Whatever your feeling about the Superman film, or the announcement of Ben Affleck as Batman, it appears that DC is finally getting their film universe off the ground. No doubt they will be concentrating on getting Superman/Batman right, followed by Flash and Justice League in some order. If things go well, a Batman film with Affleck in the lead is likely as well. That said, Marvel is still ahead of the game. Which makes DC's job more difficult in some ways. For example, if Ant Man comes first, it's hard to imagine an Atom film ever being greenlit. And Marvel has a lot of properties laying around that sort of scream out "movie"! Dr. Strange, Iron Fist, Black Panther and Runaways have all been mentioned, with two having release dates already. All of these properties have had modern takes done on them, without which one cannot imagine much interest in these properties as subjects of a film. For some reason, DC tends to ignore or, worse, mishandle some its more cinematic properties. Now we could have a whole debate about how DC creatively cannot find its own rear end with two hands sometimes, but let's save that for another column. What is truly stupefying is how the company can release 52 new titles (what number are we up to now with cancellations and new waves?) and still not put forth some of its more compelling, cinematic concepts.
Before we launch into the list, let me explain what I mean by cinematic. Every film, at its heart, is a story. So in choosing these concepts, I was looking for DC properties that actually have a story to tell. For example: a shallow, narcissistic arms manufacturer gets wounded when one of his own weapons blows up in his chest, forcing him to create a suit to keep his own heart beating. In the process he discovers what it means to be selfless and the suit becomes a weapon that he uses to help others. Now that's a story. Here's another one: a brave fighter pilot finds a dead alien wearing a ring, and the ring chooses him to replace the alien in the international space police group that the alien belonged to. He uses the magic ring to fight injustice. See the difference? Iron Man has to be Tony Stark because it is Tony Stark that makes the whole concept work. It's cinematic. That may not be the right word, but I use it to mean “will resonate with a wide audience”. Green Lantern, on the other hand, could have been any guy. As a matter of fact, some people wanted it to be John Stewart. Why not? Hal Jordan is familiar to us, but he isn't really all that integral to the story itself. That is, in my opinion, the biggest reason that the Green Lantern film failed. It lacked the emotional heart that lies at the core of every great story. Bruce Wayne has to be Batman because it was his parents who were killed. Steve Rogers has to be Captain America because he was the guy who was rejected from the service. Peter Parker has to be Spiderman because it was his irresponsibility that got Uncle Ben killed, and so on. Too many DC characters are not tied to their concepts in this way. They are, like Grant Morrison called them in his excellent book Supergods, Kennedy era spacemen. They are interchangeable, crew cut, bomber jacket wearing placeholders. As a result, they can work in the comics but they do not resonate with the general public to the extent their more popular counterparts do. Their stories ultimately lack heart. Flash screenwriters, please take note.
Which brings us to the list. These concepts are chosen simply because they are currently overlooked and/or mishandled by DC and, at their heart, they have a story to tell which can resonate.
1. The Doom Patrol.
Somewhere, someone must have called them DC's X-Men. If not, I'm doing it here. They are misfits whose (as Wikipedia nailed it) "gifts" cause them alienation and trauma. Dr. Niles Calder brings them together and teaches them that by using their own trauma to help others, they can perhaps be healed themselves. I am not saying the original team should be thrown up on the big screen anymore than the original X-Men with Iceman looking like Frosty the Snowman should be filmed. That's the point. DC did turn them over to Grant Morrison, but that was when DC was a more creative place than it is today. And it was also more than 20 years ago. Time to put some effort into this concept again. While they are comparable to X-Men, there is a critical difference – the Doom Patrol are all trauma victims. In the hands of a good writer, there’s a compelling story to tell about turning bad things that happen to us into good.
2. The Demon.
A noble knight of Camelot is bound to a demon from Hell by Merlin. Has anyone ever called him DC's Hulk? Because maybe he is, but with magic instead of science. Much like Banner, Jason Blood struggles to control the monster within him. Except Etrigan has a lot more personality than the Hulk. And I know Hulk hasn't burned up the box office, but he sure helped that Avengers film take off. DC's efforts with the Demon in the New 52 were interesting, but hardly what one would call a creative commitment. I think the character needs to be set in modern day Gotham, like he was in Kirby's run, and explore some of the themes this concept presents with. A character like this is probably not going to warrant a long term commitment in terms of sales, but the same could be said of Dr. Strange I guess. I'd like to see DC bring in some talent for a mini-series and show Warner Brothers what a Demon film could feel like.
3. Adam Strange.
This one is a little different. This is a science fiction love story, badly in need of updating. But at its core its a love story with a great tragic twist. (As of this writing, Jeff Lemire has announced plans to bring him into the new DCU).
4. The Fourth World.
To bring peace between two planets, one son is sent to live in the light, the other in the dark. This one has it all. The only problem is that a lot of it has been borrowed over the years. Surely someone could tell some great New Gods stories, within the context of Kirby's original design i.e. the search for the anti-life equation, without simply retelling his stories. I imagine DC stays away from this because its difficult to outdo what Kirby was doing. Or to not do it in strict homage to him. The greatest homage would be to make a creative commitment to the property and show the world the original Star Wars. Oh yeah, and give the Kirby estate a piece of the action while you're at it.
5. John Constantine.
An Alan Moore creation. DC's low rent magician. Harry Potter, all grown up and the worse for wear. This concept is, for better or worse, DC's Wolverine: their best new creation since the 1980's. I know that they have been developing him for years at Vertigo and recently moved him over to the DCU. That was an important move. His role in Justice League Dark is exposing a wider audience to him, but his solo title is not getting the serious attention it deserves. It could be that his second film appearance will end up being in a JLDark movie, but I think that would be almost as big a shame as casting Keanu Reeves in the first film. If DC would make a creative commitment and bring in A-list talent to his new title, it could pay off big time.
DC has the ability to showcase their properties (See JLDark, Wonder Woman, and Batwoman as current examples). It's past time for them to invest in these five in a similar fashion. These properties are not ready for prime time in the shape they are in, with the possible exception of Constantine. They could all use some first rate talent to dust them off. The same old writers and house art is not enough. They should not be treated like just another wave of replacement titles. Their potential to be great films warrants a greater commitment than DC has demonstrated to date.