JUSTICE LEAGUE And Why DC's Biggest Problem Isn't Darkness

JUSTICE LEAGUE And Why DC's Biggest Problem Isn't Darkness

Many see the overly dark, grim tone of it's first two films as the reason the DCEU isn't reaching the levels it's supposed to, but there's a bigger, much fundamental problem with this universe..

Editorial Opinion
By Adesh - Aug 27, 2016 02:08 AM EST
Filed Under: Justice League
With the Justice League trailer already released, the biggest thing to take away from the trailer is it's huge focus on humour. Now, the execs do perceive the dark grim tone of Batman V Superman as to why it failed to grasp with audiences. But i don't see it that way. What i see as a fundamental problem in the whole structure of the DCEU.

The DCEU came out of nowhere and it's been a big bowl of controversy, from Warner Bros' course correction to Suicide Squad's scathing reviews, it seems that the DCEU is a flower that was stepped on once it rose and it doesn't seem likely it will rise again. Stupid comparisons aside, the DCEU had everything going for it, it had the perfect characters, concepts that could change the whole medium and a perfect to accompany all of those. 
But what made it such a joke? Now, the universe definitely is bankable and has it's fanbase but what has been done feels more like an exec pipe-dream than a superhero franchise that will grow and grow and earn it' s place in history, like Marvel did. 

It just feels like it was given to the wrong man, Zack Snyder. Zack is a great visualist, but that's all he seems to care about. Batman V Superman can be also named 'visual porn' because the visuals are great, but not much else lands on that level. The characters feel bland and not much time is spend on one location, giving the movie an alienatic feel. But what can be said? WB maybe thought Man of Steel was a good start for a universe (which it was) but Batman  V Superman is an idea that sounds strange, but can be executed well...sadly, it wasn't. 

A real Man of Steel sequel would have given the universe more time to develop, then a Batman film would have expanded the universe, but sadly it was all mashed into one film, which hurt it a lot.
The Flash, Aquaman, Cyborg. They were all mashed into Batman V Superman to promote their solo films. That was it. There was no worthy inclusion. Just a mess. If the main antagonist was someone like Brainiac and Batman and Superman gathered the League at the end? Maybe not, but something along the lines of that, would have been MUCH, MUCH more cohesive than what we got.

In short, the DCEU is nothing more than a money-hungry exec's pipe-dream to be as succesful and influential as the MCU is right now. But considering i do like the DCEU, but this is why i think the DCEU has had such a rocky start.

Be sure to leave your thoughts down below, and are you excited for Justice League? 

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BloodyBed
BloodyBed - 8/27/2016, 6:50 AM
"feels more like an exec pipe-dream than a superhero franchise that will grow and grow and earn it' s place in history"

haha i like that
TheSoulEater
TheSoulEater - 9/2/2016, 2:30 AM
@ALostCause -

As directed by Zack Snyder

Utopian8418
Utopian8418 - 8/27/2016, 11:23 AM
But you don't mention that there was also a lo of backlash about MOS. The dark tone is great for Batman or Suicide Squad, but not for eveybody else. DCEU's problems are writers, studio interference, David S Goyer and whoever makes the castings.
Dwise1
Dwise1 - 8/28/2016, 5:44 AM
The problem with dceu is Nolan for hiring Zack Snyder who in turn ruin dceu. I remember watching man of steel and was like WTF are they doing then they put they nail on the coffin with bvs. Though I do admit suicide squad had issues( lots of it) I was still entertained and had fun watching it.
Superheromoviefan
Superheromoviefan - 8/28/2016, 9:03 AM
Zack snyder and david s goyer arent very good. They dont really like the positive superman and keep trying to make him like the injustice one.
Good editorial. I hope you make more in the future
sikwon
sikwon - 8/28/2016, 9:11 PM
it will always come down to characters and story. the characters have to be developed the right way and the story has to push that character development. for as much as people hated Iron Man 2 and 3 (I actually like 2 better then 3, and I LOVED the Mandarin twist) there is clear character development from the 1st time we meet Stark till the end of Civil War. this development was started in Iron Man. the writers had a solid understanding of the character.

transpose that with Suoerman in the DCEU. WB tried to go with the mythology element, and failed. they tried to craft a commentary on religion, isolation, responsibility and a bunch of other weighty philosophical themes... and failed at all of them. because they never understood Suoerman, Clark, what drives him. they focused of his struggle coming to terms with his role in humanity amd all of that, amd that's a great approach to take with him, but they didn't understand it themselves. They never displayed the hero elect of his journey, the burden of power that they tried so hard to convey comes off as being antagonistic to the very people he's supposed to help. when Supes sacrifices himself there's literally no connection to the audience, or the other characters, to create anew emotion. they tried to show that people cared but as a character he was so... dead, lifeless, that no one cared. amd it's Superman.. he should be the very symbol of hope.

I'm aware there are dark and dower versions of the character but at his core, suoerman is hope, hes supposed to be the greatest hero in modern literature, and they failed him.
CPBuff22
CPBuff22 - 9/2/2016, 12:04 AM
DC probably should have started things more like this:

2013: Man of Steel
2014: Solo Batman Movie
2015: Batman V Superman
2016: Wonder Woman & Suicide Squad (Tie in characters from team in Arrow)
2017: Justice League (Tie in Flash & Green Lantern from CW)
2018: Green Lantern & Man of Steel 2 (Ties in Supergirl from CW)
2019: Aquaman & Shazam
2020: Solo Batman 2 (Introduce Nightwing) & Justice League 2
2012: Teen Titans (Lead by Nightwing) & Wonder Woman 2

And of course keep the WB series going and if Arrow or Flash run out of steam on the network then move the actors into a reprisal of the roles in a stand alone of some kind. This would have allowed Man of Steel & Batman movies to tell the backstory for Batman V Superman and made the movie less reliant on flashbacks. They could still have introduced Wonder Woman and moved towards her film but the Batman movie could have introduced Joker & Harley Quinn before Suicide Squad and fixed the flashback issues in that film. Also moving over Deadshot from Arrow could have helped familiarity with the character and actor playing him. Then when you hit Justice League you have a Superman, Batman, & Wonder Woman you have seen on the big screen team with CW Flash & Arrow, while tossing in Cyborg & Aquaman as the only two who are new to the universe. Things would have run much smoother had DC took this route.
BloodyBed
BloodyBed - 9/2/2016, 4:29 AM
Lol no one is replying to you guys.

what do I think the main problem with the dceu is? Greed
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