Can it be that San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) is over already? Yes, it is, but expect for news to continue to dribble out from the event on the Web over the next few weeks. It takes that long for some people to get around to releasing info they picked up there! (I had that problem when I was there, anyway!)
For me, the biggest announcement during SDCC was from Warner Bros. about following up Man of Steel with a “World’s Finest” film starring both Batman AND Superman! Wow!
Now, I’ve read comics for a long time – long enough to remember World’s Finest before Superman/Batman and now, Batman/Superman. Hey, I used to enjoy the 80-page giants that reprinted older stories. Were they ever worth the money!
Since it looks like Zack Snyder and David Goyer are going to be working on the film (with some likely help from Chris Nolan), I imagine they’ll do what they have with their last four “heroic” films … read over landmark stories featuring this pairing and cherry-pick the pieces/parts they want to include.
The trick of this movie will be to challenge both Superman and Batman so that they get a good balance between them. The Joker and Lex Luthor could work a la the animated three-parter appropriately called “World’s Finest,” but they need to be careful about it.
As always, I have a few suggestions to offer as to what to do with the film. (You knew that was coming, didn’t you?)
My first thought has to do with the first storyline in the aforementioned Superman/Batman, scripted by Jeph Loeb and called “Public Enemies.” I know this was turned into a direct-to-DVD film from DC/Warner Bros., but there are some great sequences to be culled, including Superman being shot with a Kryptonite bullet and Batman being buried with him in a grave. Also, Loeb did a great job of showing how differently the two characters thought and acted. That would be a wonderful way to tell this first (but hopefully not last) of the films with the two heroes.
I know that Justice League Unlimited revamped the Alan Moore story “For the Man Who Has Everything” into a great episode, so I could see Mongul taking on both characters pretty well.
There was a fascinating tale told way, way back in World’s Finest #112 called “The Menace of Superman’s Pet,” in which an alien creature literally latched onto the Man of Steel while he was out in space, but interfered with Superman’s ability to save the day when he returned to Earth. Whenever the hero vanished to fix a problem, the pet-like animal got angry and turned into a gigantic, havoc-wreaking monster, which challenged Batman and Robin. It had a very touching ending, though, and it could give the SFX folks a chance to strut their stuff.
I can dream, though, about my favorite Superman-Batman team-up, when they took on the Composite Superman. He was a museum janitor who, thanks to a lightning bolt (much like Barry Allen’s turning into the Flash), received the powers of the Legion of Super-Heroes from tiny statuettes copied from the future heroes and thus imbued with their abilities. However, unlike the Flash, the Composite Superman had to recharge his powers, and one time he didn’t get back in time, forcing him to revert to his former self and slip into the shadows. The tough parts would be explaining who the Legionnaires are and the half-Supes, half-Bats costume.
It seems like Christian Bale will not be around as Batman any longer, which saddens me. Discounting the voice when he was wearing the cape and cowl, he did a great job as the Dark Knight, in my opinion. Still, there are plenty of actors who would love to put on the mask and get their names known in many households around the world. Expect a long audition process to take place before they announce the new guy who will be Batman/Bruce Wayne!
I’ve only mentioned a few of my favorites. What stories featuring Superman and Batman would you like to see included in the film? Feel free to comment below!
