"You will give the people of Earth an ideal to strive towards. They will race behind you. They will stumble, they will fall. But in time they will join you in the sun. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders."
-Jor-El "Man of Steel"
Hello everybody. It’s CBM’s own member with the mouth,
LEVITIKUZ. Lately I have been working on my screenplay to a
Justice League movie. Awhile back I posted a preview of sorts here and the response to that was great. People loved the way I am going with it. Hell one member said
“This is, no doubt, the best JL article that has ever been on this web site. You have actually made me believe in JL movie. Thank you for this.” Now I’ve decided to give my article a little update due to how much more work I’ve put into my screenplay. I have still reached out to and emailed members
Tainited87,
Splenda and
Jolt17 for advice about some ideas I’ve had and they’ve been a big help so thanks. At first I was 100% knowledgeable with some characters like Hal Jordan’s Green Lantern, Barry Allen’s Flash, and Wonder Woman but recently I’ve made a weekly trip to Barnes & Noble’s to read some of the Graphic novels about and that feature these characters and they’ve all been a big help.
Now the way I’m going with this is that instead of doing something that’s happened I’m being more original. I recall that in one of
Ed Gross’s articles, which can be viewed
HERE, they were talking about the final battle between Batman & Superman in
The Dark Knight Returns: Part 2. In the article, the director, Jay Oliva was talking about how he went into doing the final epic scene in the movie.
"I approached my board artist Mel Zwyer and said, 'Hey, I need you to storyboard the section and it’s going to be kind of tough, because I have a very specific thing I want to see.' We met a couple of times and one of the things I mentioned to him was, 'Remember the Brave and the Bold episode where they did an homage to Dark Knight Returns? Well, I don’t want to do any of that, so I don’t want to see any of the panels from the comic book on there just because it’s already been done.' I thought what James Tucker did on the Brave and the Bold was just fabulous, so I didn’t want to re-tread on that same ground, because this is a movie and I want it to stand on its own. The other thing I told Mel was, if they ever do a live action version of the Dark Knight Returns, I wanted them to have a really hard time topping what we do here. So that was basically the first mandate, that I didn’t want to follow the comic book.”
A lot of people have suggested for the Justice League movie to just do a straight adaption of the New 52 origin which includes Darkseid as the villain. I think we need to look outside the box. DC has some amazing villains and Darkseid is on the top of the food chain. Not smart to start on the top. Now before I reveal my villain, let’s first talk about the universe this is set in and what’s canon and what’s not.
About This Universe
Superman, Batman, & The Flash Are The Only Known Heroes To The Public
There are only 3 heroes that the public fully knows and is aware of and they are Batman, Superman, and Flash. There are other rumored heroes existing like Green Arrow, Black Lighting and others. Zatanna is mentioned also but basically and the public 100% knows of Batman, Superman, & Flash.
MAN OF STEEL Is Canon
Yea this takes place 18 months after the events of
Man of Steel. The film looks great, everything about it is great. I want it canon. Like all the films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you don’t have to watch
Man of Steel to watch my Justice League but it is preferred.
Christopher Nolan’s THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY Is NOT Canon
If you have trouble fighting dogs, what do you expect against Brainiac? I’m joking but in all seriousness, I don’t want this to be a “Batman & His Bitches” film. I felt if I made
The Dark Knight Trilogy canon, I would spend too much time stating why Bruce came back as Batman and I didn’t want to make the focus more on Batman.
Green Lantern Is NOT Canon
Yea I don’t need to explain why I don’t want this canon, do it? We all show this movie, we all were disappointed, and we are all trying to forget it ever existed. Let’s just move on.
ARROW Can Be Canon But May Not Be
I have no idea if I want this show to be canon or not. The show CAN be but that doesn’t mean it will be. The big thing you need to remember is that I’m just not ready to introduce Green Arrow yet.
The Story Takes Place During Christmas Time & It’s Snowing
Oh the photo does look cute. Now as I was watching many comic book movies & reading Justice League, X-Men, Avengers and other comics I noticed something. Most of the media doesn’t included snow. I was born in New York, raised in Cleveland, and live in North Carolina. I love the snow. There is something about snow that is an element that hasn’t been used in comic book movies and I don’t get why. Why must it either be nice or raining? I know
Iron Man 3 had snow and Christmas but it wasn’t important to the story. You could have replaced that with any other Holiday and it wouldn’t have changed the story.
The Dark Knight Rises included snow but not well. I feel that the snow in a battle would look amazing. Check out this scene for example:
It’s the scene where we first see Iron Man in
Iron Man. Like really see Iron Man. Like the red and gold Iron Man. There isn’t much snow but it certainly adds some beauty with the scene. If only there was a little more snow.
Now with Christmas,
Batman Returns is one of my favorite Christmas movies. It is without a doubt the best superhero Christmas movie. The difference between
Batman Returns &
Iron Man 3 is that
Batman Returns uses Christmas a lot. We see the Penguin attacking and stealing children on Christmas Eve, we see the Circus Gang attacking a Christmas Tree Lighting. Christmas is all about bringing families together and I think that that would work well having the Justice League come together during Christmas time. It’s something that hasn’t been done.
The Villain-BRAINIAC, The Collector of Worlds
Character Design: 9-10 feet tall with the design from Superman: Brainiac.
