With the recent announcement of the Batman/Superman film, these proposals have become more popular, but obviously there have been a number of quality threads debating various JLA film concepts and casts for a while. A sampling from the first few pages:

• Let's Be Real--Not Every Member of The JLA Needs A Lead-In Film
• Who should be the villain in 1st Justice League live action film?
• Shared Film Universe Confirmed, JLA Movie On The Way
• Making Sense of the 'Justice League' Film Rumor
• etc.

Although I've replied to a lot of these already, I wanted to collect my recent thoughts into a central blog. So here goes.

CONCEPT

For my JLA concept, I'd use a smaller, non-standard cast (I'm convinced the JLA has always been "the trinity and friends" anyway) designed to provide a range of different archetypes, powers that work well visually without too much expensive CGI, and a group that won't crowd the frame or be too hard to juggle once you factor in supporting characters as well.

I would reframe the frequent criticism of DC characters as "too different" or "too larger than life" as a group of outcasts seeking a surrogate family. I would start the film with Clark & Bruce already friends and all other cast members publicly known, although unintroduced to each other. Finally, I would want a villain who presents a sufficiently sinister face and has a lot of peon followers to get tossed around but is ultimately no match for a unified Justice League. Thus, the formation of the League is a clear path to victory.

CASTING

Core cast:

• Superman (MOS version, obviously)
• Batman
• Wonder Woman
• Mera
• Cyborg

Gallery

Supporting cast:

• Steve Trevor (benefactor)
• Amanda Waller (detractor)

Gallery

Villain:

• Vandal Savage
• Religion of Crime

Gallery

TRAILER SCRIPT

/** Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent are having a conversation on the outdoor balcony of Wayne Manor. Clark is dressed in his typical rumpled reporter garb while Bruce is, for some reason—probably habit—wearing a full tuxedo and gesturing with a glass of champagne that he hasn't touched and probably won't.

WAYNE: This will never work.

KENT: Why not?

WAYNE: Look at who we are!

/** As he lists each personality, overlapping scenes flash, showing the character in question.

WAYNE: The indestructible last son of an alien world…

/** Superman doing superman stuff, showing off his wondrous (and terrifying) power.

WAYNE: …a real-life demi-goddess right out of the Hellenistic age…

/** Wonder Woman armed with spear and shield fighting a hydra-like creature in the middle of a city.

WAYNE: …the disgraced monarch of an underwater kingdom…

/** Mera decked out in her FLASHPOINT gear, on a beachfront in a downpour, defending herself from two Xebel assassins.

WAYNE: …a shut-in made more of inter-dimensional, unknowable machinery than human flesh…

/** Cyborg, stripped of his armor and devices in a dimly lit living quarters deep in STAR labs, slowly closing himself into a sinister-looking regenerative isolation chamber.

WAYNE: …and ME.

/** Batman fighting a monstrous Killer Croc on a rooftop. Croc tears into him, spraying blood everywhere. He knocks Batman to the ground and roars. Batman stands back up—tattered suit and tattered flesh hanging off of him—draws a sparking shock-baton, and roars back.

WAYNE: I'M the "normal" one. You can't make a team out of loners and outcasts. Not on this scale.

/** Clark pauses for a moment to think about it, then responds calmly and confidently.

KENT: If there's one thing I've learned, it's this: just because you're different, doesn't mean you have to be alone.

