Okay, hoof! Last time we're doing this. Shortest version: Batman and his people have too many upcoming films and DC has plenty of other comic book characters who work on a movie screen. So here we go, ten more DC properties that need a movie more than Batman!
Static Shock
Both on page and on TV, Static has captured attention because he's a hero we don't see often. An African-American teenaged superhero who's home is riddled with gangs and who's family is missing a mother. You could basically make a down-to-Earth street gang film where the main character has to overcome his fears of fellow gang members and use his powers for good. This could be a great presentation of a struggle that still happens today. Plus, with his mother dying during gang riots, him getting his powers during a gang riot, and him being a inner city black kid? The drama writes itself. You can get away with subject matter here you couldn't on a cartoon. Did you know his friend Richie is gay? He is! Make a movie about this guy!
The Spectre
FOX thinks "New Mutants" will be the comic book horror movie to split the genre, but The Spectre has so much more to offer. He used to be a police detective murdered by criminals, but he was chosen as the Spirit of God's Wrath to get revenge on all criminals. So you make a paranormal mystery flick. Like, there is a group of young ghost investigators who stumble across the ghost of a dead cop, maybe killed by some corrupt cops ten years ago. The dead cop comes back as The Spectre and kills his former coworkers while avoiding the investigators and maybe there's some exorcist like John Constantine or Zatanna to try to capture The Spectre. It's a great mix of modern horror films and the slasher films of old, while also painting the horrific spirit as a tragic anti-hero.
Supergirl
Look, I know "Arrow" can be ignored when working on a Green Arrow film, I've been ignoring it for the past five years and I haven't even written a Green Arrow dialog yet, but the "Supergirl" show is too good to ignore. If there's a movie it can't even be close to what Supergirl does so you have to get weird and different. So maybe you a Supergirl film where she ends up on another planet, or she trapped by Brainiac and has to escape, or she goes to the Bottled City of Kandor and has to raise a revolution against Brainiac. Or you go the obvious origin story route, get Superman and Batman and do the Supergirl origin Jeph Loeb wrote, the one adapted into "Batman/Superman: Apocalypse". That even has Wonder Woman and Darkseid in it. Portray Supergirl as the first teen hero of this universe. Or portray her as the cosmic equivalent to Superman. Portray a something, or nothing, she doesn't owe you a damn thing.
Swamp Thing
Guillermo del Toro. Not enough? A scientist turns him into a swamp monster and become intimately connected to the plants of the Earth. He hooks up with the descendent of a satanist who comes back as a monster who rots the world. Monsters, disturbing imagery, this is one of those horrors that scary, but not meant to scare or shock. It's a disturbing story that stars Earth's life given physical form. And Swamp Thing's powers are ripe for awesome special effects and great CGI. But again, get del Toro. If he isn't busy with one of the one thousand projects.
Teen Titans
F#$king duh! Where did a sidekicks go in this world? To build a team. Where did the first Robin go? To build a team. Where do we stick Cyborg? On a different team! My idea-one I've thought of for a long time-you have Dick Grayson put in a situation where he has to work with Cyborg The Justice Leaguer, Beast Boy the superpowered teen, the alien Starfire, and the demon-daughter Raven because there's an alien or something. Grayson has to get over his problems with Batman and evolve the Robin mantle into Nightwing. He comes out of retirement to teach this new generation of heroes what justice means. If you can't use Cyborg, use Bunker. He's gay, he's hispanic, he has cool powers. This would be the best way to use The Teen Titans, establish sidekicks, and have them in this universe.
The Titans
I guess my last idea was kind of a fusion of the Teen Titans and The Titans, but years down the line when you actually have sidekicks, just have them age to adulthood and see how the lives of the heroes have changed. Like, Roy Harper had a drug stint, and Aqualad learned magic, and Donna Troy learned she wasn't a real person. Have it be a reunion, a "getting the band back together" of superhero movies because an old foe has returned like Deathstroke or Mister Twister. For real, The Teen Titans are littered with legacy and development that would pay off in spades in a film format.
Vixen
First of all: Black, female superhero. Second, she runs a modelling agency so her costume being revealing would make sense. And third, she has the powers of every animal ever! If a creative team were to be put onto a Vixen film it would not only be insanely unique, but it would also be a step in the right direction for culturally diverse superhero films. She was born in Africa so the setting is different, you could mention other animal based characters like B'wanna Beast and Animal Man. Being able to go full tilt into the possibilities of a character so different and empowering would really score respect from old and new fans alike.
