EDITORIAL: 5 ways to make an awesome Justice League movie

EDITORIAL: 5 ways to make an awesome Justice League movie

They don't avenge, they fight for Justice.

Editorial Opinion
By CavEl - Jun 09, 2012 08:06 AM EST
Filed Under: Justice League

So, Marvel made a huge successful cinematic movie and this makes Warner Brothers believe that they have to follow suit, huh? Okay, well, let's act for a moment that DC superheroes aren't already too powerful to have in a team and there's a threat that can actually challenge all 7 and let's say, for the sake of it, we depower them to their DCAU counterpart and we shove them in a team. How would you make this work, huh?

Here's 5 easy tips for you guys

5.) DONT FOLLOW MARVEL'S APPROACH!

I can't stress this enough actually. I get that Marvel made a gagillion dollars and you want a gagillion dollars too, but there's not much similarities between DC heroes and Marvel heroes. DC heroes are people we should aspire to be--Superman is what we're capable of being morally, spiritually and emotionally while Batman is what we're capable of being physically(set your mind to a goal and work hard enough and it's possible). Green Lantern is all about how you overcome adversity and Flash is about facing the fact that, no matter how fast you are, you can't outrun your troubles. The Lady Di is a feminist icon that every woman should aspire to be...minus her dumb star spangled strip club outfit that is; she's strong, brave, confident and able to go toe-to-toe with any man...or Superman, for that matter.--while Marvel tries to pass off their heroes as more "relatable", which is a nice way of making them toolbags.




Your heroes are who Marvel heroes look up to, except Batman who'd thrive in Marvel's universe of tools, and you should keep that aspect of them. They fight for a better tomorrow and a brighter day, Marvel's guys fight just to fight (They have an entire event tailored around heroes versus. heroes). That's why your heroes have JUSTICE in their names, while Marvel's guys seek vengeance.




Keep them pure, but find a way to make them relatable. I know it's tough, but you guys have a chance to shine now that Marvel's head guys are about to come off air. It's worth the investment of paying for a world class pen-man

4.) Don't worry about continuity, REBOOT, REBOOT, REBOOT!

Forget Green Lantern, it was terrible. Don't attach failure to a project or it'll project failure to everyone else. I watched Green Lantern...twice-_- and I'm still bitter about it. Don't put Ryan Reynolds in this movie! I'm serious, I'll skip this if you do. Find someone who actually looks like Hal and put him in the movie.




Reboot Nolan's Batman if he doesn't comply, by that I don't mean create a new trilogy. Just stick another guy in Bale's place. Batman has the benefit of wearing a mask, unlike Superman, and thus no one cares much for what's under the mask. Luckily for you, Bale wasn't iconic as Batman so not a lot of people will miss him. Nolan's stories were what his trilogy was all about, not Christian Bale. Batman has 7 movies and 4 actors portraying him in them, people are used to seeing Batman change.



Try to keep Henny, but if Nolan is adamant about keeping his universe separate just cast one of the previous Supermen(Welling if he decides to wear the suit or Routh). We don't need four guys playing CK in less than 20 years.

3.) Don't make it Batman centric!

I get it, he's the money maker for you guys, but he's also the weakest member of the group. If something is a threat to him it doesn't mean it's a threat to his super-powered ilk. Anything that Batman's batterangs or explosive can bring down should be no threat to Superman or the other members of the league. Don't have it be a movie where Batman is smarter, stronger, cooler, tougher than everyone else. I get it, he's the big ticket, but this movie isn't for him. You're not trying to generate interest in Batman, Nolan already did that for you guys. This is about the guys who don't get to shine like Green Lantern, Flash and Wondy. Don't worry about Batman, you can put him in a room drinking coffee and his fans would think he's the reason for the Justice League's success. There's a running gag out there about Batman and the Justice League that if you don't present your other heroes...heroically, there's no point in trying to create a universe around them.





Superman has to start the league because he's the most powerful member of the JL, excluding Martian, and he's the most infuential member in the DCU. If there's a threat that he cant handle, the rest of the DCU knows it's serious. He'll be able to get a team together faster than anyone else Have Batman be the Oracle/Watchtower operations commander, similar to what Nightwing does in Young Justice. Wonder Woman has to be the field tactician because she has the most experience fighting and leading troops not battle.

