7) Multilayered Villains
Although the quality of a good villain is typically much-appreciated, multilayered antagonists in comic book movies are becoming increasingly rare. Now more than ever, good villains are essential as it’s been shown how much a comic book movie can be heightened with a great antagonist. The Joker in The Dark Knight made the film the gold standard for the genre. The DCEU may not have their Joker-level villain quite yet, but they’ve consistently provided interesting antagonists that are threatening in their own way while still maintaining some semblance of character depth.
Zod was an expertly-trained general that could handle his own in a fight, but cared passionately for the Kryptonians. Lex Luthor is a egocentric wealthy businessman that sucks up to the wealthy and powerful, but is deeply disturbed and manipulative when alone. Opposing personalities like these help legitimize these villains and understand their plight, even if their actions are inexcusable.
Enchantress may have gotten a good amount of flak in Suicide Squad, but even she had the betrayal of her former worshipers to motivate her actions and personality. The DCEU’s practice of providing villains with adequate time to establish themselves and their motivations is a praise-worthy aspect of their narratives. You’d hope that certain characters get more screentime to better establish themselves (Jared Leto’s Joker), but that doesn’t mean their appearance isn’t memorable (MoS‘s Faora). With villains like Ares and Steppenwolf on the horizon, here’s hoping there’s some intrigue to their intimidation game.
