So with my last blog post having covered what I’d like to see out of the Titans show in respects to the Titans themselves, I think now it’s time to consider what villains could work for the show, and which ones would be desirable:

The Villains:

Deathstroke

• What I’d like to see: The beautiful thing with Deathstroke is that every adaptation is an excuse to give him another badass redesign of his costume. The Titans show should be no exception. However, I think that for this show a costume that really pays homage to his classic look is desirable. As in, armored, but not bulky armor (reflecting the classic chainmail look), and with some orange to balance out the blue. The mask being retained is of course a must, but that’s easy to do. Deathstroke’s superhuman physicality being retained is probably necessary (he IS fighting a bunch of superhumans after all), and what definitely needs to be kept is his fighting ability and cunning, which can allow him to both outthink the Titans as well as outfight them, making him a truly daunting adversary, just like in the comics. Obviously, I do kind of want to see at least one instance of Deathstroke taking Nightwing to school, and the fact that Batman will be appearing in this show gives me the faintest of hopes that Deathstroke showing up could give us the first live action take on a Batman Vs. Deathstroke battle…ever.
• Why he’s a good choice: Deathstroke may have credibility as a Batman villain (and thanks to Arrow a Green Arrow villain), but he is generally considered the Teen Titan’s chief foe, and with good reason. The major Teen Titans story Judas Contract had him as the main villain, the third Ravager has been both an ally and an enemy to the Titans, and of course there’s Slade from the Teen Titans cartoon. So in all, Deathstroke is a perfectly logical choice, and especially since the presence of Nightwing and Batman in the show leaves open the possibility (however remote) of a live action Batman/Deathstroke or Batman and Nightwing Vs. Deathstroke fight. Who doesn’t want to see that? (Rhetorical question).
• What are the odds?: Unfortunately not good. Not only has he already shown up on Arrow, but Manu Bennet’s doing such a fine job with the character makes his a tough act to follow. To make Deathstroke work on Titans, they’d have to give him an entirely different backstory, and also probably have him start out as Deathstroke from the beginning to distance themselves from Slade’s “hero turned to the Dark Side” backstory in Arrow. But again, his being such a major foe in that show makes his inclusion in a completely unrelated live action DC show highly unlikely. Only his being the Titan’s arch-enemy ensures that he still has any kind of chance at all.

Trigon

• What I’d like to see: Basically go the route the cartoon did, namely by making him the “Bigger Bad”. The ultimate, satanic evil that is reserved for the tail end of the show or at least after the show’s established a solid foundation and following, say, by Season 3 (if the show lasts that long). So really a big thing with Trigon is saving him for just the right moment. And when he does show up, there can’t be any skimping with the special effects here. More than any other character, even the already-confirmed Raven and Starfire, with Trigon they need to either go big or go home. I think for inspiration, Moloch from Sleepy Hollow would be a good way of doing a live action Trigon (only bigger of course), and then cranking it up a notch or two.
• Why he’s a good choice: His status as the Bigger Bad and Ultimate Evil make him a good choice for a looming threat that’s present throughout the series and finally comes into play later on. And with Raven confirmed, featuring her archnemesis father is kind of a no-brainer. And of course, Trigon’s inclusion makes the inclusion of other villains like Brother Blood even more likely.
• What are the odds?: Good. While his powers and appearance could be a potential budgetary concern, I also feel like that’s the only thing keeping him back. He’s the arch-enemy to one of the confirmed cast members, he’s a major threat, and he’s one of the more well known Teen Titans villains. Really with all of that I think he’s liable to appear, if not right away. But again, that’s just as well.

HIVE

• What I’d like to see: Funny thing is, with this one I’m not sure what exactly I’d like to see. On the one hand, a team of supervillains to combat the heroic team has potential, and the HIVE could also serve as a good excuse for having the “Monster of the Week” formula that live action DC shows on CW have embraced every time. On the other hand, portraying them as a largely human terrorist organization in the vein of Hydra could also be possible, and the recurring menace of Hydra in the MCU means non-comic book audiences are already well-accustomed to megalomaniacal terrorist organizations with quirky names. Really, with HIVE there are many different ways it could go. They could even, conceivably, do a mix of the suggestions above.
• Why they’re a good choice: Again, all of the different ways you could do them right means they’re worth using just to see what way works best. Their being an organization also makes them a good choice for recurring villains that can stand to lose a few individual members and keep on pushing. They more then many other villains could really challenge the Titan’s team dynamics and make them work harder on them so as to be better suited to deal with what could easily come off as a dark reflection of themselves.
• What are the odds?: Good. Even granting that HIVE has been confirmed to exist in Arrow, I doubt that show has any strong hold on them, and especially since they’ve yet to feature strongly in any of that show’s stories. I think the Titans show can probably get away with including HIVE pretty easily.

