Iconic DCU Villain Just Unleashed Their Ultimate Form

Published Aug 27, 2026, 4:30 PM EDT Nicolas Ayala is a Senior Writer for the Comics team at ScreenRant, with over five years of experience writing about Superhero media, action movies, and TV shows. Five years after his live-action movie debut, a DC villain returns with a power upgrade that makes him a living nightmare not even the Dark Knight himself could engage with in hand-to-hand combat. When it comes to sheer muscle mass and superhuman strength, the Venom-fueled Bane leads the pack in Gotham City. He's closely rivaled by Killer Croc and his massive reptilian anatomy, and by Clayface, whose shapeshifting body can swell and morph his limbs into blunt weapons. Regarding supernatural power, Solomon Grundy is an undead powerhouse capable of trading blows with heavy-hitters like Superman, though he occasionally wanders into Gotham City to torment Batman. The DC Extended Universe and the soft-rebooted DC Universe have placed the spotlight on comic book villains beyond the typical roster of the Joker and Lex Luthor. David Ayer's Suicide Squad and its soft-reboot sequel James Gunn's The Suicide Squad were the first hubs for deeper cuts, including the cocky Boomerang Man, the ultra-powerful Enchantress, the tragic Polka-Dot Man, the detachable-limbed T.D.K., and the bizarre Weasel. Peacemaker seasons 1 and 2 then continued the trend with the debut of niche antagonists like the martial arts gimmick Judo Master and the hateful tech-user White Dragon. DC Comics' Next Level era brings back one breakout character from James Gunn's The Suicide Squad and merges him with a villain who desperately needs a live-action adaptation. DC Introduces A Terrifying King Shark And Man-Bat Fusion Next Level: One Shot; Written By Gerry Duggan; Art By Fernando Blanco & Jordie Bellaire Steve Agee and Sylvester Stallone's DCEU King Shark has yet to return in the DCU. However, a terrifying clone of Nanaue, fused through genetic engineering with the Batman foe Man-Bat, currently terrorizes Gotham. In Next Level: One Shot, the Suicide Squad staple anti-hero Deadshot runs into the King Shark / Man-Bat fusion while hunting down Cadmus' clones. Even without counting the bat wings, this creature is even scarier than the original Nanaue due to his larger head and larger jaws. If it weren't for his imperfect nature, the King Shark / Man-Bat monster could become a recurring member of Batman's rogues' gallery. And yet, despite the creature's terrifying appearance and implied strength, the King Shark / Man-Bat fusion is no match for an even more powerful cloned abomination. An eyeless Superman clone with a sprayed-on emblem instantly freezes the King Shark monster and shatters it into a thousand pieces, accompanied by equally creepy Batman and Wonder Woman clones. Besides possessing most of the original Man of Steel's powers, this Superman also holds a living Starro in his stomach, which he uses to knock out Deadshot and presumably steal his genetic information in the grossest way possible. DC's New Fusion Is The Combination Of Two Of The Comics' Most Underrated Monster Villains King Shark And Man-Bat Are Often Forgotten Despite their terrifying potential, King Shark and Man-Bat are often underused powerhouses who are rarely allowed to alter the status quo of the DC universe. In the comics, Nanaue is the demigod son of the Shark God, possessing a Class-100 strength tier that lets him trade blows with Superman and bite through Atlantean steel. Similarly, Man-Bat is strong enough to overwhelm the whole Bat-Family at once. Yet, villains like the Joker and Black Manta usually end up doing more damage to Atlantis, Gotham City, Aquaman, and Batman. DC has also hesitated to unleash King Shark and Man-Bat in live-action. While King Shark achieved mainstream popularity in James Gunn's The Suicide Squad, he has yet to share a single frame of live-action with Aquaman. Meanwhile, Man-Bat has been trapped in limbo for decades. Joel Schumacher almost introduced the creature via a massive animatronic giant bat in a Batman Forever scene that ended up on the cutting room floor. Later, Zack Snyder repeated the concept in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, where a horrific, Man-Bat-like nightmare creature bursts from Martha Wayne's crypt in a dream sequence. Which DC villain fusion would you like to see? Next Level: One Shot is now available from DC Comics Created By Bob Kane, Bill Finger FIRST APP Detective Comics #27 (1939) Alias Bruce Wayne Alliance Justice League, Outsiders, Batman Family Race Human Franchise D.C.