Justice League Movie Should Not Be An Origin Story

The Summer of 2015 is the release date of The Justice League movie.  DC, creator of the legendary group, is hoping to create a movie that will move Heaven and Earth and fill fanboy pants with joy (or at least compete with The Avengers).

Joss Whedon was the wise choice for The Avengers and Marvel will be holding on to that gem of a writer for as long as humanly possible.  The simple let's-get-together-and-fight-evil model blended well with Whedon's humor and the creative use of the fan service.  But enough about them.  We have Justice League to talk about and I am certain DC is going to follow this similar story route.

Montage of Each Hero --->  Heroes Clash Relationally --->  Huge Evil That Threatens The World ---> Heroes Join Together and a Huge Fight Breaks Out

It's basically an origin story, which seems to be the only kind of super hero plot line we have been getting for the past five years.  But the question remains: do we really need to know the story of how they all came together?  I think we only care about these two elements.

Huge Evil That Threatens The World --->  Heroes Join Together and a Huge Fight Breaks Out

Let's be honest, everyone knows the story or at least can guess what is going to happen.  The characters meet, they clash with each other's personalities, but they find common ground to defeat the greater evil.  Marvel at least padded the painfully obvious plot progression with humor and epic hero moments.  DC might not have that luxury.  So here is another option.

Throw away the origin story

Do we really need to start on day one?  Other movie genres are not obligated by origin stories so why live by that rule?  Origin stories are very cookie cutter and make a very easy framework that builds up to a sequel, but they aren't imperative to the audience.  If you take into account that the audience wants to see each hero personality richly intertwining and interacting throughout the plot and a barrel load of epic fight scenes you don't need an origin story to pull that off.  In fact, origin stories try so hard to make sure you know where everything starts that it gets in the way of the character development.  Origin stories have kept Peter Parker from being witty and clever, Batman from being dark and brooding, Punisher from being merciless and Green Lantern from being...well that was just a bad movie.  It's not fun to watch your favorite hero personality slowly develop and not reach their character when you already expect them to be it.

So why not get there already?

Imagine a Justice League movie that starts five years into its story.  The Justice League has already formed and they know each other quite well.  We can catch the audience up to speed with some short montages about how they met and how Martian Manhunter formed the group, but nothing longer than ten minutes of back story.  The world already is familiar with them, the JLA are kicking serious butt and having moon base meetings.  I just saved the audience an hour of meaningless reactions and stupid introductions that would have been predictable anyway.

NOW...we can get into the meat of the issue and see how Superman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Batman, Flash, Martian Manhunter and Wonder Woman work together since they are already deeply invested in one another.  The movie could jump right into the politics of maintaining a super group, the egos of each character and stress of being a world power.  If the movie assumes that they are already friends (Super Friends?) the relationships can build and reveal much quicker than if they had to introduce each other and focus on reactions.  The story arc would look like this.

Back Story of Rich History Between The Heroes  -->  The Relationship Struggle and Stress of the Team  --> The Mastermind Working Against The Team --> The World Loses Hope--> The Eventual Resolution

The big difference is that you can have some epic fight scenes anywhere within that story arc because the team is already together.  Also, this plays to DC's strength because the JLA story is all about super heroes thinking they are gods amid a helpless world and theweight of each ego struggling for leadership.  You will never get Batman's lectures to Superman about him not manning up to responsibility in an origin story.  At least not as deep.

As they say in my improv class: "don't try to get there...get there."  Origin movies are always trying to get there, but it's the sequel that gets there.  Tony Stark wasn't fully the Tony Stark we loved till Iron Man 2.

How cool would it be if the writer/director assumed you knew everything and treated you like you could figure it out (which is not too farfetched considering the fanboy following)?

But no! DC is never going to take this route.  Why?  Because an origin story is sooooooo easy.  It writes itself.  Most likely we have to sit through an hour of characters introducing themselves to other characters, characters reacting to characters for the first time and the super group introducing themselves to the world.  Then in the last twenty minutes we will see the big fight between Brainiac/Darkseid and then we can wait for the sequel where everything is setup.  This is all done so some fanboy's girlfriend doesn't feel left out.

Tell me what you think.    

Runaways Teenage Wasteland

Type: Graphic Novel
Publisher: Marvel
Writer/Artist: Vaughan, Alphona, Myazawa

Teenage super hero groups are a dime a dozen and they all seem to have the same issue: we are super hero kids with big responsibilities.  They are always living in a shadow, trying to earn their own way, while having big hormonal relationships.  It's like Gossip Girl and Star Search having a baby with the Justice League.  That is probably why the Runaway series is so brilliant.

