The rivalry between DC and Marvel has raged for as long as there have been comic books. The newest theater of battle emerged in the form of the shared cinematic universe. The timeless contest has spilled out of comics and onto the silver screen. To date, the DCEU is down a few points against the MCU by all scoreboards. Marvel Studios launched, elevated, and landed its franchises far better than any of the Warner Bros. attempts. DC movies may have gained an advantage in a way that Marvel has yet to accomplish. The DCEU is free to play with different versions of its characters on screen without having to be held to an iron continuity.
There were weak attempts for the DCEU to coalesce their characters in a major conflict. As tried in 2016’s Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and 2017’s Justice League, but both of those movies bounced any hope of a coherent cinematic universe. Instead, the DCEU has taken to a vision of a multiverse. While the MCU is a freight train moving from stop to scheduled stop, the DCEU is free to take its boat to any port of call. In truth, the DCEU has never guarded a connection to their stories, nor have they restrained filmmakers from taking their major characters in vastly unique directions.
They allowed the Television division to cast different actors to portray the same characters simultaneously seen on the big screen. As they did with the Flash who is played by both Grant Gustin (Arrowverse) and Ezra Miller (Cinematic Universe). They allow for standalone films entirely separate from the major timeline, such as Todd Phillip’s Joker and the upcoming Batman reboot The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson. These two films coexist with the same characters from the other DC films. Ben Affleck is still Batman in next year’s The Flash and Jared Leto is the Joker in the upcoming The Suicide Squad sequel by James Gunn. DCEU’s approach can play with its timeline in a way the MCU never could.
The DCEU intends to reinforce and justify its cinematic multiverse in the upcoming Flash movie. The Flashpoint storyline has already been explored in the animated movies and the Arrowverse TV shows. Essentially, the Flash travels to the past to change an aspect of his life which causes a radical shift in the timeline of Earth. He teams up with the alternate versions of the Justice League to restore the mainstream timeline. This version has Thomas Wayne as Batman, where child Bruce is the one murdered in the alley. Though they correct the timeline, the divergent streams remain active, nevertheless. If this is done in the cinematic universe it will reevaluate all the DC movies, past present and future, into one giant mosaic. The DCEU will include movies as far back as Christopher Reeves’s Superman, to Michael Keaton’s Batman, and even to the Nolanverse.
It will authenticate any and all versions of Batman, or Superman or the Justice League to exist despite whatever story has already played out. They could remake the Justice League if they wanted to. They could make movies of Superman: Red Son, a new take on Superman where he crashes in Soviet Russia instead of Kansas. Or The New Frontier, a new amalgamation of all the heroes. Having a multiverse still gives the DCEU the ability to string together characters in a shared universe. It is expected that Henry Cavill’s Superman will always be paired with Ben Affleck’s Batman, that is a core team. But not necessarily will they always be with Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman or Jason Mamoa’s Aquaman.
In a way, this is the DCEU’s greatest strength. No one ever has to worry about treading on the timelines or have to reschedule shoots because of a specific actor’s schedules not aligning with filming. The sequels to their most successful films, like Aquaman 2, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, or Harley Quinn vs. The Joker can take their stories wherever the narrative requires. The recently announced Blue Beetle could be an entirely standalone film if it so chose. And should they desire a grand team-up, they could push the limits by including multiple Batmen, all the living Supermen, and reach out unhindered in any direction they wanted. The DCEU’s rocky start might end up being its greatest flourish.
It has yet to be revealed exactly what the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s phase 4 intends to be. Based on some of the rumors and titles of their upcoming films, the Marvel Cinematic Multiverse is imminently dawning. It is only a matter of time before Marvel catches up to DC’s idea of a diverse timeline and various representations of the same characters. DCEU, however, might still be the one who wielded the concept first and best.
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