Mention a brooding superhero figure on Doctor Who, and everyone gets interesting ideas as to what may come. But who is this mysterious figure whom we are about to meet this Christmas?
The idea of a traditional superhero character on Doctor Who is certainly entertaining to consider. In that respect, Captain Jack Harkness is something of a resident superhero of the Whoniverse, but that does not rule out someone else dropping in. There are various sorts of superheroes. Amongst these archetypes is the relatable figure of someone who thinks that they are, or desperately wants to be, a superhero, but does not quite make the mark. Jackson Lake from the 2008 Christmas special ‘The Next Doctor‘ comes to mind. Of course, there is always the possibility that another actual superhero could appear. Enter Justin Chatwin, who is to play a superhero character in the upcoming Christmas special.
This would seem to potentially be a comedic gold mine. The sarcastic and cutting Twelfth Doctor, having already teamed up with Nardole, could find himself faced with an individual with a challenging personality, making for quite the interesting dynamic.
Well… about that personality. Reportedly, Chatwin’s character will be “a brash figure with an American accent.” Add in the speculation that there will be a few dark secrets, and it sounds an awful lot like Batman, as Jill Pantozzi of HitFix pointed out. It is highly unlikely, however, that the character will actually be Batman.
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Ok, maybe there are a couple of loose ties between Batman and Doctor Who. After all, Sean Pertwee, the son of Third Doctor Jon Pertwee, portrays Alfred in Gotham. And the Doctor and the Riddler could bond over question mark attire. But that really isn’t enough to bring the Dark Knight into the Whoniverse. Besides, Batman is far from the only superhero known to fit that vague description. The character in the special is probably an entirely new one.
Yes, the idea of Batman, or Bruce Wayne, and the Doctor matching wits is entertaining to dream of. But, do we really need Batman in everything? Doctor Who is doing quite well on its own, and bringing in an established superhero along those lines would just be nothing more than a desperate money grab. The BBC cannot be in such dire straits financially where they need to do that just yet, right?
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