2.) A hero is only as interesting ad his villain.

Now, as we know, Superman is powerful. Diana is an excellent fighter, Green Lantern's powers cone from sheer force of will, so you have to give these guys someone that can knock them down a peg. No, it shouldn't be Darkseid because he belongs to Superman. Darkseid wants to have Superman by his side, as his pawn. He looks at Superman as the son he always wanted. Orion is a lost cause and Kalibak is a failure, Superman would be a perfect knight/trophy to him. The whole idea of Darkseid just being a villain that shows up for Justice League fights is dumb. The idea of the Anti-Life equation being his reason for wanting Earth is far more stupid and hard to comprehend for a general audience.



What the Justice League needs is a heroes that lives off fear! Sinestro is big enough, not only is he big enough to knock down Superman and the others his powers can even effect Batman who wouldn't have such a combat role. Having Sinestro also means it's Lantern's movie. After what WB put on the screen the last time, I say good. Have him redeem himself here by making him take down the big threat. Make this Justice League movie your green machine's time to shine.

1.) Don't use the original 7.

The big 5 should stay the course--Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash and Green Lantern--but the final two spots need tweaking. As much as I've cone to love Aquaman under Geoff Johns, I don't want him here. His powers are too aqua based. Martian is overpowered. Superman isn't, Martian is overpowered. Think Superman's powers...but with telekinesis, shapeshifting and mass manipulation. I'm glad DC moved him to Stormwatch because he belongs with the big boys.







In their place, I'm going for diversity. I've always hated the DC boy's club and I'll watch anything with a hot Asian lady so I'm putting Element Woman (Emily Sung) and Supermodel Vixen (Mari McCabe). Now, before you racis...I mean, Republi...I mean, Purists get on me for adding two minority women, let me say that I'm not putting them in just to put them in. Yes, I want a more deverse group--something Marvel lacked in their Avengers--but Vixen and Element Woman bring a different power set to the team. You don't have to weaken them and they're already great characters, especially Element Woman who you can write for as she's a Flashpoint creation with no origin to speak of.

This would make a Justice League movie interesting and keep people coming back for more. DC already has the three most iconic heroes in the world (Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman), they just have to make it mesh.

Personally, I'd rather have a World's Finest movie, but DC wants that money.
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Silmane
Silmane - 6/9/2012, 9:41 AM
Nice points, but JL movie is screwed. WB/DC can't do anything right.
JMESS
JMESS - 6/9/2012, 9:48 AM
why take out original members ? keep aquaman and Manhunter , keep it how it was intended and chances are the movie will be alot better then just throwing in eye candy, now granted aquaman should be like in the JL cartoon with the beard and hook hand so he doesnt look so bad, and have the legion of doom as the bad guys, i know doom just came out and that would be alot to fit into 1 movie but just think with the right director and script how epic that could be !
95
95 - 6/9/2012, 10:12 AM
I actually like alot of your ideas. Some of the best suggested and most original thoughts I've run into. But there are some things I don't agree with. Otherwise, I think you'd do justice (no pun intended) to the characters. And nicely written (alot of shit editorials out there).
GreenHalJordan
GreenHalJordan - 6/9/2012, 11:14 AM
they dont need to reboot Green Lantern! IMO of course, I just think that since Reynolds is getting more comfortable with action roles, and Hal can continue to mature in the sequel (Or just start out more mature), R4eynolds can come back and people won't be confused and ask why we have a new GL when a film just came out a while ago.
GreenHalJordan
GreenHalJordan - 6/9/2012, 11:16 AM
I like ur other points by the way, espeacially the difference between Marvel being relatable and DC being what everyone should aspire to be. People look for symbolism and meaning in movies today and if they can pull it off, it could beat avengers in every way! (although I do think Avengers was phenomonal)
ralfinader
ralfinader - 6/9/2012, 11:28 AM
I think they should distance themselves even further from the GL movie, and have John Stewart be the GL of the JL. I agree with alot of your points, and think the villian or villians (I want Legion of Doom...guy can dream) should be of the costumed variety. Marvel has yet to do a costumed villian, just transformed, deformed, alien, etc., and they could beat them to that punch in a team movie.
MaximusRodd
MaximusRodd - 6/9/2012, 4:19 PM
#5 Unfortunately, they couldn't if they tried. Not enough finesse or talent in the combined WB lot.

