The anticipation is high this year for fans of superheroes with the release of a handful of movies like Black Widow, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, The Suicide Squad, Eternals and others.
Superhero aficionados were estatic last month when director Zach Snyder released his director’s cut of Justice League, so it’s obvious the apetite for these films is not going anywhere any time soon. Studios also don’t seen to mind spending the big bucks to bring them to the big screen.
In fact, with an extra 122 minutes in the new cut from Snyder, the production added an additional $70 million to the original film’s hefty $300-million price tag, which already made it one of the most expensive movies ever produced.
Wherever that extra money went, it, unfortunately, wasn’t to expand the roster by giving some Latinx DC superheroes at least a few minutes to stake a claim in the franchise. Sure, DC Comics recently announced it is going into production on a Blue Beetle movie, but there are plenty more Latinx superheroes that deserve their own movies.
Here are just a few characters that Snyder should’ve added to the mix for his directorial cut—since it’s obvious the production spared no expense.
Acrata
Guatemalan-Mexican superhero Andrea Rojas was introduced to the DC Comics franchise in 2000. She wears a black suit with green stripes. On her forehead is the Mayan symbol for “night.” She also has a pet cat named Zapata. In one of her comic book appearances, she teams up with Superman to stop a bio-terrorist organization from destroying Mexico. Acrata was portrayed by Puerto Rican actress and beauty pageant queen Denise Quiñones in TV’s Smallville and by Venezuelan actress Julie Gonzalo (Dodgeball) in TV’s Supergirl.
Aztek
At one point in the comic book series that featured the Aztec superhero, he joined the Justice League, so he could’ve easily swung by to say hello during Zach Snyder’s new movie. Aztek dons an ancient helmet and armor and has a host of superpowers, including X-Ray vision, invisibility and density manipulation. He is said to be tied to the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl.
Extraño
The superhero magician is the first openly gay superhero in DC Comics. It was a controversial decision at the company. Creator Steve Englehart wanted to explore the character more but said that his editor did not want gay characters in his comic. Extraño died of an HIV infection contracted from a fight with an “AIDS vampire” villain known as Hemo-Goblin. Seriously, WTH?
Pantha
Rosabelle Mendez is a superhero loner who is part woman and part panther. She has superhuman strength, speed, super senses and retractable claws on both her hands and feet. The character has been featured on the animated TV series Teen Titans. In an alternative timeline, she is revealed to be a veterinarian student at New York University.
Vibe
In the comics, Francisco “Cisco” Ramon, a gang banger, learns that a new Justice League is forming after Aquaman disbands the original group. His superhuman ability is to emit powerful shock waves. Actor Carlos Valdes portrays the character in the TV series The Flash.