10 Problems Fans STILL Won't Admit About The DCEU

2. It Tries (And Fails) To Be Marvel

The DCEU will never be the MCU. Even if that was the plan in the early days - albeit with the added agenda to be darker, cooler and more adult - it's never going to happen. And yet Warner Bros still seem to hang onto the need to emulate their Distinguished Competition.

Why wouldn't they? The MCU is basically the most lucrative franchise of all time now and it offers the single most effective model for expanded universe film-making there is. Ignoring that would be akin to ignoring the map to making a sh*tload of money. And in case you missed it, Warner Bros are in the business of making money.

In reality, Warner Bros need to cut off those expectations as much as possible (without reverting to the old "yes, but it's DARKER" narrative that's been peddled so much). The problem, of course, is that it's an impossible thing to resist now. They will forever be compared as long as they persist with an expanded universe and several of their properties - Aquaman and Wonder Woman chiefly, but also Flashpoint - are even better sales when they exist as part of the same tapestry. And a shared universe goes some way to addressing the issues of multiple, confusing timelines.

In other words, they can't win.