DC Comics' 10 Best Movies

 

Updated 3/4/22

Originally published 10/29/19

Most people associate comic book movies with Marvel and believe that the MCU made superhero flicks viable. In reality, DC created the genre more than four decades ago and they absolutely owned it until the late 90s. The long-running publisher has since had its share of screw-ups (Batman & Robin, Catwoman, Green Lantern and Justice League) but like Superman, Detective Comics seems to have risen from the dead. Here are DC's finest: 





10. Joker

Unlike Batman, who's suffered from some regrettable depictions through the years (most notably, in Batman Forever and Batman & Robin), his arch-nemesis, the Joker, boasts a perfect 4-0 record when it comes to big-screen cinematic appearances.

Perhaps because, unlike most comic book villains, and indeed, most comic book characters, the Joker has only been portrayed by award-winning actors, respected by both their peers and moviegoers alike.

With Oscar buzz surrounding Joaquin Phoenix's take on the killer clown in Joker, there's even a fresh new addition to the ever-growing collection of mind-blowing portrayals of Gotham's Most Wanted.

Timid and socially-awkward loner Arthur Fleck lives with his mother in a small Gotham City apartment and works a dead-end job as a party clown. However, he dreams of becoming a stand-up comedian and constantly jots down original material in his joke book to further that end. When he shares his dream with his mother, she dismisses him as not being funny.

Arthur was once hospitalized in a mental facility and continues to suffer from a neurological condition, the pseudobulbar affect, that compels him to laugh uncontrollably during times of stress. He presents a card that explains his affliction to a woman who berates him after he makes her young son laugh during a city bus ride. Arthur is also dependent on medication provided by a city social program that requires him to attend regular counseling sessions.

After being beaten and robbed by a group of kids, Arthur is chewed out by his boss, who docks him for the sign that was stolen from him by the thieves. He subsequently encounters a neighbor, Sophie, for whom he develops feelings and begins seeing socially. A coworker, Randall, provides him with a revolver (unsolicited) for protection against any such incidents in the future. But when the gun accidentally falls out of his waistband in front of a crowd of children and staff members during a performance at a children's hospital, Arthur is fired as a result. It didn't help that Randall lied, accusing Arthur of approaching HIM about obtaining the weapon.

During the subway ride home, Arthur, still in his clown makeup, is assaulted by three stockbrokers in the employ of Wayne Enterprises. Fleck shoots two to death in self-defense and executes the third, instead of allowing him to flee. Mayoral candidate, Thomas Wayne, denounces the killings during a televised interview, disparaging critical impoverished Gotham citizens as "clowns" who never made anything of their lives.

The billionaire's comments spark protests, comprised of people wearing clown masks. Meanwhile, funding for various social programs is slashed, leaving Arthur unable to obtain his medication. And due to his growing self-confidence, he accuses his case-worker of going through the motions rather than actually listening to him.

Later, Arthur makes his stand-up comedy debut but bombs miserably, chuckling uncontrollably but failing to elicit laughs from the audience. After a tape of his performance is sent to the Murray Franklin Show, the eponymous host mocks Arthur live on the air, labeling him a "joker".

As though things weren't bad enough, Arthur reads a letter from his mother intended to be sent to Thomas Wayne, in which she refers to the former as her and Wayne's son. Enraged that his paternity was never revealed to him, Arthur angrily confronts her before heading to Wayne Manor to meet Thomas.

Arthur encounters an eight-year-old Bruce Wayne at the property gate before being confronted by Alfred Pennyworth, who accuses his mother, Penny, of being delusional and fabricating her sexual relationship with Thomas Wayne. Upon returning home, Arthur discovers that his mother has suffered a stroke and rides with her in an ambulance to the hospital.

When he's approached by two Gotham City police detectives investigating the triple-homicide on the subway, it's revealed that the pair spoke to Penny Fleck shortly before her stroke, likely triggering it.

Arthur subsequently maneuvers his way into a face-to-face talk with Thomas Wayne in a men's room. Wayne not only echoes Pennyworth's claims, he adds that Arthur himself is adopted and not biologically related to either himself or Penny Fleck. The encounter ends with Wayne punching Arthur in the face before storming off.

Determined to learn the truth, Arthur goes to Arkham State Hospital, where he was told Penny was committed, and steals her file. The records not only confirm that Penny was treated for delusions and adopted Arthur but also reveal that she and a boyfriend abused him at three years old.

Distraught, Arthur visits Penny in her hospital room, where he smothers her with a pillow. Afterwards, he pays Sophie a visit in her apartment, where it's implied that he murders her -- and presumably, her daughter as well. It's revealed that Arthur's entire relationship with Sophie was imagined.

