9 Marvel And DC Supervillains And Anti-Heroes Who Deserve Their Own Movies

Now that arguably most of the major heroes from both the Marvel and DC universes have been brought to the big screen, movie studios are starting to turn to those less squeaky-clean comic book characters when looking for properties to build a film around. DC has already given us Suicide Squad, and is planning to follow it up with Gotham City Sirens and a Deadshot spinoff, too. Likewise, Dwayne Johnson is eschewing the Shazam movie for his own solo vehicle as Black Adam. Sony's Spider-Man universe, meanwhile, is being exclusively built around villains and anti-heroes. Venom, Silver Sable and Black Cat are definitely getting starring roles, with rumours stating that the likes of Kraven and Mysterio could be next for the solo treatment, too. Finally, Fox have just announced a Fantastic Four spinoff featuring Doctor Doom in the driver's seat. And we haven't even touched on those that have been touted for a while now and seem to be stuck in development hell, like Fox's Gambit, DC's Lobo and Icon's Nemesis. With the anti-superhero genre just kicking off then, it seems like a good time to suggest some other comic book villains and anti-heroes who would kill it in their own solo movie. Some of these characters have already been seen on the big screen before, but they all deserve their own standalone outing as well. 9) Magneto Calling for the X-Men universe's resident anti-villain to get his own movie is not a novel idea. Originally, Fox were planning on an X-Men Origins: Magneto to follow on from Wolverine's own effort, but this was later folded into X-Men: First Class. Now that the studio are gifting another classic Marvel villain a solo film in Doctor Doom, though, it's a great time to dust off this idea and give it a go for real. Obviously, we don't want an origin story, as by now everyone and their dog knows that Erik Lensherr first discovered his magnetic powers during his tragic experiences as a Jewish child during WWII. Instead, we want something in the Logan mold. A stripped-back, R-rated, moody drama about Michael Fassbender's master of magnetism going at it alone. It should be a story that really gets to the heart of the character: he doesn't do evil things for the sake of it, he just cares so much about what happens to his people. Think back to that heartbreaking scene in X-Men: Apocalypse where Erik loses his wife and daughter. Now imagine how awesome a whole movie with that level of grit and emotion would be. 8) Thunderbolts So far, Marvel is about the only comic book film franchise which isn't interested in the supervillain movie game at the moment. The perfect project to change all that, though, would be the Thunderbolts. Unlike DC's Suicide Squad, the Thunderbolts are a team of supervillains who wish to atone for past sins by fighting evil instead of causing it. They're headed by a character fans have been waiting to see in the MCU for a while, as well - Red Hulk AKA General Ross (played by William Hurt in The Incredible Hulk and Captain America: Civil War). Out of the movie's characters, we can imagine Winter Soldier, Scarlet Witch and maybe even Vulture as being good candidates to join the team's roster, too. Thankfully, the idea of a Thunderbolts movie isn't that far-fetched, either. Guardians of the Galaxy's James Gunn has previously revealed that he discussed bringing the team to the big screen with Marvel president Kevin Feige. Let's hope he's still interested once he's done with GotG Vol. 3. 7) Secret Six Speaking of supervillain teams we want to see on the big screen, DC's Secret Six would make for an awesome movie. Sure, Warner Bros. have already given us another anti-hero team with the initials 'SS' in Suicide Squad, but don't let that put you off. Created by Gail Simone, the Secret Six were a team of supervillains assembled by the mysterious Mockingbird to undertake missions of dubious morals that usually involve a big body count. Suicide Squaddies Deadshot and Harley Quinn have served on the team in the past, but other major members would be new to the DCEU - e.g. Bane, King Shark, Mad Hatter, Black Alice and others. Simone's DC work has already been adapted for Wonder Woman and her Marvel writing will likely inspire Captain Marvel as well. We wouldn't be surprised if more of her back catalogue - with the Secret Six being at the top of the pile - was mined for the movies, too. 6) Nighthawk Never heard of Nighthawk? A few years ago the relative obscurity of the character would have prevented him from getting a movie, but nowadays, Marvel have got to a point where they can take comic book properties as C-list as the Guardians of the Galaxy and make them a hit. A perfect next contender for the Cinderella treatment then is Kyle Richmond's anti-hero alter ego. Initially a supervillain, Nighthawk attempts to change his spots and go straight. More so than most, though, he has a tough time of it. For a period, Kyle was paralyzed but, thanks to his alchemical powers, gained the ability to walk at night. This is probably the angle Marvel could take in a movie about the character, seeing as we need more disabled heroes around. Another story arc also saw him gain the intriguing power of seeing visions of criminal acts before they occur - which could be really interesting to see explored on screen. Nighthawk is tied in with the Squadron Supreme team in the comics as well, so his movie could easily set up a flick for this multiversal bunch of heroes. If for some reason the film division don't want him though, then at least give him to Netflix. 