Like love and marriage, comic book movies and cameos are an institute you cannot disparage. Marvel might be the trailblazer in this regard, finding unique and innovative ways to shoehorn everyone and their uncle into a movie or TV show, but DC isn’t immune from turning its audience into a real-life Pointing Rick Dalton meme. Yet, for every great appearance, there’s also a flubber — a moment that flops harder than “Joker: Folie à Deux” did at the box office.
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Take a look at 2023’s “The Flash” as an example. With all its multiversal potential, minds raced to the infinite possibilities, imagining the chances of seeing Christian Bale’s Batman return for a triumphant third act cameo or even seeing Ryan Reynolds’ Green Lantern fly in for a visit. Instead, it turned into a CGI horrorfest where the tributes to past heroes angered — rather than captivated — viewers. It would be easy to compile an entire list of failures based on that movie alone, but in the interest of fairness, only two cameos from “The Flash” feature here.
So, which are the worst cameos in DC movies and TV shows? Put your feet on the Cosmic Treadmill and tuck in your arms, because it’s time to head back and explore all the blunders that had the average fan shaking their head and wondering what was the point of it all. Be warned, though: some of these cameos may evoke traumatic memories of films and moments that everyone wishes they could forget.
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George Clooney’s Batman in The Flash
Oh, to be a fly on the wall to hear the conversations that took place to decide on “The Flash” ending. For those unaware, there were three endings filmed for the movie. One saw the return of Michael Keaton’s Batman and Sasha Calle’s Supergirl to tell Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen the timeline was still in peril. The second added Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman and Henry Cavill’s Superman into the mix, as they joined the other heroes to speak to Barry. The third, which was in the final cut of “The Flash,” featured George Clooney’s Bruce Wayne stepping out of the car and chatting to Barry, who couldn’t believe this version of Bruce was Batman, then Barry’s front tooth falling out in an awful CGI sequence.
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From a logical perspective, it makes sense why the third one was chosen here. After all, Warner Bros. didn’t want a repeat of the “Black Adam” fiasco where Cavill’s Man of Steel returned only to depart immediately because of the change of regime at the studio. So, the Clooney cameo turned out to be the safest option.
That said, imagine being a fan, experiencing everything that came before in “The Flash” then receiving the worst Batman actor of all time at the end. It’s like sitting through a first grade flute rendition of Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” and closing off with a medley of Katy Perry’s greatest hits. Hell on Earth, friends. Hell on Earth.
En Vogue’s Girls on the Corner in Batman Forever
Movies act as time capsules, serving as windows into wider pop culture. Whether it be fashion, music, or celebrity, it’s easy to decode what everyone enjoyed at the time by checking out specific films of certain eras. In the case of Joel Schumacher’s “Batman Forever,” it’s the ultimate love letter to the mid-’90s. Not only does it celebrate Seal’s “Kiss from a Rose,” but it also features the all-star outfit En Vogue, who lit up the decade with tracks like “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)” and “Hold On.”
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Unfortunately, En Vogue features in one of the worst cameos in DC movies, because the group serves zero purpose in “Batman Forever.” Credited as the girls on the corner, Maxine Jones, Terry Ellis, Cindy Herron, and Dawn Robinson show up in the scene in which Chris O’Donnell’s Dick Grayson takes the Batmobile for a joyride throughout Gotham City. He stops the car and En Vogue rushes over to catch a glimpse of Batman. When the canopy slides open and they see the Boy Wonder, they say, “That’s not Batman. That’s Batboy.” Remind us again how much Warner Bros. paid Lee Batchler, Janet Scott Batchler, and Akiva Goldsman to write this script?
In a movie already jam-packed with celebrities and too many characters to remember, En Vogue’s addition furthers nothing in this storyline. One wonders if they had a bigger role or were even present in the darker 170-minute Joel Schumacher extended cut of “Batman Forever.”
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Lynda Carter’s Asteria in Wonder Woman 1984
Lynda Carter’s name remains synonymous with Wonder Woman. Much like Christopher Reeve defined Superman for a generation, so too did Carter with Diana Prince. After her stint as the Amazon Princess in the ’70s TV show, Carter reappeared in the DC Universe as Moira Sullivan in “Smallville” and President Olivia Marsdin in “Supergirl.” In the latter, Carter received a meatier role, showing up over the course of several episodes.
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Many fans expected that Carter would feature in Patty Jenkins’ “Wonder Woman” in some capacity, but Carter revealed that she had a scheduling conflict that prevented her from doing so. In “Wonder Woman 1984,” Carter appears in a mid-credits scene where she’s revealed to be the fabled warrior Asteria, who’s secretly living among humans. By casting Carter as the mythical character, it’s a way of the filmmakers acknowledging that she paved the way for Gal Gadot’s iteration of the character.
