Saturday, August 1, 2009

The Avengers & The Justice League

In superhero comics, the culmination of all things heroic in the world is a united front against the forces of evil. In the DC Universe it's know as The Justice League, while in the Marvel universe it's known as The Avengers.

The existence of these two organizations is important to understand as a nerd, because there have been many incarnations of both groups throughout time. But in the end, the original crews...


The Avengers Founders


...are the ones that always called the shots.

Which brings me to the silver screen - talks have been in the works with both comic book companies about the possibility of creating movies. In 2005, with the release of Batman Begins and the announcement of Superman Returns, there was already talks of a Justice League movie being shot.

The problem? The producers had already cast two entirely different people for the roles of Batman and Superman. Thankfully, there's a lot going on behind the scenes in the DC universe now to bring attention off of the Bat and the Boyscout...like, oh I don't know, all the news in the past two weeks regarding the reinstatement of Hal Jordan as the Green Lantern in the comic books and a new straight-to-video animated movie.



See, Hal was the second generation ever to wear the ring, and they needed a beefy white guy in the suit again because the powers that be at Warner Bros. have signed Ryan Reynolds - yes, the same one who already plays Deadpool in the Marvel universe - as the lead role in the Green Lantern movie. At one point, Reynolds was rumored to be a possible candidate to play Flash, but I think they want someone thinner for the most ADHD hero ever.

Still, this puts DC one step closer to completing their line-up for any kind of League reunion...and even though nothing is set in stone, it could be a superhero fanboy's dream! (And even if it fails, they can always just take the three and make "Two guys, A Kryptonian and a Pizza Place")

So then what about the Avengers? Well, on the Marvel side of the board, the early 2000s were dominated by Spiderman. But when spidey started to crash all Batman Forever style, Marvel had to change directions fast. They responded to DC's detached billionaire playboy (whose only superpower is money) with one of their own: Ironman.

The movie was a hit right away, and immediately gave introduction to the man who started the Avenger project, Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D - played by Samuel L. Jackson.

Tony Stark himself made a cameo in the follow-up movie The Incredible Hulk, which almost ensured Marvel's plans to move into the Avengers. If that weren't enough, there are already two more member movies in the works: Iron Man 2 and the highly anticipated Thor.

Yes, the incarnation of the Norse god of thunder and lightning, Thor. In fact, they've brought in the relatively unknown Chris Hemsworth to play the role of the fallen god. I personally think it's a brilliant move, because nobody goes into the movie quite understanding the character or the actor, making him easier to empathize with.

And the final move being made by Marvel was the ribirth of Captain America yet again! I didn't think they would do it. In fact, I thought they might make a new candidate for the Super-Soldier Serum project.

Captain America was technically murdered by a sniper during a Civil War about the superhero registration act two years ago. In the war, he was considered a fugitive for fighting on the side of superhero rights, annonymity and freedoms. He was captured and taken to a court hearing, and was shot leaving the building by a skilled sniper.

So instead, of replacing the captain, they are reviving Steve Rogers again. Still, the revival of the franchise could be made to set the pace for a Captain America movie, and bring Marvel closer to finishing their dream-team...because a team needs a team captain.

So who will finish their project first - D.C. or Marvel? I think that once I see a Wonder Woman movie, that maybe D.C. stands a chance, but until then, once Marvel gets their boyscout resurrected, they are clearly ahead of the curve. Marvel and the Captain, making it happen.



Over and Out,

David Lucio