Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is now less than a year away and it’s safe to say that excitement is building rapidly. The two titular heroes will be joined on screen by a number of well-known supporting characters from the pages of DC’s comic books, including Wonder Woman, Cyborg, Aquaman, Lois Lane, Perry White, Alfred Pennyworth and Lex Luthor.

As things stand, Luthor is the only confirmed villain in the movie (of course, the two titular heroes will face off against each other as well), but rumours persist that Luthor won’t be the only nefarious presence.

With that in mind, it’s fun to speculate which other villains might appear in the movie – whether it be in a prominent or bit-part role – and that’s what this article is going to discuss.

Brainiac

Brainiac is a villain to both Superman and the entire Justice League in the comic books. Although there have been a number of variations of the character, he’s generally depicted as a green alien android with diodes on his head that form his symbol, who shrunk and stole the Kryptonian capital city of Kandor. He’s every bit as powerful as Superman and would be, therefore, a major threat in the movies.

First appearing on panel in 1958, there’s every chance he could appear in the DC Cinematic Universe – not least because he was hinted at in 2013’s Man of Steel.

His symbol was seen on the Black Zero – the ship used by General Zod and his allies in the movie – which could suggest he was making his presence felt back then. Don’t be surprised, therefore, if he does so again in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – after all, he has explicitly partnered with Lex Luthor on a number of occasions in the comic books.

Maxwell Lord

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is the most successful movie franchise ever and its most popular character is Tony Stark. Given that DC are clearly following their rivals’ model when it comes to their expanded cinematic universe, they should do with Lex Luthor what Marvel Studios have done with Stark – give him a number of business rivals.

In the MCU, it’s been the likes of Justin Hammer with Hammer Industries and Aldrich Killian with A.I.M., while Darren Cross‘ arrival with Cross Technological Enterprises is imminent and Norman Osborn’s Oscorp will surely follow soon.

With that in mind, Chimtech businessman Maxwell Lord could rival Luthor – after all, they are fierce business rivals in the comic books and Luthor even acquired Chimtech to add to LexCorp.

Lord’s arrival could set him up to be a Wonder Woman villain in future movies and, as a powerful telepathic metahuman, he’d be an interesting addition to the DC Cinematic Universe to boot.

Doomsday

You might think that it would be best to save Doomsday for a “Death of Superman” movie in the not-too-distant future but, that’s the thing with Doomsday, when he’s been defeated once it doesn’t mean he’s gone for good.

In fact, if Doomsday was to appear in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – only to be defeated by the likes of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman – his comic book powers suggest he would evolve and return later with immunity to the methods used to defeat him in the first instance.

Doomsday first appeared on panel in 1992 and he has proven to be a thorn in Superman and his allies’ side ever since. A Kryptonian monster, he possesses immense super-strength and durability, as well as a number of sharp, bony protrusions that can be used as weapons.

There are rumours that Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor will use the corpses of General Zod and his allies from Man of Steel to create the monster, so don’t rule out an appearance from him in BvS.

Darkseid

The villain that pretty much everyone wants to see in the DC Cinematic Universe is undoubtedly Darkseid – and it would be really cool to see him make his presence felt in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

The Lord of Apokolips would be worthy of being the franchise’s big-bad – just like Thanos in the MCU (the Mad Titan was actually based partly on Darkseid) – and a similar appearance to the one Thanos made in the mid-credits scene of 2012’s Avengers movie would be all it took to send fans wild.

Knowing he was coming would undoubtedly keep fans interested in the franchise and seeing him in one of the upcoming Justice League movies would be a real treat.

Darkseid – who first appeared on panel in 1970 – possesses a vast number of powers, including super-strength and durability, telekinesis, telepathy, teleportation and the powerful Omega Beams. He would be a credible threat to every single hero in DC’s upcoming movies.

The Joker

The Joker – who first appeared on panel way back in 1940 – is the undisputed most popular villain in comic books and although he’s already been depicted on screen a number of times – and even though we already know Jared Leto will play him in Suicide Squad – it would be awesome to get a first real glimpse of this new version at some point in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

The early signs are good – Leto’s Joker looks decent and fresh and, if the internet is to be believed, he sounds pretty creepy too – but getting to see him in all his glory prior to Suicide Squad (perhaps even with the rest of the team) would really whet fans’ appetites.

Fans are waiting in the wings to compare the new version of the character to the late Heath Ledger’s brilliant interpretation from 2008’s The Dark Knight. Even merely seeing him in a post-credits scene would be great and would set the scene for Suicide Squad perfectly.

What do you think? Do you like the idea of seeing any of these villains show up in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice? Which other villains would you like to see? Have your say below.