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YMMV / DC Extended Universe

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  • Actor Shipping: Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot and Ben Affleck have all received copious shipping from the fanbase, more so than the characters they portray. Gal Gadot accidentally fueled the flames herself. In a cast interview, she said that she and Amy Adams had become close during the production of Batman V Superman, even having a family sleepover with their children. Due to her still developing grasp of English, Gadot said she had slept with Adams, raising a few eyebrows from the other actors.
  • Aluminum Christmas Trees: Many viewers were surprised to find out that Maru's mask is more or less historically accurate to the facial disfigurement masks manufactured during WWI. Typically they were one piece of galvanized copper coated with enamel and painted and were held up with spectacles as opposed to whatever Maru uses.
  • Awesome Art: The special edition steelbook Blu-Rays of Man of Steel, Batman v Superman and Justice League drawn by Jim Lee are a visual treat.
  • Base-Breaking Character: Superman. In both Man of Steel and Batman v Superman, he's more morose and somber rather than his usual depiction as an all-loving idealistic hero. Many fans, especially those of the Christopher Reeve Superman films, dislike this Superman's personality, feeling that it betrays the character's appeal as a symbol of hope. Conversely, some fans are more welcoming since it feels appropriate for an inexperienced protagonist faced with difficult decisions in a harsh world, and it has roots in some comics.
  • Broken Base:
    • Man of Steel, Batman v Superman and Justice League are extremely polarizing due to, in a word, tone. Ever since Man of Steel, DC Universe fans have been divided over the Darker and Edgier approach to the source material. While some have rejected the films outright as too off base, others are willing to deal with it, often just to see their stuff on screen at the end of the day. Still others have embraced the approach because of the contrast with the Marvel Cinematic Universe in particular, and Zack Snyder has a fanbase on his own. Then there are fans who only care about having good movies regardless of the tone they use, pointing out that gritty, serious superhero movies like The Dark Knight Trilogy and Logan work because they use a dark tone to tell interesting stories with relatable characters. Zack Snyder's Justice League bridged a number of gaps however, being overall much better received than the first two Snyder films.
    • The DC fans who like or at least tolerate the films are then divided over having Justice League and future films be Lighter and Softer. Some feel being "more fun" would only invite wider positive reception. Others feel that Warner Bros. should stick to their guns and that the DCEU's tone makes it stand out from the MCU and other superhero films, and without it they fear superhero films becoming too "safe" and "samey". Again, Zack Snyder's Justice League proved to be less divisive in that department.
    • While many people were looking forward to see so many new characters introduced in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, others think it was another sign of DC rushing things just to compete with Marvel, without giving each character a much needed introduction movie first. The same sentiments are true for Justice League. The counterargument to this is that "the MCU way" isn't and shouldn't be the only way to handle cinematic superheroes. The X-Men series didn't start with solo introduction movies before going to team stories, and even the MCU has team members like Black Widow, Falcon, Vision and others never had their own movie despite being Avengers members (add to that Black Panther and Spider-Man were introduced in ensemble movies as well). Related to the characters' introductions, much-needed scenes detailing the backstories of Aquaman, Flash and Cyborg were simply axed from the theatrical cut of Justice League, which didn't help matters. The good reception to Zack Snyder's Justice League highlighted how much needed they were.
    • The films going largely standalone since Justice League with only breadcrumbs of Continuity Nods feels like a wasted opportunity to a good portion of the franchise's fandom (specially those of the Snyder films, which are the only ones with an overt Myth Arc building up to something), not to mention the DC Films studio now producing DC Comics-based films that are not set in the DCEU at all, reducing the chances of seeing the DCEU expand in big fashion (and also reducing the chances of retaining an audience craving for more, like what that other franchise has masterfully pulled off). Emphasizing the Shared Universe is absolutely not necessary to tell a good story, but DC Comics is a treasure trove for that, and that aspect feels underused to them. By contrast, though, some welcome this either due to Hype Backlash towards the MCU and the Shared Universe craze, or due to believing that, with the less-than-stellar installments, having a more open, less strictly connected approach gives creators and fans room to play Canon Discontinuity and/or only watch the films they care about.
  • Common Knowledge: Warner Bros. making the DCEU as somber as possible so it'd be taken more seriously, when by all accounts they just gave the reins to Zack Snyder and David S. Goyer and let them do their thing to kickstart it. After Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice went for even Darker and Edgier than Man of Steel, the amount of negative critical and audience reception prompted the studio to rather drastically steer away from this approach for Justice League once Snyder left for personal reasons (and he received plenty of executive notes even before that). Wonder Woman meanwhile was never intended to go that route, and neither were Aquaman and SHAZAM!. While two of the early movies did end up victims of extreme Executive Meddling to enforce tonal changes (to underwhelming results), the DCEU is intended as a sandbox giving more creative leeway to the directors than, for instance, Marvel Studios does. Directors that come after Snyder are not obligated to stick with the tone of Man of Steel and Batman v Superman — James Wan chose to make Aquaman back in 2015, and he made it clear he was going to have it emulate adventure movies of old, thus being Lighter and Softer than the Snyder movies by design from the get-go. More shockingly, Zack Snyder's Justice League showcased that even Snyder can infuse heavy amounts of levity in his moviemaking.
  • Complete Monster: General Erich Ludendorff; Steppenwolf; Roman "Black Mask" Sionis & Victor Zsasz; Darkseid; Dr. Gaius Grieves (the Thinker) & General Mateo Suárez; Ishmael Gregor & Ahk-Ton. See those pages for details, or see here.
  • Creator Worship:
    • Fans of Zack Snyder's other movies generally offer the same level of adoration to him here. Said fans also tend to praise the projects in the setting that he's only producing, such as Wonder Woman.
    • Conversely, Patty Jenkins, James Wan and David F. Sandberg are widely adored for making the protagonists likable and embracing the whimsical pop sensibilities of the source material. Patty Jenkins is praised for proving the viability of female-directed tentpole movies. Likewise, James Wan is respected for successfully taking Aquaman out of his Joke Character reputation and David F. Sandberg was praised for perfectly blending Shazam's Golden Age cheese with modern sensibilities. Jenkins' status as this did take a hit however with Wonder Woman 1984.
  • Critical Backlash: Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad and Justice League have gotten such a negative reception and people who don't like them have been extremely vocal in expressing such, that it's pretty much inevitable that many viewers will watch the films and come away with a far more positive opinion. This is especially noticeable with Batman v Superman and it's extended edition. Even people who didn't like the film are getting sick of the negativity and some fans' refusal to give the film and/or Zack Snyder credit or praise where it's deserved, such as his decision to cast Gal Gadot, which proved instrumental in the success of the Wonder Woman film.
  • Critical Dissonance: Man of Steel, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, Justice League and Aquaman got significantly better ratings by audiences than they did with critics on websites like Rotten Tomatoes. That said Aquaman has received largely positive critical reviews, so it has a milder case of this.
  • Critic-Proof: Critics have not been kind with the first three films and Justice League, giving them mixed to negative reviews. Audiences were undeterred... initially at least:
    • Batman v Superman pulled in an impressive domestic total of $170,100,000 on its opening weekend... only to lead into a massive drop-off in the following weekend due to bad word of mouth. The domestic total landed at a respectable, but not stupendous, $330 million, falling short of studio expectations.
    • Suicide Squad meanwhile pulled in very good numbers for a comic book property that is new to live action films, it remained on top of the box office for three consecutive weeks (and, despite the fact that the critically acclaimed animated film Sausage Party provided some competition at the box office, not even that topped Suicide Squad), and practically equaled the domestic gross of Batman v. Superman despite being, yet again, a piñata for critics.
