Most of the Gotham City villains that Batman faces are easily recognizable thanks to countless comic books, movies and television shows. However, a few of his rogues have had a bit of difficult standing out among their peers. This has definitely been the case for Wrath, a literal anti-Batman who's never really seemed to catch on.
Despite his thus far failed legacy, Wrath has a lot of thematic and narrative potential. That's especially the case in film, where he would be a perfect addition to the sequel to Matt Reeves' The Batman. Here's how The Caped Crusader's true mirror image could finally be made into a top-tier villain, even if it happens outside of the comics.
Who Is Wrath, the Anti-Batman?
Wrath first appeared in 1984's Batman Special #1 (by Mike W. Barr and Michael Golden), but he hasn't amounted to much since his debut. Wrath was an otherwise unnamed individual who was a mirror image of the life of Bruce Wayne. Growing up in poverty with two criminal parents, Wrath's life changed the day that they were killed by Jim Gordon, ironically on the same day the Waynes were killed. This traumatized the future Wrath into having an abject hatred of law enforcement, later engaging in a one-man crusade against authority. He did so in a costume heavily reminiscent of Batman's, with a stylized W replacing the bat ears.
Taking on the name Wrath, he later returned to Gotham City, where he became obsessed with combating the Caped Crusader. A new Wrath, Elliot Caldwell, was introduced post-Crisis. This version of the character was trained as a youth by the original villain as a sort of answer to Batman's Robin, eventually growing up to take his mentor's place. The New 52 rewrote the continuity further, with a revamped version of the Caldwell Wrath being the only incarnation in this revised timeline. Even this incarnation failed to catch on, but a composite version of the character could translate perfectly to the world that Matt Reeves created.
How Wrath Could Appear in a Sequel to The Batman
The concepts behind Wrath would actually fit in well with Matt Reeves' cinematic universe and his exploration of concepts such as class warfare and police corruption. The character could be introduced as being from the wrong side of Gotham's tracks who was doomed to a life on the streets when, years ago, a rookie Jim Gordon killed his parents.
Denied the sympathy of someone like Bruce Wayne and seeing his parents' killer hailed as a hero, Wrath would then turn against police as a whole. Seeing the effect of both the Batman and The Riddler, this individual (who could be called Elliot Caldwell for the sake of a name) would steal Wayne Enterprises technology to wage his own war on Gotham's police force. With many of the cops corrupt anyway, Wrath would be seen as doing the work that the Caped Crusader refuses to do, leading to him possibly even gaining followers in a way similar to The Riddler.
The main issue might be differentiating Wrath from The Riddler's motivations, but the best way to do this would be to have him be a much more physical opponent. Caldwell could harden his fighting skills in underground Gotham fighting rings, with his stolen and modified suit adding to his capabilities. Said suit could also be based off of the much cooler New 52 Wrath costume, which downplayed the obvious "W" aesthetic. In using what's already there and building upon it with the ingredients that have made The Batman successful, Reeves could definitely take this overlooked villain and unleash The Wrath of The Batman upon Gotham City.