PLOT

Very simple "gather together to beat the baddy" plot:

• Setup: Superman and Batman have been working together and learning to trust each other while the US government tries to work out its official policy toward superheroes. The pro-faction is led by Steve Trevor, who is trying to spin Wonder Woman as a government-controlled asset. The anti-faction is led by Amanda Waller, who sees Wonder Woman as a foreigner, Superman as a super-powered killer, and Batman as a dangerous vigilante.
• Catalyst: A fight between Superman and a group of Religion of Crime cultists (who are after some magical artifacts) in an foreign setting creates an international incident when Wonder Woman and Trevor's ARGUS commandos show up to help. This puts the issue of "what to do" about the superpowers into stark relief. Trevor/Waller essentially go to war over defining government policy. Clark has concerns that he's getting to cozy with the US government and decides he wants to organize independently. He starts coming up with candidates.
• Turn 1: Waller gets wind of what's going on and starts sabotaging attempts to form the league. Meanwhile, the RoC agents are revealed to have been working for Vandal Savage, who is tracking down pieces of the original meteorite that gave him his powers (which has since been split up and bent to mystical purposes). While Waller's and Trevor's troops are fighting each other—and forcing the JLA members to choose sides, caught in the middle—Savage successfully locates the last of the meteorite pieces and initiates his dastardly plan, to use the power of meteorite pieces to grant himself a literal version of the "Mark of Cain" that will grant him dominance over others.
• At odds, the League seems fractured and doomed. Wonder Woman supports Trevor's group. Superman doesn't trust either group and just wants the league to get together on their own. Batman thinks Waller might have a point. Mera wants to kill Trevor and Waller and be done with it. Cyborg wants to retreat back into isolation.
• Midpoint: Savage and his true plan are revealed when he successfully completes the ritual and seizes power. He initiates an attack on an iconic location (anywhere but New York) and declares himself ruler over the "desperate, pathetic masses" of the Earth, forcibly converting thousands to the Religion of Crime as his loyal foot soldiers.
• Waller's group and Wonder Woman/Steve Trevor put aside their differences to try and stop Savage but are defeated. Savage seems triumphant.
• Turn 2: Wonder Woman, bloody from battle, goes to Superman/Batman and provides a final call to action. Cyborg and Mera meet up with them on the way, having decided on their own to return, and they begin a final assault against Savage's seat of power.
• Climax: Big battle, JLA are victorious through the power of friendship and teamwork, but also lots and lots of punching.
• They all eat shawarma and go home.

POTENTIAL SPINOFFS/SEQUELS

• Mera is caught in the middle of a resurgent Atlantis/Xebel war where she has to convince Arthur to return and seize the throne.
• Cyborg finds a familiar piece of technology that seems to call to him. It starts pinging at him and then boom, he's on an alien world fighting gods.
• Brainiac invades and starts bottling cities. The JLA have to stop him.
• A crazed Professor Ivo creates the Amazo robot, but it increases in power so much that it becomes a threat to reality itself.
• Circe manipulates the distrustful agents of the government into creating horrific versions of the Justice League to oppose them: Genocide, Doomsday, Prometheus, etc. Then she turns them loose.
• etc.

NOTES

• I went with Mera over Aquaman because 1) I wanted to even out the gender balance a bit, and 2) I think Mera's abilities will be easier to show on-screen: she can always carry water with her the way Aqualad did in YOUNG JUSTICE. Her presence also still provides an in for Arthur and Ocean Master to be introduced later for an Atlantis-themed plot.
• I wanted to show Cyborg's arc as one of healing, returning to the exuberant, brilliant, athletic personality he had pre-accident though his body has still been permanently changed. His arc should be front-and-center as it's parallel to the formation of the team. There should also be a subplot for reconciliation with his father.
• No Flash: Too hard to get right live-action.
• No Green Lantern: The film flopped too hard.
• No Martian Manhunter: Thematically there's already an alien on the team and he's got so many super powers he'd out-shine Superman.

And that's that. Probably not the most unique proposal but I think it'd work.

Wow, that was really thought out well, terrific! I don't know how general audiences would react to Mera though....

I wouldn't want Mera and Cyborg on the team. Although I like those characters, I would much rather have: Superman, Batman, WW, Barry Allen, Hal Jordan, and Aquaman. I know you have your reasons, but I'd still like the team I just mentioned.

Cool, replies! Thank you both for reading!

Thanks!

