DCU Theory: Superman Legacy & Brave and the Bold Are Setting Up A Super Sons Crossover

DC fans are buzzing like crazy after the DC Studios presentation this week, which revealed the first five films and five TV series that will constitute the first half of DC Universe Chapter One. Right at the top of the list are the next Superman and Batman reboot films, Superman: Legacy, and The Brave and the Bold. 

We’ve only gotten the barest details about either film, so far. DC Studios co-head James Gunn has said that Superman: Legacy won’t be an origin story, but will explore Clark Kent  coming to modern-day Metropolis and starting his career as Superman there. The Brave and the Bold will see Batman (Bruce Wayne) interacting with his son, Damian Wayne. Gunn has confirmed that both films are influenced by the work of comics writer Grant Morrison – specifically their works All-Star Superman and Batman & Son. 

Those two choices are interesting – especially when you begin to ask what connective threads will tie this DCU franchise together. 

How Superman: Legacy Could Introduce The Son of Superman. 

All-Star Superman was a limited series that told the story of how Superman gets tricked into taking a fatal dose of solar radiation by Lex Luthor, and decides to give the world multiple mircales achieved with his power, before his time is done. While a lot of fans assume that Gunn is looking at the themes and characterization of All-Star Superman is his inspiration, is it possible Gunn could be borrowing more of that book’s narrative and format than we know? 

On our ComicBook Nation podcast show, the title, “Superman: Legacy” was of particular interest in the discussion. It was theorized that Gunn could be pulling a fast one, by actually making the film an account of Superman’s heroic exploits and achievements over the course of time, while the format of the film is actually some narrator telling these stories to a key new character: Superman and Lois Lane’s son, Jonathan Kent. 

The title Superman: Legacy would then be a double entendre, in that the film would both illustrate the legacy of who Superman is and what he’s about, wihle inspiring the character of Jonathan Kent to pursue his heroic future in the DCU. Jonathan Kent has become a major focus of DC’s comic book line in the last few years, so his live-action debut in a Superman franchise that has an expanded line of characters would make sense. 

How Brave and the Bold Introduces The Son of Batman

This is a much more straightforward issue: Grant Morrison’s “Batman & Son” brought Damian Wayne into the mainstream DC Universe, where he has overcome intiial fan ire to become an essential part of the Batman Universe. The question in the case of The Brave and the Bold and the future DCU is just how much of Grant Morrison’s work is Gunn going to draw from? 

After the initial awkward meeting between Bruce and Damian, the latter had to step up with Dick Grayson (following Bruce Wayne’s apparent death) to become the new Batman and Robin team. Some DC fans are wondering if that storyline couldn’t play out in the DCU – and what it could mean for the Bruce Wayne/Batman character down the line. 

DCU Super Sons

The ComicBook Nation team had two views on how at teamup between Jonathan Kent and Damian Wayne could unfold in the DCU, down the line: 

1. Some big event (Crisis) could leave the world (and audiences) thinking Superman and Batman are dead – if only for a period of time. The Super Sons rise up to fill the void of their fathers, while dealing with the weight of legacy, grief of loss, imposter syndrome, etc. 
2. Nothing dark or tragic happens to Batman and/or Superman. Their sons simply come into their respective own in forthcoming DCU projects, and eventually get their own team-up film. 

Like Marvel Studios’ slow build towards a Young Avengers event, it only makes that DC Studios has a flaghship “event” to open a youth-focused lane of its franchise. Especially if other groups like the Titans will be coming down the pike. DC already tested the waters of this team-up last year, with the animated feature Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons. It’s now streaming on HBO Max. 

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