Wednesday 10 July 2013

Is the Justice League too powerful (for film)??

So, last week I wrote a post about how (well, I think anyway) the recently released Man of Steel movie was a mistake to release first if DC/Warner are intending it to be a stepping stone towards a Justice League movie, in a similar way Iron Man was the first step towards the Avengers (if you haven't read it, well just click here). Well, I noticed that that post interested a fair few people (either that or just one guy lots of times) and, while I still think it's valid, I talked to a few of my friends in the CBNAH group on facebook afterwards and it was here that I was given a different notion that also made me think about writing this follow-up.

* There may be small spoilers regarding Man of Steel and Iron Man 3 below, just to be of warning.

The notion I was given was; what if Man of Steel was set in a time after all the other heroes were introduced? Kinda like the Incredible Hulk is how I understand that. In the Avengers lead up (for those not yet aware of either the films, or the common knowledge that I like to hear my own voice), while Iron Man was the first film released, the Incredible Hulk was the second, released just a couple of months later. However, towards the end of Iron Man 2 we discover that, chronalogically , The Incredible Hulk is the fourth (or fifth, depending on where you think the Cap movie goes), following Iron Man, Iron Man 2 and Thor. So basically this is the same idea that could be applied to Man of Steel; instead of beginning the crossover, it's (storyline wise) merely a step along the path.

However, this is where my new question comes into play. Are the Justice League too powerful (individually speaking) for a shared film universe? Ok, so lets assume that MoS (that's what I'm calling Man of Steel from here on, because I'm sick of writing it) isn't the first, but is like the last, set after Origin films for GL, Aquaman, Flash, Wonder Woman and the Batman Trilogy (assuming that's canon at the moment). If it is the case that before Superman announced himself there were other superheroes who could fly, run fast and use rings to make giant weapons, then surely they would have been mentioned or seen in MoS.

I might be knit-picking this, but I'm a fan of continuity. I mean, when the Kryptonian invade, why does the military not make a mention to the Amazonian chick who deflects bullets, the fish man or the .... well, the Flash (I guess I can't think of another name for him)? Are they all (though this might be legit for GL) offworld? It doesn't make sense to me how DC/Warner could ignore the white elephant in the room (or, in this case, the brightly dressed superhero in the world) whichever direction they plotted these movies, MoS first or last (or in the middle, of course).

This brings me to the heart of my pondering; are the JL too powerful to exist together on film? I think yes, simply because as cool as it would be to see these titans of the comics world come together on film, they are all individually too powerful to simply disappear when they are not wanted. This is even more the case when you think that GL and Supes's rogues galleries are almost all alien villains, are you saying the other characters would realistically sit back upon another alien invasion just because it is a 'solo film'?

I mean with the Avengers it was a different story (somewhat). Neither Cap nor Iron Man were particularly powerful, at least not without chemical or technological aid (I can foresee manhood related jokes going with that line) and while Hulk is the most powerful there is (or so the character constantly claims in the comics) he is a tad unpredictable and not exactly reliable for full-time heroics like the others. Therefore, while they were pretty bad-ass as a team, none of these characters are inherently 'mighty' enough to just appear in one of the others solo films to clean up their messes (although, it seems they might be on hand to provide counselling sessions in post credit scenes). In fairness, there is one Avenger who could possibly manage this role of being too powerful and that is Thor, although he is indeed on a mission in space (someone actually used that cliché?) in the sense that he's an alien.

So, I've probably waffled on a bit about this, but my general point is that the characters of the Justice League are, in my opinion, too powerful (for film) and that if DC/Warner are gonna go abouts setting up a Justice League movie in the same vein as the Avengers, they should expect large pay checks to the actors playing those characters for all the cameos they'll do in each others films. Of course, I know not to underestimate large hollywood studios eager to make a lot of money on previously successful formulas, so I'm sure someone will make it work.

No comments:

Post a Comment