TheDC Universehas already confirmed an exciting suite of upcoming heroesto populate its films, though they aren’t likely to be equal in terms of strength. Theupcoming movies of the DCUare stuffed with an impressive number of new heroes, as James Gunn’s experience with ensemble superhero films seems to get the better of him. Some of these are familiar faces with a great number of cinematic adaptations already, but others will be brand-new live-action versions of longstanding comic characters.
In terms of power levels, James Gunn’s new DCU will likely run a wide gamut of different degrees of strength for the new roster. Obviously, the stronger heroes of the franchise will have versatile and potent superpowers, outclassing those who rely on wits or technology. That being said,the tone of the film might be more “comic book-y” than ever before, meaning that fantastic feats of daring might still be very possible for the morestreet-level heroes.
10Robin
The Boy Wonder Is Still A Hero-In-Training
Rounding out the lower end of the DCU’s upcoming roster in terms of power, it should be no surprise that Robin will likely be the least powerful DCU hero for some time. The apprentice and sometimes adoptive son of Batman, Robin has much of the same technology and skills as the Caped Crusader himself, albeit with far less experience. In particular, the DCU’s version of Robin in theupcoming filmBatman: The Brave and the Boldwill be Damien Wayne, Bruce’s actual biological son with Talia al Ghul.
James Gunn Revealed The DC Universe Future To Us: 20 Biggest Updates
With the DC Universe set to soar into life with 2025’s Superman, DC Studios’ head James Gunn has revealed plenty more details about the franchise.
Damien Wayne was raised at birth to be an assassin by his villainous mother, typically retaining some cruelty and disregard for human life that Batman struggles to iron out. As talented as he is, Damien still has no powers, and he’s too young to compete with other trained superheroes. Additionally, his lack of experience and sometimes rash decision-making will likely put him on the backfoot when compared to other upcoming heroes.
9Booster Gold
A Time-Traveling Hero With A Heart Of Gold
A surprise but welcome addition to the DCU’s rising slate of heroes, Booster Gold is a curious character to rank in terms of power. Usually played as comic relief in most stories he features in, Booster Gold is a mundane security guard from the far-future who steals valuable superhero technology from the museum he works at to travel back in time and become a hero in his own right. Doing the right things for the wrong reasons,Booster Gold is something of a glory-seeking showboat, though he’s a good person deep down.
Booster Gold’s requisitioned technology is admittedly impressive, owning a suit that increases his strength, stamina, and reflexes many times over. Thanks to a ring he wears, Booster Gold is also capable of flight, and his capabilities extend to energy blasts, force field creation, and even localized time manipulation to compliment his chronological tourism. However,Booster Gold is often depicted as a foolhardy and inexperienced hero, perhaps far too reliant on his high-tech gadgetry to take on more serious opponents.
8Mr. Terrific
The Smartest Man In The DC Universe
One of many supplementary superheroes to join the titular Kryptonian inthe upcomingSuperman, Mr. Terrific will mark his first live-action movie appearance in the DCU.Mr. Terrific is commonly referred to as one of the smartest people on the planetin the DC universe, if not the single most intelligent human to ever exist. As a superhero, he is reliant on the advanced technology he creates, such as his T-spheres, which are able to operate completely via mental commands.
In the trailer forSuperman, Mr. Terrific gets a brief chance to show off his T-spheres, which project an energy shield over him strong enough to block bullets.
In the trailer forSuperman, Mr. Terrific gets a brief chance to show off his T-spheres, which project an energy shield over him strong enough to block bullets. At the very least, Mr. Terrific is utterly unfazed by a hostile team of soldiers, and his intelligence is a wickedly powerful asset to have in any fight. However, Mr. Terrific is often better utilized on the sidelines rather than in the field, putting his enormous intellect to good use, formulating strategies and orchestrating plans for the other heroes to follow, making him fall short in terms of power.
7Batman
The Master Of All Trades
As smart as Mr. Terrific is, it’s safe to say that Batman might be his only peer in terms of intelligence. DC’s flagship hero and a movie star many times over, Batman needs little introduction in the DCU or otherwise.Though his actor has yet to be announced, Batman is easily the most anticipatedupcoming hero to show up in the new movie franchise.
Armed with gadgets, vehicles, and a lengthy hero career, Batman’s acumen is nigh-unparalleled. He is unmatched in too many skills to count, representing essentially a peak human in many physical and mental categories. But as powerful as Batman undeniably is, he’s still essentially a street-level character at the end of the day, even if he can compete with world-ending threats like aliens with enough prep time. Even if he is the apex of human conditioning, Batman is still more or less a normal human at the end of the day.
6Hawkgirl
Bridges The Gap Between The More Powerful Heroes
Representing a dramatic step up in terms of raw power, Hawkgirl rounds out the lower end of heroes in the DCU with actual powers. Hawkgirl’s origin has been rewritten and remixed too many times to count, sometimes being a military officer of an alien race and sometimes being a reincarnated being dating back to Ancient Egypt. In all versions of the DC universe, however, Hawkgirl’s powers are essentially the same.
