The DCEU if it Were Released Like the MCU
(Cause I like fanfiction too)
I had some time on my hands and I’m a major fan of Batman and any stories Batman related. So since I feel like its been a minute since I’ve been able to see my guy in the spotlight as far as movies, shows and games go…I started to address my Caped Crusader hunger through my imagination. However, what started off as solely proposed Batman movies, became the DC Universe as a whole OR at least the DC Universe within the confines of my limited comic book knowledge. As a 90’s baby, I think our generation’s childhood was blessed with exposure to some of the best storylines in comics, cartoons, and other mediums that comic book characters had to offer, but that’s just my opinion. SOO a lot of what I will be pulling from is from what I fell in love with as a kid and would love to see embraced on the big screen now.
So check…
Phase ONE: The Invasion Phase
…The grounded phase…
Batman (2008) — The first film is a 1990-noir styled "Batman: Long Halloween" inspired story set in present-day (would be present…’08) Gotham City overrun by the criminally insane and the criminally organized. Batman has one night to investigate a string of mysterious murders, prompting him to step into the moniker of the “World’s Greatest Detective”. — Directed by David Fincher
- Featuring: Alfred, Harvey Dent, Catwoman, Lucius Fox, and Capt. James Gordon.
- Antagonist(s): Detective Jones, Maroni Crime Family, Victor Zsasz, The Riddler, Calendar Man, and the Holiday Killer.
*Strictly a detective-crime film with no meta-humans or super fantastical elements, in order to showcase Batman’s wits.
The Joker (2008) - A 1980-noir styled "The Man Who Laughs" inspired origin story of the Joker set 10 years before the events of Batman '08, following the GCPD’s investigation of a poisonous threat to the city’s water supply by the insanely disgruntled Clown Prince of Crime who blames Gotham for his disfigurement, sparking a new age of criminal to emerge that shakes the very fabric of the city during a mayoral election year. — Directed by Todd Phillips
- Featuring: Dr. Hugo Strange, and Campaign Director Amanda Waller.
- Antagonist(s): Lt. Jim Gordon, Officer Jones, the Red Hood Gang, the Penguin, and incumbent-Mayor Wilson Klass.
Batman: Part II (2010) - A "Batman: Dark Victory" inspired crime story picking up immediately after the end of Batman '08, as he unravels a decade old secret of industrial sabotage and corruption within the inner workings of Wayne Enterprise. Bruce struggles against corporate accusations that tarnish the Wayne legacy, sustaining his adoptive family and some of the most monstrous villains in the "Caped Crusader’s" rogue gallery. — Directed by David Fincher
- Featuring: Dick Grayson, Alfred, Catwoman, Lucius Fox, Commissioner Jim Gordan, and Detective John Jones.
- Antagonist(s): Green Arrow, Mr. Freeze, Solomon Grundy, Poison Ivy and Two-Face.
*An action-thriller that introduces more superhero-fantastical elements as well as the gruesome side of Gotham in order to showcase Batman’s resourcefulness.
Wonder Woman (2011) - Inspired by Greek mythology’s "Amazonomachy," a crashed American army pilot is saved by Princess Diana of Themyscira after having drifted on the Amazonian island’s shores. After being persuaded to join the world’s war of nations to protect her own, Diana is thought to have been abducted by the world of man which prompts the Amazonians to prepare a full-scale attack against both the Axis and Allied forces in Nazi Greece. — Directed by Deborah and Zack Snyder
- Featuring: Queen Hippolyta, Steve Trevor, Zeus, Nu’Bia, and Antiope.
- Antagonist(s): Gen. Erich Ludendorff and Baroness Paula von Gunther.
