Summer 2025 was the summer of "Superman." Raking in $120 million its opening weekend in the U.S., it was a financial win, but more importantly a huge turning point for the DC Universe following a dicey decade of hit-or-miss films and television shows.
It's an exciting time for dedicated fans, and is leaving ASU comic book lovers on the edge of their seats waiting to see their favorite comic panels and stories come to life.
The biggest complaint of 2010's DC Studios was its lack of awareness for what fans wanted and its misguided characterization of beloved heroes.
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Jaden Boughton, a senior studying software engineering, is the president of The Comic Book Club at ASU Poly. He said he believes DC studios was in a bad place because of its competition with Marvel and general lack of direction.
"In terms of the overall impact, at least from an outside perspective, it did seem very rushed, like (DC was) trying to reach a quota," Boughton said.
The studio's current rebrand is being led by joint CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran as they mend the disconnect felt between DC comics, films, TV and video games.
For example, in just one film, Gunn was able to recharacterize a more comic accurate Superman than director Zack Snyder's "Man of Steel".
"(Snyder) was going for more of the elseworld / dark versions of Superman, instead of what James Gunn did with the new film of a lot more hopeful and kind of dorky Superman," Sean Kelly, a freshman studying animation, said.
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Gunn was able to deliver an optimistic film matching Superman's rose-colored outlook, but that isn't to say DC won't break away from its standard PG-13 rating for superhero movies.
The studio is currently filming "Clayface," an R-rated body-horror movie dissecting the origins of the famous Batman villain.
J Vega, a sophomore studying animation, said the decision to have both dark and light tones among DC is liberating for storytellers.
"If I want to go see a horror movie, I can go watch 'Clayface,'" Vega said. "If I want to have some joy and whimsy I can go watch 'Superman,' and it's still part of the same universe."
But more than anything, comic book fans are excited for this new stage of DC because it opens the door for beloved comic characters to come to life.
Despite being such a big enterprise, DC is full of characters who remain obscure to non-comic fans. Outside of pillars like Wonder Woman, Superman and Batman, film-only fans might not be as familiar with smaller heroes.
One lesser known subset of DC that Kelly is looking forward to being explored is magic. He said John Constantine is one of his favorite characters, and that magic in the DC Universe adds grave external factors which can overpower even the strongest of heroes.
"I feel like (DC Studios) should very much show off that magic is very powerful and dangerous," Kelly said.
Aside from the introduction of underground characters, Gunn and Safran's DC Studios is going to take on a big challenge: reinventing Batman.
A big allure of the new universe is its chronological timeline and familial relationship between Batman and his sidekick Robin, as well as other Batman Family characters like Nightwing and Red Hood.
"The Brave and the Bold," which is currently in development, is an adaptation of Grant Morrison's Batman comics. It will explore the complicated relationship between Bruce Wayne and his biological son Damian.
Some fans are intrigued to see this timeline for Batman, as it means DC's new Dark Knight will be a well seasoned superhero with Damian Wayne as his Robin as opposed to his first Robin, Dick Grayson.
Boughton said if the studio wants a young Batman then they should have Dick Grayson as his first Robin, and if they want a more mature Bruce then they should automatically go with his second or third.
Other fans want to see the original story play out on screen.
"I would have preferred them to have gone with Dick Grayson, just to see the transition of him," Vega said. "I wanted to see him grow up."
For now, fans will just have to wait and see what the future holds for DC. Audiences will be able to see their favorites come to life and maybe even walk away with a new character who inspires a trip to their local comic book store.
Edited by Sophia Braccio, Senna James and Pippa Fung.
Reach the reporter at jagon128@asu.edu.
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Jazlyn Gonzales is junior studying Journalism and Mass Communication. This is her third semester with the State Press. She has also interned at KJZZ.
