DC made their own media streaming service a little less than 2 years ago. A collection of all things DC (with major exceptions because of prior licensing deals with networks for tv and movies) it was designed for major DC fans to come to one location. There’s a comic book reader with an ever-changing library, movies, TV shows, merch and a community section.

I’ve been a subscriber on and off since the start. The big draw to the service is the comic book reader and the original programming. Getting access to a big comic library that’s easy to read is great but it’s pretty limited. Many story lines aren’t complete, only a few issues of a series are available. The reader is very good, much better than when it first started. There are multiple ways to navigate a page which is really welcome.

I write this not for the comics, but to talk about the original shows and what’s going to happen to this services. Long story short, I don’t think DCU is going to stay open until the end of the year. WB, who owns DC, has given birth to its future recently and that is HBO Max. They’re downsizing all of their apps (HBO Now and HBO Go) into one (the way it should have always been) and DCU is kinda left floating around looking for mainstream popularity. Some programs have already made the move: Doom Patrol and Harley Quinn. Stargirl, the first live-action project for this character was meant as an exclusive has been also airing on The CW network. So the expansion is already happening. And that’s good because more people need to see this stuff. Being on DCU, it’s pretty buried.

Titans was the first out of the gate with the launch of the platform. It’s arguably the weakest of the batch. It’s not Teen Titans, which has an enormous fan base, but follows mostly those same characters (Robin, Beast Boy, Raven, Starfire, Hawk and Dove who aren’t in the cartoon) at an older age. Timeline wise, Robin has broken ways with Batman and is more or less on the verge of going solo (creating Nightwing). The show starts with a very strange tone. There’s cursing that usually feels misplaced. Like the writer’s got permission to curse and they just stuck in f bombs because they could. It feels unnecessary I guess you could say. I did enjoy the first two seasons even if it’s a bit slow. Robin is a terrible leader, there is a ton of internal strife in the group because of a previous mission gone terribly wrong and Raven is a whole new world of trouble discovering her powers. I think season 2 was quite a bit better.

Swamp Thing is awesome. It frequently leans into horror which you don’t see much in this genre (especially live action comic book adaptations). There’s not much else out there like this, which made it really refreshing. I liked everything about this show and it got cut off at it’s knees. It cost a fortune to make and apparently the executives in charge got nervous about it and bailed. This came out right after Titans and I think a low subscriber count made them want to cover other expenses. The season was cut short and the show canceled. The season ended with a limp and it’s so disappointing for this to have happened. My big wish is that somehow, this show comes backs.

Young Justice: Outsiders is an animated show that continues the hugely popular (and stupidly cancelled) Young Justice. Those first two seasons were awesome and while this run is good, I don’t think it meets the story standards of the series. Great animation though.

Doom Patrol is weird and that’s why I love it. An atypical team superhero group, nothing that happens on this show is expected. Misfits and broken people, the group is held together by Chief (played by Timothy Dalton!) who has more than his fair of flaws and secrets. It’s really hard to explain this show, you really need to see it to “get” it. It turns the super hero genre on it’s head and shakes it to make the candy come out. I think for people who don’t like super hero anything, might get a real kick out of this. Now that it’s on HBO Max, it’s much more accessible. Please check it out so they make more (season 2 is airing now).

Harley Quinn is a riot. Animated and filthy, this is the closest answer to the Deadpool movies that DC has right now. It goes way further than the Birds of Prey movie and is really funny. Where Doom Patrol is a weird thinker, Harley is anarchy come to colorful life. A ton of DC characters show up and the way they are portrayed is brilliant (I love Bane). Long time fans are sure to eat this up as they will get all the inside jokes. Not to say it’s unacceptable to new comers, but it helps some of the jokes land harder. The writers got permission to do pretty much whatever they want, so don’t think every character will make it through a season alive. There is literally nothing like this on American TV (the closest might be Rick & Morty) and I was shocked at how well this turned out. Hits HBO Max in August, please check it out so more are made!