Superman: The Man of Steel (2011) - A distator film that takes place after the destruction of Krypton by a supercomputer, following an infant that escapes by being sent to Earth. Years later, a crashed alien vessel is found in the arctic. Adult Clark Kent must take a path to discovering his true ancestry and heroic purpose in time as the vessel begins to terraform Earth’s environment into that of Krypton’s with cataclysmic effects around the globe. Saving the people of the planet from countless natural disasters is only a job for Superman in a disaster-genre film. — Directed by Roland Emmerich
- Featuring: Lois Lane, Perry White, and J'onn J'onzz (John Jones).
- Antagonist(s): Perry White and General Wade Eiling.
*A disaster film with no super villains, just Superman saving people and developing trust in a character vs society & nature conflict.
The Justice League (2012) - J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter, is the last of his people after a war with the White Martians. After two decades of investigation while living among Earth’s people, J'onn discovers the White Martians have also been living among the Earthlings and have taken control of the planet's surveillance through corporate espionage. Now the Manhunter recruits the help of Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman to fight this imminent alien invasion.
- Featuring Green Arrow.
- Antagonist(s): Cadmus Dir. Amanda Waller, General Wade Eiling, and Protex.
*Counts as Martian Manhunter’s solo movie featuring the DC Comics trinity.
PHASE TWO: The Dawn of Justice
…the real Justice League phase…
Batman III (2013) - When elements of “The Killing Joke,” "Death IN the Family" and "Death OF the Family" storylines converge, Batman meets his greatest archenemy in the form of the Joker’s return to Gotham City to threaten the lives of Batman and all of his allies which pushes the "Dark Knight" to the margins of both sanity and his ultimate moral. — Directed by Christopher Nolan
- Featuring: Nightwing, Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, and Barbra Gordon.
- Other Antagonist(s): Clayface, Harley Quinn, Talia Al Ghul and Ra’s Al Ghul.
*Caps off Batman’s trilogy with a martial arts drama that showcases Batman’s skill and fully embraces the fantastical elements of the comics. Barbra gets injured, Alfred and Joker die.
Wonder Woman: Underworld (2013) - Loosely based on "Future State: Wonder Woman" where WW travels through the realms of the Underworld after Hades kidnaps her mother, Queen Hippolyta in an adventure inspired by Dante’s "Inferno," "Hercules’s Twelve Labours," "Daedalus' Labyrinth," along with both the Persephone and Eurydice Greek tragedies. — Directed by Deborah and Zack Snyder
- Featuring: John Constantine, Chiron, King Minos, and Ferdinand the Minotaur.
- Other Antagonist(s): Cerberus, Sisyphus, Phlegyas, The Female Furies (Bernadeth, Gilotina and Lashina), and Giganta.
*Constantine acts as this story’s poet Virgil, guiding WW (Dante) through the Underworld (Hell).
Superman: The Last Son of Krypton (2014) - General Zod along with two infamous Kryptonian lieutenants avoid Krypton’s destruction after being exiled moments before its explosion and find a damaged escape ship containing a cryogenically preserved Kara Zor-El. Following repairs to the ship, the surviving Kryptonian fugitives and Kara are led to follow another escape ship’s signal located on Earth. — Directed by Roland Emmerich
- Featuring: Lois Lane
- Other Antagonist(s): Lt. Ursa and Lt. Non.
*Character vs character conflict where Superman fights Zod and Superman fights Kara (Falcon/Winter-Soldier rolled into one)
The Green Lantern Corp (2014) - John Stewart (duh) and Hal Jordan are intergalactic cops in a cyberpunk space-noir where the pair are given orders to investigate a murder case involving a slain Guardian. — Directed by Ridley Scott
- Featuring: Kilwog, Kyle Rayner, and Katma Tui.
- Antagonist(s): Black Hand
The Justice League: Age of Brainiac (2015) - Once the supercomputer AI of Krypton, the now sentient Brainiac invades the Starro homeplanet and takes control of the powerful species through technological augmentation, in an effort to continue his galactic conquest to a crashed Kryptonian vessel’s homing beacon on Earth where he plans to do the same with the world's most powerful species. The JL reunites to take on this worldly threat.