I was watching a behind the scenes preview of
Justice League: Doom a couple days ago. In that Bruce Timm said
“With all Justice League stories you always kind of have to think of the villain first. You have to kind of think ok you got these 7 super powered characters. You need a villain who can stand up against them and run for their money.”. I have been thinking of who is the right villain to bring the Justice League together. I’ve thought about using everyone from Darkseid, Ra’s, Zod, Lex, Vandal Savage and many more for a Justice League origin story. I’ve watched
X-Men,
Avengers, &
Fantastic Four for help in a way. The thing with the villains in those films is even if the villain wasn’t portrayed right; they are villains that are just as epic as the group. Magneto is just as epic as a villain as the X-Men are as a group, Dr. Doom is just as epic as a villain as the Fantastic Four are as a group, and Loki is just as epic as a villain as the Avengers are as a group. You need the villain of the Justice League to be just as epic as the League.
I don’t think Darkseid should be used yet. Save him for a future film. I strongly don’t think Lex should be really in the film. The thing with Lex is he is Superman’s archenemy. Introducing Lex in the Justice League when he hasn’t even been introduced in
Man of Steel or if there is another Superman film before that would just seem odd. Vandal is a good villain but he wouldn’t feel right as the first villain. Zod is in
Man of Steel so no. Others like Amazo and Ocean Master may look great to comic fans but you need someone bigger and better. That’s why I picked Brainiac and here are many more reasons why he should be the villain.
The Justice League Film Should Be In A Way A Sequel To MAN OF STEEL
Because
Man of Steel is the only lead to a Justice League film, it is best if you in a way make Justice League more like a
Man of Steel sequel. Now I’m not saying Superman is the star and the rest of the team is back up but in a way how Superman progresses, how he changes. After Zod’s invasion he thinks nothing can stop him, he doesn’t need help. With the Justice League, Superman learns that he doesn’t have to have all this pressure on his shoulders. He knows that he is not alone and can always use a little help now and then.
A Combination Of Brains And Brawn
A lot of people forget that Brainiac can actually take on Superman without the need of Kryptonite. Brainiac is a strong and powerful foe. He is also smart. He may know how to defeat certain members of the Justice League. Also he may know of how to shut down humans through pressure points in their body hint hint.
The First To Reveal Superman’s Weakness Of Kryptonite To The World
If you really think about it, it is highly doubtful Kryptonite will even be used in
Man of Steel. The reason I say this is because of the fact Zod is the villain. Since both Superman and Zod are from Krypton. We know if Superman has Kryptonite near him, he will grow weak because he is from Krypton. Since Zod is from Krypton the same thing should happen to him if he has Kryptonite so it doesn’t make sense really for it to be in the film.
Brainiac has traveled around the universe in search of knowledge. Since he has Kandor, he would have known about the knowledge of its people from there. Brainiac would know that because of the yellow sun, Kryptonite would affect Superman and use it on him.
A Villain Big Enough That Superman Can’t Handle But The League Together Can
I have said this before and I’ll say it again, the villain of the Justice League film needs to be able to take down Superman but can’t take down the League. Too many people would be wondering, “Why would you need a team with Superman? He’s Superman he can take down anyone.” We need to show that even Superman needs help and one can show that with Brainiac.
A Villain We Can See Both Sides Of Batman
People love Batman, otherwise have of DC wouldn’t focus on Batman with half of the stuff they do. We need Batman’s brains and brawn shown in the film. One small problem I have with
The Avengers is that Tony Stark never used his intelligence to defend Loki, just his suit. You can’t do that with Batman. Batman is without a doubt the smartest Justice League member. Batman can be shown using his brain and brawn, dissecting and fighting Brainiac’s Probes to learn how to stop them and Brainiac.
A Villain To Get Wonder Woman Off That Damn Island
The biggest problem of a Justice League film is Wonder Woman. Batman, Superman, & Flash protect cities. Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern are from space. Aquaman could just come out like he did in New 52 but Wonder Woman is hard. My plan is very early in the film; Brainiac invades Themyscira and takes it.
My reasoning behind this is Brainiac is smart. He discovers unknown worlds on Earth that could expand his vast knowledge. Themyscira is one of those unknown worlds that Brainiac takes and it make sense. After Brainiac takes Themyscira, this causes Wonder Woman to go out into the world for help. He is aided by an ally to go out and find someone who the Amazons know that can help.
A Villain We Can See Both Sides Of The Flash
If you really think about it, taking out Martian Manhunter, the Flash is the second smartest member of the Justice League behind Batman. I am planning on using the Barry Allen Flash for this film. I will have Flash help out with Batman in stopping Brainiac and also we will see Flash fight which we all know would look cool and we want to see.
A Villain That Could Have Green Lantern Be “The Hulk” Of The Film
Green Lantern needs redemptions after that pitiful film
Green Lantern. Because of the film and its failure, I’m not using Green Lantern as much as I’m some other members. Yes Green Lantern will be a major help in the film. We will more remember Green Lantern for the epic battle scene in the end which we all want to see. During the plot, we will see Green Lantern contribute but it’s best if we remember him for smashing and it would be cool seeing Green Lantern smash Brainiac’s Probes.
A Villain That Can Get Aquaman Out Of The Water
I really think Aquaman can work and I have many ideas of how. Very early in the film, we hear that Brainiac has taken Atlantis. My reason for this is basically the same reason for why Brainiac took Themyscira. You won’t see this scene, but you will see Aquaman landing on a certain civilization. I don’t want to give much away about Aquaman but you read later on in my sneak peek.
A Villain Who Has A Past With Martian Manhunter
I’m a big Martian Manhunter fan. I want him in this film without a doubt. I have sort of rewritten Martian Manhunter’s background. He has a history and a vendetta with Brainiac and he won’t rest until he is defeated. You will find out what Brainiac did to Martian Manhunter and you will find out what happened when Martian Manhunter tried to face Brainiac alone.
