When it comes to the big two superhero comic book companies, I have leaned toward DC since college. Hard to believe there was a time when DC’s movies were better too (Richard Donner’s 1978 Superman remains one of the best). Now that Marvel has been kicking DC’s ass at the box office, DC has continued to rely on Zak Snyder’s vision to make their universe interesting and more importantly, financially lucrative. Well, they struck out again after having a brief victory with Wonder Woman. It’s hard not to compare League with Avengers and say the former comes up short.
Picking back up sometime after Superman’s death in Batman v. Superman, Batman begins to investigate an odd pattern involving a weird creature during his patrols of Gotham City. This prompts him and Wonder Woman to recruit the other heroes in Batman’s special files: Aquaman (he’s much tougher and more hairy than the traditional cartoon version), Cyborg and the Flash. Why? A pattern of weird symbols indicate the world is going to be subject to an invasion by other-worldly creatures. What’s holding it back are three mystical objects guarded by two active cultures while the third was lost to the ages…until now.
Spoiler Alert
Batman knows the five of them can’t defeat what’s coming so he concocts a plan to resurrect Superman via the mystical items. Allegedly, these “mother boxes” have incredible amounts of power/energy, enough to jump start Superman’s body. Little did Batman know, Superman would be disoriented and he starts to lash out at the other heroes. The only good scene in this involves the Flash discovering he isn’t the only one with superspeed as he sees Superman’s eyes shifting while Flash is moving at light speed.
Spoiler Alert Over
Overall, League is a boring slog of Batman putting together a team to save the world. Seen it. Someone else did it better.
DC should just focus on being more successful on TV. Green Arrow and the Flash teaming up once a year is more exciting than this. The ongoing Legends of Tomorrow has my attention too. A giant blockbuster slapping together DC’s four biggest characters with two minor ones fighting through numerous Instagram filters is lame. Will there be a time to have an actual movie? I honestly don’t know. Superheroes are tricky given their long, complicated backstories making them better executed through a weekly show. Again, I don’t know what it would take to make the revered Justice League a great movie, I only know this isn’t it.
Alamo Extras: Max Fleischer Superman cartoon (seen it at least twice before); trailer for awful Filipino Adam West-like movie (seen it before too); Mego ad for Wonder Woman doll; the first Aquaman movie made in the Eighties with DC’s OK; Sixties Hanna Barbera cartoons of Flash, Superman and Teen Titans; The State doing a bit mocking the JLA; video game avatars of Avengers v. JLA in a dance competition (really awful); Superpup pilot from 1957; scenes from the 1974 Wonder Woman with Kathie Lee Crosby; Superman musical from 1975; scenes from Legends of the Superheroes around 1979, the first episode was a scavenger hunt and the second was a celebrity roast; scenes from the 1990 version of The Flash showing Mark Hamil as the Trickster and Bryan Cranston as a villain; scenes from the failed 1997 Justice League pilot with David Ogden Stiers as Martian Manhunter (it’s Roger Corman bad); some of the 2006 Aquaman pilot and the opening from the 1973 Superfriends cartoon.