Along with Star Wars, the DCEU is probably the most polarizing big franchise currently trending. Not only did it start with Man of Steel getting mixed reviews, but the ratings also plummeted with every new movie. Nevertheless, more recent installments seem to be doing much better.
Likewise, the characters in these movies and their conflicts are also not so black-and-white. Some of them are good, but others are not. This makes for fascinating rivalry dynamics...for the most part. Here are 5 Best DCEU Rivalries (& 5 That Make No Sense).
Makes No Sense: Suicide Squad & Joker
Jared Leto's Joker was originally advertised as the villain of the movie. As the actor said afterward, there were many scenes they filmed with him that were cut from the final version of Suicide Squad. In the few scenes he's in, Joker only cares about Harley and doesn't seem to have any regard for the Squad.
Joker is a villain and so is every member of the Suicide Squad. So why would they be rivals? It is only logical for them to become allies, but Joker not only doesn't consider it, he also eventually abandons Harley and she realizes he only used her when he really needed her.
Best: Superman & Lex Luthor
Even though Jesse Eisenberg's version of Lex Luthor was not very well-received (mostly because of how different it was from the comics version), his rivalry with Superman still turned out to be fairly good and engaging enough to be entertaining.
Luthor manages to manipulate Superman, which is not an easy thing to do considering how powerful and smart he is. Despite the fact that Luthor was eventually sent to prison, he still achieved his goal to an extent because Superman died fighting Doomsday, who Luthor had created.
Makes No Sense: Suicide Squad & Enchantress
Suicide Squad not only gave us a mad portrayal of Joker (and many other disappointing elements), but also brought us the rivalry between the Squad and Enchantress. She was a part of the team at first, but she then started opposing them and got out of control.
The final battle seems to be quite absurd too. In fact, the characters often simply stand there as one of them tries to fight with the Enchantress, rather than attacking her together. The way she is defeated is also questionable.
Best: Superman & General Zod
Man of Steel can be considered a fairly good movie. It's not the best, but the conflict between Superman and General Zod works very well because of the two characters being opposites despite coming from the same planet.
Superman wants to protect Earth while Zod wants to make Earth like Krypton, which would result in humans simply dying. Though Zod and Jor-El, Superman's father, both wanted for Kryptonians to live on Earth, Zod was more radical about it and didn't care about Kryptonians and humans coexisting.
Makes No Sense: Wonder Woman & Ares
Another pointless final battle in the DCEU includes the one in Wonder Woman. Not only did we expect another character to be Ares, but we also focused on a different conflict, which was Diana's belief that Ares was causing wars and the reality that people weren't just all good.
This is why the final battle feels so odd to most viewers. It is just a CGI mess with explosions that are meant to excite those who were expecting such action. But what could have been more logical would be for Diana to finally come to the realization that she was wrong and naive.
Best: Aquaman & Ocean Master
Aquaman turned out to be one of the DCEU's latest entries that isn't as bad as Justice League or Suicide Squad. Likewise, the rivalry between the two half-brothers Arthur Curry and Orm Marius was quite engaging to watch and many people agreed it was great.
Besides, Ocean Master's motivations are relatable too. He wants to unite the seven underwater kingdoms and start a war against humanity because people are polluting the ocean. Aquaman, on the other hand, wants to prevent him from doing this because he cares for humans.
Makes No Sense: Batman & Superman
On paper, this rivalry looks logical and even interesting. But in practice, it turned out to be pointless and somewhat illogical. You could argue that it was justified saying that both superheroes see each other as threats, but it isn't entirely true.
There are no clear motivations behind Batman's goal to kill Superman. Of course, he saw all of the destruction caused by the battle between Superman and Zod, but that wouldn't be enough for Batman to make such a conclusion, considering his intelligence. Likewise, Superman being manipulated by Lex Luthor is not entirely believable despite it being a great achievement from the side of Luthor.
Best: Shazam & Dr. Thaddeus Sivana
Like Aquaman, Shazam! became one of the movies that is currently resurrecting the DCEU. It's not perfect, but it can still be considered a great film that many have enjoyed. One of the main reasons why is because of the rivalry between Shazam and Dr. Thaddeus Sivana.
At the beginning of the movie, Billy Batson is actually quite similar to Sivana. He is only out for himself and doesn't believe that having a family is worth it (but he does want to find his mother). Billy eventually changes his opinion completely, which is why his conflict with Sivana is so great.
Makes No Sense: Justice League & Steppenwolf
Perhaps the worst villain in the entirety of the DCEU is Steppenwolf. This is probably the result of a bad script because the whole Justice League movie turned out to be not that great. Nevertheless, this does not excuse the fact that Steppenwolf is so poorly written.
He looks laughable due to being made entirely from CGI and his speeches are always odd and pretentious. In addition to that, he is introduced as someone the Justice League can't defeat until they resurrect Superman, which makes the entire team seem worthless.
Best: Wonder Woman & The World
Of course, this is technically a more abstract conflict, but it is still the best one in the DCEU yet. Diana's eternal belief in the goodness of human beings is challenged by the reality that everything is not as black-and-white as she thinks it is. This is why she ends up opposing the whole world with her quite naive views.
Unfortunately, even when she realizes she was wrong, we still get somewhat of a confirmation of her being right because once she defeats Ares, the war does end. It's a pity such a great rivalry had a questionable ending.