First up, I’d like to apologize for my absence last week. I’ve finally got off of my butt and got out of the hellhole I was working in, but my new job, while paying me a considerable amount more money, is very time consuming and exhausting. Its an awesome job, and I’m really stoked about it, but again, I just needed last weekend to kind of charge up my batteries, and I’m going to do what I can to keep up my column as best as I can.
At any rate, before I get into the meat of this column, I’d like to talk a little bit about the developments this week regarding Warner Bros, DC Comics and their future plans. First up, I’m at least glad that WB has finally seen the light and decided to get off their collective butts and start fast tracking some new projects. 2008’s Summer has been better to Superhero movies and Comic Book related films than it has to any other genre, and despite releasing the second highest grossing film of all time, DC has got to feel like they could have been a bigger player this year.
Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk both showed that Marvel is quite possibly moving in the right direction, giving us movies that have started to cohesively build their universe on the big screen. If everything goes right, Marvel will get to build their entire world up on screen, which seems to bring endless possibilities. This is where DC needs to try and get to, but I’m not sure that the bigwigs at Warner Bros really know how to take this in the right direction.
While Marvel offerings such as Fantastic Four, Ghost Rider and Daredevil all shocked us at just how mediocre they could really be, DC let Warner Bros. release such classics as Steel, Catwoman and Batman & Robin, with Catwoman showing the disparity between the two companies by coming out the same summer as Spider-Man 2. The closest we’ve come to getting DC crossovers on screen are mentions of Superman in both Supergirl and the aforementioned Joel Schumacher schlock fest.
Now, DC has seemingly made some substantial strides in the last few years. I like the work done to get their Vertigo line of comics some big budget films, with Constantine and V For Vendetta both being successful movies. I’d actually like to see a little more focus on these types of books and adaptations, because there’s still plenty of brilliant material that could be mined out there. Obviously, there’s also Christopher Nolan’s Batman universe, which has now produced the most financially successful Superhero movie of all time.
Here’s where things could really go south for WB though. Warner Bros. Pictures Group President Jeff Robinov has gone on record saying that he wants to try and focus on bringing nearly every individual DC character to the big screen, but he wants them all to follow the formula of The Dark Knight. He wants every one of these movies to feature “exploring the evil side to characters”, but this is at the core of what could end up being a huge misstep for DC and WB.
Sure, letting us see the darker side to many of these characters could end up having them connect to us on a human level, but to do this across the board is missing the basic fundamentals about many of these characters. Green Lantern and The Flash are awesome characters not because they have a potential evil side, but because they represent all that’s good and honest about all of us. Where Marvel has been most successful is how they’ve been able to accurately represent what has made us love their characters for half a century. Iron Man, Spider-Man 1&2, and X2 all gave us the versions of these characters that we’ve wanted to see on screen.
This would go especially for Superman. Now, at the outset everyone knows that I’m one of the most vocal Superman Returns supporters out there. I thought that Bryan Singer may not have gotten everything right, but I love the majesty that he brought over from Richard Donner’s Superman films. Yes, I can understand that Superman never actually punches anything in the movie, but I give the director credit for trying to take this character as seriously as possible and not just equating him with a mindless brawler.
In a lot of ways, I can see that Hancock is the movie that many wanted Superman Returns to be, but I think the failure in that film reflected all of the things that Singer’s film was able to get right. Singer tried to take time and make you really care about Superman and the inner struggles he was going through. Maybe he didn’t deliver the popcorn finale that many wanted, but when a movie becomes just a rote exercise in one action scene after another you never feel the connection that a character like Superman deserves.
Just scrapping all of that in favor of trying to have Superman turn into Batman would be a huge mistake. In many ways this sounds like what the studio tried to do to Superman in the 90’s when Tim Burton was brought on to make a Supes film that was similar to his Caped Crusader films with Michael Keaton. What they don’t seem to understand is that Superman just doesn’t work on that level. Superman has to be his own thing, this beacon of light and hope for humanity, and one that stands up to darkness, not bathes in it. It’s like this studio has complete amnesia. We’ve seen dark Superman before in Superman III, which is in itself a complete failure.
There’s got to be some medium where audiences get both the shining example of Superman that should be, and an action packed adventure film as well. Superman is one of the greatest creations in American lore. I hope the bigwigs at Warner Bros don’t just try to turn him into Batman in red and blue. All they would end up doing would be to set themselves up for failure, which is a trend they’re evidently always up for.
And with that, here’s a completely elitist list of projects that you should be pursuing in order to catch up with Marvel’s current prowess on the big screen.