While I agree that Mera would be basically introducing a new character, I think people would "get" the idea of a pseudo-mermaid character who controls water pretty quickly. It helps that she's not complicated: she has water powers and is from an "evil Atlantis".

I think that your squad could be an entertaining film—those are good characters, although for Flash and GL I'd probably do Wally/Stewart so it wasn't all Silver Age—I'd just be concerned that six is starting to get a little bigger than the typical five man band (although Aquaman could be an interesting sixth ranger), and there are no women on that roster, which would be disappointing today.

@fodigg: idk I prefer Hal and Barry over Wally and John. But that's just personal preference. Wonder Woman is a woman on the roster! And didn't the Avengers movie have 6 heroes? or 7 including Nick Fury, who had a fairly significant role.

Why Mera would came out before Aquaman?

How funny, I saw "WW" and read it as "MM" for Martian Manhunter. Wow I feel silly.

The presence of "nick fury" like characters is why I think the core team should be smaller. Because you're going to have your Nick Fury, Agent Coulson, Pepper Potts, Maria Hill, etc. so the cast can get much larger, but they were still able to tighten it up for the action scenes.

Why not? There's no reason you can't introduce her first and her powers are much easier to portray/explain. Just tell most kids today "she's a water bender" and they'll know exactly what you mean. That's good marketability.

@fodigg: Why not?? Aquaman deserve this more than her and they have basically the same powerset,not to mention he much more known by the public, she must be introduced in a his solo movie. Moreover there are other female characters,who have been members of the team and deserve more than her.

I really don't like Mera being put in the League instead of Aquaman. I understand the need for more female members but including these two unknowns and non big icons just doesn't suit me. The League to me has always had the Trinity in, yes, but the other two, non negotiable members have to be Green Lantern and the Flash. GL can fit really well into a MOS world and the Flash provides a nice contrast which CAN be gotten right in a live action film I'm afraid. The other two don't gel with the other members of the League at all. Though I applaud your ingenuity for creating an Earth based threat for the League with Savage as the antagonist.

Well, I think there are a lot of characters that "deserve" film treatment but what will sell? What serves the film better?

As for powerset, they are not the same and in fact it's the difficulty in portraying Aquaman as more than just underwater Superman (which means showing off his sea life telepathy) that makes him harder to get right on film. You'd have to work that into every plot to really let him shine. Mera just carries water around with her.

Let's look at another group of paired characters: Martian Manhunter and Miss Martian. If I had to choose one, I'd go with Miss Martian. Another female on the team, same powers, more familiar to younger fans (so can help bring them in), and interesting twist in that she's one of the "evil" martians. Just a thought.

Well, I'm not sure I agree that Cyborg is an unknown after his popularity with the younger crowd from his animated appearances. I understand how closely GL and Flash are tied to the League's history though.

@fodigg: Not an unknown, I'll grant you. But he is a shoved in fit member for the League pushed in at Johns' whim. His character stood out much more as a member of the Teen Titans. How do you expect him to be developed enough against the alpha males and females of the DC Universe who would take up more screen time? Look at Hawkeye in Avengers. As much as I love that film and it being my favourite comic book movie, Hawkeye got no time to shine properly. The same may happen to Cyborg.

The way Cyborg was inserted into the JL and then basically forgotten really bums me out. They could have done so much more with him, but no. He's just there. Not even a solo mini to introduce his background.

The way I envisioned Cyborg's use he'd be kind of the young everyman "viewer perspective" character—the living embodiment of all stereotypes about Millennials: That they'd rather wast their potential by staying in a basement with their techno-toys than go out and accomplish anything. (only, of course, his circumstances have a tragic origin)

I'd introduce that as a struggle between his father and him about making use of his talents, and that arc would (hopefully) serve as a vehicle for the audience to kind of move out into this larger DC universe. It wouldn't exactly be 20 minutes of whiny farmboy Luke Skywalker providing setup before the action kicks off, but it'd be something.

Hawkeye's case was especially bad for the character because he was a silent villain for most of the film.