Hawkgirl enjoys a suite of super strength and durability far outclassing that of the average human, although beings like Kryptonians still leave her in the dust. Her more unique assets include her signature flight-granting wings and a spiked war mace made of Nth metal, the DC equivalent toMarvel’s Vibranium or Adamantium, sometimes capable of morphing to suit its user’s needs or producing powerful electric charges. Hawkgirl is a tenacious fighter, but she’s still limited in terms of range and versatility.
5The Green Lanterns
A Corps Of Creative And Willful Heroes
Speaking of versatility, few DC heroes can compete on that front with the likes of the Green Lantern corps.There have been a great many human Green Lanterns operating on Earthacross DC’s history, with John Stewart and Guy Gardner already confirmed for the DCU. While the different Green Lanterns may use their namesake rings in different styles suiting their own personalities, they all more-or-less have the same powers.
The primary ability harnessed by the Green Lanterns is the creation of various constructs of hard green light, forming a vast variety of shapes, tools, or even specialized machines. The strength of these constructs directly scales with the user’s willpower, and the rings' energy can also fortify a user’s durability and allow them to fly. As powerful as the Green Lanterns are, they’re still left vulnerable when stripped of their precious rings, which can also eventually run out of charge if not regularly replenished at a Power Battery.
4Metamorpho
An Obscure But Staggeringly Powerful Hero
Owing to James Gunn’s love of more obscure or goofy comic-book characters, the little-knownDC hero Metamorphowill finally be seeing some action inSuperman.After a tragic accident, Rex Mason is transformed into the bizarre Metamorpho, a strange-looking hero with the incredible ability to replicate any element on the periodic table. Despite his silly costume, Metamorpho is quietly one of the strongest DC heroes one could hope to be rescued by.
Metamorpho’s abilities allow him to shapeshift into all sorts of forms, morphing his body and limbs into weapons, objects, or even vehicles at a moment’s notice. The fact that he’s able to alter his molecular structure enough to truly replicate anything he wants to makes him a Swiss army knife of a hero, not to mention making him incredibly hard to kill. However, he is sometimes portrayed as having an extreme weakness to exposure of the same meteor that gave him his powers, giving him his own kind of Kryptonite.
3The Authority
An Underestimated Superhero Team
To the surprise of many hopeful DC fans, the DCU has added a project featuring overlooked superhero team The Authority. Existing in the WildStorm universe alongside the proper DC canon, The Authority gives the Justice League a run for their money in terms of collective strength. Their members consist of some heavy-hitters, including Apollo, a sun-soaking superhero similar to Superman, Jenny Sparks, an immortal lightning user, and The Engineer, a T-1000 style woman made of living metal.
Their lack of morality makes them even more terrifying, surely leading to conflict in the stories to come.
Rounding out the team are more versatile heroes like Swift, a winged speedster, powerful magic user The Doctor, the tactical super soldier Midnighter, and psychic alien abductee Jack Harlow. Combined,there are few forces in the DC universe that could stand up to the full might of The Authority. Their lack of morality makes them even more terrifying, surely leading to conflict in the stories to come.
2Supergirl
The Kryptonian Protégé
A fellow Kryptonian, Supergirl is easily one of the most powerful beings set to be introduced in the DCU thanks tothe upcomingSupergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.Set to be played by Milly Alcockof HBO’sHouse of the Dragonfame, Kara Zor-El in the DCU will use a slightly different origin story. Still Superman’s cousin, Supergirl will have experienced 14 years of hardship living off-planet before settling on Earth, somehow drifting in time compared to Superman.
Every Upcoming DC Movie In 2025 And Beyond
Here’s every new DC movie confirmed as in development by WB for 2024 and onwards, including release dates and where they belong in the franchise.
Usually, Supergirl has all the same Kryptonian powers enjoyed by Superman, including flight, super strength, speed, invulnerability, heat vision, super senses, and cryonic breath. This makes her undeniablyone of the most powerful beings living on Earth, though she still lacks Superman’s aged experience. Additionally, her raw strength will likely only be second to Superman, perhaps coming close to his level but never quite surpassing it.
1Superman
The Poster Child Of DC For A Reason
Obviously, there’s no mistaking that Superman will likely be the most powerful hero in the DCU. Already,trailers forSupermanhave shown off some of Clark Kent’s incredible abilities, including flight fast enough to outpace an explosion. Just like with the DCEU, where Superman is an almost godly figure worth resurrecting just to help the Earth face its most dangerous opponents, there’s little doubt that the Man of Steel will be the strongest there is.
It’ll be interesting to see just how strong the DCU’s Superman,played by David Corenswet, will stack up to his previous cinematic iterations. The DCU seems to be a much more fantastical world compared to most comic book movie universes, but the brief glimpses of Superman the series has provided thus far have already shown him beaten and bloody, needing Krypto’s help. Regardless of how he stacks up to his predecessors, Superman is far and away theDCU’s mightiest upcoming hero.
