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My problems with the DCU so far and my concerns for the future

I loved Superman and I like Supergirl enough. But the decisions being made for the DCU and the roadmap/planning is very questionable to me.

Also, yes. I realize it's only 1 year into the new DCU. But with only 2 centric Super stories and everything else being obscure characters, I just can't help but feel concerned for the future.

Prioritizing side characters and B-List heroes over the heavy hitters. I think it was probably a mistake to try and get the DCU running using B-list characters and Superman. No reason why Batman, Wonder Woman, and Flash are MIA but yet Rick Flag Sr is a pillar of the universe. James Gunn tries to be niche and quirky by using characters only tapped in viewers recognize. large majority of consumers wanna watch the A listers dc has to offer instead of Metamorpho. I really enjoyed Creature Commandos, but I really would not have prioritized them over the likes of Wonder Woman, Flash, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Green Arrow & Black Canary, etc you get the picture. Also, how the fuck does Jimmy fucking Olsen and Amanda Waller have ANY CONTENT PLANNED OVER FUCKING WONDER WOMAN???? The point is. You cannot just establish a big universe without making the Justice League the pillars of the universe, introduce these other heroes after. I get wanting to make these unknown or lesser know characters popular, you did it with Peacemaker and the Suicide Squad and GOTG. But leave that shit later down the line when you have success. You are still in the early stages of this universe and trying to get said universe over with the general audience. If the DCU wants to be popular, it HAS TO use it's most popular characters. Why are we getting fucking Jimmy Olsen, Clayface and....fucking Krypto over Wonder Woman, The Flash, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter or the Titans. Like it's not a smart business model to choose smaller scale heroes over the mythic icons of DC’s pantheon. The DC Comics base has to be the Trinity....they are the key point for everything THERE IS NO DC COMICS WITHOUT WONDER WOMAN, BATMAN AND SUPERMAN....sometimes the obvious has to be stated. WB has all the DC characters, but James Gunn prefers to shine the spotlight on B-to-Z category characters even. He did well to kick things off with Superman, but the Trinity (the Justice League in general) should be front and center in the DCU. Also TRINITY, not duo.

Batman villains and side characters before Batman. Like how do Clayface and Bane & Deathstroke get movies before Batman? Assuming Batman isn't in this movie, having not 1, but 2 Batman related DCU projects without Batman at least showing up already in the modern DCU timeline is a bit much. If we consider all Batman adjacent characters and elements, we now would have Rupert Thorne, Dr. Phosphorus, White Rabbit, Sasha Bordeaux, Clayface, the GCPD, Gotham, Bane, Deathstroke, and whichever other characters and elements this movie introduces ALL before DCU Batman is there. It's insane they announce two projects of BATMAN'S ROGUES GALLERY without Batman. He doesn't need to even be more than a cameo or mention but it's crazy we haven't gotten a mainline movie first like Superman so we at least have a visual of Batman if they do not show or at least mention in those projects. I know he's probably waiting for The Batman 2 to come out, but I just don't think Batman's villains should take priority over Batman or the other League members.

The treatment of Jor-El and the Kryptonians. Genuine question. Why are the Kryptonians all like Zod? Better yet, how is it Kryptonians are acting like pre-Dragon Ball Minus Saiyans and the Saiyans(at least Bardock and Gine) are acting like Jor-El and Lor-El prior to this DCU? I am deeply disturbed that James Gunn saw Jor-El, someone who wanted to save Krypton, saw the signs of a dying climate that led to it's demise and someone who opposed Zod's brutality…..and decided to order his son to colonize and enslave humanity. Like what the fuck? It's worse that Supergirl DOUBLED DOWN. There was potential for it all to be bullshit and for Zod or Brainiac to have been behind it, but no, James Gunn genuinely wanted the Kryptonians to be awful people. "but John Byne" fuck John Byne, like there's a reason no one used his origins after his run was finished. At this rate I'm expecting The Waynes to be the mustache twirling villains that they were in Telltale and for the Amazons to be Amazons Attack or New 52 cartoonishly evil.

