10 Little Known Superheroes That Would Make DC Millions On Film

Batman's cool and all, but come on, why haven't we seen more of these guys?

by Ewan Paterson
the question
DC Comics

When it comes to both the big and small screens, DC have, for the most part, mainly relied on their most popular characters to capture an audience. We are, after all, on our way to Superman's seventh big screen appearance, as well as Batman's tenth in as many years, with Justice League just months away.

Now, there's nothing inherently wrong with this approach; DC have to turn a profit and Bats and Supes are the two most recognisable fictional symbols in the world. However, it has become apparent in recent years that, when WB are particularly Bat-inclined, saturation and character fatigue emerge in a noticeable way. People may love Batman, sure, but just how much Bat can they take before - y'know - things get stale?

Unlike Marvel, DC have never had to worry about being separated from their most popular and indeed bankable characters. When Marvel had to bring their (originally) less-popular heroes to the big screen - a challenge in and of itself - they were met with an emphatic reaction and a hugely successful film franchise to boot. Iron Man, now one of the most popular comic book characters on and off the screen, was nowhere near as spoken of as the X-Men, or Spider-Man, or even the Fantastic Four; it took a concerted effort (and a helping hand from RDJ) to make the character the success he is today.

It’s a formula that DC could - and indeed should - be looking to replicate going forward. And while past animated efforts like Justice League Unlimited prove that it is indeed a path worth taking, DC's own attempts to evoke the spirit of '08 in their works could be so, so much better. Especially with the kind of untapped library the company boasts.

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Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.