Unsung Heroes of DC
In the movie world, we’ve been treated to many superhero movies. We’ve seen Clark Kent toss aside his glasses and rip open his shirt to reveal that familiar blue and red suit with the Bold ‘S’ beneath. We’ve watched Clark Kent disappear to give way to Superman who fights crime in Metropolis. We’ve watched Bruce Banner don a black suit and emerge from the shadow of Gotham to Serve justice as Bat Man. We have even seen teams form such as The Avengers and the Suicide Squad, brought together to combat evil, to protect the people of earth from invasions and entities that wish to destroy it and each team possesses well know faces and figures within it.
Marvel has, of course, been at the forefront of the superhero marathon with quite a few movies already lines up for the next few years. DC isn’t far behind with its takes to be told, but what about those heroes in the DC Universe that have yet to step out from the shadows of the big names? As with Marvel, there are quite a few heroes that have either seen very little screen time or none at all.
Here is a list of ten superheroes from the DC verse that should get their own movies.
1. Hawkgirl
Hawkgirl leaping into action.
Shayera Hol was born on the planet known as Thanagar. Once old enough, this young woman joined the Police Force on her planet and became a fierce warrior and one of the most decorated police officers on the force. Upon chasing a criminal that had fled, Shayera found herself on the planet known as Earth and became fascinated with it and its people. Once the fugitive was caught and sent back to Thanagar, Shayera decided to stay on Earth where she fights to offer protection to its people. With abilities such as enhanced strength, flight and speedy healing and Shayera’s expertise as a warrior, this young woman is a force to be reckoned with and one that enemies of earth, both human and otherwise should fear.
2. Firestorm
The story of Firestorm would be an enticing one
What happens when two unlikely souls get fused together and have no other choice but to learn to work together? Well, you get Firestorm of course.
Ronnie Raymond and Jason Rusch are two people on totally opposite sides. One is the ‘cool’ guy, the other a ‘nerd’. Ronnie Raymond is the good looking athlete with a quick-to-action attitude and an ego. Jason Rusch, however, is a gifts scientific student that is happiest when working in his lab. One day, an explosion occurs and the result of said explosion is the fusion of these two young men into one nuclear powered being. Firestorm is born.
Ronnie control the body of the nuclear being whilst Jason offers a secondary conciousness needed for many of the superhero’s abilities being that Jason is the one with the science background. The two have learned to separate at will, returning each to their own former selves with their own bodies, thoughts and personalities but the two fuse together when Firestorm is needed.
Firestorm has the ability to fly, absorb radiation which can be used to allow for highly destructive blasts of energy as a weapon. He has immense strength and can rearrange inorganic objects into other shapes or objects, provided he knows the atomic make up and that is where Jason comes in.
However, Jason and Ronnie don’t always see eyes to eye due to their vast differences as individuals and, because of this it makes Firestorm the most unpredictable and volatile hero and one of the most dangerous as too much internal friction could cause a nuclear explosion.
But, when Jason and Ronnie actually work together, they can accomplish many great things and can serve the people of earth as a fine superhero.
3. Amethyst
On one planet she is simply Amy Winston, on another, she is the beautiful Princess Amaya
All Amy Winston ever wanted was to know who she really was and where she came from. As a child, her mother moved them from town to town and she was trained in self-defense and swordplay, but her mother would never reveal to Amy the truth of who she was and never told Amy why she was trained the way she was. But all that changed on her seventeenth birthday.
Her mother revealed the truth to Amy about her birth and Amy discovered the wondrous truth. She is Amaya of House Amethyst, a princess of the Gemworld.
When Amy visits Gemworld, her appearance changes to reflect that of her house and she is granted magical powers. She is a girl of two worlds, simple Amy Winston on Earth and the powerful Amaya of House Amethyst on Gemworld, a world where the other ruling houses all seek power.
4. Deadman
Boston Brand, a selfish man in life now paying for his sins as Deadman
In life, he went by the name of Boston Brand, a famous trapeze artist that was murdered. In death, he is known as Deadman, a soul with a unique penance.
Boston Brand was a famous trapeze artist who had fame go to his head in a big way. He was enthralled with fame and wealth, so much so that those loyal friends and family he had were taken for granted by the man with the ever inflating ego and greed for the things that were not important. The skills he possessed were wasted upon a shallow existence and then murder took away from him the chance to turn around his life, well, at least whilst he was still breathing.
From his death emerged a new being, Deadman, a soul that walks between the realms of the land of the living and the dead and given unto him a rather unique penance. He is to discover who killed him and also he is to help those that are destined to repeat his sins see the error of their ways before it is too late.
Deadman has the ability to possess any living person and, with that possession he also gains their skills. With this power, Deadman helps others to not make the same mistakes he has in their life. He shows them the ways to appreciate life, the ways he took for granted in his. He hopes that, through his actions, he can help others to fix their problems and, hopefully, he can atone for his own sins.
5. Pandora
Pandora, the young woman known for unleashing the terrors of man.
There is much mystery that surrounds the young woman known as Pandora, a Trinity of Sin member. But the one thing that is known about her is that she is the one that opened the secret box and released the terrors of man into the world when she was a mortal. For this, the Circle of Eternity sentence her to eternal punishment that was specific to her crime and vices but she was not alone in this punishment. Her fellow sinners, The Quest and Phantom Strange, were punished too. Pandora’s punishment is simple. She is to spend an eternity in pain, watching the effects of her choices and what they bring to the world. She has spent countless centuries in this punishment but there may be a way to break the curse.
