The DC Extended Universe hasn’t had the best run so far. With several of the entries into the cinematic continuity met with bad reviews from critics and fans alike. Sometimes, this is because of glaringly obvious mistakes that stick out like a sore thumb. Like the name tag listing Ted Whitall’s character in Suicide Squad as Admiral Mackenzie -- but the credits list him as Admiral Olsen. Who is he really? Sometimes, the carelessness of the details in a film can tell us a lot about either the film as a whole or even the behind the scenes work. With the DCEU, one issue that frequently comes up is the editing and the omission of vital scenes and character moments to fit in with a runtime or a specific idea.
Many of these mistakes could have quite easily been rectified with some minor editing, instead the production is too focused on driving these films in a certain direction. There are some that border on plot holes, and others that are visual mistakes. Whether it’s the huge team-up of the recent Justice League movie or the destructive beginnings with the Man of Steel, here are 15 DCEU movie mistakes you won’t be able to unsee.
15 CRUSHED CARS
Man of Steel showed Clark’s journey from a farm boy in Kansas all the way to the red and blue god-like superhero that the world soon became dependent on. Unfortunately, Zod stood in his way, wanting to turn Earth into Krypton using the ‘World Engine’. And as it slowly converted the world, it sent out devastating shockwaves out into Metropolis.
And when one of the reporters at the Daily Planet gets trapped under some rubble, these shockwaves are getting closer and closer. They’re so dangerous in fact, that the same car gets crushed twice in a row. Imagine that! That’s how deadly this Kryptonian technology is, wiping out the same car twice. Obviously, it’s just an editing mistake, but it’s one that gives the audience a serious case of déjà vu.
14 EYE SPY
Some of the funniest moments in Wonder Woman saw Diana as a fish out of water in London as the first World War is coming to an end. But once Steve Trevor and Etta Candy deck her out in some suitable clothes rather than armor, she blends in. However that doesn’t stop a group of German spies tracking Steve and Diana down because he has Maru’s notebook.
The scene pays some homage to Superman as Wonder Woman jumps in the way of Steve, and the pair of them quickly dispatch the spies. But then they quickly leave without tying up the people they’ve knocked out or having any accountability whatsoever. Why are they just leaving German spies in London? That’s not going to help anyone at all. Surely Steve Trevor would’ve known what to do.
13 BATSUIT
When Ben Affleck finally stepped into the Batsuit after Christian Bale, it was clear that his version had to be very different from the Nolan iteration. What we got was something slightly influenced by The Dark Knight Returns, with the sprawling chest emblem and small pointed cowl. And surprisingly, even though ‘Batfleck’ wasn’t exactly given the best reception before the film, he surprised everyone with that brilliant warehouse fight.
But there’s something that annoys us about the suit. He gets shot at close range, and his suit protects him from the bullet -- fine. But when someone lunges at him with a knife, it sinks into his shoulder with ease. There doesn’t seem to be any resistance whatsoever. If it’s that strong it can stop a bullet at such close range, surely he can use a material that’s stab-proof?
12 ZOD’S MESSAGE
Man of Steel did have some very intriguing ideas about how the modern DCEU would handle the existence of aliens from another planet. So when Zod finally made his way to Earth, he announced his presence in an incredibly intimidating fashion. The message that played out across every single screen almost had a horror vibe to it. Except, it wasn’t exactly timed right.
We’re supposed to believe that the message was played out across the world in different cities all at the same time. But in every city that we’re shown, it’s nighttime. We’re pretty sure that’s not how time-zones work, Zack Snyder. Remember, if it’s daytime in the US, it isn’t in China. It’s only a small detail, but once you realize it, it’s almost quite funny.
11 HAIRY SITUATION
Oh, Suicide Squad. It seems like DC just can’t get their team-up movies right at all. This saw some of the worst villains in the DCEU thrown together to fight off an even bigger threat. It did give us Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, so we won’t complain too much, but there’s some strange moments regarding her wardrobe (we’re still annoyed we didn’t get to see the classic costume for longer).
When she’s locked up in Belle Reve, her blonde hair is bleached but you can faintly see the pink and blue highlights too. But once she’s given her costume back, she suddenly has her hair back to the usual vibrant colors. Did the US military really keep hair products as well as her outfits and weapons? Plus, given what was going down in Midway City, she didn’t really have time to be making those kind of changes.
10 LOIS LANE FALLS WRONG
Amy Adams brought a Lois Lane for the modern era. She was a tough, hard working journalist who wasn’t afraid to make the tough calls, so it’s annoying when she’s relegated to a damsel in distress role. She was one of the people involved with Superman, she’s brought along to the mission to stop the World Engine (because obviously civilians are allowed on military operations involving aliens).
But when the plane becomes unstable and she falls from the back of it, she plummets to the floor before being rescued by Supes. One slight problem, she’s falling away from a singularity in the sky that is making debris, cars and broken bits of buildings float in the air. So why did Lois fall towards the floor, she should’ve floated towards the singularity…
9 THE DIRT KNIGHT RISES
One of the most dramatic moments in Batman v Superman sees the Trinity face off against Doomsday, and it ends with an adaptation of the "Death of Superman". He’s stabbed by the monster and dies saving Metropolis and Gotham. Cue a military funeral and an emotional farewell for Lois and Martha. And as the film’s final moments play out, the dirt on his coffin starts to rise, as if Superman was still alive.
