Justice League Film Must Learn From The Avengers Success
The Manhunter is an anchor character for the "Justice League", appearing in most of the stories whether they feature A-List members such as Superman or lesser known members like Black Canary. Manhunters involvement is nearly a requirement for a Justice League movie and the fact is; he does not require an establishing story of his own simply because the Justice League is where he is found. His involvement would be akin to that of Nick Fury and would only serve to strengthen the "Justice League" on film. The fact that the Manhunter hasnt even been mentioned in the established films up to this point lends itself to the conclustion that Jonn Jonzz may be another character relegated to being introduced in a "Justice League" film. Though, without an anchor or link between characters and stories it will be hard to find a coherent reason to bring these dynamic heroes together as a team. The silver lining, if one wishes to see it, is that "The Avengers" isnt the only successful ensemble super-hero movie. In 2000, "X-Men" showed us a super-hero film that introduced a team as well as individual characters in one film. Perhaps DC/Warner Bros. is seeking to approach a "Justice League" movie from this position? If that is the case their chances of success may be greater than Im giving them credit for. That having been said, the important difference is that the X-Men started as a team and introduced new characters. Ensembles like the Avengers and the Justice League were teams that were formed by and made up of heroes that were established in their own titles and came together to form a team. The X-Men were a group of heroes organized with a single purpose and were established as such from their inception. No matter how you slice it, a Justice League movie is a great idea on paper but it isnt going to catch lightning in a bottle the way "The Avengers" did unless Warner Bros. puts some serious time and effort into building a base for the ensemble. The Justice League is not the X-Men and they arent the Avengers. Perhaps the best answer is to keep it away from the hype of Marvel, The Avengers and everything super-hero and allow it to stand on its own under the auspices of the people that made it a successful comic series in the first place. Only time will tell.