The DC Universe has been a staple of superhero cinema for decades, with many movies adapting the iconic heroes and stories of DC Comics to the big screen. Though the likes of Batman and Superman have been especially well represented, there have been many great DC movies featuring various heroes from the comic book mythos. With so many movies across the history of the superhero genre adapting the stories of the comics, the need for innovation swiftly became clear. Every filmmaker and actor seeks to put their own mark on the well-known stories, leading to DC movies often taking creative license with the source material.
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Many of the best comic book movies aren’t those that blindly stick to the script, but those that dare to be a little different. Making significant changes to established comic book canon is often a major gamble, but it’s one that occasionally pays off remarkably well. In certain cases, the changes made by DC movies to the comics have actually improved the universe’s wider story.
7) Making The Riddler A Serial Killer
Like with most Batman villains, the Riddler has been through many incarnations throughout his tenure as a DC comics antagonist. For many years, the character was mostly associated with Jim Carrey’s campy and comedic portrayal in Batman Forever, but 2022’s The Batman reimagined the character in a far darker light. Inspired by real-life serial killers, the movie turned the Riddler from a whimsical riddle-obsessed foe to one of the best Batman movie villains with just one single stroke of brilliance.
6) Leaning Into Shazam’s Childish Nature
One of the most often cited mistakes of the DCEU was the ill-fated franchise’s repeated insistence on making every DC hero as gritty as possible. There were, of course, exceptions, such as with Zachary Levi’s Shazam. Whereas in the comics the character was most often portrayed as being gifted with incredible wisdom, the movies instead reiterated that Billy Batson was a child given the body and powers of a superhero. Tapping into the power fantasy at the core of the superhero genre, Shazam’s big comic change also helped make the character one of the DCEU’s funniest and most likable.
5) Wonder Woman’s World War I Setting
As with many other long-standing comic book characters, Wonder Woman’s extensive comic book history has seen her origins undergo multiple changes over the years. However, one of the most lasting elements of her introduction to the world of men is that it is usually depicted as taking place in the story’s present day. For the 2017 movie Wonder Woman, this was instead changed to World War I. The setting allowed Diana to witness the horrors of humanity as well as its potential, and also added an interesting retrospective element to her present-day story within the DCEU.
4) Redefining Zod’s Motivations
General Zod has undoubtedly earned a place on the Mount Rushmore of Superman movie villains, having made two outstanding cinematic appearances. Where the first helped define Zod as an intergalactic conqueror, Man of Steel went further than even the comics, changing his motivation entirely. In the film, Zod sought to terraform — for lack of a better word — Earth for Kryptonian life, exterminating humanity to ensure his own race’s survival. Adding the extra layer of complex morality and a more specific focus on Superman made Man of Steel’s Zod an even more intense figure, marking it as a great change to the comics.
3) Giving Bruce Wayne A Definitive Ending
There are many mistakes that Batman movies make, but they generally agree on several key points of the character. The same is true of the comics, where Batman has been a perennial DC hero since his introduction. However, 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises ended Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy by eschewing traditional Batman ideas, instead having Bruce Wayne peacefully retire. The ending established that the eternal part of Batman is the idea behind the hero, rather than the character himself, which both fit perfectly within Nolan’s world and stayed true to the general ideas of the comic book character, if not the specifics of the source material.
2) The Justice League Forming As A Result Of Superman’s Death
While several movies had featured the characters of the Justice League, it wasn’t until 2017’s Justice League that the team finally came together on screen. The movie tied the team’s formation to the death of Superman in Batman v Superman, establishing the League as Batman’s idea to protect the Earth in the Kryptonian hero’s absence. As well as being organic to the DCEU’s story, it made sense from a wider DC perspective, still keeping Superman as the heart of the team without directly involving him in its creation.
1) The Origins of Superman’s Fortress of Solitude
Superman is perhaps the most iconic superhero of all time, and his Fortress of Solitude is almost as famous as the character himself. It wasn’t until 1978’s Superman: The Movie that it was established that the Fortress was made using Kryptonian crystals, as prior to that in the comics, it had been carved out of ice by Superman himself. The Kryptonian angle made more sense and gave the hero a small connection with his biological father. The fact that it was later incorporated into comic book stories across the DC Universe only proves what an incredible creative choice the change was.
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