10 Comic Book Characters You Probably Never Knew Were In DC Movies

Comic book movies, particularly those adapting the more major characters, have their work cut out for them condensing the superhero’s manifold adventures in the comics into just one film. Even if it spawns a franchise, there is no way all the villains, allies and assorted side characters connected with the hero can be brought to the big screen. As such, filmmakers often fill their superhero movies with nods to the source material, and in particular often slip in characters who are important in the comics into small roles. Perhaps the first example of this was the cameo of appearance of General Zod in 1978’s Superman, setting the character up for a larger role in Superman II. This, however, is but the tip of the iceberg. Recently we brought you "10 Comic Book Characters You Never Knew Had Appeared in Marvel Movies," and given the positive response we've had to that article, we decided that now it's time we had a look at those you might have missed in DC Comics films. As always, if you’ve noticed any we didn’t, let us know down in the comments section! 10) Bizarro Bizarro is one of the most famous Superman villains and has been appropriated in some form by the big screen twice before – in the evil Supes arc of Superman III and in Superman IV: The Quest For Peace’s Nuclear Man. However, a deleted scene from the latter movie would have seen Bizarro’s most faithful adaptation yet. In case you don’t know or have wiped it from your mind, Superman IV sees Lex Luthor create an evil nuclear-powered clone of Superman from a strand of his hair (just go with it). A scene cut from the film shows that his first attempt at playing Frankenstein wasn’t so successful, and he initially created a lumbering monster (played by Clive Mantle) whose look and personality were based on that of Bizarro from the comics. Technically, this bizarre easter egg didn’t actually appear in the movie, but it almost did - so we're counting it. 9) James Gordon Jr. (And Barbara Gordon) In The Dark Knight, Two-Face kidnaps Gordon’s family, including his young son and daughter. Anyone with a sound knowledge of Batman lore probably guessed that Jim having a daughter was a nod to Barbara Gordon, who is usually older and becomes Batgirl in most versions. However, Jim’s son is also a bigger character in the comics – but not in the way you might expect. Despite being related to two of Gotham’s greatest heroes, James Gordon Jr. is a psychopathic serial killer. Unlike his father and sister, he believes that Gotham is beyond saving and that their compassion for the city is a weakness. He has even joined the Suicide Squad on occasion. After being terrorized by a man with half his face burnt off in The Dark Knight, you can imagine that the movie version of the character grew up to be pretty messed up as well. 8) Jax-Ur In Man of Steel, one of General Zod’s lackeys (played by Mackenzie Gray) removes the Growth Codex – basically the key to creating Kryptonian genes - from Superman’s DNA, when the hero has been taken to their ship. Unless you are a real Superfan, the guy’s name, Jax-Ur, might not mean anything to you. However, if you do know your Superman lore, you might be aware that Jax-Ur is actually a long-running foe of Kal-El’s in the comics, dating right back to the early sixties. In his original incarnation, he's an evil Kryptonian scientist who destroyed one of the planet’s moons, killing hundreds. He was also besotted with Lara, Superman’s mother. Before he was revealed as a villain, the pair were actually engaged to be married. We think you made the right choice with Russell Crowe there, Lara. 7) Roland Daggett A minor antagonist in The Dark Knight Rises is crooked businessman John Daggett, who helps Bane get to Gotham City in exchange for taking over Wayne Enterprises when Bruce Wayne is destroyed. Of course, he learns the hard way not to trust a massive hulking psychopath and ends up murdered. Fans of Batman: The Animated Series might find Daggett’s name familiar, as he was a recurring foe on that show who was actually responsible for creating Clayface and nearly killing Catwoman. TDKR’s version is practically the same character, except for the switch in first name. Fun fact: Daggett himself is a reference to another Batman villain. BTAS was originally going to feature Christopher Walken’s Max Shreck from Batman Returns, however they later changed their minds and created Daggett in his place. 