#4 This would be a necessity. Especially considering there has not been an over-arching, cohesive vision to date. It's rather painful to watch when you can obviously see which ideas get green-lit from which department, seemingly never one ever communicating with another.

#3 Oh, but they will. They will. If ever there was a larger group of fat cat gas-bags than what headlines upper management at WB, I have yet to see it. RDJ wanted the same approach for Avengers but respected Joss Whedon when he said, "No. It won't work."

#2 The trickiest part. Finding that penultimate reason so many disparate heroes from different origins unite. Can they pull it off without first laying down major groundwork and back-stories?

#1 Just stick with the good old Superfriends model. Although Black Canary would add a more balanced representation and even Hawkman would be a much less silly looking choice than Aquaman. Manhunter could work if he was introduced as being distant and uninvolved, only entering the fray when things were really on the line.
gamecreatorjj
gamecreatorjj - 6/9/2012, 9:22 PM
i want to know why people keep saying WB/DC can't do anything right, I'm really curious,
lets look at the GOOD:
Superman the Motion Picture
Superman II
Batman 89
Batman Returns
Batman Forever
Batman Begins
The Dark Knight
Watchmen
V for Vendetta
RED
Human Target
Smallville?
The Spirit
Road to Perdition
Stardust
Swamp Thing

The BAD:
Superman III
Superman IV
Superman V
Batman and Robin
Catwoman
Green Lantern
Jonah Hex
Steel
The Losers

Marvel's GOOD:
Spiderman
Spiderman 2
X Men
X2
Blade
Blade 2
Ironman
The incredible Hulk
Captain America the First Avenger
The Avengers
Daredevil (directors cut)
X Men First Class
Kick ass

Marvels BAD:
X men 3
X men origins wolverine
spiderman 3
blade 3
hulk
ironman 2
fantastic 4
fantastic 4 rise of the silver surfer
fantastic 4 (1994)
Captain America
thor
ghost rider
ghost rider spirit of vengeance
howard the duck
the punisher 89
the punisher
the punisher warzone
man thing
daredevil
elektra
men in black II
men in black III

im not even going to play the animation game, but please stop talking shit about WB making shit movies, or not making superhero movies, because when you make as many as sony/fox/disney/paramount/universal most of them are going to be shit
MaximusRodd
MaximusRodd - 6/9/2012, 10:16 PM
Hmm, really?

Superman the Motion Picture- a classic that anyone at WB today had nothing to do with.

Superman II- Classic. Same as above.

Batman 89- Good but over-the-top and murky.

Batman Returns- Very good, but has nothing to do with the talent that currently exists at WB.

Batman Forever- A steaming pile. The beginning of the end of the original Batman franchise that opened the door to the atrocity that is Batman and Robin. Jim Carrey is an annoying has-been comprised solely of ridiculous expressions passed off as talent.

Batman Begins -Good.

The Dark Knight - Good, but highly over-rated. Ledger manged to smooth out its obvious flaws.

Watchmen - boring.

V for Vendetta- pointlessly esoteric.

RED- who ever heard of it?

Human Target- who ever heard of it? Oh, wait. They tried to make this into a series on Fox and it failed and was cancelled.

Smallville?- Seriously? Pathetically bloated teen angst; Dawson's Creek if they occasionally wore tights.

The Spirit- Bombed. Panned by critics and a financial failure.

Road to Perdition- Good, but not a true CBM.

Stardust- Liked it, but it was not very successful.

Swamp Thing- Merely as camp value I liked it. I was a child when this came out and even I knew it was bad. "So-bad-it's-good" maybe. But I doubt D.C. would list it on their resume of hits.
ryansorensen12
ryansorensen12 - 6/9/2012, 10:34 PM
I agree with not using a Batman centric film, Sinestro and not to follow marvel's approach but the whole "reboot" thing and not keeping the original 7, here why:

Lets Keep Whats existing and build.

