The number one complaint I hear is that Nolan's Batman isn’t skilled enough to join Justice League. I mean, we're talking about a guy who doesn't have any super powers but is still so expert that he can join a team full of VERY powerful superheroes. And Nolan’s Batman just isn’t that. Not only did he get made like a fool fighting Bane, but he couldn’t even take down a pack of dogs.
The second complaint I hear is the villains. Most people don't like the way Nolan handled Two-Face, Bane, and even Scarecrow, saying he took a lot away from very rich characters.
Basically, fans are divided. Some just want the Nolanverse to continue, some want a full-on reboot that isn’t so realistic. I understand both sides of the argument. The TDK trilogy was GREAT stories, but by being grounded in realism the characters weren’t true to their source material. I agree!
So, I’m in the middle. I want the story to continue, but I want a truer Batman and his villains.
Here is the solution to that problem. If a Justice League movie is coming out in 2015-2016 (I prefer 2016), you need at least SOME sense of building-up, like Marvel did. And four years is still too early for a reboot, sorry. So make the Nolan series semi-canon and retcon some things. But you could still have had Bruce Wayne and Catwoman go to Italy at the end of TDKR, or wherever the hell it was.
In the Justice League movie, recast Batman. You can have him be every bit of the badass, expert detective that he is and wasn’t in the Nolan trilogy. People are very familiar with Batman and the majority of people (fans, not necessarily comic fans) loved the Nolan trilogy and are familiar with the character. But if Christian Bale returned in this movie, it'd probably be too weird having him as a badass. That’s why you can have most of the storyline intact, but a better and truer Batman. And TDK trilogy being semi-canon could only be temporary, too, if they wanted to use Scarecrow, Two-Face or Bane in a future movie.
I think Green Lantern should stay semi-canon as well because the story itself wasn’t bad, they just got stuck with a bad script because Warner Brothers rushed things. I’m still one of the defenders of Ryan Reynolds’ performance, so it really doesn’t matter to me if they recast Hal Jordan or keep Reynolds.
The ideas that influenced my idea were taken from The New 52’s Justice League first arc as well as several other articles and comments I’ve read on this site. Thus, ideas are not %100 mine. I’d give credit where credit is due, but I don’t remember who said some of this stuff and I’m not about to go back and look.
Anyway, if you haven’t read the that comic, go buy it and read it, because that’s basically my idea. For those who haven’t read it, a pretty good summary can be found here:
http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Justice_League:_Origin
But I would change/add a few things:
• If this is going to be released before an Aquaman movie, I wouldn’t put him in here. He definitely needs his story told before joining with JL. I wouldn’t add Cyborg, either, because I just like him better as a Teen Titan.
• Those spider-demons would be like walking bombs. They appear all around Washington, D.C. and a few other American cities.
• At the beginning of the movie, there is a newspaper that shows Joker has broken out of Arkham Asylum. Most fans will see this as an Easter egg, but it will later show to be a plot detail in the story.
• Maybe tease a little Superman/Wonder Woman romance ?
• Young Marine John Stewart is a supporting character for the first half of the movie. Somehow get the Marines involved (I don’t know, guys, I just come up with the ideas). About mid-way through the film, Hal Jordan is killed by a Parademon. Perhaps it’s an explosion that causes it, who knows. Right before this, John Stewart is picked as another Green Lantern. Instead of being taken to Oa to train, Hal Jordan trains him as much as he can because their world is in danger at the moment. After Jordan dies, Batman is ill-tempered towards him.
• In a very emotional scene, Batman reveals to Stewart why he disapproves of him; referring to the ending of TDKR, he was taking the atom bomb away from Gotham. He was perfectly willing to die for his city. But Hal Jordan grabbed him out of the plane at the last second, saving his life. You could even have Batman say something like “So I went to Italy, with a woman I thought I loved.” Then, unexpectedly, whatever building they are in blows up. Cue action.
• Instead of Batman going to save Superman, he locates the “motherboard” of the Parademons in a nearby chemical plant using his detective skills. Someone had activated the Fatherboxes which allowed the Parademons and Darkseid to come through. There are screens all around it that show Darkseid, Parademons and more spider-demons on big buildings. The motherboard is also in control of when the spider-demons blow up. Batman is trying to power it all down when all of a sudden…
• Joker! Here Joker reveals that Darkseid is the one who broke him out of Arkham, and gave him control of the Parademons. Joker doesn’t care if it’s the end of the world; so as long as he gets to cause destruction. Batman is about to attack him when Joker presses a button and points to a screen. Five buildings all across Washington D.C. blow up. Heartbroken and enraged, Batman pounces on Joker and engages him in fight. You could go back and forth between Batman/Joker and the rest of Justice League/Darkseid. Then, at the end of Batman/Joker fight, he punches Joker into a chemical plant (which we all know affects his skin to be permanently white and hair to be permanently green). The S.W.A.T. team shows up and Batman explains to them about Joker before headed back to the motherboard room.
• Batman somehow contacts another member of the Justice League, probably Superman, and tells them to give it all they got because he is on his way, with five spider-demons with him to blow up on Darkseid. Superman, having been fighting Darkseid for a good half hour, calls up someone from the government and tells them to get the Phantom Zone ready.
• After blowing up the spider-demons at Darkseid, they open up the Phantom Zone and John Stewart sends him in. Batman presses a button and all the other Parademons are sent back to wherever they came from. Darkseid is the real threat here.
• Closing scenes are Joker being taken to jail and the Justice League being praised.
Closing thoughts:
• Okay, obviously I don’t have everything figured out here guys. These are JUST IDEAS. I’m not a director, writer or anything like that. They could figure out the little ideas and “buts” for themselves. Just thoughts in my head that I would like to see.
• The Flash should come after Man of Steel 2, and then Justice League.
• I really, really want to put Martian Manhunter in here somewhere, but I just couldn’t figure out how to do it. Maybe you could tell me your ideas in the comment section?
• Obviously, the Joker does seem a little out of place. I understand if you guys don’t want him in. Again, just how I would do it. I personally think it would be a nice surprise, seeing as that’s a villain everyone is familiar with.
• I know, I know. “Darkseid is too powerful for a first movie!” I see your point, but I think with this story arc as the source, it would work.
• Before y’all hound me for holding on to TDK trilogy or GL movie, let me make one thing clear: I DON’T GIVE A [frick] WHAT THEY DO. This is how I would do it. No matter what happens, I’m going to sit back, watch the movie, and not complain. So don’t accuse me for being a Nolanite over a simple idea. I sincerely think having TDK trilogy and GL as semi-canon is the best thing for Warner Bros. to do.
Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think in the comments section.