GIVE SUPER-SPEED A 'POWER FANTASY' EDGE: TV's Flash is too beholden to villain-of-the-week writing tropes for it to really tap into an adolescent escapism, the kind felt in movies like Jumper and Chronicle, and some moments from Man of Steel when Clark is travelling the world, and not really belonging to one place. The Flash can run on any surface, atop buildings and across oceans and go anywhere he wants, why should he be tied to one city? Aquaman is delegated to the oceans, Superman can leave orbit so the prospect of exploring the world doesn't appeal to him, Green Lantern has a sworn duty to vanquish evil in the galaxies' farrest-reaches, Cyborg can't can't leave the ctiy or else his batteries would die - but what reason does The Flash have to stay in one place? He's an all-terrain terrestrial-bound superman! Flash should be a sort of transient laborer, looking to solve problems all across the globe, and when the job is done he can ditch the hero gear and go on his own soul-searching voyages through the exotic places he just saved.
JUMPER (2008): Doug Liman's adventure movie about an underground world of teleporters who can will themselves to other places through power of mind. The protagonist uses 'jumping' to live the most extravagant life possible, raiding bank vaults, seducing girls in London, having lunch atop the Sphynx, and surfing in Fiji. But he soon discovers he's not the only one bestowed with this unique gift, and there are people out there who've made it their life's mission to eliminate all of them, viewing jumpers as a threat to all mankind. |
CHRONICLE (2012): Josh Trank's direction steered it more towards a Greek tragedy than a power-fantasy, but it still had those moments of wish-fulfillment you envied - who wouldn't want to become a superhero with your two best friends? Matt, Andrew, and Steve did make plans to travel the world together, and this brief conversation was the height of the movie's escapism, a globe-trotting adventure would've drastically changed the outcomes of their lives, but might have also left the story devoid of conflict. |
THE TONE: of The Flash movie should fall somewhere between these two films, if viewed as examples of how to transcend the superhero genre, you don't need to populate your universe with fun villains and plotthreads to make it interesting! By the time 2018 rolls around, the formulaic nature of saving the day, pummelling the bad guys in the face, and getting the girl might be staler than graham crackers, Phil Lord and Chris Miller might have to play the material fast & loose for it to work to the genre's advantage. Combine the scale & ambition of Jumper with the convention-shattering pathos & angst of Chronicle, and you've got one incredibly fresh take on the icon. Plus, it's set to hit theaters in a year dominated by Infinity War, Black Panther, and The New Mutants film, so it'd be a nice change of pace for one of these movies to focus on one character, in one high-octane, hyper-stylized romp through one of the three remaining cinematic comic book universes.
WORLD'S GREATEST DETECTIVE - THE BATMAN: the nocturnal life of multi-billionaire Bruce Wayne who, after seeing his parents gunned down in front of him, trained to the point of physical/intellectual perfection and donned a bat-themed costume in order to fight crime using his intellect, detective skills, science, emerging technologies, immense wealth, physical prowess, and fear-biased intimidation tactics in his war on costumed psychopaths. Batman movies were once the pinnacle of an artform, before the rise of CBMs only one hero had endured all the ups and downs of the film medium, and survived every dark age, revival, and rennaissance of superhero cinema. From the fine-tuned gothika atmospherics of Batman, to the extra Burton-ized melancholia of Batman Returns, the neon bombast of Batman Forever, to the ..... of Batman & Robin. The steampunk thrillride of Batman Begins, to the thematically brilliant, philosophically profound crime drama The Dark Knight, and the bleak, brutal, and epic desparity of The Dark Knight Rises - is there even any new ground to tread with further incarnations of the Caped Crusader? Does Will Arnett's LEGO Batman brood in the woods?
