Best DC Extended Universe Movies, Ranked

The DCEU has officially ended with its run of 16 movies over the span of 10 years, and it’s been a doozy of a decade for DC Comics. In an effort to directly compete with Marvel for the king of comic book movies, DC and Warner Bros.’s first attempt at a DC cinematic universe was one filled with a mixture of ideas, ranging from critical and audience receptions, and spiraling box office results.

Yet, just because there are a few bad apples, doesn’t mean the entire bunch is spoiled, and there’s a special place for the DCEU, and some of the best DCEU movies deserve to be remembered. Whilst the DC Extended Universe may be over and the dawn of the DCU begins, it’s a good time to respect what came before and look back in fondness or horror of all DCEU movies and how they rank.

16 Suicide Squad

Great and Dark Potential Lost to a Studio Cut That Wanted Something Risk-Free

Release Date: 5 August 2016 Director: David Ayer Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score: 26% Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 58%

In need of a superhero deterrent who can get the job done without making it seem like America is liable, Amanda Waller forms the Suicide Squad: a team of imprisoned supervillains who will be forced to execute black ops missions, or else the bombs implanted in their heads will go off. Their first mission? Stio an ancient witch from destroying humanity.

Suicide Squad was a prime example of the inconsistencies of the DCEU, and how meddling constantly interfered with the proposed work. Originally, Suicide Squad sounded like a great and gritty story from David Ayer, but it was quickly watered down into a quirky and messy movie that has a fun cast, but not much else.

15 Black Adam

Dwayne Johnson’s Passion Project Has Him Play Dwayne Johnson With Powers

Release Date: 21 October 2022 Director: Jaume Collet-Serra Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score: 39% Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 88%

Teth-Adam is bestowed the powers of ancient Egyptian Gods, where instead of being the hero of ancient Egypt, he becomes its conquerer and abuses his powers to lay waste to those deserving. Imprisoned for 5,000 years, Teth-Adam wakes in a world that has since forgotten him, and he begins to unleash his own form of justice in this new world.

Despite being Dwayne Johnson’s passion project in the making for years, Black Adam oversteps the potential of a great villain to create a too-heroic and too-wooden anti-hero and one that further confuses audiences with the established DCEU world. Whilst there is some fun action and decent heroics from the Justice Society and Black Adam, the movie promises a sequel that will never come.

14 Shazam! Fury of the Gods

A Lackluster Sequel That Plays It Too Safe

Release Date: 17 March 2023 Director: David F. Sandberg Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score: 49% Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 86%

Billy Batson and his foster siblings continue to fight for the forces of good with the powers of Shazam, except this time, the daughters of Atlas have come to create further trouble in the modern world. Billy Batson must discover the sacrifices that it takes to be a superhero, whilst trying to juggle the relationships of a brother and a son against a pantheon of villains.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods isn’t as satisfying as its predecessor and the charming “Big meets Superman (1978)” doesn’t have the same charm this time around. The choice to use original villains instead of Shazam’s roster makes for unmotivated villains, and Shazam’s personality seems far too goofy for the more serious themes of a teenager.

13 Wonder Woman 1984

Unintentionally Campy and Lacking Relevance for Wonder Woman’s Story

Release Date: 16 December 2020 Director: Patty Jenkins Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score: 57% Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 73%

Wonder Woman continues to fight for mankind after leaving Themyscira, and her heroics of the 1980s as her battle against Maxwell Lord, an entrepreneur with a wishing stone, and Barbara Minerva, who unlocks the cursed powers of the Cheetah, whilst also reigniting the tragic love she experienced with Steve Trevor.

Wonder Woman 1984 is a tad on the messy side in terms of action and plot, and the events of the movie both interfere with what has been established about Wonder Woman in movies prior and also serve little relevance to drive the DCEU forward.

12 Justice League

A Choppy Attempt at a Team-Up Event

Release Date: 17 November 2017 Director: Zack Snyder / Joss Whedon Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score: 40% Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 67%

Fearing the end of the world with the death of Superman, Batman assembles meta-humans from across the planet in an attempt to stand united and fight against the powerful enemy of Steppenwolf and the Parademon army that seek to create a scorched planet for a higher purpose. Without Superman, will the team be enough?

The theatrical version of Justice League is a tad disappointing, and the takeover by Joss Whedon does little to save the movie. It’s chopped up in the editing room with notable reshoots, with a forgettable villain, misfit jokes, and a far too fast runtime for a team-up movie.

