Last year may have seemed to fly by, but it was pretty packed when it came to DC movies, comics, TV and (for the first time in a few years) games! We all have our own personal favorites, reflecting our unique tastes and interests, and all of them are worth highlighting. So, like we’ve done in the past, we’re saying goodbye to 2022 by letting members of the DC.com writing team share their top three DC favorites for the year.
Today's trinity of terrificness comes to us care of longtime contributor Rosie Knight!
In the seemingly never-ending year of 2022, there were plenty of brilliant offerings for comic book lovers. DC had a banner year with multiple massive events and buzzworthy miniseries, the return of the Dark Knight to the big screen, and some of the best DCTV we've seen in ages. All of this is why when I was asked to pick a “Top Three” of the year for DC.com, I couldn't simply confine it to the pages of my favorite funny books. So, I decided to make it far harder for myself than it needed to be and chose my favorite DC comic, DC film and DCTV show of the year. Without further ado, here are—in my very humble opinion—three of the best things that we were blessed with as fans of DC's sprawling, fantastical and inclusive universe this year.
Nubia: Queen of the Amazons
Stephanie Williams has blazed a trail through DC since she began writing Nubia and in 2022 she took the hero to new heights as Nubia took the throne of Themyscira in Nubia: Queen of the Amazons.
Working alongside her Nubia and the Amazons collaborator and superhero stalwart Alitha Martinez, Williams crafted an epic fantasy miniseries that reimagined Themyscira for a new age and set Nubia on a journey of self-discovery as she ventured into Man's World to make a case for peace. Nubia has long been an overlooked hero in DC's pantheon and it's been wonderful to see her being given her time to shine over the last couple of years under the watchful eye of Williams and Martinez. This series, along with this year’s Nubia: Coronation Special, is one of the most interesting and ambitious new entries into DC canon that will likely shape the character and universe for years to come. So basically, there's never been a better time to catch up with Nubia.
The Batman
It's hard to overestimate just how much impact the Batman movies have had on me since childhood. My earliest memory is watching Batman '89 at Christmas when I could barely talk. Batman Returns shaped me into the comic-loving teen goth I was for many years, and later Batman and Robin would become one of the most watched VHS tapes in my home. So, whenever a new Batman film comes out, it's a huge moment for me. Watching The Batman was the first time in decades that I felt that excitement come alive once again. Casting Pattinson was a stroke of genius and Reeves' vision of an angsty Year Two Batman felt both familiar and fresh. There's an innate understanding of the absurdity and horror that's necessary to make the Dark Knight work while still creating a textured Gotham that you actually want to spend time in.
The neo-noir hued horror of The Batman felt like the best of Batman's comic book adventures, but never shied away from the camp past of the character. Direct references to Batman '66, the huge influence taken from Batman: The Animated Series, and the surreal space that Pattinson, Colin Farrell, Paul Dano and Zoe Kravitz live in make this a dark story that's never afraid to play in the light. That's before we even get to the gothic beauty of Alfred and Bruce's home, and the stellar performance by Serkis as Batman's live-in father figure and puzzle solver. It's a truly special film that sums up the best of what can happen when DC gives creative freedom to directors. The fact that The Batman and Aquaman (another of my favorite DC movies) came from the same studio is proof of the eclectic power of DC, its universe and its characters.
Harley Quinn Season Three
Since it debuted in 2019, Harley Quinn has cemented itself as truly unique in the DC animated canon. Not only is the series an R-rated romp that leans into the adult side of our favorite universe, but its meta-humor, quip-filled writing and fearlessness to be absolutely ridiculous also make it one of the very best.
Season three took everything to the next level as it finally delivered on Harlivy, the ship to end all DC ships. Fans were delighted as the lovers made it official and dealt with all the ups and downs of a committed relationship. But while finally coming through on that highly-anticipated romance could have made Harley Quinn play it safe, instead it did the opposite, taking wild swings and introducing some of the funniest and most affecting subplots yet. James Gunn played himself, embarking on making a Thomas Wayne biopic. We got inside Batman's head literally, and an unexpected threat to Gotham made its appearance as the season came to end, proving that just like its titular anti-heroine, Harley Quinn isn't afraid of shaking up the status quo.
Read all five of our 2022 Top Three lists: Alex Jaffe, Kelly Knox, Donovan Morgan Grant, Rosie Knight and Joshua Lapin-Bertone.
Rosie Knight is an award-winning journalist and author who loves Swamp Thing, the DC Cosmic, and writing about those and more here at DC.Com. You can listen to her waxing lyrical about comics, movies, and more each week as she co-hosts Crooked Media's pop-culture podcast X-Ray Vision.
NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Rosie Knight and do not necessarily reflect those of DC Entertainment or Warner Bros.
