Too Early To Panic Over The DCU

It’s too late to press the panic button but the writing might be on the wall soon for the DCU. Supergirl is the latest project to come out from the reformed, connected, cinematic side of DC. And the film is a bit divisive among fans and critics. Some liked it. Some say it’s passable. Some heavily criticize it. Others think it’s fine. In addition, the film underperformed at the box office. This film is the DCU’s fourth project and is mixed in with different levels of quality for said projects. But what Supergirl has revealed is a mistake that many fans were quick to point to. Although the DCU is young, Supergirl doubled down on this belief among fans that the DCU is really heading nowhere. And it’s charging a path to nowhere with characters that, quite frankly, really have no business leading the charge. Supergirl came no where close to dooming the DCU, but it did reinforce some concern that fans have for this franchise. And if this pattern continues, the DCU can be doomed.

James Gunn was a few steps away from this movie but it was a byproduct of, perhaps, his biggest trope. Gunn loves to dig deep in the barrel of characters, scrape the bottom, and elevate obscure characters to A-List status. It was done with Guardians of the Galaxy. Many were quick to say that the film was going to be the MCU’s first miss due to the obscure nature of the Guardians of the Galaxy but the movie turned out to be great. Gunn continued to do his method when he directed The Suicide Squad. Peacemaker, Bloodsport and many of the members that were offed in the opening moments were so obscure they might as well have been original characters for the movie. That continued when James Gunn announced the first chapter of the DCU. Some projects made sense, while others had the James Gunn trope written all over them. By no means is Supergirl an obscure character but the timing of her own movie slightly pushes her in that realm. A Supergirl movie does make sense. It fits perfectly in the DCU but not at the time it came out. In fact, it did little to expand the universe. The only thing the movie really did was give some screen time to a planet that was already dead. If Supergirl did more to expand the universe, this movie might be talked about differently. If Supergirl introduced more lore about the universe like the Thanagarians, the New Gods, Mother Boxes, Darkseid, or even tease Brainiac or bring in Lanterns, Supergirl would have been seen differently.

Again, the DCU is young. Right now, the universe needs to be expanded, not reinforced in its second movie. If this is the movie Gunn was thinking about when he announced the DCU, this movie needed to wait. If he and the director, Craig Gillespie, wanted everything to be intact, Supergirl needed to be put on the back burner and allow other movies or shows to take that slot to expand the universe by introducing blocks of world building. That is the stage the DCU is in right now. It needs to have projects that set the foundation and expectation. Supergirl may have been the wrong choice at the moment. Which leads into something else.

Is Gunn prioritizing the right characters? This question was quickly asked in his announcement of the DCU. The DCU was not going to have its official start with Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, or the Justice League. The official start was the Creature Commandoes. And that energy has continued. No one will question Superman starting the universe cinematically but the other characters, maybe. To put in perspective Clayface, Guy Garnder (Green Lantern), Metamorpho, Krem, the Creature Commandoes, Mister Terrific, Blue Beetle, Jimmy Olsen, and Mister Miracle are being prioritized  before or just as hard as Batman and Wonder Woman. Many of those characters have that James Gunn-ism around them. The DC universe has perhaps the most iconic superheroes of all time. They’re classics. The DCU is embracing them. Superman had the first movie and the first sequel. Green Lantern will get a series coming out soon. Batman does have a movie in the works. And Wonder Woman technically has two projects revolving around her corner of the DC universe. But these iconic characters are competing with characters at a time in the DCU’s life where they shouldn’t. Much like Supergirl, some of the projects do make sense…down the line. Having them in the first steps does not make sense. But that is what Gunn wants and is green lighting. These obscure characters are taking time and resources from the flagship characters the DCU needs to focus on. With each new announcement for a movie or show about these obscure characters, fans are starting to get more impatient. And if that impatience evolves into something stronger, the DCU might start to lose the fanbase.

