While I thoroughly enjoyed Marvel's The Avengers, let's be honest. Not one of the superheroes on that team could stand a chance against Superman. Throw the rest of the Justice League into the mix and I have no doubts on who would win. Having said that, Marvel's strategy for bringing the Avengers to the big screen was nothing less than unprecidented genius that can and should be expanded upon. If The Avengers is the iPhone, then The Justice League can be the iPhone 4S. But much to my dismay, it seems as though the execs. over at Warner Bros. have something else in mind. Back in March of 2011, when asked if his "Man of Steel" project would be the first step towards a future Justice League movie, Zach Snyder said,"Like what Chris Nolan is doing and what I’m doing with Superman, what they’ll do with Justice League will be its own thing with its own Batman and own Superman. We’ll be over here with our movie and they’ll kinda get to do it twice which is kinda cool." Now fast forward to last month's San Diego Comic Con. While speaking on the panel for Man of Steel, Snyder was once again asked if his movie would be tie-in to the upcoming Justice League film. This time Snyder said, “We know that Superman is the jewel in the DC crown, and what we’re trying to do is get his house in order. And then, who knows what’s possible.” A Far cry from the flat out no he gave last year, but still not what I was hoping to hear. So here's praying someone in power over at Warner Bros. reads this. The following are my ideas on how DC's character's should be handled before Justice League becomes the greatest superhero team-up movie EVER!
Step 1:
Disregard any and all movies that came before "Man of Steel". I didn't hate "Green Lantern", but everyone else did. So consider it a life lesson and move on.
Step 2:
Use "Man of Steel" to introduce Wonder Woman, (her male counterpart)Steve Trevor, Green Lantern, and Star Labs. Sounds ambitious I know, but it can be done. Before Superman reveals himself to the world the movie should feature a scene where Perry White holds a staff meeting concerning whatever stories his reporters are working on. Lois Lane mentions a mysterious accident at Ferris Industries involving an experimental fighter jet. Basically during a routine test flight the air craft emitted a blinding green light before exploding, leaving no sign of the pilot (Hal Jordan) who is presumed dead. Lois goes on to say that the reckage is being inspected by the NTSB with the help of Star Labs. She then mentions how Ferris Industries is currently in a bidding war over a defense contract with Luthor Corp. Perry gives her the okay, but soon after Superman steps on the scene, so the story gets put on the back burner. "Man of Steel" will supposedly have a lot of military involvement, so it's not a stretch to assume fighter jets will be shown. Make Steve Trevor one of the pilots. After the credits role, cut to scene of a member of the Air Force reading a Daily Planet article titled "Luthor Corp. Wins Bid For New Defense Contract". Then show Steve Trevor making his way to one of the new Luthor Jets. As he soars over the Atlantic, the air craft experiences some strange type of interference and crash lands on a mysterious island. When Steve Trevor safely exits the plane he finds himself surrounded by a group of beautiful Amazonian women, armed with spears, and led by none other than Princess Diana of Themyscira (AKA Wonder Woman). Fade to Black.
Step 3:
Reboot Green Lantern!!! Marvel did it with the Hulk, and he's arguably the best character in The Avengers. You can skim through how Hal Jordan gets his ring with the use of a well placed dream sequence. First show him inside of the experimental jet being encompassed by the bright green ball of light Lois mentioned (see step 2), maybe even show a shot of Carol Ferris shielding her eyes from the blast. Then cut to a scene of a wounded Abin Sur laying on his back watching his ring make it's way onto Hal's finger. Next we see Hal hurdling through outer space toward the planet OA. That's when Hal Jordan wakes up and finds himself in some type of sick bay. He wanders around until he stumbles upon a memorial service for Abin Sur. Soon after Sinestro takes Hal Jordan under his wing. From this point on the movie should basically be an intergalactic version of "Training Day" with Sinestro as Alonzo, and Hal as Officer Hoyte. If this sounds a lot like the anime "Green Lantern: First Flight", good. I always thought that was way better than the live action film. Once Sinestro is defeated, Jordan returns to earth and pays Carol Ferris a visit. Two months have passed since his disapearance, so he basically lies and says he woke up in a ditch and that the last thing he remembers is flying the experimental fighter jet. She tells him about how they lost the defense contract bid to Luther Corp. He then asks her what all he's missed since he vanished. She responds by turning on the TV, which is showing non-stop footage of Superman fighting Zod. She then walks over to her phone and says Star Labs will want to speak to you about the accident, maybe even run some test. When she looks up from dialing she notices that Hal is gone with out a trace. The next scene should feature Hal transforming into the Green Lantern on the roof top of Ferris Industries. He says "So much for my vacation", and rockets off in search of the Man of Steel. After the credits roll cut to a shot of Star Labs. Inside we see Ira and Iris West in an observation room watching a crash test dummy in a red suit get spun around in one of those machines used to train astronauts for G-forces. Iris is on a cell phone. When she hangs up she tells her father that she was speaking to Carol Ferris and that it appears Hal Jordan has resurfaced. Just then she gets another call. Ira notices a dissapointed look on her face and says "I take it he's running late as usual". Iris gives her dad a cold stare and says "No worries Barry (The Flash), I'll see you at home." Fade to Black.
Step 4:
Wonder Woman starts where Man of Steel left off. I'm not really that knowledgeable about Wonder Woman, but I imagine her film should basically be Wrath of the Titans in a modern urban setting, only instead of some guy coming to the rescue it's Wonder Woman who saves the day (with a little help from Steve). The first question that comes to mind is where is Superman while she fights all of these monsters. I figure at some point in the film it could be revealed through a TV news report that he has his hands full with some other villain (Parasite, Toy Man, etc... Take your pick)back in Metropolis. Then once the news report ends a weather man appears and mentions a huge electrical storm making it's way through Central City (Intro to Flash's Origin). During the fight at the end, Wonder Woman upper-cuts one monster and sends him hurtling towards the ocean. After the credits roll we see the monster that was upper-cutted waking up on the ocean floor. Just as he begins to rise Aquaman's Trident impales him through the back of his head. We then see Aquaman begin to swim back to his under water kingdom, Atlantis. Fade to black.
Anyway that's all I've got for now. If you're wonder where Batman is in all of this I figure it's best to start his reboot in the actual Justice League movie.