THE DAWN OF GOTHAM: Directors like Tim Burton used miniature models to evoke its gothic architecture, and Nolan used composites of Pittsburgh and New York to great effect, but when you're dealing with Zach Snyder, his overly-ambitious vision for Gotham won't let him rest until its as fully realized as the comics, as the graphic novels, as the Arkham Knight open-world gameplay. So in case you're wondering why Batman v Superman needed 8 months of shooting followed by a whopping 15 months in post, whereas Marvel Studios can usually start filming a year before their release dates; the answer is Gotham isn't fully rendered yet. We've seen Burton's art deco gargoyles and cathedrals, Schumacher's cyberpunk Akira-esque neo-Tokyo, Nolan's CGI augmented version of Chicago with the steam-flooded slums of The Narrows, but what we haven't seen on film yet is a convergence of all of those atmospheres. To give you an idea of why the SFX department needed an additional year of post, not only does every raindrop, every snowflake, every streetlamp, windowpane, neon sign, every crack and crevice of Gotham need to be optimally crisp in its Real-D 3D and IMAX form before 'the big showdown' between DC's two flagship characters, but the digital infrastructure being created now will provide the DC cinematic universe with familiar locations (and character models) for the next Justice League movie that's coming out only a year & a half later.
METROPOLIS vs. GOTHAM: Twin megacities on opposite sides of a bay and opposite sides of the American dream. Metropolis always had a sunnier disposition, and prided themselves on being the shining City of Tomorrow, a global utopia even in the face of wanton destruction. Gotham on the other hand is an open sewer of crime and corruption, a sprawling cesspit of darkness and death, like a modern Babylon of corruptible commissioners and coldblooded mobsters proliferating under the murk of a dark midnight sky. Since the closest these two cities have ever come to coexisiting on film was an off-hand remark in Superman Returns, a large portion of the writing went towards building a tension between Batfans and Superfans, I mean the first footage captured was a football game between the fictional Gotham Rogues and Metropolis Meteors! Attendants described the plays as overly-aggressive, one scene involved them breaking up a fight on the field, so clearly this conflict runs deeper than the quarrel of its mascots.
ENTER THE BATCAVE: The primary headquarters of Batman held within a series of subterranean caves beneath Wayne Manor, The Batcave serves as a command center where he monitors all crisis points in Gotham and around the world. Additionally, the cave contains his vast arsenal of Bat-related gadgets and specialized vehicles, a state-of-the-art crime lab equipped with highly advanced tech and a training facility to improve his skills as a crime fighter. The cave's centerpiece is a supercomputer whose specs are on par with any of those used by leading national security agencies; it permits global surveillance and also connects to a massive information network as well as storing vast amounts of information, both on Batman's foes and his allies. It also houses a collection of ancient armor due to Batman's study of military history, outfits worn by European Knights, Desert nomads, and Samurai warriors, as well as display cases housing 4 versions of the Batman costume.
THE BATMOBILE: Designed and fabricated in near complete seclusion by The Batman, this infamous pursuit and capture vehicle has earned its reputation as the apex predator on the mean streets of Gotham City. Powered by an unmatched hybrid of prototype military and civilian performance technologies - part Lamborghini, part tank - this menacing machine has been estimated to reach speeds of up to 205 MPH. The Batmobile’s imposing defense capabilities are supported by stolen Wayne Industries technologies, and integrated with the latest in covert military grade armaments: twin .50 caliber retractable machine gun turrets mounted on a pivot between the front wheels, as well as rocket launchers, non-lethal riot suppressors, landing hooks, and a vector-controlled jet engine on the back of the car provides quick boosts to perform "rampless" jumps across building tops. Both front wheels can eject when the vehicle is damaged to form the Batpods. There's also a stealth mode, which turns off the car's lights and cuts the engine, plus since the vehicle is powered by an electric motor its very hard to find in dark places, and as demonstrated by the car chase in Batman Begins, it can easily throw off pursuers.
THE DAUGHTER OF ZEUS - WONDER WOMAN: Diana Prince belongs to a race of immortal women, an all-female warrior tribe called Amazons who were tasked by the Gods of Olympus to serve as messengers to the name of peace and justice, and reside on the mythical city-state of Themyskira on Paradise Island. Their city is composed entirely of Greco-Roman architecture from 1200 BCE, they wear only Greek garb, togas, sandals, and period armor. For centuries, the Amazons lived in a perfect state of harmony with their surroundings, on an island blessed by Olympians so that no man is allowed to physically set foot on it. That is, until the day USAF intelligence officer Steve Trevor's invisible jet gets shot down over Amazonian airspace and he's nursed back to health by the demigoddess daughter of the island's Queen, Hippolyta. Both Diana and the island she resides on are making their big screen debut in Dawn of Justice, only to have her entire backstory unfold in the DCCU's 2nd standalone film - Wonder Woman - followed by a swift Justice League role reprisal later that year.