Brother Blood

• What I’d like to see: Whereas Arrow’s Brother Blood was pretty much an “in-name-only” take on the character, Titan’s Brother Blood should probably try to be more in line with what he was in the comics. Okay, so the Skeletor-esque appearance will likely have to be altered, but crazy cults and satanic fanatics are nothing new to live action, and Brother Blood can be pretty easily converted into a more down-to-earth one to appease the large number of people that are in to that sort of thing. Where Raven would be used for the creepy stuff on the good guy side, Brother Blood would be used for when the show really wants to give the audience nightmares.
• Why he’s a good choice: Besides the above, Brother Blood has ties to both Raven and Trigon, and with the former confirmed and the latter’s presence as a Bigger Bad possible (and ideal), Brother Blood showing up as well is probably a good choice in the end. His Cult of Blood can also serve as another bad guy group for the Titan’s to face down in place of the HIVE, having a more supernatural/cult bent as opposed to HIVE’s terrorist and/or supervillain bent.
• What are the odds?: Decent. Again, Raven’s been confirmed, and Trigon doesn’t have the worst chance in the world of appearing also, so between the two of them I’d say Brother Blood’s got a good chance of his own. Yes, Arrow technically used him already, but again, it was an in-name-only interpretation. That shouldn’t prevent Titans from having their own, more faithful to the comics, version.

Ravager (Rose Wilson)

• What I’d like to see: The Isabel Rochev Ravager from Arrow sucked. End of story. This Ravager should for starters actually be Rose Wilson, and have a similar kind of character development to what she got in the comics: as in, start as a villain in her father’s image, and then become a hero and member of the team she starts out as an enemy to. Should Kid Flash be a member of the team, maintaining the romance between them would also be nice. And lastly, her having a costume just as cool as daddy’s and some good martial arts and sword fighting choreography are musts.
• Why she’s a good choice: Ravager can represent the “bad guy gone good” archetype, which is honestly something we haven’t seen all that much of in a live action superhero show, frankly almost never if memory is serving me right. This therefore could be a first, showing a supervillain who becomes a hero. And again, the presence of Kid Flash could also mean we get a B Couple to Nightwing and Starfire’s A Couple, so that’s also good. And who wouldn’t want to see a good Nightwing Vs. Ravager fight?
• What are the odds?: Hard to say. A lot of it depends on whether or not Deathstroke will appear. If he does, then I don’t see Ravager’s inclusion as being all that out of left field, especially since it would be a Ravager different from the one in Arrow. So ultimately, if Deathstroke shows, then Ravager likely will too. Otherwise, probably not as likely.

Blackfire

• What I’d like to see: From a special effects standpoint, Blackfire needs to be the Zod to Starfire’s Superman; as in having all of the same powers and capable of giving her sister a run for her money in a spectacular superhuman battle. Once again, budget cannot be skimped with this character. Giving Blackfire some alien minions (which she usually has in some form or another) would also probably be good, since it gives the Titans someone to fight other than standard Earth-bound foes. Whether Blackfire gets portrayed as an unsympathetic sociopath (like in the cartoons and pre-New 52 comics), or more sympathetic (like in the New 52) will depend, and there are benefits to both interpretations. A more tragic and sympathetic Blackfire may be better though just to have the tragedy (and drama) that comes from a conflict where two loving sisters turned on each-other. Basically, alien Cain and Abel.
• Why she’s a good choice: Starfire’s already been confirmed for the show as it turns out, and who better a foe for her to face than her own chief nemesis from the comics? And again, Blackfire often has minions to enforce her desires, and these alien foes can help be a nice change of pace from all the human foes if done right. I’d also probably make a case for her being one of the more well-known Titans villains and thus an even more logical choice.
• What are the odds?: Good. The only thing really holding her back is budgetary concerns, and that’s unlikely to stop her from being included when the CW Flash show has Zoom/Reverse Flash as well as Barry. I don’t see it as being that much of a stretch for them to be able to afford Blackfire if they can have Starfire. Honestly, I think this is one of the ones most likely to happen somewhere down the line, if not necessarily right away.

