Superhero fans know that DC Comics has a number of iconic characters that frequently appear on the big screen. For example, Superman, Batman, Booster Gold, and the Swamp Thing, which are getting new shows in the DC Universe movie universe in the future. But you know, apart from them, there are also various superheroes and supervillains from comics that cannot be represented in movies or series. This can happen because the broadcast rights to the characters are no longer owned by DC. So, in this article, we will be discussing seven comic characters that are banned from appearing in the DC Universe.
Elvira
First introduced in the DC comic titled mystery house, Elvira’s character is described as a guard at the Justice League Dark headquarters called the House of Mystery. Although she is only human, Elvira is often seen dressed in horror, similar to the wife of Frankenstein. This is even backed by magical abilities and tells scary stories. Unfortunately, Elvira only appeared for a year, before DC finally “thrown away” her broadcast rights. That is why she is now one of the comic characters that are prohibited from appearing on DC Universe broadcasts in any form.
Liandra
Liandra is a superheroine from the comics. Fallen Angel which was first published by DC Comics through its subsidiary called Vertigo. Now, of the many characters on Vertigo, Liandra was arguably lucky because she was given the chance to draw inspiration from major DC stories. Although not clearly explained, writer Peter David and illustrator David Lopez managed to make fans believe that Liandra is an alternate version of Supergirl. It’s a shame because DC canceled the comic and now Fallen Angel has officially moved to IDW Publishing, which means Liandra’s character is banned from appearing in any DC movies or series.
CaptainAction
The next character to be banned from acting in DC Universe movies due to broadcast rights is Captain Action. In the 1960s, Captain Action was a comic character that was part of the franchise. G.I. Joe, where he is known as a military looking superhero whose chest has a symbol that reads ‘CA’. DC itself borrowed the broadcast rights in 1968 and later introduced several iconic characters into its comics, such as Superman. After releasing several less popular Captain Action comics, it looks like DC has finally decided to return it to its previous owner.
wild doctor
Doc Savage is a pop culture character who has been tested by many publishers in America, one of which is Marvel, who once bought his broadcast rights for his character to appear in the Marvel Universe. Then after leaving Marvel, DC also took over his broadcast rights in the 2000s and released a comic featuring the character Doc Savage titled first wave. In one of his DC stories, Doc Savage even accidentally confronted Batman. Like Marvel, DC ultimately did not extend Doc Savage’s broadcast rights, so it could be said that he is currently banned from appearing in DC Universe stories.
Darkness
Like Doc Savage, Shadow is also a character who has collaborated with Batman, but is now banned from appearing in any DC history, including the movies. The reason for this is that DC now has no rights to the character after failing to renew their broadcast rights in the 2010s. Though in their history, DC quite often featured their characters in popular stories published in the mid-decade. 1970s and late 1980s. Shadow himself is a detective whose deduction and fighting skills are expected to match the DC Dark Knight.
shields
Shield is a popular superhero who was first created by Archie Comics in 1940. He can be easily recognized by his costume and patriotic spirit which is very American. Although many call him similar to Marvel’s Captain America, the truth is that The Shield debuted as a hero in the World War II era. In the 2010s, Archie lent his broadcast rights to DC, which later gave birth to a DC comic titled The shield with the supervillain Mangog as one of the characters. However, now that the broadcast rights have expired, DC is barred from the Shield character appearing in any future DC Universe movies or series.
Ray
Before it was as big as it is now, in the 1980s, DC experienced some pretty heated competition with publisher Charlton Comics. So this publisher was the first to create popular characters like Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, and Peter Cannon aka Thunderbolt. To reduce the competition, DC bought the Charlton company and took over all the characters. Unfortunately, this did not happen to the superhero Thunderbolt who has great strength and intelligence, because the broadcast rights reverted to writer Peter A. Morisi. That’s why while DC Universe may feature Charlton characters like Blue Beetle, they’re prohibited from showing Thunderbolt.
Those are the seven comic book characters that are difficult to appear in DC movies or series. In addition to the broadcast rights that seem to have disappeared from DC, in fact, many fans hope that these unique characters could appear in future films. Also, in the hands of DC Studios, the new DC Cinematic Universe is sure to feature interesting characters that are less popular, such as The Authority, Creature Commandos, etc. It can all only happen if DC wants to buy back the broadcast rights, which is highly unlikely.
