It won’t be long until the Justice League feature film arrives, something I’m anxiously awaiting.
I doubt they’re listening, but I have a few suggestions for this and future films, Warner Bros.!
The first thing I would suggest is, DO NOT mimic Marvel. “Let Marvel be Marvel,” I say. So I think DC should travel their own course. (Also, I can hear the most rabid Marvel fans saying, “They’re just copying Marvel!”)
Warner Bros. is going to start out with the “team” film, then continue to spin-off characters from there. I like that strategy because it gives movie-goers a chance to sample the DC characters before a commitment is made to invest millions of dollars into him or her. Check out that terrific Wonder Woman film, for instance! Yeah!
I’m glad that Ant-Man got his own film, but as much as I like the character, I don’t think that movie was all that successful. After all, Ant-Man has worn multiple costumes and had many different identities in attempts to make him more popular. I hope I’m wrong, but decades of appearances in comics and animated shows (He was actually the leader of the Avengers in one short-lived cartoon.) haven’t helped. We’ll see, moving forward.
My next suggestion is to pull a “Nolan” and go back over various Justice League incarnations and see what would work on the big screen. (I’m referring to how Christopher Nolan and company sat down and pored over Batman stories, mixing some of the best stories they read together into a great trio of feature films.)
There have been many wonderful versions of the team that could be integrated. Thinking specifically about comics, I’d consider elements of various Grant Morrison stories, always ones I’ve thought would translate to the local theater very well.
I’ve also been a big fan of the “New 52” Justice League, so they could use some of the revamped heroes and villains into a movie. For instance, I’ve never been more interested in Cheetah than I was when that storyline took place in the comic.
However, as much as I adored it, I would NOT recommend the Giffen/DeMatteis/Maguire League. If this were a cartoon, yeah, I think it would work. But if the JLA isn’t truly serious when they hit the big screen, I think folks will harken back to the Batman in the 60s, and I don’t think that will appeal to as many people as a darker, more adventurous movie would. (I still love pulling out hardcovers of this book and diving in sometimes! They were great fun!)
I know some people will not like this next suggestion, but I am such a huge fan of Bruce Timm and Paul Dini that I don’t see how their DC Comics-related offerings can be overlooked. Some of the very best animated episodes (heck, shows) I’ve ever seen came from them. A lot of what that “dynamic duo” has done still lives on, like their reboot of Mr. Freeze. He’s never been as interesting as he was under their watchful eyes.
In fact, if you haven’t seen the animated Justice League or Justice League Unlimited yet, I very highly recommend you check them out. I think you’ll really enjoy them! I sure did!
I’ve always felt that Marvel and DC approach their characters differently. Marvel tends to take average people and make them heroes while DC tends to have more “heroic” and iconic men and women. Even if Superman didn’t have his powers, he’d be a hero, for instance. I’m not sure that applies to many of the Marvel longjohns folks!
Anyway, I’m glad that the blending of comics and movies continues! It’s a good thing for all of us fans as the industry moves forward!
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