Doctor Light (Arthur Light)

• What I’d like to see: A balance between extremes actually. It’s very unlikely they’re going to want to depict a rapist/pedophile onscreen in a superhero show, but I also doubt they’ll want to have a joke supervillain either, so probably with Doctor Light they should try to be more in-between those extremes, making him competent and dangerous, and likely also somewhat intelligent and cunning, but not as twisted and perverted as he is in the comics. I’d probably also like to see them explain his photokinetic powers as being a result of some kind of solar suit (which would also justify the continued presence of a costume), and much like with Starfire, Blackfire, and Cyborg, good special effects with him are a must.
• Why he’s a good choice: He’s also one of the slightly more well known Teen Titans villains, and not just because of the infamy his being a rapist got him. Assuming they do go that route (unlikely) they’d have a legitimately disturbing and messed up supervillain in their ranks, but it would also probably alienate viewers. Conversely, portray him as competent and dangerous without going that far, and you could conceivably have a solid evil genius type supervillain in the rogue’s gallery, and let’s be honest here: what group of villains is complete without one?
• What are the odds?: Half and half. Again, neither of the most common depictions of Doctor Light would be likely to be something the show would want to do, but altering him for the purposes of the show would be possible, and it’s definitely not the first time live action has altered a comic book character to suit their purposes. So it’s entirely possible it may happen with Doctor Light.

Blockbuster

• What I’d like to see: Basically, Kingpin with a different name. No seriously. Blockbuster did already sort of have that role in the comics to begin with, and a big scary crime boss is fairly grounded and thus easy to do, so I don’t see why we should break tradition now. His having screwed with Nightwing in the comics in the past means that Blockbuster could be Nightwing’s own personal big bad, and represent a personal foe for him that as the series progresses he gets better and better at combating, alone and with his team. If the show is set in Bludhaven (or else features it as a location) we can have Nightwing fight to take the city back from Blockbuster, and (hopefully) get a brutal showdown between them that puts Daredevil’s fight with Kingpin in the Ben Affleck movie to shame.
• Why he’s a good choice: Nightwing has been confirmed in the show and it’s as much a coming-into-his-own story for him as it is anything else. So therefore having one of Nightwing’s chief enemies is a logical choice. Sure, it’s hard to imagine him being a threat to the whole Teen Titans, but having him as more of a personal villain that Nightwing feels the need to combat on his own could work. And again, his being a more down-to-earth villain makes using him pretty easy to pull off, and especially so if the show features Bludhaven to any degree. Really, I think he can work.
• What are the odds?: Decent. His being a major Nightwing villain makes him showing up in a show that will feature Richard Grayson heavily a solid possibility, but his being so unthreatening to a whole team of superheroes means he may get passed up in favor of more powerful (and more exciting) baddies.

Terra

• What I’d like to see: Basically, the tragic story of lies, manipulation, and betrayal that the cartoon actually adapted fairly well. Have Terra come in as the charming female hero who wins Beast Boy’s heart (assuming Garfield is in it of course), only to then cut it right open. Whether Terra “becomes the mask” and regrets her betrayal (like in the cartoon), or is just evil to the bitter end (like in the original story) depends, but I feel that the story can be effectively tragic no matter what. On the subject of powers, Terra’s abilities would definitely be cool to see in live action, and given that we’ve gotten a few earthquake movies already, I don't see her powers as being that hard to capture in live action.
• Why she’s a good choice: Again, the tragic aspect. A lot of that is lost if Beast Boy’s not present in the show granted, but I’d argue that even without him the story of betrayal can still be effectively done, and besides that she’s a more well-known Teen Titans character and thus more recognizable. Her appearance in the cartoon especially got her quite the following, and thus her showing up would probably get at least some people’s attention.
• What are the odds?: Depends. Beast Boy and/or Deathstroke’s inclusion makes an appearance by Terra very likely indeed. Conversely, if only one or neither of those characters show up, then the likelihood of Terra appearing (at least as a villain) will take a nose-dive. So basically, the likelihood of Terra showing up depends on whether or not Beast Boy and Deathstroke do.

Cheshire

• What I’d like to see: A lot of what’s been done with China White in Arrow could easily be done for Cheshire. Essentially, Cheshire needs to be the hot, smug, and utterly sadistic and nasty femme fatale. The one who can match Nightwing blow for blow and who has enough ruthlessness to go around. While the inclusion of Roy Harper is highly unlikely due to his role in Arrow, if he were to appear maintaining the “complicated” romance between the two would be a good choice, though whether it would ultimately be Roy’s being led along, or something to make Cheshire more sympathetic (like in Young Justice) is hard to say. Probably the latter would work better than the former, but at the same time, I kind of feel like Cheshire here should be more the monster she is in the comics. Either way, I feel like Kelly Hu, who voiced the character in Young Justice and also plays her expy China White in Arrow would do great portraying Cheshire in live action.
• Why she’s a good choice: It would be nice to have a villain that Nightwing can combat without it looking ridiculous (Nightwing Vs. Blackfire or Trigon’s not really a fair fight after all), and as Cheshire is one of the more well known Teen Titans villains, and also has a TV following due to her role in Young Justice, it makes her a logical choice.
• What are the odds?: Good. Again, Cheshire is a more well known Teen Titans villain, due in large part I suspect to her role in Young Justice. And honestly, Nightwing will probably need at least one or two villains that are on his level rather than above it, and Cheshire’s as good a choice for that as any. Plus, she’s a ninja assassin. Everyone loves those.

