When it comes to shared cinematic universes, it goes without saying that Marvel Studios’ MCU is the one to beat. That may be an undisputed fact, but it hasn’t stopped Warner Bros. from trying, as they launched their very own, the DCEU, midway through the decade.
Though their Superman film Man Of Steel was released in 2013, it wasn’t until its long-awaited sequel Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was announced that WB confirmed their intentions to build a shared universe full of DC Comics superheroes and from there, the DCEU has grown into something else entirely.
As with most things in life, it suffered from multiple teething issues (and perhaps a little rushing), but after a few trips back to the drawing board, the creative visionaries at Warner Bros. and DC managed to turn things around and produced a number of strong films. Unfortunately, it could all be for nothing when it is erased from existence and DC Studios starts with a relative clean slate in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new DC Universe.
The Flash kicked off the offerings of this year, with Blue Beetle also making its presence felt later in the year. Now, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is upon us, bringing a close to the DCEU for good.
With the sequel's long-awaited release upon us, let’s take this opportunity to look back at every DCEU film and see which ones reign supreme – and which ones didn’t quite hit the mark.
16. Justice League
It’s a sad state of affairs when your shared universe’s “endgame” is your darkest hour, but unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened in the case of Justice League.
The DCEU’s answer to the MCU’s 2012 offering The Avengers, the film brought an end to the very first chapter of the shared universe and officially united the world’s most iconic line-up of superheroes. Unfortunately, narrative issues and a lack of overall planning prevented it from being the large-scale superhero showdown we all wanted it to be.
While the likes of Wonder Woman and Suicide Squad elicited strong reactions from audiences (though for different reasons), Justice League‘s biggest issue is that it landed somewhere in the middle of the road. It wasn’t overwhelmingly good, nor was it incredibly awful. It just, well, existed… languishing somewhere between the good and the bad with nothing to say.
That may have been down to the fact that the DCEU was in the height of its identity crisis and hadn’t quite figured out what it wanted to be. Thus, what started off as a grim and brooding world had evolved into tonally ambiguous environment that was still visually all of that and yet tried to lighten the mood with jokes… from Batman of all people. It just didn’t work and that, alongside the incredibly on-the-nose script, reduced the DCEU’s primary objective to rubble in two hours.
15. Suicide Squad
Suicide Squad is the perfect example of how you can have all the right ingredients and still get it horribly wrong. Now, the film’s reputation was never going to be squeaky-clean, but perhaps its greatest sin is that it took a group of relatively grounded (and, for the most part, relatively human) supervillains and instead of placing them in an equally grounded environment, they were forced to save the world from the cliché beam in the sky.
The rag tag group of misfits were as unorthodox as we could have hoped, with Deadshot and Harley Quinn serving as surprisingly strong protagonists (the latter of which was a joy from beginning to end), while Viola Davis was nothing short of perfection as Amanda Waller, and the film was nearly as aesthetically-pleasing as the trailers suggested, but everything else was a complete misfire.
This should have been a hard-hitting, gritty and grounded piece about whacky soldiers with a surprising amount of character development, not an over-the-top visual spectacle with an unusual Joker and an unbelievably kooky supernatural villain in Enchantress.
There are flashes of brilliance here – most of which are engineered by the incomparable Margot Robbie – and, if you can get over the fact that this wasn’t the movie Suicide Squad should have been, it’s a fairly decent (if overly-complicated) campy superhero adventure. Unfortunately it’s still pretty hard to get over that when all the ingredients for a great film were right there.
14. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
Unfortunately the years that audiences waited for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom were not worth it. The fact that we're even able to write that sentence highlights how much of an impact the 2018 first movie did for the character, as it surprisingly went on to become the highest-grossing DC movie ever. It was also a pretty decent movie. That makes its sequel's disappointment all the more, well, disappointing.
To be fair, Aquaman 2 does have a lot going for it. For starters, it's got some beautiful visuals and a badass performance from Jason Momoa once again at the center of it. And Momoa really does enjoy himself, which makes it easier to enjoy the movie - which really is the definition of big dumb fun.