The Big Superhero Stuff
Superman, Option #1
Superman: Birthright – I loathe the idea of another reboot, especially considering that audiences just got a Superman movie two years ago and that if you look closely enough, Marvel just did the same thing with The Incredible Hulk and ended up making a movie that cost more, made less, and was liked by critics less than Ang Lee’s Hulk. However, since Warner Bros. seems to be insisting on it, Birthright is definitely the way to go.
Mark Waid’s epic Graphic Novel is the best version of the Superman origin I’ve ever read. This gets nearly everything right, and gives you an awesome villain to fight at the end of the movie, an army that may just be a lost war-like Kryptonian fleet that shows up to destroy Earth. With huge Kryptonian vehicles and creatures, we get amazing fights and still get the drama we’d need to be able to connect to the Man of Steel on a personal level.
Superman, Option #2
Superman: For the Man Who Has Everything – Yes, you’d have to take some major liberties with Alan Moore’s (V for Vendetta, Watchman) storyline, but the basic premise of a villain capturing and then taking control of Superman by making him think he is living on a Krypton that never exploded has tons of possibilities. I’d even take out Mongol and put in Darkseid as the villain and you’ve got a potentially incredible mammoth of a picture.
With this picture you wouldn’t even need the reboot necessarily. I think Brandon Routh did just fine as Superman/Clark Kent and you could potentially build on the goodwill he received. There’s just so much potential here.
Batman
The Batman franchise seems to be well in hand. Do us a favor WB and stay out of Christopher Nolan’s way.
All other DC Superheroes
Wonder Woman also gives you a major chance to give us all kinds of different pictures. Wonder Woman has been in WWII before, she’s been a sort of spy, she’s even had adventures in Greek mythology. All of those could be woven into an amazing adventure. What’s really important is that you make her kickass while still maintaining her femininity as much as possible. Think Sigourney Weaver in Aliens or Uma Thurman Kill Bill, and try to stay away from crazy butch psychos like Linda Hamilton in T2.
I don’t know if there’s a particular Green Lantern or Flash story to really point to in the same way that Superman and Batman have their’s. Just make sure you get the tone of their stories right and you’ll completely win us over. There’s a whole mythology of Green Lanterns and Flashes to choose from really. Perhaps some multigenerational stories of the baton being passed down by either one of these characters. Hal Jordan’s “Man without Fear” could be a Green Lantern that audiences may have a little trouble relating to, but a Lantern who has to pass the torch to an inexperienced Kyle Raynor could be a very interesting storyline.
The same goes for Wally West having to live up to his mentor’s ultimate sacrifice as the previous Flash, Barry Allen, had to die in order to save our universe. Each of these are distinct characterizations within each of these superheroes. Don’t go outside the box and make Jack Black Green Lantern like you were planning on doing at one point. That’s got Catwoman written all over it. Try to learn from past mistakes and just hit the ground running with this stuff.
The Vertigo Stuff
I know these movies aren’t probably as important to you, but I tell you, these could really be a big boost in the long run. Just like the Vertigo comics line has done for readers, their film adaptations could provide serious adult alternatives to the “tights and capes set.”
Y The Last Man – I know this is already in development, but see this one through guys. I like what I’ve heard so far. Being the only man left on Earth with a planet full of women sounds like a dream come true, but this shows you what a true nightmare it could be. Even with the Disturbia team in control of this, this could end up being closer to Children of Men than I Am Legend if you do it right.
Preacher – Imagine a cross between Constantine, True Romance, and Kill Bill, and that’s pretty much what you’ve got here. Darkly violent and heretical, this could be the ultimate Dark Comic Book movie.
Swamp Thing – Isn’t it time for another Swamp Thing? Honestly, you could really build on the Horror elements of this Comic and put the association with Wes Craven’s likable but campy adaptation to rest.
Transmetropolitan – Warren Ellis’ brilliantly sophisticated Sci-Fi/Political series is rude, crude, absolutely hilarious and oddly touching at times.
Sandman Mystery Theater – This is hardcore Noir told within the confines of a 1930’s vigilante tale.
The Works of Neil Gaiman – Gaiman helped bring a human touch to the tale of Beowulf, and his look at mythology and how it touches us as humans in his tales about a family of gods known as The Endless in his series Sandman and in his two miniseries featuring Death. This is still the flagship Vertigo title, and should be treated as such by the studio.
Constantine 2 – I actually really liked the last one, so I think another one could possibly be really cool.
Alright, so that’s all I’ve got for this week. See you guys next time when we go ahead and close out the Summer movie season.
