DCEU Heroes Ranked
We got a new hero introduced into the DCEU with Blue Beetle in…Blue Beetle. So I thought today I’d rank all 14 main heroes of the DCEU, let’s get started!
18. Maxine Hunkel/Cyclone: Now she’s fine, she’s a fine addition to the film but she’s a character that didn’t make much of a mark on me. I felt like all of the other JSA members had something about them that was interesting or stand-out a bit more. I think her power set provided some nice opportunities in certain action sequences to be cool and something a bit different where she can slow down time. The actress was fun and charming, but there’s not much about the character that I remember as being interesting or distinct. So she’s in last place on the list.
17. Helena Bertinelli/Huntress: Now while I think they made more mistakes with Huntress then they did with Cyclone, I think more things about Huntress stood out a bit more to me. But I feel like the characterization of it all was a bit weird, where she’s teased all through-out the film but not really a main character so she feels a bit oddly placed in the film. And then I think part of the performance by Mary-Elizabeth Winstead is a bit odd, where it feels like she’s WAY over acting at points in time. I think if Mary-Elizabeth Winstead was giving a better performance maybe the character would have moved up higher on this list.
16: Renee Montoya: Another character that is just fine, she’s good enough. I don’t have any big positives or negatives about her. She’s a character that adds a nice dynamic into the film, where when the Birds of Prey are formed you have the crazy one, the hero out for revenge, and then the book's cop. All of this is interesting, it makes for some dynamics but the character on her own isn’t all that interesting. Of our lead heroines, she feels like the one that was side-lined the most and underdeveloped the most. But again, by no means is she a bad character.
15. Al Rothstein/Atom-Smasher: A character where you can take what I said about Cyclone and largely apply it to Atom-Smasher. Where he’s fine, there’s not too much interest in him. I like the actor and think he has some funny moments, so that makes him stand-out a little bit more than Cyclone. So there’s not much of his backstory in the film but I think because of the performance and humor he’s able to be placed higher up then Cyclone is.
14. Dinah Lance/Black Canary: I actually kind of dug this version of Black Canary, I think they did more interesting things with her character. Therefore, she’s placed higher up on the list. I thought her placement in the story as being a lounge singer for Black Mask turned anti-hero to working with Harley Quinn, makes her have a very interesting dynamic in the film. I thought the actress was really solid in the role, she was able to be the hardened hero and fun when she needs to be. But I feel like they wasted the idea of Black Canary, they didn’t give her enough time to be the hero and use her canary cry, that’s an odd decision.
13. Victor Stone/Cyborg: Of our Justice League members, this is the one that is EASILY the most underused. And it’s kind of interesting, because he’s the only one to not have gotten his own film or at least a title character in the film. I think Zack Snyder’s Justice League dramatically helped him out, I think that movie made me a FAR more interesting character. And I wish we got a stand alone film after the events of that film, and really explore him more. And I think that movie gave Ray Fisher a better performance. But we’ve only seen him in a team-up movie, not really given time to be front and center.
12. Carter Hall/Hawkman: I wasn’t expecting much from Hawkman going into Black Adam, but I thought he was a solid character. The banter and dynamic between him and Black Adam provided some fun moments. Where both of them are alpha males that don’t want to back down to the other person. Aldis Hodge was solid in the role, and I wish we got more of him in the DCEU. I wish that if the DCEU wasn’t rebooting, maybe we could have gotten a Hawkman and Hawkgirl movie, but we didn’t. What we got of him in Black Adam, but we didn’t get enough of him to put him higher up on the list.
11. Kent Nelson/Doctor Fate: Pierce Brosnan joining the comic book movie genre sounded like a lot of fun, and it was. Pierce Brosnan is the most veteran actor in Black Adam so he’s given some great moments. He’s given an arc in the film, of the JSA member he’s really the only member to be given a character arc. Obviously, when you have somebody like Pierce Brosnan he can bring some gravitas to the film that the actors couldn’t quite bring. So he’s a very solid character that I liked what was given to us.
10. Black Adam: The character that was supposed to re-shape the entire DCEU and fight Superman…but didn’t. Now I was very excited to be able to see Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson take the lead in a comic book movie, he’s a big movie star and giving him a character like this was a lot of fun. He is given a solid character in the film, he does grow and change as the film goes along. Like I’ve said earlier, I’ve really enjoyed the fun dynamics between Black Adam and the members of the JSA. Now this isn’t a great character or character arc, Black Adam wasn’t trying to be anything special. So for the film he was in and what they were trying to do with the character, they did it rather well.
9. Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle: The latest hero in the DCEU…or DCU, that’s what is confusing about the character is whether or not he’s in the DCEU or DCU. Regardless, I really dug the character and hope we get more of him in the future. I think what makes Blue Beetle a particularly fun character is that his family is so much of his identity and who he is as a person. So that makes him stand-out amongst the other DCEU heroes. The actor does a solid job here, he can be the hero and the fun charismatic lead when he needs to be. And it’s kind of fun getting a Spider-Man type character inside the DC universe, without fullying being a Spider-Man knock off. There’s a lot about the character that I liked and wanted to put him higher up on the list. But I feel like the Blue Beetle side of things was a bit underdeveloped, I think the AI voice dynamic with Jaime wasn’t fleshed out as much as it should have been. So I hope if we get a sequel to the film, we can explore the hero side of Blue Beetle a lot more.