However, there are some major steps backwards, particularly the visual effects, which fail to capture the fantastical beauty of Aquaman, leaving some of the film looking a bit too much like a video game. And if you've been watching recent installments in the DCEU, that probably won't come as a surprise to you.
The plot it also a major issue for the film as it just leaves you feeling like there wasn't much of a need for a sequel after all, all in all making for an unfortunate end to the DCEU.
13. Black Adam
Black Adam is a solid superhero movie full of the excellent action you would expect from a film like this. It explodes onto the screen in larger-than-life fashion and leaves you thinking about the direction that the DCEU might be going in after it.
It’s greatest quality, to probably nobody’s surprise, comes in the form of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s performance. The man gives it his everything (and given some of the film’s shortcomings, everything is necessary) as he brings Teth Adam to the silver screen for the first time. He’s imposing and formidable, and yet easy to get behind, because the charisma that Johnson brings to the role is second-to-none. And speaking of second-to-none, Pierce Brosnan is a scene stealer as Doctor Fate.
The film does fall short in terms of pacing and character. A thrill-ride when it’s moving, it struggles somewhat in it’s quieter moments, and that might have something to do with the fact that it’s working overtime to not only introduce us to Black Adam, but the whole Justice Society of America.
As for whether it changed the hierarchy of power in the DC Universe? Well, we need to wait a little bit longer before we can answer that one definitively. But in the meantime, you should rewatch Black Adam because it’s a lot of fun!
12. Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice
A cinematic spectacle that was decades in the making, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice brought the two biggest heroes of DC Comics (and, in all honesty, the world) together on the big screen for the very first time.
Now, with pressure like that heading into its release, the 2016 superhero smackdown was destined to either shatter expectations or fail spectacularly – there was no in-between. Only, somehow, there was: It didn’t explode onto screens with the compelling narrative that we hoped for, but it didn’t fizzle out in epic fashion either. And yet it made an impression on people… the only problem was that nobody was quite sure what to think of it.
Visually, Batman v Superman is everything that it should be: Stunning, loud and larger-than-life, and Zack Snyder deserves an immense amount of credit for bringing the visuals of Frank Miller’s game-changing The Dark Knight Returns to life. Unfortunately, it wasn’t able to replicate a narrative anywhere near as engaging.
Aside from the fact that the Caped Crusader didn’t act like himself, the world’s two most iconic heroes (one of which is the World’s Greatest Detective) allowed themselves to be manipulated by a Lex Luthor too far removed from his comic book origins. And the whole thing resulted in a long-winded and grim spectacle that overlooked its own admittedly strong substance in its attempts to force the titular fight.
Thus, in spite of those epic visuals, and impressive performances from Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill and Gal Gadot, the film missed the point of these characters with a contrived story that left audiences confused (and melancholic) more than anything else. That aside, it was still incredible to see the two icons clash on the silver screen for the first time ever – and the extended cut is in a completely different league than the theatrical release.
11. Man Of Steel
There’s often a debate among fans as to whether or not Man of Steel is actually part of the DCEU because it wasn’t treated as such at the time of its release (DC’s shared universe concept didn’t come into effect until the sequel Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice), but it would be ludicrous to exclude it because it’s clearly part of the DCEU timeline, narrative and universe.
Dull colors and a less-hopeful tone may seem like cliché DCEU elements nowadays, but in 2013, those were aspects that made it a highly unique Superman movie. After all, at the time of its release in 2013, we hadn’t had a film about one of our two favorite Kryptonians since 2006’s underrated Superman Returns – which owed a lot to the original Christopher Reeve franchise – so the question was: How to make Superman different?
The answer was Man of Steel: A moodier, gloomier tale steeped in as much realism as possible and led by a somewhat more melancholic Clark Kent than you’d expect. And, you know what? It really worked.
The film’s attempts to delve into Clark’s origins (both on Krypton and in Smallville) set it apart from previous installments and added more humanity to the Man of Steel – something that was brought to life beautifully by Henry Cavill’s engaging performance. And even though Amy Adams’ Lois Lane rarely felt like Lois Lane (through no fault of her own), the pair’s connection made for a strong emotional core.
