Blast From The Past: Examining How Justice League Plays On Our Nostalgia

While watching Justice League, you get the sense that it brings an end to the first phase of DCEU movies. In 2011, the company kicked things off with Man of Steel and now, at last, we've come to what fans hoped would be the crowning glory of the DCEU - Justice League, the movie in which the comic book titan's greatest heroes unite against the threat of Steppenwolf. Unfortunately, it's proving to be a bit of a disappointment critically, and commercially. Failing to crack even $100 million during its opening weekend, Marvel remains the clear box office frontrunner, but that wasn't always the case. DC's heroes have been standing tall on the big screen since 1978, and as a result, the company has tried to ensure that Justice League pays homage to this rich cinematic history as much as it can. They've done this by carefully infusing the blockbuster with many moments and scenes that play on our sense of nostalgia, and here are a few examples of that. The Batman Soundtrack Let's start with the Dark Knight himself, and with a single creative decision that explains the way Justice League uses nostalgia. Crucially, the movie chose to ditch Hans Zimmer's Batman theme from Batman V Superman. Instead, it returned to the classic '89 theme tune, and Joss Whedon even brought composer Danny Elfman on board. Speaking at the 10th annual Hollywood in Vienna festival, Elfman explained the logic behind that decision, saying: "Contemporary thinking is, every time you reboot something, you start completely from scratch. Which is bull****." As he says, the iconic Batman is part of our cultural history. You don't just ditch that history when you reboot the franchise; instead, you honor it, and make that history a part of your relaunch. He gave a telling example, too, pointing to the fact that Star Wars didn't ditch the soundtrack when Lucas returned to launch the Prequel Trilogy, or when Disney recently relaunched the franchise. From a soundtrack point of view, then, Justice League isn't your typical relaunch. It accepts the cultural history of characters like Batman and Superman and attempts to build on that As we'll see though, Elfman is completely in line with the approach Warner Bros. has taken with the film as a whole. Redesigning Batman As any comic book fan will know, the Batman of the DCEU was heavily inspired by Frank Miller's take in The Dark Knight Returns. This "Elseworlds" story is set in a bleak, dystopian future in which Batman has long since retired, but now feels the call to don the cowl once again. He swiftly finds himself set on course for a head-on collision with the Man of Steel, and the battle between Batman and Superman in Dawn of Justice is heavily modelled on that clash. Snyder had always loved The Dark Knight Returns, essentially a deconstruction of the Batman mythology, and he explained the following in an interview with Forbes: " actions are often contradictions, precisely because his existence -- I finally came to realize as I read the book -- was itself a huge contradiction. Here is a man who opposes violence, who wants to reinforce rule of law, who wants to create a city where people can walk without fear, but he tries to achieve that sort of "peace" by using extreme violence, operating outside the rule of law, and becoming a symbol of fear." Snyder gambled that, because we've all seen countless iterations of Batman on both big and small screen, we were ready for a deconstruction. Unfortunately, fan and critical reaction to Batman V Superman proved that he was wrong. Justice League takes a step back and abandons the deconstructionist approach. Instead, following the same logic as Danny Elfman, the film focuses on the elements we've all loved in the past. This is still a Batman who kills, but he only kills alien bugs, and that's never had the same emotional impact as seeing Batman blow up a car with people in it. Furthermore, the Gotham of Justice League is visually more similar to the one we saw in '89 (take a look at the vintage cars on the streets), and we get scenes of the Dark Knight brooding in the shadows in a Burton-esque style. Significantly, we're told that Batman has been active in Gotham for 20 years. The pre-Nolan Batman films ended in 1997, exactly 20 years ago. Dialogue between the Caped Crusader and Alfred, meanwhile, drops in a reference to the days the Dark Knight only had to worry about wind-up exploding penguins, a clear nod to Batman Returns. Finally, the film introduces a new Batman vehicle that wouldn't be out of place in Batman Forever. The Knight Crawler is every bit as surreal and exaggerated a vehicle as those Batman drove and flew in that film. It's a four-treaded tank with each tread on a separate leg, allowing the vehicle to walk and climb up walls. It's a complete departure from the realistic approach taken to the Batmobile in the Nolan trilogy. Redesigning Superman For Zack Snyder, one of the most surprising aspects of the DCEU to date has been the reaction to Superman. He based his rendition of the character off certain comics, but has learned that popular culture is much more invested in the Christopher Reeve movies. As he told Forbes: "I think that, honestly, the thing I was surprised about in response to Superman was how everyone clings to the Christopher Reeve version of Superman, you know? How tightly they cling to those ideas, not really the comic book version but more the movie version..." Frankly, Snyder seemed to find the experience somewhat dispiriting. He was attempting to ground the Man of Steel, to make him a real man, one who learns and makes mistakes. Instead, fans and casual viewers were much more interested in the kind of hero they'd seen before. This realization seems to have informed a sort of character journey for Superman, one that takes him from Man of Steel to Justice League. In the DCEU, his death and resurrection is the tool to make Superman the hero we know and love. The costume is lighter, the hair is styled a little differently in homage to Reeve, and the character has a stronger sense of fun and humor. That's most visible in the scene when Superman swoops out of the sky, asking, "Is this guy still bothering you?" We even have an amusing nod to the idea that he stands for truth and justice, although the famous "American Way" is omitted. Before anyone starts objecting too much, that's an accurate nod to the radio series. The "American Way" line was a later addition. But these aren't the only nods to the Reeve films. Perhaps the most visually striking is the emotional post-resurrection scene, which sees Supes stood in a cornfield, looking out at the sunrise. It's so very similar to a scene in Superman, in which Clark realizes he has to leave Smallville. This time, it's Lois who comes out of the house to talk to him, although Martha turns up in the end. Our last glimpse of Superman in Justice League is even a shirt-rip, in traditional Reeve style! The Superman Music Justice League has an easier time paying homage to the classic Batman movies, but its soundtrack still has some effective nods to the classic Superman themes. You'll notice it most prominently in the resurrection scene, when Elfman twists the theme in an interesting way. As he explained: "I... had two minutes where I had the pleasure of saying, “Let’s do John Williams’ Superman.” and that for me was heaven, because now I have a melody to twist, and I’m using it in an actually very dark way, in a dark moment. It’s the kind of thing that some fans will notice. Some won’t. It’s a moment where we’re really not sure whose side he’s on." The result is subtle but striking. It's also not the only homage to Williams' Superman in the film. Amusing Nods To The Classic Superman Films Amusingly enough, DC chose to make several subtle decisions to pay homage to the classic Superman pics. The movie exploits this mythology in surprisingly subtle ways, such as Barry Allen's jacket. Another amusing nod is a cameo from Marc McClure, who played Jimmy Olsen in the Superman movies. This time round, he plays the guard at the prison Barry Allen visits. As you can see, this is a pic that understands - more than any other DCEU movie to date - that it's just the latest film in an ongoing narrative. The big screen story of DC's superheroes began in 1978, and Justice League is keen to acknowledge that rich history. Amusingly enough, were it not for Suicide Squad's version of the Joker, the details are accurate enough that you'd almost think this film was set in the same world as Batman '89.