Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Batman.
The success of Matt Reeves’ The Batman and the confirmation of a sequel has fans beyond excited. Many fans have taken to the internet to ponder which member of Batman’s rogues’ gallery Robert Pattinson will face next. One fan in particular has posted a fascinating theory that has generated a lot of viral interest.
Raymond Ebanks posted an article on their blog called “The Ending of Matt Reeves’ ‘The Batman’ Could Be A Hint To The Sequel’s Next Villain.” In the article, Ebanks points to the end of The Batman, where the Gotham City seawall is destroyed, causing the city to flood.
In the eyes of Ebanks, a wet and watery Gotham is the perfect environment for another classic Batman foe ⏤ Mr. Freeze ⏤ noting that “turning Gotham into a glacier” would be “made easier due to the fact that it’s practically now below sea-level.”
Ebanks explains that the modern characterization of Mr. Freeze, which sees him as an antihero who is desperate to save his wife Nora would fit perfectly with the “gritty, neo-noir tone and aesthetic that has already been set up in The Batman.” While also pointing out that after Reeves’ success with the serial-killer inspired Riddler, “Reeves’ can turn it up just a notch with a slightly more fantastical villain.”
This theory was posted on Reddit’s DC Cinematic subreddit and it quickly racked up 780 upvotes. Users dove into the comments to discuss the idea. Many praised the idea, with user arnabroy006 saying:
Some users backed this up by posting a Collider article that features Reeves talking about Mr. Freeze during The Batman’s promotional tour. In the article, Reeves says:
“In my view, I just feel drawn to finding the grounded version of everything. So to me it would be a challenge in an interesting way to try and figure out how that could happen, even the idea of something like Mr. Freeze, that such a great story, right? I think there’s actually a grounded version of that story, which could be really powerful and could be really great.”
Other posters wondered if Mr. Freeze could work in such a grounded universe.
However, other users note that the idea of a flooded Gotham would be the perfect setup for a supervillain gang war in the vein of the famous and beloved Batman: Arkham City video game, where part of Gotham is sectioned off and criminals are allowed to riot.
Of course, Reddit being Reddit, the memes started to flow with one of the most upvoted comments taking Ebanks’ idea and twisting it to fit another beloved Batman villain: Condiment King.