Much has been made in discourse around comic book media these past few years from entertainment journalists and social media obsessives alike around franchise media of franchises being bloated monoliths, tangled up in the barbed wire of their own lore. Such a charge can be justifiably made against a range of camps, including the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars (fuelled by Disney’s often scattershot and inconsistent approach to streaming television entries). Lest people forget, DC underwent multiple regime changes over the past decade alongside a chequered success rate (from audiences and critics). James Gunn’s rise to creative steward and co-CEO of the recently-formed DC Studios, however, symbolised an opportunity for new beginning and a fresh start, heralded by 2024’s Creature Commandos and last month’s Superman.