    • Justice League is the first to fail at this, not even cracking 100 million the first weekend and wrapping up at around $660 million total in the face of mixed to negative reviews, possibly due to audience goodwill being lost due to Batman v Superman (or the reverse, fans of the latter feeling cheated by the brutal, uneven and short-sighted changes brought about by Joss Whedon out of Executive Meddling) and Suicide Squad (even though it was successful at the box office, it still suffered a significant second week drop and criticism of the DCEU grew even greater), or negative word of mouth due to the short running time, change of composer for the soundtrack and instances of Special Effect Failure. Due to the massive budget and high expectations, it was the first DCEU film to lose money. The marketing effort was also significantly lacking compared to the massive ones that Man of Steel and Batman v Superman benefited from.

    F-J 
  • Fan Nickname:
    • The previous title of the article was the common fan term "DC Cinematic Universe", more obviously paralleling the officially named Marvel Cinematic Universe. Other alternatives include "DC Live Action Universe" (which is a nod to the DC Animated Universe), and "DC Film Universe" or "DC Movie Universe" (because "Live Action" overlaps with the separate DC shows on The CW nicknamed the "Arrowverse"). Finally, in July 2015 the name of the setting was revealed to be the "DC Extended Universe". "DCCU" is still used as a nickname sometimes, though much less frequently.
    • Bizarrely, it turns out that "DC Extended Universe" itself was just made up by a trade magazine and everyone except WB and DC Entertainment themselves took it as official (because the cheeky writer had slapped a trademark sign on it). Only in September 2017 was it clarified that it was still unofficial. Even so, many directors, actors and executives have used it and "DCEU" on occasion, and it is by far the most commonly used name either by fans or the Internet in general.
      • HBO Max now clearly refers to the films as "DC Extended Universe" in its menu for the franchise, which is the closest thing to an acknowledgement of that name yet.
    • "Snyderverse" or "SnyderVerse" is primarily meant for the Myth Arc of five films that Zack Snyder intended to create and of which only three films (Man of Steel, the extended cut of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Zack Snyder's Justice League) got made. Since he cast himself the major early superheroic leads and the directors that were tapped early on (David Ayer and Patty Jenkins) were to follow up on his blueprint with their own creative freedom before Executive Meddling settled in, Ayer's unseen original cut of Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman tend to be lumped in as well (though not without debates for the latter especially considering Snyder's original "Wonder Woman 1854" idea and the still criticized third act) and Aquaman tends to be mostly excluded from it due to its Continuity Snarls with Zack Snyder's Justice League. The nickname gained prominence after the release of Zack Snyder's Justice League as #RestoreTheSnyderVerse trended on social media with many fans and people beyond the fandom wanting to see a sequel and the completion of Snyder's intended arc.
    • "Delicious Cereal Extended Universe", after DC's Geoff Johns aka "Cereal Lord" was put in charge.
    • "Director's Cut Extended Universe" because of Warner Brothers cutting footage from the theater releases of Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad and Justice League to put them on home video later.
    • Several of the actors have gained nicknames from the fanbase. Ben Affleck is "Batfleck", Henry Cavill is "Cav-El", Gal Gadot is "Wonder Gal", Jason Momoa is "Aquamoa", and Ezra Miller is "Flezra".
  • Fandom-Enraging Misconception: Blaming DC Comics for the DCEU's shortcomings when they don't call the shots. Warner Bros. does. (Marvel Comics isn't in charge of the MCU either; Marvel Studios is its own company under Disney. Despite this, "Marvel" and "DC" tend to be talked about like they're monolithic entities.)
  • Fandom Rivalry:
    • A quite vicious one with fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, especially since the latter has been the critics' darling for years, while the first three DCEU movies and Justice League (2017) have received a mixed reception at best and been outright panned at worst.
      • Certain comments by DC film creators that seemed to dismiss the MCUnote  didn't help matters.
      • Some DCEU fans themselves ended up goading some cast and crewnote  into making "Fuck Marvel" statements, which of course stoked the fires even more.
      • This got especially heated in 2022 after the Oscars announced two polls for fans to vote on through hashtags on scoial media - one for "Fan Favorite Movie of 2021" and one for "Most Cheerworthy Scene", with Snyder's Army of the Dead winning the former over Spider-Man: No Way Home and the Flash tapping into the Speed Force in Zack Snyder's Justice League beating Avengers: Endgame's "Assemble" scene and No Way Home's triple Spidey swing scene. MCU fans accused DCEU fans, in particular the subsection of fans devoted to Zack Snyder, of spamming the hashtags and calling the moment bland in comparison. DCEU fans accused MCU fans of not actually putting in the work to vote for their movies and dismissing accusations of using bots to sway the vote (the Academy of Motion Picture Arts has confirmed that no bots were used). To be fair, having two of the most celebrated MCU movies up for the same category (and one that was not even from the then-current year at that) would have split the vote.
    • A rather large one with the TV-based Arrowverse. Some fans of Arrow think the show is so far a better adaptation than Man of Steel, so combining their universes would be detrimental to the show (and to The Flash), while some fans of Man of Steel instead see Arrow as the weaker, detrimental adaptation. The at-first well-received The Flash (2014) was propped up by those who hated Man of Steel for embracing a more balanced, lighthearted tone compared to Man of Steel's more polarizing tone, and some felt that Man of Steel should have had that tone instead. Shortly after The Flash had a well-received debut, Warner Brothers announced the casting of the Flash along with its planned movie line-up. Fans were quick to negatively compare the movie Flash actor Ezra Miller to the TV Flash actor Grant Gustin.
      • Another major part of this is that the DCEU is (allegedly) given preference on every single character they want to use, which at times has even forced the Arrowverse to kill off characters like Deadshot and Amanda Waller, and stop using Deathstroke. However, it must be noted that the only confirmation that this was the case was from Marc Guggenheim, and that Deadshot proceeded to reappear despite his death several times in the show (and Deathstroke repeatedly appeared in dream sequences), making it entirely likely Guggenheim was using the DCEU as a scapegoat for their controversial decisions.
      • Joe Manganiello opened an even bigger can of worms when he off-handedly insulted Manu Bennett's highly popular portrayal of his same character Deathstroke, saying a TV portrayal couldn't possibly be as good as what a movie could do with him, without having even seen it. Many Arrowverse fans had a ball when he suffered Laser-Guided Karma, when not only did the Batman film receive a page-one rewrite that no longer included Deathstroke, while Bennett returned to the role on Arrow after being gone for a couple of years, but Titans introduced another televised Deathstroke. On the other hand, WB then entered talks with The Raid director Gareth Evans for a Deathstroke film. ... Which ultimately amounted to nothing when the Deathstroke movie was unceremoniously canceled. Ouch.
      • When the trailer for Supergirl came out, many were saying that Supergirl felt much more like a Superman adaptation than Man of Steel, a rivalry that heated up more when its own version of Superman was introduced in Season 2. The show later introduced its own version of Lex Luthor, who quickly garnered far more praise than the version seen in Batman v Superman, causing additional tensions between the fanbases. Additionally, the show was also part of the scheduling conflicts that prevented Lynda Carter from having a cameo in Wonder Woman.
      • In general, the rivalry is not helped by the fact that people will often praise the shows to slam the films while downplaying or ignoring the serious flaws the shows have displayed. Because of that though, there are DC fans who Take the Third Option and feel both universes are poor takes on the DC Universe, especially as many find both have the same issues (Darker and Edgier, Adaptation Decay, and In Name Only characterization, WTH, Costuming Department?, depicting Barry Allen as an Idiot Hero, etc), or issues that are comparable (the Snyder-directed films being as controversial as the Seasonal Rot seasons of the Arrowverse shows, the Romantic Plot Tumor of the Arrowverse being comparable to the DCEU's questionable plotting, etc). The fact both also take primary inspiration from the highly controversial Audience-Alienating Era New 52 eranote  that was still ongoing when both started (it ended partially in 2016 with DC Rebirth and was solidly put in the ground in 2020) doesn't help, as it results in popularising an era of DC that a lot of fans detest (though the result is a lot of Friendly Fandom treatment between New 52 era fans and fans of the DCEU and Arrowverse, especially ones who resent the They Changed It, Now It Sucks! complaints the three get). For many DC Comics fans, they're anxiously awaiting a third DC live-action Shared Universe to replace these two.
