{"id":21456,"date":"2011-07-05T19:09:05","date_gmt":"2011-07-06T01:09:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/?p=21456"},"modified":"2015-05-08T11:33:51","modified_gmt":"2015-05-08T17:33:51","slug":"saving-dcs-movie-franchises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2011\/07\/05\/saving-dcs-movie-franchises.html","title":{"rendered":"Saving DC’s movie franchises"},"content":{"rendered":"

IO9 asks Which DC Comics character could save DC\u2019s non-Batman\/Superman movies?<\/a><\/p>\n

The problem is, all of them could be awesome, and all of them could be duds. Part of it has to do with the actors, the writer, the director, etc. — just like any other theme or character, a super-hero can rise or fall based on them. \u00a0But some characters — due to their power sets, in some cases, or to their being interesting because of the rich texture of their back history — seem liable to fare better than others.<\/p>\n

I mean look at the choices IO9 provides:<\/p>\n

The Flash<\/strong>: \u00a0On the one hand, the I still think the TV show was awesome sauce. There’s so much you can play with concerning a person who can move so fast, the world is like an array of \u00a0statues. \u00a0Or think of the interesting dynamics of the Flash vs. his Rogues. \u00a0On the other hand, it’s such an all-trumping one-note power, all you can do (in the course of a movie introducing the character) is keep taking it away from him, which gets tiresome.<\/p>\n

Wonder Woman<\/strong>: Imagine a WW set during WWII, with the gritty patriotism of a Captain America, but dealing with the added elements of myth, women’s rights, and being an emissary of peace in a world at war. \u00a0On the other hand, imagine discarding everything about the character except some names and, kinda, the costume — oh, wait, no imagination necessary, just look at the (dropped pilot) TV show we just lost.<\/p>\n

Teen Titans<\/strong>: The new animated has shown a great way to handle this — teen angst and trying to establish yourself as someone worthy of respect, while working in the shadow of your “mentor.” \u00a0 On the other hand, you’d have to be careful about the mix (and number) of characters, and really resist the temptation to make it a stupid teen comedy.<\/p>\n

Justice League<\/strong>: Dudes, you need to get at least four characters “right” before even thinking of it. Not just “right” but “compatibly right” — current DC Superman and Batman movies don’t exist together, so their characters should not. \u00a0(Teen Titans is different, as there the elder heroes are props.) \u00a0Marvel is doing a solid job building their universe before <\/em>they build the Avengers.<\/p>\n

Green Arrow — and Speedy!<\/strong>: \u00a0On the positive side, the FX are very manageable, and there’s all sorts of stuff you could do with GA (optionally with Speedy). Rich man \/ poor man. The addicted side-kick. Heck, people love Robin Hood and Legolas, why not Ollie? \u00a0On the other hand, figuring out how to make him different from Batman and the Green Hornet \u00a0in personality\/backstory is non-trivial (at least for the non-comics population). \u00a0Plus, the last thing you want is to encourage bow-wielding vigilantes.<\/p>\n

Justice Society of America<\/strong>: After having just dissed JLA, JSA has some potential, if only as sort of the flip side to Teen Titans — heroes, past their prime, no longer the most powerful ones on the beat, trying to still feel useful. \u00a0Potential downside: being played for laughs.<\/p>\n

Aquaman<\/strong>: The problem with Aquaman is his story has been all over the map. \u00a0Short of a “Man from Atlantis” style movie, or some sort of eco-warrior — it’s not clear what you’d do with him.<\/p>\n

Hawkman<\/strong>: So you either do the Eternal Warrior (which is fine, but kind of boring, unless you include Sheira) or the Thanagarian space police (which is just goofy). \u00a0Biggest problem with Hawkman is CG wings all the time<\/em>. \u00a0I’d probably go with the warrior \/ archaeologist \/ eternal love thing — The Mummy<\/em> meets The Dark Knight<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Birds of Prey<\/strong>: Assuming, after the awful TV show, you weren’t laughed out of any studio, there’s possibilities here. \u00a0Girl Power! \u00a0The mysterious Oracle! The dauntless Black Canary! The … whatever other female heroes you wanted to throw in. \u00a0And since they are mostly punchy-punchy, that keeps it from being a GL-style CG-fest. Risk: Desperate House-Heroes of Gotham<\/em>. Or Sex and Gotham City<\/em>. \u00a0Bleah.<\/p>\n

Mister Miracle and all the rest of Jack Kirby’s Fourth World<\/strong>: It would be tough to do the Fourth World without it being a Frank Miller-esque Gruesomefest, or else something played for laughs. \u00a0Sorry, Jack.<\/p>\n

Ambush Bug<\/strong>: \u00a0It starred Jim Carey and was called The Mask<\/em>. \u00a0No thank you.<\/p>\n