Fast-forward to 2017 and the debut of the disappointing Justice League. A part of the plot sees the team try and revive the Man of Steel using a Motherbox and the Kryptonian ship. But there’s nothing to do with Superman’s regeneration in the coffin or the dirt rising at the end of BvS. It makes that scene stick out like a sore thumb.
8 FEARFUL FLASH
We currently live in a world where we have two live action versions of Barry Allen to choose from. One seemingly successful series on The CW played by Grant Gustin, his version seems quite confident in his superhero role. But Ezra Miller’s version in Justice League isn’t as comfortable in battling supervillains. In his own words, “I’ve just pushed some people, and run away”. He even tells Batman that he’s terrified of the situation.
But since we already knew from the beginning of the film that Parademons are drawn to fear. Batman made a point of luring a criminal to a rooftop and intimidating him to discover what drew the Parademons to the city. It was fear. So why don’t they sense The Flash’s panic and discover the team before they can get the drop on Steppenwolf? It doesn’t make sense.
7 WONDER WOMAN’S ARMOR
Who says a female superhero can’t have her own movie? Wonder Woman was a brilliant action adventure with genuine heart. And when she infiltrates the German Gala with Steve Trevor, we fully understand her motivations in wanting to murder Ludendorff. She’s wearing a stunning blue dress with her sword hooked to the back of the dress. But it’s clear she doesn’t have her armor on underneath.
But when she runs away from the Gala in a later scene, she’s on horseback wearing the armor as the dress is thrown backwards. So was she just naked on the horse swapping her clothes? Or was she supposed to have the armor on underneath? It’s really not clear. If she didn’t, did she just ditch the armor in the forest? We’re so confused.
6 THE JOKER’S HANDS
Look, we know that Jared Leto’s version of The Joker is controversial, some people love him and some really hate him. Stylistically, he has an incredibly unique take on the role. But we did get to see something of his origin at ACE Chemicals when he convinced Harley to plunge into the vat like he did.
It bleaches her skin and melts her clothes like it did to The Joker. But in the few scenes that The Joker was actually in during Suicide Squad, his hands were actually flesh tone rather than bleached white. Is this just a simple make-up error or did he keep his hands out of the chemicals when he fell? Chances are, it’s probably just the first one. If Leto does come back, let’s hope they get that right next time.
5 THE JANITOR
Part of Cyborg’s story in Justice League brought us the first full inclusion of S.T.A.R. Labs in the DC Extended Universe. We’d already seen a small clip during Batman v Superman of Victor Stone’s origin, but we’d not fully explored the hub of technology. The beginning of his story saw Silas Stone leaving the lab and having a small conversation with a janitor.
He seemed like a friendly worker, but the conversation didn’t really mean much aside from set up an action piece later on. What was strange, was the Janitor wasn’t wearing the right name tag in his first scene, but in his second he wore the right one. He’s Raymond Jansen, and for those that don’t recognize the name, he’s also known as the Superman villain, Parasite. But don’t expect to Jansen become a proper villain anytime soon, Steppenwolf killed him.
4 WONDER WOMAN’S CLOAK
We still can’t believe that we’ve been given an excellent Wonder Woman movie and it has some of the best scenes in the DCEU. The most obvious being the now iconic ‘No Man’s Land’ scene. It’s both emotional and exhilarating seeing her step onto the battlefield. She shrugs off the cloak and faces down the enemy, providing the distraction to storm the trenches.
But then later on, once they’re in the village of Veld, she suddenly has the cloak back. Are we really expected to believe that they went all the way back into the other side of No Man’s Land just to get her cloak back? It would probably be easier to just borrow another cloak or a coat from one of the villagers Diana.
3 KILLER CROC
When Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje took on the Killer Croc role in Suicide Squad, we hoped that he could bring a level of emotional depth to Croc that we’d not seen previously. By all accounts, the actor is incredibly talented. His role as Mr. Eko on Lost was fantastic. But Killer Croc wasn’t given a huge amount to do unfortunately. They couldn’t even get his size right.
At the beginning of the film, we get a quick look at his profile. And it tells us that Killer Croc stands at seven feet tall. But that’s not true whatsoever. There’s various shots throughout the film that show Croc standing at a similar height to everyone else. Sure, he’s still a big guy, but he’s not seven feet tall. That’s an exaggeration that should’ve been corrected in post-production.
2 DEADSHOT’S BAGGAGE
No, we don’t mean Deadshot’s emotional baggage. His motivation during Suicide Squad was actually quite well-founded. Especially compared to the rest of the squad, he was given a lot more character development. That probably has something to do with Will Smith being in the role but that’s not the point. His introduction saw him assassinating an informant in true Deadshot style, with some technical wizardry.
But as he makes his escape, he makes sure to grab the bag of ammo and probably more guns that he brought with him. But when the scene changes to show him rappelling down the side of the building, the bag is nowhere to be seen. Did he leave it at the last second? That’s probably evidence that will get you arrested Deadshot.
1 BLOODLESS
Spoilers for the ending of Wonder Woman, but if you haven’t seen it by now, what are you doing? It’s easily the best in the DCEU so far. When Diana confronts Ludendorff, she’s convinced that he’s Ares, so uses the ‘Godkiller’ sword to smite him down, stabbing him with plenty of force.
But when she later retrieves the sword, so she can try stop the real Ares, Sir Patrick -- there’s no blood whatsoever left on the blade. We’re pretty sure that killing Ludendorff would have left bloody remains on the blade. Not that it matters, because it’s shattered when Diana tries to strike Ares. Given that this was a gritty war movie that happened to have a superhero in it, we’re surprised there wasn’t a bloody smear left after his execution.