Green Lantern wasn't the best, but its still a scaffold to build on. Mark Strong was fantastic as Sinestro, and even i didn't even mind Reynolds as Hal. He is a dedicated actor (as seen by his desire to "do deadpool right") who just had to make due with a bad script. Perhaps in a Green Lantern sequel they could explore Sinestro's home world of Korugar and the injustice there. More emphasis could be put into the actual Corps such as Kilowog, Tomar Re even others like Salakk etc. The second movie could follow a modified version of Emerald Twilight with a villain such as the Anti Monitor or Hank Henshaw destroying coast city, evoking Paralax's return within Jordan. This could lead to Parallax/Jordan teaming up with the villain(s) and Sinestro and the rest of the corps having to take them down. Sinestro could be dragged into the antimatter universe (as a hero still perceived by the Corps) and Hal is left as parallax in the films ending. The ending scene in Green Lantern with the yellow ring could perhaps be a flash forward to the events of the justice league movie.

Nolan's batman universe could be interpreted depending on what happens to wayne in TDKR.

The Man of Steel movie could simply be extended upon for the Justice League.

Flash could be adapted to a film, as his backstory is very detailed and probably requires a film to demolish the concept that he's just a "hero that runs fast".

Wonderwoman movie is definitely a MUST.

Finally, they could bring in Aquaman and Martian Manhunter during the events of Justice League (similar to Hawkeye and Hulk in the avengers). Perhaps their movies could be released after.

So essentially, they could use a Green Lantern 2 movie to set up everything for the Avengers.

In opening of the Justice League movie, Sinestro's antimatter universe banishment makes him question the Guardians and the corps, the lack of justice on Korugar, the treatment of his people and finally the stupidity of Jordan leading to his exile and hatred for Earth. VILLAIN MOTIVES DONE!

Concurrently, the Justice League forms on Earth with the absence of Hal Jordan, in order to take down Parallax/Jordan. They succeed in separating Jordan from the entity of fear which in return breaks Sinestro out of his banishment to the antimatter universe who now can harness the power of fear (steals the ring from the central powerbattery referencing the scene from the end of green lantern). Sinestro in his exile has formed the Sinestro Corps through fear and begins his quest to destroy Earth and command control of Korugar.

And so the showdown for the Justice League movie begins...
Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonderwoman, Flash, Martian Manhunter and Aquaman are now up against a larger enemy than Jordan's parallax. The likes of Sinestro, Anti Monitor, Hank Henshaw, Superman Prime and others (maybe scarecrow etc) up against them, wielding the rings of fear. Maybe Guy Gardner could be employed during Hal's parallax episode?

As for casting choices...

Henry Cavill (superman), get a new batman because Christian Bale wont if Nolan wont. Reynolds as GL, someone like Neil Patrick Harris or Ryan Gosling as Flash, Bradley Cooper as Aquaman, Kate Beckinsale as wonderwoman, Laurence Fishburne as Manhunter. That would be my ideal.

I've really wanted to get that idea off my chest for a while hahaha
ryansorensen12
ryansorensen12 - 6/9/2012, 10:36 PM
woops ***Justice League*** not avengers ahahaha
MaximusRodd
MaximusRodd - 6/9/2012, 10:39 PM
And what the frack does Men in Black have to do with Marvel???

It was not a Marvel film. It was produced by Amblin Entertainment, distributed by Columbia, and was based on the Aircel Comic Book. Marvel only did a one-off promotional release of a mini-comic for the sequel. They had nothing to do with those films.

Get your facts straight, @gamecreatorjj!

And anyone who labels Smallville and Swamp Thing as "good" then labels Thor and Captain America as "bad" has very questionable judgment.
Avengers2012
Avengers2012 - 6/9/2012, 11:53 PM
Marvel films overall are better than DC's. There's no argument to this. DCs big guns are 2 superman classics, and both Nolan bat films. Then decent films like batman,batman returns,watchmen and thats it. Marvels big guns are x-men,x-men2,x-men first class, spider-man,spider-man 2, iron man, the avengers. Then good/decent films like cap, thor, incredible hulk, hulk, blade, blade 2, ironman2, daredevil. There's really no contest to see which is the more successful.
gamecreatorjj
gamecreatorjj - 6/10/2012, 12:50 AM
@maximus men in black came from a marvel imprint

i labeled captain america as bad (the one from the 90s) if you read the good from marvel, you will see the first avenger on there, i put smallville with a question mark because it depends on who you talk to and it was successful even though it sucked, and some of the sutff on there was good but bomb ie the spirit, thor is exchangeable, you can fit it in how you like, i find it as the weakest marvel studios film, also i put imprints on there, and RED is getting a sequel, and it only came out 1-2 years ago, because it did that well,

