When I read comics, the art is definitely a highlight, but if the story and characterization of the characters is absent, I feel like I bought a book full of cool posters instead of a good comic book. Even so, the pictures and panels alone in a comic book can make it a more than enjoyable experience.
When I watch a comic book movie, I am expecting something totally different as far as looks go because it is a totally different medium, plus it’s a live action adaptation, not a cartoon. My main expectation is that the adaptation represents the essence of the characters. With that said, there are definitely some constants, you should be able to tell who the character is by looking at them, obviously. Superman should look like Superman, Captain America should look like Cap, the Fantastic Four should have the number 4 on their costumes and Doctor Doom should be in a suit of armor. Did I go to far?
The majority of comic book characters are based on or modeled after real people or things. This is because great artists find inspiration for their creations from the things around them, things that exist in their environment, in their universe (Source) .....
The
Joker was inspired by
Conrad Veidt from
The Man Who Laughs
Catwoman was inspired by
Ruth Steel/Actress Jean Harlow
Magneto was inspired by
Malcolm X
The
Red Skull was inspired by a
hot fudge sundae with a cherry on top amongst other things
That’s some powerful stuff, especially the hot fudge sundae, meaningful and powerful stuff. In all seriousness, when your bringing these characters to the big screen, the history of the characters should be taken into account, the looks are important but without story and characterization, you would have a fake plastic model of a hot fudge sundae instead of the real thing.
Let’s take a look at some of DCEU’s
controversial casting choices….
Lex Luthor
“Lex Luthor is a power-mad American billionaire, business magnate, gifted scientist, inventor, philanthropist to the city of Metropolis, and one of the most intelligent people in the world. A charismatic and well-known public figure, he is intent on killing alien superhero Superman, who Lex Luthor views as an obstacle in his megalomaniacal plans and a threat to the very existence of humanity.”
“Lex Luthor was originally depicted as a recluse with a full head of red hair who, in the vein of pulp novels, wreaks havoc on the world with his futuristic weaponry.”
In my opinion, they nailed the casting. I can literally picture Eisenberg sitting at a table across from Superman and just staring at him for hours on end, trying to figure out how he can destroy him and trying to prove to himself that he is the better “man”. Luthor is obsessed with Superman, in a similar way that the Joker is obsessed with Batman, and Eisenberg is a perfect candidate to bring this characteristic to life.
With all that going for him, Eisenberg is very intelligent and he can play smart very well. It’s obvious why he was a top choice for the character after his roles in “The Social Network” , “The Double” , and “Now You See Me”.
“Always be the smartest guy in the room”
Ezra Miller
“When Barry Allen was only eleven, his mother was killed. His father was wrongly tried and convicted for the murder, and later died in prison where Barry watched him. However, the young Allen refused to believe that his father was guilty of the crime. His life ground to a halt as he dedicated himself to finding the real murderer and, more importantly, finding the motive behind the murder. Because of this, Allen studied forensic science, and dedicated himself to solving not only his mother's case, but those of other people in his situation.” (Source)
“Working late in the lab one night, a rack of chemicals that he was working next to was struck by lightning, and Allen was doused in chemicals. Surprisingly unharmed, Allen cleaned up the mess and returned to work, but soon noticed that the world appeared to be moving much slower than normal. He soon realized that it was not the world that had slowed, but himself who had sped up. An avid fan of comic books, especially the adventures of the Jay Garrick Flash, Barry decided to follow in his hero's footsteps and fight crime.” (Source)
Before even elaborating on this, have you watched the movie “We Need to Talk About Kevin”? Ezra does an amazing job, and the dynamic that he has with Tilda Swinton is exceptional, proving both that he can act and share the screen with A list actors. Without a doubt, Ezra is a good candidate to bring the emotional weight required of a boy whose Mother is killed and whose Father is wrongly convicted of murder to the big screen. I’m also confident that he can bring the aftermath of these events to life. I’m really looking forward to seeing him play The Flash, and watching him bring Barry's powers and characteristics from the comics to to life as well.
As far as looks go, he comes off as a chameleon, on looks alone, he reminds me of Tilda Swinton, one of the most adaptable actresses in the history of cinema. It shouldn’t be a problem to adapt his look to Barry Allen and on being an “avid fan of comic books”, check out the video
Jason Momoa
I don’t get why this is controversial is it the hair color, it’s gotta be his hair color right?
I’ll let DC Comics do the talking
“Make all the sushi jokes, YouTube spoofs, and SNL sketches you want, Aquaman’s been an icon for over seventy years. The King of the Seven Seas. Reluctant ruler of Atlantis. A man who holds his own against heroes like Superman and Wonder Woman. He’s so recognizable that when officials speak about the perils of sea pollution, they’ll whip out Aquaman references to sound hip.” (Source)
Then, I’ll let Jason Momoa himself do the rest
“In general, it sounds like Momoa was born to play this part and spent his life preparing for it without knowing it was even an option. He studied Marine Biology in college, and his heritage is going to play a part in how he approaches the role. "The greatest thing for me is that Polynesians, our gods, Kahoali, Maui, all these water gods, so it's really cool and an honor to be playing a water character. There's not too many brown superheroes, so I'm really looking forward to representing the Polynesians, the natives." (Source)
“He went on to say, "My family are some of the greatest water men on Earth. I'm not, but I'm going to go train with them. But it's really an honor just being a Polynesian. And water is the most important thing in this world and we all know it. It's cool to be a part of DC's universe. I'm really excited to be with Warner Bros, and hopefully everyone likes it. And Zack Snyder's a genius, so I'm really excited to be hanging out with him." - (Source)
The moral of the story is that these talented individuals deserve a chance and there are a lot of reasons as to why they would excel in these roles. When all is said and done though, I could be absolutely wrong and these movies could suck worse than that time Shaq was cast as
Doctor John Henry Irons, the character from “
Reign of the Supermen” that Lois Lane considered to have inhabited Superman’s soul in the aftermath of his death.
I don’t think that’s likely to happen though, we’ve come so far….