11 Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

A Wild Curtain Call for the DCEU That Features an Adventure Between Two Brothers

Release Date: 22 December 2023 Director: James Wan Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score: 33% Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 81%

The finale to the DCEU involves Aquaman’s new life as the King of Atlantis, and as a father, under the threat of a villain who only knows wrath and pain. Aquaman’s entire life is threatened by Black Manta, who wields the Black Trident to amass an ancient evil of the seas. To save his family and the world, Aquaman must align with his imprisoned brother, Orm.

Whilst the chemistry between Patrick Wilson’s Ocean Master and Jason Momoa’s Arthur Curry is a lot of fun, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom certainly feel like a fish out of water with its strange exploration and new adventures. The action scenes are fun, but the odd plot is hard to follow and harder to care about since this was the whimpering end of the DCEU, but it’s still good to see Momoa treat Aquaman like a thrilling rockstar.

10 Aquaman

Discover the Underwater World of Atlantis as Arthur Curry Discovers His Place as King

Release Date: 12 December 2018 Director: James Wan Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score: 65% Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 72%

With the world saved after the defeat of Steppenwolf, Arthur Curry must come to terms with his identity as a half-human and half-Atlantean who is the key to stopping a war of ocean and land. Arthur Curry must unite the seas and become the rightful king of Atlantis, whilst also battling against those who deem him unworthy, like his half-brother, Orm, and the vengeful Black Manta.

Aquaman is a more light-hearted adventure and a change from the usual format with the DCEU. Jason Momoa and Patrick Wilson are definitely the standouts in this adventure, and James Wan’s underwater worlds are equal parts mystifying and horrifying, providing a new world to immerse in outside of Batman and Superman’s shadows.

9 Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)

A Unique and Messy Identity Perfect for Harley Quinn’s Story

Release Date: 7 February 2020 Director: Cathy Yan Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score: 79% Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 78%

When the Joker breaks up with Harley Quinn, the former psychiatrist must venture across Gotham City to rediscover herself amidst the hardest breakup of her life. With no Joker label to protect her, Harley Quinn becomes the most wanted woman in Gotham for her bad behavior in the criminal underworld, which sees her team with a young girl with a diamond of seemingly unlimited wealth and criminal demand.

Birds of Prey, or its convoluted title of the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn, is an experimental movie from Cathy Yan that definitely deserves a watch. Most of the issues of the movie come from its complete lack of care for the DC Comics source material, but it’s still a fun and raunchy comedy that isn’t afraid to have its own identity.

8 Shazam!

A Movie That Shows What Happens if Big (1998) Mixes With Superman: The Movie (1978)

Release Date: 5 April 2019 Director: David F. Sandberg Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score: 90% Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 82%

Billy Batson is an orphan who will stop at nothing to find the mother that he believes accidentally abandoned him at a fair. Yet, his life is turned upside down after his adoption, and when an ancient wizard deems him worthy to hold the powers of Shazam, embuing him with the powers of a superhero.

Shazam! Is extremely charming, and it’s essentially Tom Hank’s Big meets Christopher Reeve’s Superman. Zachary Levi is a lot of fun as the titular hero, and his attempts at being a child in the body of a hero allow for plenty of humorous moments in a DC movie that respects its golden age.

7 The Flash

A Fun and Well-Hearted Movie About Scars and the Consequence of Time Travel

Release Date: 16 June 2023 Director: Andy Muschietti Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score: 63% Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 83%

The trauma of losing his mother bares too much for Barry Allen, and he discovers that his powers through the Speed Force allow him to travel back through time to change the past and bring him into a new future, one where superheroes are all but myth, and General Zod has come to take claim to Earth. Without Superman, Barry must seek help from a Batman who is not his own.

The Flash is a lot of fun, even in its divisive state. It’s always a treat to see Michael Keaton in the cape and cowl of Batman, and he brings a ton of charm to this new venture. Whilst The Flash does feature unnecessary cameos to bridge the DC Universe, it still has its moments of fun in the rough of dodgy CGI and odd scenes.

6 Blue Beetle

Heartfelt Family Fun With a Sci-Fi Side

Release Date: 18 August 2023 Director: Angel Manuel Soto Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score: 77% Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 91%

Jamie Reyes, a recent college graduate, attempts to find himself a job to support his overbearing but loving family but finds himself bound to the Scarab, an ancient piece of alien technology that has formed a symbiosis with him, allowing him to construct incredible powers and a suit of armor that allows him to become an unpredictable and amazing superhero, the Blue Beetle.