    • On the subject of DC TV shows, some DCEU fans are jealous of how Titans (2018) and Doom Patrol (2019) are more critically acclaimed than Snyder's DC movies despite sharing a similarly dark tone (even though the tone is not necessarily indicative of overall quality). As for Cyborg, he became a regular supporting character on Doom Patrol while his DCEU counterpart has been largely MIA with no solo movie or further appearances slated for the immediate future. Like the Superman example, Joivan Wade's depiction of Cyborg has been praised by critics and fans for being warmer and livelier than his more morose DCEU counterpart, which has added to the rivalry. However, Ray Fisher's Cyborg portrayal has been well received in Zack Snyder's Justice League ultimately, and both actors have been supportive of each other.
    • As bad as all these fandom rivalries may be, none seem to be as heated as the one between fans of the DCEU Superman films and fans of the Richard Donner/Christopher Reeve Superman films. Fans of the Reeve films have been extremely harsh towards Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice for not having a more idealistic portrayal of Superman more in line with the Reeve films, accusing the newer films of betraying the character's appeal and damaging Superman's public image, and arguing that the traditional boy scout Superman not appealing to modern audiences is a bad reason to make him Darker and Edgier (particularly as Captain America is depicted in the MCU as a boy scout-like hero, and he's one of the most beloved characters in the MCU for precisely that reason and is frequently said to be a better Superman than the DCEU version). Fans of the current films have been equally vocal in criticizing the flaws in the Reeve films and their portrayal of Superman, such as how his version was stuck in the past even then and Superman would need to be updated given how forty years have passed since the Reeve films and both the character and the superhero landscape have changed radically since the 1970s, as well as that they were given a film more in line with the Reeve films in the form of Superman Returns (which drew criticisms for being too similar to the Donner/Reeve films) and it's unreasonable to keep Superman's character frozen in the past when every other major superhero has been allowed to evolve on the big screen or be given more leniency and flexibility in their adaptations. That's in addition to pointing out that DCEU Superman is still fundamentally the same character and Donner/Reeve fans have been unfairly and disproportionately harsh on Snyder and Cavill's take on the character for being superficially different.
    • There's also a schism between the Snyder era and the post-Snyder era fans of the DCEU, particularly where James Gunn is involved. Snyder era fans despise the newer films and shows, finding them either too cut-and-paste similar to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or are rife with R-rated Black Comedy that undercuts much of the moody and cerebral take Snyder pushed. Fans of the post-Snyder era films despise the older films for their Darker and Edgier take that leaves little room for levity, and feel the newer films give the characters personality that the previous films lacked. Probably a good example of this was the finale of Peacemaker (2022) where the Justice League arrive after the crisis is solved, Peacemaker chews them out before leaving, and Flash and Aquaman bicker over a rumor concerning the latter. Snyder fans claim that all of that would never happen and it’s disrespectful to them while post-Snyder fans claim that it shows that the two are friends.
    • While mainly directed at Snyder fans, there has been a rivalry between DCEU fans in general and fans of the DC Animated Universe. This mainly comes down to DCAU fans claiming that the cartoons were the blueprint on how to make a successful Shared Universe and that they had a better understanding of the characters (especially Superman and Batman), though these claims tend to ignore both the 20-minute episodic format and the fact that there were only two character-centric series (about Batman and Superman) and a Legacy Character spinoff (Batman Beyond) before the team-up series.
    • Due to Snyder fans being on good terms with DCAMU fans, they don't really get along with Tomorrowverse fans, as the latter film series replaced the DCAMU. Also much like with the DCAU, Tomorrowverse fans were quick to claim that Superman: Man of Tomorrow was a better film than Man of Steel while being a better Shared Universe than both the DCEU and DCAMU.
  • Fanon Discontinuity: A subset of Zack Snyder's fans tend to reject any installments that don't have his involvement to the point of taking Zack Snyder's Justice League (and all of the DCEU films made since 2018 not having connectivity/thematic coherence with each other and bombing) as a vindication of their views that Only the Creator Does It Right. The release of the Snyder cut quickly led to a movement clamoring for a complete restoration of Snyder's projects, though Warner Bros. stood firm in their decision to continue without said projects.
  • Fan-Preferred Couple: Despite Clark Kent being in a loving relationship with Lois Lane, most fanfiction about the films instead pairs him up with rival turned ally Bruce Wayne. This is due to the tension between the two during Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and the fact that the pairing was already very popular in the comics. This only grew after Justice League (2017), where Bruce spends much of the movie trying to revive Clark and increased the Ho Yay between the two further. They have the most fanfiction of any pairing in the DCEU tag on Archive of Our Own. Zack Snyder's Justice League adds Bruce's pleading with Clark when the latter has gone berserk. It makes him sound positively broken-hearted.
  • The Firefly Effect: Following the news that James Gunn would be rebooting and recasting Superman for the newly relaunched DC Universe, as well as the mounting evidence that said reboot will apply to much of the franchise as a whole, much disinterest in many of the DCEU films slated for 2023 (specifically SHAZAM! Fury of the Gods and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom) had been expressed, due to the likelihood that those versions of the characters won't be continuing, similarly to the response to Dark Phoenix after 20th Century Fox was purchased by Disney.
  • Franchise Original Sin: Several issues that have been heavily complained about in the earlier entries of the franchise arguably had their roots in better received DC Comics film adaptations that came out long before the creation of the DCEU:
    • Some of the most controversial elements of Zack Snyder's DCEU films (i.e. divisive casting choices, deviations from the source material, and excessively Darker and Edgier approaches to what was being adapted) had previously been sources of controversy for Tim Burton's Batman (1989) and Batman Returns. However, at the time that the first Tim Burton Batman film was released to theaters, comic book blockbuster film adaptations were very rare, and only the most avid of comic book readers and fans had a level of exposure to and knowledge of the source material that went beyond campier stuff made for children during those times. As a result, general audiences were largely more open to Tim Burton's interpretation and more forgiving of his mistakes since this movie was arguably the first exposure to Batman that most general audiences had ever had before at the time and there was not yet a general overall consensus on the standards of what made a 'good' superhero movie. And the fact that most contemporary critics at the time of the 1989 Batman film hadn't been all that familiar with the original comics themselves also helped, as that meant there weren't as many people involved in the general discourse that would have demanded for a more faithful adaptation. However, by the time Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was released, superhero movies had become one of the most popular and critically acclaimed film genres of all time, and there far more preexisting expectations and perceptions about superhero films and the characters and stories being adapted and less room for error and deviations away from the general spirit of the source material, resulting in heavy criticism for Snyder's failure to properly match his films with general preexisting expectations now that there were far more comic book films and similar material that had come before that were far more generally faithful in spirit to the original comics and there was more competition available to inflate audience expectations.
