As a young lad, I was first and foremost a Supes fan. So I bought
JLA and
World’s Finest comics (along with
Action, etc.) because Supes was in them. But even back then, my naïve and uncritical self was aware of a problem. My hero seemed to be getting the short end of the stick.
The ensemble format required “equal time.” So Supes got relegated to only partial participation. Moreover, he was often depowered or went “rogue” or otherwise diminished so as to give other characters something to do. In many scenarios, it seemed obvious that the “full Superman” (as seen in his solo adventures) wouldn’t even need a team to deal with the crisis at hand. TV Tropes refers to this as:
This Looks Like a Job for Aquaman. For example, a crucial underwater task that Supes would have no trouble with in his own comic is assigned to Aquaman in order to justify his presence. Likewise, Supes is often as fast as he needs to be – except when he’s teamed up with Flash. At which point, duties where speed is important (often contrived) are handed over to Flash. And Supes, again, has to play second fiddle.
Finally, I started to become aware that the CK persona (with its supporting cast and milieu (e.g., the DP)) was a very important aspect of Superman. But in many JLA stories (with their supervillains focus and ensemble obligations), there was simply no time for CK. Basically, the JL format rewrites much of the classic Superman mythos (and not for the better).
Now, if your favorite hero is, say, Hawkman, I can appreciate the interest in a JL movie. That’s your best shot. But if Supes is your guy, I’m very skeptical that a JL context does any favors to the character. The marketing motivations behind a shared universe are plain enough. But it’s not obvious to me that this breeds particularly good stories (or does right by Supes).
The Avengers will be an interesting experiment.