The Doom Patrol<\/strong>: Mutants who really are grotesque outcasts? \u00a0Works for me, though there may be too much similarity to the X-Men (esp. the most recent flick) to make Hollywood happy. \u00a0Or, perhaps, Hollywood will rear its imitative ugly head once more …<\/p>\n

Is there anyone else? \u00a0I’d love to see a John Constantine<\/em><\/strong> that was Keanu Reeves (i.e., played for sardonic and evil chuckles). \u00a0Booster Gold<\/em><\/strong> has (dare I say it) some comedic possibilities. \u00a0Vixen <\/strong>would make a nice one-off. \u00a0Deadman <\/em><\/strong>works almost as-is. \u00a0There are things you could do with Deathstroke <\/strong>(enhanced mercenary assassin with a heart of … well, whatever)\u00a0that would work. \u00a0How about an Authority <\/em><\/strong>movie; that could seriously rock.<\/p>\n

What other DC super-heroes are there that you think would make a great movie?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

IO9 asks Which DC Comics character could save DC\u2019s non-Batman\/Superman movies? The problem is, all of them could be awesome, and all of them could be duds. Part of it has to do with the actors, the writer, the director, etc. — just like any other theme or character, a super-hero can rise or fall … Continue reading “Saving DC’s movie franchises”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11,852,382,41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media-comics","category-dc-cinematic-univese","category-lord-of-the-rings","category-media-movies"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":131959,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2016\/11\/07\/young-justice-is-back.html","url_meta":{"origin":21456,"position":0},"title":""Young Justice" is BACK!","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 7-Nov-16 8:24pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Hoody-freaking-hoo!http:\/\/io9.gizmodo.com\/its-official-young-justice-is-coming-back-1788676249'Warner Bros. has officially revealed that Young Justice season 3 has entered production, complete with original producers Greg Weisman and Brandon Vietti. This confirms long-simmering rumors this year about a possible return for the fan-favorite animated series about the young proteges of DC\u2019s finest heroes saving the world as their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/nr1aj4f4hhao2tm4p47w5B15D.gifimgmax%3D660.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/nr1aj4f4hhao2tm4p47w5B15D.gifimgmax%3D660.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/nr1aj4f4hhao2tm4p47w5B15D.gifimgmax%3D660.gif?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":49512,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/02\/06\/is-the-dcs-new-52-coming-to-an-end.html","url_meta":{"origin":21456,"position":1},"title":"Is the DC's New 52 coming to an end?","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 6-Feb-15 8:54pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Well ... maybe-sorta.DC seems to be dropping the need for their line to include 52 titles. And they seem to be dropping the glorification of grim-dark \"heroes.\" And they seem to be shifting from a tight, unified continuity to letting \"good storytelling\" rule the roost.We'll see. But I'm guardedly optimistic.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27968,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/05\/22\/coming-out-of-the-comic-book-closet.html","url_meta":{"origin":21456,"position":2},"title":"Coming out of the (comic book) closet","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 22-May-12 2:08pm","format":false,"excerpt":"So lots of buzz about this over the past day or two. Key thoughts of mine:1. The specification is for \"gay\" as opposed to \"bi\". To my mind that rules out anyone who we've seen (in the New 52) in an apparently straight relationship. The year-old change of universe is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":45308,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/09\/17\/in-case-you-ever-thought-fox-was-league-with-the-devil.html","url_meta":{"origin":21456,"position":3},"title":"In case you ever thought Fox was league with the Devil","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 17-Sep-14 10:24am","format":false,"excerpt":"They're bringing him to TV.Actually, the Lucifer comic (written by Mike Carey) was an excellent one, especially early days. The idea of a piano-playing Lucifer, prideful but burnt out, made me suddenly think of Hugh Laurie in the role, which would be awesome.Doing this up right would be a real\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":51131,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/05\/15\/the-convergence-bump-for-dc-comics.html","url_meta":{"origin":21456,"position":4},"title":"The Convergence bump for DC Comics","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 15-May-15 3:59pm","format":false,"excerpt":"I've read more DC Comics issues the past few months than I have the previous year. The Convergence event is ... well, damned goofy in its premise, but getting the opportunity to revisit some classic DC heroes and teams has been priceless. Most (though not all) of the titles I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29934,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/08\/23\/the-new-super-girlfriend.html","url_meta":{"origin":21456,"position":5},"title":"The New Super-Girlfriend","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 23-Aug-12 9:27am","format":false,"excerpt":"So DC's decided that Superman and Wonder Woman should be, y'know, snoggeriffic.Anyone to whom this comes as a surprise simply hasn't been paying attention to DC's New 52, which has been, at its heart, a fanboy indulgence for Dan DiDio and Jim Lee and the rest of the core editorial\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21456"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21456\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42945,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21456\/revisions\/42945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}