9 DCEU Characters That Are Totally Different From The Comics

If there's one thing that cannot be argued with about the DC Extended Universe, it's that it's taken some brave and bold liberties with the comic book universe. The franchise's flagship heroes are generally portrayed much darker than they are on the page, villains have been entirely reworked to fit the modern world, supporting characters have been switched around so as to flesh them out in fresh ways and so on and so forth. As you can tell from the mixed reception that at least three out of the four films released in the DCEU so far have received, not all of these reinventions have been successful. Whatever you think of, say, Henry Cavill's Superman being willing to kill or Ben Affleck's Batman torturing his victims, you have to admit that DC aren't afraid to chuck out the old and ring in the changes. Sometimes it doesn't work out, sure, but it has produced some intriguing, unique takes on decades-old characters. That, you can't deny. And so, following on from our recent look at MCU characters that are totally different from the comics, here are 9 characters from the DCEU who share little in common with their counterparts in the source material - for better or for worse. 9) Carol Ferris Comic Books: The Vice President of Ferris Aircraft, Carol Ferris is the long-term love interest of Hal Jordan AKA Green Lantern. Their relationship has become strained over the years, however, due to Carol turning into the supervillain Star Sapphire, a rival to the Green Lantern Corps. DCEU: Carol Ferris has directly appeared in 2011's Green Lantern, in a fairly faithful version played by Blake Lively. For this list, though, we're referring to the supporting DCEU character, known as Carrie Farris. As you can tell by the similarity in names, the character - portrayed by Christina Wren - has been confirmed to be a slant on Carol. Appearing in Man of Steel and Batman V Superman, Carrie is an US Air Force officer - a similar career to Ferris. However, due to Hal Jordan not being introduced in this universe yet, she doesn't have any connection to Green Lantern. Whether there are any plans to feature the character in the upcoming Green Lantern Corps, we don't yet know. 8) Steve Trevor Comic Books: Like Superman has Lois Lane, Wonder Woman always has Steve Trevor by her side. Traditionally, Steve was a WWII soldier who was totally smitten by the Amazon princess and frequently tried to get her to marry him - however, he showed no interest in his dowdy secretary, Diana Prince. Modern comics have portrayed him as Diana's U.N. liaison, the head of A.R.G.U.S. and in a relationship with Etta Candy. DCEU: Wonder Woman's Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) has been moved back in time to be a WWI era spy. Unlike his traditional comics counterpart, he isn't portrayed as a damsel-in-distress - or rather a 'gentleman-in-jeopardy' - and is actually given the big heroic moment at the end of the movie. Yes, the biggest change the DCEU made to Steve Trevor is that he was killed off very quickly into Diana's career as Wonder Woman. Rumours state that Chris Pine could be back, but unless he returns thanks to Flashpoint changing the timelines, we have to assume Steve will stay dead. 7) Etta Candy Comic Books: Like Steve is Wonder Woman's Lois, Etta Candy is probably Diana's equivalent to Jimmy Olsen. Usually filling the role of the comic relief, Etta is typically portrayed as Diana's best friend - a bubbly, confident woman who loves her plus-size figure. She's a tough gal in her own right and shares Steve Trevor's career as a soldier and intelligence officer. Also, since the New 52, the character has been depicted as African-American. DCEU: Etta Candy's role was greatly diminished in Wonder Woman in comparison to her significant place in the comics. While she and Diana get on, you could hardly call them best friends. Etta is also not of a military background but simply Steve's (albeit incredibly capable) secretary. Lucy Davis' character is also not as vivacious as the portrayal on the page. Overall, this Etta is probably closer to the iteration in the classic 1970s Wonder Woman TV show than the comics. Furthermore, like Steve, it's assumed that Etta won't have a major role in future Wonder Woman movies. 6) Jonathan Kent Comic Books: Just like Spider-Man learned responsibility from his Uncle Ben, Clark Kent only has such a strict moral code due his upbringing at the hands of Ma and Pa Kent. Usually depicted as fairly elderly, Jonathan and Martha - the former, in particular - instill in their adoptive alien son a need to help the helpless and to stand for truth, justice and... other stuff. DCEU: For Man of Steel, Kevin Costner played a much more, let's say, complex take on Jonathan. Apart from being slightly younger than his comics counterpart, this Jonathan's priority was not encouraging his son to be a hero but encouraging his son to stay safe - even at the expense of the lives of others. Including, that is, his own. While Jonathan is frequently presented as dying prior to Clark becoming Superman, it's before been depicted as a kind of act of suicide, as Jonathan prevents his son from rescuing him. 5) Doomsday Comic Books: Famously, Doomsday is the being responsible for Superman's demise in the iconic Death of Superman arc. In subsequent storylines it was revealed that the creature was from prehistoric times on Krypton. Doomsday - originally known as the Ultimate - is the result of numerous experiments to create a being