A three-part documentary about the history and legacy of DC Comics is coming to HBO Max.
In a press release made by WarnerMedia, it was announced that the untitled project will be helmed by director Leslie Iwerks, who will co-direct with Mark Catalena.
The official logline for the series reads:
Produced by Warner Bros. Unscripted Television in association with Warner Horizon, DC, Berlanti Productions and Iwerks & Co., the documentary series takes an unprecedented look at the enduring and influential legacy of DC, allowing fans to rediscover the universe of characters, as well as the iconic comic book company’s origins, its evolution and its nearly nine-decade cultural impact across every artistic medium.
Jim Lee, Publisher and Chief Creative Officer at DC, stated,
DC has a rich legacy of over 80 years of iconic storytelling: from the introduction of the genre-defining Super Hero Superman in 1938 to the amazing movies, TV shows, cartoons, games, and comics which have been synonymous with superheroism for generations thereafter. We are so excited to dive into this history and bring fans along this amazing journey.
Jim Lee
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their first comic under the DC banner being published in 1937. The fictional DC Universe features some of the most iconic superheroes in pop culture, such as Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.
The two biggest comic book ‘rivals’ of the Golden Age era were DC Comics and Marvel Comics, which started in 1961 with the debut of Marvel’s Fantastic Four.
Despite Stan Lee announcing that there wasn’t really a rivalry among the two companies, fans saw it that way. This led to the fierce competition of creating extended universes exploring their heroes and many times even mocking the other’s characters.
For example, Deadpool, aka Wade Wilson, created by Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza in 1991 for Marvel Comics, was originally a parody of DC supervillain/anti-hero Slade Wilson, aka Deathstroke.
Eventually, this led to the ‘DC vs. Marvel’ comic book miniseries crossover published by DC Comics and Marvel Comics from April to May 1996. Each company would publish two issues of the series with issues #1 and 4 as DC vs. Marvel from DC and issues #2–3 from Marvel as Marvel vs. DC.
For the most part, DCAU has been undefeated when it comes to animated series. Whereas for the live-action projects, even DC fans will almost always agree that Marvel’s MCU does a better job than DCEU. But will WB dodge around this topic or pretend Joss Whedon’s Justice League was the superior one?
It would be interesting how the documentary might cover DC’s legacy and what it meant for the company when Marvel entered the market that DC basically had a monopoly on up to that point.
Regardless, the project will surely delve deep into DC’s 87 years’ journey, seeing how it’ll require three long parts to put it all on record.
However, this isn’t the first time Warner Bros. has made a DC Comics documentary. An 89-minute movie titled ‘Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics’ was released in 2010 and is currently available on the Warner Bros. Entertainment YouTube channel for free.
HBO Max is currently airing new seasons of Titans and Doom Patrol. The streaming service will also be the home to various DCEU projects, including the upcoming Peacemaker series, Batgirl, Black Canary, etc.
With DC FanDome just about three weeks away, having already announced new updates about The Batman, The Flash, Black Adam, Shazam 2, and much more, who knows what else DC has in store for fans.
Source: WarnerMedia
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