- Featuring: Green Lantern, Supergirl, The Flash, and Constantine,
- Other Antagonists: Cadmus Dir. Amanda Waller, and Starro.
*The official Justice League movie.
The Flash (2015) - Following Brainiac and Starro’s defeat thanks to the JL, forensic scientist, Barry Allen returns to Central City where he juggles two lives in an effort to prove his father’s innocence and free him from prison. — Directed by J.J. Abrams
- Featuring: Henry Allen,
- Antagonists: Captain Boomerang
Phase THREE: The Reckoning Phase
…the BIG crossover phase…
Superman: Tower of Babel (2016) - Following three alien invasions, the ever-expanding existence of more super-powered beings, the Brainiac/Starro attack as well as the potential threat a mind-controlled League would create, a still-grieving Batman (cause of Batman III) commits himself to creating contingencies should any new or internal threats arise. However trust among the team is broken when the plans for such contingencies fall into the hands of Lex Luthor before leading into a "Tower of Babel" inspired storyline that causes the fall of the JL and the reveal of new powerful beings. — Directed by Michael Mann
- Featuring: Supergirl, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Martian Manhunter and Aquaman.
- Other Antagonists: Dir. Amanda Waller, Nightwing, Green Arrow, and Cyborg.
Zatanna (2016) - Zatanna, daughter of a human mage father and an other-worldly sorceress mother, must defend the world against an organization of dark forces responsible for the disappearance of her parents as she learns to become the world’s most powerful master of the mystic arts. — Directed by Louis Leterrier
- Featuring: Giovanni Zatara.
- Antagonist(s): Brother Night
Suicide Squad (2017) - After the disbanding of the JL, Amanda Waller puts together her own team of individuals that will act clandestinely to fight entities that threaten the security of the U.S. government, in this case it is the creation of the life-force stealing villain, Parasite. — Directed by Adam McKay
- Featuring: Rick Flag, Deadshot, Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang, Cheetah, and King Shark.
- Other Antagonist: Batman.
Cyborg: Homecoming (2017) - Set after the defeat of Lex Luthor in Superman: Tower of Babel, Cyborg is guided by Bruce Wayne as he tries to balance being part college freshman and part advanced artificial intelligence heavily sought after by business tycoon, Winslow Schott.
- Featuring: Alfred.
- Other Antagonist(s): Shrapnel and Gizmo.
Wonder Woman: Odyssey (2017) - A story post-Superman: Tower of Babel inspired by the “Wonder Woman: Odyssey” storyline finding WW on her return home where she must investigate the destruction of Themyscira, the disappearance of the Amazons, and the evil mystery behind Myrina the Black across several cosmic realms in a journey equally inspired by Homer’s “Odyssey” classic epic. — Directed by Deborah and Zack Snyder
- Featuring: Hermes, Nu’Bia and Donna Troy.
- Other Antagonists: Despero, Circe, Cheetah, Silver Banshee, and Eclipso and the Ophidians.
Aquaman (2018) - Aquaman returns to the kingdom of Atlantis and struggles with the rage his people wage against the surface in retaliation for their king being targeted in Superman: Tower of Babel. When must diplomacy end and war begin for survival? — Directed by James Wan
- Featuring: Queen Atlanna, and Mera
- Antagonists: Nereus, Black Manta, and Master Orm.
Justice League: Infinite Crisis (2018) - The evil new gods of Apokolips travel across the universe in pursuit of the Anti-Life Equation to give its user domination over all of life. The disbanded JL along with some new members must reunite to face against their biggest fight yet, Apokolips’s ruler, Darkseid. — Directed by James Cameron
- Featuring: Zatanna, Cyborg, and Aquaman.
- Other Antagonists: Steppenwolf and Myrina the Black.
