Are you a DC fan who is frustrated with their cinematic output? You’re not alone.
Babylon 5 creator and prolific writer J. Michael Straczynski feels your pain and recently called out the comic book company and Warner Brothers for fumbling their big screen comic book adaptations.
Speaking to Film Buff Online, JMS expressed frustration that the Flash and Wonder Woman couldn’t get a big-screen adventure out of development hell, and lamented that DC isn’t reaching further down its bench to develop movies.
“I’ve talked to the people at Warner Brothers and said ‘What is wrong with you people?’ They think that they have a very narrow bench -– Superman, Batman and then nobody else. We’re trying to get them to understand that we have a really good bench of characters if you treat them properly,” Straczynski says.
JMS also thinks the reboot of Superman missed the mark this summer, calling it a good film that could have been great.
“I thought [Man of Steel] had one fight more than it should have had,” he says. “And it was a good movie that could have been a great movie had they put more time in on the characters. In the end, I don’t care how good your effects are or the battles or the CGI, if we don’t care about the characters you got nothing and nowhere to go.”
Do you agree with JMS?
Sam Sloan says
October 17, 2013 at 8:20 amOn this subject I agree with JMS 100%.
ditto says
October 22, 2013 at 5:05 pmI don’t think he could have said it any better than he did!
Agreed! 100%!!
Not that WB & DC will listen.
DanVzare says
October 17, 2013 at 8:59 amIt’s about time someone pointed this out. DC is doing a terrible job at trying to compete with Marvel, it’s almost like they’re hoping that if they hire all the wrong people who change all the wrong things, and not make movies of all their other characters, that somehow they’re going to make a Justice League equivalent of The Avengers.
I know that DC Comics is like an opposite to Marvel, but this is ridiculous!
Summer Brooks says
October 17, 2013 at 9:33 amBack when I collected comics, the only DC titles I consistently stuck with were Teen Titans and Green Arrow. I read Huntress for a while, and I even think I picked up some Isis because I was such a geek girl over that old TV show 🙂
I don’t remember a lot of the good characters off the top of my head, but when I look at lists of DC characters, I go “OH YEAH! They’d be good in a movie!”… so maybe the suits at Warners have the same blinders on.
They might want to milk Superman and Batman for all they can because they are known franchises, but I can’t believe no one’s thinking ahead and saying “which character can we create the next franchise with”, because eventually, there will be Superman and Batman oversaturation. Maybe they’re trying it on TV with Green Arrow and Flash, but how in the world can you keep dumping Wonder Woman projects? Seriously?
Alverant says
October 20, 2013 at 8:55 amI think Wonder Woman as a concept has passed its time. It began when women were beginning to get equal rights and move away from “traditional” roles. Today even though women’s right have come far (at least legally) and there’s still more to go (mostly socially), the initial hurdle that WW was created for has long since been cleared. If WW were to be redefined and remade to reflect the problems with modern women it would be seen as preachy and be a turn off for a comic’s target audience. Between that and the history of the character, I think DC should make a new character.
But then I saw what they did with Starfire in the new 52 and decided that wouldn’t turn out well.
Summer Brooks says
October 20, 2013 at 10:40 amI have to disagree. In a world where violence towards women gets treated more and more like “typical” behavior or “boys being boys”, when female rape victims are called “liars” first even when they’re only 12-14 years old, when women of any color get prosecuted & sent to jail for 15 years “standing their ground” against a potential rapist or abusive acquaintance they already have a restraining order against while white men can shoot kids sitting cars in gas stations for playing music too loud or in a car parked on a neighborhood street waiting for their friend to txt them clear directions and get off scott-free, women still got a long way to go in the justice/equality state of affairs.
There need to be more examples of women standing up for themselves as well as fighting for others, that it’s not okay to just take being physically or psychologically abused, or to be told to “relax until it’s over”, or to stay in dangerous situations while waiting for a male hero to come along to save them.
The concept of Wonder Woman should be about far more than rising above being in the kitchen barefoot and pregnant, and if more people don’t understand that, then maybe that’s also part of the problem.
Additionally, I thought the Hawkeye Initiative was a great start to pointing out some of the gender-related “blind spots” in the comics industry. It’s a start, but it’s also another indication of just how far a ways we still have to go to get things better.
Jake says
October 17, 2013 at 5:28 pmI’m so bored with Warner Bros. output in general these days. I understand that It might be difficult to put out a Babylon 5 feature. But putting together a Wonder Woman movie, how hard can that be? And another season of Two and a Half Men? I mean c’mon, man!
Jason Covert says
October 17, 2013 at 6:22 pmThe brilliance of the Marvel movies was that they went with superheroes that hadn’t been on the big screen before (with the exception of The Hulk). Aside from having a long history on the page these Marvel characters when seen on screen were fresh and new. This was one of the biggest reasons Marvel has succeeded. They have managed to make something old new and fresh. DC on the other hand has continued to make movie after movie with characters that have been there and done that before.
But even when they used characters like Dare Devil or Green Lantern the execution was less than ideal. These guys don’t seem to have a plan beyond simply making their money back and turning a profit. Marvel had a big picture view when they began and did everything they could to make their plan work.
It’s beyond me why DC can’t look to Marvel on how to succeed. If any start up studio is more a less overnight success it’s Marvel. These are guys everyone in the movie business should be looking to for inspiration. To recap, they had a plan and they executed with great skill. There is absolutely no reason DC can’t do the same.
Summer Brooks says
October 18, 2013 at 4:01 pmJason, Daredevil is Marvel, Green Lantern is DC. And to be fair, Daredevil was made before the rights reverted back to Marvel Entertainment earlier this year, so maybe that one is on the short list to be rebooted or reimagined and done properly… she says, hoping for a movie teaming up Daredevil and Black Widow.
How cool would a series of direct to video animated features from Marvel be, similar to what DC is doing with their animated home video features. Marvel could rule the roost if they did a series based on their old Marvel Team-Up comic, only they wouldn’t have to lock themselves into the team-ups being Spider-Man with some other Marvel hero… the possible combinations excite me!
Are you listening, Disney? Remember that thing you guys used to rule the world with, 2D animation? How about putting those talents back to use doing direct to video Marvel animated adventures? Why let DC have all the fun (and profit) in that arena?
John W. says
October 17, 2013 at 10:40 pmDC is dropping the ball. They had Joss Whedon in the bag for Wonder Woman and then let him go. Then he goes and does the Avengers. DC had, before Marvel started this run of movies, the most recognizable roster of characters in the world with Justice League, but the just can’t get into gear. Marvel could screw DC over in the movie department by just developing their Justice League analogue Squadron Supreme into a movie. Squadron Supreme has long history to draw from. Their limited series from the ’80 tackled mature stories even before Watchmen did.
Alverant says
October 20, 2013 at 8:46 amThe problem with DC is that only their villains are interesting. With Marvel, the heroes are interesting. If DC made a villain-centeric movie it would do well. DC heroes tend to be 2-dimensional like what we saw in Jesus of Steel. That’s why they should stick with making animated films. They seem to do better there.