Tarantula and/or Hella

• What I’d like to see: Just as Blockbuster is kind of the Kingpin to Nightwing’s Daredevil, so too are Hella and Tarantula not dissimilar to the Punisher. And given that a killer vigilante with guns is pretty easy to swallow, I think they should probably just do with either or both of these characters what’s always been done with them in the comics and with killer vigilantes in general. Some good gunfights with either or both of them would be nice, but scuffles with Nightwing are also mandatory, showing that Tarantula and/or Hella are as good in a fist-fight as they are with their firearms. If Blockbuster is also present, then adapting the moment where Tarantula shoots him would also probably be a good move.
• Why they're a good choice: Given that there never has actually been a good live action take on the Punisher, and also that the “Superman Vs. The Elite” type debate is pretty much a standard part of the superhero genre at this point, it’s probably only right that either Hella or Tarantula be included to give Nightwing and the Titans that same moral dilemma. Especially since Nightwing, being Batman’s protégé, would almost certainly be standing as the representative of the opposite viewpoint. And as was the case with Blockbuster, Tarantula and Hella being Nightwing villains makes them good choices as well simply by virtue of the fact that Nightwing’s the main Titan of the show.
• What are the odds?: Decent. Granted, they’re both pretty minor as far as villains go, but so are Brutale, Clock King, and Cupid, and that didn’t stop Arrow from using them. Minor or not, Tarantula and Hella are still Nightwing villains, and thusly one or both of them appearing in a show that will feature Nightwing as one of the main heroes is possible.

Saiko

• What I’d like to see: Fox may try to sue, but those pseudo-Wolverine claws would make for some wonderful action scenes with him, and his having tussled with Nightwing in the latter’s New 52 book makes him an ideal choice for some awesome martial arts battles with the grown up Boy Wonder. While the inclusion of the Court of Owls is unlikely, I would still like to see Saiko’s past with Richard Grayson be maintained in some capacity so as to make their conflict more personal and hopefully, tragic. And I also definitely would want to see more of him just because he’s too cool to kill off so quickly. Finally, in the unlikely but possible event that Deathstroke is not included in the show, I wouldn’t mind seeing Saiko fill Slade’s shoes as the vengeful, badass street-level villain.
• Why he’s a good choice: Again, he’s a Nightwing villain, and one of the cooler ones at that. Really, that should be justification enough, but his tragic past and relationship with Nightwing could also be used to get some legitimate drama out of the proceedings and make him be a little bit more than just another face for Nightwing to punch.
• What are the odds?: Decent. Saiko is both a minor and fairly recent addition to DC, but so is Komodo, and Arrow used him. Much like with Tarantula, Hella, and Blockbuster, Saiko’s being a Nightwing villain is probably sufficient to give him some kind of chance at appearing, if not necessarily a great one.

Grid

• What I’d like to see: Probably something akin to both what was done with him when Geoff Johns introduced him and also what’s being done with Ultron in the upcoming Avengers movie. That is to say, the renegade AI with a bad case of Pinnochio Syndrome. All of the special effects used for Cyborg (if he were to show up) need to be retained with Grid, and likely also cranked up a notch. One thing they may need to change, cool as it is, would be Grid’s skull face, because a live action version of that would probably be prompting whoever owns Terminator these days to ask for a royalty. Other than that though, Grid’s visuals would definitely be a real treat to see, as would a fight between him and Cyborg.
• Why he’s a good choice: Should Cyborg appear, having a very personal nemesis for him would be good, and Grid stands as being the only really good choice. His envy of Cyborg’s humanity could make for a tragic villain, or alternatively they can go the route of pure evil machine. Either interpretation could work, and again, it gives Cyborg an arch-enemy, something that the character has always desperately needed.
• What are the odds?: This one depends entirely on whether or not Cyborg shows up. No Cyborg means no Grid, but the presence of Cyborg does not automatically guarantee Grid showing up. It does make it possible though, so in the end with this one it’s really hard to say.

And that's everything. Hope everyone enjoyed my thoughts here.