Barry Allen & The Flash (2018) - Apokolips begins its assault on Earth, but meanwhile the Flash is abducted into an alternate reality by Citizen Abra where comic book character, Jay Garrick is The Flash. The two must come to odds with Garrick’s own comic book villain, The Thinker as he tampers with the speed force in an attempt to escape into the real world. — Directed by J.J. Abrams
- Featuring: the Original Flash (John Wesley Shipp).
- Other Antagonist(s): Shade.
Captain Shazam (2019) - In the early 90's, 14 year old Billy Batson becomes imbued with magical powers that transform him into a mighty superhero just in time too as a evil scientist and a worm alien leader seek world domination.
- Featuring: Martian Manhunter.
- Antagonists: Dr. Thaddeus Sivana, and Mister Mind.
*Something happens that he ends up off planet or in another reality for some years like Captain Marvel.
Justice League: Final Crisis (2019) - Darkseid has acquired the Anti-Life Equation and is now more powerful than he’s ever been, although the League has a plan that will require the ultimate sacrifice to save the planet. — Directed by James Cameron
- Featuring: Nightwing, Nu’Bia, Shazam, the Flash, Earth-89 Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton), Diana Prince (Linda Carter), Earth-66 Lois Lane (Margot Kidder), Earth-167 Superman (Tom Welling), and Earth-12 Batman (Kevin Conroy).
- Other Antagonists: Doomsday.
*Batman and Superman die.
PHASE FOUR: The Heir & Magic Phase
…the magic and heir phase…
Static Shock: Far From Home (2019) - It’s been months since the defeat of Darkseid and the deaths of both Superman and Batman. Green Lantern, now leading the JL and in a pursuit to expand (JL Unlimited style) by preparing a next generation of heroes, meets Virgil Hawkins aka Static Shock. Together they stop Sinestro. — Directed by Rick Famuyiwa
- Featuring: Bumblebee
- Other Antagonist(s): Rubberband Man.
How I Met The Joker (Warner+) (2021) - Set years before the Joker’s death and Suicide Squad, to narrate timeline of how Dr. Harleen Quinzel meets the Joker, falls in love, becomes Harely Quinn, and falls out with him. — Directed by Melina Matsoukas
- Featuring: Sharon Quinzel, Bud and Lou.
- Antagonists: Hugo Strange, Scarecrow and Poison Ivy.
The Reign of Superman (2020) - Inspired by the "Reign of the Supermen" storyline, after the death of Superman in Justice League: End Crisis, four new heroes appear in Metropolis to take up the mantle. Lex Luthor shoehorns himself into the struggle with a young and genetically engineered clone of both his DNA and that of the late-great Man of Steel himself. — Directed by Victoria Mahoney
- Featuring Supergirl, Steel, and Superboy.
- Antagonists: Cyborg Superman and The Eradicator.
*Supergirl becomes Superwoman at the end.
Constantine (Warner+) - Occult detective, John Constantine strikes a deal with a society of mystical pacifists for a chance to save his soul from eternal damnation in exchange for saving another soul, that of a young girl who happens to be the offspring of a former cultist and the powerful demon, Trigon. Together they travel across several variations of mystical realms to stop the cult responsible for the death of her mother from re-summoning Trigon who seeks to use his daughter to control the Multiverse. — Directed by Edgar Wright
- Featuring: Azar, and Raven.
- Antagonists: Brother Blood.