Warlord
This might be the weirdest idea, but Warlord used to be a US Air Force pilot. During a flight his plane crashed into this hole that led to the center of the Earth. And wouldn't you know it, there was an entire world down there. A world not unlike "Masters of The Universe". It is there this pilot falls in love with the native princess, befriends fellow warriors, and adopts the title Skartaris' defender, The Warlord. With his main foe being an evil sorcerer and his military experience strengthening this underground world, The Warlord is basically every modern fantasy movie. With such a basic premise a lot could be done to modernize and expand on this series. It would feel less like a superhero film and more like an action adventure series, a fusion of "The Phantom" and "Indiana Jones" and "Star Wars" and other film properties people like.
Young Justice
As if all my other DC sidekick ideas weren't enough, what if this team of teenaged heroes came from the future? That could be neat. Maybe Young Justice could be a film including The Justice League and this version of The Teen Titans and the whole film could explore how and why The League would ever take on sidekicks. Seeing Batman be over protective of this new Robin, seeing Superman question Superboy's creation, and having The Flash try and keep up with Impulse. Could be fun, could keep the cast large, but minimal, and having it be a light treading of these teams existing in the same world.
Zatanna
Hey, Wonder Woman was pretty great. Now imagine if it was also Harry Potter. Zatanna is a great secondary female hero to make bank off of. We're not just talking about her on a Justice League Dark film or paired with Constantine, just her alone is fun. Maybe she goes looking for her missing dad and stumbles upon some dark magical conspiracy. Her powers are basically as limitless as your imagination, she has a fun personality and background, and the kind of paranormal situations she deals with would really make her entertaining on screen. Just imagine some witty, fun actress playing opposite a giant demon who wants to steal her soul, but knows he doesn't stand a chance. Zatanna is one of those characters who is different enough, but fits perfectly in this universe.
Wow, okay. Didn't think I'd get this far, but yeah. That was fifty comic book properties DC and Warner could make films out of without Batman. And if I've learned anything from this it's that Warner is really lazy. Like, even Warlock has decades of material to work off of, but you'd rather put Batman on it and call it a day? Someone really needs to warn a brother.
Thanks for reading!
Static Shock
Both on page and on TV, Static has captured attention because he's a hero we don't see often. An African-American teenaged superhero who's home is riddled with gangs and who's family is missing a mother. You could basically make a down-to-Earth street gang film where the main character has to overcome his fears of fellow gang members and use his powers for good. This could be a great presentation of a struggle that still happens today. Plus, with his mother dying during gang riots, him getting his powers during a gang riot, and him being a inner city black kid? The drama writes itself. You can get away with subject matter here you couldn't on a cartoon. Did you know his friend Richie is gay? He is! Make a movie about this guy!
The Spectre
FOX thinks "New Mutants" will be the comic book horror movie to split the genre, but The Spectre has so much more to offer. He used to be a police detective murdered by criminals, but he was chosen as the Spirit of God's Wrath to get revenge on all criminals. So you make a paranormal mystery flick. Like, there is a group of young ghost investigators who stumble across the ghost of a dead cop, maybe killed by some corrupt cops ten years ago. The dead cop comes back as The Spectre and kills his former coworkers while avoiding the investigators and maybe there's some exorcist like John Constantine or Zatanna to try to capture The Spectre. It's a great mix of modern horror films and the slasher films of old, while also painting the horrific spirit as a tragic anti-hero.
Supergirl
Look, I know "Arrow" can be ignored when working on a Green Arrow film, I've been ignoring it for the past five years and I haven't even written a Green Arrow dialog yet, but the "Supergirl" show is too good to ignore. If there's a movie it can't even be close to what Supergirl does so you have to get weird and different. So maybe you a Supergirl film where she ends up on another planet, or she trapped by Brainiac and has to escape, or she goes to the Bottled City of Kandor and has to raise a revolution against Brainiac. Or you go the obvious origin story route, get Superman and Batman and do the Supergirl origin Jeph Loeb wrote, the one adapted into "Batman/Superman: Apocalypse". That even has Wonder Woman and Darkseid in it. Portray Supergirl as the first teen hero of this universe. Or portray her as the cosmic equivalent to Superman. Portray a something, or nothing, she doesn't owe you a damn thing.
