Superhero movies are complex films with many different moving parts. The filmmakers must balance a colorful array of characters, a dizzying amount of super powers, and just the right amount of mustache-twirling villains. Because of this complexity, the DCEU sometimes ends up with weird plot holes that no one can explain. This leads to endless fan debates about whether these plot holes actually diminish the overall awesomeness of the movies.

Of course, some nitpicking “fans” take things a little too far and start finding “plot holes” that aren't really there. Sometimes, these are things that are explained directly in the movie. Other times, a perfectly reasonable explanation is offered in a deleted scene or an interview with the director. In all of these cases, though, these alleged fans are just making up non-existent problems to complain about.

You don't have to look too far to find people complaining about these things. It's difficult to go through your life without hearing someone complaining about the DCEU's Batman using guns or Harley Quinn not deserving to be on the Suicide Squad. Need a rebuttal?

Keep reading to learn all about 15 Huge DCEU Plot Holes (That Actually Make Perfect Sense)!

Why is Batman using guns?

Ben Affleck as Batman with a gun in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice

Batman v  Superman was a movie with a lot of controversy around it. Much of that came from Batman using guns so often: in both his weird “Knightmare” dream sequence and in his waking hours, Batman uses guns to kill criminals. Considering the comic character hates guns and avoids killing, most people consider this a plot hole.

However, it's really not. This version of Batman is based loosely on the one in Dark Knight Returns, and that Batman did not hesitate to fatally shoot a criminal in order to save a child. In fact, the earliest Batman comics showed him using guns and killing criminals, and he didn't stop until DC Editorial forced writer Bob Kane to take the guns out.

Therefore, the Batman in this movie has effectively returned to his violent roots, which is what makes the movie a redemption story: Superman shows Batman there is a better way to be a hero.

How could the Squad ever fight Zod?

Suicide Squad Movie Easter Eggs

The logic that Amanda Waller uses when creating the Suicide Squad is that America must be ready if there's ever another Zod. That is, if there is ever an out-of-control superpowered threat, there must be a team who can take him out. Many fans noted, though, that the Squad we get seems ill-equipped to the task. How, exactly, would bullets and boomerangs stop the next evil Superman?

This isn't a plot hole, though, because when Amanda Waller received clearance to use her team, Enchantress was still a part of it. As comic fans know, her magical abilities are powerful enough to hurt or even kill Superman, so she would be the real powerhouse of the team to take on the biggest threats.

When Enchantress goes rogue, Waller does what Waller always does and makes use of the team that was left, even though they'd lost their big gun.

Why did Luthor create superhero icons?

In their hurry to get to the Justice League movie, Warner Bros. had to cram a lot into Batman v. Superman. One of the sillier scenes involved Bruce Wayne viewing Luthor's secret metahuman files. Not only was it a hamfisted way of introducing us to heroes like Aquaman, Flash, and Cyborg, but fans quickly noticed that Luthor had superhero icons for each one of them. Therefore, it seemed like a plot hole (or just an insane plot point) that Luthor personally gave each hero their famous icon.

However, it makes sense when you start thinking how Luthor thinks. He's already working on a plan to kill Superman, which would likely result in these heroes taking a more prominent role. Luthor is working on creating names and narratives for each hero, which would let him more easily make himself their ally or to simply profit from their exploits.

Just think: if he hadn't been sent to jail, Luthor would be cranking out countless shirtless Aquaman toys and laughing all the way to the bank!

Why are Parademons not drawn to Flash's fear?

Ezra Miller Flash Justice League

One of the interesting plot points of Justice League is that the Parademons are drawn to fear. We see Batman use the fear of a random thug to lure one out, and we see that the fear of Steppenwolf at the end is enough to make the creatures attack him. Many fans noted, though, that The Flash is constantly expressing his fear in the movie, and so it seems like a plot hole that the Parademons do not specifically go after him because of his fear.

This isn't really a plot point, though, because of how fast Flash's mind works. To properly use his powers (and not splat into walls), his mind is always racing much, much faster than a normal human's. This means that he can process and control things like his fear much quicker than anyone else. Chances are that he was over being scared as soon as the words left his mouth, whereas Steppenwolf's lingering fear was enough to make him look tasty to the Parademons.

Why does nobody notice Diana's "hidden" sword?

