A few weeks ago, the first real information about the plot of the Justice League film hit when a rumor began circulating that Darkseid would be the villain. To follow up that information, Latino Review has posted a report indicating which specific comic books screenwriter Will Beale is drawing the inspiration for his script from.
The report is extremely specific, and if correct it means the film will be based on three issues of Justice League Of America. The issues are 183-185, all released in 1980. The story of those issues is certainly of the high-stakes this film needs. Summing it up as basically as possible, it involves Darkseid planning the destruction of Earth by blasting it with a ray in order to move his planet, Apokolips, into the Earth’s place.
For a film of this magnitude, it was assumed the crisis would have to be bigger than just affecting Gotham City or Metropolis, otherwise there’s little reason for the whole League to band together. The destruction of earth is just about as big of a crisis as possible, spare the destruction of the galaxy or something.
Some fans are already expressing qualms that Justice League will deviate too far from the gritty, realistic feel of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, and that the result will be less than ideal. This storyline certainly doesn’t sound grounded at first, but why can’t it have the same, darker vibe of the recent Batman films?
Superman is anything but realistic. He’s almost completely indestructible, and he flies through outer space. Nothing about that is grounded in our current world at all. However, the recent trailer for Man Of Steel, and on some level the first trailer as well, had a very similar vibe to Nolan’s telling of the Caped Crusader. And although Nolan has stated that he wants nothing to do with Justice League, he has set the standard for future DC films, meaning his style will at least be considered on some level for a long time. With that in mind, who’s to say that this Earth-threatening, fantastical story can’t be made to feel real, and more than just a spectacle of superheroes doing cool things?
That being said, there are certainly more realistic stories they could’ve opted for, but it isn’t much of a challenge if the villain isn’t at least up to the level of the League’s most powerful hero. This story provides a worthy challenge for not only the human members of the League, but Superman as well.
What do you think of this story arc? Would you be excited if it’s used in Justice League? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
