HBO Max has arrived, with one of the largest streaming libraries ever assembled. From the HBO archives of original programming to everything on Turner Classic Movies, there's a little something for everyone. But the most significant contributor is the Warner Bros. libraries, both TV and film divisions, which bring in everything from 1920s era silent films to the Harry Potter movies. It also includes everything DC Comic related, both TV series like The CW's Arrowverse and the DCEU films. These DC films on HBO Max are a reminder that there are enough titles to rival Marvel.
Before getting into it, there is one elephant in the room to be addressed: Superman. The most famous DC Comics character has starred in 10 films since the early 1950s, independent of his Justice League pals. But you wouldn't know it from this list. All of the Superman films are currently absent from 1951's Superman and the Mole Men with George Reeves to 2013's Man of Steel with Henry Cavill. The 1970s and 1980s Superman films are streaming on Netflix, but Man of Steel is in limbo. Hopefully, HBO Max will be able to fix that issue soon, much as it did with the Harry Potter films.
These were the Batman movies that changed the way movie studios thought about comic book movies, with Michael Keaton in the first two, Val Kilmer in Batman Forever, and George Clooney and his famous nipple suit in Batman & Robin.
- Batman
- Batman Returns
- Batman Forever
- Batman & Robin
A forgotten semi-classic, also from the 1990s, Steel was the first attempt by DC comics to make a movie not featuring Batman or Superman. Shaquille O'Neal stars as John Henry Irons and his alter-ego superhero Steel.
Halle Berry's famous turn in the Catwoman suit is treated as a joke today. But Catwoman is fascinating for archival purposes is how movies treated female superheroes only 15 years ago.
Sadly, the Dark Knight trilogy isn't on HBO Max yet, but the films DC experimented with during Christopher Nolan's Batman run are. First up: Jonah Hex, a cowboy-superhero hybrid character. It starred several names that would go on to be other superheroes later, including Josh Brolin, Michael Fassbender, Will Arnett, and Michael Shannon.
The other is Green Lantern, famous for derailing DC's thought of expanding past Batman and Superman for at least a couple of years. On the other hand, the experience was what drove star Ryan Reynolds full bore towards a Deadpool film, so some good came of it.
Technically a spinoff of The LEGO Movie, The LEGO Batman Movie is what happens to superheroes when they hit the bricks.
Then there's the DC Extended Universe films, the DCEU. Even though most group Man of Steel in with them, it technically starts with Batman v Superman. Whether or not it will ever get a Flash film remains to be seen, but Wonder Woman 1984 will be joining it soon.
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
- Suicide Squad
- Wonder Woman
- Justice League
- Aquaman
- Shazam!
Finally, there's Joker, the first DC Film to not be part of the DCEU since Man of Steel. It's both critically reviled and Oscar-winning, so perhaps you should stream it yourself and decide.
