Grant Morrison’s impact on comic book history is immeasurable. Morrison has an exhaustive list of works that have pushed the genre into new frontiers of imagination, some of which include iconic runs on Animal Man, Doom Patrol, and JLA. From the major announcement made by DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran, Morrison’s creative fingerprints will be all over the new DC Universe.
The DC Universe is going for cohesion over a scattered multiverse and it begins with DCU Chapter One: Gods and Monsters, which sees a slew of new movies and TV shows that will be part of a unified DCU. Characters new and old will be a part of this brave new world, and there’s much that can be ascertained based on the works of Morrison based on what’s known so far. Gunn is a vocal fan of Morrison’s work, so it should come as no surprise that a lot of these stories have that Morrison quality to them.
Superman: Legacy
Superman: Legacy will be the flagship movie for the new DCU, but it’s not exactly an origin story. It will have a younger Clark Kent who’s learning to find a balance between his Kryptonian heritage and his human upbringing. Morrison wrote a young Clark Kent during his run with Rags Morales’ on the New 52’s Action Comics, in which Superman is particularly socially conscious and pushed back against the law. Morrison and Frank Quitely’s All-Star Superman took a more mythological approach to the Man of Steel, with Superman suffering from solar radiation poisoning and goes on a hero’s journey that explores his symbolic meaning and who he is at his heart. This theme in particular sounds strikingly similar to Superman: Legacy.
The Authority
The Authority will be getting a movie that will reveal the grayer side of superheroes in this DC Universe. The team was created by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch, and its members take a harder approach to the superhero game and cross boundaries when they believe it to be necessary. The Authority were formed in the late ’90s after WildsStorm Comics was acquired by DC Comics. During this time comic books slanted towards more “extreme” stories that challenged classic superhero ideals. Morrison and Mikel Janin’s four-issue miniseries Superman and the Authority has an older Superman who’s grown more rebellious and adopts The Authority’s penchant for breaking the rules on occasion. If the DC Universe’s Superman is anything like Morrison’s, he might not be so against how The Authority does things.
Creature Commandos
Creature Commandos is a DC animated series that will be the first project in DCU Chapter One: Gods and Monsters. This is a team of deep-cut DC superheroes inspired by classic horror monsters, one of whom is Frankenstein, who has been a part of DC’s magical team Justice League Dark, had his own solo series Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E.
In Morrison and Doug Mahnke’s Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein, Morrison took some big chances with the character. In it, Frankenstein fought Melmoth, a king at the end of time, and the story explored how everyone has a monster within. Despite appearances, Frankenstein is poetic (a la Mary Shelley) but he’s also a powerhouse known to commit extreme levels of violence using Michael’s Sword to cast cold judgment. This version of Frankenstein would be exciting to see.
Brave and the Bold
Brave and the Bold will be a Batman and Robin movie that will have Bruce Wayne’s son, Damian Wayne, as the Boy Wonder. Since Morrison and Andy Kubert created the comic arc “Batman and Son,” which introduced Damian, it’s possible that this could be the series that is most like the original work. Ra’s al Ghul’s daughter Talia al Ghul reveals to Batman that they have a son together. She’s kept him secret and he’s been trained by the League of Assassins, but now Talia’s leaving him with Batman to raise. Damian has a difficult time adjusting to life with his son who’s mouthy and violent, and while Batman teaches him the ropes of crimefighting, the Dark Knight also gets to inspect his own methods from a different perspective.
Lanterns
Lanterns is a TV series that will follow Green Lanterns Hal Jordan and John Stewart. It’ll be a terrestrial-based story inspired by HBO’s lauded crime show True Detective, which notably featured two detectives working a murder case. Morrison and Liam Sharpe did amazing work on Green Lantern: Intergalactic Lawman. The series was a silver-age throwback that depicted Hal as a space cop and begins with a mystery of its own. Hal discovers that an alien is hiding in plain sight and it sets off a chain of events that affects the entire Green Lantern Corp and there’s an intergalactic conspiracy at play. A great mystery is centered in Lanterns as well, and it could use the personal ways in which Morrison’s take on the character shined a light on Hal’s motivations.