An admirable attempt to make a less-realistic character feel more realistic in a post-Dark Knight world, it was undoubtedly a solid modern day superhero movie that reinvigorated the character. That said, a little more triumph would have been welcomed… you know, since that is Superman’s whole M.O.
10. Aquaman
Even with the star-power of Jason Momoa fronting it, nobody expected Aquaman to experience the earth-shattering success that it did. The film’s release followed the box office disappointment that was Justice League (which even included Momoa’s Aquaman as one of the main characters), so what on Earth would make everyone venture out to see Arthur Curry’s maiden voyage, right? Wrong.
Well, there are a number of things that factor into Aquaman’s success, and one of them is the overall production. The film had a unique advantage in the fact that it was set in the underwater kingdom of Atlantis – something that automatically set it apart from every other DCEU film and ultimately portrayed it as more of a fantasy adventure than a superhero movie.
That’s exactly what Aquaman was: A big-budget adventure that was both aesthetically-pleasing and emotionally engaging. Was it the strongest DC Comics story ever told? No, but anything that doesn’t come off quite as well is automatically elevated by the film’s great cast. And speaking of cast, Momoa does a fantastic job reinvigorating Arthur Curry – making him both a strong protagonist and a badass hero.
There was once a time when people laughed at Aquaman, claiming that “his powers were silly” or because he “talked to fish”. Well, it’s safe to say that nobody was laughing when this one came out… other than Aquaman himself… all the way to the bank with his $1.1. billion.
9. Shazam! Fury of the Gods
After the first Shazam! Movie became an unexpectedly delightful installment in the otherwise grim DCEU, Warner Bros.’ sights were set on a sequel. That sequel would be bigger in almost every way, bringing in a new original threat in the Daughters of Atlas, and having them be portrayed by Hollywood heavyweights Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu and Rachel Zegler.
Here we are, four years later, and Shazam! Fury of the Gods is definitely bigger in execution than the first movie with more ambitious action and special effects that even sees the Shazam family battling a giant dragon at one point. But it also channels so much of what made Shazam! so fun and enjoyable, bringing back the heart, charm, and joy that both its young cast and their adult superhero counterparts benefit from.
Shazam is all about family, and that comes through exceptionally well in the sequel. And even though Fury of the Gods doesn’t quite reach the perfect highs of the first movie in the franchise, it outdoes Shazam! in the villain department, with Mirren, Liu, and Zegler being absolute forces of nature.
It’s darn good fun through and through, and it does it all with its heart on its sleeve.
8. Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)
Given how Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn was the silver lining of the reviled Suicide Squad, it was only a matter of time until she got her own starring vehicle. Enter Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of one Harley Quinn). Now, cumbersome title aside, the film promised to offer fans yet another different side to the continually-experimental DCEU and, for the most part, it pulled it off.
A fabulously enjoyable picture, Birds of Prey was a vivid experience in every way imaginable – though we’d expect nothing less from a film headlined by Harley Quinn – that gave life to an admittedly light story, while also managing to introduce some of DC’s most iconic heroines into the its shared universe of big-screen heroes.
Robbie stole the show once more, but she was given solid competition from Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Rosie Perez, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Ewan McGregor – all of whom delivered in their roles as Black Canary, Renee Montoya, Huntress and Black Mask.
It’s not perfect – the cutting back-and-forth in the first act is a rather off-putting and there really should be more focus on the titular group of DC heroines – but strong characterization, a decent plot and some of the best action scenes in recent cinematic history ensure that Birds of Prey might just be the DCEU’s most enjoyable showdown yet.
More of this, please!
7. The Suicide Squad
James Gunn took over the Suicide Squad in 2021 in a move that fans hoped would bring DC’s rag-tag group of antiheroes the acclaim their 2016 trip to the big screen did not. To do that, he brought back Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, Joel Kinnamin’s Rick Flag, Jai Courtney’s Captain Boomerang and, of course, Viola Davis’ Amada Waller. But they didn’t come alone, as a host of new headliners joined them, including Idris Elba’s Bloodsport and John Cena’s Peacemaker.