Introduce Hawkman
Recently I’ve decided to add Hawkman to the team. The way I have Hawkman involved is he is a prisoner on Brainiac’s ship. You will learn more about my ideas for him in his character bio.
Beating MARVEL To The Punch In A Way
Heh, heh. This point will certainly piss off people. Who else but LEVITIKUZ? Fact is with Thanos rumored in being used in
The Avengers 2 &
Guardians of the Galaxy, we have to think outside the box for Justice League and away from Darkseid. Since it is highly likely Ultron will be the villain of
The Avengers 3, having Brainiac first will actually beat them to the punch with using robots. People will say Justice League will copy
The Avengers 2 if they used Darkseid. So instead of copying, you can use Brainiac and people will say Marvel is copying DC once Ultron comes. I will admit, after reading a bit about Ultron that Brainiac is way better than him. Ultron is just the typical “EVIL ROBOT WANTS TO TAKE DESTROY HUMANS” story. While Ultron destroys, Brainiac preserves. Brainiac is just far more interesting and better, no offense.
Your Saving Darkseid For The Future
We all want to see Darkseid but it’s best to save him just for a while. With
Avengers 2 using Thanos, its best if Justice League doesn’t look like a straight copy of the Avengers.
A Great Villain For The Day And Age We Live In
With the whole idea of realism in the world
Man of Steel is having Brainiac would work very well. Think of the type of world we live, we are so depended on technology. We watch TV, use computers, use phones, play games, and use robots to build cars and other products, use technology a lot. Hell I'm not surprised if in 20 years we have robots. Since Brainiac is living technology it shows the world of the evils with technology. You get where I'm going with this. This will be a theme throughout my screenplay.
An Original Justice League Origin Story
Instead of using the White Martian from the cartoons or Darkseid from the New 52, I wanted this to be more original. A while back I was doing a screenplay called
Batman: Arkham Asylum. It was basically a combination of the game and the book. I haven’t worked on it in months and don’t plan on it. The reason I haven’t worked on it is because it no longer became fun. I was too busy using the game and the book for ideas and I wasn’t able to explore my creativity because I was too focusing on making a perfect adaption. With Justice League I wanted to do something original and not worry about adapting someone else’s work. While I’m using ideas from others, it’s more of my idea and my story.
The Justice League
When I was trying to think of the Justice League, I was trying to think who the perfect team could be to start off. I choose not to do the
Justice League: The Animated Series team. As a Martian Manhunter fan, I didn’t want to do the
New 52 Justice League for obvious reasons. I didn’t feel Green Arrow should be in the League. Since I have no idea what we’re doing with the TV Show,
Arrow, I have references to Green Arrow in the show but he will not be in the League. I did take Dr. Fate into consideration but then I would have to explain the magic realm and more about him. I thought of Static Shock or Black Lighting but I got a future idea for Black Lighting. In the end I choose the ORIGINAL 7 members & an addition member because they work. They are all a good balance for each other. Many think that 8 members can’t work. If I can make them work, think of what others could do. I present to you, MY JUSTICE LEAGUE!!!
Clark Kent AKA Superman
Character Design: Man of Steel suit.
My Superman is very much like the Superman in
Man of Steel. In my story, he is 28 years old. I don’t think I need to go too deep into Superman. I’m more portraying a classic Superman. The Richard Donner films are a big influence on my Superman. He works at the Daily Planet.
Bruce Wayne AKA Batman
Character Design: Do The Black & Grey New 52 suit, the Arkham Origins suit, or the Navy Blue and Grey Arkham City suit.
The way I’m portraying Batman is a little different. He is still an expert fighter and a great detective. The thing is I have Batman during this time at age 29 and started being Batman at age 25. Bruce is in a very dark place in his life. Dick Grayson joined him as Robin when Bruce was 26 and Dick was 15 at the time. 3 years later, Dick gradated to Nightwing and Jason Todd was taken in as Robin. Jason was Robin for only 6 months. During that time, the Joker went on an insane path. He killed Jason, paralyzed Barbara, and after the events Dick left the cave leaving Bruce all alone as he was when he began. Bruce Wayne was part of a huge collaborated between Wayne Enterprises and LexCorp in rebuilding Metropolis after the events of Zod’s invasion.
Diana Prince AKA Wonder Woman
Character Design: If we can combine her regular suit and her Regime suit from Injustice: Gods Among Us, that would be great
Now I believe Joss Whedon said the difference between
The Avengers being a good film and being a great film came down to the Hulk/Bruce Banner. The Hulk has never really had a great movie before in the audience’s eye. I feel that the difference between Justice League being a good film and a great film is the portrayal of Wonder Woman. Now let’s be honest, while the general audience knows Wonder Woman, they don’t know who Wonder Woman is. The majority of the popularity of Wonder Woman compared to other heroes is that she is the biggest female superhero and most people know her because she is a female. We have people saying she’s from a different planet for Pete’s sake. Personally I wanted to make Wonder Woman my own original idea instead of adopting something I like from the comics.
Wonder Woman isn’t called Wonder Woman at first but Diana Prince. She is still from the island of Themyscira. Since I said Superman is around 28, Wonder Woman will be 25ish. In my preview below, I do mention that Aquaman lands on Themyscira. When he lands, we see Diana there with some other female soldiers taking him to Queen Hippolyta. Now Diana Prince is less experienced one would say. She’s arrogant, brash, bold, and thick. This is just in the beginning on the movie bear in mind. While Diana is like that, her mother Queen Hippolyta is a wiser and calmer.
