It seems that 2016 is the year of the anti-hero. We started our year with Deadpool. Later this week we'll see Task Force X, better known as the Suicide Squad, take to the big screen. In between, we even got reintroduced to The Punisher on Netflix's Daredevil series. Clearly people love the anti-hero.
If Suicide Squad is a hit, and it's expected to be one financially (although the critical response has been less than stellar), then you can expect that Hollywood will continue to not only mine comic books for additional material but more specifically, comic book anti-heroes. Here are a few suggestions for some who could use their own movie.
Lobo
A movie based on Lobo is probably still more likely that not at this point. A couple years back there way a Lobo film project in development that would have starred Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in the title role. While that idea fell apart, it hasn't stopped others from expressing interest in the part. Danny Trejo has more recently hinted that he'd take the job if it were open. As an interstellar biker who works as a mercenary and bounty hunter, there's surely a screenwriter someplace who could have fun writing this script.
Deathstroke
Deathstroke is quite often part of the aforementioned Suicide Squad. As such, there were numerous rumors that he might have a secret role in the film. Since that doesn't appear to be the case, we can only assume it's because he's being saved for something greater. If Warner Bros. is looking for a DC villain who could carry his own film, they've got a great option in the mercenary and assassin, Deathstroke a.k.a. Slade Wilson. He's got an iconic look and his skill set is perfect for pretty much any action sequence you can think of. Get an A-list actor to take the job and the fact that the character may not be a household name among non-comic fans won't be an issue.
Namor
Namor is one of the oldest comic book heroes in Marvel's history, and if Aquaman can get his own movie, then so can Namor the Sub-Mariner. The characters are not dissimilar, except for the fact that while Aquaman is a fairly traditional hero, Namor is pretty much an asshole. He tends to hate humanity. Still, a story where Namor ends up on the same side as the human race, regardless of how much he might not like it, could make for a strong counterpoint to DC's hero from beneath the oceans. Exactly where the rights to the character are has been a debated topic, which may be the biggest hurdle this film would have to get over.
Batwoman
Batman has once again taken his place at the top of the DC cinematic food chain. While none of the usual sidekicks have shown up this early, that doesn't mean it couldn't happen. We like Batwoman because she's not simply Batman in a new skin. While Robin and Batgirl are essentially younger, and female, versions of the original Batman, Batwoman is very different. She has no direct tie to the Bat, beyond being inspired by him, so she doesn't necessarily follow his lead as closely. With this extra violent Batman, a Batwoman movie would have to go to extremes to set itself apart. We're okay with that.
Black Cat
DC will have a hard time if they ever try to make another Catwoman movie. The last one did not go well. However, that opens the door for Marvel to make their cat burglar anti-hero movie without much difficulty. With a new Spider-Man about to debut, we could very easily see ourselves introduced to a new Felicia Hardy, a.k.a Black Cat. While Ant-Man already gave us a Marvel heist movie, an eventual Black Cat movie could give us a cat burglar who actually enjoys and is super successful at stealing things and not getting caught. It could be a great deal of fun.
Mosaic
We may be cheating a bit here. Mosaic isn't quite a comic book character yet, as his announced new book hasn't even started its run yet. However, everything we know about the new character of Mosaic we like. Morris Sackett is an African-American former pro-basketball player who gains the ability to take over other people's bodies via the Inhumans' Terragen Mist. He's spoiled by old lifestyle, and completely full of himself in that "pro sports ego" sort of way. This gives us a man with amazing superpowers who would rather just be a rich sports star. He doesn't really want his powers. It's an interesting angle that the current crop of movies haven't really dealt with.
Lady Shiva
What we can we say: we like assassins for hire. Lady Shiva is another one, but as a lady, she brings something new to the table. She's a woman and she's a martial arts expert, which means that as opposed to shooting people like Deadshot, or running them through with a sword like Deathstroke might, Lady Shiva will murder you with her bare hands. She's worked with the League of Assassins before in the DC Universe, and as such she could pop up in a Batman story before possibly getting her own solo adventure. As a hired assassin she doesn't care who her target is, it can be a villain as easily as it can be a hero.
