It’s only a rumor, but El Fanboy reports that DC is, in fact, aiming to set up the Legion of Doom across multiple films in the DCEU. This, of course, is the opposite of the MCU’s approach to doing the same with its heroes. The speculation follows the lukewarm reception of this fall’s Justice League. The speculation no doubt comes from the post-credits stinger of the film. In it, Joe Manganiello’s Deathstroke meets with Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor (Jr.) to discuss a proposition. It’s a scene very reminiscent of the stinger at the end of 2008’s Iron Man, but with a reverse twist.
The idea of this likely doubles as an effort to further separate the DCEU from the MCU. Obviously, the MCU is skewing cosmic in terms of threat level. The irony of the DCEU’s vastly more powerful heroes stepping down from taking on cosmic threats is not lost on me. Regardless, Batman v Superman teased the coming of none other than Darkseid, one of DC’s most prominent villains. Justice League further delivered on this direction by using Apokoliptian menace, Steppenwolf, as its villain. But we don’t have any information on the plot of 2019’s Wonder Woman 2. Furthermore, we know that next year’s Aquaman won’t feature a cosmic threat. Instead, it focuses more on an evil Atlantean usurper in the form of Ocean Master. Also, Black Manta is still confirmed and he’s just a tricked out, but entirely human, bounty hunter.
Indeed it looks like DC is stepped well away from the cosmic angle. It may prove wise in the long run. They could always pursue that storyline in the future after there’s been time to digest Marvel’s pass at it. The inevitable introduction of Green Lantern to the mythos will certainly help, and there’s no shortage of New Gods lore to delve into on its own. Mister Miracle even has a comic out right now by Batman writer, Tom King. The seeds for the Legion of Doom are easier to set, and the variety afforded to that group makes things more interesting. In fact, if done right, it may turn Marvel into the copycats by forcing them to dust off the Masters of Evil. Well… assuming it can keep a single villain alive long enough.
Really it’s important to take this with a grain of salt. The DCEU is notoriously bad at hiding information. However, because of that, so many rumors float around at once that it’s still easy to get things wrong. But if this is true, it could be the perfect step to get DC moving back in the right direction.