Turning Ultraman into Comic Black Noir. I feel like we got wasted potential with Ultraman. Ultraman is SUPPOSED to be one of Superman's darker reflections and they just did him dirty. If you wanted a clone, then go with Bizzaro or Cyborg Superman. Alternatively, Lex could've made contact with a parallel earth and made a deal with Ultraman. Destroy Superman's reputation and cause chaos in Metropolis and in exchange, he will give him his supply of Kryptonite for him to snort. Instead we got Black Noir from wish.com

James Gunn downplaying key elements of Diana's character does not inspire confidence. For over 80 years, Wonder Woman's origin has been the feminist story of a mother's clay sculpture brought to life and empowered by female gods. James Gunn, architect of the DCU where our next on-screen Diana will be seen, is suggesting that this element of her story may not be all that important. Wonder Woman being made out of clay isn't a little detail, it really is not. It's actually a really key point to her character. It's not just an outfit. It doesn't need to be clay but whatever way she is born it should be a woman's desire to be a mother and magic created by women. It should not be like a dude fucked the queen of the amazons and she had a baby no matter how important the dude is.

Supergirl's director didn't care about Woman of Tomorrow. The problem with Supergirl is The director never read the comic and said he just wanted to make a James Gunn movie, the movie came out a week after toy Story 5, the online backlash from chuds that comes with female led movies these days, the script was undercooked, the dynamic between Kara and Ruthye is so much better in the comic and what Kara tried to do for her just doesn't resonate in the movie. There's lots of reasons, I personally didn't hate the movie but I felt like it could've been much better and it ended on Superman....NOT THE HEROINE OF THE MOVIE! The whole message of both the movie and comics is vengeance and killing is not the way to go, but in the movie they completely ignored it and made Supergirl kill. Like don't get me wrong, kill the obvious sex traffickers, but the comic got to the point where Ruthye didn't even want to kill Krem in the end, if anything what they should've done with Krem is for Ruthye to give up on revenge and Kara leaves Krem at the mercy of the girls who's lives he destroyed. The movie just didn't have the nuance and it just felt like a MCU villain with a lack of substance. Also the film lacked lightning and vibrant colors. Everything just looked dark and brown.

The lack of distinct cities. When the DCU was starting up, I wanted Metropolis to be unique to set it apart of other adaptations and a stylised futuristic Metropolis. We didn't really get that did we? I mean, if Fantastic 4 can pull off the retro futuristic feel, there was no reason whatsoever why Superman could not have done the same WITH METROPOLIS!!! I certainly hope we don't get another generic city for Gotham.

Blandification of Supergirl. Supergirl (2026) is a good but flawed movie, but I can't understand the creative thought process of DCU executives looking at the colorful comics, then still going with the muddy look. In Supergirl. compare it to the comic, the art is just so colorful and alive. In Supergirl's movie we got a brown and bland alien world and just visually murky and boring. To say I'm worried for the future when this is what we've given for alien worlds is an understatement. We're in an era where the generic comicbook formula doesn't work with audiences anymore, and they still played it safe. Why not build Kara her own aesthetic (in a different planet) like the sunny look Superman had? Play with the colors and relate it to her upbringing as a character in her movie. Don't even play the budget card, this movie had $170M, where did all that go in the big screen. They made space look so dull and completely ignored the comic that had the gift of visual inspiration. At the end of the day Supergirl is an average watchable movie, that will mostly be remembered for the wrong reasons, its wasted potential. Doesn't help when the director did her character no justice (apparently he decided the look of the visuals first (?) then reads the comic after, in the imageboard process). And all these reasons hinge down to a box office bomb nowadays unfortunately. Milly Alcock innocent

The bizarre choice in Krem's design. I don't understand this design choice. It really changed the character a lot. The comic was very vibrant with color. Yet the movie took all of that color away sub a tan suit, the super suit, and the lit end of Lobo's cigar. There's a trope about "big gray villain" in super hero movies but this one really took it up a notch. Every one was in black leather and had pale skin. I dont understand what the creative or logistical reason was behind the change. The new take on the character was like parody of the goth vampires in the Blade movies. Russian/slavic accent and everything like a 90s american action film. Way to miss the point of the story about how evil is mundane looking and it doesn't take a monster to be a monster.

Lack of Lobo. Jason Momoa did the best with the time given to him, unfortunately it wasn't enough. Could you imagine how unsatisfying Superman would've been if Mr Terrific, Guy or Hawkgirl were as given as limited material as they gave Lobo? Yeah, exactly. Honestly either Lobo should've been the villain or they should've put Supergirl and Lobo in a position where they are forced to work together, my solution would be that Lobo has a bounty on Krem, which gives Supergirl an out. Lobo either captures or kills him. If we go with Lobo as the villain, I mean it writes itself. Kara, a survivor of genocide vs Lobo, someone who KILLED his own race. Like how do you not DO SOMETHING with that dynamic??? Or better yet, Lobo being there should tell Supergirl stop with the bad habits and Ruthye to stop seeking revenge or they'll be like him. His role is hunting Krem like I suggested. But yeah. Lobo should've been the dark reflection of what Kara will become if she keeps on this path and rise up as the Woman of Tomorrow and that way you CAN do the plot from the comic where Kara keeps Ruthye from giving into revenge. They just leave Krem to a worse fate. Captured by Lobo.