The next day, Arthur is invited to make an appearance on Murray Franklin's talk show as a result of the attention garnered by his stand-up video. Before the show, Arthur is visited by former coworkers Randall and Gary. He stabs Randall to death in retaliation for lying about his gun but spares a distraught Gary.

On his way to the Murray Franklin Show, Arthur is spotted by the homicide detectives investigating the train shooting and flees. As he's wearing clown makeup, Fleck is able to blend in with a crowd of similarly dressed protesters in clown masks. When Arthur steals one of the demonstrators' mask, he inadvertently incites a brawl that engulfs the detectives. After one of the cops accidentally shoots a protester, the crowd attacks them both, ultimately leaving them with critical injuries.

In his meeting with Franklin, Arthur requests that he be introduced as "Joker", the description that the host had previously given him. Arthur subsequently appears before the audience in full clown makeup and green hair for the live broadcast. After telling inappropriate jokes that fall flat, he admits to killing the Wayne executives on the subway, describing them as "awful" people. When Franklin blames him for the riots that have erupted in the wake of the shooting, Arthur replies that he's not motivated by politics. He also calls Franklin "awful" for belittling him and shoots him to death before laying his gun on the host's desk and walking off.

Following his arrest, the police vehicle in which Arthur is riding is struck by protesters driving an ambulance. Arthur's freed by the demonstrators and upon regaining consciousness, is cheered by the crowd and hailed as a hero.

Meanwhile, one of the rioters confronts the Waynes in a back alley, murdering both Thomas and Martha before fleeing the scene as the now-orphaned Bruce looks on.

After Arthur is committed to Arkham, he undergoes a session with a psychiatrist, who inquires as to what he finds so amusing. He tells her that she wouldn't get the joke and is subsequently seen running from orderlies while leaving bloody footprints in his wake (it's implied that he murdered the psychiatrist before attempting to escape).

Joker bagged plenty of critical acclaim -- and controversy -- before bringing in $619 million in global earnings after only two weeks in theaters. Joker received an eight-minute standing ovation following its screening at the Venice Film Festival, copping the event's top prize, the Golden Lion award, in the process. 

At $1.057 billion and counting, the villain's origin story has since become the top-grossing R-rated film of all time and the first to gross ten figures at the box-office. It's also the third-highest grossing DC movie of all time, surpassing all but billion-selling PG-13 hits The Dark Knight Rises and Aquaman. Joker has even outsold all of the previous movies featuring the title character (including the Oscar-winning and billion-grossing The Dark Knight) -- and it did so without a 3-D release or screenings in China.

The best lines:

"What do you get when you cross a mentally-ill loner with a society that abandons him and treats him like trash? You get what you fucking deserve."

"The worst part of having a mental illness is that people expect you to behave as if you don't."

"I used to think that my life was a tragedy, but now I realize it's a fucking comedy."









9. The Batman

Frustratingly close to being a great (as opposed to merely good) movie, The Batman lacks a crucial element. Where the best films about Gotham City's  infamous nocturnal vigilante feature either a compelling Bruce Wayne or a great Batman, both identities are lackluster in this one. Fortunately, nearly everything surrounding the title character (with the exception of Selina Kyle) is spectacular -- particularly the villains. 

8. Batman Begins

The decision to showcase the relatively unknown (to the general public) villains Scarecrow and R'as al Ghul was brilliant, not to mention the previously criminally under-utilized Lucius Fox. And Michael Caine is hands-down the greatest Alfred to ever serve Bruce Wayne a cup of tea.

No matter how much Michael Keaton exceeded expectations, Christian Bale did what Birdman never could -- he made Bruce Wayne as interesting as Batman.

Begins is also gloriously-free of a manic villain, though it ushered in the trend of what eventually became a trilogy of featuring at least two members of the Batman's infamous rogue's gallery in each film. 

While Batman Begins is the least entertaining installment of the three, much like Star Wars, it provides a necessary and damned-near too-good-to-be-true foundation for what comes later. Bruce Wayne's ninjitsu training fills in the gaps between spoiled, rich kid and Gotham scourge.

The secret to Begins' success is really simple logic: The premise of comic books is inherently silly, so the tone of a film adaptation should be sincere and serious in order to counter the built-in ridiculousness. Batman Begins had no Jim Carrey, no sidekick in a girly costume, no mutants with pet penguins, no gangsters with novelty gadgets and no Alicia Silverstone. Just darkness, grit, and viable explanations.

For the very first time, Batman was realistic.









