5 Ways to Prep: Justice League
By George Rose
November 16, 2017
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Superman was the first to breakout into blockbuster status in the 1970’s. Then Batman broke box office records in the 1980’s. Fans of DC started to brag that their stories and characters were better. A few crappy Marvel B-movies didn’t gain any traction and DC ruled the world. Then computer effects got an upgrade in the late 1990’s and Marvel started making a comeback. Batman was still recovering from the deadly blow that was Batman & Robin as Spider-Man became the first movie to break $100 million on opening weekend,. Things started to stabilize as the overstuffed Spider-Man 3 was competing with the beginning of Christopher Nolan’s Batman. After years of reigning supreme, DC was now living in a version of harmony with Marvel; both companies were producing quality product and total garbage in equal measure. Marvel was doing well with X-Men and Spider-Man, but suffered with Daredevil and Ghost Rider. DC was riding on the back of the Dark Knight while struggling with Superman.
So how did we get to a place where Marvel’s own producers are slapping the wrists of their fans for laughing at DC’s loses? Not only will understanding the whole story help you find clarity in the superhero smack-down about to go down in theaters, but you will be able to better prepare yourself for the latest contender in the battle of the cinematic universes: Justice League.
Way to Prep #1: Batman v Superman (2016)
The birth of the cinematic universe is both a blessing and a curse. On the bright side, they bring together groups of characters that people love and, if done right, can elevate one’s overall experience beyond anything that any individual character could have achieved alone. On the down side, if there is a problem that occurs with even one character than the whole house of cards could collapse. Marvel took their time first with standalone features before bringing their Avengers together. DC, on the other hand, rushed their superhero team-up and paid the price. Marvel started in 2008 with Iron Man and by 2012 we had five films that utilized six of the primary Avengers. Warner Bros wanted to jump on the bandwagon so they launched Man of Steel in 2013 in hopes they could work their way towards a Justice League.
Marvel had Disney, the best studio in the world, and they had Joss Whedon, a nerd icon. They made sure there was ample talent behind the camera before filming a project like Avengers, something you really only get one shot at. DC had no choice but to stick with Warner Bros who, at this point, assumed they could do no wrong after the Dark Knight trilogy. Then came Snyder, with his distinct visual style and a 54.4% positive rating average across his first five films. I’m not sure I’d risk launching a DC universe with him behind the wheel but, ok, that’s what DC did. It came in at 55% positive, exactly what Warner Bros should’ve expected from Snyder. After realizing you can’t rush art, DC decided to delay a Justice League and instead we got a half-step with Batman v Superman, which felt rushed. The second film in the DC universe came in at at even worse 27% positive. Batman v Superman basically reinforced what we had begun to fear; Warner Bros got greedy, threw together their DC universe to compete with Marvel, and have found themselves in an uncanny crap storm after riding on the highs of the Dark Knight for far too long. They got lazy and Marvel didn’t. The harmony was over and DC lost big time.
It brings me no great pleasure to tell you that the DC universe is total garbage right now. It has been so unfortunate for the studio and the fans because, well, everyone wins when movies are successful. I love Batman and Superman, and I look forward to seeing movies with them for the rest of my life. The studio needs to stop competing with Marvel and start competing with themselves. There are amazing Superman and Batman movies out there, so we know it’s possible, but right now is Marvel’s time to shine and DC should take their lickings like a champ. They ruled the world once before and they can do it again. For now, the best you can do to prep for Justice League is watch Batman v Superman. It’s kind of terrible but it will give you the only backstory from the DC universe that you will need before the full gang unites in Justice League.
