So The Avengers movie has finally come out, and knocked the socks off pretty much everyone out there, comics fanboy or not. In many ways it has proved to be the ultimate comic book movie, finally realizing in live action what fans have been only reading about and dreaming about for decades. It has raised the bar on what comic book super hero movies are capable of doing.
But without DC Comics’ Justice League, in a way there wouldn’t even BE an Avengers. As legend has it, the first few issues of Justice League of America were selling so well back in 1960, that DC publisher Jack Liebowitz was bragging about to them to rival comics publisher Martin Goodman of Timely Comics one day on the golf course. This caused him to ask his editor in chief Stan Lee to create his own super team to rival the League, and thus the Fantastic Four was born, the first official Marvel Comic. This of course led to the Marvel Universe and ultimately, the Avengers. But none of it would have happened if there had been no Justice League in the first place. In fact, if you see the JLA as merely an extension/re-branding of the original Justice Society of America concept, then they are even more significant as the world’s first super team.
And yet while the past decade of cinema could almost be called “The Marvel Decade,” DC Comics’ parent company Warner Brothers have done next to nothing with their collection of DC heroes to compete with Marvel’s, with the notable exception of Batman. They keep making attempts and then canceling them at the last minute; the last ten years is filled with announcements for movies like David Goyer’s Flash, Joss Whedon’s version of Wonder Woman (all the more heartbreaking after having seen his Avengers) and George Miller’s Justice Leauge. When they finally got around to bringing us a classic DC hero to life, the studio micro managed it till it became a shell of what it should have been. And yes, I’m referring to last year’s Green Lantern.
The thing is,Warner Brothers kind of have to make a Justice League flick at this point. With the incredible critical and financial success of the Avengers, they’d look like utter idiots not to. It isn’t even about the movie itself at this point really; if Warners wants to continue to sell Wonder Woman T-shirts at Urban Outfitters and Flash underwear at Target, then those characters need to be culturally relevant, and that’s not going to happen via comic books, as much as I wish they would. Without big screen exposure, these characters will be seen as only Cartoon Network fodder at best, or relics of a bygone era at worst. And I think Warners knows that they have way too much $$ invested in the future of these characters as licensed properties to let that happen.
In other words, to use vulgar slang, it is time for Warner Brothers to shit or get off the pot.
So from a lifelong DC fanatic, here is a guideline if you will, an open letter for the suits at Warner Brothers who have no idea what they’re doing with the wonderful DC Comics heroic legacy that they own. Here’s your guide to not just a competent, but an awesome Justice League movie, and all in just twelve easy steps.
Step #1: Don’t Try And Use The Marvel Studios Strategy
We all know, despite whatever the official line from Warner Brothers might have been in the press, that if Green Lantern had been last summer’s Iron Man then they would have been instantly announced a sequel, as well as a Flash movie, etc. leading up to a Justice League team up flick. With Green Lantern making only $219 worldwide on a supposed $200 million dollar budget, barely eeking out a profit and getting mediocre to downright shitty reviews, I’d say those plans were dashed pretty fast. With the box office disappointment of Green Lantern, the best way to do a Justice League film at this point is to simply bite the bullet and just do it. Have a JL movie be the actual launching point to eventual solo films for certain characters, instead of trying to replicate the Marvel Studios method of doing all the solo movies and then building up to one big team up movie. In an ideal world, this would be the proper way to do it, but simply put, Marvel roundly beat them to it.
Also, it is safe to say that audiences are sick of super hero origin stories at this point in the game. If Green Lantern had hit big, then they could have maybe tried to replicate the Marvel Studios method to some degree of success, but now it will look like a cheaper knock off. However, if Warners decides to come out of the gate swinging, with a super hero movie that dwarves the scope of every other super hero movie that came before it with a Justice League movie…it could revitalize the entire genre. Or be the genre’s awesome swan song.
Obviously, the one instance where any kind of lead up to JL movie makes sense is the upcoming Man of Steel Superman reboot. The movie is already shot and is hitting theaters next year, and they might as well make Henry Cavill’s version of Superman the one the JL movie uses. It can only help both franchises to be tied in together. But forget about making Flash and Aquaman as lead ins to a JL movie, ‘cause that ship has sailed.
#2. Hire Brad Bird To Direct, and JJ Abrams To Produce
Getting someone as qualified as Joss Whedon to helm a JLA movie is going to be really, really difficult. Whedon came in with both the comic book fanboy pedigree and just regular ass pedigree pedigree. Where are you going to find that again?
Well, how about Brad Bird? Bird’s The Incredibles was easily one of the best super hero films of, well….ever. After that film came out, many people were hoping Bird might direct a live action Fantastic Four film, but that super team is a bit too similar to the Incredibles in style and tone-the Justice League would be an ideal step up. Aside from his work on The Incredibles, Bird made the transition smoothly into live action with last year’s amazing Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, easily one of (if not the best) action films last year. So you know he’ll deliver on the much needed big action setpieces. So for my money, Brad Bird is your man.
