The DCEU has many great female characters which will be featured in films scheduled to be released in the next couple of years. These female-led films, such as Supergirl (hitting theaters on November 4, 2022), Zatana (release date TBA), and the third Wonder Woman (December 2023), are all scheduled for theatrical release in the near future. They are following in the footsteps of recent high-grossing blockbusters, such as the first Wonder Woman.
The showcasing of interesting, strong, and complex female characters is not a recent development, as the DCEU has featured many great female characters over the years, who are independent characters in their own right, displaying growth and wisdom along with their awesome powers.
Queen Atlanna
Aquaman's mom, Queen Atlanna of Atlantis, was played by Nicole Kidman in 2018's Aquaman. She thrilled audiences by not only being a royal spectacle of grace and beauty, but by being a surprisingly fierce warrior in her own right. She was featured in one of Aquaman's best fight sequences, when she single-handedly took on- and absolutely destroyed- several Atlantian soldiers sent to capture her. Her popularity among audiences and critics alike has certainly come to the attention of the executives at Warner Brothers studios, since Kidman is reportedly set to reprise her role as Queen Atlanna in 2022's Aquaman 2.
Black Canary
In 2020's Birds of Prey, Black Canary made her DCEU debut, as Dinah Lance. Dinah is the perfect complement to Harley Quinn: Where Harley is emotionally-charged and illogical, Black Canary is cool-headed and logical. Where Harley is sometimes cruel and uncaring, Black Canary is compassionate. Her complex and sometimes confusing origin story from the comics has been stream-lined in the film, so that we follow Dinah Lance, without getting into all that Dinah Drake time-warping transferal of memories. As of now, it is uncertain if her mother, Dinah Drake, is also Black Canary or not. Black Canary is scheduled to get her own HBO Max movie in the near future (TBA), so audiences will have the opportunity to follow this popular character in greater detail.
Queen Hippolyta
Imposing in her golden armor, regal and untouchable, Queen Hippolyta made quite an impression in Justice League (2017). She sparked the interest of the audience immediately by just how visually fascinating she appeared, but she soon backed up the visuals with pure action. She made such an impression in Justice League that she was brought back in Wonder Woman (2017). She acts as a Queen to her people and a mother to Diana, giving her daughter the strength and conviction necessary to follow her inner moral compass, no matter how impossible the odds may be, and she kicks a little butt on the side. In 2020's Wonder Woman 1984, she returns to oversee the competition that Diana is disqualified from in her youth, giving fans another peek at the Queen of the Amazons.
Martha Kent
Martha Kent is the eternally loving mother of Clark Kent. She is unique among the women of the DCEU in that she is not a hero or villain in her own right. She's not a queen or ambassador, but a simple small-town mother. She supported her adopted son during his struggles with his superpowers and provided him with a loving home and a sense of security growing up.
In Man of Steel (2013) Martha was played by Diane Lane, who brought kindness and loving intentions to a whole other level, making Martha a character audiences can relate to, and also makes Superman a more interesting character, since having such a loving and Earthly mother makes the all-powerful alien seem more human.
Cheetah
Barbara Minerva, before becoming Cheetah, had been rejected continuously in her life by a society that deemed her ugly and therefore powerless and worthless. After becoming Cheetah, her quest for power was really a quest for empowerment. In Wonder Woman 1984, Kristen Wiig brings Cheetah to life in her first DCEU appearance. She starts off as awkward, shy, and clumsy. After befriending Diana and finding the wishing stone, she wishes to be just like Diana-strong, powerful, and in control. She is not the sole villain in the film, as Max Lord takes center stage, but Wiig brings a sense of humanity to the misunderstood villain, while the film itself gives her ending a mysterious cliff-hanger: Her character is the only one who doesn't renounce her wish, so she could still have her Amazonian powers, and just might be in an upcoming Wonder Woman movie.
Lois Lane
Of course, Lois Lane is generally best known as Superman's love interest and co-worker at the Daily Planet. In 2013's Man of Steel, she is portrayed for the first time in the DCEU by Amy Adams, who gives Lois humor and intelligence. Lois is written as a successful woman, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist with a nose for news and a passion for seeing justice served. She is trustworthy and honest, and these traits are why Superman tries so hard to understand her, and slowly begins to trust her, as their initially platonic relationship becomes romantic. After the '70s and '80s Superman movies made Lois a much more kooky character, it was refreshing to see Lois back to form as an independent, intelligent woman who should be taken more seriously.
Mera
Mera, played by Amber Heard, makes a major appearance in Aquaman, where she elicits the help of Arthur, played by Jason Mamoa. This leads to a partnership developing between the two, which soon turns to a decidedly heated romance. In Aquaman, Mera is smart, funny, and can keep up with the extreme charisma of the titular character. The on-screen chemistry of Mamoa and Heard is undeniable, leaving audiences breathless, and necessitating the casting of Heard in the upcoming Aquaman 2 (December 2022) despite some significant personal problems.
Huntress
Huntress made her DCEU film debut, alongside Black Canary, in 2020's Birds of Prey. She is very much like her comic character in this film: She is strong, earnest, and full of vengeance. The origin story, as presented in the film, is the same as the comics, with her entire family having been killed and her seeking to avenge them.
Her character stays consistently faithful to the original, comic book, origin, unlike the Arrowverse version of Huntress, who takes a decidedly dark turn as that version of the character develops through the series.
Harley Quinn
Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel, Ph.D., also known as Harley Quinn, began her career as Joker's humorous sidekick in Batman, the Animated Series, but the character has developed her own rabid fan base over the years. She got a rocky start in the DCEU, appearing in Suicide Squad (2016). She got a bit of a revamp for her own feature film, Birds of Prey (2020), with some dark humor and fierce fight scenes (of a PG 13 nature) being added to the mix. It was a resounding success, and Harley Quinn was brought back for 2021's The Suicide Squad, where the humor is twisted and the violence revels in R-rated glory. This more soundly encapsulates Quinn's core character, and the film currently holds an impressive 90% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Wonder Woman