The problem lies in the fact that “Wonder Woman 1984” didn’t exactly reach the heights of its predecessor. In addition to this, does Carter’s cameo add anything more than a nod and wink to the audience? Consider how much of an influence she had in shaping the character’s place in pop culture. Surely, she deserves a role that affords her more time than it takes to warm up mac and cheese in the microwave. Reportedly, Lynda Carter’s Asteria was meant to return for “Wonder Woman 3,” but that film’s deader than “Black Adam 2.”
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Ezra Miller’s Flash and Jason Momoa’s Aquaman in Peacemaker
While still technically a part of the wider DC Extended Universe, the humorous “Peacemaker” tone puts it at odds with the darker properties of the time. Yeah, there are throwaway lines about the Justice League, especially with John Cena’s Christopher Smith spreading fake news about the heroes, but the show works best when it stays in its own individual lane. In the last episode of the first season, titled “It’s Cow or Never,” members of the Justice League show up to interact with Peacemaker. While Wonder Woman and Superman never come into full view, Jason Momoa’s Aquaman and Ezra Miller’s Flash receive lines and screen time. Neither Batman nor Cyborg appear, though, as James Gunn heavily implied revealed he couldn’t use the characters here.
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So, how are the Flash and Aquaman utilized for this “Peacemaker” cameo? To land a recurring punchline about Arthur Curry fornicating fish. Aquaman reveals he’s tired of the rumor, while Barry Allen laughs and alludes that it’s true — much to Arthur’s chagrin.
Okay, this falls in line with the Troma-styled toilet humor of “Peacemaker,” in general, but the bipolar nature of the DCEU at this point bordered on insufferable. Was this gag really necessary and did it advance Aquaman or Flash as characters at all? And is this really the best scene that Gunn could have found for Miller and Momoa here? You might as well have them eating shawarma with Peacemaker before the credits roll.
Jai Courtney’s Captain Boomerang in The Suicide Squad
Look, if a movie is named “The Suicide Squad,” death should be expected. Even David Ayer wiped out Slipknot in 2016’s “Suicide Squad” in dramatic and quick fashion, when fans might have expected him to have a bigger role. Yet, Adam Beach’s Slipknot isn’t a character in the same league as Jai Courtney’s Captain Boomerang. Boomy is one of the Flash’s most recognizable antagonists in the comics and features heavily in the 2016 film, but James Gunn didn’t waste much time in having Captain Boomerang meet his maker in “The Suicide Squad.” Resultantly, the rogue ends up having one of the worst cameos in a DC movie.
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Yes, you can argue that no one should be seen as safe on a Task Force X mission, but think about Boomy’s presence in the previous film and how much he was shown in the promos for “The Suicide Squad” only to hit the morgue faster than the Scarlet Speedster in a foot race. Also, consider Captain Boomerang’s prickly personality that always has everyone wondering if he can be trusted or not by his teammates. Imagine this type of dynamic with someone like Peacemaker, who ends up betraying the group later on. That’s the kind of cinema that Scorsese would appreciate.
No one cares about Savant, Blackguard, or Javelin becoming canon fodder early on, because there’s zero attachment to those D-grade jobbers. But Boomy? Nah, Gunn and Warner Bros. did our boy dirty here.
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Titus Welliver’s Lex Luthor in Titans
DC fans have a complicated relationship with the “Titans” series. The show boasts sensational casting and stellar costumes, but it also jumps the shark at critical points for no good reason — except for momentary shock value. In the lead-up to the fourth season, news broke that “Bosch” actor Titus Welliver would be playing Lex Luthor in the series. It seemed like a major coup, considering Welliver’s pedigree as a performer, and fans couldn’t wait to see the special dynamic between Lex and Joshua Orpin’s Conner Kent.
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Yet, Welliver’s stint in “Titans” turned out to be nothing more than a glorified cameo. Granted that Welliver has more than one scene in the episode titled “Lex Luthor,” but the character dies as a snake escapes his body before the credits roll. All that promise of seeing the heroes face off against Luthor vanishes into the Phantom Zone, as “Titans” season 4 got rid of its best character way too soon.
What’s most criminal about this is how DC secured Welliver for such a major role and wasted him for a solitary appearance. Showrunner Greg Walker told TVLine that “Titans” was only allowed to use Lex for a single episode. “If you wanted more Titus, you should be really disappointed,” Walker said. “I’m disappointed. But we knew we had those constraints, and we worked with them.” Why cast him then? Just save Welliver as Lex for a bigger opportunity down the road. Now, it’s over.
