Hey guys, I’m Mike and with ‘Justice League’ around the corner,
It’s kind of amazing to think that this movie has been in development for over ten years.
Like, we could have had a ‘Justice League’ movie before the Avengers,
And directed by the guy behind ‘Mad Max,’ to boot.
Sadly, it never came to be, but that’s just one chapter in the long, prestigious
History of the Justice League.
Today we’re taking a behind-the-scenes look at how the JLA made it to the big screen,
So we won’t go into every storyline and roster shakeup over the last 57 years.
But we’ll start with an overview of how they made their mark on
Comics.
The Justice League was far from the first super-team.
That concept originated in 1941, with DC’s ‘Justice Society of America.’
The gathering of Golden Age heroes was a huge hit, and inspired the similar ‘All-Winners Squadron’ from Marvel.
Jesus, that is a terrible name. That sounds like what Trump calls his cabinet.
I know words. I have the best words! But there's no better word than stupid!
After revitalizing their superhero line during the Silver Age, DC brought the band back together with a brand new name.
‘Justice Society’ was a little on the stodgy side, so editor Julie Schwartz came up with a new one inspired by the baseball boom of the ‘50s.
There’s the National League, the American League, and the Justice League.
The original lineup consisted of seven popular DC superheroes:
Aquaman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Martian Manhunter,
and of course, Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman.
The trinity actually wasn’t a big part of the team in the early days.
They were members on paper, but more often than not they sat on the sidelines as their less popular co-workers got the spotlight.
During the ‘70s, the League set up headquarters on an orbiting satellite and added lesser-known heroes like Zatanna and the Elongated Man to the mix.
After the ‘Crisis on Infinite Earths’ rebooted the DC Universe in the mid-’80s, the team reformed as ‘Justice League International.’
The JLI was beloved for its humor, but as a superteam, they kinda lacked a punch.
I mean, Doomsday utterly annihilated the whole team with literally one hand tied behind his back.
After a bunch of spin-offs including ‘Justice League Europe,’ ‘Justice League Task Force’ and the ‘90s-tastic ‘Extreme Justice,’
DC consolidated their biggest stars back into one team.
Grant Morrison’s legendary 1996 run on ‘JLA’ brought the trinity back in the mix,
adding much-needed power and prestige back to the Justice League.
After he left, the group went through a series of upheavals, including the controversial ‘Identity Crisis’ storyline.
After ‘Infinite Crisis’ climaxed with nearly every DC hero in history being deputized into the JLA, it was time for another reboot.
DC reset their continuity again with the ‘New 52.’
It was spearheaded by a blockbuster new Justice League series from Geoff Johns and Jim Lee.
Judging from Cyborg’s place on the roster and emphasis on Jack Kirby’s ‘New Gods’ lore,
it looks like the ‘New 52’ League was the blueprint for the upcoming movie.
But before we get there, let’s talk about the League on
TV
Like most DC heroes, the League got their start on the 1967 Filmation series “The Superman/Aquaman Adventure Hour.’
It was an anthology showcasing a bunch of DC heroes, but the League only teamed up for three segments.
Next time we meet, let it be in peace and friendship. Let's go, Justice Leaguers!
Then in 1973, Hanna-Barbera brought us one of the most memorable incarnations of the team ever:
The Super Friends.
Together, they formed the world's greatest force!
Dedicated to truth, peace, and justice for all mankind, these are the Super Friends!
This cartoon ran for 13 years in various different forms,
and despite terrible animation, embarrassing stereotypes, and repetitive plots,
Super Friends is still chock-full of nostalgia.
Moments later, at the Hall of Justice, headquarters of the Super Friends!
Seriously, keep an ear out in the ‘Justice League’ movie,
because there’s no way Joss Whedon can resist a reference to the Wonder Twins.
Wonder Twin powers, activate! Form of an ice pole!
The League’s live-action debut was in a TV special called ‘Legends of the Superheroes,’
Ladies and gentlemen, the world's mightiest mortal: Shazam!
And, as we’ve seen in Yellow Spandex, it’s the first appearance in the flesh for quite a few DC characters.
It also served as a reunion for the cast of the ‘66 ‘Batman’ show,
So if you ever wanted to see Ed McMahon roast Adam West in a bad-fitting Batsuit, here’s your chance.
Look at all those capes! It looks like Truman Capote's closet, doesn't it?
