The time may be ripe for DC to bring their own junior superteam onto the big screen. The internet couldn’t handle James Gunn fulfilling this dire fan prophecy, and these are the secret ingredients DC should start mixing into the new DCU.
Could James Gunn Beat the MCU to market with its own Young Superteam?
It’s practically an open secret that the MCU is slowly (sometimes painfully slowly) but surely forming the lineup of its new Avengers team and that the new squad is going to look a lot more like the Young Avengers than it will any of the teams seen in the Avengers comic books of the 20th century. Instead, we’ll get a truly young team of second-generation superheroes (great news for the old-timers from the late 2000s, no doubt).
Marvel’s already debuted Young Avengers Kate Bishop (Hawkeye), America Chavez (Ms. America), Eli Bradley (Patriot), and, most recently, Cassie Lang (Stature/Stinger) — making the team as inevitable as Thanos. So is this the best time for DC to get out ahead with its own team of all-grown-up legacy heroes?
While James Gunn didn’t announce any iteration of Young Justice (aka the Junior Justice League) or the Teen Titans, DC comics practically invented the idea of superheroic proteges taking over for their mentors. And the r/DC_Cinematic subreddit seems to agree that Conner Kent (Superboy), Tim Drake (Robin), Bart Allen (Impulse), and Cassie Sandsmark (Wonder Girl) would be the perfect way to show Kevin Feige that the original recipe is sometimes the best recipe.
The Internet might just implode if James Gunn pulled this trigger
Saying shots have been fired between James Gunn and fans of the DCEU aka The Snyderverse is an understatement along the lines of saying a Metallica concert is a bit noisy. The new DC Studios CEO has been shooting back and shooting down criticism from DC’s former fans since he first sat behind his desk. But even after a prolonged conflict, not even he would be so heartless as to use the nuclear option described by one fan.
Those who were paying attention to Gunn’s Peacemaker completed before he took the helm of the DCU will remember the controversial “appearance” of the Justice League in the series finale episode. League actors Ezra Miller and Jason Momoa both made uncredited appearances as The Flash and Aquaman (both of whom have movies about to be out) but Wonder Woman and Superman were played by body doubles Kimberley von Ilberg and Brad Abramenko. And now one trolly Redditor is saying to just go ahead and cast them as the DCU Justice League.
It hurts to think of the cyber-gnashing of teeth and deafening internet wailing of old-school DCEU fans were Gunn ever to see fit to use this “don’t mess with me” move. That said, maybe the threat alone is something he should consider keeping in his pocket. As a deterrent against online trolls if nothing else.
DC fans say these three things are the new DCU’s missing ingredients
James Gunn’s slate for the first wave of the new DC Cinematic Universe is pretty locked down at this point but that doesn’t mean it can’t stand a little seasoning. While we are guaranteed a fairly big laundry list of superheroes that will definitely be repping for the DCU on the big screen over the next few years that doesn’t mean that other DC villains and heroes — or gods and monsters if you prefer — can’t be brought in to sweeten the deal.
DC Fans can count on seeing Superman, at least one version of Batman and Robin (possibly more), Swamp Thing, Booster Gold, Green Lanterns Hal Jordan and John Stewart, Supergirl, Amanda Waller, The Authority, and the Creature Commandos. But that’s not quite enough for online fans. Here are the three things Reddit users would love to see in the new DCU:
Firstly, fans are keen to see the Fourth World storyline in the DCU. This one’s a pretty tall order as DC’s Fourth World encompasses all the New Gods and the forces of Apokolips created by comic book genius Jack Kirby for DC in the 1970s. But the most important member is, of course, Darkseid. And while he did end up being the Big Bad in Zach Snyder’s Justice League fans are still hungry for more of him. Not to mention other Fourth World characters like Orion, Mister Miracle, Highfather, and Kalibak to name just a few.
Fans also want to see the addition of Etrigan — another Kirby creation. The demon Etrigan and his alter ego Jason Blood have appeared in many of DCF’s animated properties over the years but fans are hungry to finally see a live-action big-screen version.
The return of Wonder Woman is still at the forefront of fans’ minds— although fans will definitely see princess Diana’s Amazon homeland of Themyscira in the Paradise lost TV series, the show’s prequel status means Diana probably hasn’t even been born. With Gunn rebooting Superman and Batman for sure it seems only fair that the world’s best-known superheroine should have her place confirmed once and for all in the DCU.
With the ball now, as always, in James Gunn’s court, fans will just have to cross their fingers that he has future plans for the fans’ favorite franchises. And hope for better than fifty/fifty odds.