With DC and Warner Brothers pushing to develop their cinematic universe in a similar, but totally unique way from Marvel Studios, a lot of titles have been scheduled to take to the silver screen in upcoming years.
However, taking a step away from Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, DC Comics has several astounding properties that absolutely deserve to make it to the screen in their own right. I now humbly present you with my Top Five Comic Properties Warner Bros. Needs to Develop for Movies:
5. Jeff Lemire’s Earth One Teen Titans
Teen Titans just had a pilot ordered for TNT that is rumoured to be closer to the Teen Titans team that we know and love from the comics or various television incarnations. The new DC cinematic universe seems pretty uninterested in the idea of legacy characters given the Batman and Robin debacle of the 1990s, so why not skirt both those issues by presenting the team of Jeff Lemire’s upcoming Earth One Teen Titans OGN? This would give Cyborg the chance to lead a team (crossing over the upcoming Justice League movie), and if the studio was more concerned with branding they could title this flick Young Justice.
Additionally, Earth One Teen Titans has three female members (Starfire, Raven and Terra), and two characters of colour (Cyborg and this particular version of Starfire, going from the cover art), which would engender more good will toward Warner Bros. for having one of the more diverse super hero teams on the big screen.
4. Stargirl
The James Robinson-Starman material is tied up in some weird legality, so why not skip Jack Knight completely (I know, that’s heresy), and go for Courtney Whitmore? Again, this gives Warner Bros. the chance to bring in a strong, female character with cosmic powers, which not only fills a sorely lacking representation issue in cinematic superheroes, but would allow DC and WB to continue repairing their own cosmic universe in the wake of 2011’s Green Lantern.
3. Blue and Gold
DC fans have been talking about having Booster Gold and Blue Beetle teaming up on screen for a long time. However, Jaime Reyes is an amazing Blue Beetle and presents the question of whether to include him or not to any screenwriter that takes on this property.
Ted Kord and Kord Industries ought to be the Oracle of this movie – the man behind the team – with Michael and Jaime working under his resources and funds. Again, bringing Jaime to the screen brings oft-lacked diversity to the film and Michael Jon Carter presents the cinematic DCU with a doorway to time travel in the same way that Stargirl opens up their cosmic universe.
2. Zatanna/Black Canary
Granted, we’ve seen a version of Black Canary on screen in the CW’s Arrow and it seems likely that Zatanna will crop up in NBC’s Constantine if that show takes, but they would be a great asset to the cinematic universe, if the WB could swing it. Two female leads tackling crime and danger head-on, taking a lot of inspiration from Bloodspell by: Paul Dini would be amazing.
Not to harp on a theme here, but a Zatanna/Black Canary story opens those two characters up to join the Justice League (and get some more ladies to join Wonder Woman there), and would also allow for the darker and more magical corners of the DC universe to come into the light, so to speak.
1. Klarion the Witch Boy
“Why?” you may ask. Klarion the Witch Boy opens up even more of the dark and magical aspects of the DCU than even a character like Zatanna. He has the ability to tie a storyline into The Seven Soldiers of Victory and would allow any producers/writers/directors to put a story on the screen that has not been seen in any so-called “comic book movie” to date.
The casting of Klarion is what would be key, to keep the characters from becoming unlikeable and if Warner Bros. went for a star name in this role they would have the viewing public along for the crazy ride his movie would inevitably take them on. Plus, you could have Teekl be a main part of the plot and, even though the adage goes never work with children or animals, in the case of Klarion it would be an awesome combination!
2 Comments
I’ve been hoping for a Stargirl movie for some time. While ideally I’d prefer to go classic Starman first, I think with Courtney it is a chance to tap into a few markets that they might not usually aim for with superhero movies. Plus, being a relatively new character (compared to characters like Batman or Wonder Woman), she has a lot less continuity for them to dissect in order to find out what the character is all about.
And it isn’t like they have to skip the history entirely since they could easily weave Starman history into the movie. Moviegoers aren’t as stupid as Hollywood sometimes thinks, and with the right touch a movie could easily feel like it is telling a new story while acknowledging the past without being overly confusing.
All of these characters would definitely be good material to base movies on. The Earth One Titans are a group that I’ve been anticipating since I heard the announcement. They provide a base for a diverse group of teenagers that can appeal to almost all audiences. The Blue and Gold has always been a fan favorite, so I’m sure their humor and adventures would translate easily to the theater. The Zatanna and Black Canary would be amazing to see. Such strong female characters take up roles of leading characters would be fun to see. It’s never boring to see awesome superheroines kick butt! As for Stargirl and Klarion, I’m not very familiar with them as characters, but what was described for movies sound fun.