Superman & Lois Proved The DCEU Was Right About 1 Major Hero Choice

By Karlis Wilde

Published Oct 23, 2024

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DCEU franchise had many movies, the series was a mixed bag of failures and successes. Following the colossal box office failures of films like Shazam: Fury of the Gods and The Flash, the universe has now collapsed, and audiences eagerly anticipate a reboot with James Gunn's Superman releasing in July 2025.

The DCEU was essentially built with three-year-old Zack Snyder's Justice League, the real legacy of the DCEU is in some of its more unique choices, which have recently been reflected in the series Superman & Lois.

Superman & Lois Has Proved The Strength Of Telling Stories About Older Heroes

Tyler Hoechlin's Superman Is Established In His Superhero Career

For years, the superhero movie template has been to begin with an origin story. Fortunately, Superman & Lois has challenged this status quo with stories of an older and more established Superman. Alongside an aged version of Lex Luthor, this has allowed the series to tell unique stories about the hero. Following years of crime-fighting, Superman’s priorities have changed and evolved. For this Clark, his family is perhaps the most important thing, making him into an even more relatable character for audiences.

The lack of relatability of Superman has often been cited as a criticism, as the hero's powers are so outsized that it is difficult for the audience to find points of connection with him. However, by aging Superman, and putting much of his crime-fighting career behind him, there is more of a character there for audiences to connect with. Rather than being plagued by the conflict of his double life, this older hero is established in both his personas, allowing for a more fleshed-out character to exist.

DC Needs More Shows & Movies About Older Heroes To Balance Out All Its Origin Stories

The DCU Is Poised To Tell All Kinds Of Stories

DC does need a balanced universe with heroes of all ages in all places in their careers. This was important for the DCEU, which saw an older Batman and did not spend too much time with origin stories for characters like Flash. This also appears to be a priority for the DCU, where Lanterns indicates the series will feature an established Hal Jordan alongside a younger John Stewart. In addition, a Batman who is old enough to have a son will exist in the universe.

The DCU's Gods and Monsters Movies and TV Shows Main Characters Lining Up

DCU Chapter One Gods And Monsters: Every Movie & Show In The New DC Universe

James Gunn and Peter Safran's DC Universe begins with six movies and six shows that open the DCU's first chapter, "Gods and Monsters".

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Origin stories can be excellent, although their success is limited. Once the origin is told, the films must be able to tell bigger and more expansive character stories with the heroes they have. Continuing to walk down the same paths and the same conflicts with establishing the dual-life dilemma can be interesting, but not if it encomes the entire genre. Fortunately for audiences, it appears that the focus for DC is on using heroes, both old and new, to populate its new universe.

Superman & Lois' Story Suggests The Real Reason The DCEU's Approach Proved Divisive

The DCEU Focused More On The Heroes Than The People Behind The Mask

The major distinction between how the DCEU approached older heroes compared to Superman & Lois is the focus of that approach. While Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice had many effective Batman scenes, it had far fewer that explored Bruce Wayne. Rather than looking into how the human behind the mask aged and contended with the changes in their life, the DCEU films looked at how the heroes themselves changed. This led to darker stories and saw embittered and violent iterations of characters like Batman.

Meanwhile, Superman & Lois's story has put a much larger focus on Clark than on Superman. While they are two sides of the same coin, there is a significant distinction between exploring Clark's life and place in the world and exploring Superman's. The series recognizes that the hero is an extension of Clark. By exploring the humanity and the character inside of each of the heroes, these stories of older heroes can become greatly more effective and resonant with audiences.

Heroes both young and old have a place in the DC canon, and it is exciting to see what the plans for James Gunn and Peter Safran's universe are like. While Superman & Lois has been an excellent story of the Man of Steel, there is still great anticipation for the big-screen reboot of Clark Kent and Lois Lane's story. Fortunately, it appears that the creators behind the new universe understand the importance of exploring established heroes, and never has there been a clearer template to follow than Superman & Lois.