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Back in 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav famously noted that as DC Studios restructured its approach to superheroes, "I think in the next few years, you’re going to see a lot of growth and opportunity around DC. There's not going to be four Batmans." Technically, he's correct: there are only three Batmans. But rather than a weakness, the diversity of the DCU multiverse in projects ranging from The Batman to Creature Commandos to the newly released Harley Quinn season 5 points to the strength of DC Studios, not its weakness.
While a lot of the focus from fans has been on the development of James Gunn’s DCU proper, which concluded its opening salvo with Creature Commandos season 1 recently and then picks up later this year with Superman, Gunn has also been very open about allowing other ideas to flourish under the 'Elseworlds' banner. That banner applies to The Batman Epic Crime Saga from Matt Reeves and company, which encompasses 2027's The Batman Part II, as well as HBO's The Penguin. And it applies to one of the last remaining projects from the pre-Gunn era, Harley Quinn on Max.
All three of these have very different takes on Batman, but the key component is that the core of The Dark Knight stays even. The Batman has a dark, gritty, Nirvana-listening Batman earlier in his career in a more grounded setting. But Robert Pattinson is still recognizable as the Bruce Wayne we know and love from the comics, using fear to intimidate criminals until he realizes that his symbol can inspire hope, as well. Harley Quinn season 5 meanwhile finds Bruce (Diedrich Bader) entirely out of costume, and on a spiral of self-doubt. But he’s capable in a fight, earnest about justice, and of course, has his Bat-family and those wonderful toys.
Meanwhile, the Batman present in Creature Commandos isn't more than a cameo – he’s seen once dead in a vision of the future, which doesn’t really count – but it's a lightning crash on the rooftop shot right out of Batman: The Animated Series. We don’t have a live-action DCU Batman cast as of yet, but that one shot is enough to provide a shorthand for what the DCU's take could be.
A flourishing multiverse
And there's not only space for all of these takes, each individual project is stronger for allowing the specific Batman to fit the project, not jamming one take into each for the sake of continuity. Would Battinson work in Harley Quinn? Sure, they could have fun with his self-seriousness. But the strength of the animated show is that it walks the line between skewering these icons while still loving the source material and paying tribute to what makes these heroes (and villains) great. Harley Quinn’s Bruce works for the flow of the plot and ensemble of characters far better than the focus-grabbing take from the Reeves movie. Harley's Batman is a supporting character; The Batman's is… Well, it’s right there in the title.
More to the point, there’s been a lot of discussion about putting Pattinson into the DCU. And while that could work as well (and could happen, eventually), Reeves is clearly building a very different, more down-to-earth world than the fantastical, superhero-filled one Gunn is crafting in Creature Commandos, Superman, and beyond. Whoever ends up playing Batman in Andy Muschietti's Brave and the Bold DCU movie will be better served to forge their own take (possibly riffing off Kevin Conroy’s own iconic take in Batman: TAS, per that Creature Commandos cameo) than try to ape Pattinson, or Bader’s Bruce, who is chugging melted ice cream on the couch in Harley Quinn.
Space for everyone
The same holds true for Superman, who shows up in Harley Quinn voiced by James Wolk as an earnest defender of liberty. It’s a much more straightforward take on the character, but per the main characters of the show being Harley Quinn (Kaley Cuoco) and Poison Ivy (Lake Bell), he’s a little dimmer and more naive than he is in the comics or other media. Like Batman, Superman steps back to allow the other characters to shine. While we’ve only seen a short teaser trailer for David Corenswet’s Superman on the big screen… it’s not taken from the animated series. The movie is titled Superman, he’s the main character, and Corenswet and company will forge their own take on the Man of Steel.
No viewers of Harley Quinn are going to be confused when Corenswet shows up, or vice versa. And viewers of Superman & Lois (now on Max) also should be just fine seeing either version of Superman, as Tyler Hoechlin has formed his own take on Clark Kent and Superman as a family man. All of them are recognizably Superman, but each fits the project they appear in.
That’s great, actually. While other franchises struggle under the increasing weight of more and more continuity, driving casual viewers away as things start to feel like homework, over in the DCU multiverse if you like your Batman serious, goofy, or TBD, there’s a choice for you – with no pressure or need to check out any of the other projects, other than the fact that they’re all very well made. And coming up, we’ve got an animated/puppet version of some of these characters in Dynamic Duo, a DCU villain’s eye view in Clayface, and perhaps even more. Heck, maybe even a fourth Batman. David Zaslav could only dream.
For more on all things DC, check out our guides to upcoming DC movies and shows, how to watch the DC movies in order and our breakdown of all the new superhero movies on the way.