    • As Zack Snyder himself claimed in efforts to defend his choices against criticisms, the Tim Burton incarnation of Batman did in fact kill criminals (or at the very least caused situations in which the criminals or villains ended up incidentally dying). Problem is, Burton's tendency to make use of Disney Villain Death and Gory Discretion Shot in his Batman films allowed the deaths to unfold in ways that seemed cartoonish rather than horrifying. And there's also the fact that Tim Burton's Batman films never really contained any discussions in the narrative about Batman and his views on killing, nor allowed any of the characters to actually bring up the deaths in-universe after their initial occurrences, which helped make it easier for audiences to forget about them or at least not dwell on them as much. Similarly, in Superman II, Superman himself genuinely pushed General Zod (who at that point was depowered and no longer a threat) over the edge of a cliff to his seeming death. But much like with the villain deaths in the Tim Burton Batman films, General Zod's death was a one-off scene that was never brought up again in the film afterward, making it easier for audiences not to dwell on it (and the fact that an alternate cut of the film shows him actually surviving the fall also helps). However, both Man of Steel and Batman v Superman draw heavy attention to Superman and Batman (respectively) outright killing villains and criminals, making the matter almost impossible for viewers to ignore. And furthermore, unlike when the Tim Burton Batman films and Richard Donner Superman films were released, there were far more people amongst the general public who considered it a commonly accepted fact that Batman and Superman generally never blatantly attempt to use lethal force against their foes by the time Batman v Superman was released, leading them to be far more critical of Synder's decision to portray them doing the opposite of this perception and consider it an unacceptable direction for the characters.
    • Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy noticeably had a much darker, grittier, and more grounded style of storytelling compared to most of the contemporary comics and media, and especially compared to the Joel Schumacher Batman films. However, when Batman Begins was released, it came at a time in which audiences were happy to accept it for its managing to help finally wash out the lingering taste of the infamously cartoonish and corny Batman & Robin out of critics and general audiences' mouths. The only difference is that Nolan also remembered to tell engaging and complex stories with three-dimensional characters worth getting invested in, and that the dark and serious tone was merely a tool in which he used to tell the stories rather than a general draw in its own right. Secondly, Batman (a Vigilante Man who turns to crime-fighting after the murder of his parents) was arguably one of the most well-suited superheroes for receiving a Darker and Edgier reimagining. And finally, contrary to what many people may remember, the Dark Knight Trilogy films also contained several lighthearted moments as well to provide much-needed contrast and levity that also proved surprisingly optimistic and emphatic on the decency of the common man. But the problem, however, came when the people behind the DCEU at DC Comics and Warner Bros. proceeded to not only apply the most superficial dark and serious elements of the Dark Knight formula to characters far less suitable for such reimaginings (most infamously, Superman) but also applied them in a far more excessive fashion compared to Nolan's approach, which critics, general audiences, and comic book fans were far less forgiving towards.
  • Friendly Fandoms:
    • Fans of these films tend to overlap and get on well with fans of Fox's X-Men Film Series as they are both underdogs with a darker approach to the genre than the MCU. When some critics insulted X-Men: Apocalypse by comparing it to Batman v Superman, a few fans took it as a compliment. Also, both the DCEU and X-Men film series were supported by the infamous petition to stop Disney from supposedly influencing critics to attack those movies after X-Men: Apocalypse and Batman v Superman received mixed-to-negative reviews while Captain America: Civil War received critical acclaim.
    • In a similar "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" situation, many DCEU fans were/are also supportive of Sony's Marvel films competing with the MCU. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has been warmly received by DCEU fans despite the film being a box office competitor with Aquaman. Likewise, Sam Raimi's Spider-Man Trilogy is very popular among the DCEU fandom since it too isn't in the MCU and has actors who later appeared in the DCEU like J. K. Simmons, Joe Manganiello, and Willem Dafoe.
    • Of course, there are also DCEU fans who enjoy the MCU as well and get along with its fans, and vice-versa. The Black Panther and Captain Marvel fandom are especially cordial towards the DCEU. Both fandoms will also concede that The Boys is better than either cinematic universe.
      • Black Panther and Aquaman fans get along since they are the first films in their respective franchises to have both non-white leads and directors, giving the superhero movie genre some much-needed diversity. Some DCEU fans went the extra mile by raising money for impoverished black kids to see Black Panther in theaters.
      • While there was some rivalry going on, Captain Marvel (2019) fans generally do hold a cordial relationship with Wonder Woman and SHAZAM!. For the Wonder Woman, it was their fans uniting against their Girl-Show Ghetto detractors. For the latter, that positive relationship was helped by SHAZAM! director David F. Sandberg and star Zachary Levi denouncing trolls trying to drag Captain Marvel, a sentiment that was repaid for with Captain Marvel fans encouraging others to go see and support SHAZAM!.
    • After the release of Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, the fans of Snyder's DCEU took an interest in the DC Animated Movie Universe since they saw the last film in the franchise as the closest they will ever get to Snyder's original plan. It helps that both the DCEU and DCAMU are Darker and Edgier takes on the DC universe with inspiration from the New 52.
  • Growing the Beard:
    • A franchise example; Wonder Woman is the first DC Extended Universe movie to earn an overall positive response from critics, currently sitting at a 93% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Compare this to the divided response to Man of Steel (55% on RT) and the critical thrashing of both Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (30%) and Suicide Squad (25%). Justice League took quite a nosedive compared to Wonder Woman however, with a 41% Tomatometer rating.
    • Aquaman has been well received critically (not to Wonder Woman levels of reception, but well enough), and SHAZAM! extremely so. It seems that taking a more Adaptation Distillation rather than Adaptational Angst Upgrade with their heroes has shown to be a better strategy, giving the franchise a brighter future than before. It probably also helps that the former has never had an iconic portrayal in live media and the latter's television series didn't stand the test of time as well as Batman and Wonder Woman did, so neither had to worry about competing with nostalgia.
  • Harsher in Hindsight:
    • Superman's status as Destructive Savior both in and out of universe (since most, if not all, of the deaths and collateral damage in Man of Steel and Batman v Superman weren't his fault) is this in light of Wonder Woman (2017), where Diana is pushed so hard that she eventually goes on a rampage and intentionally kills people. It's also implied that Superman's darker outlook is what helped him cope with the complexities of humanity, while Diana's idealism only made her more emotionally fragile.
    • Despite his offscreen presence, Henry Cavill's version of Superman took some lumps in The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker (having been shot with a Kryptonite bullet in the former and made the butt of jokes in the latter), both of which were helmed by James Gunn. At the end of 2022, it was confirmed that Cavill would no longer be moving forward as Superman due to Gunn rebooting and recasting the character.
  • He Really Can Act:
    • Despite the divisive reputation of the first two Snyder films, many people feel that the casting is mostly spot-on. The director's casting of Henry Cavill as Superman, Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman and Jason Momoa as Aquaman were all well-received. Regarding Cavill especially, his sudden exit due to not factoring in James Gunn's franchise plans less than a month after his much hyped return in Black Adam after years of not showing up due to Executive Veto had a ripple effect way beyond the fandom of Zack Snyder's films.
    • Likewise, the casting of Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn was very popular with fans clamoring for Robbie to keep reprising her role in future spin-offs.
    • Henry Cavill gets an extra mention for Justice League—even people who disliked his dour take on Superman were pleasantly surprised by how well he pulls off a more upbeat version (for those that don't find said version corny/out of character compared to the two previous films, that said).
  • Hilarious in Hindsight:
    • In the Rifftrax of the Daredevil film, there are not only the obvious jokes about the similarity to Batman in Ben Affleck's character, but Jared Leto is listed among the bland white actors who Elektra brags about beating up.
    • Prior to her film, it was commonly remarked by Marvel fans that, if Marvel had Wonder Woman, she would have two films already. Not only did Warner Bros. beat Disney to the finish line in making a successful film with a female lead but will be releasing an all-female cast superhero movie and the second Wonder Woman film the year after Marvel's first female-led film.
    • Casting Ben Affleck as Batman gained a new layer of irony with the non-DCEU film Joker, revealing that the name of the caped crusader's arch-nemesis is Arthur Fleck.
    • Henry Cavill lost out on two parts to Robert Pattinson. After Ben Affleck stepped down from the role of Batman, he wound up being replaced by Pattinson.
