The big Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice news item of the day may be the first official photo of Henry Cavill in Supes’ red cape and blue spandex, but late last night an intriguing rumor dropped that shouldn’t be ignored. According to Latino Review, Lex Luthor won’t be the only one causing trouble for the titular duo. In fact, he will be joined by four other DC villains.
The report names Victor Zsazs, Amanda Waller, Morgan Edge and David Cain as the four additional villains, and also says that rumors surrounding appearances from iconic villains like Metallo and The Joker are completely unfounded, so don’t expect to see the man with a Kryptonite heart or the Clown Prince of Crime onscreen anytime soon.
As always, take this news with a large pinch of salt until it’s officially confirmed. Latino Review is usually a pretty reliable source, but nothing is official until it’s made official.
Until then, though, let’s explore these villains a bit closer, shall we?
First comes Victor Zsasz, who’s actually one of Batman’s earliest villains. Zsasz is a ruthless serial killer who uses nothing but a knife and carves tally marks into his body for each person he kills. He’s been seen on film before as well, as he had a small role in Batman Begins and was played by Tim Booth.
Amanda Waller is a staple in DC comics, and has been seen three times before by three different actresses: Pam Grier in Smallville, Angela Bassett in Green Lantern and Cynthia Addai-Robinson in Arrow. She doesn’t have any powers, but is still regarded as a strong adversary (and sometimes ally) in the DC universe. She’s often portrayed as a federal agent and has led such teams and organizations as Checkmate, the Suicide Squad, and A.R.G.U.S. According to Latino Review, she’ll be “a very stern and focused senator with an intimidating presence. She doesn’t trust Superman. At all. Sees him as a threat and comes up with a counter measure I won’t spoil.”
Waller is the perfect character to introduce if you want to make a shared cinematic universe. She could easily show up in several films and have her hand in several different plots against our heroes. She’s even been known to team up with Lex Luthor, so I definitely hope this happens. Some speculated that Holly Hunter (who was revealed to be playing a US Senator) would be playing Waller, but I doubt Zack Snyder would stray too far from her iconic look and race. We’ll see though.