The DC Extended Universe Doesn't Need a Superman

In the wake of a report that Henry Cavill is leaving the so-called DC Extended Universe, the immediate the immediate question is, of course, who will succeed him as Superman. At first glance, the notion of a DC Universe without a Man of Steel seems downright ludicrous. After all, he's the bedrock upon which that fictional world of superheroes is built. But while that may be true in the comics, there’s a case to be made that Wonder Woman better fills that role within the DCEU, serving as a better inspiration than Superman ever did.

If that's the case, then maybe this DC Universe really doesn’t need a Superman.

Man of Steel

Given the critical and commercial success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it's only logical that Warner Bros. would want to replicate it. That effort began, somewhat retroactively, in 2013 with director Zack Snyder's Man of Steel, which was greeted with a decidedly mixed reception. While Cavill displayed flashes of the kindhearted hero that Superman should be, the film was mostly a dour origin followed by an even grimmer extended fight scene between the Man of Steel and General Zod.

The film attracted a great deal of criticism for its casual destruction of Metropolis, which in a post-9/11 world seemed particularly tone-deaf. The ending saw Superman break Zod's to save innocent bystanders, a moved that sparked even more controversy. As a result, Superman became a polarizing, rather than inspirational, figure. Snyder carried over that morally gray tone into his 2016 follow-up, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

In that film, the supposed optimism of Superman was tested by the pessimism of Ben Affleck's world-weary Batman. The two came to blows before teaming with Wonder Woman to confront the threat of Doomsday, created by Lex Luthor and unleashed upon the world. Superman sacrificed himself to in the battle, leading the entire world to mourn his passing, and Batman to begin to assemble the Justice League in an effort to “bring hope back to the world."

However, the problem is, Superman was never actually an inspirational character in the DCEU.In the aftermath of the Kryptonian invasion and the destruction of Metropolis, the Man of Steel was viewed with suspicion, and not only by Batman. Heck, there was a Congressional hearing. It was only after his sacrifice in the fight against Doomsday that banners were hung in tribute, and hands were wrung about a world without hope.

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All Our Hopes Are Pinned Upon You

Whereas Man of Steel and Batman v Superman weren't well received critically, director Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman certainly was. It's ranked among the best superhero movies of all time, and more fully introduced Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman in the kind of inspirational role that's long been Superman's bailiwick.

Scenes of Wonder Woman rushing onto a World War I battlefield and saving an entire village made for great heroic moments. And she did it decades before an infant Kal-El arrived on Earth from a doomed planet (or, for that matter, young Bruce Wayne's parents were gunned down in a Gotham City alley). Because Diana has been around for so long, it only makes sense that she’d continue to inspire over the decades. With Wonder Woman: 1984 promising to show her active in more contemporary times, she gains the legacy and importance that's typically personified by the Man of Steel. She’s the hero who's been around since the beginning, not Superman.

Why the DCEU Doesn’t Need Superman

The harsh reality of Warner Bros. restructuring its DC movie lineup is that Superman simply many not have a place there, at least for the immediate future. The hero, especially the current polarizing depiction of him, has been uninspiring, in every sense of the word. Superman needs to inspire hope, and this one doesn’t. DC has an entire slate of films mapped out, including Supergirl. Without the Man of Steel achieving the status of a fan favorite, or playing an integral role in the cinematic universe, there’s little reason for the studio to keep him around.

Instead, the DCEU needs to move Wonder Woman into that central position. With some of the next DC features centering around female heroes -- beyond the aforementioned Supergirl there’s also Birds of Prey and Batgirl -- having Wonder Woman at the core of the cinematic universe makes even more sense. Although Man of Steel came first, the fact that Wonder Woman was being a much more heroic defender of humanity nearly a century before Superman arrived Earth gives her seniority. She's served as true guardian of the world, and it would be a smart move for Warner Bros. to embrace that.