GIFTED BY THE GODS: Princess Diana was awarded a series of gifts by the gods of Olympus: along with the beauty of Aphrodite, wisdom of Athena, the swiftness of Hermes, and a strength surpassing that of Hercules, several enchanted artifacts also fell from Mt. Olympus and into her possession; 'the Lasso of Truth' forged from the Golden Girdle of Gaea, an infinitely elastic luminous rope that forces whoever is bound within its grasp to obey the commands of whomever holds the other end, as well as a set of phalanx armor, shield, sword, tiara, and 'bulletproof bracelets' two chrome-plated indestructible steel cuffs forged from the Aegis sheild that can deflect gunfire.
AMAZONIAN AMBASSADOR: Diana is the chosen representative from Paradise island, an emissary to the outside world burdened with having to accompany the chauvinist pilot back to "Man's World." Steve Trevor was the highest-ranking field agent of A.R.G.U.S., a government agency led by Task Force X-benefactor Amanda Waller. The organisation's questionable past of fighting shadow wars, seeding their agents into enemy ranks, and recruiting the most wealthy and powerful to their side has existed as early as the American Revolution when the "Armed Revolutionaries Governing Under Secrecy" were spying on the British forces to aid in our military action. After the US gained independence they changed again to "Anonymous Ranger Group of the United States" and fought in the American Civil War, hunted outlaws and, with some notable failings, defended the lives of the US Presidents. The acronym currently stands for Advanced Research Group Uniting Superhumans, acting as a support and liaison to The Justice League's missions, supplying them with resources and cleaning up the spillover afterwards.
THE PLOT OF WONDER WOMAN: With all of the conflicting reports of what the Gal Gadot-headlined solo film will be about, a lot of fans wondered if Wonder Woman (2017) would mirror the plot of that direct-to-DVD animated Wonder Woman (2009) produced by acclaimed animation veteran Bruce Timm, (Harley Quinn co-creator) and directed by Lauren Montgomery (The Legend of Korra). The plot of the film is loosely based on the "Gods and Mortals" arc where the God of War challenged the Amazonian ruling class and attempted to overthrow the Queen. The prologue ends as the Olympians intervene and render the war-god mortal, locking him beneath doom's doorway and giving Hippolyta the keys to the underworld. The rest of the movie jumps to modern day and follows a time-efficient 3 act structure; there are twists, betrayals, great evils are awakened, and the climax involves Princess Diana fighting off Ares' mythological beasts in an epic battle for Washington D.C. So depending on whose script was sold, the individual story beats from Gods and Mortals could be faintly echoed by setting the final battle on American soil, but then again, this whole idea clashes with the previous rumors that Wonder Woman would be a period film that happened as early as the 1920s. I mean, seeing Diana aid in the American war efforts of WW1/WW2 would afford the audience some explanation to her broken English, the spangly motif of her classic costume, and it could possibly open the door to a whole trilogy of prequels. But aside from the chronological issues this could inflict upon the DCCU, specifically the age of Steve Trevor, there's another facet to this theory comic fans might take issue with...
DISTANCE THE LORE FROM MARVEL: The problem with the WW2 setting is the backlash it might receive from Marvel fans claiming DC had modeled their Wonder Woman movies after First Avenger & Winter Soldier, and Steve Rogers in general, another superpowered war hero with stars & stripes and a cool shield from a post-industrial era who turned the tides of historic battles. The better option would be to reference her moments of valor from a modern day setting, and in all likelihood, have it take place after the events of Batman v Superman for continuity's sake. What would Marvel fans say then, that DC's use of the Greek gods is just a cheap imitation of Marvel's far superior Norse gods? Don't put it past them! But I think DC's slice of classical mythology can be done so much differently - unlike with Thor where figures of myth take center stage, the lore of Wonder Woman's world doesn't so much rely on the gods to drive its story, and whereas Marvel's Norse gods are actual living deities just as real as anything else, Mt. Olympus is viewed as a childish fable to someone like Steve Trevor. Fantasy storytelling often works best through the lense of a skeptical outsider, so rather than opening the floodgates to this whole other place of myth, the stories of Diana's people work best as an 'inner narrative' to the comics' mythology itself. To an outlander, these fervently religious Adriatic women believe in an antiquated pantheon which religions scholars have likened to ancient gossip magazines.