The Tom King connection. Tom King is a racist misogynistic zionist piece of shit and the fact that Gunn glazes him and justifies his place in the DCU's involvement. Not to mention he's a CIA war criminal and a nepo baby. The problem with King's writing is His style of writing is heavy on dialogue, especially repetition, uses a lot of profanity (it's censored, so it's all @#$% which just interrupts my reading experience, but that's just me), and focuses a lot on dark subjects, especially post-traumatic stress, corruption and lies. He's a good noir storyteller in that regard. However, instead of tailoring his story to a character, he'll often a tailor a character to his story, sometimes annoyingly so. That's what bugs a lot of readers: He writes their characters out-of-character to fit the story he wants to tell. SG:WOT was his only good story if I'm being honest. Also, never forgave the prick for what he did to the Batcat wedding and his treatment and butchery of Wonder Woman is a war crime itself. But Wonder Woman fans have a right to hate him -King writes a cold, stoic, and out of character Diana who relies too heavily on violence and threats, erasing her magical and whimsical roots. -Trinity/Lizzie - King is upfront she’s a character meant to tie to SupeSons so to some she doesn’t really feel like a WW character and The interactions with WW’s world feel obligatory. Some also just don’t like Diana being a mom. Also the introduction of Trinity is a self-insert of his own daughter, used as a crutch to avoid exploring the wider lore of Wonder Woman's world. -Pacing/Dialogue. King writes at a decompressed style so while that works for his minis, for an ongoing it can feel like a slog. In addition, he writes Diana very stiff and formal to the point of feeling robotic in many instances. -King does the usual thing of introducing new villains as part of a WW run (Sovereign and Martriach) and some just don’t feel they’re worth the hype. Instead of ya know, utilizing her Rogues existing gallery. While also isolating her from her traditional supporting cast. -Steve Trevor. There’s kind of a contingent of fans who hate Steve, so him getting a decent amount of attention in this run and how he’s used, is another thing some don’t like. -Superman/Batman. King relies on using these two a lot in his run as a point of comparison with Diana or as guest appearances and it’s not liked because its seen as taking page time from WW characters who could use the spotlight. Especially since Diana usually has one book while those two have at least three each to them where she barely if ever appears. Also doesn't help that the prick had Wonder Woman kill herself. It’s also really not helped its compared to Absolute WW which is doing like a check mark of everything a WW fan would want Over-all it just feels like King doesn’t care about Wonder Woman, and is just in it to ‘leave his mark’ on a character before moving onto the next hence the creation of characters like Lizzie, Matriarch and the Sovereign. Like King created new characters so he could avoid having to actually learn about Diana’s world. I'm gonna be real with ya'll. I don't trust Gunn when he's choosing Tom fucking King over so many fucking deserving DC writers. Greg Rucka. Gail Simone. Paul Dini. Mark Waid. Grant Morrison. Fuck, even Scott Snyder. But no. It's the fucking war criminal who made Wonder Woman in the mainline comics kill herself. Ya'll were worried about the Ellison angle, I'm more worried about a former CIA ALREADY involved with the DCU.

Small scale Green Lantern. The problem I have with what Lanterns has in store for Green Lantern is how small it is compared to how big Green Lantern can be. Space cop is LITERALLY their gimmick and they decide to confine Hal and John to a small town. I just don't get the rationale of making GREEN LANTERN a grounded esque True Detective show. That's not Green Lantern. If you wanted to do a grounded superhero project maybe you shouldn't have picked the franchise where thousands of aliens handpicked by million year old Smurfs guard the universe with magic rings that are fueled by the power of feelings. Just a thought. It’s kinda mad that Peacemaker has had a more outlandish show with alien threats and multiverses meanwhile the Green Lantern show sounds like it’s going to be very grounded. Also, if you really wanted a grounded detective show, MARTIAN MANHUNTER AND THE QUESTION WERE RIGHT FUCKING THERE! My other issue is the fact they chose to make Hal Jordan the old man Lantern, retiring and most likely gonna die. If they wanted an aged and jaded Lantern Alan Scott was RIGHT THERE! Hal being old, retiring and dying takes away from his dynamics with the other Lanterns, Sinestro, Carol, Ollie and Barry. Honestly don't like it. And minor nitpick about Lanterns. Hal and Guy are miscast. Nathan Fillion was who fans wanted to play Hal Jordan.....FOR DECADES! Guy is a young hot head with a heart of gold, someone like Aaron Paul, Boyd Holbrook, or Jesse Plemons would've been better suited for Guy Gardner.

