It's Christmas time in Gotham, and Joker has broken out of Arkham with a festive plan to keep Batman busy this year.
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The latest DC film, "Justice League," just hit theaters, and like most of the previous films, has been met with lukewarm reception.
Many have enjoyed the performances and interactions between characters, but criticized the CGI and editing and pacing aspects. Putting aside personal views on whether the movie was good or bad, some scenes and an initial advertising slogan suggest a potential future for the DCEU. When pictures started coming out for "Justice League," a phrase quickly became popular and led to fan theories: "Unite the 7." "Batman v. Superman" set up Batman's attempt to bring together the Justice League, which was formed by seven superheroes. One well-known incarnation of the League's beginning was a combination of Batman, Superman, the Flash, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter. Despite the typical founding and slogan, however, only 5 members appeared in "Justice League:" Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, the Flash, and reboot founder Cyborg. Considering its attempt at a Green Lantern movie in the past, some assumed a Green Lantern would be a founding member for this version as well. This was further fueled by a "Justice League" trailer that showed Alfred Pennyworth, played by Jeremy Irons reacting to an unseen person. Alfred tells the unknown figure "You said you'd come. Now let's hope it's not too late," with some assuming he was speaking to a revived Superman or a Green Lantern. Given the failure of GL's previous movie, the corps definitely deserves another go, with John Stewart a popular candidate for the main character. "Justice League" definitely seems to hint that something like this could be in the cards, as an early flashback to an ancient battle against Steppenwolf shows at least one Green Lantern. With the previous movie doing so poorly, it may be that GL was scrapped from the movie, and the single corps member was so lightly involved as a way to test the waters for future attempts. Martian Manhunter, while an interesting character, could potentially be problematic when brought into the series. MM already exists in the "Supergirl" CW show, and many fans already took issue with the movies bringing in Ezra Miller as a new Flash, rather than simply having CW's Grant Gustin come in. Also considering the CGI effects in "Justice League," we might not get something good if they introduce MM. At the very least, they could have introduced him if they had waited to kill Superman, then waited longer to bring him back. It's already one of DC's worst decisions thus far with the DCEU to kill Superman so soon, and bringing him back so quickly only removes options. MM is often used as a substitute for Superman, due to his incredible powers and skill, and could have been used so. As said in "Justice League," Superman's death hit the world heavy, with Steppenwolf being called only because the threat of Superman was believed to be gone. This would be a good time for Martian Manhunter to step in, as both a sturdy means of defense as well as a new representation of acceptance. MM has always faced bigotry due to being a martian and people assuming he's a monster, despite his continued good deeds. In the DCEU, Superman already faced this exact hatred before his death, so it's an existing theme that would go well with Martian Manhunter. At this point, it seems obvious more things with the Justice League as a whole will take place in the DCEU, with Wonder Woman saying they need to have space at their table for plenty of new recruits. In the post-credits scene, we also get an interesting but potentially risky setup as we find that Lex Luthor has escaped and is meeting with Deathstroke. Luthor says that with Superman and his friends forming a "sort of league," they should have their own league, setting up the Legion of Doom. With another group coming up, things will be difficult as so many new characters will have to be introduced, much like BvS. Bringing in many characters in one movie is a challenge, especially because you need to establish their motives and backgrounds. If you bring in the Legion of Doom, there will be comic book fans who know them, but even they will want to see some kind of reason the villains are doing what they do. Similarly, the Justice League needs to avoid bringing in too many people at once and getting bogged down in back stories. As it is, there was little available time for each new character in "Justice League" to be given a history, and they still need time to be fleshed out. In the end, though, I'm getting more excited about what the DCEU has to offer, and I wonder who's going to join the League next. |
AuthorI love the entertainment side of things. Video games, tv shows, superheroes and movies are my passion and I'd love to get the news out for things I enjoy. My contact page has links to my social media, so if you enjoy what I have to say, likes, shares, comments, and follows are always greatly appreciated! Archives
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