Highlights
- The DCEU introduced unique villains like Starro, Black Mask, and Dr. Sivanna to clash with iconic superheroes in live-action movies.
- Major upgrades were made to villains like Steppenwolf and Ocean Master in
Zack Snyder’s Justice League
and
Aquaman
, adding depth to the characters. - General Zod in
Man of Steel
set the bar high for menacing villains in the DCEU, offering viewers a mix of menace and compassion.
Warners Bros’ first attempt at bringing a combined cinematic universe to theaters started in 2013 with Man of Steel, and was titled the DCEU by the press. This shared series of superhero movies ran for ten years and gave fans new versions of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman, among others, in live-action. However, these superheroes would not get to shine without some great villains to clash with.
Now that the DC Extended Universe has finally come to an end with Aquaman: The Lost Kingdom, it is time to look at some of the things this franchise did well. That includes some of the villains from DC Comics that were brought to the big screen.
6 Starro
As Seen In The Suicide Squad (2021)
The Suicide Squad was an interesting project for the DCEU. Bringing James Gunn on board to direct, this new movie is based on some DC Comics villains being forced to act as heroes. The Suicide Squad acted as both a sequel and a reboot to the 2016 Suicide Squad movie by David Ayer. However, while that first movie told a dark tale of some villains forced to prevent the end of the world after a prehistoric magical entity escapes, this movie gets a bit wacky.
The new upbeat and humorous tone of The Suicide Squad would be incomplete without the choice of villain for the movie, the huge starfish from space, Starro. Acting as more of an out-of-control Kaiju, Starro does not have much character development. Though, seeing the team dive into this mysterious creature’s origins, and his final line before his inevitable defeat;’ I was happy just floating through space’, sees this one-eyed giant get more sympathy from audiences than many other villains in superhero movies.
5 Roman Sionis / Black Mask
Played By Ewan McGregor In Birds Of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020)
The DCEU was left in a tricky spot after the release of Suicide Squad in 2016. Critics and fans were sour on this movie, yet everyone seemed to agree that Margot Robbie was great as the villain, Harley Quinn. As such, the character received the starring role in a new movie, Birds of Prey, where the character tries to start a new life as an anti-hero after her break-up with The Joker. Unfortunately, another villain in Gotham, Black Mask, poses a threat to Harley and her new team when he seeks the diamond that has been taken by the young child they are trying to protect.
Ewan McGregor’s Black Mask is nothing new in a movie like this. He is a threatening presence with tons of goons at his disposal and a thirst for wealth. However, the actor’s performance makes Black Mask way more fun than he should be. The villain is equal parts camp and equal parts mean, which makes his downfall at the end of the movie even more satisfying.
4 Doctor Sivanna
Played By Mark Strong In Shazam! (2019)
SHAZAM! came out at a point in time when the DCEU was changing gears. The audience was not responding well to the darker tone of the earlier movies in the franchise, and so the studio decided to make their movies more family-friendly. This gave the character, Shazam, his own chance to shine in his own solo movie. This muscular hero is the result of a young child who gets the power to turn into an adult superhero by shouting the word “SHAZAM!”
Obviously, a movie like this could not have a hyper-violent villain, and so the film featured Mark Strong as the character, Dr. Sivanna. The movie is more light-hearted, and so this villain is more subdued than most. Still, he worked perfectly as the punching bag for the kids in this movie, and he even had a small cameo in the sequel.
3 Steppenwolf
Played By Ciaran Hinds In Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)
The first Justice League movie to hit cinemas had a complicated history. The original director, Zack Snyder, was removed from the project after a family tragedy, and Joss Whedon took over the project. Sadly, this version of the movie was very comical in tone and out of sorts from what the franchise had done before, so many critics did not like the movie. Fortunately, Snyder was given the chance to return and finish his original vision for the movie in an attempt to attract more subscribers to Warner Bros streaming platform, MAX (formerly HBO Max). Dubbed Zack Snyder’s Justice League, this version of the movie was a vast improvement over the original cut, and no character got more of an upgrade in the story than its villain, Steppenwolf.
In the theatrical cut, the villain Steppenwolf was a bland character, created using poor CGI, who was depicted as an alien who wanted to conquer Earth without reason. However, Snyder’s version gives him a better look, plus his story was more fleshed out, as the villain now wanted to conquer Earth to look good in the eyes of his uncle, Darkseid. Such a change makes Steppenwolf more of an interesting foe to tackle The Justice League, and shows how these heroes fit into the larger DC universe.
2 Ocean Master (Played by Patrick Wilson)
Played By Patrick Wilson In Aquaman (2018) & Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)
The best villains in any story are those who have a valid reason for behaving the way they do. Fortunately, that is exactly what motivates Ocean Master in the first Aquaman movie. In the first and only movie in the DCEU to make over $1,000,000,000 at the box office, Arthur Curry is revealed to be a half-Atlantean superhero who is the heir to the throne of this underwater kingdom. Unfortunately, Atlantis already has a king, who just so happens to be Arthur’s half-brother, Orm, also known as Ocean Master. After losing in combat to the king, Arthur must then go on an adventure to find the king’s trident to claim the throne, as Ocean Master seeks to dominate all other underwater kingdoms.
Aquaman’s plot is one that is difficult to take seriously, and Jason Momoa understands this as he plays the title hero as a larger-than-life goofball. This means his nemesis must act as the one to ground the film, while also not taking things too far into realistic territory. Patrick Wilson does this perfectly, as he easily becomes a serious threat to the main characters, but also has fun with the material. All this adds so much to the story, as viewers root for Aquaman to become the king he needs to be.
1 General Zod
Portrayed By Michael Shannon In Man Of Steel (2013) & The Flash (2023)
Villains in the DCEU peaked early, as Michael Shannon brought to life one of the scariest characters to fight Superman in Man of Steel. In fact, this character is so fundamental to the DCEU that General Zod was brought back on two separate occasions, as a corpse in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and in an alternate timeline in The Flash. Unfortunately, the psychotic leader of Krypton’s army was not used as effectively in either of these other movies.
However, in this re-imagining of the Superman story, Clark Kent is put in a more realistic world that is closer to our own as he tries to find his place on Earth. Before he can find his feet as a superhero, General Zod arrives on Earth to reclaim what his former planet has lost. After being shown as a fanatical soldier, one who was once enemies with Clark’s real father on Krypton, viewers know to fear Zod as Superman has to stop him from terraforming Earth. Shannon brings menace and compassion to this villain, so the audience is put in a difficult spot when this great villain is ultimately defeated.
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