6) Star Sapphire Green Lantern Hal Jordan might have had his big-screen career halted after the failure of 2011’s Green Lantern, but his love interest, Carol Ferris, has actually appeared in two more films since. Well, sort of. In Man of Steel, a female US Air Force officer is present when her boss meets with Superman after Zod’s defeat. She also appears in a small role in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. Actress Christina Wren is credited in both films as Carrie Farris. Like Roland Daggett, she has had her name changed slightly, but the character is clearly intended to be Green Lantern’s girlfriend. Although, she does seem to take a shine to Supes, so we’re not sure what Hal would have to say about that. For those who don't know, Ferris becomes the supervillain Star Sapphire in the comics, so perhaps they are setting up the character for a proper appearance in 2020’s Green Lantern Corps? 5) KGBeast In Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, Lex Luthor’s main henchman is a Russian mercenary whose general role is to repeatedly threaten Lois Lane and kidnap Martha Kent. When Bruce Wayne is investigating his identity, he finds out his name his Anatoli Knyazev. This is the real name of C-grade Batman villain KGBeast. The film character (as played by Callan Mulvey) is pretty different from his comics counterpart, however. While the movie’s version likes to dress up as janitors to surprise his kidnap victims, KGBeast wears a red and blue outfit and, oh yeah, has a gun for an arm. Again, the character might be being set up for a proper KGBeast appearance later down the line, but the chances are that his inclusion here was simply a nod for the fans in a film that was packed full of them. 4) Victor Zsasz Given his knack for toning down the more ridiculous elements of Batman characters, serial killer Victor Zsasz is a perfect fit for Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. A psychopath who carves a tally mark into his skin for every kill he makes, he’s not the usual gimmicky Gotham criminal. It is not surprising, then, that the character made a cameo appearance in Batman Begins. In the movie, he is one of Falcone’s thugs who Dr. Crane gets out of a jail sentence by claiming he is insane. Unusually, the implication is that this version is actually of a perfectly sound mind. He is later one of those to escape from Arkham Asylum during the film’s finale. If you missed the name, the giveaway that this is Zsasz are the tally marks that can be seen on his neck during one particular scene. 3) Deadshot Zsasz isn’t the only Batman supervillain hidden in the Dark Knight films, however. In The Dark Knight Rises, Bane’s right-hand man is hinted to be a Nolanized version of none other than Deadshot. Though he is named Barsad (a character from Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, which inspired the movie), he's shown to be an expert sniper when he takes out numerous police officers in the sewers. Deadshot is, of course, known for his pinpoint accuracy, hence the name. Also, the character wears a red neckerchief during the film’s climax, mirroring the colour most associated with the character. Though he doesn’t share the name or the costume of the traditional Deadshot, many fans have taken Barsad (played by Josh Stewart) to be him. For those who don’t, the character will make his unequivocal big-screen debut in Suicide Squad, as played by Will Smith. 2) Jimmy Olsen Superman’s pal, Jimmy Olsen, was never going to be a natural fit for the moody, glum DC Extended Universe, and director Zack Snyder decided to make this abundantly clear in Batman V Superman by introducing a version of the character – only to kill him off moments later. At the start of the movie, Lois Lane visits an African warlord, with a photographer in tow. However, he is quickly found out to be a CIA agent and is subsequently shot. As fans suspected from his profession, Snyder has since confirmed that this is his take on Olsen. A deleted scene would have rammed the point home further, as the photographer would have said something along the lines of ‘Hi, I’m Jimmy Olsen!’ before being shot down. Apparently, the extended cut of BvS will reinsert this scene, for all you Olsen-haters out there. 1) Thomas And Martha Wayne Surely the best instance of comic book characters being hidden in a DC movie is this example from Watchmen. Fans of the revisionist superhero movie might be shocked to know that it features none other than Batman’s parents. However, in Watchmen’s world, things went a little differently for the Waynes. During the amazing opening sequence, which details an alternative 20th century protected by superheroes, one part shows Nite Owl saving a rich couple from an armed criminal. It can be seen that they have just come out of Gotham Opera House which was showing something called “Fledermaus.” Can anyone guess what this means in German? In case that wasn't enough of a hint, there are also several posters of what in the real world is the cover to Batman #1, but in Watchmen’s world is presumably a poster for a movie. As the film proves, the Watchmen might not have been the most successful superheroes but hey, at least they saved the Waynes. Even Batman couldn’t do that (sorry, Bruce).