Black Canary (2021) - Black Widow movie but with no spies and with Black Canary instead, along with featuring Green Arrow. — Directed by Angelina Jolie
Elseworlds (Warner+) (2021) - An animated reimagining of alternate DCEU stories, such as the Justice Lords, DCeased, Superman: Speeding Bullets, Batman: Endgame and more. — Directed by Jordan Peele
Richard Dragon (2021) - Following the death of the Dark Knight, a dying Ra’s Al Ghul turns to his estranged son, now known as Richard Dragon to take up his throne, leading Richard to face his family’s demons. — Directed by Prachya Pinkaew
- Featuring: Talia Al Ghul
- Antagonist: Ra’s Al Ghul
Freddy Shazam (Warner+) - DC version of Ms. Marvel’s show? — Directed by Peter Jackson
New Gods (2021) - Following the death of Darkseid, the New Gods of New Genesis led by Orion battle the remaining New Gods of Apokolips who have divided themselves in a fight over Darkseid’s now vacant throne. — Directed by Ava DuVernay
- Featuring: Highfather, Mister Miracle, Big Barda
- Antagonists: Granny Goodness and Stepphenwolf
Green Arrow (Warner+) - I don’t know…but the show introduces Red Arrow. Sorry to the Green Arrow fans but I don’t have no knowledge there. — Directed by The Wachowskis
Teen Titans: No Way Home (2021) — John Stewart (hell yeah) mentors a team of Cyborg, Superboy, Static Shock, Red Arrow, Raven, and Starfire to face new threats. — Directed by Justin Lin
Zatanna in the Multiverse of Mischief (2022) — You get the point. — Directed by Sam Raimi
- Featuring: Constantine, Raven, and Doctor Fate.
- Antagonist(s): Felix Faust
Nightwing & Robin (Warner+) - Nightwing struggles to look after the newly discovered son of Talia Al Ghul and the late Bruce Wayne in a Gotham City up-for-grabs by both villains and heroes after Batman’s death. — Directed by Quentin Tarantino
- Featuring: Damien Wayne, The Oracle, Batwoman, Tim Fox and Batwing (Lucas Fox).
- Antagonist(s): Azreal, Hugo Strange, Huntress, Slade Wilson, League of Shadows, and the Court of Owls.
*Harley Quinn ends up taking over the crime world of Gotham at the end.
Wonder Woman: Love & War (2022) - When Vandal Savage travels back in time to make himself a god, WW follows him through the past, encountering classical mythologies and pantheons. — Directed by Deborah and Zack Snyder
- Featuring: Steve Trevor, Rama and Hawkgirl
- Other Antagonists: Ab al Ghul, Teth-Adam, and Etrigan.
PHASE FIVE: The Future Phase
…the time phase…
Aquaman: Rise of Atlantis (2022) — Directed by James Wan
The Jokerz (Warner+) - After taking over the city’s villainous underworld, Harley Quinn using immortalized image of the Joker, a half century into the future, Gotham is terrorized by corporations of organized-crime gangs filled with his loyal fanatics. Belonging to one of the most notorious of these Joker crime families, Trey narrates a timeline of his journey through this world of clowns. — Directed by Martin Scorsese
- Featuring: J-Man, Dee Dee, Chucko, and The Weasel.
- Antagonists: Commissioner Barbara Gordon, and Terry McGinnis.
Booster Gold (Warner+) (2022) — Directed by Guy Ritchie
The Shazam Family (2022) — Shazam fights Black Adam.
- Featuring: Mary Shazam, Freddy Shazam, Lt. Shazam, Lady Shazam and Shazam Jr.
- Antagonists: Black Adam
Wally West & The Flash: Flashpoint (2023) - The Flash tampers with the speed force and travels to an alternate future where Bruce Wayne died in Crime Alley in place of his parents, nations clash between an Amazonian-Atlantean war, and The Flash must make the ultimate decision, save his mother or save Wally West from death.
- Featuring Wally West (Kid Flash), Cyborg, Batman (Thomas Wayne), and Superman.
- Antagonists: the Joker (Martha Wayne), Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Captain Cold and Reverse-Flash.
Legion of Superheroes (2023) — Set half a century into the future. A team of heroes go up against a Superman Prime from another universe. — Directed by Chris Columbus
- Featuring: Saturn Girl, Brainiac 5, Lightning Lad, Cosmic Boy, and Terry McGinnis.
- Antagonists: Superman Prime.
Doom Patrol (2024) (Warner+) — Introduces Beast Boy.