Swamp Thing
Guillermo del Toro. Not enough? A scientist turns him into a swamp monster and become intimately connected to the plants of the Earth. He hooks up with the descendent of a satanist who comes back as a monster who rots the world. Monsters, disturbing imagery, this is one of those horrors that scary, but not meant to scare or shock. It's a disturbing story that stars Earth's life given physical form. And Swamp Thing's powers are ripe for awesome special effects and great CGI. But again, get del Toro. If he isn't busy with one of the one thousand projects.
Teen Titans
F#$king duh! Where did a sidekicks go in this world? To build a team. Where did the first Robin go? To build a team. Where do we stick Cyborg? On a different team! My idea-one I've thought of for a long time-you have Dick Grayson put in a situation where he has to work with Cyborg The Justice Leaguer, Beast Boy the superpowered teen, the alien Starfire, and the demon-daughter Raven because there's an alien or something. Grayson has to get over his problems with Batman and evolve the Robin mantle into Nightwing. He comes out of retirement to teach this new generation of heroes what justice means. If you can't use Cyborg, use Bunker. He's gay, he's hispanic, he has cool powers. This would be the best way to use The Teen Titans, establish sidekicks, and have them in this universe.
The Titans
I guess my last idea was kind of a fusion of the Teen Titans and The Titans, but years down the line when you actually have sidekicks, just have them age to adulthood and see how the lives of the heroes have changed. Like, Roy Harper had a drug stint, and Aqualad learned magic, and Donna Troy learned she wasn't a real person. Have it be a reunion, a "getting the band back together" of superhero movies because an old foe has returned like Deathstroke or Mister Twister. For real, The Teen Titans are littered with legacy and development that would pay off in spades in a film format.
Vixen
First of all: Black, female superhero. Second, she runs a modelling agency so her costume being revealing would make sense. And third, she has the powers of every animal ever! If a creative team were to be put onto a Vixen film it would not only be insanely unique, but it would also be a step in the right direction for culturally diverse superhero films. She was born in Africa so the setting is different, you could mention other animal based characters like B'wanna Beast and Animal Man. Being able to go full tilt into the possibilities of a character so different and empowering would really score respect from old and new fans alike.
Warlord
This might be the weirdest idea, but Warlord used to be a US Air Force pilot. During a flight his plane crashed into this hole that led to the center of the Earth. And wouldn't you know it, there was an entire world down there. A world not unlike "Masters of The Universe". It is there this pilot falls in love with the native princess, befriends fellow warriors, and adopts the title Skartaris' defender, The Warlord. With his main foe being an evil sorcerer and his military experience strengthening this underground world, The Warlord is basically every modern fantasy movie. With such a basic premise a lot could be done to modernize and expand on this series. It would feel less like a superhero film and more like an action adventure series, a fusion of "The Phantom" and "Indiana Jones" and "Star Wars" and other film properties people like.
Young Justice
As if all my other DC sidekick ideas weren't enough, what if this team of teenaged heroes came from the future? That could be neat. Maybe Young Justice could be a film including The Justice League and this version of The Teen Titans and the whole film could explore how and why The League would ever take on sidekicks. Seeing Batman be over protective of this new Robin, seeing Superman question Superboy's creation, and having The Flash try and keep up with Impulse. Could be fun, could keep the cast large, but minimal, and having it be a light treading of these teams existing in the same world.
Zatanna
Hey, Wonder Woman was pretty great. Now imagine if it was also Harry Potter. Zatanna is a great secondary female hero to make bank off of. We're not just talking about her on a Justice League Dark film or paired with Constantine, just her alone is fun. Maybe she goes looking for her missing dad and stumbles upon some dark magical conspiracy. Her powers are basically as limitless as your imagination, she has a fun personality and background, and the kind of paranormal situations she deals with would really make her entertaining on screen. Just imagine some witty, fun actress playing opposite a giant demon who wants to steal her soul, but knows he doesn't stand a chance. Zatanna is one of those characters who is different enough, but fits perfectly in this universe.
Wow, okay. Didn't think I'd get this far, but yeah. That was fifty comic book properties DC and Warner could make films out of without Batman. And if I've learned anything from this it's that Warner is really lazy. Like, even Warlock has decades of material to work off of, but you'd rather put Batman on it and call it a day? Someone really needs to warn a brother.
Thanks for reading!
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