Now I did say Brainiac does invade Themyscira and take it. I’ve decided that one of Brainiac’s Drones will kill Queen Hippolyta in the battle for Themyscira. Now before someone says something against this, let me just state why I’ve chose to kill Queen Hippolyta. Out of all the heroes I have, the 2 least experienced one would say is Flash and Wonder Woman. Batman & Superman have been around, Martian Manhunter & Hawkman have had experience, Green Lantern has been trained and has been defended space, and Aquaman is the king of the sea. Flash & Wonder Woman is the 2 least experienced and in a way, I’m showing their road into being among these heroes they are fighting next to.
Another reason I’ve decided to kill Queen Hippolyta is because, now one can say Wonder Woman is in the top 4 most important superheroes correct? I would say that she is after Batman, Superman, and Spider-Man at 4. What do Spider-Man, Superman, & Batman have in common? They have a moment that changed them. Peter Parker has the death of Uncle Ben, Clark Kent has the death of Pa Kent, and Bruce Wayne has the death of Thomas & Martha Wayne. Those moments changed them and that’s what I’m doing with Queen Hippolyta’s death to Wonder Woman. Her death will change Wonder Woman into a calmer, peaceful, and wiser hero that she is. In a way, this is meant to humanize Diana. No matter what the character is, if they suffer a death you will feel for the character and care for them and that’s what I’m doing.
My last thing on the subject of Queen Hippolyta’s death is that we really don’t see much mothers have important roles in comic book movies, hell even in some comic books. We know of Uncle Ben, Pa Kent, Thomas Wayne, Howard Stark, Odin, Martin Jordan, and many others. We don’t really hear much about the mothers and it’s really sad if you think about it. I mean most of the people are this site is guys. Not saying there are no women but it would be fair to say there are more guys than girls. With the expectation of Barry Allen, not many male superheroes refer are talk about their mothers. I kind of want to change that with including Queen Hippolyta’s powerful death scene with her and her daughter next to her and with Barry Allen talking about his mother.
I also will add that Barry will be the one who names Diana Wonder Woman. Speaking about Barry Allen…
Barry Allen AKA The Flash
Character Design: Really any suit would be fine, Flash always has had yellow boots and a red suit. New 52, Rebirth, Flashpoint, it’s not really hard to screw up Flash’s suit since it really hasn’t changed.
One can really say that Barry is the main character of the story. He is the most important character in just the way I’m using him and having him. My Barry Allen Flash knowledge was low. The key work is WAS. Recently I’ve picked up many Justice League books featuring Barry,
Flash: Rebirth, and
Flashpoint for help when it comes to Barry. I’ve noticed that there are many similarities between him and Peter Parker. Now Barry will be the youngest member only 23 years old. Barry has only been Flash for 8 months and his only major foe that exists is Captain Cold who is mentioned. Barry’s mother death is canon and his job as a forensic scientist is still there. I’ve always felt that no matter who Flash is, the Flash should be the one who tells jokes on the team. Barry is currently dating Iris West in this. When a Brainiac probe hits Central City, the Flash will meet it and learn that the Probe can go supersonic fast and when Flash finally stops it he will land in an unlikely city teaming up with an unlikelier ally.
Hal Jordan AKA Green Lantern
Character Design: New 52 would be best.
Now everybody knows, my favorite Green Lantern is John Stewart. I do hope they use John Stewart in the Justice League movie over Hal. At the same time, this is my Justice League story. While I prefer John over Hal, I feel that there should be some nods and influences from the comics in regards to who the original Justice League team is and Hal was on the original team. Hal is 26 years old. He has been a Green Lantern for 2 years. There will be a scene where Superman asks him if he is the Green Lantern of Earth, where was he when Zod invaded? Hal mentions he was training. During that time there was no Lantern of 2814. He will tell some jokes but he will be more serious. I do have some ideas and plans with how to include his Air Force background in the final battle. Also yes, Hal and Barry are best friends. I am trying to do the best job to give nothing but respect to Hal.
Arthur Curry AKA Aquaman
Character Design: New 52 would be best or Injustice: Gods Among Us.
When we are introduced to Aquaman, it’s a different Aquaman that we know. We’ve seen Aquaman boastful, proud, and full of pride. We see Aquaman defeated, embarrassed, depressed, beaten. He lands on Themyscira and states that Atlantis is lost and has been taken. His name is Arthur Curry, the King of Atlantis. When we see Wonder Woman & Aquaman together, we see a lot of similarities but more differences. While I stated Wonder Woman lost her mother, she mentions that her mother told her when it seems lost hope is lost, to look for the Gods for guidance and strength. We see Aquaman more concern with saving Atlantis then the help of others in the beginning. I don’t want to give too much about Aquaman away but let’s leave it at that. I will make Aquaman a badass and also I do have Barry naming Arthur Aquaman.
J’onn Jonzz Martian Manhunter
Character Design: Justice League: Doom, Young Justice, New 52, any of those would be great.
Ok I will admit. When compared to the 6 I just talked about, J'onn J'onzz isn’t as popular as them. That is actually a benefit. Now we know I’m a big Martian Manhunter fan and because he is less known, I am able to play with his character and background a bit. I am able to give my own version of the Martian and I love it. Now J'onn J'onzz has a background with Brainiac. Brainiac is responsible for the Martian extinction. Brainiac attacked Mars and after he took a Martian city he sprays a gas vapor on the Martians. The gas affects and burns your internal organs which will certainly affect and kill Martians. About a dozen Martians survived including J'onn. Now after all that happens, J'onn sneaks a way on Brainiac’s ship and tries to engaged Brainiac but loses in a large way. He is placed in a cell with Hawkman and they team up to escape. J'onn was the only one to escape and crash lands on Saturn putting him in a coma.
