The Batman has fueled the market for key Caped Crusader issues. At first glance, Detective Comics #259 may be easy to ignore, but this issue and others could get a bump.

I’ve had Batman on the brain for the past couple of months. Of course, I’m not alone. Batman movie rumors have dominated the comic newsfeed lately, with multiple casting announcements for the upcoming reboot. With that in mind, here are five debuts from his rogue’s gallery of villains that you’ll want to take a closer look at. That's because The Batman is rumored to be based on Long Halloween, which opens the door to a wide possibility of adversaries.

DETECTIVE COMICS #259 

This is an absolute shot in the dark, but I can picture Calendar Man being worked into The Batman. If you’ll recall, Calendar Man had a Hannibal Lecter-esque role in Jeph Loeb’s Long Halloween. In that masterpiece, Calendar Man was pulled away from his campy Silver Age origins and turned into an interesting character. Kevin Smith has stated that Reeves’ new film will be based in part on Long Halloween, which makes me believe Calendar Man will make an appearance.

 

 

 

 

BATMAN #181

With Poison Ivy getting more attention in the comics and her fan base growing, it's no wonder this issue remains a hot comic. The other thing to keep in mind is that she was a featured villain in Long Halloween. It appears as though director Matt Reeves is leaning towards a more grounded story for his Batman interpretation, but it doesn't mean that Ivy won't make at least a cameo appearance.

 

 

 

 

BATMAN #121

A Silver Age villain, Victor Fries was originally known as Mister Zero in his comic premiere. Thanks to his television incarnations, his origin and name have changed over the years. He became known as Mister Freeze after the Adam West Batman series rechristened him. Decades later, Batman: The Animated Series gave him an upgraded origin, including a new name, Victor Fries. I can’t see him fitting in with Reeves’ film, but he will continue to turn up on big and small screens, and that will keep his first appearance selling.

 

 

 

DETECTIVE COMICS #230

Another prominent character in Long Halloween was the Mad Hatter. Inspired by the Alice in Wonderland character of the same name, Mad Hatter is a genius who uses his technology to mind control his victims. Again, I can't picture the comic version coming to life on movie screens, but he's a character who has never been used on the silver screen. Considering Batman's long movie history, it wouldn't surprise me to see more of these quirky, lesser-known faces appear in live-action. He made his first appearance at the tail end of the Golden Age in Detective Comics #230, so this is hardly a sleeper pick.

 

 

 

BATMAN #417

But speaking of sleeper picks, Batman #417 fits the bill. Another long shot (but not completely out of the realm of possibility) is KGBeast. A product of the Cold War era of comics, he is a Russian assassin whose hand-to-hand combat skills rival those of Batman. While I don’t necessarily see him appearing in The Batman, it stands to reason that he could be included in a sequel if Reeves wants to feature new villains that mainstream audiences haven’t seen before.

 

 

 

 

 

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