In the Runaway series: Teenage Wasteland, the six renegade reluctant heroes have to make a living, while their evil parents try to track them down.  The charm of this story comes in how fresh and reluctant all the heroes are, and how they don't hide their true selves.  Alex tries his best to be a mature leader of the team, but even the reader can tell that he didn't sign up for such a life as this.  Meanwhile, Molly is the innocent little girl trying to have fun, Gert hides her feminine qualities behind a sarcastic exterior, Chase is rushing into things and Karolina is trying to understand her alien identity.  Alex and Nico are the proverbial Cyclops and Jean of the team, trying to understand their feelings for each other, but staying strong to protect the others.  What this results in is a glorious story that rebels from the casual "we are teenagers who have to fight crime" and focuses it on the personal struggle of being a teenager with the weight of a responsibility on your shoulders.  Plus, the kids speak all the things we wish heroes would really speak, "Your costume is retarded," "Why are you dressed like a slut?"  "That's the dumbest idea I have ever heard."

The art is very teenager friendly.  Simple lines and digital coloring make this a very clean read.  There's a slight hint of Japanese influence, but it's all Marvel.  Every color, line and text is perfect for the reader.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
If you are a teenager who recently escaped the fallout explosion of puberty, it feels like the weight of the world is on your shoulders.  Maybe your parents aren't a league of evil super villains, but you are holding onto a lot of responsibilities.  That's why I constantly search for the truth in the Gospel where Jesus urges us to work with him and in return he will help carry the heavy burden on our shoulders.  If there was anything Jesus had a heart for was helping people too exasperated to help themselves.  Oh sure, you are a super hero to those around you, but you can't fight forever by yourself.  Sometimes you need someone to lift the burden around you.

Pros:
+ Great teenager dialogue
+ Gripping character struggles
+ Fun and easy read

Cons:
-- They haven't pwned any major villain yet

A

Quick Sketch: Thor the Mighty Avenger: Double Rainbow

 

Thor the Mighty Avenger: Double Rainbow
Publisher: Marvel
Artists and writers: Roger Langridge, Chris Samnee, Matt Wilson

Story: Thor protects local women in Bergen from Mr. Hyde; “As in you can’t.”

The story itself was a boring read, but has the potential to be good in the next issues.

Thor was a disappointment. He did not live up to what we see in other Marvel comics (the God of Thunder with mighty powers). He lacks his full fighting capacity. Mr. Hide was a more believable character: a schizophrenic and heartless drug addicted murderer.

The art on this could have been better as well.  Marvel does not live up to its standards. We have seen comics drawn better. And what’s with all this shading ? Do normal people have half of their face black? Overall this was an ineffective use of simplistic coloring.

This series has the potential to have a future (if they use more elements of Thor as god) and if they stop drawing rough sketches of Thor. Thor fans, this was a disappointment, especially if you were expecting the god of thunder.

 Thor has trouble when facing evil when he is not prepared much like we as Christians face every day. But through that experience he learns that he will find help when he needs it.   In the story Thor receives help from his new friend in order to defeat Mr. Hide.  Our lives are much more assured in that we can trust God to help us through battles.

  Pros

-Story has potential

-Good Mr. Hyde (as in terrible person, but played part well)

 

Cons

- Unrecognizable Thor character

-Bad art

D+

Red Mike

Captain America 611

Captain America 611, Marvel
Quick Review: Brubaker, Acuna

Steve Rodgers has dropped the mantle onto Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier, but it hasn't been a smooth transition by any stretch of the imagination.

Nazi nemesis, Zemo, has revealed to the world that Bucky Barnes was really the Winter Soldier assassin.  Now Bucky is wanted for murder and he is an escaped convict.

Brubaker is bringing over his Daredevil type drama to display the struggle between Steve's beliefs in Bucky's innocence and the skepticism before the other Avengers.  In the background of the story, a team of Nazi terrorists are threatening to bring over a new threat in New York City.  The comic is mostly Steve arguing for Bucky before TOny Stark and the president, but it gives some great background information into the Bucky Barnes character.  Was he brain washed, or did he kill those people with his own will?

The artistic style looks very simplistic and dark.  It's never daytime in the issue and the muddy colors accentuate that.    The minimalist art style gives proper mood lighting between the struggle of the characters.

What does it mean?
As Steve Rodgers fights for the cause of Bucky, we are reminded that Jesus clears our name in a similar way.  We may not have been brainwashed by Soviet Assassin camps, but sin has done its own fair share of teaching us to do wrong.  In those times of failure, where it feels like the world is out to get you, we have Jesus to fight for our cause.

Pros:
+ Great minimalist approach
+ Very heated dialogue
+ Wonderful use of Steve Rodgers
Cons:
--More Bucky?

A