JudgeDredd
Lieutenant Junior Grade
Yeah, I know Variety reported that they've got a script for a "Justice League" movie in the works. While I don't think Marvel's strategy needs to be DC's (separate franchises leading up to team movie) I do think there's a better way to go than simply jumping in to a JL movie.
Here's my plan:
*Use "Man of Steel" as the basis for a new cinematic DCU. Apparently, Nolan and Snyder didn't want this film to be connected to any others, but that was before The Avengers phenomenon.
*MOS can establish a new, non-Dark Knight Trilogy world in which characters like Superman and his Kryptonian enemies exists. Humanity is still tentative about aliens and Superman himself at the end, but they now know (if not accept) that super-powered beings exist.
*Like in comic book history, Superman is the first super-hero (also like the new DCU continuity) to operate publicly. At the end of MOS, Clark Kent gets an assignment: interview Bruce Wayne about the recent announcement of a business deal with LexCorp.
*This sets up the next film, "Superman Batman." I would personally love it if the WB just adapted "The World's Finest," the three-part B:TAS story that was re-packed as "The Superman/Batman Movie." It got the characterization of both heroes, their supporting casts, and villains down perfectly. Though I don't think I'd go with the Joker.
*"Superman Batman" would serve as an introduction to the new cinematic DCU take on Batman. This version of Batman is more in line with a comic book take, i.e., his suit is a little more like the comic version and he and his world are not mired by concerns of "realism." Instead of the Joker as Luthor's partner in crime, maybe Kirk Langstrom or Victor Fries would work better. Man-Bat is one of the few great Batman villains who has not been put on the big screen and Mr. Freeze was never given his proper due.
*The main character journey of "Superman/Batman" involves the two heroes learning to work with others and trust people outside of their respective families. This is easier for Clark Kent given his upbringing, but still not easy. This leads to the decision on the part of both heroes that they can do more good as part of a team. Which leads to...
*"Justice League:" In "Superman/Batman," we'd see a few Easter eggs about other future JLAers. A scene in the Daily Planet mentioning this "urban legend" in Central City about a guy who moves so fast he's never really seen. A story on a TV in the background somewhere about a mysterious UFO crash landing in Coast City. And so forth. In "Justice League," we see the heroes brought together to face a common crisis.
*This common crisis would be keeping with JLA continuity and would be different from the "fantasy football/recruiting" element of The Avengers. While the Appalaxians could be a really great thread on the big screen, I'd rather see the Hyperclan used. Superman's debut was exciting but also frightening in its implications for the world: we are not alone and not all of our neighbors are friendly. Then new costumed heroes emerge, inspired by Superman. There's mistrust and fear of these people, and then Earth is visited by another group of aliens with super-powers. They promise to make Earth a paradise, and begin to do so, until a government-protected alien, Martian J'onn J'onnz, realizes that the Hyperclan are really members of the White Martian race.
*Superman and Batman immediately distrust the Hyperclan. They investigate, and learn the truth: the Hyperclan wants to colonize Earth and use its inhabitants as slaves and food. After a battle with a few of the clan, Superman and Batman approach the heroes we glimpsed in S/B, and others, and together with J'onn, they take down the Hyperclan, save the Earth, and win the hearts of the public.
Final thoughts: A lot of my ideas are from B:TAS and Grant Morrison's JLA, but I don't think there's any reason to re-invent the wheel. The greatest JLA stories have already been told...simply put them together in a new whole and you have a new franchise with the World's Greatest Super-Heroes.
What do you guys think?
Here's my plan:
*Use "Man of Steel" as the basis for a new cinematic DCU. Apparently, Nolan and Snyder didn't want this film to be connected to any others, but that was before The Avengers phenomenon.
*MOS can establish a new, non-Dark Knight Trilogy world in which characters like Superman and his Kryptonian enemies exists. Humanity is still tentative about aliens and Superman himself at the end, but they now know (if not accept) that super-powered beings exist.
*Like in comic book history, Superman is the first super-hero (also like the new DCU continuity) to operate publicly. At the end of MOS, Clark Kent gets an assignment: interview Bruce Wayne about the recent announcement of a business deal with LexCorp.
*This sets up the next film, "Superman Batman." I would personally love it if the WB just adapted "The World's Finest," the three-part B:TAS story that was re-packed as "The Superman/Batman Movie." It got the characterization of both heroes, their supporting casts, and villains down perfectly. Though I don't think I'd go with the Joker.
*"Superman Batman" would serve as an introduction to the new cinematic DCU take on Batman. This version of Batman is more in line with a comic book take, i.e., his suit is a little more like the comic version and he and his world are not mired by concerns of "realism." Instead of the Joker as Luthor's partner in crime, maybe Kirk Langstrom or Victor Fries would work better. Man-Bat is one of the few great Batman villains who has not been put on the big screen and Mr. Freeze was never given his proper due.
*The main character journey of "Superman/Batman" involves the two heroes learning to work with others and trust people outside of their respective families. This is easier for Clark Kent given his upbringing, but still not easy. This leads to the decision on the part of both heroes that they can do more good as part of a team. Which leads to...
*"Justice League:" In "Superman/Batman," we'd see a few Easter eggs about other future JLAers. A scene in the Daily Planet mentioning this "urban legend" in Central City about a guy who moves so fast he's never really seen. A story on a TV in the background somewhere about a mysterious UFO crash landing in Coast City. And so forth. In "Justice League," we see the heroes brought together to face a common crisis.
*This common crisis would be keeping with JLA continuity and would be different from the "fantasy football/recruiting" element of The Avengers. While the Appalaxians could be a really great thread on the big screen, I'd rather see the Hyperclan used. Superman's debut was exciting but also frightening in its implications for the world: we are not alone and not all of our neighbors are friendly. Then new costumed heroes emerge, inspired by Superman. There's mistrust and fear of these people, and then Earth is visited by another group of aliens with super-powers. They promise to make Earth a paradise, and begin to do so, until a government-protected alien, Martian J'onn J'onnz, realizes that the Hyperclan are really members of the White Martian race.
*Superman and Batman immediately distrust the Hyperclan. They investigate, and learn the truth: the Hyperclan wants to colonize Earth and use its inhabitants as slaves and food. After a battle with a few of the clan, Superman and Batman approach the heroes we glimpsed in S/B, and others, and together with J'onn, they take down the Hyperclan, save the Earth, and win the hearts of the public.
Final thoughts: A lot of my ideas are from B:TAS and Grant Morrison's JLA, but I don't think there's any reason to re-invent the wheel. The greatest JLA stories have already been told...simply put them together in a new whole and you have a new franchise with the World's Greatest Super-Heroes.
What do you guys think?
!)