With all that, is it fair to press the panic button the DCU? No. Supergirl is the fourth project in this new universe. It is highly premature to start yelling the fall of the universe when it’s still getting its feet under it. And even with such a young life, the DCU has shown some promise. Creature Commandoes is highly, highly rated. Nearly every review on the show is positive and that was done with super obscure characters. Many loved that Superman finally put the Man of Steel in a hopeful, caring, supporting, inclusive, and helpful lens. A lot of fans were relieved to see Superman in that light. So, the DCU does have some proof that it is a universe that can release something excellent. To grade it solely on its latest project, is borderline unfair. Just a year ago, many fans were saying how hopeful Superman made them feel and now there is some talk that the DCU is already falling flat just a year later. If you were to compare the quality of the DCU to the beginning of the MCU, it’s not far off, if at all. Captain America: The First Avenger was released in that window and that is considered the weakest of the Captain America films. In some lists, that film ranks closer to the bottom. Thor is considered the same. Imagine a world where the MCU gave up just because their audiences were stressing on the quality of the early films. Granted, the early days of the MCU did perform better at the box office but there is still a lot of opportunities for the DCU to catch up.

Lanterns is showing some promise that it could be a hit. Although the show does literally ground intergalactic characters, that fresh approach might serve as a spark of ingenuous creativity. Might include fresh material to richen Green Lantern’s mythos. And Lanterns lands in a good home. HBO has released hit shows over the last few years. With a stellar cast, a unique approach, a proven channel and the fact the show course corrected their second trailer to showcase more Lantern power because fans were mad about the lack of it in the first trailer, Lanterns could very well gained trust and faith back.

And the very next project after that is Clayface. Many groaned when this movie was announced due to the fact that a B list Batman villain was going to receive a movie in the DCU before Batman does. Confusion, anger, and frustration were high. Things settle down a bit when the first teaser was revealed. Something that Gunn stressed early on was how each movie and show were going to be different from each other when it comes to tone. Some of that has already been seen in the DCU. Something else he stressed was how Clayface was going to be a horror movie. More specially…body horror. The teaser emphasized all of that. At the end of it, many were saying how promising and creepy it looks. And for the DCU to do something that bold that quick and gain some interest from the fanbase, proves there is still value for the universe.

And it does seem as if the large portion of the fan base is holding their breath for the DCU Batman. Very little is known about it but that’s not stopping fans from building up anticipation. It feels as if with each new announcement for the DCU there’s this common shared whisper of “cool but where’s Batman?”. There are a handful of characters that are having their projects green lit before Batman and that is just building up pressure in the Batman keg. At some point something about the DCU Batman will come and it will start a wave of excitement. And it also feels that this will be the moment the fan base is waiting for the most. There’s this anxious notion once the DCU Batman hype train begins the DCU will start to coarse correct in the eyes of many. And once Batman lands and hopefully delivers, the DCU will get a strong degree of trust back. But the fact that Batman is being held off for now might be doing the DCU some favor. His lack of presence is building up that anticipation quietly. It could be treated as saving the best gift for last.

And even though some lesser-known characters are rubbing shoulders with the A Listers, some fan favorite characters are getting their due. Swamp Thing has been a cult favorite for years now and he is receiving his own movie that might take some horror notes from Clayface. Nightwing and Red Hood are on that same boat. They are huge fan favorites and they are getting an animated movie together. James Gunn has said that he wants actors who voice the characters in animation to jump into live action when needed. So that means Nightwing and Red Hood could finally see a big screen debut down the line. So, James Gunn has found a mix to please a lot of people that shows how much positive the DCU has to offer still.

Passionate fans crave to see the franchise they love be exceptional. But when projects fall a bit below expectation, it could be tempting to be angry with it and want to cast it out. But patience is a virtue and right now that’s where the relationship between fans and the DCU stands. Although it’s early, patience must be given to the DCU. It will take time to get to the characters and stories that fans want. Some have arrived that are logical choices while others needed some getting used to. But that’s going to be ok. There is going to be something for each part of the fan base. Some surprises have a high chance of coming through in some areas where people least expect. But regardless, the DCU is young but has already proven that it can succeed. There is success already behind it with a lot of potential still ahead.