There’s been much discussion about the future of theDCEU, particularly in regard to the company’s plan to copy Marvel and likely make a far more interconnected universe. This appears to be Warner Bros. Discovery listening to what fans and audiences want, particularly in the wake of San Diego Comic-Con where many were left disappointed by DC’s Hall H panel which only featuredBlack AdamandShazam! Fury of the Gods,as opposed to the Marvel Studios Panel wheremultiple projects for Phase 5and 6 were announced. The common sentiment is that DC is lacking.
However, contrary to popular belief,the DC brandis arguably stronger now than it has ever been before with the various characters from the DC Universe being more well known to the general public than at any point in time. While DC’s film slate has certainly come up short next to Marvel’s, DC has been dominating television screens since the dawn of the 21st century. Starting withSmallvillein 2001 to 2011, that gave way toArrowwhich kickstarted the Arrowverse, an extremely popular interconnected universe of DC properties making characters like The Flash, Supergirl, and Black Lightning more well known.
Fox gave audiences a drastically different take on the Batman mythos withGothamand also a wild reimagining of the Vertigo comicLucifer. Between HBO Max, the CW, Netflix, and more, there are multiple different versions of classic DC heroes for audiences to enjoy from live-action to animation, with some skewing older and others aimed at a younger audience. DC might not be as interconnected as Marvel, but they’ve found a way to make something for everyone.
These seven series are great not because of an interconnected universe, but because they have been allowed to have the creative freedom they need to tell great stories. An interconnected universe would not benefit them or make them better, and these properties show that DC is doing just fine.
The Sandman
The most recent DC show isThe Sandman, an adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s popular comic book series that was published from 1989 to 1996. After years of trying to develop the adaptation for a film, it was finally brought to life with a Netflix television series that premiered on July 09, 2025. The series tells the story of Morpheus, the personification of Dreams, as he attempts to restore his dream world after being trapped by a human for over 100 years.
Being a part of DC Comics, early issuesof the Neil Gaiman comicsdid feature references and characters to the DC Universe.The Sandmanseries severs most ties to the larger DC Universe, getting rid of character appearances like Martian Manhunter and Scarecrow, and creating a new gender-swapped version of John Constantine known as Johanna Constantine (Jenna Coleman) and changing the background of villain John Dee (David Thewlis) who in the comics is the Justice League villain Doctor Destiny. It also chooses not to bring in the Fox/Netflix version of Lucifer (Tom Ellis) who was based on a comic series that originated as a spinoff toThe Sandman.
The Sandmanseriesinstead creates a universe unique to itself, and while it would have been fascinating to see this big mythical tale play out with the DC Universe in the background, it would not have added to the series and might have been more distracting to viewers, wondering how it would all tie together. Now the focus can be on telling a good story and one that lives up to the legendary comic.
Superman & Lois
Superman is the hero who created the modern notion of a superhero in comics and built DC Comics. Despite his popularity, Warner Bros. has struggled to find out what to do with Superman on the big screen. However, the character has been a constant on television, fromSmallville’s ten season run from 2001 to 2011 to nowSuperman & Loiswhich premiered in 2021 and has been one of the best adaptations of Superman in years.
While originally pitched as a spin-off of the Arrowverse, with Tyler Hoeclin and Bitsie Tulloch reprising their roles fromSupergirl, it was established in season two that the series takes place in a separate universe where Superman is the sole hero of the universe. While some fans were unhappy as they wanted to see other Arrowverse heroes like The Flash, Batwoman, and Supergirl show up, in the end, it might have worked out for the best.
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Superman & Loisdraws inspiration from theSuperman Rebirthrun by Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason and focuses on Superman and Lois Lane as they both attempt to raise their two teenage sons, Jonathan and Jordan Kent. The two boys must grapple with the fact that their dad is Superman, while Clark and Lois need to balance their jobs with also raising two teenage boys with potential superpowers. It is an update on theSmallvilleformula, with Clark Kent now in the parental role balancing being a dad and a superhero.
Every member of the family is given equal screen time with storylines that are unique to each household member and tellthe story of a familythat needs to be super together. Making Superman and Lois Lane parents (and that being the primary story) is, in terms of live-action adaptations, unique toSuperman & Loisand one that could likely not be done in a feature film. While some fans want to seeSuperman on the big screen, there is a perfectly great version of the character and his story being told on television week after week that embraces everything that makes the Man of Steel great.
Harley Quinn
Many superhero adaptations have great fidelity to their source material, butHarley Quinnis one of the rare adaptations that decides to have fun with its hard R and make a joke out of everything.Harley Quinnembraces many unique corners of the DC Universe, and at each turn has fun riffing on it.Harley Quinnacts as amodern, raunchy, animatedversion of the 60sBatmanseries, where the creators are having fun not taking any of this stuff seriously.
Harley Quinnhas made versionsof Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Joker, King Shark, Clayface, Bane, and more that are unique to this series that could not exist in any other format and the franchise is better for allowing these versions to exist. They are great characters, funny examinations of the tropes while also being fully defined unique interpretations.Harley Quinnis a great example of realizing nothing is sacred, and when the creators are allowed to run loose and wild with the concept and make fun of everything you get some truly inspired results.