I don’t want to give everything about J'onn. There is a lot more that goes on in the scenes I talked about but I don’t want to give away everything. Lastly J'onn’s powers are slightly reduced. The man is just so powerful perhaps a little too powerful. I’m mostly using the animated J'onn than the comics. J'onn is just so powerful and I feel we can reduce him a bit. One example is that one of his powers is he has superspeed and since we have Flash, he doesn’t need that power. Lastly I not sure I will 100% call him “Martian Manhunter”. I remember that he never went by that name in the
Justice League animated series. I know I will have Barry suggest it to him but I’m not 100% he will be called that.
Hawkman
Character Design: Young Justice would be best.
Ok now I originally didn’t add him or thought of him when I was working on the screenplay. I had an idea of how to add him and I just had to use it. Now in the first battle between Justice League vs Brainiac’s Probes, the Justice League loses and also one member of the League get’s captured by the Probes. This one member gets dissected like how Superman was in
Brainiac. The member also sees Brainiac and fights him. The member gets his ass kicked and is put into a cell and his cellmate is Hawkman. Now before we see this member, we learn that Hawkman was J’onn’s cellmate and helped him escaped. When Hawkman and the one member talk, Hawkman states that he was searching on a planet for a criminal and Brainiac attacked the planet and they captured him. Also as you can guess, Barry will name him Hawkman. Hawkman has arrived baby.
Supporting Characters
Iris West
I do have some major plans for Iris. I know I will have a scene with her and Barry at the end of the story and she does talk to Barry in the beginning.
Harvey Bullock
Harvey Bullock is one of my favorite characters in the Batman universe. I really, really want him in the reboot. I have a comedic scene where he sees Flash and he thinks he is a criminal. It’s basically just that one scene.
Lois Lane
Of course Lois Lane would be in it. She has one scene at a charity event she’s covering where we see Bruce Wayne, Lex Luther and Superman.
M'gann M'orzz
M'gann M'orzz is involved in the beginning. She is J’onn’s niece. There really isn’t much to add since I basically show you her one scene in the preview.
Lobo
That’s right baby, the Main Man himself will make an appearance my screenplay. He won’t have a huge scene but he is one of the prisoners on Brainiac’s ship and when we see the Justice League member Brainiac kidnapped and Hawkman try to escape, Lobo asks them to get him out in a comedic scene.
Inspirations & References I’m Using
The New Frontier
The New Frontier animated movie and book is perhaps my biggest influences. The characterization of J’onn, Barry, and Hal is done really well in the story. Another thing I really love is the time period. It’s set during the Cold War and I feel they did a great job of making that exist during the Cold War times and I’m using that as an influence of making my story set during our times.
Superman: Brainiac
This is perhaps my second biggest influence on my screenplay. I love this book. There is really nothing more that needs to be said. It’s my favorite Superman book it’s just so great. Johns did a great job on this. This is a huge influence on the way I’m portraying Brainiac.
Bruce Timm
The man introduced me to the world of DC. There wasn’t a comic store really near my house as a kid so I would watch the animated series he put out.
Batman: The Animated Series,
Superman: The Animated Series,
Batman Beyond,
Justice League,
Justice League Unlimited and all the animated films he was a part of. Sure he may have overused Batman to much which I won’t but the man is an influence for me.
MAN OF STEEL
Man of Steel isn’t even out and it’s an influence. It’s more of an influence with how I’m trying to set the world of my Justice League in.
Richard Donner
Richard Donner and his work is another large influence. I love
Superman & his
Superman 2. I also love and read his Superman graphic novel,
Last Son. Richard Donner is a large influence on my Superman. Even though
Man of Steel looks great, his Superman films will always have a place in my heart.
Paul Dini, Scott Snyder, & Jeph Loeb
When it comes to writing Batman, these 3 writers are without a doubt my biggest influences. Let’s first start off with
Paul Dini. He wrote
Batman: The Animated Series,
Batman Beyond,
Batman: Mad Love,
Batman: Heart of Hush,
Batman: Arkham Asylum &
Batman: Arkham City. His work is a large influence in my Batman.
Now
Scott Snyder may have just started but so far I’ve loved his Batman books and stories. I love
Black Mirror,
Court of Owls, and
Death of the Family. He’s sort of does horrorish Batman stories and they are great.
Now I know most comic fans dislike
Jeph Loeb, but the man has wrote some amazing Batman stories.
The Long Halloween,
Dark Victory, &
Hush are all influences along with his
Superman/Batman stories.
Beast As Influence For Wonder Woman
Now this may seem bizarre and might not make sense at first but here me at. I tend to look at characters that have already appeared in films as inspiration for my story. While to begin the story, Wonder Woman is nothing like Beast. It’s about how she changes and how it ends. Everyone wants to see the warrior Wonder Woman. I want to dive a little deeper. I want to make Wonder Woman basically the woman of the group in a way as stupid as that sounds. She is smart first off. She may not know our world all that well but she will. She is more focuses on protecting than defending. She becomes very peaceful. Beast in X-Men is smart. He is really a peaceful person but when it comes down war, the man is an animal. He kicks all sorts of ass. That's how I want Wonder Woman in a way. Peaceful on the surface but when the chips are down, she kicks ass.
