Words Of Questionable Wisdom: The Gold Mine

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After being the only game in town on the silver screen in the 70’s and 80’s, DC has had to stand by and watch Marvel rule the cinemas the last few years. With the big success of X-Men and the monster hit that was Spider-Man, many people forget that a much smaller film ushered in Marvel’s recent wins on the big screen. With a meager $45 million budget, Blade was a relatively inexpensive movie, featuring a character that not only wasn’t a household name, but was a character most had never heard of.

While Spidey, X-Men, Hulk and maybe Daredevil are A-List Marvel properties, most of what’s to come are strictly B or C grade characters at best. Currently in development is Iron Fist, Shang-Chi: The Master of Kung Fu, Sub-Mariner, Ghost Rider, and Luke Cage. While the Fantastic Four will supposedly hit late next year, another “big” Marvel film is the Punisher. He’s certainly more known in non-comic circles than Shang Chi, but he’s not even close to being a character that a majority of the public is aware of.

Warner Bros. ownership of DC’s is the biggest problem in getting movies off the ground. While Marvel is free to license every character in the Marvel Universe out, DC cannot. Basically if Warner’s or New Line, a subsidiary of Warner Bros., doesn’t produce it, it’s not going to happen. While SHAZAM, the real Captain Marvel, is now in active development at New Line, there’s very little else in the works, with the exception of the usual attempts to get franchises off the ground for DC’s big three, Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.

While these characters have always been, and really always should be, the bread and butter of DC, that’s not necessarily the case in the world of film. These characters are icons that have occupied the big and small screens many times in the last sixty years; it’s quite hard to give them a fresh spin without alienating people. Warner Bros. needs to focus on some great characters and stories that are sitting largely untouched, and cash in on the current wave of comic hits.

There are so many characters at DC that I can’t possibly go into specifics on more than a handful that I think could make great films. I’ve tried to capture a variety of genres, or at least sub-genres within the superhero category, which could make for a fun film.

ZATANNA

While there was a recent cartoon short available from the Cartoon Network website, the character of Zatanna has appeared in very few places outside the pages of a comic book. She’s a strong female character with a penchant for magic. I can’t recall it’s name, but there’s a book series out there that’s had some success with magic as a major theme, and even spawned a couple of moderately successful films.

Kids obviously like magical elements in their stories, and Zatanna could hit a broad demographic of filmgoers. With a PG rating, the character could appeal equally to males and females. The idea of a young Zee following in her father’s footsteps could serve as a strong subplot as she finds her way in the world.

MARTIAN MANHUNTER

While he’s getting some play on the current Justice League cartoon, he’s still probably the least known eternal JLA-er. J’onn J’onzz is cool and has an interesting collection of powers, how would he not look good on film? The tragic back-story concerning Mars would serve for great development of the character.

The great thing is that a Martian Manhunter film wouldn’t just be a superhero movie. I’ve strived to pick out properties that aren’t meant to be a couple of guys in tights beating the crap out of each other. This film would instead be more of the detective story we never got in a Batman film. Show us John Jones on the police force, and a powerful character driven story with the tragic Martian as the focus, and it could be a very fresh film.

THE WARLORD

The Lord of the Rings, and Scorpion King on a much smaller level, should be a slight indication that epic tales in the sword and sorcery vein are making a comeback. The Warlord is one of my favorites, as just about anyone that knows me can attest. While he’s not well recognized like he was in the 70’s or early 80’s, with my obvious bias aside, Travis Morgan would translate into a wonderful feature film.

Mike Grell created a vast world with wonderful characters inspired by some of the great fantasy stories of the past. Travis’ early adventures, which followed his struggles to free Skartaris from the tyranny of the evil wizard Deimos, would make a stunning epic. All the classic elements are here and waiting to be mined by the powers that be.

THE SPECTRE and DEADMAN

Horror is a constantly viable form of entertainment in Hollywood. Usually made on tighter budgets, these films allow a lot more leeway at the box office with regards to admissions. While Deadman was talked about as a potential television series a couple of years ago, nothing ever seemed to happen. Either Deadman or the Spectre could make an interesting story.

Even better than single films about each character, would be a mixing of the two into one screenplay. That’s to say having both characters involved, and not a bastardized mixing of the two. Using the Spectre from the days of Jim Corrigan, and the hipper 60’s version of Deadman, as immortalized on the printed page by Neal Adams. This funky psychedelic telling of Deadman’s origins could be linked to Corrigan’s police work and the spirit of vengeance that is the Spectre. Kinda like a buddy cop movie, with only one cop, featuring two dead guys.

JSA

A real period piece is something that hasn’t been done yet with the current crop of superhero films! Now how great would it be to see the JSA kicking the hell out of the Nazi’s during WWII? Vanquishing Nazi’s has been a screen tradition for sixty years now, so why not with the JSA. With the variety of characters available from the JSA, putting together a team that would work on screen and be feasible from a budgetary standpoint, shouldn’t be that hard.

This type of movie could really combine several concepts. You have a period piece, that’s also part war story, and the potential to tell an iconic tale through the proverbial rose colored glasses. With regards to the team-based concept, X-Men worked out quite well. Why shouldn’t the first superhero team get their chance to shine on the big screen!

GREEN LANTERN

Quite possibly the perfect property that could be launched into a potential film franchise would be Green Lantern. A GL film could go in so many directions, leaving wide sequel possibilities. There is a wealth of characters with vastly different backgrounds that could be the star. Hollywood has always been about the taste of the time, GL can provide that more so than any other comic. Is the anti-hero in, make it about Guy Gardner. Young’s always in, so Kyle Rayner would be the “hip” choice. Classic appeal would always point to Hal Jordan, and there’s the potential with John Stewart, to cast a black lead.

Of course the diversity of characters isn’t the only thing that GREEN LANTERN offers. The film could be a sci-fi extravaganza with an intergalactic war as the backdrop, or a much smaller piece set firmly on Earth. GREEN LANTERN is one of DC’s big properties, and may not be the type of film my introduction led into, but of the bigger hitters I think DC should move in this direction as opposed to the usual Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman route!

Are these the only characters DC has to offer with regards to feature films? Of course not! Is the little plot synopsis I created for each of these concepts any good? You decide if this is something you’d like to see. The reason I wrote this column was more to show the wide range of ideas that are out there, and this is less than one percent of what DC and conversely the WB has under their thumb. Stop wasting time developing the same old thing guys, and be creative!