What Stand Alone Movies Would Save The DC Universe?
As the Joker movie flips between on and off happening, I can’t help but wonder if DC Universe knows what it’s doing? After hearing that the much maligned Jared Leto version of the Clown Prince of Darkness will be the focus of the movie, I ask why?
If I remember correctly, and I believe that I do, his take was not widely accepted. As I sit here trying to piece together the mental images that I have worked so hard to forget, it begins to rush back that he looked and acted like a wanna rapper.
This may have worked if Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger didn’t set the standard for what and who the character should be.
Anyway, I digress. In an effort to drum up some movies for the floundering DC Universe, I have taken it upon myself to come up with just a few suggestions.
Gorilla Grodd and The Flash
Yes, I know what you’re thinking it has already on the CW hit series The Flash. And yes, it is kind of known that the Flash movie that’s coming in 2020 will probably follow the fan-favorite Flashpoint storyline. However, imagine a scene similar to that of the marching droids on Naboo. Instead of the droids, imagine gorillas.
Think of the spectacle that we would each witness if Gorilla Grood made his big screen debut leading an army of apes.
Better.
And why?
Quite simply because these two go back for decades and have been thorns to each other’s existence since. While the rogues gallery that The Flash has isn’t on the same level, as say, Batman, it is still pretty good. And Gorilla Grood is at the forefront of it. I dare say that Ceasar has nothing on Grood.
Nightwing and Deathstroke
Long stuck in the large shadow that Batman casts, Dick Grayson deserves a shot at his own movie. Now, I understand that he is slated to receive his own television show and after the recent failures of the DC Universe, I can understand their apprehension to spend millions of dollars introducing a new character in large-screen format.
But…
If they were to do it, Nightwing would be the character. And if he must have a villain, Deathstroke should be it.
Starting out as an adversary to the Teen Titans, Deathstroke is now fuelled by his hatred for Dick Grayson.
In one of the best stories ever created under the DC brand, The Judas Contract sees Teen Titan member Terra betray her own team.
In short, Deathstroke has Terra betray the team and he then betrays her. Blood Brother begins to depower a trapped Titans team and Nightwing arrives just in time to save the day.
This event, coupled with a few others, helped grow the ferocity between the two and that ferocity would be beautiful in large-screen format. Until then, let’s just be thankful that he is coming to the small screen.
Green Lantern and…anything
No comment, please. The Green Lantern movie was terrible. I know that. You know that. Ryan Reynolds knows that. Heck, my brothers newborn knows that.
That shouldn’t stop the DC Universe from reintroducing the Green Lantern and everything that goes with it. And I don’t believe it will. If the panned Justice League movie showed anything, aside from the brilliance of Ezra Miller, it’s that the Lanterns exist.
If I may make a recommendation? Do what Marvel has done so well and cast somebody not so well known in the role. No expectations, no presumptions, no anything. Just a fresh and new face to go out there and do what they are supposed to do…act.
And, if they do launch a successful Lantern Universe, perhaps they will follow that up with either the Sinestro Corps War or the Blackest Night story?
And (not to keep saying and) the introduction of the Blackest Night story would directly lead into the introduction of all the other Lanterns. Imagine (yes, I’m asking you to use your imagination again) am all out war with the Blue, Orange, Red, Black, Indigo, White, and, of course, Green Lanterns.
Geoff Johns is the architect of some of the greatest Lantern stories (and Flash ones) and if a Lantern movie is to be done, Johns needs to be involved. And if some of the greatest stories doesn’t convince you, then Johns needs to be involved because the fans want it.
And in the world of comics, the fans mean everything.
Wonder Woman and Cheetah
The only true success of the DC Universe, Wonder Woman is set to receive a sequel. Like The Flash, her villains list isn’t as impressive as Batman but she does have Cheetah.
The two have as storied as history peanut butter and jelly. Throughout her history, Cheetah has been portrayed by four different women. The first two, Priscilla Rich and Deborah Domaine, had no real powers and were merely women in cheetah costumes. The second two, Barbara Ann Minerva and Sebastian Ballesteros, were both given their abilities by Urzkartaga.
And it is the third Cheetah that is important here. It has been confirmed that Kristin Wiig will wear the Cheetah as Barbara Ann Minerva.
What makes Barbara such an interesting character is that she wasn’t a villain to begin with. Instead, she was an archaeologist who inadvertently sold her soul to Uzkartaga. From there, she was granted powers that gave her immortality and superhuman everything.
With this incarnation of the character being introduced in 1980 and the movie said to occur during the Cold War, I can’t help but think what a perfect pairing.
Aquaman and Black Manta
Between the “Oh yeah’s” and “Right on’s”, Jason Momoa is Aquaman. Or at least he’s a version of Aquaman. And what’s Aquaman without his arch-nemesis, Black Manta?
Not only is Black Manta the antithesis to everything Aquaman is, he is responsible for killing his infant son. Yes, you read that right. He killed his son.
Unable to breathe air, Black Manta put the baby inside a sphere and began to fill it with air. Aquaman was then forced to fight Aqualad in exchange for the life of his child. Once the fight was over he ran over to his baby only to find out that he had died.
Aquaman buries the baby at the same place he was found many years earlier, Mercy Reef…of which Black Manta destroyed.
The hatred between the two runs deep. Perhaps, it runs deeper than most rivalries in the DC Universe. It is for this reason that to have Black Manta as the villain in the upcoming movie is a no-brainer.
In saying all of this, I believe that the future of the DC Universe rests solely on Aquaman’s shoulders. His movie, at the time of this writing, is up next and needs to be a success for fans to keep believing in it.
What are your thoughts? What storylines and characters should the DC Universe Universe moving forward? Let me know.
Cheers,
Jeff