8. Diana Prince/Wonder Woman: This is always a tricky one for me to rank because there’s a lot about the character that I enjoy. I think her role in the DCEU, mainly her first movie was very interesting. Where she grew up on this world of women where there was peace and is dropped into WWII where she learns the world and humanity is a lot more evil and complex and tries to find the good in it all. That’s a very interesting character to throw into the DCEU, however I don’t think the rest of the movies have done as good of a job of capturing that. I wish that in Wonder Woman 1984 they explored this idea in a different context, but I feel like they didn’t do that. Plus, with the last two appearances of the character being cameos in Fury of the Gods and The Flash, I think it cheapens that character a bit, when she’s just used as fan service. It’s kind of frustrating in those regards, but still a rock solid character in my opinion.
7. Billy Batson/Shazam!: One of the more fun and light hearted heroes in the DCEU, and one of the more fun and light hearted heroes in a cinematic format. I feel like they nailed the casting here with Zachary Levi as Shazam!, he’s able to portray this man child of a character so well. He’s able to be goofy and be the hero all at the same time. And with what I mentioned about Blue Beetle, how his family is very much a part of who he is, that can apply to Billy Batson as well. Now I feel like Fury of the Gods kind of lost track of what made the original movie work so well and what made Billy Batson in the film so fun and unique. And now that Billy Batson is older, the personality of Billy and the personality of Shazam! feel like two VERY different characters.
6. Arthur Curry/Aquaman: One of the most fun and charismatic heroes inside of the DCEU, largely helped by Jason Momoa. The vibe and energy Jason Momoa brings to the character is so much fun, you really do enjoy what he’s able to bring. But I feel like with the character of Aquaman they haven’t had any missteps with him. I think he was one of the better aspects of Justice League (2017). In his solo movie, you understand him more as a character and it’s nice to see him in Atlantis and interacting with his friends and family. I’m very curious to what they’re doing with him in the sequel coming out later this year, but as of now I feel like no missteps have happened with the character.
5. Barry Allen/The Flash: Prior to The Flash coming out, he probably would have ranked much lower on the list. And while I had my issues with The Flash, I feel like they really gave Barry Allen a lot of time to be fleshed out and developed. When we understand him as a person, with a Flashpoint story we’re able to see a baseline for who Barry Allen is as a person. Even though he’s a weird guy in real life, I really like Ezra Miller as the character. I think he’s appropriately fun and quirky when he needs to be and is a more classic version of the character. So this is a character that I think was helped a lot by The Flash and he was even given some great moments in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. So with all of the faults of the actor himself, the character of The Flash is a really solid hero in the DCEU.
4. Harley Quinn: Of the Birds of Prey and Suicide Squad members, I feel like she’s EASILY the best one and the most fleshed out. Suicide Squad (2016) presented her as this crazy heroine that has this odd relationship and dynamic with The Joker, she was a scene stealer. Birds of Prey gave her more of an arc, they humanized her so we could connect with her in ways you wouldn’t have expected. The Suicide Squad I felt like a solid mix of both the fun and crazy side of her and the more human side. Of course, Margot Robbie is fantastic as the character. For all of the faults of DCEU and maybe shaking castings, Margot Robbie is FALL from that. I know the DCEU is rebooting with James Gunn’s DC Universe, but I hope we see more of Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn.
3. Bruce Wayne/Batman: Batman is EASILY my favorite superhero of all time. Some people grew up loving Spider-Man or Superman, but I grew up loving and watching Batman. And while Ben Affleck isn’t my favorite Batman, I really like the version of Batman that he and Zack Snyder came up with. I like that he’s an older Batman, he’s not a young Batman so it’s a different take on the character. I think the arcs he’s gotten in Dawn of Justice and Zack Snyder’s Justice League have been pretty effective at being emotional and an interesting arc for Batman. And it’s fun that he’s only the version of Batman that gets to interact with all of these other DC heroes. So there’s a lot about the character that I really enjoy, and I wish we got Ben Affleck’s solo film that was going to start him, directed by him, and written by him. But sadly, that will never see the light of day.
2. Christopher Smith/Peacemaker: Honestly, I’m kind of surprised that Peacemaker is this high up on a list like this. Because prior to The Suicide Squad coming out, I had no idea who Peacemaker was and was confused by the casting of John Cena. But…John Cena as Peacemaker is the superhero fan casting, I never knew I wanted but I’m so glad we got it. Again, I hope John Cena remains as the character under James Gunn. The Suicide Squad made Peacemaker a very interesting character, where you kind of like him because of John Cena but you also kind of hate him for what he does with Rick Flag. But with Peacemaker they find ways to humanize him and give him a character arc, they really do a lot of work in that show to make a more layered and complex character.
1. Clark Kent/Superman: The start of the DCEU and I wish we got a proper sequel to Man of Steel, to get even more time with him. But with what we got with him, I thought they did a really solid job. First up, through-out Zack Snyder’s trilogy of movies they did give Superman a character arc. Man of Steel shows the beginning, the origin story of Clark Kent as Superman. Dawn of Justice shows him as an established Superman and then the downfall of him. Then Zack Snyder’s Justice League is the resurrection of Superman and being a true hero. They gave Superman a character arc in those movies that does work and is effective. Henry Cavill has great casting as the character. I think it’s a shame that he didn't have more to do with the character. Also, the music associated with this version of the character is iconic. It’s so catchy and memorable and gets you pumped up to go do something. So all in all, the start of the DCEU I think is the best hero in the DCEU.
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