Wonder Woman Trailer 2 - Dress with sword

Wonder Woman spends most of her first solo movie as a woman on a mission. She is going to find Ares and kill him in order to bring peace to the world. At one point, she is meant to infiltrate a fancy party but unwilling to give up her sword, so she hides it in the back of her dress. It's a funny moment (and it sparked an unexpectedly large amount of fans copying her), but many think it's a plot hole that no one noticed the giant sword on her back.

However, this is explicable due to the same cultural misogyny that the movie takes on head long. We see time and again that soldiers and civilians of this era are unwilling to believe that Wonder Woman is a powerful and capable warrior until they see it with their own eyes. If anyone at this party actually saw a sword sticking out of her dress, they'd be likelier to think it was a prank or a weird fashion statement than they would that an assassin was in their midst.

How could Luthor get out of jail?

Jesse Eisenberg Best Lex Luthor Ranked

Justice League has given us a doozy of an after-credit scene by showing that Lex Luthor has escaped prison and meets with Deathstroke to start discussing an Injustice League. However, Luthor had been sent to Arkham Asylum and was personally being monitored by Batman, so many fans thought it was a plot hole that he could suddenly and easily escape.

There's a few reasons why this makes perfect sense. First, being personally monitored by Batman doesn't matter when the Dark Knight is on the other side of the world. Second, it's not impossible to escape Arkham Asylum, as the Joker has proven. Finally, it's likely that Luthor had help— the person that replaced him starts laughing maniacally, possibly hinting that Joker (with the help of former Arkham psychologist Harley Quinn) helped break him out!

 Peace through war

The most heartbreaking moment of Wonder Woman comes when Steve Trevor dies. However, his sacrifice helps Wonder Woman learn her final lesson: “only love can save this world.” Right after she learns this lesson, though, she goes back to Plan A: killing Ares, the God of War. This seems like a paradoxical plot hole: how is she saving the world through both love and violence?

In this case, the answer is in the details. In her final interior monologue, Wonder Woman mentions how humans “each must make” a choice between darkness and light. That means making a choice without interference, and Ares was interfering with that. Wonder Woman did not kill him out of vengeance or hatred: she killed him out of her love for humanity and her desire to restore their freedom to create the best world possible. She cannot defeat humanity's inner demons, but she can definitely defeat the external demons, gods, and anything else that plagues humanity.

Where does Captain Boomerang get all those beers?

Captain Boomerang is one of the more dubious team additions in Suicide Squad. He doesn't really use his boomerangs very much, but that's not the weirdest thing about him. It seems in every scene he is in, the character is chugging another beer. Many fans consider this a plot hole because the movie never addresses where, exactly, he keeps getting all of this beer.

This “plot hole” has the simplest explanation of all. They are fighting in a major metropolitan area, and as Harley Quinn has already demonstrated, the team is not above looting the area for things they want. The likeliest explanation is that Captain Boomerang is simply looting these beers off screen, giving him the liquid courage necessary to fight Enchantress and her army of minions.

The idea that he is doing a lot of binge-drinking offscreen, too, helps explain why he suddenly shows up to help the team at the end after dramatically running away.

Why does Zod want to terraform the Earth?

General Zod Man of Steel

Zod and Steppenwolf are very different villains, but they actually shared a specific motive: each one of them wanted to terraform the Earth. In Zod's case, he wanted to make the planet into a new version of Krypton that would be suitable for him and his crew, as well as any Kryptonians that they could create with a genetic database from the doomed planet. Some fans thought this was an odd move, though, as making Earth more like Krypton would mean Zod and his crew would lose their superpowers.

Except that this isn't actually true. What made the Kryptonians more like regular people instead of Superman was not their actual planet but the red sun that it orbited. It's actually the yellow sun Earth orbits that makes Kryptonians like gods. Therefore, Zod's terraforming project would make it where the Earth air was not so toxic to Kryptonians, but the planet would still orbit a yellow sun that would allow Zod to help terrorize any remaining humans into submission.

Why rely on the Squad at all?

Suicide Squad Extended Flag Deadshot

For audiences, one of the most surprising things about the Suicide Squad movie was seeing the Squad operating alongside conventional military forces. After all, it's difficult to imagine trained soldiers happily working alongside crazed killers. Moreover, it made people question why Amanda Waller would rely on the Squad at all if she had an army of trained soldiers led by Rick Flag at her disposal. Why did she need people armed with bats and boomerangs there at all?