perfectly evolved to survive the planet's then hellish environment. Due to the horrors it's endured, the creature is purely driven by hate and anger. DCEU: In Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, Doomsday (Robin Atkin Downes) is a creation of Lex Luthor's - a corrupted form of General Zod's corpse, it's based on a "Kryptonian deformity." With its new Frankensteinian origins, the character has arguably been merged with another comic book foe: Bizarro (with a bit of Superboy thrown in for good measure). This did, however, have some precedent - the Justice League Unlimited animated series similarly depicted Doomsday as a corrupted clone of Superman. The design of the character was also very different in the film - especially to start with. After an energy boost, the monster does eventually sprout his usual rock-like protrusions, but they aren't as prominent as in the comics. 3) Enchantress Comic Books: Freelance artist June Moore first became possessed by the Enchantress when she attended a costume party at a spooky old castle. Later joining the Suicide Squad, June repeatedly struggles to keep her, let's say, unwanted house guest under control but - though there have been dark periods over the years - she's always managed it and found her way back to the anti-hero team. She's also a sometimes love interest for Killer Croc. DCEU: For Cara Delevingne's version in Suicide Squad, elements are taken from the Enchantress of the New 52, who fought Justice League Dark. Instead of a longterm member of the team, Enchantress was the villain of the movie. Visually, the character had an entirely different look, too - for perhaps the first time ever, the costume on screen was more revealing than in the comic book. A romance with Rick Flag was also invented for the film, as was June Moore's new backstory as an archaeologist who discovered an ancient mystical totem (which she decided to break, for some reason). 3) Lex Luthor Comic Books: The Greatest Criminal Mind Of Our Time is traditionally portrayed as a middle-aged bald business tycoon whose enormous intellect is only matched by his even greater ego. Though he has been depicted as slightly bumbling on occasion - e.g. Gene Hackman's take in the Christopher Reeve movies - usually Lex is a powerful, malevolent foe for the Man of Steel. DCEU: Controversially, Jesse Eisenberg's portrayal of Lex completely reinvented the character in Batman V Superman. Now much younger, this Lex was a neurotic, highly eccentric billionaire who was clearly losing his grip on his sanity. He was fond of Joker-like pranks (Granny's Peach Tea, anyone?) and seemed to have a hatred of Superman derived from a fear of an impending alien threat rather than the ethical rivalry the characters usually share. At the end of the movie, he was also locked up in Arkham Asylum - usually the home of Batman's rogues gallery rather than Superman's. The character is so different from the norm, in fact, that some fans theorize that his father, Lex Luthor Sr. (who's alluded to in the movie), is the DCEU's real version of Lex and could make an appearance further down the line. 2) Jimmy Olsen Comic Books: Since being introduced in the popular Superman radio show in the 1950s, Jimmy Olsen has gone on to be a consistent part of the Man of Steel's mythos. The young, peppy photographer for the Daily Planet, the bowtie-wearing Jimmy is often dubbed "Superman's pal" and has led a variety of his own solo series going back to the Silver Age. For decades, adaptations of Superman have also featured him prominently. DCEU: However, that changed with the DCEU. Olsen's goofiness just didn't suit Zack Snyder's dark, deconstructive tone so Olsen had to be hugely revamped for his appearance in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. You may remember Lois Lane's photographer (played by Smallville's Michael Cassidy) getting shot by African mobsters when it is discovered that he's really an undercover CIA Agent. In the extended cut of the movie, the guy reveals his name as Jimmy Olsen. Snyder has since said that he added this character in as he thought it would be "fun." 1) Joker Comic Books: Do we really need to explain who the Joker is? The Clown Prince of Crime in Gotham, the Joker is a notorious force of chaos. Whereas other enemies of Batman are fuelled by a thirst for power or wealth, Mr J. - as Alfred famously said - "just wants to watch the world burn." Since Harley Quinn transitioned from her breakout role in Batman: The Animated Series to the comics, Joker often has his sidekick/girlfriend by his side. Despite Harley's devotion to him, though, the Joker never really shows her any genuine affection and is generally highly abusive to her. DCEU: In Suicide Squad, Jared Leto and David Ayer attempted to update the character by portraying the Joker as a mob boss - complete with that hoary old trope of conducting his business in the back of a strip club. Joker's feelings towards Harley were also presented, for the first time, as genuine. His entire arc in the film is motivated by his desire to rescue the former Dr. Quinzel from danger. And that's not even mentioning the character's radically different fashion style and bodily adornments - tattoos, dental grills, etc. Like Lex, fans have theorized that this radically different Joker is not the original Clown Prince of Crime, but is actually a corrupted, insane Jason Todd (who's thought dead by Batman in BvS). However, it's since been confirmed that Leto's character is the real deal - whether you like it or not.