The DC Universe is a ripe place to pull some amazing movie adaptations from, but the cinematic franchise isn’t always able to get things right. Some of the worst DC movies have concepts that never should have gone through in the first place, surprising no one with their failure. But more often than not, every DC film that does poorly is indicative of a painful missed opportunity.
There are many divisive elements that can morph a great premise for a comic book film into a dud at the box office. Poor casting of DC characters, awkward dialogue, and bad filmmaking techniques are all more than enough to eclipse a promising story with their poor quality. Certain DC films prove that execution is everything, easily being great feathers in the franchise’s cap in another, kinder universe.
10
Joker: madness in two
Was a sequel to a 1 billion dollar story people wanted more of
Joker was one of the most successful films in recent memory DC has unleashed both commercially and critically, earning DC an Academy Award while breaking a billion dollars at the box office. The film left off with the society of Gotham City at the precipice of collapse, with Arthur Fleck’s actions inspiring countless copycat criminals in clown masks. This set things up perfectly for a thought-provoking sequel, complete with the acting and musical talents of Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn.
Sadly, Todd Phillips’ vision for a sequel was not what the fans of the original wanted to see. If anything, Joker: madness in two feels punitive, specifically made in defiance of anyone who gave the original film its notoriety by spending the entire runtime needlessly torturing Fleck and undoing his previous character growth. Pepper in the mediocre score for what was billed as a musical, and Joker: madness in two is a film that seemingly exists out of spite and for no one.
9
The Flash
Adapted one of DC Comics’ most famous stories of all time
The Flash is certainly one of the DCEU’s most ambitious films, taking the arduous task of adapting one of the franchise’s most famous (or infamous) comic storylines, The Flashpoint Paradox. The massive crossover event totally re-wrote the canon of the DC universe via The Flash’s powers. Seeing how the DCEU was coming to an end by the time of The Flash’s solo film, the adaptation would have been a perfect chance to fold what worked from the franchise into the next iteration.
Almost everything about The Flash was a massive miss, from the awkward, rubbery CGI to the excessive and disrespectful cameos to the mess of a multiversal story. The result was a huge swing and a miss for the DCEU, turning out to be one of the brief-lived series’ worst financial flops. With all the promise of the original story that worked, it’s a shame that the Scarlet Speedster’s first solo film wasn’t able to stick the landing.
8
Suicide Squad
Made Perfect Sense For The DCEU
Already behind the movies of the MCU by a solid 5 years, the early stages of the DCEU benefited from ensemble films that introduced many heroes at once and further fleshed out the world. In the aim to do so, a Suicide Squad movie was a perfect idea, giving the franchise a chance to expand various corners of the world while telling an unconventional villain-focused story. Enter 2016’s Suicide Squadone of the most critically-panned superhero movies ever conceived.
Suicide Squad was the victim of rampant re-shoots and last-minute editing choices that made the tone and story direction of the film feel like a jumbled mess. The shallow characters, stunted performances, and middle-of-the-road CGI add up to an aggressively mediocre experience. At least the James Gunn re-dux, The Suicide Squadwas eventually able to fulfill the promise of the premise.
7
Green Lantern
The only attempt at a Green Lantern movie
Green Lantern is a hero that offers a lot of promise to a film adaptation. Films like the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy have more than proven that space is the perfect setting for a superhero movie, as audiences grow more and more accustomed to CGI worlds and alien characters. Sadly, the character’s only attempt at a live-action story was the infamously disastrous Ryan Reynolds film in 2011.
Green Lantern has become the laughingstock of Reynolds’ career, being the punchline of multiple jokes in the Deadpool trilogy, and for good reason. It seems as though 2011 was just a tad too early for the level of CGI the blockbuster film needed, not to mention unnecessary additions like the fully animated suit. The forgettable script and boring uses of Green Lantern’s normally creative and versatile powerset squandered any chances the film had to succeed.
6
Batman & Robin
The only attempt at a true dynamic duo for film
Considering how quintessential Robin is to the Batman mythos for so many, it’s a shock that so few of the live-action Batman films have bothered to include him. The only one to this day that included the Boy Wonder from the beginning without the formality of an origin story is, fittingly enough, Batman & Robin. On paper, having Batman and Robin together at last, from the beginning of a film to the end in a battle against Poison Ivy, Bane, and Mr. Freeze isn’t a bad idea at all.
In practice, however, Batman & Robin takes the superhero franchise in an audaciously silly direction. Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze is one of the most hilariously miscast roles in movie history, and George Clooney’s sleepwalking performance as Batman is by far the most pitiful of the original quadrilogy. From the rubber nipples on the suit to the Bat Credit Card, it’s the details and execution that kept the only true attempt at a Dynamic Duo from being great.