Blue Beetle is extremely rewarding for those who love DC Comics and those unfamiliar, and it’s a fairly fun time for everyone involved. With a focus on action and family, Blue Beetle has a promising career as a superhero in the DCU with a refreshing focus and more heart than dreariness.

5 Wonder Woman

Providing Feminity and Power into a War Epic

Release Date: 1 June 2017 Director: Patty Jenkins Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score: 93% Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 83%

Steve Trevor, a pilot fighting for the allied forces of World War 1, crashes on the all-female Amazon island of Themyscira. Informing the population of the war on man’s world, Princess Diana decides that she cannot bear the pain of a global conflict, and ventures to the world of man to put a stop to the God of War, Ares, who she believes has plunged mankind into a path of their own destruction.

Wonder Woman is thrilling and earnest, providing audiences with a stellar performance from Gal Gadot. Seeing the vulnerability of a powerful warrior who just wants to stop the world from killing itself is equally heartbreaking as it is spectacular, and placing Wonder Woman into the setting of the Great War brings the DCEU into a pinnacle moment of character development and a blend of story and action.

4 The Suicide Squad

A Hilariously Twisted Team-Up of Misfits

Release Date: 30 July 2021 Director: James Gunn Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score: 90% Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 82%

Amanda Waller’s highly illegal, highly dangerous, and extremely immoral team of Task Force X set out to Corto Maltese, where they are tasked with destroying a top-secret laboratory involving ghastly experiments. The team is comprised of the usual suspects, but with a few new faces on the team to create interesting dynamics and equal threats, where everyone is a target, and nobody is safe from execution.

The Suicide Squad proves that the DC Universe is in safe hands with writer/director James Gunn, who helms The Suicide Squad to bring out one of the best DCEU movies out there. The performances from the cast are hilarious when they can be, and impactful when they need to be, and both the story and the action steal the spotlight from other DCEU entries.

3 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

A Provocative Lens into the Consequences of Superheroes

Release Date: 25 March 2016 Director: Zack Snyder Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score: 29% Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 63%

An older Batman faces against the wrath of gods, and the fight for Metropolis with Superman and General Zod puts Batman in a position where he believes the only way to live in a safe world, is to kill the alien who could wipe it out in a day. Whilst Batman plots to kill Superman, Superman himself has his faith in humanity tested as both an undesired god and a worshiped savior.

For the first time in live-action, worlds collide as Batman and Superman cross paths on the big screen. Batman v Superman is an incredibly risky movie for how it handles these titan characters, but given a chance, it works for the story it’s trying to tell. The political themes of Superman’s purpose on Earth, paired with the thrilling deconstruction of Batman’s one-rule make for a compelling DC movie that wasn’t given a fair shot.

2 Man of Steel

The Birth of the DCEU is Filled With Interesting Origins for Superman

Release Date: 12 June 2013 Director: Zack Snyder Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score: 56% Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 75%

The DCEU is born with Kal-El of Krypton, the last son of a dying planet, who is sent to Earth to live amongst the human race and learn of their hopes and flaws whilst developing the powers to be a god to them. As Clark Kent grows up, he journeys across oceans to discover his history, and his dual identity as an Earth-raised alien is put to the test when survivors of Krypton seek to make Earth their new home.

Man of Steel brings forth a new origin for Superman and creates a great starting point for the DCEU. Whilst the movie may lack the usual charisma and smiles seen from the Superman of old, there is still greatness to the early days of this Superman, which takes a more grounded approach for the man who can fly. With its blend of reality and fiction, Man of Steel places Superman on a pedestal of study that isn’t seen in other movies.

1 Zack Snyder’s Justice League

Zack Snyder’s Magnum Opus That Concludes His Mythology of DC

Release Date: 18 March 2021 Director: Zack Snyder Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score: 71% Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 93%

As the world mourns the death of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman attempt to recruit the metahumans known to them to stop the impending invasion of Steppenwolf and the Parademon army that prepare for Darkseid’s arrival. A team unknown to each other and standing united, the Justice League must face this threat without Superman to aid them.

The story of the Snydercut is worthy of its own movie, but as far as the actual movie goes, it’s an accomplishment beyond the comic book movie genre. Zack Snyder concluded his DCEU trilogy with a magnum opus that blends his style with the mythologies that he sees the DC characters as, and the 4-hour runtime really allows for each character to develop the depth they deserve, and the character moments that prove how each of them is essential.