Spider-Man As Influence For The Flash
I really don’t need to go into this too deep. There are a lot of similarities between Flash & Spider-Man. The big one I will give you is their heart and will. Both Spider-Man & Flash aren’t the biggest, strongest, or most powerful heroes, but their will and heart make up for it. Nothing can stop them.
Han Solo As Influence For Green Lantern
Now I know I don’t have to go that deep into this is. We all know and see it. Next
King Leonidas As Influence For Aquaman
Now whatever you think about
300, you know who I’m talking to, let’s be honest about the film. The movie was nothing but a man’s movie. The film was a bunch of badass action and Spartans kicking ass and taking names. In other words, awesome. Now how does one make Aquaman badass on screen? By having one of the most badass characters, to have been on the big screen in recent time, as influence for him. King Leonidas. There are a lot of connections between them that I’ve used.
Spock As Influence For Martian Manhunter
I’m looking at more of the Spock from the newer
Star Trek movies for influence for Martian Manhunter. If you recall in 2009’s
Star Trek, Spock’s planet was destroyed by the villain in the story. He became one of the last of his kind. Sound familiar about a certain Martian?
Freddy Krueger As Influence For Brainiac
Now this may seem odd but it does make some sense. First off, I’m a huge fan of Freddy. In the book
Superman: Brainiac, Supergirl kind of describes Brainiac as a nightmare. Brainiac has given her nightmares and gives everyone them. He’s cold, heartless, and ruthless. Freddy is like that in a way. I’m trying to make Brainiac a sort of terror that gives you nightmares like Freddy. Not literally nightmares though.
The Terminator Series
I don’t think I need to go to deep into this explaining why the Terminator series is influence for Brainiac. It’s just one of those things where you’re like “oh you’re using the Terminator series as influence for Brainiac? That makes sense. Not bad.”
DC Animated Series And Movies
I’ve watched
Batman: The Animated Series,
Superman: The Animated Series,
Justice League,
Justice League Unlimited,
The Batman,
Legion of Superheroes,
Batman The Brave & The Bold,
Green Lantern: The Animated Series,
Young Justice, and some DC animated films. All are influences in some way.
Justice League The New 52
Heh, heh. Now while I am using this as a reference that doesn’t mean it’s a positive one. Truth is told while I did enjoy the book; it’s a terrible story to adapt on the big screen. Geoff Johns made Hal too much of a focus and important character. Also I disliked all the heroes coming out of nowhere. Hal, Superman, and Aquaman all come out of nowhere. Barry is only there because Hal called him. Also I disliked how Wonder Woman already existed in the world. It seemed like a copout having her already exist. Also let’s not forget the fact Cyborg is an original League member over Martian Manhunter. Sigh, I’m shaking my head at that. Let’s not forget that Hal and Batman talk in the middle of the fight. How is Hal and Bruce normal or anything alike? Batman is more like Flash and Aquaman is more like Wonder Woman if anything. How are Hal and Batman alike? Not to mention Batman takes off his mask and cape for no reason. Also there was a Superman 2 moment where Batman took off the Bat logo on his chest somehow. Didn’t know that happens. It’s a good comic’s story but it would make a horrible movie. I’m more using this as a way not to do Justice League than how to use Justice League. There are some ideas I do like though.
Justice League: The Villain's Journey
This is another reference. There is a scene in this I like and I'm using the idea presented in the book and changing it around but keeping the idea of it.
Flash: Rebith
I read this book in trying to get a feel for Barry Allen and I loved it. Great book. Only thing I didn’t like was how Professor Zoom was up against, what 6 people in the Flash family. Seemed like he was a little too outnumbered you know what I mean? Good book either way.
Flashpoint
This is my favorite Flash book. The thing I love about this book is how twisted it is. Barry goes back to save his mother and he enters a world out of a nightmare. Aquaman and Wonder Woman at war, Thomas Wayne as Batman, no Superman, or Iris for Barry. It’s just a nightmare and I love it. The main influence from this is really the pairing. We see Wonder Woman and Aquaman at war and that’s where I got that pairing from and we see Flash and Batman team up.
There is something about Batman and Flash while I was reading this that’s never really been done. Both Barry and Bruce are very smart. Both aren’t godlike, they just protected their cities. Both are human. Both have a huge family Bruce with the Batfamily and Barry with the Flash family. Both have great foes. Both lost their parents in terrible ways. We never have really seen Batman & Barry together working like I have. I believe that in a comic, Bruce even said this about Barry:
"Barry is the kind of man that I would've hoped to become if my parents hadn't been murdered."
The Avengers
Did you really think this film wouldn’t be an influence? This film was awesome without a doubt. Yea after rewatching there are somethings I dislike both overall an epic superhero movie and an influence.
The X-Men And Fantastic Four Movie
While they aren’t as good as Avengers, I watched all of the X-Men and Fantastic Four movies to see what worked and what did. Wasn’t a big influence.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Yes, I've watched some of the old school films as well of the newer cartoons for references. What's there not to love about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?
WATCHMEN
Other superhero team I used for inspiration towards my Justice League screenplay. Love the book, love the movie.
