10 Most Ironic Scenes In DCEU History
Bruce Wayne has been a font of irony in the DCEU.
There is a lot that could be said about the DCEU. Always struggling to break out from the giant shadow cast by the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and beginning by trying to instantly catch up to the mega-franchise within its first two movies, a lot of it isn’t positive.
From a mish-mash of different tones, often within the same movie, to the lack of an actual coherent story throughout, and ridiculous shackles applied by studio interference, there are plenty of reasons the DCEU could be seen as a failure.
Within that, however, there are glimpses of brilliance. Though the writing has never been consistent, there has often been an expert execution of irony. Something in the story that contradicts itself, calling into question character decisions, inspiring emotions, and often even making audiences shout at the screen.
It’s always an achievement to coax this kind of emotional reaction out of fans, and even in those scenarios when it wasn’t necessarily the point or the aim of the moment, it does add to the overall story and experience of the movie. Irony is in no short supply in the DCEU, not least with Billy Batson’s journey into the world of superheroes…
10. Billy Batson Caused The Bus Crash
When Billy was given his Superman-esque powers by the wizard, Shazam, he didn’t exactly act like a hero. This was probably to be expected, as he was just ‘basically’ 15, but even so, with great power and all that. Naturally, Freddy wasn’t happy.
Instead of doing the kind of good his new brother expected him to do in line with his Justice League heroes, the Human Powerstorm tried to make some quick cash by performing for the Philadelphia public. He shot lightning from his hands for money.
Obviously, this was woefully underusing his new-found powers, something that didn’t change until he was forced to save a bus full of innocent civilians from crashing off a bridge and onto the tarmac below. It was a moment of heroism, something which he was immensely proud of and ran straight to Freddy to tell him about, but he didn’t exactly come out of it smelling of roses.
The only reason that bus was ever put in danger was because Billy shot its tyre out with one of his rogue bursts of lightning he was making money off. One of the first acts of heroism he ever did, and it was to save a bunch of people from himself.