    • Russell Crowe played Superman's father, while Wonder Woman is the daughter of Zeus. In Thor: Love and Thunder Russel Crowe plays Zeus. Better hope no future films try to make those two a couple.
    • Amsterdam (2022) is about an investigation made by three friends, and features Margot Robbie and Christian Bale as two characters of the trio of protagonists. In other words, Amsterdam features Harley Quinn and Batman (from another unrelated continuity) teaming up and being best friends forever!
  • It's the Same, Now It Sucks!: In regards to the announcement that Barry Allen would be the Flash used in the setting. Fans of the other Flashes, particularly the equally-popular Wally West (who has been Demoted to Extra by the Barry fans Running the Asylum), are annoyed that not only does Barry get to be the Flash in the main comics, the video games, the animated movies (even ones based on stories involving Wally West), the 2014 AND the 90s TV series', while Wally's only uses have been in Young Justice (2010) (which was cancelled shortly after killing him off, until a third season was eventually announced) and Justice League, fans are annoyed he couldn't have had the films. Though he appears in the TV series starting in season 2, this Wally is based on his African-American New 52 counterpart so it's likely that the red-headed speedster is gone for good. Though as of 2016's DC Rebirth, classic Wally is back and will coexist with New 52 Wally, retconned to be his cousin.
  • Just Here for Godzilla: In general, a lot of characters making their way to the big screen for the first time and many fans, even ones who haven't cared for the films so far, have at least one they're excited to see.

    M-R 
  • Memetic Mutation: Has its own page.
  • Memetic Troll: Batman has been made into "that one guy who loves sleeping with his friend's mom" in some circles due to Ben Affleck and Diane Lane (Martha Kent) playing lovers in Hollywoodland, and Nicole Kidman (Atlanna) playing Batman's Love Interest in Batman Forever (Bats was played by Val Kilmer there).
  • Misblamed:
    • Critics of the DCEU are quick to blame DC Comics instead of Warner Bros. who owns DC. It seems the DC people themselves don't even have that much influence regarding the movies. Geoff Johns is linked to both the DCEU and the Berlanti Productions TV shows (Arrowverse, Supergirl (2015)) as a consultant but his influence was most keenly felt in the latter before Justice League.
    • Some critics panning Justice League were quick to blame it all on Zack Snyder. The theatrically-released film is definitely not how he intended it to be, as it is the result of Executive Meddling and Joss Whedon's input, with a whole lot of Snyder's footage ending up as Deleted Scenes or modified (the color grading most notably). As a matter of fact, Zack Snyder's Justice League is by and large considered a much better film.
    • In general, Zack Snyder, and Zack Snyder alone, tends to get the most blame for everything wrong with the earlier DCEU films while the contributions of screenwriters David S. Goyer and Chris Terrio are rarely ever mentioned, the involvement of Christopher Nolan as a producer for Man of Steel is largely outright ignored, and it is often forgotten how it was actually Geoff Johns who suggested various New 52 based elements that were included in Man of Steel (to which Snyder himself suggested multiple pre-New 52 based elements be included as compensation).
    • This is also inverted as those critical of the films have a habit of attributing anything in the films that work, such as Gal Gadot's performance as Wonder Woman or Superman's more upbeat characterization in Justice League, to people other than Zack Snyder. This has led many fans to accuse them of just refusing to give Snyder credit for anything while still blaming him for everything that they dislike.
    • Even years after the Batman v Superman and Justice League meltdowns, you'll still find outlets outright accusing Snyder of having "derailed" the whole franchise all this time. It rings particularly hollow when there's been genuine successes after his films (2017's Wonder Woman, Aquaman and SHAZAM!) and when the mismanagement, indecisiveness and lack of united voice of DC Films from 2018 to 2022 that prevented Warner Bros. from building off these successes generally gets left out of the conversation. Some following movies' crippling flaws (particularly with Wonder Woman 1984) that had nothing to do with Snyder also tend to get glossed over or ignored entirely, and some executive decisions made in that timeframe like refusing a Christopher McQuarrie-penned Superman script for Henry Cavill (who was shunned by the studio the entire time, despite his growing popularity particularly at the time of The Witcher) came off as pretty baffling.
    • A common complaint by detractors is the decision to introduce multiple characters in team-up movies, as opposed to introducing them in solo movies prior to team-up works like Marvel does. However, if anything, Marvel's practice is actually the exception, not the rule, to creating cinematic franchises with many characters, as evident by The Fast and the Furious consisting only of team-up movies (at least until the Hobbs and Shaw spin-off), and the Harry Potter films having no character-focused spinoffs whatsoever (the same also applied to Star Wars until the release of Solo). Even among superhero films, the Fox X-Men Film Series also doesn't follow Marvel's model, with Wolverine and Deadpool being introduced in team-up movies prior to getting solo films (the latter was actually a technicality, since X-Men Origins: Wolverine included an In Name Only adaptation of the character). And, closer to home, the DC Animated Universe had only Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series before going straight to Justice League. Zack Snyder's Justice League got well received partly for allowing backstories of the new Justice League members who didn't have films before to develop over its colossal running time.
    • A vocal minority oppose Matt Reeves' The Batman due to the recasting of Ben Affleck with Robert Pattinson as Batman, with these fans accusing Reeves of personally forcing Affleck out of the DCEU. In actuality, Affleck's departure was driven by his own volition as he expressed less than enthusiastic behavior following the Troubled Production of Justice League and his battle with depression and alcoholism stemming from his divorce. In a subsequent interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Affleck confirmed that leaving the role was his decision.
  • My Real Daddy:
    • Although Snyder was responsible for introducing Wonder Woman and Aquaman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League (2017), many feel that it was other directors who were able to do the characters justice. However, considering some of Snyder's films' open-ended nature around certain characters and his statements about opting to not give Flash his second costume so those working on his solo film could present their own vision, it's implied this was always the plan.
    • Patty Jenkins could be considered the real mommy of Wonder Woman. When the character was introduced in Batman v Superman, she was shown to be a jaded immortal who turned her back on humanity for over a hundred years. Her solo film retconned her as a Broken Bird who, in spite of her hardships, still had enough idealism not to abandon humanity. The direction Jenkins took with Wonder Woman would lead to her film being the first critically acclaimed entry of the DC Extended Universe and turn the character into more of a household name (again, after the Lynda Carter era) who is now as popular, if not moreso, than the DCEU Batman and Superman.
      • She got much flak for the direction taken in Wonder Woman 1984 with the character however, not helped by her Creator Backlash against elements of the first film (on which she had less creative control) that were well received that she ditched for the sequel. It was further complicated when Diana's portrayal in Zack Snyder's Justice League ended up being better received than her portrayal in Wonder Woman 1984.
    • In Justice League, Aquaman was depicted as a gruff, cynical loner and Sour Supporter who only joined the team under pressure by Mera. In his solo movie, James Wan changed Aquaman into a more friendly yet down-to-earth reluctant hero with a compelling personal journey of finding acceptance by the Atlanteans while also having Hidden Depths to complement his macho exterior. These changes made Aquaman more relatable and less of a one-note "surfer dude" as seen in Justice League (though given how different the theatrical and director's cuts are and the fact that Wan's stated he considers the Snyder Cut canon though WB reportedly considers the theatrical cut canonical, this was a complicated situation). Public perception-wise, Wan also successfully reconstructed the character and his mythos enough to win over many who still thought he was a useless superhero.
    • Got turned on its head for Justice League, with Snyder's version of the team-up being now pretty clearly considered as much better than the way Whedon handled it. Particular praise went to their synergy in battle, much-needed levity that Snyder infused in the film, and the character of Cyborg, whose backstory suffered the most with all the cuts done in the theatrical version and the forced humor Whedon had him perform.
  • Narm: Has its own page.
