The DC Extended Universe has faced a significant amount of backlash throughout its run. But despite those unfortunate shortcomings in the eyes of audiences, the superhero universe has also delivered plenty of impressive and impactful scenes. Now, it's common (and understandable) for action sequences to be the highlights in comic-book films. This time, however, we're going to focus on moments that aren't necessarily action-related.
Sequences that have excited us, filled us with joy or that have simply broken our hearts (in a good way). The DCEU has given us quite a few of those since its inception. Because of that, let's take a dive into the 7 most impactful moments that Warner Bros. and DC's superhero franchise has given us so far.
7. Billy Batson Finds His Mother - Shazam!
Shazam! is one of the more comedic entries in the DCEU, but its lightheartedness didn't prevent it from giving us this touching scene. In the film, Billy's main goal was to find his mother, whom he had been separated from after getting lost years prior. Eventually, Billy found himself a good foster family and was introduced to new siblings. Understandably, though, his main goal was still to reconnect with his mom, and so, his foster-siblings helped him find her address.
Billy went to the address, but when he finally found his mom, he realized the worst: she didn't want him. Cold and distant, she revealed she had actually left Billy to the police, and did not want to have a relationship with him. Seeing our young hero learn that the person he had been yearning for his whole life was not who he expected was heartbreaking. However, the scene also served as a great growth moment for him, as he realized he finally had a family that truly cared about him.
6. The Suicide Squad Gets Killed - The Suicide Squad
When it comes to Suicide Squad stories, most of us go in expecting violence and a whole lot of death. The latter is easy to achieve; after all, we've seen characters in superhero films die in a lot of different ways. But, folks, The Suicide Squad is a James Gunn film, and the director would not have tackled a live-action Task Force X without giving us one of the most creative death sequences in comic-book film history. Early on in the movie, the Suicide Squad (or, rather, a decoy version of the team) infiltrated Corto Maltese.
As the team got to the beach, one of its members, Blackguard, announced their pressence to the country's military, making it clear he had sold out his fellow criminals. What followed was a shocking, hilarious and borderline-disgusting sequence of Task Force X getting impaled, burned and shot to death. To top things off, among all the chaotic destruction, we got to see T.D.K. unsuccessfully (and hilariously) use his detached arms to beat up a group of soldiers before getting riddled by bullets.
5. Aquaman's Fight With Black Manta and His Father - Aquaman
Almost every villain has a hardcore backstory, but how many baddies can say they went to the dark side because their dad was (technically) killed by Aquaman? Only one: David Kane, a.k.a. Black Manta. The scene that introduced his grudge against Arthur Curry is one to remember. In the movie's first act, Aquaman faced off against Manta and his father, Jesse Kane, after the pair hijacked a submarine.
The fight sequence showed Arthur in a scary light, depicting him as an unstoppable force capable of withstanding a sword strike to the chest. But the tension didn't stop there. At one point, Jesse fired a rocket at Arthur. He missed, however, and caused the submarine to sink. Jesse became trapped under some machinery and Manta pleaded with Arthur to save him, but he refused and left them to die. While Aquaman's decision was morally wrong, it made him a volatile and unpredictable presence, which is uncommon for modern superhero films.
4. Ratcatcher 2 Remembers Her Father - The Suicide Squad
The Suicide Squad established a beautiful connection between Cleo Cazo (Ratcatcher 2) and her father, the first Ratcatcher. While bonding with her teammates, Cazo revealed a little bit of her family history, explaining that, even though Ratcatcher had been a great parent, he had a drug problem that led to his death. She didn't reveal much more, but it was because the movie was saving the best for last. During the Suicide Squad's final battle against Starro, Cleo called upon all the rats in Corto Maltese to attack the villain.
As the creatures overwhelmed the alien starfish, Ratcatcher 2 reminisced about a conversation she had had with her father when she was little. In the memory, Cleo's father explained to her that he worked with rats because they had purpose, despite being hated by society. He then hugged and kissed his daughter. After that, the movie cut back to Ratcatcher 2 in the present. She had tears running down her face while she watched her animal buddies taking down Starro. The scene was touching, and it gave the final battle an unexpected emotional touch that made it all the more memorable.
3. Wonder Woman Says Goodbye To Steve - Wonder Woman 1984
In Wonder Woman's second solo outing, Diana Prince got the chance to reunite with her true love, Steve Trevor, after he died in 2017's Wonder Woman. Unfortunately for her, his return was brought on by the evil magical properties of a wishing stone that gradually took Diana's powers away. The film's big bad, Max Lord, absorbed said stone, becoming a wish-granting maniac. As the world descended into chaos from everyone asking Lord for wishes, Wonder Woman realized that everyone had to renounce their wishes for society to go back to normal. That, of course, meant giving up Steve.
She was, of course, hesitant to do so, but Steve convinced her to renounce her wish by making her realize the world needed Wonder Woman. The scene was sad enough, but things were ramped up to 11 when, as Diana began running away from Steve, he shouted that he would always love her. This sequence accomplished three things. Firstly, it showed how pure Diana and Steve's relationship was. Secondly, it showed off Diana's kind nature, as she agreed to let go of the one person she loved to save everyone else. Thirdly, it gave the movie a powerful dramatic moment that carried over until the end.
2. Amanda Waller vs. Bruce Wayne - Suicide Squad
Suicide Squad was largely disconnected from the Justice League storyline that had been set up in Batman v Superman, but the film did include an awesome post-credits scene that saw Amanda Waller giving Bruce Wayne files on the superheroes he wanted to recruit for his superhero team. Waller told Bruce that powerful people were looking into the disaster caused by the Enchantress earlier on in the film, to which he replied that he would protect her in payment for the files she had procured for him.
As Wayne left the restaurant, though, Waller made it clear she knew he was Batman by telling him, "You look tired. You should stop working nights." That was awesome enough, but then Wayne dropped the mic by saying, "You should shut it down. Or my friends and I will do it for you." The implication being, of course, that Wayne wasn't happy about Task Force X. Seeing Waller and Wayne butting heads was a dream come true for comic-book nerds, and it allowed us to see a more menacing side of the hero, as he managed to catch Amanda Waller — one of DC's most ruthless characters — off guard.
1. Superman Takes Flight - Man of Steel
Man of Steel chronicled Clark Kent's arduous journey toward becoming Superman. One of the most important moments of his transformation was his first flight. After putting on his Superman suit for the first time, Clark stepped out of his makeshift Fortress of Solitude to practice flying. The people behind the film made a smart choice in allowing us to see Clark fail a few times before he finally began soaring through the sky.
The way the Big Blue Boy Scout gradually got the hang of flying and became genuinely excited when he pulled it off was awe-inspiring and fun. We got to see Superman actually having fun with his powers, which amped up the wish-fulfillment factor that inherently comes with a character like the Man of Steel. This is one of the DCEU's most remarkable scenes, and will likely remain as one of the most memorable live-action Superman moments for a long time.