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Marlon Brando’s Jor-El in Superman Returns
Bryan Singer’s “Superman Returns” operates as a legacy sequel to 1978’s “Superman” and 1980’s “Superman II.” There’s a shared continuity and DNA between the films, and it comes across in the 2006 movie. At the same time, though, everyone understands there’s a 26-year gap between “Superman Returns” and “Superman II,” and real-life events and the passing of time make it impossible to pick up exactly where everything left off with the same cast. Hence no one batting an eyelid when new actors were cast for the parts.
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Yet, a peculiar decision was taken to bring back Marlon Brando’s Jor-El for the Fortress of Solitude sequence. Brando passed away a few years before the making of “Superman Returns,” so the filmmakers digitally recreated his character and interspersed this with previously recorded footage from the earlier “Superman” films.
Despite getting permission from Brando’s estate to use his likeness in “Superman Returns,” the cameo still comes across in poor taste and rather ghoulish. Everyone else had been recast, so why couldn’t Jor-El be too? If Brando had been alive and decided to step back into the role of Jor-El, that’s a different story altogether. However, Jor-El’s contribution is such a small part of the overall “Superman Returns” storyline that the role could have gone to anyone else, and no one would have been too fazed about it.
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Coolio’s Banker in Batman & Robin
If someone told you there was a chance to cast the rap artist who sang “Gangsta’s Paradise” in your movie, what would you say? Director Joel Schumacher definitely said yes, because Coolio appeared in 1997’s “Batman & Robin.” In the film, Coolio has a blink-and-you-miss-it cameo as a character named Banker. He interacts with Alicia Silverstone’s Barbara Wilson, accepting her cash, before she partakes in the bike race.
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It’s a pointless and forgettable cameo, though, as it could have been played by anybody else and wouldn’t have changed a single thing about the movie. Yeah, it’s Coolio, and he was a cool cat in the ’90s, but this movie already had more characters than brains, so who even remembers his cameo by the end of the film?
There was a reason that the musician accepted the part, though. Coolio said he was supposed to play the Scarecrow in Joel Schumacher’s third “Batman” movie. Now, it remains unclear if the Banker was meant to be revealed as the Scarecrow in the sequel, or if everyone would miraculously forget Coolio played someone else in the movie before and just recast him, but the casting could have changed the context of the cameo in “Batman & Robin.” Unfortunately, as it stands, the Banker doesn’t break the ice here and goes straight to the cooler as one of the worst cameos in a DC movie. Sorry — couldn’t resist the Mr. Freeze-inspired puns.
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Nicolas Cage’s Superman in The Flash
On paper, this should have been the greatest DC cameo of all time. Tim Burton’s “Superman Lives,” starring Nicolas Cage as the Man of Steel, remains one of the cancelled DC movies we still want to see. So, if we could get closer to heaven and be blessed by Cage’s Supes for a minute … Well, the world would heal from all its pain and turmoil.
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Unfortunately, when Cage’s Superman appears in the multiverse sequence of the movie, it’s all CGI — but not the good kind. Hearts sink as one realizes it isn’t really Cage’s hero battling a giant spider on screen — it’s a soulless digital recreation of him. Angels weep and dreams shatter.
What makes this even worse is the fact that Cage actually showed up to film a cameo and spent three hours on set, but all his work was digitally altered in the final cut. So, what was Cage’s Supes meant to do originally? “Kal-El was bearing witness [to] the end of a universe, and you can imagine with that short amount of time that I had, what that would mean in terms of what I can convey,” Cage told Yahoo Entertainment. “I had no dialogue [so had to] convey with my eyes the emotion. So that’s what I did.” Release the Cage cut of “The Flash,” you cowards!
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Michael Cassidy’s Jimmy Olsen in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Jimmy Olsen is an important part of the Superman mythology. The young photographer from the Daily Planet is friends with both Clark Kent and Lois Lane, often being treated as the heart and soul of the group. Filmmaker Zack Snyder had other plans for the character in the DCEU, though, as he sent Michael Cassidy’s Jimmy Olsen to keep Batman’s parents company in “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.”
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In the film, Lois (Amy Adams) interviews an African warlord, but events take a turn for the worse after Jimmy gets outed as a CIA operative. For his troubles, Jimmy receives a bullet to the head. And that’s it! Rest in peace, Jimbo!
The story doesn’t make it clear how long Henry Cavill’s Clark or Lois knew Jimmy here, but judging by their overall reaction, he didn’t leave that much of an impression — they carried on with their lives as if nothing ever happened. Even so, one can’t help but feel disappointed by Jimmy’s cameo in “Batman v Superman.” Instead of saving the character for a more important arc — perhaps in another film — Jimmy becomes another victim of the MurderVerse. It also so happens to be one of the worst cameos in a DC movie.
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