The complete lack of respect for Wonder Woman. In the recent announcement, they gave animated shows to Absolute Batman, Krypto, Mister Miracle, Kite Man, and Joker. Diana has absolutely nothing. There's a Paradise Lost show, but that's about the Amazon's past, not Diana herself. And James Gunn has been lying for three straight years that he's "working on" a Wonder Woman animated show. Wonder Woman has -A cancelled game -No TV show, movie or animated show -Mainline war criminal writer had her kill herself when said mainline writer didn't even want to write her -Was promised a animated series in 2023, so far not a peep -Joker, Bane & Deathstroke, CLayface, Krypto and Jimmy fucking Olsen get projects before fucking Wonder Woman Also, they love using characters from her mythos like circe and giganta in other animated shows, just not diana herself! While not related to the DCU, the solution to the wonder woman comics writer’s room problem is to not hire dumbfuck men (tom king) who don’t care about wonder woman.. very simple. Kelly Thompson, Kelly Sue Deconnick, Stephanie Williams, or even Gail Simone or Greg Rucka would be an asset to diana’s storytelling & characterization

The inability to start fresh with certain characters. The Flash movie was an atrocity, but they could've course corrected and started over and have Wally as this universe's Flash. Flash is nowhere to be found. Same with Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Shazam. It's like they feel like "oh if so and so didn't do so well, then we gotta hide them and not show them again" it's also like they don't wanna try Green Arrow again after Guggenheim and Stephen Amell ruined the character.

As I said a few weeks ago

Batman and Superman have a stranglehold over movies, live action shows, video games and animated movies

Only show Wonder Woman has is from the 70's, 2 animated movies, 2 live action movies and a cancelled game and DC says she's part of the trio when DC and WB treat her horribly.

Captain Marvel/Shazam has two movies, an old serial movie and two featured animated movies

Green Lantern has one terrible movie, an animated series with a new one coming up, a decent video game based off the terrible movie and 3 animated movies

The Flash has a live action show/The Arrowverse, a Flashpoint adaptation, a cancelled video game and a terrible movie

The other members of the Justice League deserves better from DC and WB

And honestly, I'm worried for the future of the DCU. They are prioritizing the wrong characters, the world building isn't all that great so far and Gunn choosing directors who don't care about what they're adapting just doesn't leave me with a lot confidence in the future.

And it doesn't help that they're deadass acting like they're Sony trying to make a Spider-Man universe with no Spider-Man

It's amazing that a lack of coherent roadmap ultimately ruined the DCEU and now the DCU is doing the same exact thing.

If phase one isn't introducing the Trinity and phase two isn't introducing Green Lantern, The Flash, Aquaman, and maybe Marian Manhunter, you're doing it wrong. Phase 1 should be setting up the Justice League and ending with their first team up. Then in Phase 2 do whatever the fuck you want.

Phase 1: Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and maybe Martian Manhunter, but you could just have MM appear in Superman and/or Green Lantern.

Phase 1 finale: Justice League

Phase 2: Batman II (introduces Robin), Superman II (introduces Supergirl), Flash II (introduces Kid Flash), Wonder Woman II (introduces Donna Troy, Cassie Sandsmark, Yara Flor, Nubia), Green Lantern Corps., Aquaman 2 (Jackson Hyde / Kaldur'ahm / Aqualad)

Phase 2 finale: Justice League II

Phase 3: Nightwing, Titans, Green Arrow & Black Canary, Birds of Prey, Power Girl, Constantine, Justice Society, Zatanna, Booster Gold & Blue Beetle, Fire & Ice, Supergirl, The Terrifics, The Outsiders, SHAZAM!, New Gods, Lobo, Suicide Squad, Dead Man, Vixen, Firestorm, Swamp Thing, etc.

Phase 3 finale: Justice League III

And so on.

But no, let's start with Suicide Squad, Peacemaker, Creature Commandos, Clayface, Deathstroke, Bane, Jimmy Olsen, and Gorilla Grodd.

P.S. If and when Wonder Woman FINALLY gets her own movie, show or game. I need Tom King as far away from it as humanely possible and for Steve Trevor to GO THE FUCK AWAY and give Diana a girlfriend, cause she's bi goddamn it.

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