When a new year rolls around, one of the things comic book fans look forward to is seeing just which of their favorite characters will be adapted to the big screen. In 2023, however, a lot of the characters coming to the big screen in DC’s expected superhero movies aren’t from the comics at all, but instead created specifically for the movies.
Some of the DC Extended Universe slate has been shuffled around as well, so movies fans were anticipating for 2022 were moved to 2023, meaning there has been an extra long wait for the audience. In 2023, fans can expect to see Shazam, the Flash, Blue Beetle, and Aquaman all battle some interesting villains on the big screen.
The Daughters Of Atlas
While Atlas is a god in DC Comics, some of whose power is given to the hero that takes on the Shazam powers, his daughters don’t have a direct comic book correlation. Instead, it appears they might be inspired by myths associated with Atlas in real life.
Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu, and Rachel Zegler are bringing the daughters of Atlas to life in Shazam: Fury Of The Gods. Not much is known about the individual power sets of each of the characters, or even much about the characters at all. What is evident from the trailer for the movie is that Helen Mirren’s Hespera does not like that the powers of the gods have been shared with mere mortals and has a vendetta against those wielding the power of Shazam as a result.
Fans will likely have to wait until closer to the movie’s release to learn more. Shazam: Fury of the Gods lands in theaters on March 17, 2023.
The Flash’s Mysterious Villains
Rumors have persisted since The Flash movie was announced that the villain at the center of the story could be Eobard Thawne, the Reverse Flash. That is still yet to be confirmed or denied. Other rumors indicate that with a Flashpoint storyline in play, the real villain of the movie could even turn out to be Barry Allen himself from another timeline.
What the audience will know if they’ve read any of the prequel comics set before the events of the movie is that there is a Rogues Gallery building for the Flash off-screen. The comics has long had a group of rogues that plague the Flash on a regular basis, but with his appearances in the DC Extended Universe limited so far, there hasn’t been a chance to build one yet. The prequel comics have highlighted Top, Girder, and Tar Pit.
All three have gone up against the Flash while working for members of organized crime in the comics, and though they aren’t necessarily supervillains on the scale of Reverse Flash, any one of them, or all of them, could be making their DCEU on screen debuts in the movie. Top, as his name implies, has the ability to spin like a spinning top, and has weapons that work in a similar function. Girder is a metahuman whose body is made of living steel. Tar Pit is a metahuman whose body is made of flaming tar.
The Flash is scheduled to hit theaters June 16, 2023.
Carapax The Indestructible Man And Victoria Kord
When the Blue Beetle movie was announced, it was originally set to be an HBO Max presentation, just like Batgirl. With the release of Batgirl canceled after the completion of filming, fans were a little concerned Blue Beetle would see the same fate. Instead, the former HBO Max presentation has a theatrical release planned in 2023.
Though not much is known about the storyline for the movie itself, casting announcements have given fans an idea of the villains in the movie. One is Carapax the Indestructible Man, played by Raoul Trujillo. Another is Victoria Kord. Though Sharon Stone was originally in talks to play the character, Susan Sarandan ended up getting the role.
Carapax is inspired by a comic book character. Named Conrad Carapax in the comics, the character is an archeologist who crosses paths with the work of Jarvis Kord after one of his academic rivals is killed by Kord’s technology. He ends up trapped inside an indestructible robot and vows revenge on the current Blue Beetle, though that isn’t Jamie Reyes, the character that will be appearing in the movie. His storyline is likely being adapted to include the newer hero.
Victoria Kord is not a comic book character. It’s entirely possible that she’ll be inspired by Jarvis Kord though and will have her own connection to Carapax as the person who actually invents super robots as Jarvis Kord does in the comics.
Blue Beetle lands in theaters August 18, 2023.
Karshon
The Aquaman movie sequel was originally slated to land in theaters in 2022, but filming delays and the shuffling of the Warner Bros. release schedule has moved the highly anticipated film to 2023. While there will be returning villains from the first movie in Ocean Master and Black Manta, at least one new character is inspired by a comic book villain.
Indya Moore was cast as Karshon in 2021. Some fans might think of Karshon as similar to King Shark, and while that’s true, the classic DC Comic book villain was actually a shark first before gaining any power. A radioactive explosion gave the tiger shark something of a “super brain,” as well as increased durability, strength, and the ability to survive on land. One of Karshon’s most interesting abilities in the comics, however, is to project what other people fear. Just how close the character will be to their comic book counterpart remains to be seen.
Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom will hit theaters on December 25, 2023.