Super Hero Month (2026) – DCEU

Last year, I did the original Superman films, so this year I decided to go back to DC. June’s selections are movies from the DCEU before James Gunn took over. I didn’t watch every film that makes up the DCEU, but I picked the majority. I left out the movies I’d seen most recently and tried to include the ones I hadn’t seen yet.

DC has been struggling to match the success the MCU had during the Infinity Saga. It seems they always struggled to keep things in sync and maintain an engaging story. It really sucks because all of these movies had the proper build-up and post-credits scenes to have something really cool. It will be interesting to see how things change with James Gunn at the helm; he’s off to a solid start.

Here are this year’s Super Hero selections:

• Man of Steel (2013)
• Batman v Superman (2016)
• Suicide Squad (2016)
• Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)
• Shazam! (2019)
• Birds of Prey (2020)
• The Suicide Squad (2021)
• Shazam Fury of the Gods (2023)
• The Flash (2023)

Man of Steel (2013)

Directed by: Zack Snyder
Starring: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon
My Rating:

Every time there is a new Superman movie, the villain is always Lex Luthor, except this one. Zack Snyder decides to jump immediately to Commander Zod, which I like.

I don’t remember how well this movie was received, but I really enjoyed it. It also spends more time on Superman adapting to Earth and less on Clark Kent, the journalist. Although there was a lot of collateral damage for a Superman movie, and it’s rare to see Superman kill the bad guy. Apparently this didn’t sit well for a lot of DC/Superman fans.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

Directed by: Zack Snyder
Starring: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams
My Rating:

I saw this movie in theaters back in 2016 and gave it a 3-star review. My review of the film remains unchanged. I’m still not a fan of Ben Affleck as Batman or Bruce Wayne, and the “mommy” angle is still kind of campy.

Be that as it may, it’s still an entertaining film. Jesse Eisenberg is brilliant as Lex Luthor, and Jeremy Irons is a great Alfred. They more than make up for Ben Affleck’s dull performance.

Suicide Squad (2016)

Directed by: David Ayer
Starring: Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margo Robbie
My Rating:

This was not a popular movie, and the main reason is Jerod Leto’s Joker. I agree that his Joker was not great. However, with that said, he’s not really in the movie that much, despite his top billing.

Jared Leto aside, this is a good movie. This is my recommendation; this movie is worth a watch, just ignore the Jared Leto parts. I know Joker plays a role in Harley Quinn’s character development, but he’s not that critical to the film’s plot. You could watch it and tune him out. It’s kind of the same approach I take with Ben Affleck as Batman.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)

Directed by: Zack Snyder
Starring: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot
My Rating:

This is a 4-hour movie; 4 hours and 2 minutes to be exact, and it’s worth every minute.

If you watched the 2017 version, which everyone apparently hated, this movie fixes it. Even with Ben Affleck as Batman again, this movie is still worth watching. I haven’t seen the one from 2017. I skipped it and went straight to this one.

It’s broken up into six parts, so you don’t necessarily have to sit for the full 4 hours. It has built-in intermissions.

One quick note before I finish the list. I highly recommend watching these four movies in this order. I suppose you could skip Suicide Squad. It only references the events of Batman v Superman, and it does not contribute to the events of the Justice League movie.

Shazam! (2019)

Directed by: David F. Sandberg
Starring: Zachary Levi, Mark Strong
My Rating:

This movie is fun. It’s lighthearted enough to be entertaining, and it’s serious when it needs to be. Zachary Levi does a great job depicting a teenager trapped in a man’s body who has just received superpowers. It reminds me a bit of Tom Hanks from Big, minus the hero part.

When this movie first came out, I thought they were just making up superheroes. I was so unfamiliar with DC Comics at that time that I had no idea Shazam was a real DC character created in 1939. It’s not as campy as it looks, and I suggest checking it out.

Birds of Prey (2020)

Directed by: Cathy Yan
Starring: Margot Robbie, Rosie Perez, Mary Elizabeth Winstead
My Rating:

After liberating herself from the Joker, Harley tries to redefine herself after living in his shadow.

I think this movie struggled because of the pandemic. Box office numbers were down because we weren’t allowed to go to the theaters.

Margot Robbie was born to play Harley Quinn. This movie is another fun flick to watch, which has Ewan McGregor as the villain. By the way, the method by which his character is defeated is easily in the top 5 coolest macabre ways to die. Anyway, I encourage you to give this one a shot. It can be a little graphic, though.

The Suicide Squad (2021)

Directed by: James Gunn
Starring: Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena
My Rating:

I would watch anything with Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn. If James Gunn plans to have a Harley Quinn in the DCU, I hope he gets Margot, because nobody else could do it.

I will admit that this movie is better than the one from 2016. Both movies are fun to watch, but this one comes with a caveat. It is NOT for children. It can be quite bloody, and John Cena in tighty-whities doesn’t leave much to the imagination. The humor is great; the action is great; the writing is well done.

Shazam: Fury of the Gods (2023)

Directed by: David F. Sandberg
Starring: Zachary Levi, Rachael Zegler, Lucy Liu
My Rating:

It’s quite a change going from The Suicide Squad to Shazam. It’s like watching The Smurfs after The Walking Dead. The first Shazam is better. Despite a stellar cast which includes Rachel Zegler, Lucy Liu, and Helen Mirren, I expected more.

I would have thought enough time had passed that Billy Baston would have had a better grasp on what it takes to be a superhero. Granted, he is just a kid, but usually these kinds of new responsibilities change your perspective. I expected him to have grown up a bit more. Regardless, this is a movie that’s probably best to watch with a younger audience.

The Flash (2023)

Directed by: Andy Muschietti
Starring: Ezra Miller, Michael Keaton, Sasha Calle
My Rating:

After altering the timeline to save his family, Barry Allen faces a new future without superheroes.

Perhaps I’m a bit spoiled by Grant Gustin in The Flash TV series. Ezra Miller gives a decent performance by giving us a nerdier Barry Allen; however, I still prefer Grant Gustin. The movie starts a little slow (no pun intended), but I eventually became engaged. There are a few one-liners that Ezra Miller delivers very well that garner some laughs.

The action is great, but the nostalgia is on point. We not only get to see Michael Keaton back in the Batman suit, but we also hear a few bars of that familiar Danny Elfman music we all remember from the 80s.

Something I noted after watching all of these movies: there is a lot of collateral damage. Far more than you see in the Marvel movies, even the Avengers films. Even the Shazam films had quite a bit of gratuitous damage.

Bonus, Special Event, & Random movies

There are no special event movies in June (yet), and I did not have time to get in a random superhero movie. My wife and I did have a rare “date night” opportunity in which we watched the latest Netflix film Office Romance starring Brett Goldstein and Jennifer Lopez. It’s a pretty good comedy. You can read more of my thoughts on it here.

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