Aquaman or no deal.

Really? Aquaman is definitive Justice League? Not the trinity characters?

There is a version of JLA that wasn't founded by Trinity :D

Is that the version you'd recommend for a Justice League film?

I do agree having 5 members instead of the classic 7 is going to be much easier in terms of screen time, casting, personalities and keeping the JLA's team power down. Most of the JLA members, especially founders, have insane powers once translated to the big screen. Marvel had to tone down Hulk and Thor for Avengers, and 2/3's of the team were basically human.

I also have issues with Mera over Aquaman. Doing things just for the sake of gender diversity is a bad policy imo. Look at Man of Steel and Jimmy/Jenny Olsen. They turned him into a her for gender diversity and it was horrible. And that is a MINOR character.

Besides, introducing Mera before Aquaman is just going to be awkward imo. People wouldn't understand Mera of all of sudden taking a back seat to Aquaman once they wanted to launch solo movies. Same goes for any heroine who is based off a hero's story. Hawkgirl, Batgirl, etc.

Also, as Aquaman is one of my favorite heroes (especially New-52) he deserves a chance to sort of correct public opinion that he's some dude who swims and talks to fish.

I do agree that Cyborg may have to be swapped in for Martian Manhunter. Given the tone of Man of Steel, DC wants to try and be a little more realistic about their characters. Furthermore like you said, Superman is all ready the alien and many of the threads to earth will be alien in nature. He would be pretty hard to portray on screen, even though I wish it wasn't so. He also suffers from being probably the least-iconic member of the JLA (classic founding)

Flash and Green Lantern are sort of mixed bags with me. I really want both of them in the movie. I think they're very iconic and you could be very flexible with them seeing as you have 4 flashes and 5 Green Lanterns to pick from.

I don't think the GL film sucking is an issue. Hulk prior to an Avengers was pretty bad twice. The 2008 version wasn't horrible, but it wasn't a huge success either. It barely broke even IIRC. If Hulk can go through all that prior to the team-up movie - Green Lantern can do. He can probably do it easier in fact, because you have 4 other characters to choose from (though again, would prefer Hal Jordan.) I wouldn't even mind Ryan Reynolds coming back (even though it would be confusing, probably) as long as they actually wrote Hal Jordan properly this time, instead of typecasting.

I really like the Flash, be it Barry Allen or Wally West. I think either would be great for the team. I don't think Super Speed is hard to portray on the big screen. I think the problem is that most members of the JLA are going to have increased speed except Batman. Flash isn't necessarily unique enough to stand out very much without going into some crazy comic book heavy/cartoonish powers. Still, call me a purist, but I want the original 7 in my JLA movie - or as much as possible.

I do actually like your plot. Given than we've seen Alien Invasions in several recent CBM's as well as more to come no doubt - the concept will start to get stale by the time we get a JLA movie. They need to keep it fresh using The Government/Waller/Suicide Squad type villians or even a personal favorite of mine - Ocean Master waging war on the surface world with a rebel Atlantean army. Either way, it would be unique for the JLA to have to confront an earthly enemy for the first big foe, before eventually combating an alien one.

Nice concept and a good n original line up although I'd prefer the original seven(except Hal).Anyways this line up would be easier to translate to the big screen, and I'm happy to see Mera on the team, I like her more than Arthur.

You put such small names lake mera and cyborg, and you expect that they will have screen time? Common people will get confused and say why is cyborg with the justice league shoudnt he be with the teen titans. I asked a week ago to some friends that dont read comics what were the justice league members they said batman superman, wonder woman, Flash, Green latern, a green guy and a woman with wings. I understood that Flash and Green latern are a important part of the JL

Well I've gotta hand it, you certainly know how to make a good fit for Cyborg being a Leaguer. And I'm not adverse to him being introduced as a member at some point, both in terms of comic books and film. But not as a founding member IMO.

