Five Projects for DCE to Jump On, Day 5: ‘Justice League of America’

In 1960, a group of stealthy super heroes joined together to form one of the baddest gangs on the planet. The justice league, or Justice League America contained the DC trinity of epic super heroes: there was of course the DC trinity of superheroes, Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman.   Plastic Man, Hawkman, Atom, Black Canary, Plastic Man and the Green Lantern were also some of the man super beings involved. We should also quickly thank this team for inspiring Stan Lee to write the Fantastic Four… the comic… not the movie including a really bad actress who shall remain nameless, but gave us the movie Honey!

Personally, if I lived in munchkin land and had the chance to run around pint size with these legendary heroes, I totally would. Justice League started in 1960, in The Brave and the Bold #28. Since then , it has taken they have made their appearance through the Super Friends animated series from 1973-1986, a live action Justice League America series that never made it to air, and Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, which were their latest projects. In the 1950’s, DC asked Gardner Fox to help them re-introduce some of their older characters to a newer audience. The title quickly went from Justice Society of America to Justice League America, and gained a significant amount of popularity. The original lineup included Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter, with Atom, Green Arrow and Hawkman to quickly join in. They had their super nifty hideout (as every super hero does) in Happy Harbor, Rhode Island, where their one lackey aka sidekick Snapper Carr use to hang out, often coming along on missions. Anyone else find it odd that super heroes often surround themself with one person who has no powers, and often gets them into even deeper trouble rather than helping out? Is this the same concept as the pretty, popular girl hanging out with the ugly duckling to make herself feel better?

Shortly after they realized that they were too cool for ground club houses, they acquired a satellite hang out. With 12 members that could never have overlapping powers, they were yet again a force to be reckoned with.   They did soon let go of their strict 12 member, no duplicate power rule and let others into their elite club-o-powers. Despite new, evolving characters, they decided to go back to basics by the mid to late 90’s. The threats were bigger, but since they had the biggest and best super heroes on the planet back in the league, there was nothing that they couldn’t handle.

Long story shourt, as much as they tried to reinvent the JLA, they never quite got the same charisma as the original lineup. As of right now, other than the animated series and the 1997 made for television epic failure, there has not really been a decent live action portrayal of the super awesome gang. There is a Justice League: Mortal movie in development for 2011, but nothing has been revealed.   There is a bit of speculation about the casting of this film, but from what I have read, it hasn’t been anything too exciting. (Adam Brody, Common, and a ton of amateurs that honestly do not look too impressive are rumored to portray the bunch). This is the epitome of super hero idol-ism, and if this isn’t done well, then it will be sure to break the hearts of comic book lovers everywhere. This movie could be AWAZING (awesome and amazing) if done well, and while new actors could be great for this movie, I am not impressed by a single person rumored to be in the upcoming cast. Bottom line, if you are going to attempt this movie, then make it with eyes open and go all out. This is one that cannot be half-assed and still sell tickets just because of the awesome subject matter. So, to the production company… In the words of my brother “If you’re gonna pull your pants down, f@#$! ” In other words, if you are going to do it, FREAKING GO ALL OUT AND DO IT!