James Gunn has become one of the go-to filmmakers for handling comic book adaptations. He’s found success with Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad and was recently put in charge of the DCU and its future movies. Given how much care he has put into his past films and the focus he puts on characters, this is certainly something worth being excited for. 

However, Gunn has a history of putting side characters in the spotlight. The Guardians of the Galaxy were characters that were barely heard of, even by major comic book fans. He chose a niche cast of characters for The Suicide Squad and made a spin-off featuring Peacemaker who only had a small handful of comic book appearances prior to the Gunn treatment. His upcoming Superman movie is set to feature the likes of Mr. Terrific and Guy Gardner, and his upcoming DC projects include Creature Commandos and The Authority. 

Looking back at Gunn’s past work, these are likely to be great movies and series. That being said, is his need to primarily focus on side characters a good thing, or is it potentially harmful to the franchise?

It’s definitely been great in the past. The members of the Guardians of the Galaxy have become household names. Peacemaker has become so popular that he’s returned to appearing in the comics. By bringing a more unheard of character into the spotlight, it opens several doors. Audiences can become more familiar with them, something new is being made rather than another adaptation of characters who already have a lot like Batman and Spider-Man, and it allows more freedom with the storytelling since “fans” would likely be more open-minded than if it were another Batman or Spider-Man.

That being said, there are certainly some downsides to only focusing on the lesser-known characters. These stories do have source material, and that source material has a certain structure. That source material has main characters and side characters. Focusing on those no-name characters rather than the ones fans know and love can be seen as a disservice to the original stories and the fans. Focusing on the Creature Commandos before even introducing Batman or Wonder Woman just feels wrong.

There’s absolutely room to include these minor characters, but the major ones shouldn’t be forgotten. Movie studios do need to use some of the lesser-known characters they have access to much more than they currently do. It’s crazy that it always feels like there’s a new movie featuring the same big names being released while fantastic characters like the Atom or Vixen or Nova get no or little attention.

There needs to be more of a balance. Batman, Superman, and the like should still be the main focus of the franchise. They’re the main characters who primarily guide the story. However, studios need to stop forgetting to also include the Creature Commandos of the comic world and include them as well. James Gunn is in the opposite boat. He needs to recognize that the main heroes need to be just that. They need to be the main elements of the story. For every Batman movie there should be a Vibe or Hawkgirl movie. Gunn, as it seems, wants to just stick to those minor characters which is a major letdown.

This focus on these lesser-known characters can also lead to confusion in general audiences. For many people, they only know about Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. It makes more sense to use those main characters as the vessel to introduce these minor ones. Otherwise, folks who haven’t been exposed to comics or cartoons as much might not feel compelled to head to the theater to see these movies.

James Gunn has proven that he can accomplish excellent things by allowing side characters to have time in the spotlight. That being said, he may need to find more of a balance between these lesser-known characters and the ones everyone already knows and loves for the DCU to become a success. Only time will tell if this need of his to focus primarily on side characters will continue to be a good thing or if it will be detrimental down the road.

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