Warner Bros. is raising the stakes for the new era of DCU storytelling, and including iconic team-ups like the League of Supervillains is just what fans need. DC movies have been going strong since the early 1950s but have only stuck with stand-alone iterations of comic-based characters. While the superheroes themselves were well-known, the actors bringing them to the screen often changed from project to project. Then Henry Cavill donned the infamous S on his chest in 2013’s Man of Steel. It marked the beginning of an interconnected universe of DC characters similar to Marvel’s Phase 1 of movies.
The box office hit was followed by Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and the rest, as they say, is history. Justice League would go on to feature a dream team of superheroes featuring Superman (Cavill), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Batman (Ben Affleck), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Cyborg (Ray Fisher), and The Flash (Ezra Miller). However, the DCU has a unique opportunity to introduce a League of Supervillains. This potential team-up of DC villains would focus more on their collective abilities to cause chaos for the good guys.
What is the League of Supervillains?
James Gunn is at the helm of the new wave of DC content. He’s taking full advantage of his creative control to craft both individual stories and an even more interconnected universe. Gunn is clearly taking a page out of Phase 1 of the MCU, not just in name but also in introducing key characters through standalone movies and TV shows in preparation for a larger team-up. It’d be easy to say that Gunn is simply applying the MCU marketing strategy to the DCU.
After all, he recently directed Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and might still have Marvel on the brain. So, beating the plagiarism accusations might involve exploring uncharted territory. For example, fans haven’t seen DC villains working together to collectively accomplish their evil goals. The Suicide Squad and even the morally-ambiguous Birds of Prey don’t really count because they were both going against their basic nature to help others. If Gunn truly wants to do something different, then now’s the time to finally bring the League of Supervillains to the live-action screen.
The DCU working toward a team-up of villains would provide an unexpected edge over the Marvel movies' more cookie-cutter tactics. DC has rarely shied away from putting their villains on the metaphorical main stage. Early on in the animated series, Young Justice did just that with a select group of DC villains. It consisted of Poison Ivy (Alyssa Milano), Wotan (Bruce Greenwood), Black Adam (Arnold Vosloo), Ultra-Humanite (Dee Bradley Baker), Atomic Skull (Lex Lang), and, of course, the Joker (Brent Spiner), with Count Vertigo (Steve Blum) as their leader.
Their lofty goals revolved around villainy on the world stage. This League of Supervillains happily used everything from conspiracy and blackmail to terrorism in their relentless pursuit of monetary gains. A similar team of DC villains was featured in The Harley Quinn Show. Only it had no leader and consisted of Bane (James Adomian), The Riddler (Jim Rash), The Penguin (Wayne Knight), Mister Freeze (Alfred Molina), and Two-Face (Andy Daly). Many villains have teamed up throughout DC. It’s just a matter of who makes the cut this time around. Still, it would be fun to see the villains of the DCU get as much recognition as their superhero counterparts.
How the DCU can have an Avengers-Style Villain Team-up
The team-up of the Avengers was a special time for the MCU that Gunn might not be able to replicate with the DCU. Moreover, he might not want to if his goal is to make the new era of DC content stand out amongst the plethora of superhero content. However, if Gunn wants to stick to the Kevin Feige model of bringing characters together in the League of Supervillains then he has to include standalone projects for potential members.
On the one hand, prior history may be what the team needs to succeed. While any new version of Lex Luthor would fall under the intense scrutiny of fans, it’s hard not to captivate viewers with a familiar face. On the other hand, new blood might spark new interest. Amanda Waller has made several appearances as a side character throughout DC live-action projects, like the time she appeared in Smallville (Pam Grier). Still, so little has been established about her in the DCEU that any story curated would be a fresh start.
Gunn is leading the DCU into an exciting new phase. and he’s got a blueprint courtesy of the MCU. More importantly, he’s got the vision to make it happen as evidenced by his extensive body of work. All he has to do now is boldly go in an unexpected direction, and that’s where the League of Supervillains enters the chat.
It should feel different from any team-up of superheroes, namely in that it should feel like DC villains rather than morally-questionable characters with heroic intentions. The League of Supervillains doesn’t need to look or feel like Marvel’s Phase 1. It does, however, need to feel unique to whatever tone Gunn is hoping to set with the DCU. If that means a handful of standalone movies of questionable quality before a select group of DC villains makes their big team-up reveal, that’s a sacrifice that most fans would be more than happy to make.