And to produce this movie, I’d get Bird’s collaborator on MI4, JJ Abrams. Yes, I know he’s a busy man, but he’s always been able to juggle mutlitple projects at once. Besides, the best recent example of the “let’s round up a bunch of misfits together and form a team” movies has got to be JJ Abrams Star Trek reboot. In many ways Star Trek 2009 should be the template for a Justice League film, at least in structure. Abrams also has a knack for ensemble casts as evidenced by shows he produced like Lost and Alias. He and Brad Bird made magic together last year with MI4, let em do it again.
My JL Movie Dream Team: Brad Bird & JJ Abrams
The only thing Brad Bird doesn’t have is Whedon’s intimate knowledge of comic book history, never really having read comics growing up. But that’s where the next step comes in:
#3. Get A Really Talented Fanboy Screenwriter
First off, get a screenwriter or screenwriters who are comic book fanboys, at least somewhat. People who love and have a knowledge of these characters beyond just their value as copyrights to be exploited. They don’t need to be massive comic book geeks with a closet full of longboxes, but they should have a working knowledge and love for the DCU. (and no, not Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, they can’t write everything geek related) But someone who is well versed in what makes these characters tick and can also crank out a great script, with real drama between the characters and action and humor to match. It is gonna be difficult to find someone to pull off what Joss Whedon just did with Avengers, but it can’t be impossible. (Say, how about Damon Lindelof? Just puttin’ it out there) And whoever Warners finds, make sure they give Joss Whedon a call and take him out to lunch and pick his brain.
#4. Cast The Movie Impeccably
One of the reasons that The Avengers works so well is that everyone was cast to perfection, from Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man down to Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye. Another recent example of a perfectly cast ensemble of iconic characters was JJ Abrams’ previously mentioned Star Trek reboot. Even when the actors didn’t really look like the character they were portraying (Anton Yelchin as Pavel Chekov for example) they totally captured the spirit of that character. So please Warners, don’t Halle Berry/Storm or Jessica Alba/Invisible Woman us here. Don’t cast the male leads with guys from the CW, and don’t cast the women based on whoever is hot in the pages of Maxim right now. Everyone needs to be perfect. They don’t need to be big stars, they just need to fit their roles to a T.
#5. Make Darkseid The Villain
For the ultimate DC Universe movie, get the ultimate DC Universe villain: Darkseid. While Loki was a god, Darkseid is THE God…the God of Evil itself. It doesn’t get bigger or badder than that. Much like Marvel’s The Ultimates was kind of the petri dish for an eventual Avengers movie, it is pretty clear that much of DC’s New 52 reboot in the comics is a similar testing ground for an eventual JLA movie. Why else make Darkseid the League’s first villain and the reason the team formed? Believe me, at some point when Geoff Johns was writing it, he was thinking about an eventual JL movie.
Although there was a lot to be desired in Geoff Johns and Jim Lee’s opening story arc in the new Justice League reboot, the basic premise of the team forming to defeat an invasion from Darkseid and his Parademon minions is a good one. Darkseid in that story was handled pretty poorly, as he barely spoke and was more like Superman villain Doomsday, so the filmmakers should look to classic Jack Kirby New Gods stories for proper inspiration, or his excellent portrayal in the Bruce Timm’s Superman and Justice League Unlimited animated series. A live action version of Darkseid should be this generation’s Darth Vader and the Emperor combined. This would also be a great opportunity to bring the classic look of Jack Kirby’s legendary art and design aesthetic to life, something Marvel failed to do completely with their Fantastic Four movies and only gave a nod to in Thor.
#6. Forget Martian Manhunter, Use Cyborg Instead
-I almost hate to say this, but J’onn J’onzz the Martian Manhunter is maybe just one element too many for a live action JLA movie. I know, I know…he’s an original founding member of the team, and many say he’s the heart and soul of the League. And yes, he kind of is. But having said that, there were several years where J’onn wasn’t a member of the team (he left in 1969 and didn’t return till fifteen years later in 1984) and they managed to do OK without him. But the problem with using J’onn is that so much of who and what he is is already represented on the League by Superman. Superman is the lone survivor of a dead planet who is super strong, flies, has heat vision etc. Plus, J’onn has the powers of Professor X and Mystique from the X-Men as well…he would kind of dwarf Superman in a movie that should serve to show how Kal-El is the ultimate super hero among super heroes. I’m all for J’onn showing up in a sequel, but I think he should be benched for movie #1.
As for using Cyborg as a replacement for J’onn? I totally understand DC’s logic in having him replace the Martian on the team in the recently rebooted Justice League comic series. And why add Cyborg to the team? Maybe because when Warner Brothers finally does get around to making a JL flick, there is no way they can get away with making them the “all white people squad,” as that sends a pretty horrible message. And Cyborg/Victor Stone is easily one of the best African American heroes that DC has. If they introduce the concept of Cyborg as a leaguer in the comics first before the movies, and get all fanboys used to the idea, the cries of political correctness will be less due to the fact that it happened in the comics first. Believe me, a potential future JL movie was in the back of Geoff Johns’ head when he made this decision.