@fodigg: I absolutely like the effort you put into this post but I disagree with you about a few factors you've implemented especially the membership. Mera should not be over Aquaman, especially because she is a virtual unknown amongst non-comic readers. Also Aquaman needs the popularity and coverage that the Justice League movie has to offer. He needs to be established as a serious threat to villains and an Atlantean king with more than enough resources. I think Green Lantern can be done well, despite its previous failure in the movie industry. It doesn't matter how much his film sucked, he can be done well in the Justice League. Also, he is an essential part of the founding members of the Justice League. The same goes for the Flash because he has always been the lighthearted one in the league. It also would be better for one of the less well-known founding members to shine in the movies. I do have problems with how his abilities have been portrayed but I think it can be done. I would take out Cyborg because he still seems like a young teenager that isn't ready for the major leagues yet. He was a Teen Titans member for a great reason.

I also disagree with how you wanted to government's involvement into this policy towards heroes. I would rather spend that time establishing Vandal Savage and his cult, showing his resourcefulness, cunning, and intelligence. Not to mention the fact that I feel like it would be too chaotic with Steve Trevor taking on Amanda Waller because they can't resolve their differences.

I'm digging all the replies, everyone. If it wasn't clear from the title I figured this wouldn't get much of a response because there's like a million of these proposals and I didn't think mine was terribly original. Thanks for reading!

Great point. Thor would've wrecked Iron Man or Cap in the comics. They had to nerf those two tremendously, and they'll probably have to do the same with a lot of the potential JLA cast members (e.g., Superman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman).

Well, I don't think that I'm substituting Mera only for gender diversity or else any female character—including a few different Aquaman spinoff options—would do. I chose Mera because of her merits. I really think the "she's a waterbender" angle would sell her to younger audience members. I would flip that concern around and ask "are there really so few female candidates that none qualify as well as the male character?" and I don't think that's the case. I think Mera has a lot to offer, and I think most of general audience would roll with it because they don't know any better.As for the Jenny Olsen thing, I didn't even notice.

I agree, however, that Aquaman is a strong character and deserves a chance to shine, I just feel that you would need to dedicate the film to exploring Atlantis to really let him shine. I think a JLA sequel where the team gets caught in a Atlantis/Xebel war and the whole thing is Aquaman vs. Ocean Master vs. Mera that could be awesome. But I don't think that works for a first film.

My concern with the bad GL movie wasn't necessarily that it bombed and that's impossible to come back from that, but that it deserved to bomb because the casting/acting/plot were all weak and—my biggest issue—the visuals looked kinda silly. And I don't know how to do it better. If they include GL, I'd prefer Stewart to Hal, but no Reynolds regardless, please. Oh, and I actually liked the Ed Norton Hulk film.

I love the Flash characters (Wally especially, Barry can work in ensemble (DC: New Frontier)but I think he's way boring), but I am really concerned with getting them right in motion. Even in the cartoons, which I loved, he just looks blurry, not fast. And plot-wise they're a bother because every fight should be immediately over and enemies should never be able to touch them. I dunno, it's a headache. The plus side is it's an easy superpower to understand, especially for kids.

I do understand the allure of the purist JLA, I just really want this franchise to blow up and I'm willing to accept an altered cast in a heartbeat if that stands a better chance of success (as long as it has trinity).

I think Ocean Master is an inevitable enemy. He's easy to understand and you can work the "evil surface dwellers deserve it" angle to make him slightly sympathetic. Black Adam or Maxwell Lord are also villains I considered, especially if you use the Brother EYE plot. In the end I wanted something really simple though and the ambiguously "powered up" Vandal Savage fit the bill.

Thanks for the in-depth reply!

I'm thinking we might be one of the few that are really digging Mera, unfortunately. Not that I'm surprised to see strong Aquaman support, mind you, I just thought more Aquaman fans would be down with Mera as well. Who do you like in place of Hal? Stewart? Raynar? Jade?