7. The Suicide Squad

Although we still haven't gotten what we really want, the Ayer Cut of Suicide Squad, the DCEU has rolled out an R-rated follow-up with lots more supervillains and a much higher body-count.

One of the standouts from the first movie, Harley Quinn, is mostly annoying and an example of a schtick growing thin this time around -- she actually has a fight scene in which she's surrounded by animated flowers and cartoon birds. And apparently, she somehow became a ninja master -- while in prison? Although she's given plenty of spotlight, a couple of new characters (and one semi-new character) steal the show right from under her. Despite her constant association with rodents, new squad member Cleo "Ratcatcher 2" Cazo is easily half of the heart of the film (it's not often that you come across a supervillain who's overflowing with love). The other half, Robert "Bloodsport" DuBois, is only semi-new because as a Black assassin with weird guns, expert marksmanship and an estranged young daughter, he's awfully similar to Suicide Squad's Floyd "Deadshot" Lawton. But DuBois is primarily motivated by the urge to protect his daughter and when Cleo ignites his paternal instincts, their relationship becomes the emotional core of the story. I sure didn't expect so much sentimentality in an R-rated comic book movie.

Besides Harley, Amanda Waller, team leader Rick Flag and Digger "Captain Boomerang" Harkness all return for this sophomore impossible mission as well. And this one is easily WEIRDEST comic book movie that comes to mind, with a humanoid weasel and swarms of rats and starfish playing pivotal roles in the story. There's also a walking, talking great white -- Nanaue -- but his low intelligence relative to humans makes him closer to the antagonist in Jaws than Jabberjaw. But hey, there's plenty of bloody gore and graphic violence to go along with the wackiness. 

While not nearly as good as its predecessor, The Suicide Squad is exponentially better than the unwatchable Birds of Prey and provides a reasonably-entertaining opportunity to check back in with both Task Force X and the DCEU. One of the movie's themes is that people are rarely as little -- or great -- as their labels. For instance, a bank robber isn't necessarily a scumbag and a self-described champion of peace and liberty may not be a hero. Hopefully, we'll get another Suicide Squad sequel in the future (featuring Bloodsport, Ratcatcher 2 and Deadshot).

6. The Snyder Cut

5. Suicide Squad

When the Superman is killed, the U.S. government comes up with a radical
solution to the potential problem posed by the existence of other
individuals with superhuman powers: a strike-team comprised of convicted
criminals, some of whom possess enhanced abilities of their own...









4. The Dark Knight

Realizing that his dramatic brand of terrorism has inspired criminals to follow in his footsteps, Bruce Wayne faces a crisis of conscience and begins to lose faith in his mission. Wayne sees the potential for a normal life and a light at the end of his crime-fighting tunnel in incorruptible district attorney Harvey Dent. But Batman wannabes and an anarchic criminal known only as "the Joker" have followed Wayne's example and have taken to the streets in flashy attire. The Joker, who shows no interest in financial gain, is beyond the Caped Crusader's understanding and his reign of terror seems to be an end unto itself.

By the time the smoke clears, Wayne has compromised his integrity in order to bring an end to the chaos unleashed upon Gotham and has been branded a fugitive by law enforcement.

The Dark Knight's importance cannot be overestimated. I'm not referring to the film's impact on Acadamy Awards policy, wherein it's failure to receive an Oscar nomination resulted in the immediate expansion of the number of Best Picture nominees from five to ten. Knight's most significant contribution to not only comic book films, but to comic books themselves, is the explanation it provides for the existence of Gotham City's many flamboyant supervillains. Though only the Joker, Two-Face and the Scarecrow make their presences known (and never use those names, thankfully), the film suggests that the members of the Caped Crusader's infamous Rogue's Gallery were inspired by one thing: the Batman himself.

The Dark Knight embraces the precedent set by Batman Begins in respecting the fact that some moviegoers and comics readers have become completely disenchanted by the overwhelming camp of previous films.

3. The Dark Knight Rises

I don't know how the hell Batman Returns scored an 80% on Rotten Tomatoes. What's even more unbelievable is the fact that The Dark Knight Rises features a lot of the same elements of that piece of sh*t (after having sucked all of the silliness out of them). Think about it: They are the only two Batman movies to showcase Catwoman; both also spotlight a villain who attempts a public takeover of Gotham City -- the Penguin ran for mayor while Bane hijacked the town with a nuclear bomb; and each criminal mastermind also makes his home in the Gotham sewer system. It's funny -- Batman Returns, the beginning of the end for Batman movie greatness, inspired the best film ever about the Caped Crusader.