#7. Let JL Be Your Batman Reboot
-Warner Brothers has made some noise about rebooting the Batman franchise after Christopher Nolan wraps up his trilogy this summer with The Dark Knight Rises. While it is inevitable that there will be a new Batman film at some point in the future, the Nolan films have so far been so well received on every level that pulling a Spider-Man and rebooting the Bat-verse so soon seems dumb. Especially after creating something so iconic, it would seem like asking for trouble and inevitable comparisons. But including Batman in the League would insure his presence on the big screen in a very different kind of film series, while letting his own franchise get a much needed rest for awhile. Everyone wins.
#8. Use A JL Movie to Redeem Green Lantern
–Despite my trash talking Green Lantern at the top of this article, I don’t think it was nearly as awful as many think…just painfully mediocre. But I liked Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan, and think the Green Lantern mythology was pretty darn faithful to the comics (too bad there wasn’t more of it) I’m all for using this version of Green Lantern in a JL movie, even if Reynolds doesn’t come back and is replaced by another actor (we can call it “pulling a Ruffalo on us”) If he proves to be the scene stealer in a JL movie that Hulk was in Avengers, we might see a Green Lantern continuation of some sort spinning out of a JL movie yet.
#9. Focus Primarily On The Trinity
-While all seven members of the JLA should have ample screen time, you have to focus on the DC “Holy Trinity” of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. Because let’s face it, that’s who everyone wants to see interact the most. The dynamic of the three of them, and how they’re each alike and yet very different from one another, has been the basis for some excellent comic book stories over the years.
And as inspiration, I say look to the Galaxy far, far away. While riffing on the template of the original Star Wars seems a bit like the easy way to go, (just ask JJ Abrams, whose Star Trek is essentially a remake of A New Hope) the Luke/Leia/Han dynamic is very much the dynamic of DC’s Trinity; the idealistic farmboy, the feisty princess who can more than take care of herself thank you, and the dickish but charming rogue with a sidekick. And just like Luke and Leia have a sibling relationship, Superman and Wonder Woman are more like brother and sister as well. All her real chemistry is with bad boy Bruce. Really, this is all just writing itself now guys….
#10. ….But Don’t Forget the Other Guys.
-Yes, I just said focus on the “Big Three.” But you can’t just have Green Lantern, Flash and the others just standing there glaring. They need to be able to contribute and have a reason for being there. Look, I never said this would be easy ok??
#11. Focus Not Just On the Similarities to Avengers, But Also The Differences
-Obviously, the League is really, really similar to the Avengers in a lot of ways. But where the Avengers are more like a sports team, the JL are more like a pantheon of Gods. (yes, even Batman in a way. Hades anyone?) The Avengers are at the disposal of the government, or S.H.I.E.L.D, or whatever, but the League is above humanity in a way, either up in space on a satellite or on the friggin’ moon. Yes, there have been incarnations of the team that were based on Earth and worked for the U.N, but you know they are gonna go with the most classic version of the JL here if it gets made, and that’s not the Justice League International. So sorry, JLI fans. You can bet Hollywood is gonna go with the most classic incarnation of the team, more or less.
“The Justice League is like the pantheon of Greek gods. Hermes made more sense to me as the Flash. Wonder Woman means so much more to me than Hera or Aphrodite. I could make a much quicker connection with the archetype of Zeus in the form of Superman. Aquaman is Poseidon, of course. Batman is Hades, the god of the underworld" -Grant Morrison
The potential fear and adoration the world would have at such a combination of powerful beings together is similar to the love/terror the ancient Greeks had towards their own Gods. It would be an angle that would be interesting to play up, and one that’s different from The Avengers. Of course, Avengers did a ton of things right they should just outright copy, but they need to remember how the JL is different from the A- team too.
The Avengers and the League have a lot of similarities, but they need to remember how they're different too.
#12. Go Big…And Don’t Hold Back For Part 2
-One of the best things about the Green Lantern movie was Mark Strong as Sinestro. But instead of giving us any Hal Vs. Sinestro in the movie, they held back for sequel. A sequel that might never come now, squandering such perfect casting. Even if you want a sequel, you can’t be shortchanging the movie that you’re actually doing for “just in case.” Christopher Nolan could have saved Two Face for a sequel, but at the time of filming he didn’t even know there would even be one, so he decided to go for broke and use Joker AND Two Face, and we’re all better for it. George Lucas once had this problem with the original Star Wars, as the Death Star wasn’t going to be the big finale till the end of the entire trilogy. Then he realized that there might not ever be another Star Wars movie, and put the Death Star finale at the end of A New Hope, because he knew he needed a big ending. A lot of folks reading this might think using Darkseid right off the bat is too soon, but I saw worry about part two later…make the best JL movie you can and don’t save anything for later. Worry about later if and when you get there.
So there it is….everything you need to know to get the Justice League the big screen glory they deserve. It is either that, or the only live action League will be this one:
Let’s not let that happen.