I think it's a balance. People will go to see the film for the trinity and anyone else can get introduced in the film. It's not like people knew who the Avengers were before their films. Granted, they had intro films, but still. Hawkeye and Black Widow (and even Iron Man) were not household names for the general audience. As long as the smaller-name characters are easy to grasp archetype-wise (and I think Mera & Cyborg are), it shouldn't be an issue.

I think there's a big barrier mentally in the fan-base when it comes to introducing the "teen" characters, even the first generation ones, as founders of the JLA. I understand that. Cyborg is known in the GA for, if anything, his time in the Teen Titans Go! cartoon, so it's not like he's got "founder" written all over him. The only reason I advocate these characters so strongly (e.g., Wally, Cyborg) for the film is because I think it would be a strength to pull in fans from different "ages" of the comics, if you will, not just the Silver Age properties.

Hmm. Now I wonder if Aquaman would make a good "villain" for the first film, where he's redeemed and Ocean Master revealed to be the true villain. This would let us have our cake and eat it too. And it could definitely establish him as credible if he starts out taking on the whole league. That's typical Sixth Ranger stuff, and it's a popular character arc because it works.

I almost disagree but then I remember how much I despised Black Widow in Iron Man 2 and she was great in Avengers.

Do you see Flash as not very well known? I think he's pretty out there.

I suppose having Waller as a second villain might seem chaotic, but we don't really need much from Savage in this film. Establishing the League members is, IMO, the important thing. Loki didn't get much background in the Avengers film and I'm sure people who never saw Thor didn't have any problem following along. They'd have to have dynamite casting for it though.

@fodigg:

I can understand why most Aquaman fans wouldn't want Mera before Aquaman, I wouldn't like if Dick Grayson was a founder instead of Bruce but I like her very much and would love to see her in a movie and I also think the GP will except her as a founding member of the league maybe even more easily than Aquaman. And Kyle is my all time favorite Earth GL, I would like to see him and Wally(and the rest of Morrison's line up) in a JL movie someday but I think Stewart should be the founding member of JL, he's popular among non comic book fans and he fits the diversity criteria better than Cyborg or anyone else IMO.

It's true that Loki has the benefit of being a public domain character whereas Vandal Savage is a little more unique. I dunno. They're doing Thanos in the second film and nobody knows who that is.

(Note: I'm not saying it doesn't matter, it absolutely does, but I don't think it's an insurmountable challenge and for DC I think it'd be a problem no matter which villain you choose unless it's Lex Luthor.)

See and I think putting Grayson in the JLA would be awesome and new. But then I'm a huge fan of legacy mantle characters. I don't mind Kyle but I liked him best as Ion. Stewart has longstanding support from fans of the animated stuff, so I agree he makes a good case for the film.

They're planning to give Flash a TV show? Or you just think they should?

As much as I'd love too keep some more classic elements/characters, this sounds like a great pitch and the movies would most definitely be entertaining.

I would argue that The Flash is much easier to get on screen than people might think. Sure there's the speed force but he's human and can be related to rather easily than some other Justice League members.

You either do it right or don't do it at all.

Thanks!

I'm interested to see how they'll portray it in the TV show. If they can convincingly cover it in a TV show budget, I will be summarily impressed.

@martianmanhunterisbetterthancy said:

You either do it right or don't do it at all.

I'm of the Blade Runner theory for adaptations:

• capture the spirit of the source material, don't get hung up on the set pieces,
• make changes where it makes better sense for cinema, and
• add in your own twist to make it new.

For a first movie, I think that would be pretty good, I like how you introduced the characters and I think that's a classic but good " origin " story but without the boring part of those movies.

After, I'm not going to blame you for your characters choice. Do I like it ? No but you did exactly what I want to see in movies, something different. After, people can like it or not but I don't want movies to be the exact same thing that I read on comics, I want it to be different and takes on a new interpretation on the character. I hated MoS but I like the intention they had so because you took that risk, I like your concept even more^^

Thanks!