Well, SPILL intern Jared posted a blog offering some ideas for translating Batman villains realistically into film, should Christopher Nolan make another Batman sequel (remember guys, he hasn't said for sure that he's even doing another one). It was a pretty cool list, I just thought it could use a few more entries. So here is my continuation of Jared's Bat-villian list:

Talia al Ghul

What to keep:
She's the daughter of Ra's al Ghul, but she's in love with Batman. She's caught between two loves, and that makes her compelling. What girl hasn't had to deal with feuds between their father and boyfriend? Everybody assumes that Catwoman will be Batman's love interest in the next movie. But we've seen Catwoman before. Let's give Talia a turn in the spotlight.

What to lose:
Same thing Ra's did. The Lazarus Pit's, the immortality, and the Middle Eastern ethnicity. We don't really need to go into her background either; Knowing that she's Al Ghul's daughter will be plenty.

Nolan-ified:
In the image of Nolan's Al Ghul, she should be European, the new leader of the League of Shadows, and a skilled martial artist. She arrives in Gotham, possibly posing as a European noble or businesswoman. Batman killed her father (or refused so save him, same difference), and she's come to avenge him. As a member of the League that trained the Dark Knight, she will already be aware of Batman's identity, and inserts herself into Bruce Wayne's social circle, in order to study her enemy.

But as she gets to know Bruce, she begins to see some of her father in him. Ra's did, after all, teach Bruce just about everything he knows, some part of him surely rubbed off. Before she knows it, she's fallen in love with Bruce, and is caught between her duty to avenge her father, and true love.

Talia gives challenges Batman on many levels, as something of a combination of Catwoman and Ra's al Ghul. She shares Batman's passion for justice, and offers him love, a chance for happiness. But like her father before her, she's willing to harm innocent people to achieve her goals, and as altruistic as they may be, that's a compromise Batman's not willing to make. She also awakens skeletons in Batman's closet. Now that he knows Ra's al Ghul had family, it may lead him to question his decision to let Ra's die.

Professor Hugo Strange

What to keep:
Many of you may not know this, but Hugo Strange is a very old Bat-villian. He was there before the Joker. As a genius psychiatrist who's mad himself, this guy is obsessed with the psychology of Batman (kinda like those guys on the History Channel), and attacks him on a purely mental level.

What to lose:
Not really any fat to trim here. Strange has been known to use a few far-fetched machines in some interpretations, such as a mind reader, and psycho-drugs, that's not really a part of the character and is easily ignored.

Nolan-ified:
Hugo Strange is a highly underrated member of Batman's rogues gallery. Not even the Joker gets under Batman's skin like this guy. Even more than the Riddler, Strange confronts Batman on the psychological plane, using his own insecurities against him. In the comics, his figured out Batman's secret identity on his own, but chose not to disclose it, instead jealously keeping it as his Ace-in-the-Hole.

With Batman on the run from authorities and wanted for murders he didn't commit, the police step up their efforts by hiring Professor Hugo Strange, the new head of Arkham Asylum, as a psychiatric consultant, tasking him with mentally evaluating the caped crusader to aide in the capture on him. Strange becomes fascinated with his target to the point of obsession. He successfully deduces Batman's true identity, but keeps this information to himself, deciding to take down the Dark Knight himself.

Growing increasingly insane, Hugo Strange taunts and torments his adversary, slowly unraveling Batman's psyche with the ultimate goal of driving the dark knight as insane as the enemies he fights. In a way, Hugo Strange is the most dangerous of Batman's foes. Strange knows him better than the dark knight knows himself, and attacks him as his weakest point: his scarred psyche.

The Mad Hatter

What to keep:
The Mad Hatter is really a kid at heart. Albeit a twisted, psychotic kid, but a kid. He's that creepy little man down the street with some disturbingly childlike mannerisms and habits. They may never explicitly say it in the comics, but everyone knows it...he's a pedophile.

What to lose:
His gimmicky penchant for hats worked well in Adam West's Batman. And his mind control technology always gave him something extra in the comics and animated series. But for movies like Nolan's they've both got to go.

Nolan-ified:
Taking away Mad Hatter's mind control doesn't leave much to work with. To make sure he's not too similer to the Joker, he must to be taken to an even more disturbing level, bringing out the sicko we always new was there. The Mad Hatter's target victims have been children. But with the unrealistic parts stripped away that forces up to focus of the most creepy part of his character.

To his neighbors, little old Jervis Tetch is just an eccentric old man with a pentchant for Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. But in reality he's a demented psycho eager to lure unsupsecting children to his house for a "tea party". He may be no match for Batman physically, but the kind tof things he does are enough to make anyone shiver. The Mad Hatter represents the worst society has to offer every bit as much as the Joker. He's a sick perversion of childhood memories, and a severe temptation for Batman to break the no-killing rule.

Deadshot

What to keep:
Deadshot is a gun-savy assassin who prides himself in never missing. But more than that, he's a tortured individual, a man without a mission or purpose. He doesn't care about his own life, a takes on progressively harder and harder assignments, hoping to finally die.

What to lose:
The costume. It's cool, but bright colors don't make sense on an assassin.

Nolan-ified:
Deadshot doesn't need to be a major character. He doesn't even need a note of explanation. He's just the guy he can kill Batman (or at least has a chance), and will for the right price. He just strolls into town like Clint Eastwood's Man with No Name, sees an opprtunity, and auctions himself off to the highest bidder.

In a way Deadshot is the antithesis of Batman. While he can match the dark knight when it comes to his skill, they share nothing is the way of morales. Namely, Deadshot has none. He follows no code of conduct, and works toward no greater goal. He kills not for any real purpose, to him it's just business. And he regularly crosses lines Batman won't. Not only will his kill without a second thought, Deadshot thrives almost exclusively on guns, the only weapon Batman won't touch.

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So there's my contribution to Jared's well-written list. Hope he's not mad that I took this liberty. Tell me if you guys like it. Let me know what you think. Hey, and while you at it, why don't you ask Jared to put a link to this on the original blog?