I have to start out with a disclaimer. I formulated this idea months ago, before I knew anything about the upcoming SHIELD TV show or anything that would be involved with it (save Coulson), so don't think that I learned something about that somewhere and just said something similar but about DC. This is my own idea! Whether you like the idea or not, it's mine!
Now for an introduction. The basis of my plan has to do not with characters. Not with actors. Not with writers, producers, directors, or Hans Zimmer. It has to do with an under-rated and overlooked medium. Or, to be more specific, a genre within the medium. So now, to build anticipation, I'm going to talk to a little bit about mediums.
I'm not talking about comic books, or any literature-based medium. So the big two here would be movies and TV. It all started with serials. Marvel and DC both had movie serials back in the day. Then, full-length movies used became the big thing. Sure, nobody now thinks much of Howard the Duck, or the original Punisher film, but movies became a big deal. But it got to be that a movie wasn't enough. You had to start a film franchise. DC made that big with superheroes back in the 70s and 80s with Superman and Batman. But that was kind of all they could do with it. Then Marvel took the reigns and brought us franchises of Blade, X-Men, Spider-Man, Fantastic Four (OK...maybe not a full franchise). But Marvel was going places, and DC was stuck. They started spinning off their own franchises over the years (Supergirl, Steel, and Catwoman) without success. Marvel had their fair share of spin-off failures too (Elektra). But Marvel was taking over. So DC revisited their old success stories, with Batman Begins and Superman Returns.
Obviously we know how that panned out, Superman didn't impress and has another reboot coming out this summer, and Batman changed the way people perceive superhero films, and gave us arguably the best movie villain of all time in The Dark Knight, even if that trilogy ended disappointingly (IMO).
Then came the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel started making successful films based on lesser-known characters like Iron Man, Hulk, and Thor, that linked together with each other. DC took notice. They attempted to give the world Green Lantern, but it didn't work.
But what about it didn't work? Did it make a lot of money? Yes. Was it considered a success? No. Why? Because they SPENT too much money on it. Was it well-liked? No. Keep this in mind, I'm going to come back to this later.
Marvel, on the other hand, kept it coming. And then came the Avengers. After Green Lantern, DC said it would not go the route of Marvel and make a shared universe between their movies (due in some part to Chris Nolan and their dependence on him), but after the huge success of The Avengers, all bets were off. Suddenly DC announced they would release a Justice League film in 2015, the same year that Avengers 2 comes out. How do they hope to make this a success? Are they going to make a bunch of solo movies to lead up to JL like Marvel did? Flash? Green Lantern reboot? Wonder Woman? Will Christian Bale be in this universe? No, no, no, no, no. Well, what are they doing again? Creating a JL movie out of nothing, with no character introductions, and hoping to compete with Avengers 2 which will have been building for 7 years by that point? Are they serious?
So then I started asking
why? Why isn't DC making solo movies to build up the necessary amount before unleashing a whole JL movie? And then it hit me: the movies would be no good. How great could a Flash movie possibly be? Or a Hawkman movie? Plastic Man? I don't think so. Green Lantern scared DC, and now they're afraid to go out on a limb. Unlike Marvel, who's now working on Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man, and Dr. Strange just because
they know they can.
We're going to pause now, and pick up later. But first, the other major medium.
TV.
DC had some good success with Smallville over the last 11 or 12 years, but the show ended after its 10th season. True, it had its weak points, but they were able to bring along supporting characters like Supergirl, Green Arrow, Flash, Cyborg, Aquaman, Dr. Fate, Hawkman, Black Canary, and Zatanna. Not to mention villains like Brainiac, Doomsday, Darkseid, and of course Lex Luthor. It teased Lois Lane for years and gradually brought the Daily Planet and Jimmy Olsen to life. It worked well because it had time to develop, get reaction, and evolve. Green Arrow's role got expanded because the audiences loved it. He now has his own show (which it bothers me that it's a reboot, different story, different actor, different everything, but that's another topic).
So what's the problem with TV shows? They're long. They're hard to pick up if you're behind. And they don't bring the big bucks like movies. But the positives? It's cheaper. It's faster to get ideas across, and you can evolve based on audience reaction.
Which brings me to my magic medium....
The anthology TV show.
Creating solo movies for each character DC decides to use in their JL movie would take too long, they'd be too far behind Marvel, and it would take a ton of money. But by using an anthology TV series, DC could use 1-3 episodes developing a character, gaining reactions of it, what works, what doesn't, take notes, and move on to another character for the next few episodes. This would allow DC to introduce about 10 characters in a single year, and know what characters would get the strongest following in a movie series. That way there would be no surprise when people don't like Green Lantern or Superman Returns, after spending years and millions putting them together. They would spend less time and money, and be able to tell if a character would pay off or not. They could even bring old characters back teamed up with newer ones, to see how they'd work together. That's the beauty of the anthology format: you can spend more or less time on stories as you need. If they want to test out a smaller character, they could just devote 1 episode (45 minutes) to them. Or, if they wanted to really introduce and elaborate on a bigger name, say Wonder Woman, they could use three episodes (2 hours and 15 minutes) to explain her origin, and her powers, and get her out to audiences as a modern heroine. Then they could take the best received characters, and pair them up here and there throughout the show. Then, after a year or two of a show, they could go big with a movie, and it wouldn't be such a huge gamble. Even if they can't get the show going ASAP, let's say they start in 2014. They could still get a huge following and a movie put out just one year after Avengers 2, right as Marvel starts going out on farther limbs with their Phase 3 introducing newer characters. Keep in mind too that Fantastic Four will be rebooting then too, and X-Men will be combining their franchises. So DC needs more than a lot of wishful thinking if they're going to continue to make an impact in the movie market.