KiD CuDi's "Embrace The Martian"
Now I'm a big hip-hop fan. I love Run-DMC, Beastie Boy, Eminem, NaS, Krs-One, Common, Royce da 5'9", Kanye, Tupac, Biggie, Wu-Tang, LL Cool J, Rakim & others. Also some new schoolers in Kendick Lamer, Lupe, YelaWolf, Tyler The Creator, Hopsin, A$AP Rocky, Big K.R.I.T & others. One of my favorite rappers is the Cleveland rapper KiD CudDi. In his mixtape,
A Kid Named Cudi, he had a song called "Embrace The Martian"> Here's a look if you want to hear it:
Not I'm not going to have the song play during the film, but I may have the track title be used. I may even have reference the song but it's more likely I'll just used the track title and have one of the heroes say something like "We should embrace the Martian."
TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON
Now before anyone questions this, my main influence is that last battle. One thing I didn’t like about the final battle of
The Avengers is it started as soon as the heroes were ready. As soon as the portal opened, Iron Man was right there shooting aliens down. It seems all too easy. I don’t like easy. The last battle is mostly influence by this film. Not giving away much but Brainiac is about ready to take Metropolis. The Justice League are outnumbered and have one last shot to stop Brainiac kind of like the Autobots in the film.
Justice League: Doom
Not giving away much but there is one scene from this, I’m using in my screenplay. It has nothing to do with Vandal or Ra’s. It’s just an idea I have. A different twist on a certain scene.
GEARS OF WAR: JUDGMENT
Not giving away but there is a certain scene I saw in this game while playing that I’m using in my Justice League story. Not telling you what it is due to spoilers.
Cloud City
Now one of the biggest complaints in my screenplay were the fact I have a city on Saturn. People said that it can’t happen because Saturn is a gaseous planet. Because clearly having a city on Saturn makes no sense even though my story has a villain stealing cities from planets and blowing the planets up, having a character from a dead planet who can fly and shoot lasers from his eye, having someone who lived in the ocean, having someone who can run fast, having a Martian, having a rich guy play dress up, having a dude with wings, having a guy with a ring who can create anything he puts his mind to, and a woman who lived on an island no one found. If you hear about Saturn, just picture Cloud City from
Empire Strikes Back as influence. Now I may have bullshitted that earthquake but I feel a city on Saturn makes sense. For now let’s just keep the earthquake on Saturn. I’m going to change it to something but just don’t complain.
A Preview To My Screenplay
Now before I begin, I haven’t add much to much screenplay. I have added some but the scene after this I’m having trouble with. I know what I’m going to do in it so I decided to skip if for now and move on to the scene after.
The film starts off in a hospital on Saturn. We see a man waking up. We hear a girl’s voice screaming “Uncle J’onn? Uncle J’onn is waking up.” The man waking up in the hospital is J’onn J’onzz, the Martian Manhunter. The girl screaming in joy is J’onn’s niece M'gann. She is there with the family who J’onn is good friends with and asked to watch over her. We learn that J’onn was in a coma and was badly injured but has healed. M'gann found out J’onn was in the hospital because it was on the news how a man crashed in the middle of the Saturn city. As they talk, the doctor said J’onn wounds healed and can leave. As they leave all the sudden we have an Earthquake on Saturn. Buildings are collapsing. J’onn helps out and saves people lives from the buildings collapsing.
All the sudden we see a green light in the sky of Saturn. Green Lantern (Hal) is there to save and protects citizens. During the buildings falling, Martian Manhunter lost M'gann and her family. He doesn’t know where they are and are looking. All the sudden he sees her and a building is falling on them. A streak of green light flashes through and goes under with them just before the building completely falls. All the sudden a huge green light explodes and it's Hal with M'gann, her family, along with some other people he saved. We see M'gann and Martian Manhunter embrace in a father daughter type moment. Martian Manhunter goes up to Hal. Hal is a bit exhausted after getting the stones off. Martian Manhunter tells him thanks and recognizes he is human. Hal says he is human. Martian Manhunter tells him Earth is in danger. A great evil has arrived. I need your help to stop it. Hal asks what it is. Manhunter replies Brainiac and he may have already arrived.
As Martian Manhunter tells Hal that it may have already arrived, we see Arthur Curry land on the shore of Themyscira. Arthur looks defeated, exhausted, beaten, and disappointed. Atlantis is gone. Brainiac has taken it. As he walks to the surface, he is surrounded by Diana Prince and a group of women who decide to arrest him, take him prisoner and bring him to Queen Hippolyta for question. They asked Arthur why he’s here and what is he? He tells them that he is Arthur Curry and he is the king of Atlantis. He tells them about his home and kingdom and that they have been taken. Queen Hippolyta asks by whom and he replies that there were these creatures that came from the sky that attacked them. The women laugh at Arthur and Diana asks her mother if they should cut off his head now. We see Hippolyta and Diana have a mother/daughter moment. Hippolyta thinks that what he is saying is true. He would have no reason to lie. Hippolyta also tells Diana that she must be more patient. Arthur tells them if they do nothing, they will come for you. We then here of some Amazon warriors fighting and we see the Brainiac Drones killing and fighting Amazons. They release Arthur and he joins the fight. 100s of Probes drop from his ship. We see the Amazons, Diana, and Arthur fighting the Probes. As the force field is starting we see Arthur tell the Amazon soldiers to run outside the field. We see them escape but before the force field goes down we see one of the Probes kill Hippolyta. Diana kills the Probe and carries her mother outside the field. The battle ends with Brainiac taking Themyscira.
