DC Characters and Franchises You Think Are Better Outside The Shared Universe

[Sacred Knight]

Its an incredibly obvious answer but only because its so incredibly true with so many examples: Superman.

[The Kid]

DC in general has a lot of characters that were created to be sole superheroes in their universes (with maybe a one-off crossover every now and then). But because of that, you have a bunch of characters who have their own mythology that often has nothing to do with the other characters so when you combine it all, it can be a mixed bag.

Someone on this forum once said that Marvel was essentially made by two creators whereas DC was built around two superheroes (Batman and Superman). As a result, a lot of the characters and teams fit the same tone and were organically part of the same universe but in DC, you have so many characters with different tones, stories, and backstories not involving any other superheroes so it doesn't come as easily. Over the years, I think DC has made the shared universe a lot more seamless but just based on the origins of many of their characters, there will always be some division

[The Darknight Detective]

Personally, any character created by another company or imprint should be on their own Earth with the others from that same company. Otherwise, everyone else can stay.

[SiegePerilous02]

Superman probably, with the only other IP he shares continuity with being the Legion of Superheroes.

Wonder Woman and the Marvel Family as well.

[Frontier]

Personally, any character created by another company or imprint should be on their own Earth with the others from that same company. Otherwise, everyone else can stay.

Well, I've enjoyed the crossover and team-ups we've gotten from porting the Charlton characters over, so I don't mind too much .

[The Darknight Detective]

Well, I've enjoyed the crossover and team-ups we've gotten from porting the Charlton characters over, so I don't mind too much .

I did, too, and having them on their own exclusive Earth wouldn't prohibit any of that, either. Having said that, Captain Atom would be in a better place away from Superman on a regular basis, IMO.

[Frontier]

I did, too, and having them on their own exclusive Earth wouldn't prohibit any of that, either. Having said that, Captain Atom would be in a better place away from Superman on a regular basis, IMO.

I mean, I'm not sure if constant dimension-hopping would've had the same effect...but I also haven't read Cap's entire Post-Crisis run to get a feel for how he was used there, but he got a big moment in Superman/Batman in a Post-Crisis Earth.

[The Kid]

I did, too, and having them on their own exclusive Earth wouldn't prohibit any of that, either. Having said that, Captain Atom would be in a better place away from Superman on a regular basis, IMO.

Agreed. IIRC Watchmen was originally written by Moore with the hopes that he could use Charlton characters but switched to original characters when DC didn't give him permission. Captain Atom is supposed to be a Doctor Manhattan type character but you'd never know based on his DC because he's like a D-Lister and will never get to shine in events when guys like Superman, Wonder Woman, or hell.. Captain Marvel (another character who works best in his own Earth) will get used more than him

[Frontier]

Agreed. IIRC Watchmen was originally written by Moore with the hopes that he could use Charlton characters but switched to original characters when DC didn't give him permission. Captain Atom is supposed to be a Doctor Manhattan type character but you'd never know based on his DC because he's like a D-Lister and will never get to shine in events when guys like Superman, Wonder Woman, or hell.. Captain Marvel (another character who works best in his own Earth) will get used more than him

Things turned out well for Blue Beetle though (and Question, arguably).

[Flash Gordon]

Shazam deserves his own world with its own rules and mythology.

[The Darknight Detective]

Things turned out well for Blue Beetle though (and Question, arguably).

Street-level superheroes from other companies don't have the same problems fitting on the main Earth like the powerful and duplicate-power ones do.

[Frontier]

Street-level superheroes from other companies don't have the same problems fitting on the main Earth like the powerful and duplicate-power ones do.

I feel like it's not impossible since the powerful and "duplicate" characters were able to hold their own mythos, series, and guest appearances in Post-Crisis.

[The Darknight Detective]

I feel like it's not impossible since the powerful and "duplicate" characters were able to hold their own mythos, series, and guest appearances in Post-Crisis.

It's not that they can't hold their own, but they tend to play second fiddle to the DC-created A-listers. That wasn't the case when they had their own worlds during the Bronze Age, FWIW.

[SiegePerilous02]

It's not that they can't hold their own, but they tend to play second fiddle to the DC-created A-listers. That wasn't the case when they had their own worlds during the Bronze Age, FWIW.

Even Superman and Wonder Woman sometimes struggle with sharing space with each other, so it's no surprise DC can't really be arsed about Captain Atom who unlike the other two didn't even start under the same roof.

[Frontier]

It's not that they can't hold their own, but they tend to play second fiddle to the DC-created A-listers. That wasn't the case when they had their own worlds during the Bronze Age, FWIW.

I can't imagine they felt second fiddle within their own Post-Crisis, books, though.

Even Superman and Wonder Woman sometimes struggle with sharing space with each other, so it's no surprise DC can't really be arsed about Captain Atom who unlike the other two didn't even start under the same roof.

Do they, though?