“I need James Gunn to redeem Flash”: X-Men and MCU Making Ezra Miller’s Flash Look Amateurish With Quicksilver and Makkari Has to be the Biggest L For DCU

SUMMARY

• MCU's Quicksilver and Makkari, portrayed by Evan Peters and Lauren Ridloff respectively, have set a high standard for speedster portrayals in cinema.
• Despite the potential of the Flash character, the DCU's cinematic portrayal has been marred by inconsistent character development and other issues.
• With James Gunn now at the helm of the DCU, fans are hopeful that he can revitalize the Flash and elevate the character to the same iconic status as his MCU counterparts.

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The world of cinema is full of numerous superheroes, but the biggest and baddest of them all unarguably belong to either the Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC Universe. Despite both having a considerable fan base, the DCU has always fallen short when compared to its comic counterpart, the MCU. This fact could not hold more true when it comes to ‘speedsters’.

DC’s many speedsters | Credit: DC Comics

Both MCU and DCU have a considerable amount of live-action characters who are incredibly fast. But the DC universe falls short, even with a character as speedy as the Flash, in front of MCU’s Quicksilver and Makkari. And fans now want James Gunn to redeem the character.

Not Even DCU’s Flash Can Compete With MCU’s Speedsters

MCU’s Makkari | Credit: Eternals/Marvel Studios

Ever since the inception of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the superhero verse has been compared with its rival, DCU. From visuals to storylines to character arcs, fans widely believe the MCU has done it way better than DC. Even when it comes to ‘speedsters,’ despite DCU having one of the fastest comic book characters, Flash, it fails when compared to Marvel’s speedsters.

While The CW’s Grant Gustin starrer The Flash was a brilliant live-action adaptation, DC’s cinematic version of the character, portrayed by Ezra Miller, struggled to achieve the same hype. Furthermore, Marvel not only has Quicksilver but Eternals’ Makkari, who are two of the fastest superheroes of all time.

Quicksilver in X-Men: Days of Future Past | Credit: 20th Century Studios

Backed by stronger storylines, superior graphics, and more compelling character arcs, the two characters are far better than Miller’s Flash ever was. Evan Peters’ Quicksilver’s memorable slow-motion scenes in X-Men: Days of Future Past and Lauren Ridloff’s Makkari’s breathtaking speed sequences in Eternals are not only visually stunning but also deeply feel meaningful and impactful, just as their comic-book versions.

On the other hand, we have Miller’s Flash, who, despite having potential, feels hampered by inconsistent character development, messy portrayal, less impressive visual effects, and incoherent writing. Given the overall execution of these characters, it makes sense that fans want James Gunn to revive the DC character and redeem him.

DC Fans Want James Gunn to Bring Back Flash

Ezra Miller’s Flash in Snyder’s Justice League | Credit: Warner Bros.

The DCU has long struggled to establish a consistent and compelling cinematic identity, often failing when compared to the MCU. But now with James Gunn at the helm, fans believe the comic book universe will be able to pick itself up and establish itself as a worthy opponent. Moreover, fans also hope Gunn can breathe new life into a lot of DC characters, including Flash.

Yet to reach his full potential on the big screen, fans have long been calling the filmmaker to revitalize the speedster and help him reach the same level, if not more, as his MCU counterparts. Furthermore, many of them even want Grant Gustin back as the Scarlet Speedster instead of the controversial Ezra Miller (see Rolling Stone).

While fans are calling upon Gunn to bring back the Flash in a manner deserving of the character, there is no denying that the MCU has set a high bar that DC might struggle to clear. Yet, given the Guardians of the Galaxy director’s creative vision and filmmaking talent, there is hope Flash might match, if not surpass, the high standards of MCU’s speedsters.

Written by Maria Sultan

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