Though she doesn’t sound like much of a superhero, Pandora definitely could be if she has learned from her mistakes.
6. Starfire
The beautiful Starfire leaping into action, fighting for the weak.
A princess of Tamaran, Koriand’r has had a hard life but, it is from these hardships that a strong and powerful hero was born.
Betrayed by her sister, Princess Koriand’r found herself in the bonds of slavery. She endured excruciating torture and experimentation but this did not break the woman. No, it simply made her stronger and with that strength, she escaped and her escape led her to Earth. Upon her arrival here, she was amazed to find superheroes that fought for the oppressed and it was through this discovery that Princess Koriand’r decided that she would use her powers to do the same and so, Starfire was born.
She has the ability to absorb ultra violet radiation which becomes the energy she needs in order to fly. Because of the experimentations done on her, she is able to convert that same radiation into destructive blasts of energy. Starfire is a courageous and dedicated hero who despises seeing anyone else experience the pain she went through herself. She is loyal and optimistic and definitely a hero that earth can be thankful for.
7. Swamp Thing
He is the reason man should fear harming the environment.
Alec Holland was an idealistic scientist that was working on the synthesis of a top secret chemical in his lab in the Marshlands. One night, a bomb explodes, destroying the lab and killing Alec Holland - or so it seems. From the destruction rose the Swamp Thing, a creature of vegetation that had absorbed all of Alec Holland’s memories, personality and even his grief. The creature has the ability to control all plant life from the tiniest speck of mould to the gigantic trees of a forest. He has superhuman strength and the ability to bring forth titanic bodies from the smallest sprout of green.
The Swamp Thing has one purpose now and that is to protect humanity and the environment, though more often than not, he is protecting them from each other.
8. Beast Boy
There isn’t an animal on this planet that he cannot mimic and morph into.
As a young boy, Garfield Logan contracted a rare illness that nearly killed him. However, his life was saved by his parents who used an untested serum in order to save their child. He was saved but he was also granted the extraordinary ability to shape shift. Garfield Logan became known as Beast Boy, the young man who is able to shift form into any animal both seen and in illustration. He can shift into anything from the smallest little mouse to behemoths such as Gorillas and Elephants, even dinosaurs can be brought back to life because of him. But the ability doesn’t just stop there. Garfield can also shift into snakes, jellyfish and even insects. Though he retains his unusual skin colour when shifting, Garfield obtains the abilities of the animals that he shifts into.
Garfield is upbeat, flirtatious and a bit of a joker but he had a rough life. He lost his parents and endured a hard childhood under the care of a foster father. Garfield often hides his emotional pain with humour but he has formed strong bonds with other superheroes and loves and trusts them completely.
9. Raven
Keeping control of one’s feelings is never easy but it’s harder still for Raven.
High emotions can cause us all to go a little crazy. We can lash out in anger and pain and feel a sort of high when we’re in love. Sometimes we wish we didn’t feel anything at all because the pain is just to great, the anger just too severe. For one young woman though, intense feelings is not an option and we can all be thankful we don’t carry the same curse as she does.
Raven is the daughter of the interdimensional demon known as Trigon, a malicious being that seeks to conquer and enslave the people of earth. She was raised in Azarath and is half-human, half-demon. Raven possesses the ability to be able to sense and control peoples emotions and, in this way, she is able to feel what they feel and experience those feelings for herself. However, young Raven is constantly in a state of strict control over her own emotions for any heightened and intense emotions she feels can unlock her demonic side and, with that, bring destruction to the world.
Raven possesses great magical power as well as psychic and telekinetic powers. She can manipulate energy and emotions and shadows. She is powerful yes, and there are many who would kill to have her powers, but Raven desires one thing that everyone else has and that is normalcy. With the threat of total destruction upon the world if her feelings aren’t kept in check, Raven can never be her true self.
She has a close bond with the Titan Teens and considers them her true family. She would do anything to protect them, even if it meant unleashing the demon within.
10. Supergirl
The beautiful blonde with a bit of an attitude problem and the Man of Steel as a cousin.
Step aside Superman, it’s time for Supergirl to shine.
Kara Zor-el is the cousin of Kal-El, the man the world knows as Superman who hides behind the identity of one Clark Kent. Like Kal, Kara was sent from the dying planet of Krypton and landed on earth. The world was entirely new to her and completely foreign from what she is used to. Kara is a lonely girl who is still trying to find her place on this new planet she finds herself in. Like her cousin, Kara possesses all of his abilities from superhuman strength, speed, flight and enhanced senses. As she is still learning to control her powers, and does not possess the same self-restraint as Superman does, it makes Kara a force that can be seen as far more dangerous than the Man of Steel.
Kara feels disconnected from the world and, as she tries to find her place within it, there is sure to be non-stop action in it from the very first minute.
Though we have Supergirl appearing in her own TV show, a movie about her life would be interesting to see.
There we have it, ten superheroes from the DC verse that are waiting in the shadows of the ‘big guns’ just waiting for their opportunity to be called forward and given their moment to shine.
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