10 Fatal Mistakes That Ruined The DCEU

Obviously it goes without saying that their counterparts over at Marvel Studios have faced a villain problem of their own over the years, but so far the DCEU is still waiting on their first truly memorable antagonist.

Michael Shannon and Patrick Wilson gave some fantastic scenery-chewing in Man of Steel and Aquaman respectively, but as is the case with virtually every entry in the franchise, their performances became lost in the staple superhero third act 'CGI thing punching CGI thing' formula.

Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor proved to be incredibly divisive, while most people seemed to be in agreement that Doomsday was wasted as a generic 'monster of the week'. David Thewlis' face plastered on to a CGI suit of armor almost sank Wonder Woman's final battle, the usually reliable Mark Strong was completely forgettable in Shazam!, and Suicide Squad's Enchantress has to go down as one of the worst comic book movie villains in history alongside Justice League's Steppenwolf.

Ewan McGregor was good value as Birds of Prey's Black Mask, but for the most part the DCEU has been hugely let down by their one-dimensional approach to villainy, and the quality of the bad guy is both one of the most important and yet regularly overlooked aspects of the genre as a whole.