What if the DCU chose Wonder Woman over Batman? Hope, truth, and a new mythology for a universe in need of rebirth

Wonder Woman instead of Batman? Yes, what if...?

For decades, the heart of DC’s cinematic universe has beat to the rhythm of two names: Superman and Batman. Light and shadow. Alien and orphan. Hope and vengeance. They’ve been the axis around which countless reboots, retellings, and crossovers have spun, a dynamic so entrenched it became doctrine. But what if the new DCU finally broke that cycle?

Disclaimer: This is a thought experiment. A shift in axis, not an erasure. We love the Bat, but today, I imagine a DCU that dares to lead with light.

In 2023, James Gunn announced Superman as the cornerstone of the new cinematic universe, followed shortly after by the reveal of Paradise Lost, a Wonder Woman prequel set in Themyscira. While the Batman of this new phase remains an open question, the vision for Superman and Wonder Woman is already taking shape before either film has premiered. And with these two mythic figures positioned at the forefront, one has to wonder: what if the DCU chose Wonder Woman over Batman? Not to sideline him, but to imagine something braver.

A new duo could rise. Superman and Wonder Woman. A duo born not of trauma and retribution, but of compassion and purpose. Truth and hope. Kal-El and Diana. Not just symbols, but pillars of a different kind of legacy.

The myth of the old duo - Batman and Superman

Superman and Batman launched more than a universe. They shaped an entire philosophy of what heroism could look like. Kal-El, the last son of Krypton, carried the weight of impossible hope. Bruce Wayne, the orphan who turned fear into discipline, stood for the limits and brilliance of the human will. Side by side, they weren’t simply a team. They were a mythology, two halves of a moral spectrum that framed every generation of DC storytelling.

Their bond, built on contrast, became the spine of every major adaptation. Animated icons, comic reboots, cinematic centerpieces. No matter how many new heroes emerged, the spotlight always found its way back to them. Entire narratives formed around their dynamic, as if no other partnership could hold the same symbolic gravitas.

But mythology is meant to evolve. And the DCU is standing at the edge of that evolution. So, yes, we'd welcome a new shift with Wonder Woman on the front.

Why the DCU needs a new axis

When James Gunn unveiled his vision for the new DC Universe, he placed Superman at the center, not as a reaction to past failures but as a declaration of tone. This would begin with ideals. Soon after, Paradise Lost was announced, a series exploring the politics, origins, and philosophy of Themyscira, the island that shaped Wonder Woman long before she stepped into the world of men.

The message came through with clarity. This new phase is not simply about restarting a timeline. It is about reimagining what these figures stand for and how they might shape a world that needs more than recycled archetypes.

Even so, the old patterns still linger. Every rumor about the next Batman, every Gotham-centered pitch, echoes the same gravitational pull. However, something else is possible now. Something more daring. A foundation built not on vengeance and loss, but on myth, wisdom, and renewal.

Letting Superman and Wonder Woman define the early DNA of the DCU opens a door that has stayed closed for too long, one that leads not back into the shadows, but forward into something bolder, brighter, and finally new.

Wonder Woman isn’t a sidekick

Diana of Themyscira was never meant to orbit anyone. She walks with gods, speaks ancient truths, and fights with the grace of someone who understands that peace is not the absence of conflict, but the will to rise above it. Yet in most ensemble films, she ends up framed as the quiet center. Calm between extremes. Wisdom surrounded by noise. Always important, but rarely central.

The DCU can rewrite that.

With Paradise Lost set to explore her origins and the political mythology of Themyscira and a new film already on the horizon, Diana is no longer waiting to be invited in. She is stepping forward. Her ideals do not exist to counterbalance Superman’s. They stand beside him, just as powerful. Where Kal-El believes in the good within people, Diana challenges them to live up to it. Where he leads with inspiration, she leads with conviction.

Placing her at the heart of the DCU does not fill a gap left by Batman. It creates a new foundation altogether.

A new mythology: hope and truth

When Superman looks to the sky, he sees the future. When Wonder Woman steps into battle, she carries the weight of the past. Together, they do not pull in opposite directions. They form a circle. A cycle of vision and memory, of forward motion anchored in ancient strength.

He was raised among farmers, taught to believe that kindness is power. She was sculpted by gods, trained to wield that power with grace. His emblem speaks of hope. Hers reveals truth. But neither quality exists in isolation. What good is hope without honesty? What use is truth without something to believe in?

Their union offers more than balance. It opens a space for the DCU to grow beyond trauma and vengeance, beyond the binary of rage and restraint. Instead of conflict between extremes, there is a current of shared conviction. A way to lead without breaking. A way to fight without falling.

This is not a mythology that punishes. It teaches. It dares to ask what heroism looks like when the story begins not with pain, but with purpose.

A future built on connection

In this new DCU, Superman stands surrounded by ties that shape him. Lois Lane offers more than romance. She brings fire, clarity, and the courage to speak truth in the face of chaos. Supergirl emerges with her own path in Woman of Tomorrow, not as a side note to his story, but as a force carved by exile, endurance, and choice.

Even Krypto holds meaning. His presence speaks to loyalty, but also to tenderness. This is not the age of the solitary hero. This is a myth drawn from bonds, from constellations of care that orbit strength without diminishing it.

And Wonder Woman stands beside them. Not because of lineage or shared trauma, but because her ideals align with his in ways no shadowed vigilante ever could. She brings truth without compromise. He brings hope without conditions. Together, they form something larger than legacy. They build a future where power listens, where myth breathes, and where heroes do not rise alone.

This time, the world they shape feels less like a battleground and more like a circle. One defined not by who commands the room, but by who holds it together.

Rewriting the future of the DCU

Every universe begins with a choice. Not just of heroes, but of what those heroes represent. For years, DC’s foundation was built on contrast, on light against shadow, idealism against pragmatism. But the future can unfold through another rhythm.

By placing Superman and Wonder Woman at the core of this new chapter, the DCU has a chance to chart a path shaped not by rivalry, but by alignment. These are not characters who cancel each other out. They elevate one another. His compassion finds form in her resolve. Her legacy gains momentum through his belief.

A cinematic universe led by Kal-El and Diana moves with quiet force, carrying the weight of myth and the promise of something better. Not just for audiences tired of repetition, but for a generation ready to see power defined by care and strength measured in grace.

Let Batman remain the shadow watching from the rooftops. Let this new era begin with the sun and the shield, with truth that never bends and hope that never fades.