10 Characters Who Could Bring Fun Back To DC Movies

Two trailers out of this year's Comic Con that had everyone abuzz were Aquaman and Shazam!, the forthcoming films from DC Entertainment. The "DC Extended Universe," as it's colloquially known, began by positioning itself as an alternative to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with uber-serious posturing taking precedence over, well, pretty much everything else. Even Wonder Woman, by far the best and most joyful of the bunch, could only swing so far in the opposite direction since it was set during World War I. These next films two however (and by all accounts, next year's Wonder Woman 1984) appear to represent a mea culpa for the saga, as it transitions into something more akin to the classic comics.Aquaman follows Jason Momoa's Arthur Curry as he "YEAYUH!"s his way through Atlantis, a world where merpeople ride sharks into battle, while Shazam! is essentially Big with superheroes. The former, from Furious 7 director James Wan, looks like a goofy, CGI-laden romp (I'm here for it) while the latter appears to be an all-out comedy, and both are far cries from Batman v Superman's "Do you bleed?" and the generally grim, sluggish tone of the series. Superheroes can certainly be used to tell serious tales, but their escapist nature is a major draw. Even if the story is about lofty ideas of power and responsibility, people want to be entertained when they go to the movies; for a film series whose very name began as a joke, it would only seem prudent to embrace the material's inherent campiness.With the DCEU finally headed in a new direction, here are some characters from the comics who could bring hope, positivity and simply fun back to the movies:

First of all, Plastic Man's name is Eel O'Brien. Second, he's chums with an inept-middle aged sidekick named Woozy Winks. The character is right out of comics' Golden Age, a crook-turned-crime-fighter who's left with the powers of shape-shifting and elasticity after an industrial accident, though he fits right in with the modern "meta" breed of superhero too, rattling off pop-culture references like Marvel's Deadpool. He's rarely seen without his signature goggles (I can't recall a single panel that didn't have him wearing shades indoors; what a prick) and his whole function as a member of the Justice League is to annoy its more serious members and provide some levity.

Batman's son is a jerk, but at least he's honest about it. The genetically enhanced spawn of Bruce Wayne and Talia Al Ghul, Damian was born and raised to be an assassin, though he eventually takes up the mantle of Robin after his father dies – err, gets lost in time and Dick Grayson becomes Batman. It's a ridiculous reversal on the classic dynamic, a cheerful Batman alongside a hilariously brooding, bloodthirsty Boy Wonder. And yes, the spoiled little twerp eventually comes around to the good side after being reined in, though his way of establishing heroism happens to be declaring himself a vegetarian and christening "Bat-Cow," who he then brings to live in the Batcave.

Some would say the character was tainted after Batman & Robin. They would be wrong, but even if we ignore Uma Thurman's stellar, self-aware, Drag-inspired Poison Ivy, the character would fit right in with DC's new direction. Not only would she be perfect for a raucous Thelma & Louise type story with Harley Queen (perhaps one where the two were romantically involved, as in the comics), but she could simultaneously carry forward DC's post-Dark Knight sensibilities as an eco-terrorist villain (or even an eco-activist antihero) whose plan is rooted in contemporary politics. The best of both worlds.

If the trend of hypermasculine hunks in homoerotic rivalries is set to continue, the very least we could do is switch up the paradigm. Fittingly, Rocky and Apollo Creed had one of the greatest "bromances" in action cinema (followed by The Rock and Vin Diesel in the Fast & Furious films), and if we were to try and replicate their dynamic with modern superheroes, it would only make sense to take it to its logical conclusion. For the uninitiated, Midnighter and Apollo can be described as Batman and Superman, only lesser known, far more violent, and most importantly, married. Though, unlike Batman, Superman and the A-List of the DC Pantheon, these WildStorm originals weren't created as idealistic or aspirational figures in quite the same way, so using them as outlets for over-the-top comicbook blood and guts doesn't necessitate a narrative readjustment. Unhinged violence can be fun too, depending on who's involved, and seeing two queer dudes cracking villain skulls while looking out for each other is something we haven't really seen.

I know, I know. Just hear me out, okay? You can still keep your dark, moody Batman (I'm a fan of Ben Affleck's take on the character and I'd like to see him in Matt Reeves' The Batman) but if you can have a parallel Joker movie that sounds like it was cast using mad-libs (I'm also here for Joaquin Phoenix's Clown Prince of Crime, for what it's worth), then you can sure as hell have a Batman who embodies the silliest aspects of the Caped Crusader. Yes, he suffers from Survivor's Guilt. Maybe even PTSD. But he's also a fundamentally ludicrous character whose belt looks like multiple fanny-packs sewn together. Hell, in the 1960s, there was an entire show and a theatrical film about how silly Batman is, with his Bat-labels for absolutely everything (Shark-repellant Bat-spray, anyone?), but he was still a heroic detective who refused to get rid of a bomb when it was safest for him, if it meant hurting some cute little ducklings. Now more than ever, the DC universe, needs a fun Batman, whose brooding is contextualized not as a virtue, but as a wall to be broken down as he accepts a new family of superheroes. The Dark Knight has endured for 80 years precisely because you can make him as serious or as ridiculous as you want, and there's nothing stopping a little tonal variety even in straightforward Batman films.