WOW, that title is a mouthful. I told you guys I’m done writing Justice League articles. I don’t know why I’m writing this one. Actually I do. The main reason is because I saw and read Tainted87’s “Breaking Into the Justice League” and jpfola26’s “Don´t Listen: A response to "Breaking Into The Justice League by Tainted87”. Both guys bring up good points. One side says it’s a good idea doing the Justice League before solo movies. Another side disagrees. I decided to write an article on the pros and cons of both sides. I’m going to look at 3 pros and cons on why WB’s should do the Marvel way and 3 pros and cons on why WB’s should do the JL first. Let’s begin.
Why Warner Bros. Should Do “The Marvel Way”
Pros
1. It’s A Way That Works
Marvel’s idea of a shared universe set through 5 movies to lead to
The Avengers was risky but it paid off. We now know this is a system that works. WB’s should use this system for its character knowing that it works. Think of Marvel as a guinea pig to WB’s. They wanted to see if what Marvel did would pay off and it did. Using the blueprint Marvel did would give you success.
2. You Build Up Anticipation To The Justice League
In the after credits of
Iron Man one could say that is when the show really began. We saw Samuel L. Jackson meeting with Tony Stark asking about the Avengers. Then in
The Incredible Hulk we saw Robert Downey Jr. telling General Ross that their putting together a team. I can go on and on but my point is thanks to each film, it built up
The Avenger. If you didn’t have those movies,
The Avengers may not have done as well as they did. If they did this for the Justice League, hell they could have more hype than
The Avengers
3. You Can Introduce Each Character
The important thing about
The Avengers is you introduced the big 4 and some other characters and their origins in the solo movies. This is important. We all saw how they became the heroes they are in
The Avenger. We saw who they were, what made them who they are. It’s important to tell where the hero is from and how he or she came to be.
Cons
1. The Avenger’s Were B-List Heroes, The Justice League Is A-List
I am not at all dissing
The Avengers but before
The Avengers everyone on the team except Hulk were B-List heroes. No one really knew Iron Man until Downey’s film. No one knew Thor and Cap until their movies. Because we didn’t see Marvel’s big 2 in
The Avengers, (Spider-Man and Wolverine), we didn’t know all that many members so Marvel had to introduce them before
The Avengers. Now those heroes moved from the B-List to the A-List. People know the Justice League. People know Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Green Lantern. The only hero on the Justice League who you may need to tell their background is Martian Manhunter.
2. Just Because You Have A Solo Movie Does Not Mean It Will Be Successful
Just because you give a character a solo movie doesn’t mean it will be successful. Look at
The Incredible Hulk. In my mind the second best Marvel solo movie and still we don’t have a sequel to that.
Thor wasn’t that much of a success and neither was
Captain America: The First Avenger. The only successful movies were the Iron Man ones. Just because you give a character a film doesn’t mean they will be great.
3. Your Copying Marvel
One problem I believe WB’s has with this doing it the Marvel way is your copying them. They think that if they do what Marvel did, they are holding up a white flag saying Marvel is better.
Why Warner Bros. Should Do The Justice League First
Pros
1. It Will Increase The Popularity Of The Characters And People Would Want Solo Movies From Them
This isn’t opinion; this is fact and let me tell you why. If I told you Marvel was going to do a Hawkeye & Black Widow movie to lead up to
The Avengers, would anyone want to see it? No. After
The Avengers came out, people now would like to see a possible Hawkeye & Black Widow movie. Also let’s look at the Hulk. Marvel finally got the Hulk right. We found the right actor; we got people loving the Hulk. So what’s next for the Hulk?
Avengers 2. No one wants that to be the next time we want to see the Hulk. We want to see him have his own movie. I don’t get why Marvel is thinking Plant Hulk because that did a Hulk story that came from people dislike the Hulk. People now love the Hulk. If we can get people to support the Hulk, Hawkeye, and Black Widow so we can see a movie from them, people will do the same for Wonder Woman and Flash. The Justice League movie could be what it takes to get Wonder Woman and the Flash to have their solo movie.
2. It Could Give WB’s A Lot Of Confidence In The Superhero Department
Let’s face it, unless you see the name Donner, Burton, Nolan or Snyder, you don’t have a lot of confidence in a DC movie. WB’s needs some confidence. If the Justice League is successful it could be a huge monkey off WB’s back that would make WB’s more interested in making good superhero movies for the sake of making good superhero movies.
3. If The JUSTICE LEAGUE Movie Is Great, It’s Smooth Sailing In Creating A DC Movie Universe
I am a DC fan. I love what Marvel did and want the same from DC. If the Justice League movie is great, it’s easy to make solo movies for these characters. Look at what happen with
The Avengers. There is more hype for
Thor 2 and
Captain America 2 then there was for their first movies. Iron Man will always have hype. WB’s could built more hype for these characters who people want on the big screen if the Justice League is great then they would if they introduced them before the Justice League.
Cons
1. It’s Risky As Hell
To quote Eminem, "YOU GET ONE SHOT, DO NOT MISS YOUR CHANCE TO BLOW." WB’S I HOPE YOUR LISTENING IF THE JUSTICE LEAGUE FAILS YOU CAN’T CONTIUNE. YOU CAN’T REBOOT OR GO ON. YOU GET ONE SHOT! The Justice League movie will be the first movie for Wonder Woman and Flash and if that fails you might not see a solo film from them. The Snyder/Nolan Superman series will be done. You destroy everything Nolan did to Batman if your Batman fails. There is so much risk to doing this. The one thing I like is even though it sounds stupid that WB’s executives went undercover in comic stores, they did it to hear from fans. They want the fans input on this film. They want it to be successful but this is a huge risk.
2. You Won’t Have The Hype THE AVENGERS Had
I really can’t say it will have the same hype as
The Avengers. Let’s look at the 2 biggest movies of the year.
The Avengers were built up in 5 movies,
The Dark Knight Rises was built up because of the first 2 Nolan Batman movies. Can you really say your hyped about a movie in which the only ones to hype it up is
Man of Steel and
Lobo. Not sure I can be. Sure it’s the Justice League but still can you say without a Batman, Wonder Woman, or Flash movie leading up to this it will be as hyped as
The Avenger. I can’t.
3. It Could Be The Batman & Superman Show
You haven’t had any success with any other characters besides Batman & Superman. My problem is that the film will become to center with the big 2 and will treat the other heroes as sidekicks. It has been reported that the script Will Beall has for the Justice League movie has Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman but my problem is if WB’s digs their noses into it and want to change it up.
So there you have it. We have pros and cons from both sides. One side isn’t really better than the other. Now it’s your choice. Which way do you prefer and why? See ya. Peace. Also one more thing, I’ve seen many JL articles that have been featured that show the 2nd JL photo I have but don’t include Martian Manhunter. Come on man. Give J’onn some love and use the photo that has him in it too.