The Dark Knight Rises is so good that it's easier to bitch about the things that bug me than to list everything that went right. Not even "went right". Because this film is so more than you could imagine to ask for. If you'd written a wish list of all of the things that you'd like to see in an action/comic book/fantasy/adventure film in 2011, you'd never have dreamed this up.

It sucked that Bane was cheated out of his origin. The fact that he grew up in prison in the midst of bigger, stronger, vicious psychos is a big part of what made him so impressive. Was that just to surprise people who already knew the story?? You just robbed Peter to pay Paul.

Rises builds on the realism of the first two Dark Knight installments and combines it with an impressive amount of re-watchability. It's possible to make a better comic book film. But in the four years since its release it hasn't happened.

Inspired by the 1993 "Knightfall" storyline, the final chapter of The Dark Knight trilogy explores Batman's greatest trial. Retired for seven years, an older and battered Bruce Wayne is forced to hit the streets again when a stronger, smarter criminal launches a hostile takeover of his beloved Gotham, killing several citizens and hospitalizing the Batman's longtime ally, James Gordon, in the process. A mysterious, hulking criminal-genius known only as Bane shows up in Gotham and promptly empties Bruce Wayne's bank accounts. Not satisfied with merely crippling him financially, Bane faces off against Wayne, whose true identity he'd deduced, in physical combat which culminates in him snapping the latter's back. He also commandeers much of the Bat's equipment and locks him in the brutal prison in which he himself was an inmate before heading back to Gotham to empty its jails (and Blackgate prison), trap the GCPD underground and cordon the city off from the outside world.

As if things weren't bad enough, Wayne's oldest ally and most loyal friend, Alfred Pennyworth, quits in protest over what he views as his employer's suicidal life-mission.

2. Batman v. Superman: The Ultimate Edition

Everything was rushed. Everything happened way too fast. Have the shot-callers at Warner Bros. never heard the parable about the two bulls on the hill? If you take your time and stay focused on the big picture, maybe you get multiple installments that exceed a billion dollars in sales. Chasing the quick payoff gets you a record-breaking opening and a nauseatingly steep drop-off. They had every reason to take things slow. Art, cinematic history, logic and plain, old greed all dictated that a movie with all these people not be the follow-up to Man of Steel. It takes time to tell a story properly (especially one with so much riding on its success). If anybody deserves more than one solo movie, it's Superman. This isn't Thor we're talking about. Everyone knows who he is. When done right, we want more. We were just reintroduced to him three years ago. And he'd just started to become involved with Lois. Time to get familiar with him was sorely needed. Plus, a trilogy, or at the very least a solo sequel, would've had the added benefit of lining the filmmakers' pockets with much more dough. Why would studio executives turn that down? Did these guys even attend Business School??

We all could have done with a less manic Luthor. It seemed like he was doing a Joker impression. If only he were more subdued and thoughtful like, say, Helmut Zemo in Civil War, which, ironically, is one of the criticisms of that movie espoused by professional film reviewers. Luthor's histrionics would've fit right in with all of the goofy goings-on in that thing. I was really hoping to see the more mature Lex -- no, Alexander -- from the Superman animated series, not Mark Zuckerberg on coke. It would be nice if Luthor used his prison sentence as an opportunity to bulk up, but we all know Jesse Eisenberg's not gonna hit the gym.  

There were too many people in this thing. Wonder Woman, Cyborg, Aquaman, and maybe even Doomsday should've all been saved for a later movie. There was just too much going on. Peter Jackson was heavily criticized for expanding his planned two-shot Hobbit story into a trilogy. But, then again, the third film (The Battle of the Five Armies) was the only one I liked -- and it generated nearly $1 billion at the box office.

But, even with all its problems, it's not a 27% film (the movie's Rotten Tomatoes score). It's the very first film to take Superman seriously -- after he reveals himself to the world. Man of Steel is unmatched in presenting his origin, but BvS actually considers Superman's effect on society -- much like The Dark Knight examined the unintended consequences of Batman's actions on Gotham City. Director Zack Snyder was undoubtedly tempted by the notion of being the first to use the gimmicky title, but Batman's name shouldn't have even been included, much less come first (Dawn of Justice is even dumber).

BvS and Civil War basically tell the same story: A clever, but physically powerless guy manipulates two famous superheroes into fighting each other from behind the scenes. One of the heroes is a billionaire, genius, heir to a business empire who uses technology to fight crime and the other is abnormally strong and exceptionally strait-laced. Because the heroes have caused a tremendous amount of collateral damage, government oversight seems inevitable. 