The Justice Lords (Warner+) (2024) — After the events of WW: Love & War, Vandal Savage gets trapped in an alternate timeline where a team of god-like criminals resembling the JL run the U.S. government with costumed iron fists. — Directed by Zack and Deborah Snyder
- Featuring: Vandal Savage
- Antagonists: Ultraman, Superwoman, Owlman, Power Ring, Sea King, Atomica and Johnny Quick.
Suicide Squad: A Fourth of July Special (2024) — The Suicide Squad’s new mission is to take down the newly formed Legion of Doom in a fight that causes former partners to be pinned against one another as well as folks of both factions migrating to the other. — Directed by Steven Soderbergh
- Featuring: Rick Flag, Katana, Deadshot, Ratcatcher II, Captain Boomerang, Mongal, Condiment King and King Shark.
- Antagonist(s): Gorilla Grodd, Deathstroke, Cheetah II, Black Manta, Star Sapphire, and Toyman.
- Other Antagonist(s): Amanda Waller and Peacemaker.
DCeased (Warner+) (2024) — a series taking place following the timeline of Justice League: Infinity Crisis but with altered events where Darkseid acquires a corrupted Anti-Life Equation through the merging of the Black Racer, the physical manifestation of Death, and the digital components of Cyborg. Upon Cyborg’s escape back to Earth, the equation takes on the life of a techno-organic virus through the internet, leading to an infection spreading and turning its hosts into the undead. — Directed by Jay Olivia
Etrigan (2024) — an ancient knight possessed by an demon warrior fights against the powerful sorceress, Morgaine le Fey and her magic minions over several centuries in a Highlander-style story. — Directed by Guillermo del Toro
Deathstroke (2024) — Directed by Ben Affleck
Teen Titans: Home for the Holidays (2025) — Robin (Damien Wayne), Kid Flash, and Beast Boy join the team. — Directed by Justin Lin
The Guardians of the Universe (2025) — The origins of how the Guardians formed the Green Lantern Corp, narrated by John Stewart. — Directed by Ridley Scott
- Featuring: Maltusians.
Batman Beyond (2025) — Bruce Wayne, after faking his own death a half century ago, has been living underground. However, because Gotham is once again overrun with maniac killers and now a Joker-themed organized crime gang, Bruce resurfaces to guide the greatest heir to his cowl. — Directed by Matt Reeves
- Featuring: Batman (Terry McGinnis), and Commissioner Barbara Gordon.
- Antagonists: Chucko, Anarky, Blight, and Batman (Damien Wayne).
*In this future, Damien Wayne is a psychopathic and violent Batman (“The Batman Who Laughs” inspired??) that enviably, Terry-Batman has to face. Batman vs Batman. This also leaves the opportunity to then in the present develop Damien’s story on some “how did he get from this to that” Darth Vader shit.
PHASE SIX: The Unlimited Phase
…the end of people’s contracts phase…
Justice League Unlimited (2026) — Ultimately, the potential last film would showcase a newly expanded Justice League consisting of its founding members, Justice League Dark members, the Titans, the Outsiders and the future’s Legionnaires uniting under the leadership of the Green Lantern (the best one), against The Anti-Monitor who threatens all of existence of something. — Directed by Antoine Fuqua
- Featuring: Justice League Founders (Green Lantern, Superwoman, The Flash, Aquaman, Hawkgirl, and Shazam), Justice League Dark (Wonder Woman, Zatanna, Constantine, Doctor Fate, and Etrigan), Teen Titans (Cyborg, Starfire, Static Shock, Superwoman, Beast Boy, Raven, Robin, Kid-Flash, and Red Arrow), The Outsiders (Martian Manhunter, Nightwing, Black Canary, Green Arrow, Richard Dragon and Huntress) and Legionnaires (Saturn Girl, Brainiac 5, Lightning Lad, Cosmic Boy, and Batman Beyond)
- Antagonists: The Anti-Monitor
And that’s all I got.
