aka the Phantasm is a supervillain and anti-hero. Created by Alan Burnett and Paul Dini, and designed by Bruce Timm, the character was voiced in the animated movie by Dana Delany and Stacy Keach.
A former fiancée of Bruce Wayne’s, Andrea is the daughter of businessman Carl Beaumont and his late wife, Victoria. She became the Phantasm to get revenge on the man who killed her father. That man just so happens to be the Joker. Interestingly enough, the character has only recently been adapted into mainstream DC Comics. And while that’s pretty lovely in itself, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is widely considered to be among the best animated superhero films of all time and it’s long overdue for a live-action adaptation.
Ace the Bat-Hound
Once upon a time, every superhero had to have an animal sidekick. Superman had Krypto, Wonder Woman had a large flying kangaroo called Jumpa, and Batman had Ace the Bat-Hound. This loyal canine accompanied Bruce on many a mission, though he was eventually removed from the comics altogether for a while after editors decided to make Batman more serious. Since then, it seems every director who’s ever made a Batman movie has also decided that giving Bruce a dog is too silly. And so, despite his immense popularity and a number of appearances in animation, Ace has never made it into a film with his beloved master.
Yes, a crime-fighting dog is a bit of a stretch for the grim realism of the modern-day Batman. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for Ace in the movies at all. If nothing else, a dog would definitely have helped Bruce through the loss of his parents and he could really use another living being to connect to besides his butler. And when it comes down to it, it’s not like having Ace in the story would be as disastrous as a bat-suit with nipples. Just give Batman a dog, already!