The DCEU is dead, long live the DCU
Comic Reviews for week ending 12/18/2022
Good morning, my friend,
The DCEU and, by extension, the Snyderverse is well and truly dead.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock that blocks you from all news relative to the Comics Industry, you already know the lowdown.
Cavill is out as Superman (at least for the first phases of James Gunn’s vision).
Cavill and Gadot’s cameos are rumored to have been removed from the upcoming Flash film.
And whatever script Patty Jenkins cooked up for Wonder Woman 3 is definitively nixed, along with Jenkins as director and likely Gadot as Wonder Woman.
Snyderverse advocates are understandably mourning the loss. Zack Snyder isn’t coming back in any capacity as a visionary, and by all accounts, the DCEU will transition into the DCU as a hard reboot. Even Margot Robbie is unlikely to come back as Harley Quinn.
Newswise, this was a busy week. But what does this mean for the general Comics community, and what do I think about all this?
For comic publishers, this means nothing. There isn’t a single shred of evidence, unlike the connection between Manga and Anime, that success in superhero films leads to success in selling comics. Manga and Anime benefit from each other because they complement each other by design.
Whether it’s the MCU or the DCEU/Snyderverse, the films have consistently mined older material and changed that material to match Hollywood preferences. In short, DC and Marvel films have almost never complemented the comics or vice versa. For example, the Black Adam film was released recently, but there has never been an ongoing Black Adam comic run, and the new series on the shelf right now by Christopher Priest has nothing to do with the film (and isn’t very good).
What do I think about all this? A hard reboot is a right call.
I’m not a fan of the Snyderverse. Snyder’s vision was born of his desire to tell his stories his way at the expense of the source material. The results are disastrous on several fronts. There is a small but vocal subset of fans who love the Snyderverse, and I respect their freedom to like what they like. However, I believe Snyderverse fans are enamored with the aesthetic without understanding why some characters have endured for decades. Snyder fans see cool visuals and great action. I see superficial wow moments and wasted potential.
If you’re a Snyderverse fan, you have my condolences, and it’s time for the DC films to move on.
Before I pull a muscle patting myself on a back, I will concede that none of this “right call/wrong call” discussion matters until we see James Gunn’s plan. If it’s a good plan, there’s hope. If it’s a bad plan, you can give me a big, fat “I told you so.” We shall see.
What do you think? Should WB-Discovery have stuck with Snyder and let the Snyderverse play out? Is a hard reboot the right call? Let me know in the comments below, and we’ll feature your answers in the next newsletter.
Now, let’s look at James Gunn’s second favorite read list…
BELLE: DEEP FREEZE – Comic Review
GRIMM SPOTLIGHT – RED AGENT: FRIENDLY FIRE – Comic Review
NATURE’S LABYRINTH #2 – Comic Review
SWEETIE: CANDY VIGILANTE #3 – Comic Review
CHERISH #2 – Comic Review
VAMPIRELLA: MINDWARP #4 – Comic Review
RED SONJA / HELL SONJA #1 – Comic Review
ELVIRA IN HORRORLAND #5 – Comic Review
LORD OF THE JUNGLE #2 – Comic Review
KAMEN RIDER KUUGA (VOL. 1) – Comic Review
GRIMM TALES OF TERROR QUARTERLY: 2022 HOLIDAY SPECIAL – Comic Review
LOVECRAFT: UNKNOWN KADATH #4 – Comic Review
ATOM: THE BEGINNING (VOL. 2) – Comic Review
DREAM TOWN AMUSEMENT PARK #1 – Indie Comic Review
LYNX: GRINDHOUSE SPECIAL #1 – Indie Comic Review
The Curse of Cleaver County (Double Feature) (Source Point Press)
The Argus #3 (Source Point Press)
Good Boy (Vol. 3) #2 (Source Point Press)
Heaven's Rejects #4 (Source Point Press)
Mysterium #2 (Source Point Press)
Oz: Return of the Wicked Witch #2 (Zenescope Entertainment)
Myths & Legends Quarterly: Blood of the Gods (Zenescope Entertainment)
Gun Honey: Blood for Blood #4 (Titan Comics)
A Legacy of Violence #3 (Mad Cave Studios)
The Boogyman #4 (Ablaze Publishing)
Giulietta Romeo: Hitwoman (One-Shot) (Dynamite Comics)
Lady Hel #4 (Dynamite Comics)
Savage Tales Winter Special (One-Shot) (Dynamite Comics)
Vampirella Strikes #8 (Dynamite Comics)
The Denim Devil #1 (Indie Submission)
Avalon #2 (Indie Submission)
That’s the shortlist for now. We’ll add more titles and adjust as time and resources allow.
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Have a great day!