5) Red Hood As every DC fan knows, the iconic comic book moment that is the murder of Jason Todd, the second Robin, at the hands of the Joker has been established as having already happened within the DC Extended Universe (see: Batman V Superman and Suicide Squad). You would think, then, that the follow-up to that story - Todd's return as Red Hood - would be a priority for Warner Bros. However, from what we know about their upcoming slate and the contents of The Batman, Red Hood won't be showing up any time soon. It's about time that was fixed, though. Seeing as Batman's other sidekicks, Batgirl and Nightwing, are getting their own solo flicks, it only makes sense to give Red Hood his own one, too. We imagine that it could be the ultra-violent, R-rated movie that DC have shown an interest in making. Whereas the rest of the Bat-family have some restraint, Todd's mature alter ego is known for his use of lethal forces and guns. It could also save Jared Leto's Joker, as we would get to see just how evil and dangerous he really is. Also, if DC are after another team-up movie, a Red Hood film could tick that box off as well. 4) Silver Surfer After three failed attempts to make a good Fantastic Four movie, Fox are definitely on the right track with Doctor Doom by giving us a spinoff from Marvel's First Family rather than another reboot. Following on from that, another tie-in movie they could do is a solo adventure for Silver Surfer. Back in the day, there was one in the works to follow 2007's Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, but the mixed response to that movie put the dampers on the idea. Apart from being a ridiculously cool-looking hero, Norrin Radd is such a rich character. The Surfer was once the herald of Galactus, choosing planets for the World Eater to munch on - wiping out whole civilizations in the process. Eventually, SS turned against his master and became a hero, protecting the universe instead of serving it up. With a brilliant anti-hero and a story that encompasses the whole universe, Fox could have a very special film on their hands if they let the character surf his way onto the big screen again. Besides, fans really need to see a proper version of Galactus to get the sight of that awful cloud imposter from Rise out of our minds. Not to mention that Stan Lee is on board with the idea, too. 3) Deathstroke When it was announced last year that Joe Manganiello's Deathstroke would be the central villain in Ben Affleck's The Batman, fans were overjoyed that the ass-kicking assassin would finally be getting his due on the big screen. Unfortunately, the movie has been entirely overhauled since then, leaving Deathstroke's role in doubt. If Slade Wilson does end up on the chopping block for The Batman, let's hope DC decide to give him his own film instead. Deathstroke is layered enough for the movie to work with him being portrayed as a straight villain. He's not a traditional supervillain out for world domination, but could be portrayed as a tragic victim. Once a gifted soldier in the US Army, Slade Wilson was injected with a super-soldier serum which gave him incredible strength but also snapped his sanity. Alternatively, a Deathstroke movie could take him down the reluctant hero route. Traditionally, depicting Wilson as fighting on the side of the angels would have been out of the question, but a recent comic book arc saw Deathstroke denounce evil and turn to good, so anything's possible. 2) Taskmaster One of the most formidable villains in the Marvel universe, Taskmaster has the incredibly nifty ability to perfectly replicate the fighting style of anyone he sees. He would obviously make a fantastic foe for an Avengers movie, then, but he might actually be strong enough to helm his own vehicle as well. There are numerous aspects of the character that a movie could explore. Firstly, Taskmaster is a mercenary for hire - most notably, he's employed by criminal geniuses to train up their henchmen so they can spar with superheroes. That's immediately a fantastic set-up for a character, and it only gets better when you remember that, in the comics, Taskmaster was recently revealed to be a sleeper agent who's just forgotten that he isn't really a villain. If you're thinking this sounds more like a Deadpool-type Fox movie idea instead of an MCU film, you would be spot on. Though we don't know for sure, Taskmaster's rights likely came bundled with the X-Men universe due to the character's connection with Deadpool on the page. That actually suits him well as Fox could deliver a more mature, edgier movie better than Marvel could. 1) Namor Marvel fans have been questioning for years now why Namor the Sub-Mariner has never popped his head above the water for an appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The reason is likely to do with rights issues, but it could also be because the studio don't know how to make such a douchey character likable. We say that they shouldn't worry about that though and just cast the King of Atlantis (no, not Aquaman) in his own anti-superhero movie. The interesting thing about Namor is that he continually flip-flops between being an ally to Earth's Mightiest Heroes and their enemy. The merman's general dislike of land-dwellers always makes him a difficult partner even when he's fighting the good fight, but mostly he doesn't care what happens to the rest of the world as long as the sea and its inhabitants are all right. And he has good reason to act this way - he hates humanity because Atlantis was destroyed due to nuclear testing. As perhaps Marvel's oldest character - he hails from the company's original incarnation as Timely Comics and debuted in 1939 (that's two years before Captain America) - Namor really deserves to join the pantheon of Marvel movie heroes.