A sprawling franchise like the DC Extended Universe will always have some secrets that the characters keep to themselves. These have ranged in importance from one superhero to another, which includes the general secret of everyone from Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, among others, keeping their real identities hidden.
With The Suicide Squad set to feature a story shrouded in mystery, it’s for certain that more revelations will be brought forward. For now, it’s worth taking a deeper look at DCEU’s main characters harboring information that are a big deal both for the world at large and to their personal characterizations.
Batman: His Vision Of The Flash From The Future
There were several things that DCEU’s Batman was right and wrong about, with his belief of Superman's chances of being evil stemming from the vision he had of The Flash. Bruce saw a future version of the speedster telling him he was right about Superman, which made him believe Superman had to die.
Batman didn’t reveal this information to others, instead moving ahead with his plans to end the Man of Steel. He kept this secret to himself throughout Dawn of Justice but justified in his mind that he was going after Superman due to the vision. Bruce finally shared his secret with Wonder Woman in Zack Snyder’s Justice League when he had more faith in others.
Superman: The Reason His Father Died
Clark became high-minded after discovering his powers but learned to control them after spending most of his adult life traveling the globe. Lois Lane eventually learned about Clark’s powers, at which point he revealed his biggest secret.
This had to do with his father Jonathan’s death when Clark was younger, where he willingly let himself die in a tornado incident rather than have Clark use his powers to save him. While everyone thought Jonathan had perished in a freak accident, Clark had kept the truth about his death secret to honor his father’s sacrifice for his sake.
Wonder Woman: Her Status As An Active Superhero
The perception of the character is positive within the cinematic universe, but fans do have some unpopular opinions about DCEU's Wonder Woman over her decision to keep herself a secret. As it was, she hid the fact that she was active as a superhero during the century between the Wonder Woman movie and Dawn of Justice.
The reason why this was kept a secret was due to Diana’s reluctance to be in the public eye, with her exploits in Wonder Woman 1984 also hidden. Of course, fans have pointed out the magnitude of this secret since Diana could’ve easily prevented a number of wars by herself but chose to be a small-time hero instead.
Amanda Waller: Her Knowledge Of Batman's Identity
The ending of Suicide Squad showed Amanda Waller having dinner with Bruce Wayne, who agreed to protect her reputation after Waller botched the Enchantress’ induction into Task Force X and nearly got Midway City destroyed.
He assured Waller that he would keep the incident around Midway City a secret in exchange for files about metahumans. Waller then revealed she knew that Bruce was Batman, asking him to “stop working nights” since being Batman was taking its toll on him. Bruce didn’t react to this comment, confirming that he was aware that Waller knew of his own secret and she wasn't going to rat him out.
Aquaman: His Knowledge Of The Atlantean Mother Box
Bruce Wayne approached Arthur Curry at the beginning of Justice League to join his team in preparation for a possible alien attack. However, Arthur turned him down citing a lack of interest. Later on, it turned out he was hiding his knowledge of the Mother box that Steppenwolf was after.
This was proven when Arthur showed up at the outpost where the box was hidden and engaged Steppenwolf in a fight. It also meant that he’d chosen to hide the Mother box’s location from Bruce, as the latter only found out about it from Wonder Woman and when Arthur later joined the Justice League.
Cyborg: His Survival From The Crash
As far as the world knew, Victor Stone died in the car crash that also claimed his mother’s life. The secret was that Victor was not only alive but had been turned into Cyborg by his father using the Mother box’s powers.
In Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Cyborg was shown visiting his own grave, as the secret of his survival was still under effect and was only known to those in the Justice League.
The Flash: That He Knew He Could Run Past Time
Barry claimed he didn’t know the limits of his powers and was basically fast enough that he didn’t expose himself as The Flash. However, Zack Snyder’s Justice League showed that he was secretly aware that he could run faster than time itself.
After realizing that Steppenwolf had successfully destroyed the Earth, Barry told himself he had to break his rule of breaking the speed barrier and proceeded to reverse time. Funnily enough, his Justice League teammates were still not privy to this secret as, from their point of view, The Flash had simply gotten to the Mother box in time.
Harley Quinn: Her Desire To Have A Normal Life
There are a good amount of scenes proving Harley Quinn as DCEU’s best character, as she’s a layered character rather than just a merciless criminal. Although she accompanied The Joker in his many transgressions, a moment of clarity in Suicide Squad revealed Harley’s secret.
It was shown that she imagined an idyllic life with The Joker as a normal wife with a child and family life. Harley pretended not to care, but she was hiding the secret that she craved to move away from the life of a criminal and settle down with the person she loved.
Shazam: His Friendship With Superman
Due to being a child, there aren’t many skeletons in the closets for Billy Batson. However, he did harbor a significant secret for a little while of having befriended Superman. The purpose of keeping this under wraps was to shock Freddy alongside the rest of the school.
It was a pretty big deal for Billy as well, seeing as he’d been more than willing to reveal himself as Shazam earlier and was a glory hound. By keeping his friendship with Superman a secret until the right time to reveal it, he got to pull off a memorable surprise for everyone.
Martian Manhunter: His Identity As Calvin Swanwick
Calvin Swanwick being the Martian Manhunter was one of the ways Zack Snyder’s Justice League set up the sequel. Previously, Swanwick had appeared in Man of Steel and Dawn of Justice operating as part of the US army, but it turned out he was an alien the whole time.
It made Swanwick’s identity a secret in itself, as it hid the fact that there was life on Mars and that he’d been on Earth for decades by that point. He revealed this fact to Bruce Wayne at the end of the movie, finally sharing his status with another person, although the Swanwick identity continues to remain a secret.