While its predecessor was restrained by a bland plot, questionable villain and strange creative choices, The Suicide Squad sought to take the shackles off in the most manic of ways. It accomplished that right out of the gate with its ultra-violent approach, going the extra mile to ensure that fans truly believed that not every member of Waller’s Task Force X would make it out of the film alive.
There are a lot of reasons behind the success of The Suicide Squad, but they all come from the mind of James Gunn. A reboot and sequel that outshines the previous attempt to make the squad work, the film is an all-out adventure that pushes the boundaries in just about every way imaginable (and it does so in a very confrontational manner).
Violent, crude, and in-your-face from start to finish, The Suicide Squad doesn’t make the most of every character (for obvious reasons), but it does make the most of its best, delivering on everything it promises and giving Task Force X the outlandish adventure we had all been waiting for.
6. Zack Snyder’s Justice League
There had been so much dialogue about Zack Snyder’s Justice League since the 2017 theatrical disappointment that the “Snyder Cut” itself was almost doomed to fail. With Snyder fans expecting it to be the best thing ever and Snyder critics prepared to hate it, there was little room for the HBO Max movie to breathe. But breathe it did, producing a loud, epic Justice League spectacle the likes of which Snyder longed to make.
It’s well-established that the 2021 director’s cut isn’t a perfect movie. For starters, it’s too darn long, with its four-hour runtime making it seem hard to get through at times. But that wasn’t enough to prevent the once-lost-to-history film from proving its worth as the superior Justice League film… and then some.
What we got wasn’t just a superior rendition of the story. Yes, it blew Joss Whedon’s campy, poorly-edited and hard to watch failure out of the water. But Zack Snyder’s Justice League also followed through on in its promise of delivering a must-see larger-than-life showcase worthy of its titular heroes.
With some stunning visuals, engaging and moving character journeys and a far greater emotional hook, it exceeded fans’ expectations and proved that they were right to campaign for its release. This is the Justice League we should have gotten in theaters in 2017.
5. Wonder Woman 1984
Wonder Woman 1984 had the unenviable task of having to follow its critically-acclaimed predecessor. The first genuine sequel the DCEU has spawned, that in itself is a testament to the popularity of Wonder Woman (the character and the film). The only thing WW84 had to do was prove itself.
That’s something it manages to do – and it does so in a bigger, louder and noisier way than before, making it clear from the offset that this is a much more ambitious film. Yes, the end result is still less successful than the original but that doesn’t make it a disappointment – far from it, in fact.
Wonder Woman 1984 is a larger-than-life adventure that gathers more and more momentum as it heads towards the finish line. It’s brighter than the previous one, with the colors bursting off the screen and drawing you into the events with ease. And it backs up its ambitiousness with another character-driven adventure.
Gal Gadot shines in the lead role, proving again why she’s the DCEU’s greatest asset and a worthy successor to the legendary Lynda Carter. This time, however, her performance is matched by Kristen Wiig and Pedro Pascal – both of whom have characters so richly layered that the stage was already set for some brilliant performances. And brilliant they were.
Wonder Woman 1984 didn’t outshine its predecessor and it isn’t quite as timeless either but what it is, though, is a ridiculously enjoyable thrill-ride that came into people’s lives when the world really needed the escapism. And, like Wonder Woman herself, its greatest asset is its heart.
4. Shazam!
It’s ironic that one of the lesser-known DC Comics superheroes was responsible for one of the DCEU’s greatest films, but that’s the irony that is Shazam!.
The latest entry in the franchise, the film stars Asher Angel as the young Billy Batson who has spent years running away from the system in an endless bid to find his own mother. That quest leads him to a supernatural entity and a heroic – and adult – other-half in the form of Shazam (Zachary Levi).
However, as being a hero was never something he wanted, he must rely on his new foster family, particularly the infectiously nerdy Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer) to show him the ropes. And the result is, well, really quite something.
