The Justice League has an uphill battle ahead.
How do you put together a movie about the gods in a real world setting? The minds behind Marvel’s Thor properties have woven godlike characters into the real world keenly enough where the general movie goer accepts it as something of the norm. Luckily for Marvel fans (and movie fans alike), these characters got an origin story that wasn’t contrived, but simply said “Look… they exist, don’t over think it”. So what happens when you take multiple characters that need to build a team that share a power level that rivals the god of thunder himself?
Rumors have been swirling for months now that DC is taking the opposite route of Marvel with their approach to their ensemble movie. From what most of us have heard, they wanted to test the waters a bit with Man of Steel, then put together a Justice League movie, and finally, give us spin offs of the top five: Man of Steel 2, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash and Green Lantern. I feel that with the tone of Man of Steel, they’ve established a world where humanity has trust issues combined with a muted color palette. Superman is a reality for the people of this world and it scares part of the populace. Being that we now have a Superhero on the scene that, I’m sure, is at the heart of many debates in his respective universe stemming from the loss of life and property damage. People will be scared of a man that can torch the world around him with nothing but a glance. With DC’s proposed Justice League roster, things are about to get a little out of hand. Let’s look at the line up for a moment:
Superman – Hot off of his debut run, if the writers of the next showing of this character have any logic of continuity, he’s going to be a little troubled by killing the ‘alleged’ last remaining Kryptonian other than himself. He’s going to have to have something distract him from this but I don’t expect them to ignore it properly. Jonathan and Martha Kent instilled too much of a moral code in him to have him completely ignore it. I just hope they don’t have him pull a “Smallville” and have him all emo the entire next movie. But let him co lead with Batman and Wonder Woman. The “Trinity” all have their unique qualities of being able to lead in different situations. Superman has the luxury of being the true “first” public Superhero that is now known the world over in this universe. If anything, let him be the diplomatic face of the League, imparting wisdom that both his fathers (and his mother) passed down to him.
Batman – The Dark Knight. DC. I’m calling you out right now. In order to keep up with two heroes that can break the sound barrier on foot, some that can defy gravity, super strength, etc… do NOT bulk Bruce down with armor. I know we have to figure out a way for him to be able to survive in these situations, but come on. Taking two movies to make him have the ability to turn his neck is unacceptable. One of the cleverest DC heroes can’t be bogged down by that. Also, he is the moody, brooder of the group. But he is also the smartest. MAKE HIM A DETECTIVE.
And don’t pull the “I’m using computer ‘forensics’ that are absurd (I’m looking at you Mr. Bale with your bullet/fingerprint maneuver). Let him actually put two and two together for once. And finally, make him acrobatic. we like Batman because he is the pinnacle of what a human can achieve in the company of super powered beings. What the “everyman” could possibly attain… at the very least in principle. If we’re going the younger route ala the New 52, let Batman be the John McClane (from Die Hard 1… and that’s it) of the group. Selfless and willing to break the rules, get hurt, press on regardless of the stakes but ultimately have a moral code that is infallible (sans the killing that McClane is so good at) that eventually aids him in finding the solution to the leagues problems.
Wonder Woman – This one is a little tricky. Wonder Woman hasn’t been given proper treatment in ages. She’s a warrior, an Amazon and royalty. In a perfect world, Wonder Woman would be the one that the rest of the League, at the beginning of their formation, would have to reign in a bit. Themyscira is a land of warriors. In incarnations, the inhabitants have been portrayed as a tv friendly, female version of the Spartan’s made famous in 300. I would, at some point, love to see an R rated Wonder Woman Fantasy Epic. But back to the topic. Give her leadership qualities, give her an actual amazonian themed outfit (NBC… you stay out of this). Give her more than just a bracelet and lasso. She needs a shield. She needs a sword. And she needs to be able to drop some of the stronger DC heavies in this world. Because she is strong, wise, and the enemies of the League should be weary.
Green Lantern – This one is a bit tough. There are several incarnations of Green Lantern’s that cover sector 2814. The natural choice for this world is still undoubtedly Hal Jordan. But I’m going to get the obvious out of the way. Ryan Reynolds… as much as I like you, no. Just no. Green Lantern has a burden of his own… He is not just in charge of Earth, but of an entire sector of planets. They may have to dive a bit into his involvement (or lack there of) during the events of Man of Steel but then again, he could have been “off world” training, protecting another planet, or or or… But what we need from you, G.L. is someone with a strong jaw line, no nonsense and surprised at nothing attitude. Sarcasm is good, but Hal is not Van Wilder in a power ring suit.
What we need is someone that is someone like Captain Mal (See picture above this sentence). Want an obscure choice for Hal? My choices would be Bradley Cooper, Matt Boomer or even Matthew Fox. All have a charisma but strong enough to carry weight as a leader. But a big part of Green Lantern needs to come from his friendship with none other than the Scarlet Speedster.
The Flash – My oh my… like Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, I think that the glue to this team again, rests on the shoulders of The Flash. But which version? For something like this… as much as I LOVE Barry Allen as The Flash (he’s who introduced me to the character), for this movie to work and not be an onslaught of fighting, machismo and more complaints about property damage, I’m gonna go ahead and say we need Wally West up to the plate. Here me out on this. Wally West is the fast talking, easy going, shining light of the core team. He knows when it’s appropriate to be serious but rarely takes the opportunity to do so. He is a focused, kickass warrior but he embraces his title as protector of his city in public. He’s not a silent protector. He gets to know those he protects. And he eats it up! And this is what could save this movie with the promise of a little bit of fun/humor. This version of the Flash… oh I beg DC (are you listening), give him virtually little burden to carry.
Give him the Speed Force. Give him a sense of wonder and awe with his powers. And let him have fun with it. Give Wally wit without any ‘Frat boy-isms’. This is what the team needs. And the banter between him and Green Lantern could be cinematic GOLD. We know the effects can be amazing. Look at Faora in Man of Steel; excellently executed but it doesn’t have to stop there. Let us see the world through Flash’s eyes too. It could an incredibly compelling moment to see how painstakingly slow the world can appear to Wally as he moves from point A to point B. The Flash is the key to this teams success. Without him, they will be a miserable lot of 100% serious heroes that never take a moment to breath. And the irony there is the character that would bring that to the table is the one that needs to constantly catch his breath (okay… I was reaching there).
Next up in my Justice League series? How do you solve a problem like the Anti Life Equation. Facing down Darkseid so early in the game? Is this the wisest move? Weigh in and let me know. I’ll get that one written shortly! Thanks for reading! To check out more of my geekiness, head over to my Youtube channel: http://youtube.com/oddzuki. Or Follow me on twitter at @oddzuki or MoviePilot.com!