@avengers if you are going to count x men 1, spiderman 1, first class, blade, incredible hulk, hulk, thor, cap, ironman 2, and daredevil

then you have to count batman, batman returns, batman forever, the spirit, superman returns ( i mean you put daredevil on your list) oh and are we talk successful, because you know we are on our 7th big opening batman film, not counting mask of the pahantasm or the 60s film, and we will be on our 6th big opening superman film next year, oh and isn't red getting a sequel, and batman getting a 7 film plan after TDKR, oh and road to perdition is getting a sequel too, green lantern is still getting its sequel, and we all know man of steel will rob the box office, oh and take a look and compare the critical success of DC/WB films to that of Marvel, marvel makes mediocre, popcorn films (with exceptions, avengers, x2, etc) DC does that and makes them noteworthy too, if you notice if a DC film is bad it does bad (ex: superman returns wasn't bad, just wasn't the right character) catwoman was bad and did bad, green lantern was bad and did bad, but even the good DC films do bad, because they suck? no, its simple WB is shit at marketing, they couldn't sell a car for a buck, but so is DISNEY, they want their new pirates franchise, but john carter and tron legacy did terrible, no, its paramount that sells films, thats why ironman did well, and THOR, and Cap, see avengers was disney's first Marvel film, they over budgeted the marketing department, when the movie sells itself, you see hulk and ironman together, and your impression has been made, see WB tried something with Green Lantern, lets bring out an unfamiliar character in a year where we get 5 familar names (transformers, x men, harry potter, planet of the apes) of course a mediocre popcorn schlock film will be looked over, but if they released it in 2010 or 2009 where its only competition would have been ironman, wolverine, and harry potter, then kids would be dressing like ryan reynolds for halloween
ThunderKat
ThunderKat - 6/10/2012, 11:27 PM
I mostly agree with you. In reality, they couldn't do too badly by making the animated "JL" into a live action. It covers your diversity/balance.

Speaking of diversity, your little comment stereotyping people is so wrong. It took away from the strength of your persuasive argument.
Coldblood6
Coldblood6 - 6/13/2012, 5:22 AM
Watching these little DC fanboys try to tear down MARVEL in these silly editorials shows how much the overwhelming success of THE AVENGERS and the MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE on the whole is hurting them on the inside.

And that brings an unbelievable amount of joy to my heart.
Coldblood6
Coldblood6 - 6/13/2012, 5:31 AM
This is off topic but I'll say it anyway:

THE AVENGERS in it's domestic opening weekend made almost as much ($207 million) as green lantern did in it's entire worldwide run ($220 million).

Khemik
Khemik - 6/15/2012, 8:33 AM
Got some good ideas. But Why am I sensing hostility towards Avengers and Marvel in this article. Is it really needed?
MaximusRodd
MaximusRodd - 6/15/2012, 7:36 PM
@1ArrowsGreen - "@coldblood6 ha you sound like a rapper!!"

Possibly a little racist in your comment.
A better, more intelligent way to state a perspective would be:

@coldblood6, don't always feel the need to focus on things you like through the prism of race. It skews thinking to look for flaws and slights that are most surely non-deliberate. There are plenty of successful artists who create characters that reflect their personal experiences and include other cultures, but the story comes from THEIR perspective.

Anyone who feels their particular culture is under-represented should follow that model and do the same. No one is going to do it for them.
CeltiC527
CeltiC527 - 6/18/2012, 4:02 PM
Recasting Hal would be stupid. People will already be confused enough when hey see a differant Batman. One of the reasons the Avengers was so great was that they had all the same actors return in their roles(except for Norton). Audiences probably have a better connection with and care more about Iron Man instead of the Hulk because he has been played by the same actor in 4 movies where the Hulk has a had 3 differant actors in 3 movies.
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