5
Justice League
Could have been DC’s The Avengers
Despite being arguably a more popular superhero team than the Avengers, the Justice League took much longer to actually manifest as a solo movie. Of course, the concept of a Justice League movie is a promising one, particularly in a movie universe like the DCEU that has already set up the existence of multiple heroes with solo movies. Darkseid as a villain has the potential to be the next Thanos, mesmerizing audiences for years to come with his imposing presence.
Sadly, 2017’s Justice League was the victim of obvious re-shoots and hasty last-minute edits, similarly to Suicide Squad. From Henry Cavill’s hideous CGI face hiding his contractually obligated mustache to the absurd disparity in screentime between the various members of the Justice League, the film failed to be the DCEU’s triumphant answer to The Avengers. Zack Snyder’s Justice League at least was eventually able to give the film a more focused direction, but it was too little, too late for the DCEU.
4
Jonah Hex
A dark, gritty superhero Western
One of the most unique Westerns ever made, Jonah Hex is one of the most forgotten DC movies ever to hit theaters. A more obscure character existing within the past of the DC universe, the bounty hunter Jonah Hex is an interesting anti-hero perfect for a gritty superhero story with a Western flavor. Hex’s gruff exterior and frightening visage could have made for a decidedly different DC hero that the series has never truly attempted to center an entire solo film around.
Unfortunately, Jonah Hex has been largely forgotten in the memory of the pop culture zeitgeist for good reason. The rambling plot has far more ideas than it has time to clearly execute all of them, resulting in a jumbled mess of a story that can never quite seem to find its footing. Despite how good of a casting choice he may have been on paper, Josh Brolin isn’t able to carry the tortured cowboy past the finish line, thanks in no part to Megan Fox’s flatlining performance.
3
Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice
Could have been the DCEU’s Civil War
Yet another attempt from the DCEU to rapidly introduce multiple characters at once, the premise of a film in which Batman and Superman go toe-to-toe was a promising one indeed. Considering Batman and Superman had never actually shared the screen in live-action prior to the film, the hype machine surrounding Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was insurmountable. There were so many interesting ideological directions the film could have gone in to explain the philosophical schism that might bring the franchise’s two most famous heroes to blows.
In Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Snyder proved his vision of the two flagship characters was far from traditional, turning Batman into a crazed murderer and Superman into a savior figure with a God complex. Jesse Eisenberg’s quirky and neurotic take on Lex Luthor didn’t help to assuage vocal critics’ issues with the film, and the infamous “Martha” scene was the final nail in the coffin in the story’s chances to get the DCEU’s first major crossover off on the right foot. Hopefully, someday Batman and Superman will get a more worthy round 2.
2
Catwoman
Didn’t need to abandon the comics like it did
Catwoman is one of the most beloved characters in the DC mythos of Gotham City, a literal cat burglar and femme fatale who walks the razor’s edge between good and evil. While there have been almost as many live-action versions of Selina Kyle as there have been of Bruce Wayne, she usually only shows up as a supporting character in Batman’s story, often as a love interest. There are a myriad of interesting directions one could take a solo Catwoman film, from a daring heist movie to a tense superhero drama.
Of course, Halle Berry’s Catwoman offers none of these, remaining a garish and cheesy supernatural crime thriller with no relation to the source material outside the main character’s name. There was no reason for a solo Catwoman film to eschew the traditional story of the character, which could have offered many promising storylines regarding criminal redemption. The totally original story replacing Selina Kyle’s comic history remains an insult to the DC Comics name to this day.
1
Steel
Shouldn’t have ever casted a non-actor
Steel is a relatively obscure hero as far as the DC Comics world is concerned, but he isn’t one who is without promise for a film adaptation. The genius inventor and Superman fan John Henry Irons has appeared successfully in multiple projects before, from animated films like Reign of the Supermen to live-action TV show appearances in Superman & Lois. A solo film centering on Steel has plenty of potential to mine for a captivating story perhaps similar to 2008’s Iron Man.
Enter 1997’s Steelone of the most dramatic failures of DC moviemaking that has since continuously stained the character’s heritage. Starring NBA star Center Shaquille O’Neal as the titular hero, Steel‘s worst offense was casting someone who literally can’t act as its main character for the sake of name recognition. It’s unlikely the DC Universe will ever see Steel appear in a major capacity again thanks to Shaq’s utter lack of charisma on a film set.
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