Since the release of Iron Man in 2008, I've always dreamed of a fully realized Marvel Cinematic Universe. A universe where, not only the Avengers and the characters from the current line of Marvel movies existed. A world that also included Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men and the other characters Marvel sold the cinematic rights for. With Captain America: Civil War, it shows it was possible since Spider-Man managed to make the jump from Sony Pictures and, in return, Iron Man’s gonna help out the Web-Head in his next film!
I'm Now, the biggest reason why I would want this to happen is because, simply put, Marvel movies are probably the most entertaining superheroes movies today. So, of course, DC is going to try their best to play catch up and produce their own slew of mega-blockbuster films starring their characters. Unfortunately, after seeing the rather uninspired and lifeless Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, I can’t say they’re doing a good job. You would think it would be easy for DC to make fantastic films based on their superhero properties. They have the more iconic heroes in my opinion. They’re already proven that they could make a Justice League; if you seen the animated series of the same name (like I have,) you’ll know putting up the team on the big screen has a lot of potential. Yet, it doesn’t seem to be going so well. But why does it seem like DC’s superhero movies are just not as good as the Marvel film? Well, there’s probably a laundry list of issues true fans have with them but I can tell you my two main issues with the current DC Movie Universe.
First is the lack of joy and happiness from their heroes. I can understand why Batman is so sad and angry all the time. His parents were murdered in front of his eyes and he never really got a chance to be a kid. Bruce Wayne essentially grew up into an adult in that instant. So what’s Clark Kent’s reason? Why is he so sullen exactly? Oh, sure, he’s the ultimate outsider as he’s not from this planet. But, in Man of Steel, it looks like he was raised by loving adoptive parents and he actually got a chance to go out and socialize with other kids. He, from what I’ve seen, had a pretty decent childhood. He still had a chance to experience the joys of being a kid. Yet, throughout Man of Steel, he just focuses on being an alien and never really experiences any joy except for that one scene where he realizes he can fly. That was my favorite scene of Man of Steel because it actually shows that Clark Kent/Superman is more than just a superhero. He’s actually a person with emotions. Who knows the thrill of doing something amazing.
The second thing is actually the bigger reason of the two: the DC Movie Universe looks like they don’t have a clear direction on what to do. They’ve got the general vision of what to do: make a series of movies based on their superhero properties. But how to actually do it? I don’t think they have a plan on how to get there. And I think this is because they don’t have a visionary like Kevin Feige moving all the pieces from behind the scenes. I did a bit of research on the character and it seems like he knows his Marvel history. He got his big break when he was hired to be an associate producer for the first X-Men film because of his apparent vast knowledge of the comics. He then pretty much helped out on practically each and every movie dealing with Marvel characters since then! Essentially, he’s the one who’s holding the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe together and giving it a specific direction.
Now, I don’t think there’s someone like Kevin Feige who has an overall view of where all of these movies will lead to. They know they want a Justice League movie so they know they’ll need to introduce all the characters eventually. But it seems like they’re rushing everything. Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice is just their second film in their entire Universe. Yet they already introduced Wonder Woman, who hasn’t gotten her own movie. But, after they do make the Wonder Woman film, apparently, the next film slated is gonna be the Justice League! Only after that time, they’ll release a standalone movie for The Flash, Aquaman and Shazam.. and then another Justice League film that slated for release in 2019! I don’t get why DC is going to give us a Justice League movie before even introducing the other members! Why will I care for The Flash if he teams up with Batman and Wonder Woman when I don’t even know who he is?
Marvel took their time to make us care for these characters so, when they did come together in The Avengers, we knew each and every one of their personalities. I don’t think we’ll get the same thing when the Justice League does form next year. DC’s movie future is looking to be as dark as their films. They’re moving too fast for us to properly introduce characters and DC probably think we like it because all their movies are going to make money no matter what. I have the sneaking suspicion DC already knows we’ll go watch all their upcoming movies no matter the level of quality. Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if they made Aquaman a 2-1/3 hour loop of Rick Ashley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” and people would still go watch it even though they know it’s just a huge rickroll.
Thankfully, there is one upcoming DC movie that actually looks like it could break their dark and gritty mold. And I’ll talk more about my expectations for Suicide Squad next time.
What’s your opinion on the direction DC is taking with their movies? Let me know in the comments section below!