The difference is that where Civil War talks about the destruction left in the wake of the heroes' battles accompanied by quick snippets of news footage, BvS shows the toll it has taken on human lives -- both physical and psychological. The grand-scale of aerial combat to save basically, everybody from Superman's perspective in Man of Steel is contrasted here with the ground-level terror of those same people who only see themselves as innocent victims and bystanders from Bruce Wayne's perspective. But no one is a bystander when the entire planet is in danger.

This film is wholly about Superman and his place in the world. The exploration of Superman as a savior and an uncontrollable, potential threat is brilliant. He's simultaneously feared and almost worshipped as a deity. The comparisons of certain people in the film to Judeo-Christian figures are magnificent. This is a superhero film with philosophy. There's even a nod to Nietzsche. In fact, The Superman would have been a much better title than what the filmmakers settled on (Dawn of Justice is so corny, I can't even say it without shaking my head). Who he is, what his intentions are, whether he can be trusted, how he should be used. These are all questions that plague the global community, of which Bruce Wayne is only one member. 

Even so, Batman was incredible. As much anxiety as there was surrounding Ben Affleck's casting, it's clear that Daredevil simply wasn't the superhero movie for him. Or anyone else. This one is. Christian Bale is still the best Bruce Wayne, but Affleck has surpassed Michael Keaton as the greatest Batman. I, for one, can't wait to see him put the mask on again.

BvS has been widely criticized for essentially being too serious (i.e., more serious than any given MCU movie) and humorless (i.e., lacking the non-stop silliness present in any given MCU movie). Is it weird that critics simultaneously adored the Dark Knight trilogy (exceedingly grim, without many jokes in sight) and hated Man of Steel, BvS or Suicide Squad? Or is it hypocrisy? 

1. Man of Steel

As a kid I didn't have any real attachment to Superman -- not the comics or the toys (I preferred the X-Men and G.I. Joe, respectively). I watched the Christopher Reeve movies when I was young but only because they offered fantasy spectacle; I didn't like anything else about them. I didn't like the cornball tone, the boring romantic triangle between Lois Lane and Clark Kent's two identities or the unfunny jokes. I didn't even like the title character much. I thought that Clark's clumsy act was dumb and I didn't get why Superman wore his draws on the outside of his yoga pants. The recurring villain, Lex Luthor, seemed more like a clown than an actual threat.

I remember that when I found out that Jerry Seinfeld was a huge Superman fan and included nods to the character in some episodes of his show, I couldn't understand why. When I learned that Superman was conceived (eventually) as an answer to nazi antisemitism I had to admit that that was a pretty compelling reason to root for him.

But I still thought that he lacked a real personality. There was no real complexity to him, he was just there; smiling like an idiot and rescuing cats from trees. He's sometimes referred to as the Big Blue Boy Scout. But who actually wants to see a movie -- or read a comic -- about Boy Scouts? If not for the flying he'd be completely unwatchable.  

 

Director Zack Snyder, writer David S. Goyer and the sensibilities of another Christopher (Nolan, acting as producer) changed all that. Man of Steel, the first DC movie following the completion of Nolan's game-changing Dark Knight trilogy, appropriately followed that series' same ethos, presenting a grounded take on a comic book hero who'd lost all of his appeal due to the utter ridiculousness of previous iterations.

There are improvements right off the bat: where Superman: The Movie and Superman II only provided brief glimpses of Superman's home planet, that mostly consisted of goofy-looking white crystal backgrounds, Man of Steel begins with an extended look at Krypton, complete with native animals and the dominant species' vehicles and other technology. We even get to see Superman's biological father, Jor-El, showing where his son got his penchant for physically fighting for what's right as the scientist pulls off a heist of his people's codex (which contains the genetic code for Kryptonians, along with the various traits imbued in them before birth that correspond to each person's prescribed role in society), before engaging in combat with the ambitious General Zod. Each man wants to preserve the Krypton race but they have very different methods of going about it in mind.

Although Kal-El is an alien, an immensely powerful one, he has no interest in conquest. He's lived on Earth since he was a toddler and lovest his adopted planet. But there are other members of his species who absolutely do not come in peace.

After Kryptonian General Zod hijacks global communications and issues an ultimatum to the people of Earth, the newly-christened Superman surrenders himself to the warmonger in exchange for his promise to end the hostilities. Zod's home planet, Krypton, however, was destroyed and he and his followers decide that Earth would make for a nice place to settle down -- once all of the pesky humans are gone. It's not that he has anything against humans, he just wants to terraform the planet and change the atmosphere to one more conducive to Kryptonians -- which would render it uninhabitable to the people who already live here. But since the Earth's atmosphere, gravity and sun grant superpowers to natives of Krypton -- why bother? Whatever. You just can't tell some people a damned thing.