The League returned to the small screen in 1997, in a comedic TV pilot based on the JLI era.
I'm working at the meteorological institute, had a little accident, turned into ice...
And suddenly I'm part of the Justice League.
This thing was half mockumentary, half-’Friends’ and topped off with a dose of Schumacher-era superhero campiness.
It was so bad it never aired in America,
which means we never got to see Major Winchester from M*A*S*H with his gut painted green as the Martian Manhunter.
As you can see, we met before.
A few years later in 2001, Bruce Timm and Paul Dini created arguably the greatest incarnation of the team to date:
The DCAU series ‘Justice League.’
From the CGI opening, incredible animation, and awesome voice cast,
Anything I took was freely offered. Maybe you should take better care of your stuff.
This was the first show to really make the team feel like a pantheon of gods and icons.
After 2 seasons, the show became ‘Justice League: Unlimited,’
and added dozens of classic DC heroes to the rotating roster.
After ‘Unlimited’ ended, the League had more animated adventures in shows like ‘The Batman,’ ‘Young Justice’ and the new ‘Justice League Action,’
not to mention a zillion direct-to-video movies.
Flash! My boy, great to see you!
As far as live-action goes, the last time we saw the League on TV was in, where else, ‘Smallville.’
After Flash and Aquaman showed up in earlier seasons,
the team was officially formed in 2007, and from then on they were all over the show.
We even got a rare out-of-comics appearance from the Justice Society in a two-hour episode written by Geoff Johns.
No more waiting. No more pairing off. We should have stuck together from the beginning.
That wraps it up for TV versions of the ‘Justice League,’
All that’s left are
Movies.
Well, one movie and a film that never got off the ground.
In 2007, hot off the success of ‘Batman Begins,’ Warner Brothers began pre-production on a movie called ‘Justice League: Mortal.’
The script was loosely based on Mark Waid's 'Tower of Babel' storyline,
Where villains hijack Batman’s paranoid contingency plans and use them to take down the team.
None of us would ever do that to you.
Then you're damn fools.
‘Mad Max’ visionary George Miller was hired to direct,
and Warner Brothers rushed the movie through pre-production hoping to avoid an imminent writer’s strike.
They cast pretty much the entire team, including Armie Hammer as Batman, Common as Green
Lantern John Stewart, and Jay Baruchel as the villain, Maxwell Lord from the JLI days.
Fury Road’s Megan Gale was tapped to play Wonder Woman, and even shot a bunch of test photos in her completed costume.
Unfortunately, they couldn’t get the script perfected in time, and the strike ground things to a halt.
WB was still gung-ho on the movie and wanted to release it in 2009,
but plans to film in Miller’s native Australia fell through thanks to issues with red tape and tax loopholes.
It's all about the taxes.
In the meantime, a little movie called called ‘The Dark Knight--’ you guys ever hear of that?
You. Complete. Me.
Well, it became a cultural phenomenon,
so DC changed their minds about releasing a team-up movie with a completely different Batman.
The ‘Justice League’ project was shelved until Nolan’s trilogy ran its course,
but after ‘The Avengers’ paid off Marvel’s shared universe gamble, DC thought 'me too!'
So they made a plan, and put their faith in one man and his mighty sweatpants:
Zack Snyder.
‘Man of Steel’s’ gritty, desaturated vision got a mixed reception from fans,
but DC powered through and followed up with the even more controversial 'Batman v. Superman,'
WHY DID YOU SAY THAT NAME?!
which one-upped Marvel by having their post-credit teaser scene in the middle of the movie.
But if you’re not a fan of the first few DCEU movies, don’t despair.
I've killed things from other worlds before.
Patty Jenkins’ ‘Wonder Woman’ had a whole lot of heart,
and given its success, it looks like ‘Justice League’ is going to shift tone to match the optimistic, fun world she created.
Not to mention the fact that Joss Whedon was brought in to re-work the script and finish the film.
He’s definitely added some much-needed humor to the dour DCEU,
And who better to pull off a superhero team-up movie than the guy who absolutely nailed the very first one?
From campy cartoons to big-budget blockbusters, the Justice League has been part of pop culture for over half a century,
Look out! Here comes the Justice League!
They'll be meeting at the Hall of Justice! Bring all your superheroes!
And today, the stakes have never been higher.
The future of the DCEU depends on the success of this movie,
But if anyone can save the universe, it’s the Justice League.