10 Radical Ideas To Save The DC Extended Universe

And then of course, you could always go the other direction, and hit the cosmic stuff hard. After all, it’s the other thing that DC probably does better than the competition. While Marvel is stuck repeating the same superheroes-punching-supervillains-and-sometimes-each-other schtick they’ve been doing for decades, DC has the market cornered on gritty street crime and extra-dimensional, extraterrestrial awe-fests.

Look at it this way: the Green Lantern Corps aren’t just alien superheroes, they’re an intergalactic paramilitary police force, space cops. Superman can shunt moons out of orbit, and has a rogue’s gallery of comparable power. Wonder Woman gets her power from the classical Greco-Roman pantheon, as does Shazam for the most part.

The Martian Manhunter is one of a whole race of creatures only one planet over in our solar system, each one of whom is a shapechanging warrior on a par with Wonder Woman and the Man Of Steel. Darkseid and the whole New Gods, Apokolips vs. New Genesis thing is a whole primary-coloured madcap, overpowered and enjoyably ludicrous space opera waiting to happen.

If you’re looking for something to differentiate the DCEU from the MCU, then cosmic may well be the way to go. After all, Marvel’s own cosmic stories have been underwhelming on the big screen so far. The Kree have been depicted as big, blue lunkhead warriors. Guardians Of The Galaxy introduced a Drax The Destroyer who was no match whatsoever for a pre-Infinity Stone Ronan The Accuser, let alone his supposed nemesis Thanos.

Thanos himself is Marvel’s own, rip-off version of Darkseid and has still barely been introduced. The Collector, another powerful cosmic alien in the comics, has been set up in the MCU as a weird-haired, virtually powerless eccentric. The Asgardians are just aliens. All cosmic power seems to come in the form of those CGI mcguffins I’ve mentioned.

Perhaps it’s best to let the DCEU do what DC often does best: massive, operatic stories involving ridiculous, high-falutin’ powers smiting one another. Foiling alien invasions! Busting through the walls of parallel universes! Just, maybe quit it with the urban devastation. Do it on the moon, or another planet.