Stargirlis certainly a more classic and traditional superhero television series, and in many ways is a modern successor toBuffy the Vampire Slayer, following a teenage superheroine who battles evil threats with her group of friends in order to protect their small town.Stargirlis established to exist as part of the DC multiverse and was shown as adjacent to the Arrowverse however is in its own universe. This allowsStargirlto exist in a world where the primary focus is the Golden Age superhero characters of the Justice Society while also the legacy characters connected to them. Most stories, from comics to television series, treat the Justice Society as second fiddle to the Justice League, with the Golden Age versions of Green Lantern and the Flash often looked over for their more popular Silver Age incarnations.
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However,Stargirltreats all the Golden Age heroes and villains are worthy stars, finding ways to update them for a modern story while also maintaining what made them unique during the 30s and 40s.Stargirlin many ways feels the closest to a Marvel Cinematic Universe DC project, in that they don’t have access to popularJustice League heroesbut instead take the B and C list characters and make the audience care for them. After just one season, heroes like Stargirl, Hourman, Wildcat, and Doctor Mid-Nighter feel just as well-defined as the various big heroes in the CW Arrowverse or the DCEU.Stargirlis a love letter to the Golden Age of DC superheroes and shows they still have a place in the modern world.
While not a title many would assume as a DC property,iZombiewas a 28-issue comic series from DC’s Vertigo imprint that was created by Chris Roberson and Michael Allred. While the television series makes many changes from the comics in the attempt to make it fit within the parameters of the procedural television series,iZombiefeatured an incredible cast that included future breakout stars like Rose McIver (Ghosts),Rahul Kohli (Midnight Mass), and Malcolm Goodwin (Reacher) as well as established talents like Aly Michalka (Phil of the Future), David Anders (Heroes), and Robert Buckley (One Tree Hill).
iZombieaired on The CW from 2015 to 2019 alongside the slate of Arrowverse series, however, the show never connected to the more traditional superhero shows. Even afterCrisis on Infinite Earthsbrought in series likeBlack LightningandSupergirlinto the Arrowverse,iZombieremained separate. While it would have been a nice little expansion of the Arrowverse to have the characters ofiZombieshow up for a cameo, in the end, the series creates its unique interesting world where zombies' emergence is treated as a big deal that cannot be solved with superheroes but everyday people.iZombiemight not be a faithful adaptation of the comic it is based on or even traditional DC adaptations, but it is one of the most unique and bright spots in an era of great DC television.
Doom Patrol
Doom Patrolis one of the besttelevision series currently on the air. While originally conceived as a spin-off of the seriesTitans,which featured many of the same actors playing the characters,Doom Patrolwas eventually made into its own unique story, and it is all the better for not being tied to that series. Created by Arnold Drake, Bob Haney, and Bruno Premiani in 1963, the team has been featured in many different comics with the most famous being legendary writer Grant Morrison’s run on the title, which is where the series heavily draws from.
Doom Patrolmanages to be absurd but heartfelt, making the audience laugh at the inherent silliness the comics created while also finding beauty in the strangeness.Doom Patrolthe series finds the value in what is different. It is a series about a group of misfits who find a family in one another, and while dysfunctional and vastly different, it is that strangeness that makes them special. This is also how the series embraces the comic book roots, as no premise is so far out there for the series to adapt, and it wears the strangeness of the comics proudly while others might tone it down. It is a celebration of comics as an art form to the extent that it, much like the individuals of the Doom Patrol, is absurdly beautiful.
The closest piece of comparison forDoom Patrolin terms of other television series isThe Umbrella Academy, and that is by design, asThe Umbrella Academycreator Gerard Way was inspired by Grant Morrison’sDoom Patrolcomic run. Way himself relaunchedDoom Patrolas a comic in 2016 under the Young Animal imprint. Yet even then,The Umbrella Academyseries feels more like a riff on theX-Menconcept, whereasDoom Patrolfeels truly unique, in a series that manages to have the various heroes grappling with their grief and trauma while also battling sex ghosts and an anarchic group based around the early 20th-century art movement Dada.
Watchmen, the 12-issue graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, is one of the most critically acclaimed comics of all time and is often cited as the most influential superhero story of the modern age. While the graphic novel was adapted into a feature film in 2009 by Zack Snyder, HBO decided to create aWatchmenminiseries that was released in 2019. However, the creators (mainly Damon Lindelof, the genius behindHBO’s underratedThe LeftoversandLost) decided to go for a different route, and instead of adapting the comic,The Watchmencrafts a follow-up sequel to the original.
This miniseries also came out around the time that DC had started to fold theWatchmencharacters into the larger DC Universe, first teased in 2016 with the publication of DC Rebirth and concluded withDoomsday Clock,an event published between 2017 and 2019 that also acted as a sequel toWatchmen. This allowed for two separateWatchmensequels to exist at the same time. However, HBO’sWatchmendidn’t need to be a sequel to the 2009 film or an attempt to connect the franchise to the DC Universe as the comics did. Instead, the creators were allowed to deviate from what people expected from aWatchmenadaptation and tell one of the best superhero series of all time, making it more than a worthy successor to the legendary graphic novel.