Diana is there with her mother. She was stabbed in the chest and is dying. I plan this to be an emotional scene. Hippolyta’s last words to Diana were to always have faith. We see Diana crying, in pain. Arthur tells her that they must go out into the world. Diana doesn’t want to leave. Arthur states they can get back Themyscira. One old Amazon woman tells Diana and Arthur of a man who could help. A couple months ago, young Donna Prince went out for an early morning swim. She went a little too far and a little too deep and was drowning. A man drove down into the water and got her on the island. He performed CPR on her and brought her back to life. She woke up and many other Amazons came and saw him perform CPR and brought her back to life. The man got up and asked her if she was ok and she said yes. The man flew away. There was a symbol on the man’s chest. An S. Some Amazons give Diana armor to go out in the world. Arthur tells her he is going with her. They tell them if there is one man you can trust it’s this S guy. We end with Wonder Woman flying at supersonic speed while Aquaman is swimming at supersonic speed.
Title credits.
We now move to Central City. Barry Allen is at the Central City Police Department. It’s around 8:00 PM. He is on the phone with his girlfriend Iris West. Barry says that he will be home soon. Work was a pain that day. All the sudden on the news, a Brainiac Probe has demolished a block in Central City. Barry sees it and turns into the Flash. When Barry sees it, he sees the Probe go supersonic fast. Flash chases this probe for a while. When Flash finally captures it, he is in Gotham City.
Detective Harvey Bullock was need where Flash and the Probe were and tells Flash to put his hands up. Bullock thinks Flash is some type of new villain in town. Flash tells him he is not a criminal and asks why he thinks that. Bullock says that most of the crazy ass criminals around here dress up crazy so he must be a criminal. Flash tells Bullock doesn’t he watch the news and tells him he is the Flash. Bullock tells him he doesn’t watch TV. Bullock also says the Flash is such a lame name. In the middle of Bullock and Flash’s talk, Batman comes out of nowhere. He tells Bullock to stand down, Flash is with him. Bullock and Batman argue but Bullock leaves. Afterward Batman asks Flash what he is doing in Gotham. Flash tells him and shows him the Probe. Batman looks the Probe over with Flash. He then asks him a few questions. Batman says that he's taking the Probe to look over it better. Flash says he's coming and Batman says no. Then Flash said that this Probe destroyed a block in Central City and Gotham. He ran across the country chasing him down. He's coming with him. Batman knows he has to say fine and tells Flash he can come. We did see Batman call the Batmoblie a la Batman 89 style. We see Flash get in the Batmoblie with Batman.
We see them arrive at the Batcave with the Batmoblie. Batman takes the probe out of the trunk and creates a work station for it. Flash is looking over the Batcave in amazement. Flash goes by Batman to look at. Here are like screens, think of how Tony Stark has those holographic screens around him when he works. As Batman sets it up and is walking to use them, Flash beats him to it and his figuring out everything. Batman is surprised by this. Batman asks Flash if he is a cop. Flash says no, forensic scientist. As they are working Flash tries to make conversation and try to make Batman open up so he knows more about Batman. As we all know Batman is silent while working and doesn’t answer Flash’s questions. It’s important to note that Flash never reveals who he is while opening up. It wasn’t until Flash asked Batman if he lost anyone close to him. Flash tells Batman he lost his mother at a young age. He tells Batman his father was convicted of killing his mother and vows to one day prove his father’s innocence. Flash then shifts the conversion about Batman and asks him about himself. Flash states he thinks he knows who he is. Batman visited Central City once while Captain Cold and Mr. Freeze teamed up.
He tells him that whoever he is, the guy must have money. He said I thought you were Thomas Elliot (hint hint) or maybe an ex employee of the Penguin who stole some his money and decided to fight crime. The last rich guy I thought you could be was Bruce Wayne. The way Bruce looks, it's like this guy can't be Batman. Then I found out around the same time Robin came along, Bruce Wayne adopted a son, Dick Grayson. Also with some of my connections I found out the Joker killed Robin. He said I've never told anyone about my theories but I would like to know why you do what you do. Batman goes up to Barry and tells him walk with him. He takes him to this part of the Batcave where there is a painting of his parents. Batman takes off his mask and tells Flash his story and he is Bruce Wayne. Flash then takes off his mask and tells him he is Barry Allen. Bruce says that he is impressed he figured it out and he asked Barry who was his connection? Barry said oh a little birdy. Bruce smirks and replies Iris West to which Barry is speechless wondering how. Bruce goes to the Batcomputer showing him videos of Flash saving Iris West to which Flash chuckles. Bruce said that he knew he could trust Barry which is one of the reasons he let him in the Cave. He’s seen news of him in Central City saving the day and knew if they were to ever cross paths he could trust him.
We then see Alfred come down and is surprised that Flash is in the Cave. Bruce states that he is alright. Barry comments on how big and amazing the Batcave is. Barry even makes the comment, “hey that’s a giant dinosaur” to which Alfred says “and I thought Batman was the detective.” As they go back to the Brainiac Probe, they get it working and learn what’s in it. And studying it and finding out its alien, Flash suggests that they should ask Superman for help because he’s an alien. Batman isn’t a huge fan of the idea. Flash tells him how Superman has been a big influence on and he is one of his idols. Batman says fine. We will see Superman. (One note, Batman never says he needs Superman’s help). They go into the Batmoblie with the Probe in the trunk and drive off out of the Batcave. End scene, end preview.
So there you have it. I’m not giving everything away. I’m still working on it. What are your thoughts about this screenplay and ideas? This was over 17 pages in word and 9,454 words. I need a break. Comment below people. If you liked my idea give it thumbs up. Oh and if WB’s is truly looking at fan ideas or if Bruce Timm is looking at this and is interested in my screenplay and ideas; call me. Let’s do lunch. I like steak. Peace everybody. After that long article, mic drop: