10 DC Characters Who Deserve Their Live-Action Debut In James Gunn’s DCU

The DCU is quickly becoming the hottest brand in superheroes, despite only having one project out in the world — Creature Commandos — and one upcoming film — the new Superman movie. Part of this is its shiny newness; after the monumental failures of the DCEU, superhero fans are ready for DC Comics to be brought to life by the DCU just like Marvel’s comics were brought to life by the MCU. The fading star of the MCU is another part of this as well; after nearly twenty years of formula and diminishing returns, superhero fans are ready for something fresh. The DCU is a roiling ball of potential, helmed by modern super auteur James Gunn, and guessing what directions it’s going to go in has the whole world talking.

DC Comics created the modern conception of the superhero in the ’30s and ’40s, and has nearly a hundred years of heroes, villains, and their allies to bring to the big screen. Everyone wants to see Batman and Wonder Woman, but there are also plenty of other amazing characters that deserve their live-action debut in the DCU. These ten (and some change) DC characters are the ones with the most potential, and can build the DCU into an amazing contender.

Brainiac

Superman looks to be a huge part of the DCU. It’s kicking off with Lex Luthor as the main villain, but there’s another Superman villain who needs to debut sooner rather than later. There are very few villains that Superman actually fears; of that small number, there is one who stands above the others — Brainiac. The Coluan genius has traveled the universe for centuries, trying to learn everything he can. Brainiac does this by stealing cities, shrinking them, and then destroying the surrounding solar system with a supernova, making his miniature cities precious final remnants of dead worlds.

Brainiac has long been Superman’s biggest boogeyman and plays a huge role in the lives of both Superman and Supergirl. The character also plays wonderfully off of villains like Lex Luthor, their frenemy relationship being one that has paid dividends. He also has a place in the Legion of Doom/Injustice League, meaning that he’s also a Justice League foe. Bringing in Brainiac gives the DCU a lot of options, as he could be a villain that entire slates of movies can be built around.

Darkseid

Darkseid has technically made his live-action debut in the Snyder Cut of Justice League, but that doesn’t change the fact that the DCU needs their own version of the villain. The living embodiment of evil, there’s only one Darkseid in the entire DC Multiverse, making him one of the the most dangerous threats ever. He’s the tiger force at the heart of reality, the evil that lies in the hearts of all living beings.

Darkseid is THE DC villain. He’s powerful enough to run through every hero, and presents the perfect foil for any of them. In addition to matching wits with someone like Batman, Darkseid works just as well in laying the unholy smackdown on the entire Justice League. Plus, bringing in Darkseid means that there’s two whole worlds of heroes and villains following him — New Genesis and Apokolips — as well as brilliant stories to adapt like Cosmic Odyssey, the superhero magnum opus that is Final Crisis, and Jack Kirby’s Fourth World Saga. Darkseid is.

Power Girl

Supergirl is getting her chance at big screen stardom for the second time, and there are few characters who deserve it more. Kara Zor-El is cool of course, but some DC readers prefer Kara Zor-L, the Earth-Two version of Supergirl known as Power Girl.

Power Girl is a super fun character, but her history in the comics — looking for her identity after Earth-Two was taken out of existence but she was somehow saved — has made her quite different from Supergirl. Another great reason for Power Girl to debut in the DCU is that she can lead to the debut of Earth-Two. DC has the best multiverse in comics, and the DCU needs to bring it to the general public. Power Girl is the perfect door to that world, her quest for home leading the heroes to Earth-Two.

The Monitor

The MCU built its first three “Phases” by following the blueprint of stories like Thanos Quest and Infinity Gauntlet, and DC has a story that outdoes both — Crisis on Infinite Earths. This twelve-issue maxiseries saw the heroes of the DC Multiverse banding together against the Anti-Monitor, a monster who wanted to destroy the multiverse with antimatter and become the king of the void. It’s the most epic story in the history of superhero comics, with hundreds of heroes and villains fighting a war for all of creation. There’s one character that the DCU needs in prefer to build to this story — the Monitor.

The Monitor started appearing in the years leading up to 1985’s Crisis on Infinite Earths, sometimes helping the villains and always watching the affairs of Earth-One and Earth-Two from his satellite. The Monitor’s origin has been changed over the years as the nature of the DC Multiverse has changed, but all that is important is that he’s trying to save the multiverse any way he can.

Ultra-Humanite

Superman’s first supervillain wasn’t someone like Lex Luthor or Brainiac; no, it was the evil superscientist known as the Ultra-Humanite. The Ultra-Humanite was the prototypical mad scientist, fighting against the Golden Age Superman and the Justice Society; he mastered a technique to move his brain to other bodies, first taking over the body of Delores Winters and later getting his hands on an albino gorilla body that he gave superhuman powers to. Ultra-Humanite was an Earth-Two villain for most of his existence, and was overshadowed by evil superscientists like Luthor and Shazam’s Doctor Sivana. However, the DCU can make him into a big deal all over again, especially since he creates an obvious rivalry with Lex Luthor.

Earth-Two Superman

RELATED: DC’s Krypto the Superdog is Getting His Own Series

Earth-Two is the original DC Universe, where all of the oldest versions of DC’s heroes lived from 1938 to 1986. These are the original superheroes, with versions of the DC Trinity of Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman forming the core of the superhero community that includes one of the first superteams of all time in the Justice Society of America. Earth-Two Wonder Woman and Batman are cool versions of the popular heroes, but neither are as unique as Earth-Two Superman, the hero who saved the multiverse from the Anti-Monitor.

If the DCU brings in the multiverse, then Earth-Two Superman needs to be present. There’s something about knowing that the Superman who fought the Ultra-Humanite, the original Lex Luthor, evil superscientists, the Nazis, and the corrupt officials of the Great Depression is still around and kicking. Plus, as Power Girl’s father figure, he can act as the endgame of Power Girl’s story arc and build into Crisis on Infinite Earths. Seeing two Supermen work together on the big screen, one old and one young, is what multiverse movies were made for, and just one of the reasons why the original superhero should debut in the DCU.

Hourman

Hourman is yet another Earth-Two superhero, a member of the Justice Society of America. Rex Tyler is a chemist who created Miraclo, a pill that gave him superhuman strength, speed, and durability for just one hour. Hourman soon became addicted to the chemical while fighting alongside the Justice Society of America, as well as the superhero lifestyle, and kept fighting crime even after the JSA was disbanded thanks to his addiction. Eventually, he created a non-addictive version of the chemical and rejoined the Justice Society when they came back together, fathering a son who followed in his heroic footsteps.

Hourman is a low-level hero compared to some of the other Golden Age greats, but he still has an important place in the history of the DC Multiverse. The character brings an interesting aspect into the world of superheroes — addiction. Hourman’s struggles make for unique superhero stories, and definitely fits into the more mature world of James Gunn’s DCU. Hourman has always deserved more attention and the DCU can give it to him.

The Legion of Superheroes

The Legion of Superheroes is the first major teen superteam. Introduced in the Superboy stories of the ’50s, the 30th century teen heroes took the inspirations of the heroes of the past, battling to protect the future. Superboy and Supergirl both became time-traveling members of the team, and the Legion of Superheroes’ superheroes by way of soap operas made them a popular team with DC fans. Many comic creators love the Legion of Superheroes, but their complicated history have made them one of the more difficult DC teams for younger fans who weren’t around for their heyday.

The Legion consists of characters like Lightning Lad, Cosmic Boy, Colossal Lad, Ultra Boy, Saturn Girl, Phantom Girl, and the like. They’re old school superheroes, but their place as superpowered teenagers allows them to be taken in a multitude of directions. The Legion deserve their flowers as one of the most important superteams in the history of superhero comics, and giving them their own series in the DCU — they’re just too big for anything else — is the perfect way to reintroduce them to the world.

Wally West

DC has gone all in on Barry Allen since the comics brought him back in 2008. Barry became the main Flash in the comics, got his own TV show, and made appearances in the DCEU including his own feature film. Barry Allen is a fine character, but there’s a better Flash and it’s the one that the DCU should showcase instead — Wally West.

Wally West was the first Kid Flash, learning the ways of superspeed from generations of speedsters including Barry, original Flash Jay Garrick, and Johnny Quick. He was the first sidekick to graduate into the mantle of his mentor and made the Flash popular again. One of the greatest superheroes of all time, Wally is the fastest, most powerful Flash, and the one who understands the Speed Force the best. Many of Barry Allen’s personality traits that have been developed by various media have all been taken from him. Wally West should be the DCU’s Flash, especially since Barry has become something of a joke in the last few years.

Nightwing

One of the coolest things about the DCU is that DC Studios is trusting fans enough to not just start everything at the beginning. The DCU that fans have seen in Creature Commandos and the trailers for Superman (2025) is a superhero universe that has been operating for some time, which means that many of DC’s greatest legacy heroes can be introduced in the mantles they’ve had for years instead of the ones they started out with in the comics. There’s one character who deserves this treatment more than most: Dick Grayson.

The original Robin, Dick Grayson is the first sidekick in comic history and would go on to become a founder of the Teen Titans, leading the team to becoming the most popular DC team of the ’80s. Grayson graduated from being sidekick to his own hero, taking up the name of Nightwing, paying homage to Superman with a name from Kryptonian history. Nightwing has become one of DC’s most important heroes, a junior member of the Trinity in a lot of ways. He’s the leader that everyone loves, that everyone can go to. Dick Grayson belongs in the DCU, but instead of starting out as Robin, he should be introduced in his perfect form as Nightwing.

Superman has a release date of July 11th.