Is It Too Early To Judge The DCEU?

After their first three films flopped, is it still too early to judge the DC Extended Universe?

We’re three films into the DC Extended Universe, and things aren’t looking good for Warner Bros. None of the three films have been wildly popular among fans or critics. And with the success of Marvel looming over them, the DCEU looks woefully behind. However, is it too early to pass judgment on the DCEU just yet?

Where the DCEU Stands with Marvel

After three movies, the DCEU is currently on shaky ground at best. When Man of Steel is regarded as the best of your first three movies in your film universe, you should probably be a little concerned. Both Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad failed to live up to their hype. Despite the successes they had at the box office, those two films failed to match Marvel’s offerings during the same span.

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Since Man of Steel debuted on June 14, 2013, Marvel has released six films compared to DC’s two. Marvel had Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man, and Captain America: Civil War come out in the same span as Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Suicide Squad for DC.

Not only did Marvel outpace DC two-to-one in sheer number of films, but even the lowest scored film of those six, Thor: The Dark World, still managed to score much higher than the DCEU’s highest rated movie. Man of Steel picked up a 55% by Rotten Tomatoes while Thor: The Dark World scored a 66%.

To be fair, Marvel has a leg up on DC right now. When the first DCEU film came out, Marvel already had a five year head start with their universe. So they had already found their stride by the time DC began. So let’s compare the beginning of both universes.

How They Started

Marvel’s first three films, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, and Iron Man 2 earned a combined total of $765,844,370. The DCEU’s first three films have earned $939,537,406. However, Marvel’s production cost for those three films was just $493,500,000 compared to DC’s $650,000,000—which means Marvel brought in a much higher profit.

That’s not the only area where Marvel’s first three films outdid DC’s. The first three Marvel movies earned an average score of 77.7% on Rotten Tomatoes. DC’s first three films? They earned an average Rotten Tomatoes score of just 36%.

What Marvel does right is sprinkle in well-placed humor with their action. It works better in some movies than others. But, for the most part, that’s what Marvel does best. The films in the DCEU have struggled to do this effectively. And that’s because the DCEU’s tone is so much darker and grittier than Marvel’s.

Why It Doesn’t Work

When Christopher Nolan made his Dark Knight trilogy, he brought Frank Miller’s darker take on the comic book world to the big screen. Nolan’s Batman franchise was far darker and more morally ambiguous than any previous super hero movies to date. Those films worked because there was at least a moral foundation upon which the franchise was built. Nolan’s Batman believed deep down that humanity was still good at its core. All his actions, no matter how questionable, fought for that belief. The actions of everyone in the DCEU seem to have no moral center.

Superman kills people. Batman kills people. And, of course, the members of the Suicide Squad kill people. While Superman’s killing can be somewhat justified, Batman senselessly kills thugs in Batman v Superman. Most of the murders in Suicide Squad can be explained away due to the characters being villains. However, even Deadshot, the “good guy,” has weird moments of inconsistent morality.

This could all work as long as there was some standard to which this cinematic universe operated. As of now, there appears to be none.

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Too Far Gone Already?

People will always compare the DCEU to the MCU. The comics always have been, so it makes sense the movies will too. Right now, the MCU is beating the DCEU in every conceivable way.

That doesn’t mean it’s already over for the DCEU. With movies like Wonder Woman and Justice League on the slate for 2017, there’s plenty of time to recover after a slow start. Iron Man carried the MCU for a few years. All the DCEU has to do is find it’s Iron Man in its upcoming batch of movies.

So let’s hold off on burying the DCEU for now. If things haven’t improved after Justice League, it might be time to reevaluate everything.