This is a “plot hole” that Will Smith's Deadshot explains in a single line: “we're the fall guys.” As far as any authorities know, Enchantress was a member of the Squad. Sending in known criminals to stop her also means that any collateral damage and dead soldiers can be blamed on the Suicide Squad as well. It also helps Waller “spin” the story: instead of this being her fault, she can blame the Squad for letting things get out of control and then claim credit for bringing them back in!

Why didn't Batman bring Kryptonite again?

One of the most exciting moments of the Justice League movie was seeing the rest of the team try to fight Superman. He had just returned to life and his mind was a bit scrambled, leading to the inevitable fight between heroes based on a misunderstanding. Many fans watching, though, were wondering why Batman didn't bring any Kryptonite for just such an occasion. After all, this is what the Batman of the comics would have done!

The answer to this is found back in Batman v Superman. Lex Luthor only found a limited amount of Kryptonite, and as far as we know, Batman stole all of it. He turned it into a Kryptonite spear and Kryptonite gas pellets, and he used all of the pellets in the fights with Superman and Doomsday. This leaves the Kryptonite spear, and while we don't know exactly where it ended up, we know that it doesn't fit in the utility belt, so Batman wasn't going to bring it if he wasn't expecting a fight. Plus he didn't want to kill the guy he just resurrected!

Why are whales swimming around explosions?

A strange sight that we get early on in Man of Steel is hobo hipster Clark Kent. He apparently wanders the Earth and takes on odd jobs, resulting in a scene where he saves some oil rig workers before being blasted into the ocean by an explosion. We see whales around his body, and many fans thought this was an odd plot hole: whales and other sea creatures don't normally head straight towards explosions and falling debris, so what happened?

This is one of those “plot holes” actually cleared up by the director after the fact. Zack Snyder has previously claimed that this scene represents Aquaman trying to help Clark Kent. At this point, the aquatic hero knows little or nothing about Clark's abilities, but when Aquaman sees someone in danger of drowning, he immediately sends help.

How does Lex Luthor know anything about Darkseid?

Lex Luthor ended up being a pretty disappointing villain in Batman v Superman. However, when Batman confronts him in prison, he hints towards some greater threats down the road. Specifically, Luthor tells Batman “he's coming, and he's hungry.” This seems to hint that Luthor knows about incoming threats such as Steppenwolf and/or Darkseid. How, though, would an unhinged Earth businessman know about major intergalactic threats?

This is a plot hole that is cleared up in a deleted scene. As you may remember, Batman v Superman was already a long movie, and there were many scenes that ended up on the cutting room floor. One of them showed that Lex Luthor had been talking to none other than Steppenwolf before the alien bad guy disappears! While we don't get to hear their conversation, it helps to explain why Luthor would have insight into threats that even Batman doesn't know about yet.

Why include Harley on the team?

While Suicide Squad was a divisive movie, most fans agree that Harley Quinn was a high point of the film. Margot Robbie gave us a Harley who was simultaneously vulnerable and strong, and she perfectly balanced the charm and insanity of the comics icon. However, many fans thought that she had no real place on the Squad. What good, after all, is a lady with a baseball bat in the face of magical threats to the world?

However, we must remember that Waller was building a team, meaning that each one had special abilities and insights. Harley Quinn is not only acrobatic, but she's a trained and experienced psychologist. She can understand some of the enemies they'll face (and allies they'll invite) better than Deadshot or Killer Croc ever could. Asking why Harley is on the Squad is like asking why the Justice League needs Batman. A good team is more than just raw power.

What was Luthor's plan?

Doomsday Batman v Superman

The other seeming Luthor plot hole at the heart of Batman v Superman is Doomsday. Many fans wondered just what the hell Luthor was planning by unleashing Doomsday. After all, he worried over the idea of an out of control alien in the form of Superman, and then he ended up unleashing an out of control alien in the form of Doomsday. So, what was up with this?

Luthor's plan actually made perfect sense. First, he wanted Superman dead, and Doomsday accomplished this perfectly. Secondly, he knows about other heroes like Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Flash. He could reasonably gamble that these heroes and the military would eventually stop Doomsday. Afterwards, he profits in two ways: his company can help rebuild the damaged areas (who do you think helped fix Metropolis after Man of Steel?), and he will gain public support as the man who loudly preached about the dangers of alien threats. This may even give him political leverage, as the Luthor of the comics eventually became president!

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Got an alleged DCEU "plot hole" that we missed? Or do you want to argue about these explanations? Be sure to head over to our comments!