Justice League What story lines within the comics should provide the inspiration for the JLA movie?

[smallville fan]

What the title says.

For me I would use ideas from DC: The New Frontier by Darwyn Cooke. You already have a shared universe where you already have the big established Golden Age heroes like Batman and Superman, but it also introduces new heroes such Barry Allen/Hal Jordan/Martian Manhunter. All of their stories(most of which were origins/the early years for the new heroes) each intricately intertwine with each other's along with an overarching plot of an invasion which forces the JLA to assemble at the end. It could also carry over the same themes/ideas that I see will be explored in Man of Steel like trusting these "hero figures", the idea of saviours, etc that critics might like.

On top of that in the big battle, Hal Jordan really shines(no pun intended) as Green Lantern and it might redeem the character movie wise if they followed something similar. He basically had a moment like Hulk in the Avengers movie.

All you have to do is fast-forward the setting 50-60 years, only have a line up consisting of: The Trinity, Flash, GL, Martian Manhunter, with the existence of other heroes and vigilantes as Easter Eggs. Oh and instead of an island full of Dinosaurs as the main villain, let's have Brainiac and his robots trying to shrink cities all around the world like Gotham, Metropolis and Themyscira.

It would have a similar premise to this: [YT]eK41bdkysE0[/YT]

Now getting back to the topic, what story lines from comics would you use?

 

[cleverusername8]

I liked New Frontier but I'd hate it in live action. For one thing, the Center was a fairly dumb villain and would be even worse alongside live actors. It's a floating island with dinosaurs and other monstrosities coming out of it... even if the effects are good, I doubt it'll go over well.

Also, there was some prior knowledge required to appreciate the existing relationships among the characters. Superman and Wonder Woman being friends for instance. Or Superman and Batman. MM was introduced nicely as was GL, but unfortunately the Guardians and the Corps were missing from the latter's origin which is a decently large chunk of that character's appeal.

What would REALLY be a great basis for the movie's plot would be an expanded version of the first episode of the Justice League cartoon. None of the characters really knew each other well aside from Batman and Superman but their interaction seen there could easily be tweaked to be a first time encounter. To "expand" that story, I would have the villain's plot and weakness be more complex and include more of the characters' origins in the mix.

 

[smallville fan]

I liked New Frontier but I'd hate it in live action. For one thing, the Center was a fairly dumb villain and would be even worse alongside live actors. It's a floating island with dinosaurs and other monstrosities coming out of it... even if the effects are good, I doubt it'll go over well.

Also, there was some prior knowledge required to appreciate the existing relationships among the characters. Superman and Wonder Woman being friends for instance. Or Superman and Batman. MM was introduced nicely as was GL, but unfortunately the Guardians and the Corps were missing from the latter's origin which is a decently large chunk of that character's appeal.

What would REALLY be a great basis for the movie's plot would be an expanded version of the first episode of the Justice League cartoon. None of the characters really knew each other well aside from Batman and Superman but their interaction seen there could easily be tweaked to be a first time encounter. To "expand" that story, I would have the villain's plot and weakness be more complex and include more of the characters' origins in the mix.

I know that the center was a dumb villain, that's why I said you should replace him with Brainiac. Like I said, I liked the way Martian Manhunter was introduced and I liked how he was done in showing how he settled into Earth life. I also liked how Green Lantern was done, and how he shined through in the final battle and that he turned the tide like how Hulk turned the tide of the battle in Avengers.

I don't think the Guardians are needed that much for a JLA movie, maybe for a new Green Lantern movie which would take place after JLA, you could tease their existence in the same way it was done in the New Frontier movie. I believe having Oa/the Corps/the Guardians introduced too early is what brought the 2011 Green Lantern movie down?

I also liked the first episode of the JLA cartoon. Your idea seems pretty good too.

 

[Llama_Shepherd]

Anything from the first 60 or so issues of JLA.

 

[cleverusername8]

I know that the center was a dumb villain, that's why I said you should replace him with Brainiac. Like I said, I liked the way Martian Manhunter was introduced and I liked how he was done in showing how he settled into Earth life. I also liked how Green Lantern was done, and how he shined through in the final battle and that he turned the tide like how Hulk turned the tide of the battle in Avengers.

I don't think the Guardians are needed that much for a JLA movie, maybe for a new Green Lantern movie which would take place after JLA, you could tease their existence in the same way it was done in the New Frontier movie. I believe having Oa/the Corps/the Guardians introduced too early is what brought the 2011 Green Lantern movie down?

I also liked the first episode of the JLA cartoon. Your idea seems pretty good too.

Oh whoops :S I skipped that last paragraph. Though Brainiac would require a fairly different plot and would probably make it more Superman centric. GL was great in New Frontier but I would have liked him to use his powers more. And the involvement of the guardians depends on the extent to which they tell his origin. I think both they and the Corps are very important so if they show his acquisition of the ring on screen, they should appear as well.

The problem with GL 2011 was story pacing, offbeat humor, and underwhelming effects. It was a sci-fi movie so people had no issue with there being aliens. In fact, most fans' complaints were that there wasn't enough Oa in the movie. GL: First Flight would make a nice origin movie plot for a standalone GL solo.

MM's portrayal in NF was fantastic though. Like you said, his acclimation to Earth scenes were spot on. I agree that it could serve the movie well to follow that.

 

[dnno1]

You know, the "Queen of Fables" saga would make a great storyline. It would feature Wonder Woman, and Aquaman and possibly give them great exposure for their spin-off films.

 

[The Eradicator]

Tower of Babel

 

[Kevin Smith]

New Frontier is about a damn near perfect template for a JL film, throw in some JLA Year One, maybe Brainiac, and I'm down.

 

[dnno1]

New Frontier is about a damn near perfect template for a JL film, throw in some JLA Year One, maybe Brainiac, and I'm down.

It looks like the way Man of Steel and The Dark Knight rises have set the tone, it would be a perfect storm for a New Frontier storyline. It would have to be modified of course since that really featured Martian Manhunter, Flash and Green Lantern. Since Green Lantern is already established, they would need to focus on other characters. Maybe Flash, and Wonder Woman.

 

[ЯɘvlveR]

I'd like to see a variation of kingdom come. might be a little too early for that though.

 

[smallville fan]

I'd like to see a variation of kingdom come. might be a little too early for that though.

Something like Kingdom Come should be done for later JLA movies far in the future like Justice League 4 or something. The general angsty theme seems good though.