AtaraxiaIn the Universe of Superheroes, there are two major giants dominating the cinematic world: Marvel and DC Comics.
The debate about which of these two universes is better is not for today. However, I would like to talk about 3 highly underrated characters in the DC Comics universe. We won’t discuss Superman or Batman, who have found their supporters and have been featured in countless films. Here are three characters who deserve more cinematic works dedicated to them:
1. Catwoman
A heroine with particularly unique powers, Catwoman. A woman with the agility and abilities of a cat, enough to make young girls dream.
The character was first created in 1940 in a Batman comic. Nicknamed “The Cat” at the time, she was renamed “Catwoman” a year later. Not governed by superhero stereotypes, Catwoman is neither good nor bad; she is a perfect in-between, committing as many crimes as she does good deeds.
The character has already been represented in several series/films, notably Batman, but it wasn’t until 2004 that Catwoman got her own film.
In the 2004 cinematic adaptation, we follow Patience Philips, a talented but somewhat clumsy and very shy artist who works as a designer for the famous brand “Hedare Beauty.” But when Patience discovers that the brand’s next flagship product has none of the benefits it claims, and is actually harmful to health, her boss decides to kill her to keep the secret. Mysteriously reincarnated, Patience is resurrected under the influence of the goddess Bastet and is endowed with certain attributes: agility, superhuman strength, sensuality… She becomes confident, ready to discover what happened to her, settle some scores, and finally pursue her somewhat neglected pleasures.
Unfortunately, this film did not see a sequel. However, after this film, we can find the character in two other films alongside Batman. We believe that the character has not been fully exploited to her true value, and Catwoman deserves another chance in cinema or television with her in the lead role.
2. Harley Quinn
The beautiful Harley Quinn is well known to the general public, especially as the woman of the very famous Joker. Harley Quinn is extremely dark, sometimes even excessively mad, and prone to betraying her teammates. The complex character represented by the young woman, always excessive, is not as murderous as one might think. In some adaptations, we see her searching for herself and wanting to prove who she really is. Full of dark humor and prone to hearing voices, she plays with her reputation and lets all her impulses speak. For me, she best translates the expression of having “a voice in her head” that we use to justify sudden, not always acceptable desires.
A famous anti-heroine, she got her own animated series in 2019, but it wasn’t until 2018 that a film featuring her was announced, with the talented Margot Robbie (film “Birds of Prey,” released in 2020). It’s the only cinematic realization with this famous lady at its center. She appears in the famous Suicide Squad team and is part of films with the same name. We also see her in other films, notably the Joker: Folie à Deux, where Lady Gaga takes over from Margot Robbie to portray the famous Harley (film to be released in 2024).
3. Poison Ivy
A femme fatale with green eyes and red hair, Poison Ivy can communicate with and control plants, is immune to existing poisons, viruses, and toxins, and is also specialized in their creation. She is believed to be a vegan, although her representation in the animated TV series DC Super Hero Girls seems horrified by people who eat vegetables.
Poison Ivy is in an open relationship with her colleague Harley Quinn. Her representation varies according to the comics and artists. Having not really had her own cinematic representation, Poison Ivy is less known to the general public and remains a mystery to many people. She appeared in Batman and Robin (1997) and in series like Gotham (2014) and Batwoman (2019) but has not had a representation dedicated to her like her counterparts.
For those who read comics, you probably understood that we want an adaptation of “Gotham City Sirens,” which features these three famous anti-heroines. In 2016, Warner Bros announced that the film was in preparation but it never saw the light of day. In any case, whether together or separately, these supervillains or heroines deserve more representation in the DC Comics cinematic universe. The time for female power has come.