  • Older Than They Think:
    • A movie involving the Justice League was planned as early as 2009, but as noted in Follow the Leader on the Trivia page, the project only got off the ground after Avengers's success.
    • Many of the difficulties and criticisms the franchise has faced (divisive casting, deviations from the source material, and excessively dark approach, difficult productions) were all issues that the Batman faced. The core difference is that Batman (1989) was an unambiguous success, while the issues that ultimately derailed the franchise with Batman & Robin only began to manifest in the later installments. By contrast, the DCEU had the challenge of starting off with a divisive movie like Man of Steel, which led to certain critical and audience perceptions that the franchise would have to spend the next several years dealing with.
    • Many things people have complained about in relation to Superman, such as Clark being more introverted, struggling with his identity and questioning his purpose, have their roots in the Bronze Age comicsnote . In fact, for all the fans who pit the Reeve and Cavill interpretations of Superman against one another, Superman II actually dealt with Clark divesting himself of his powers in order to live an ordinary life with Lois, as well as the subsequent consequences that came with that decision. Superman as a Christ analogue also has roots in the comics◊.
  • Old Guard Versus New Blood:
    • Most of the divisiveness of the films, particularly in relation to their portrayal of Superman, has come from fans split on whether the films should be following the path laid out by previous films such as the Christopher Reeve Superman series and the Keaton and Bale Batman films, or trying something new and taking influence from more recent and divisive sources such as the New 52.
    • Since Snyder's exit from the franchise in 2017, a new variant of this has been taking place within the franchise's fandom. The divide now exists between the fans who enjoy the lighter post-Snyder movies like Aquaman and SHAZAM!, and those who prefer the darker, grittier tone of Snyder's films. Some DCEU/Snyder fans criticize the newer DC movies as a blatant attempt to emulate Marvel or pandering to the lowest common denominator. In contrast, fans of the lighter movies think that those movies still have dark moments and criticize the older movies for relying too much on darkness for shock value instead of good storytelling. Further exacerbating this divide is the fact that the non-Snyder films (bar Suicide Squad)note  were better received by critics, until Wonder Woman 1984 broke the streak. Then, since the stellar audience scores and much improved critical reception to Zack Snyder's Justice League, there's now a fan community push (#RestoreTheSnyderVerse) against Warner Bros.' and DC Films' attempt to move forward without collaborating with Snyder. This has in turn led to some of those fans clashing with fans of the upcoming movies like The Flash, which has long been rumored to reboot some aspects of the continuity.
  • Overshadowed by Controversy: The franchise has been hit with this almost from the start due to divisive creative decisions, the Vocal Minority of particularly toxic sections of the fandom (most infamously starting conspiracy theories about Disney paying critics to bash the DCEU movies, starting a petition to shut down Rotten Tomatoes in the wake of Suicide Squad's negative reviews, bullying former DC president Diane Nelson off Twitter after she made a comment that some read as critical of Snyder's movies, and sending death threats to critics for the "crime" of giving the DCEU movies negative reviews), the vitriolic personal attacks directed at fans and creative people involved in the films (particularly towards Snyder himself, as well as his family members), the endless series of negative rumors treated as fact even after being debunked, the intensely heated rivalry with the MCU and its fans, the often excessively harsh criticism/nitpicking over the films and the tragedy of Autumn Snyder's death, the latter of which has caused people on both sides of the debate to start questioning the nature of modern film criticism and its perceived emphasis on casual cruelty towards creators. It's gotten to the point that just about any article that discusses the Snyder films will bring up the controversy surrounding them thus far.
  • Pandering to the Base: The franchise has been attempting to do this ever since its first entry's mixed-to-negative critical and audience reception:
    • After the backlash against Batman v Superman for being too grim and the extremely positive fan reaction to Suicide Squad's much more fun-looking trailers, WB reshot parts of Suicide Squad to be more like the trailers. Unfortunately, this caused the film to have a distractingly uneven tone and inconsistent editing and be panned in reviews too. The Suicide Squad continued in this direction, but due to the studio not interfering with James Gunn's vision, the end result was much more warmly received.
    • After all of the above happened, WB repeatedly and emphatically promised that Justice League would have a more light-hearted tone, humor, and a brighter color palette than Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad. When a personal tragedy forced director Zack Snyder to step down, they hired Joss Whedon, who had directed the much-loved The Avengers (2012), to wrap up production and do reshoots. They also had the film cut down to only 2 hours in length, most likely as a response to complaints about Batman v Superman feeling overly long and bloated. The end result didn't satisfy anyone, however, and even spawned a large fan movement to have the Director's Cut released, which ended up succeeding.
    • Word of God states that Wonder Woman 1984 was intended to compensate for the titular character's lack of cinema prescence in the decade where Superman and Batman got their own films, with a narrative and tone fitting the character as she would have been presented then. This didn't work out as intended, with rusted-on DCEU fans feeling alienated, a glaring example of Values Dissonance, long-awaited supervillain Cheetah had little relevance to the main plot and the time-period stumped any chances of world-building.
  • Questionable Casting: Casting reception of several major established characters tends to be all over the place with these movies, notably for nearly every member of the Justice League. The sole uncontroversial exception was Ray Fisher as Cyborg since he was a relative unknown who at least looked like the character, so fans adopted a "wait and see" attitude instead.
    • Henry Cavill's casting announcement raised a good deal of eyebrows initially in large part due to his British origins, making him the first non-American actor to play Superman and lack of "big" lead roles. And then others felt that he didn't look enough like Superman, though they were more open after the first pictures of Cavill's Superman physique were shown. Following the movies, even a number of viewers who weren't fans of the franchise's more somber take on the character had praise for Cavill still managing to get the character's spirit through as well as embodying the badass action Superman was capable of in the comics.
    • Ben Affleck as Batman was immediately and harshly criticized by people who had less than fond memories of Daredevil and romantic comedies like Gigli, despite that he had been pulling a Career Resurrection with The Town and Argo which he directed. The backlash got so bad it was compared to the one that erstwhile comedy actor Michael Keaton had for the 1989 Batman film. However, following the release of Batman v Superman, Affleck was generally praised as one of the brighter spots in the otherwise divisive movie.
    • Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman also garnered immediate and vicious criticism because of her slim ex-supermodel build as seen in the The Fast and the Furious series, due to a loud segment of fans wanting a more literal Amazonian Beauty. Many of these fans rooted for the likes of Gina Caranonote  or/and Jaimie Alexander (Lady Sif in the MCU) instead, although the latter had a similar build to Gadot's. In any case, similar to Affleck, Gadot was generally praised as one of the better parts of Batman v Superman and she got wider praise in the role with the Wonder Woman film.
    • Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor immediately got a lot of flak since Eisenberg was younger and not as physically imposing as many fans would have preferred Lex to be, as common fancasts were the likes of Bryan Cranston and Mark Strong (Sinestro in Green Lantern (2011) and eventually Dr. Sivana in DCEU's own Shazam). The prevailing joke was Snyder got Eisenberg when people wanted Heisenberg (Cranston's acclaimed role in Breaking Bad.) Cranston himself dismissed being fancast as Lex just because he had gone bald for Breaking Bad like Lex famously is. When Batman v Superman came out, Lex's characterization and writing were the most criticized aspects of him, not his appearance. Later it came to light that Eisenberg and Snyder had originally discussed him playing Jimmy Olsen.
    • Ezra Miller as the Barry Allen incarnation of The Flash was criticized (as was TV's Barry Grant Gustin) for being younger than and not being blond like comics Barry. In Batman v Superman he also had a moustache and ponytail which was gone for his cameo in Suicide Squad. And similar to Eisenberg as Luthor, Barry's characterization and writing, not his appearance, were the most criticized aspects of him in Justice League where he finally had a sizable role (though his more expanded role in Zack Snyder's Justice League was much more well received).
