Justice League and The Avengers, two giants of Hollywood’s superhero scene, have more in common than we initially thought.
Sure, there’s the core premise that brings together a raft of costumed crusaders to confront a common enemy – not to mention Joss Whedon’s end-game contribution on Justice League, for which he received a writing credit alongside Chris Terrio (Star Wars: Episode IX) – but a new video essay pieced together by Screen Crush has identified all of the many parallels that exist between Justice League and Joss Whedon’s 2012 epic. And, well, there’s quite a few. Spoilers ahead!
Still with us? Let’s begin at the start: Justice League gets going in earnest when an otherworldly villain (Loki/Steppenwolf) wages war against Earth in order to retrieve a cube-shaped artifact (The Tesseract/Mother Box). It’s a threat that sends two characters – one male, one female – scrambling across the four corners of the Earth to assemble a super-team, with JL placing the responsibility on Batman and Wonder Woman. The Avengers? It leaves things in the capable hands of Nick Fury and Black Widow.
Screen Crush doesn’t stop there, either, but we’ll refrain from delving too far into Justice League‘s plot, given it’s still fresh on the market. On one hand, it’s a fun comparison between two of the biggest superhero movies ever made, but on a more troubling note, and as Matt Donato points out in his WGTC review, Justice League‘s formulaic plot is evidence of a much deeper problem: the DC Extended Universe currently faces an identity crisis, and Warner’s desperate attempts to play catch-up with Marvel only results in half-baked, rushed products.
And though it’s not without its highlights, Justice League will be remembered as another big misfire for the studio, which is reportedly staring down the face of a $50m-$100m write-down.