Way to Prep #2: Marvel’s The Avengers (2012)
You must live under a rock if you haven’t seen or heard of this film. Iron Man, Hulk, Thor and Captain America assemble after several solo features and take on Loki together to prevent the end of the world. It was a monster box office success and is the ultimate comic book movie. It rewarded Marvel fans after years of DC fanboy torment and justified Disney’s purchase of the company. It was karma and it was heaven. There are several reasons you should watch Avengers. You should always want to check out the competition, so you should watch Marvel’s team-up before watching DC’s Justice League. Also, it was directed by Joss Whedon. He did such a great job that when Warner Bros found themselves in trouble after Snyder had to remove himself from the Justice League production (the result of a very unfortunate family tragedy), Whedon was hired to switch teams and help DC complete their vision. While some see it as Whedon stabbing Marvel in the back, others see it as DC’s way of quietly stating they screwed up and needed Marvel/Whedon’s help. Reports say Whedon can be felt in about 15-20% of Justice League so watching Avengers might also help you notice which parts were done by him. The rest and, sadly, the majority will still reek of Snyder. I wish I could say DC didn’t know what they were getting into when they hired him but that’s not the case. Let’s not forget this isn’t the first time that Snyder has adapted a DC comic property.
Way to Prep #3: Watchmen (2009)
After Snyder had his big breakout in 2006 bringing 300 to the big screen, he was hired to update another classic graphic novel. This time, he was going to tackle the award winning DC story, Watchmen. Despite the film only earning a 64%, it’s about as good as any single three-hour movie adaptation of the brilliant novel could be and was a feast for the eyes. It showcased how Snyder can make anything look good, but Batman and Superman aren’t one-off stories. They are constantly updated in new ways. If Snyder has proven anything in his career, it’s that his version of new (Sucker Punch) is nothing to get excited about. Snyder took a legendary graphic novel and barely broke $100 million at the box office after angering fans by changing the original ending. DC then decided to reward this lackluster performance by giving him Man of Steel, Batman v Superman and Justice League. Since Snyder couldn’t handle the literal translation of Watchmen, I wouldn’t trust him to do much better with the creativity the DC universe requires.
Way to Prep #4: Superman Returns (2006)
I can’t stress enough that I am a fan of Marvel AND a fan of DC. Movies from both sides of the track are always welcome at a movie theater near me and I will ALWAYS see them on opening weekend, no matter what the reviews say. What I don’t like is that DC can’t handle being the loser for a few minutes and now Marvel’s executives are spanking their fans. Like, WTF?!?! Suck it up, DC, and get your act together. Stop crying and break up with Warner Bros, because they aren’t doing you any favors. Christopher Nolan was responsible for Dark Knight’s success, not Warner Bros. Tim Burton was responsible for the original Batman classics, not Warner Bros. At what point will you understand that simply having your characters on-screen is not enough? You need talent guiding those characters towards a great movie. Unless, of course, you try to steal that talent from Marvel. After Bryan Singer directed the amazing X-Men 1 & 2 for Marvel, he was stolen away from X-Men 3 to direct a reboot of Clark Kent in Superman Returns. It was actually quite entertaining but it didn’t revitalize the character the way Batman Begins did for Bruce Wayne. Though the reviews are actually overall positive at 74%, it still left a black mark on DC’s record. I’m sure by next week Justice League will be begging for that level of acclaim.
Way to Prep #5: X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
In the absence of the original X-Men director, 20th Century Fox was in search for a new ringmaster. After the success of the Rush Hour films, Brett Ratner was hired to complete the X-Men trilogy. What we got was a dumbed-down version of the Dark Phoenix storyline and the pointless deaths of too many key characters. I’d like to say it was a bad film but I fear producers might flee to the internet to demand fans be less harsh. If I can’t be mean to DC then I’m definitely not taking punches at Marvel. Unless, of course, we can grow up and accept when we make mistakes. The Last Stand was the failings of 20th Century Fox and a director now famous for being a sexual deviant, not Marvel. The current state of the DC universe is not entirely their own fault. DC can recover if they take more control over their product, like Marvel, so that fans can be the ones uniting instead of the heroes in the (hopefully entertaining) Justice League.