    • Jason Momoa as Aquaman is a curious case — like Gadot, Eisenberg and Miller, many have complained that he doesn't resemble the character enough even if he were to go blond. The prevailing joke was that Snyder got Khal Drogo when he should have gotten Jaime Lannister, since the latter as played by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau looks much more like classic Aquaman. Quite a few people also feel that Momoa would have been a better fit for Lobo, due to the dreadlocks he sported on (funnily enough) Stargate Atlantis. However, Momoa's prior roles like on Game of Thrones, Stargate Atlantis and elsewhere have also gained him many supporters who want Aquaman's Joke Character reputation in pop culture to end.
    • It's much the same with Will Smith as Deadshot, who was cast by David Ayer, not Snyder for a change - sure, his ethnicity is different, but it's Will Smith.
    • Superman's European French VA: Adrien Antoine. While he is a good actor, is pretty good with his lines, and previously had experience voicing Superman in Superman Returns, he's also been Batman's European French VA in most animated and video game adaptations since the 2004 animated series The Batman.
  • Rescued from the Scrappy Heap:
    • Barry Allen's cameo in Crisis on Infinite Earths (2019) managed to get audiences to warm up to him after his depiction in Justice League (2017) proved divisive. And so did his scenes in Zack Snyder's Justice League, in epic fashion.
    • Cyborg, Steppenwolf, and (to a lesser extent) the Joker all gained new fans after the release of the Snyder Cut.
  • Reviews Are the Gospel: The DCEU movies' scores on sites like Rotten Tomatoes are brought up a hell of a lot in debates about their quality — or on sites like this very wiki, especially in the Fandom Rivalry with the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
  • Ron the Death Eater: Some viewers aren't willing to look past DC heroes killing villains, even when said villains are threatening innocent lives, won't listen to reason and put the heroes in a tight spot.
    • Superman, of all people, has had a serious and very extreme case of this since Man of Steel. In the films, he's undeniably far more serious, introverted, inexperienced, struggles seriously with not knowing his place in the world, and hasn't yet evolved into the character he's known for but he's still fundamentally the same. He is repeatedly shown to be kind, humble, self-sacrificing, and overall a decent person who tries to stand up for people the rest of the world won't and it's clear he just wants to help, even if he isn't sure how best to do it. Yet to hear some fans talk about him, you'd think he was the most despicable character ever committed to film and he doesn't do a single heroic or altruistic thing in the course of his two films, with some either ignoring the heroic things he does or downplaying them considerably. Even accounting for different interpretations and subjectivity, it's a bit much. Some people have even gone as far as to call him a sociopath, a fascist or a narcissist with complete seriousness.
    • This version of Batman is also subject to no shortage of exaggerated critiques of his moral character. Fans tend to speak of this Batman as an Ax-Crazy Villain Protagonist who remorselessly slaughters everyone who stands in his way without a second thought — comparisons to All-Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder are not uncommon in such discussions. In truth, this version of Batman, while perhaps more willing to resort to drastic measures than previous portrayals, never does any of the horrific things his ASBAR counterpart gets up to, nor is he portrayed as the sort of person who would. His demeanor, stated beliefs and goals, and interactions with other characters show him to be the same benevolent-yet-conflicted man he's always been. His willingness to kill also gets exaggerated in critical discussions, as while he doesn't completely abide by his One Rule from the comics, he doesn't kill people nearly as often or as brutally as detractors make it sound (or, at least, not any more so than his previous cinematic portrayals). It also bears mentioning that the people he does kill are not his usual rogue's gallery - many of whom are sympathetic or at least ineffectual enough to deserve second chances - but dangerous mercenaries that actually pose a threat to him.
    • Even Wonder Woman gets this, albeit to a lesser extent. She has no qualms using lethal force, often against non-powered humans, her sequel gave her Memetic Molester status and her beheading of Steppenwolf when he'd been soundly beaten is occasionally depicted as overkill. Her killing can at least be justified, as she's either protecting innocent people in her immediate vicinity or trying to stop a global disaster, not to mention getting through her entire sequel without killing anyone.

    S-W 
  • Smurfette Breakout:
    • Wonder Woman played a supporting role in her first live-action cinematic portrayal Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, but her Superhero Origin movie is the best reviewed of the DCEU so far, and has performed the best at the domestic box office. Warner Bros. seems to have taken note of this, as the first trailer for Justice League (2017) to screen after Wonder Woman put focus on Diana's heroics and Themyscira. And a sequel was quickly greenlit.
    • Likewise, Margot Robbie's take on Harley Quinn became the most popular character in Suicide Squad. This has led Warner Bros. to greenlight Birds of Prey, with a copious amount of creative freedom for Robbie.
  • Star Trek Movie Curse: The franchise is a rollercoaster with critics if Rotten Tomatoes is to be believed: Man of Steel, Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad were ill-received by critics to varying degrees, then Wonder Woman received glowing praise. Justice League plunged, then Aquaman was better received, Shazam! was praised and Birds of Prey was mostly praised. Then Wonder Woman 1984 plunged, Zack Snyder's Justice League surprisingly raised the bar and The Suicide Squad reached Wonder Woman heights, only to get beaten down again once Black Adam came out, with Shazam: Fury of the Gods only setting the bar down even further. Then The Flash initially seemed to set the bar back up in the days leading up to the film's release...only for the bar to then plateau when the film received reviews that were mostly lukewarm at best. Then the franchise received brand new critical praise with Blue Beetle, only for the financial failure of that movie as well as the later critical trashing of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom to cause the franchise to finally end with a whimper.
  • They Copied It, So It Sucks!:
    • A common criticism of the early DCEU films is that the filmmakers were clearly trying to copy the dark tone of Christopher Nolan's critically and financially successful The Dark Knight Trilogy to the detriment of the films. While Nolan's Batman films are darker and more realistic compared to previous adaptations, they are still praised for using darkness to create engaging stories and characters as opposed to a draw in its own right, while also using lighter moments to provide contrast with the overall dark tone. Furthermore, Batman, a Vigilante Man motivated by the murder of his parents, proved to be well-suited to a darker reimagining. In contrast, Superman is traditionally seen as a more light-hearted figure not well-suited to having a dark reimagining.
    • In addition, The Dark Knight Trilogy was intended to be a completely standalone trilogy of movies (only adapting Batman, his various supporting characters and his less fantastical villains like Ra's al Ghul, Bane and the Joker), so imitating its dark and gritty style clashed with the more fantastical elements of the DC Universe that the DCEU adapted or would have to adapt (for instance, magic with the Enchantress and Shazam!).
    • On a separate note, many fans were also disappointed how the creative minds also hampered the DCEU world-building in their attempts in trying to copy the realism of Nolan's movies. Most notable examples include the decision to downplay Batman's Science Hero qualities and the questionable production choice of making Gotham and Metropolis look like generic cities that lack the unique art deco architecture of their comic counterparts.
    • A bit unfairly, the whole endeavour seems to get flak here and there solely for attempting to make a cinematic superhero Shared Universe after Marvel did it first, despite the shared universe model being a thing that the Big Two of the comics industry have done for decades.
  • They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Despite the divisiveness of the first two Snyder films, some of the characters that he introduced in the setting not having any follow-ups (especially as Warner Bros. reactionary stances are not giving them a chance to be handled by other directors) is resented as a huge waste.
    • Due to some bad blood between Ray Fisher and the studio executives since the Justice League meltdown, the odds of Cyborg ever showing up again are slim to none after the take on the character in Zack Snyder's Justice League was praised. This cost Fisher a role in The Flash after he publicly vowed to not work on any film where Walter Hamada was involved with, which stung even more after he revealed that he'd previously had conversations with director Andy Muschietti and had been looking forward to working with him.
