Comics and its characters have never enjoyed more mainstream spotlight than they are currently receiving. With the success of a variety of superhero movies across the board, we’re going to start seeing lesser-known characters (Ant-Man! Rocket Raccoon!) in movies of their own as casual fans start to learn more and more about these universes and the supporting characters that surround the heavy hitters like Iron Man, Captain America, and the Hulk. As we know, WB will soon be attempting a similar feat as The Avengers with Justice League, but without the aid of a bundle of set-up movies to assist in the franchise construction.
Though I’ve voiced my apprehension about the Justice League movie a million times over, the rumored plot details that emerged this week – that the movie would take its cues from Justice League #183-185, a mind-bending cosmic yarn involving multiple Earths and the New Gods – haven’t exactly given me confidence. Going this route, there’s the immediate problem of introducing a team of characters that we know nothing and, quite possibly, care nothing about, Batman and Superman aside. They, at least, have got the benefit of on-screen familiarity, regardless of what iteration you’re familiar with.
Afterward, Darkseid punched those red undies right into continuity oblivion.
It would take some immensely skilled filmmakers to manage such a massive plot while also introducing us to characters like Aquaman and Wonder Woman and the Flash, never mind introducing the concept of Jack Kirby’s Fourth World and building Darkseid to be a legitimate threat. And there’s also the matter of redeeming Green Lantern, a cinematic blemish still fresh in most fans’ minds. But those are technical storytelling concerns. One other concern that should be at the forefront here is a blatant similarity to what Marvel’s got planned, cosmically, particularly when both The Avengers 2 and Justice League are planned for the same summer.
Thanos is #47 on IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Villains
Darkseid's first cameo.
Darkseid and Thanos are similar in many respects – which is no coincidence -- and having two movies in which a muscular cosmic badass comes to destroy the Earth only to be stopped by a team of superheroes (spoiler: the heroes are going to win) might be just a bit on the nose – particularly when Justice League should be doing anything and everything it can to differentiate itself from its Marvel counterpart.
Ironically, Darkseid came first, speaking in terms of comic book history. He made his full debut in Forever People #1 in 1971 (with a brief cameo appearance in Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 in 1970), created by visionary Jack Kirby as part of a massive new mythology he began to build at DC, dubbed the Fourth World. Soon, he would take the DC Universe by storm and become a recurring nemesis for the Justice League. A few years later, in the pages of Iron Man #55 in 1973, Jim Starlin debuted Thanos. Though Starlin admits to being strongly influenced by Kirby’s New Gods (particularly Darkseid and Metron), Thanos soon became a legitimate threat in his own right.
Darkseid is #6 on IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Villains
Despite Darkseid and Metron being the inspiration for Thanos, it’s the Mad Titan that made it onto the big screen first. With the newfound mainstream awareness of superheroes that’s been found as a result of The Avengers (how many casual fans were aware of Thanos a year ago?), the unfortunate side effect is that Darkseid – no matter how well he’s handled in Justice League – will ultimately feel like a reaction to Thanos in The Avengers.
Thanos, being colorful.
That’s not to say I don’t think Darkseid could stand on his own cinematically, if done right, but I think that sort of large scale storytelling needs to be earned by first legitimizing the Justice League franchise to audiences with a character-driven story that is able to stand-up admirably to everything that Marvel has done so far. Going blow-for-blow in a cosmic pissing contest doesn’t seem like the greatest strategy.
As the mainstream becomes more familiar with the more bizarre elements of superhero universes, it’s going to be interesting to watch how cinematic success dictates who these audiences gravitate toward most. As comic fans, we might feel the urge to cry foul should someone accuse WB of aping everything that Marvel has done, regardless of if that might be true. Instead, let’s hand them two books – one Jack Kirby’s Fourth World omnibus and the other Infinity Gauntlet – and let them decide for themselves who’s the bigger cosmic badass.
Joey is IGN's Comics Editor and a comic book creator. Follow Joey on Twitter @JoeyEsposito, or find him on IGN at Joey-IGN. He can only hope that all of this cosmic-ness will open the floodgates to Ch'p's return.
Source : ign[dot]com
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