To put it plainly, DC’s movies are as hard to predict as the Joker’s temper. After every success, such as The Dark Knight or Wonder Woman, there was a DC movie that bombed badly and left the fans scratching their heads while asking, “Who let this happen?” In these movies, the combination of meddling by the studios, poor scripts, and confusing creative decisions has led to not only missing the target but even surpassing it. Here is a list of the ten most terrible failures that show even superheroes are not invincible when they can fall flat on their faces.
10. Batman & Robin (1997)
The complete and utter disaster that is bat-nipples and bat credit cards would have been the face of cinematic mayhem. Batman & Robin is like a nightmare of bright and flashy lighting, ice jokes, and questionable decisions. The duo of George Clooney’s Batman and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Mr. Freeze spearheads the hullabaloo that is almost the most notorious supervillain flop of all time. This film goes beyond the range of bad jokes and campy visuals to a level where it is less Dark City and more a nightmare of rave culture. It has ultimately become the talk of how to ruin a film series in under the time of a feature.
9. Superman III (1983)
While Richard Pryor was very amusing, maybe we are in the wrong type of Superman movie. Instead of the usual fights or saving the world, this movie has a plot with weather machines, coffee smuggling, and a side story about making kryptonite out of plastic that causes the hero to become the villain by himself. It is a mix of superhero, technological comedy, and still, it can’t decide which genre it belongs to. Its audience expected the combination “Superman vs. Hangover Kryptonite” not to happen!
8. Steel (1997)
Could Shaquille O’Neal become a hammer-wielding superhero just for the fun of it? In reality, the first thought that comes to mind when seeing Steel is the feeling of watching a clunky after-school special under the low budget, corny dialogues, and foam-rubber costume that makes the movie hard to take seriously. Before Iron Man taught us how to make armor stylish, Steel showed the opposite way. Shaq might be the king of the court, but with this movie, he scored an airball.
7. Catwoman (2004)
If there is a worst movie ever, then Halle Berry’s Catwoman is not far behind; it is catastrophically awful. Nothing in this film is at its best, including the silent story of how evil cosmetics came to be and the talking so awkward that even a cat used to awkward things would cringe because of it. The film totally neglects the original Selina Kyle story and adds a new plot that looks like it was created by writers who read only one comic panel and stopped there. Berry’s talent deserved a better movie; unfortunately, this one is in the wrong place.
6. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
Although the most quintessential Superman was the one performed by Christopher Reeve, even he couldn’t pull The Quest for Peace out of the ditch. Small budget and almost non-existent logic were the reasons behind the plot of Superman fighting a nuclear-powered disco villain named Nuclear Man. When cheap effects, corny dialogues, and “repair the Great Wall of China by using your vision” join, one gets a very funny and unintentionally hilarious superhero movie entry.
5. The Return of Swamp Thing (1989)
The original Swamp Thing was offbeat but somewhat charming. Sequel? Not at all. The Return of Swamp Thing abandoned the eerie creepiness with its campy humor and low-budget effects. The outcome seems more like a parody of the first film rather than a sequel. It doesn’t have scares, story, or the like, but is filled with cringing moments. Some things, you know, just have to stay under the muck.
4. Supergirl (1984)
Supergirl started with the right idea, a woman-character superhero movie way ahead of the trend. Unfortunately, the good idea was drowned out by the poor script. Instead of providing Kara Zor-El a compelling adversary or an interesting tale, this film simply pits her against some witch in a disorganized fantasy plot. Helen Slater does her best to bring life to it, but she alone is not enough to uplift this awkward and muddled film. It’s the first big-screen heroine of DC, which squandered the chance of a grand debut.
3. Jonah Hex (2010)
The idea of a Western antihero with a scarred face and supernatural powers should have been great. Instead of that, the film Jonah Hex turned out to be a lifeless mashup of different styles of genres that are incompatible. Josh Brolin gives a good try, but the PG-13 tone of the movie softens everything, which takes away the rawness the character gets from the comics. On top of that is a bland villain and a hurried story, and you have a DC movie that kills its own potential.
2. Justice League (2017 – Theatrical Cut)
The so-called “Frankenstein cut” of Justice League is the studio’s anxiety gone too far. It was initially Zack Snyder’s grand vision, but after Joss Whedon’s multiple reshoots and edits, chaos reigned. What we got is an odd blend of forced jokes, fluctuating feels, incomplete CGIs, and characters who look quite different from the originals. The later Snyder Cut showed there was a better film hidden under all that, but the theatrical version still holds as one of the biggest DC’s self-inflicted harm.
1. Suicide Squad (2016)
Suicide Squad is one of those superhero movies that hardly gets made without a lot of fuss, and that fussy hype is mostly where the film’s story ends, after all. It should have been an edgy, quirky antihero’s tale, but it ended up being messy with tonal inconsistencies due to studio interference and last-minute edits. Jared Leto’s Joker was set up for greatness but fell far short of expectations, and the plot seemed aimless, with each scene following another. Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn and a few good scenes prevent it from being a total wreck, but, over, it’s a messy, neon-coated film that reminds me of squandered potential.
Even the most celebrated heroes’ careers do not consist of only successes, and DC does not seem to be an exception in this regard. Irrespective of whether it was hurried shooting, directors not getting on well, or the studio desperately attempting to mimic Marvel’s formula, these movies share the fact that having a cape and a logo are far from sufficient to ensure triumph. The bright side is that every failure is a step forward, leading to better, wiser storylines. Because isuperheroes’’s world, even when it comes to failure, there is always an opportunity for a comeback.