Shazam! is undoubtedly the DCEU’s most unapologetically fun offering. It’s a superhero movie that never takes itself too seriously as it embraces the fun of its own genre. But it’s also about family and, thanks to the wonderful cast’s performances (and the holiday setting), it’s a heart-warming tale that you can enjoy again and again.
On that note, it’s hard to put into words just how enjoyable Shazam! truly is. A film that is, at its heart, about what it means to be a hero, this light-hearted triumph highlighted that there was hope for the future of the DCEU.
3. The Flash
After a decade-in-the-making, The Flash finally made its way to the silver screen in summer 2023. Ezra Miller’s Scarlet Speedster headlined the long-gestating project which took its cues from the DC Comics storyline Flashpoint and saw Barry Allen travel back in time to save his mother, only to create a new timeline in the process – destroying his own universe.
That new universe lacked metahumans, and as Zod terraformed the planet, the only two that could help Barry was a retired Batman, played by Michael Keaton, and an imprisoned Kryptonian deprived of sunlight, Supergirl. And what a unit they turned out to be.
There were high expectations on The Flash‘s shoulders, but the film itself certainly succeeds. It might not be “one of the greatest superhero movies ever made” like the early reviews suggested, but it’s definitely up there with the most fun of them. Among its greatest attributes are Keaton’s performance, as he effortlessly slots back into his role as Batman for the first time in 30 years. He’s a scene stealer and seeing him back in that suit one more time, it was enough to bring a tear to my eye.
Miller carried the project well, giving it their all as the two versions of Barry Allen, while Sasha Calle was also incredibly convincing as Supergirl.
The Flash is one heck of an adventure, a great adaptation of Flashpoint and an absolutely thrilling experience. If this is how the DCEU goes out, we’re okay with that.
2. Blue Beetle
Yes, technically Blue Beetle is part of the reset DC Universe, but as the remnants of the old DCEU will continue to exist until Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom‘s release, we’ll rank it among the DCEU movies.
To call Blue Beetle a breath of fresh air would be an understatement. It’s perhaps the most light-hearted movie in the DC Universe/DC Extended Universe, and that’s where its greatest strength lies. Well, its second-greatest strength, because its true strength lies in its focus on family.
Led by Xolo Maridueña, Blue Beetle brings Jaime Reyes to the big screen for the very first time. It’s a huge step forward for Latin representation, celebrating Latin heritage in its story, while also making history as the first superhero film to feature a Latino actor in the lead role and to be directed by a Latino director (Ángel Manuel Soto). That makes it a welcome breath of fresh air for both the genre and Hollywood blockbusters in general.
Something else Blue Beetle gets right is its heart, which it wears on its sleeve throughout its entire two-hour runtime. It’s genuine in its approach and fun in its delivery, making it a thoroughly enjoyable watch, and perhaps the most entertaining of recent DC movies.
1. Wonder Woman
It isn’t often that a generation-defining movie comes along, let-alone a generation-defining superhero movie, but it’s safe to say that the DCEU produced this generation’s in Wonder Woman. A first of its kind (or at least in many years), it successfully proved that, yes, in spite of the age-old myth, women superheroes sell and, in doing so, kick-started a wave of female-driven superhero movies.
But aside from its status as a game-changer, it was something that the early-on DCEU was in desperate need of: A damn good film.
Focusing on the origins of Diana Prince, the film told the story of how one incredible woman entered the world at a time of darkness, and single-handedly managed to inspire everyone around her with hope. Through her mission to destroy Ares, she ended up destroying evil, jealousy, hatred and war – leaving behind only love.
From Gal Gadot’s wonderful performance to the film’s compelling story and awe-inspiring direction – and let’s not forget that goosebump-inducing No Man’s Land scene – Wonder Woman was a triumph for the ages that marked a major turning point for the DCEU, proving that it was capable of delivering a truly great film.
A light amongst the darkness, a symbol of hope in a hopeless time and, by far the greatest female superhero movie of all time, Wonder Woman is nothing short of perfection.