    • To date, there have been no announcements to have either the Legion of Doom or the Monster Society appear in any future films despite being alluded to in Justice League and SHAZAM!, with the latter using Canon Foreigner villains in its sequel. Fans have also felt that the Joker, Cheetah and Black Mask could have been given more to work with.
    • Pretty much anything set up in either version of Justice League has been ignored by the studio heads when it comes to greenlighting new material, such as the New Gods, the Green Lantern Corps and future Justice League members. Between 2019 and 2022 the slate mostly consisted of titles relating to SHAZAM! and Suicide Squad, with Wonder Woman getting an interquel while the rest of the Justice League were lucky just to get cameos.
  • Took the Bad Film Seriously: Even among detractors of the early films, Henry Cavill's performance is seen as a highlight due to his obvious enthusiasm for the role (alongside in some circles being happy that Cavill finally broke his bad luck streak that had haunted his career where he often came close to getting big franchise roles like James Bond). He really tries to embody the more morose take on Superman, and his brief scenes in both cuts of Justice League show that he can absolutely do the more upbeat depiction of the character. Many still wish that Cavill will get to play a more true to the text depiction of Clark, believing that he could become as iconic a Superman as Christopher Reeve.
  • Uncertain Audience: Perhaps the biggest problem with Zack Snyder's films. Snyder is a self-proclaimed huge fan of comics (at least comics like Heavy Metal or Watchmen, admitting that mainstream comics never grabbed his attention, aside from the John Byrne era Superman comics — which has its own sizable hatedom) and generally claims in interviews that he makes stories "for the fans", but the problem is that the primary medium of superheroes, i.e. comics, has a very tiny audience relative to other mass-media adaptations; comics by their nature vary Depending on the Writer, and the DC characters themselves are so iconic and folkloric, that Snyder at times wavers between their Pop-Cultural Osmosis version and their more rounded comics and cross-media versions.
    • Henry Cavill once attempted to defend Batman v. Superman by claiming that it was a "niche" film and not intended for a mainstream audience. This clashes heavily with the way the film was actually marketed, such as the existence of Batman v. Superman children's toys from Mattel, as well as candy tie-ins and even breakfast cereals. It seemed WB was trying to have its cake and eat it too by going after the more mature and sophisticated adult audience of the Nolan Batman movies, while at the same time trying to win over the four quadrant blockbuster audience of the MCU.
    • Overall the first two movies are too serious and dark to appeal to children, too melodramatic and comic-book-like to appeal to adults, too much Continuity Lockout for those unfamiliar with the comics and other versions of the DC Universe, and too deconstructive and change too many aspects of the characters for those who are familiar with said other versions. Justice League likewise was torn between giving audiences the epic superhero team-up they wanted and Pandering to the Base with a more classic Superman, which has resulted in irritating Batman fans who the film seems to paint as a has-been with little future in the Justice League and alienating those who were on-board with the tone of Man of Steel and Batman v Superman. Zack Snyder's Justice League suffered none of the issues of the theatrical cut, though the four hour runtime and the R rating can turn some viewers away.
  • Win Back the Crowd:
    • A large portion of the franchise's PR after Batman v Superman has been about convincing people that Wonder Woman and Justice League will be more optimistic and won't make the same mistakes as their predecessors. With Wonder Woman, at least, it seems to have succeeded, given the movie currently sits a 93% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, far higher than any of the previous films. Justice League, on the other hand, didn't fare so well due to Executive Meddling. Despite being the DCEU's big team up film a la Avengers, it became the first film of the DCEU to make less than 100 million on its opening weekend and it wound up a Box Office Bomb.
    • In the wake of Justice League, some major executive reshuffling at DC Films occurred, with the resulting new direction emphasizing the freedom of allowing talented creators to actually do their thing in making the movies work well, rather than having executives frantically trying to meddle with the process through reshoots and editing in order to ape the Marvel Cinematic Universe. New lead Walter Hamada now plays the role of a unifying voice rather than a controller, and the talent they've hired for upcoming projects have given many hope for the future. Aquaman and Shazam have done so well that sequels have already been greenlit (see below for more info), with Birds of Prey and The Suicide Squad being more warmly received than Suicide Squad (although both greatly underperformed at the box office). Assuming this level of momentum is maintained, it can be speculated the future of the DC Universe is in safe hands.
    • Aquaman's depature from standard action flicks to something resembling a sci-fi Pirates of the Caribbean saw it enjoying generally positive critical reception and grossing over $1 billion worldwide.
    • Shazam, while a more modest commercial success, enjoyed fantastic reviews, with many critics citing it as evidence of the franchise finally turning a corner. This was helped by producer Peter Safran's statements about the reception to the earlier movies having shown WB that different characters benefit from different tones, and that while the whole Darker and Edgier take may work wonders for characters like Batman and the Joker, that doesn't mean it's automatically a good fit for a property like Shazam or Aquaman.
    • HBO Max releasing Zack Snyder's Justice League, fixing an old wound for the fans who expected the theatrical version to follow on the footsteps of Man of Steel and Batman v Superman and were disappointed by how it turned out. While the film itself managed to be much better received than its theatrical cut, Warner Bros' refusing to follow up on it (or provide a similar courtesy for David Ayer's Suicide Squad) has got some fans threatening to boycott any future films unless a sequel is greenlit.
    • Ben Affleck's Bruce Wayne/Batman being confirmed to appear in Zack Snyder's Justice League, The Flash and Aquaman & the Lost Kingdom after stating that he had permanently dropped out of the role. However, it should be noted that by Affleck’s own account,Flash is intended to be his exit from the role, and while Batman's appearance was shot with both him and Michael Keaton, neither was used in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
    • Dwayne Johnson going on record stating that he's been making efforts to ensure Henry Cavill continues playing Superman in future films. Even viewers who hated Snyder's take on Superman will admit that Henry does bring the right energy to the part and are open to seeing what he can do under a different director. Backfired, however, when the movie flopped and it was announced that the role of Superman would be rebooted and recast for future appearances.

  • WTH, Costuming Department?: Some DCEU costumes got flak as soon as they were revealed. The most common complaints tend to be the attempts to make the characters look like hardened warrors, which means toning down their colour palettes and putting tattoos on certain characters.
    • Superman not having Underwear of Power, his costume looking "too alien" with more Kryptonian flourishes like cuffs and waist piping, and his costume colors being darker shades. It looked brighter in Batman v Superman however, and even more so in Justice League. His overly swept back hair when in costume has also proven contentious, since it makes it appear as if Superman is balding; made worse by the fact that Henry Cavill showed up to the Justice League premiere, unintentionally sporting a more Superman-esque hairstyle complete with the stray forelock in a manner that could have been easily incorporated for his look in the movies.
    • Batman's ears being too short and stubby, and his usually gold utility belt being muted. However, the costume was also praised by others for translating his black and grey color scheme into film for the first time since the 1940s black and white serials, where all previous incarnations were mostly fully black.
    • Wonder Woman's boots having heels, and her costume colors being so muted they look mostly brown. The latter was rectified for her solo film where it is brand new and much brighter.
    • The Flash's main costume being segmented and held together by wires, and having much of the skinsuit under the armor be black. He's due for a costume upgrade in his upcoming film that's reported to be brighter and more streamlined.
    • Cyborg's costume being 95% CGI, drawing comparisons to Green Lantern where only his head wasn't covered in CGI.
    • Perhaps most infamously, the Joker being covered in tattoos as well for Suicide Squad, including having "Damaged" inscribed on his forehead. The reveal of his look immediately torpedoed much of the goodwill people were having toward the casting of Jared Leto, replacing it with mockery instead. Rumors and actual reports of his on-set antics only fueled the fire even more, and in the final film his performance was divisive, but even more so due to most of his scenes being cut. Harley Quinn as played by Margot Robbie also had tattoos but these didn't trigger nearly the same amount of vitriol.

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