I love marvel. I love the MCU. So I'm not saying by any means I'm upset by what they've done. But even though I'm not nearly as much of a fan as DC, there needs to be appropriate competition in order for bigger and badder ideas to happen, and if DC fails, what will Marvel have to keep it from becoming just a cash cow? Their success right now is that they appeal to fans, they're doing it right. But if they have no competition, who knows how long that will last.
DC needs to tread carefully. But they can stay in this. They can come back. And hopefully they can get some decent movies out there about characters other than the Dark Knight and the Boy Scout.
Man of Steel comes out this summer, and it's said to spearhead their DCCU. If its part of their JL plan, that will help, but it won't be enough.
Now, after all that, here's some photos of female Justice League cosplayers! Get motivated, DC!
Batman has become a huge success at the box office, but the "Bat Family" hasn't
been seen since the 90s. Maybe a Batgirl revival is due to help kick-start the
DCCU?
Robin is one of those members of Batman's extended family that has been all but
ignored since "Batman & Robin" in the 90s. While he was hinted at (in a poorly
executed way, if you ask me) in TDKR, it's really not Robin. Maybe the DCCU
could use a bigger Bat-Family. There have been multiple Robin's in the comics, both
male and female. Or, to go a different route, maybe, to connect the Dark Knight
trilogy to the DCCU, Batman's "death" could have helped spark others into action,
giving rise to the Justice League.
Green Lantern didn't do as well at the box office as DC hoped, but there are still
possibilities there. Expand upon that universe, introduce more Green Lanterns, and
use that to introduce threats that the Justice League needs to step in to take care of.
Come on, DC, don't give in to the yellow power of fear.
Superman Returns changed way too much to be a good adaptation, but it wasn't a
terrible movie. The Supergirl spin-off from the 80s was. She was brought in as a
supporting character on Smallville and was made sexy, strong, and independent.
This character can work on the big screen, and should be a part of JL if it's going to
happen. If you're struggling with making Superman vulnerable, as sexist as this
sounds, putting the female version in there will help with that, because people are
more empathetic to females.
How has Wonder Woman not gotten her own movie yet? DC had a chance to get
this out there and let it go? Why? She's the icon of female superheroes, she's got
very unique aspects to her powers and her characters, and even if people don't
know much about her, they know the name. Get this character on the big screen,
and prove female superheroes can hold their own against the men.
Black Canary was brought in on Smallville, but wasn't developed a whole lot. Still,
that exposure is something, and as an actual female character from the comics, and
not just a female version of an originally male character, she, like Wonder Woman,
could be used to counter the idea that women can't make great superheroes.
Aquaman had an unreleased pilot on the CW that never made it to air because of
the WB merging with the UPN and cutting programs. It was available on iTunes,
however, and I enjoyed it. Later, Aquaman was brought on as a supporting
character for Smallville. I realize he's made fun of more than any other superhero,
but throw in Aquagirl and he'll have the bragging rights. Simply writing an ocean-
based threat would give him/her plenty to keep busy with, and could really
highlight the potential.
Green Arrow became a major supporting character on Smallville and has gone
on to get his own show, so he's got a following. He actually briefly had a female
archer sidekick on his own show, but that's not the point. The point is, archery
has a lot of interest nowadays -- Lord of the Rings, Immortals, the Avengers, the
Hunger Games, Brave, and Robin Hood -- there's interest there, and there's a
following for Green Arrow.
Another well-known hero with no big screen exposure. Flash (or,
technically, "Impulse") was used as a supporting character on Smallville,
and DC could beat Marvel to the punch, putting Flash out on screen
before Marvel uses Quicksilver. It's a simple power, but has effective
uses, and there's really no reason not to throw him on board.
Hawkman was brought onto Smallville briefly, and personally, I loved him. In the
show, however, his wife was already dead. Bring him and Hawkgirl in to expand
the mythology of the universe, and have some great warriors on your team.
OK, I'll admit it, Martian Manhunter doesn't look great as a female. But what we
got on Smallville wasn't any closer to the comic appearance. He never reached his
potential on the show, but he could be really interesting if used correctly. I doubt he
has a huge fan base, but get him known, especially with Marvel going cosmic in their
next Phases.
OK, I know she's not on the Justice League, or even a hero, but I can't express
how much I would love for Harley Quinn to be involved in a DC film. With the
Joker MIA and never going to be seen again (at least anytime soon) due to Heath-
sensitivities, she's the perfect way to continue that villainy and terror without having
to side-step the joker, or try and put him into a different character like the Riddler.
Use some creative flashbacks and narration to explain her backstory, and her
motives for wanting to take down Batman. Then pair her up with some heavy hitting villains (not lame
henchmen like Bane) and give the JL a reason to get together.
