Assemble Time!

With The Avengers continuing its dominance over the domestic and worldwide box office, one could make a safe bet that many studios are probably thinking that super-hero team movies are the way to go. I’m sure Warner Bros. is kicking themselves right now for not only A) Letting Joss Whedon walk away from his long-gestating Wonder Woman movie, but also for B) letting their Justice League film from Mad Max director George Miller crumble before filming. While team-based movies are extremely hard to pull off (just look at the X-Men films), Whedon has shown that you can make it happen if you level the playing field for everybody. And of course, introduce all of the main players ahead of time.

So while we may not be making the decisions at the big studios, we can at least pretend and make up our own pitches for films based on major superhero teams. And we can start with arguably the most well known…

Justice League
As I already mentioned, Warner Bros. was dangerously close to a Justice League film a few years ago. Freaking out because of the writer’s strike, and with no big tent pole film to help them, WB turned to George Miller to help bring the “Big Seven” to the big screen. However, with a cast that would’ve featured Adam Brody as Flash, perhaps we’re better off not seeing this version.

Instead let’s take a page from the “New 52” relaunch of the title, and better yet, get Geoff Johns to adapt the thing. I’d keep Armie Hammer as Batman (he did costume tests for the film), and possibly even keep Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern (we’ll have to see how Henry Cavill’s going to be as Superman). Throw in Jon Hamm as Lex Luthor and we’ll have ourselves the start of something awesome. As long as it’s handled properly of course.

Uncanny X-Force
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it wouldn’t fit in with the X-Men movie continuity, but who cares? First Class already took the continuity of those films and threw them out the window. Keeping Hugh Jackman as Wolverine (obviously), the film could work as a standalone; hard “R” take on the X-Men, and introduce the members of this awesome team to cinemagoers. To my knowledge, the only one shown in a previous movie was Angel in Last Stand, and the less said of that pile the better.  There’s all this hype around Deadpool getting his own movie, but in my opinion he works best as a secondary character, like in the pages of this book. Loosely adapt the “Apocalypse Seed” opening arc, or even use the opening arc of the previous series and you’d have an instant fan-pleaser of a movie.  

 

Starjammers
Hell yeah Starjammers! Captain Corsair and his crew are so awesome that they NEED their own film. Not only that, but it could serve as the perfect introduction to the Shi’ar empire, especially since their chance was screwed up by X-Men: The Las Stand. The Starjammers crew has always been one of my favorite Marvel teams, and the fact that they’re not very well known could be used to a talented director’s advantage.

 

 

 

Red Hood and The Outlaws
Scott Lobdell and Kenneth Rocafort’s Red Hood and The Outlaws has been one of the most enjoyable comics of the New 52. After a rocky first issue, the book has really come into its own and has become one of my personal favorites of the DC titles currently sitting on the shelf. With a relatively small team, one wouldn’t have to worry too much about an overcrowded screen, although explaining Jason Todd’s relationship with Batman might be a little tricky.

 

 

 

Secret Six
More people need to be exposed to Secret Six, period. Gail Simone’s career-defining book has it all: great relationships, interesting takes on well-established characters, and hilarious moments. With Bane starring in The Dark Knight Rises this summer, audiences will already be introduced to the character, who could then be used to introduce us to DC’s motley crew of mercenaries, which includes such characters as Ragman, Scandal Savage, Deadshot, and of course, Catman.

 

 

 

 

After taking to twitter to break the tie, the winner of last week’s “Last Man Standing” between Black Cat and Catwoman is…Catwoman! Selina took home 5 votes, while Felicia only managed one. Thanks for playing everybody!