5 Marvel and DC characters that are not getting their own movie (but they should be)

There are like 50 comic book movies that are coming to our local cinemas between now and 2020. Which some could argue is way too much and is over saturating the market. I am not one of those people. Instead I ask “what about these awesome characters that are being overlooked?” This is the top 5 Comic Book characters that I want to see in stand alone films:

5. Zatanna

Not going to lie, I have a weird crush on
this character

Zatanna is somebody is a strange one. Most people of heard of her because she’s a background character in a lot of TV shows (Smallville, Batman TAS) and has a role in Young Justice but I doubt many people would put her forward to star in her own movie. To all those nay-sayers I say “read Seven Soldiers”. Zatanna is an interesting character because she does not have a secret identity and is entirely Magic based. We know that the DC cinematic universe has magic because Enchantress is in the Suicide Squad (well I suppose we don’t know, they could change the character) so there’s a basis for that sort of power. I’d love a movie based on Seven Soldiers which is dimension hopper that pushes her to the limits. Lacey Chabert voices her in Young Justice and in reality is 32 so could play an adult Zatanna and is already familiar with the character. In fantasy land I’d love Natalie Portman to play her but she’s already tied up as Jane Foster with Marvel.

4. Ms Marvel

If you've not read her current run, I'd strongly
recommend it.

We’re already getting a Captain Marvel film but I’m talking about Carol Danvers, I would love to see a film for Kamala Kahn. She’s a relatively new superhero who is a Muslim Pakistani-American. Thematically the theme of the story is about identity, coming from a mixed background she struggles with her heritage and growing up in a western country. She is a polymorph with a healing factor. Similarly to Antman she’d be a lesser known hero (most people think of Danvers when you say Ms Marvel) and I’d like it to be much of a ground level film, where it’s a personal battle rather than the end of the world. I honestly have no idea who you’d cast in this role but I’m sure Marvel could pull it out of the bag. She would add some much needed diversity to the MCU and would be a different kind of character than they already have on the roster.

3. Nightwing

I would put a Dick joke here, but I'm totally
above that.

This is probably the most clamoured for movie on the list and I’ve even done a blog on it previously. Although that blog focused on a Nightwing blog in the Nolanverse, this one is about a film in the new DC cinematic universe so hopefully I won’t be repeating myself. Dick Grayson is an acrobat trained by Batman so a street-level martial arts based film, similar to the Netflix Daredevil show. Except instead of the serious Matt Murdoch you get the wise cracking Dick Grayson, in the right hands it could be a good, funny and gritty action film. With Jason Todd assumed dead based on the Batman vs Superman trailers it is fair to assume that NIghtwing has taken his place as the guardian of Bludhaven and there’s a good chance he’ll appear in the cinematic universe anyway, but a solo film based in Bludhaven without Batman drawing centre stage would be something different than what is likely to come with the current run of films. Casting wise there is a lot of articles out there speculating on who they want as Nightwing, I would personally like somebody who can do his own stunts so you don’t have to rely on wide shots or stun doubles or (god forbid) CGI.

2.  Martian Manhunter

He's a mean, green, super-powered machine
(he's not really that mean, nor is he a machine)

Definitely the weirdest sell in this list and probably the biggest risk as it could be fairly difficult to get a mainstream audience on board with this one (probably the reason DC do not have them in their current crop). Due to the nature of the character you’d probably have to do an origin story (because we don’t have enough of those) because Martian Manhunter is somebody you really have to explain “he’s an alien that can transform into everything, can fly and is quick and is super strong… also he’s green and really doesn’t like fire”. Difficult concept to grasp quickly. The Manhunter would expand the cosmic in the DC Universe and show audiences that “wait not all good aliens look like us”. This movie would be heavily reliant on CGI so an amazing special effects team would be key.

1. The Punisher

A guy...with a gun.... who punishes people...

This is a property that has been done over and over again and has been done wrong every. Single. Time. But then there was a fan film that was awesome (which you should all watch by the way). In reality this is the simplest product you could ever make. Cast a bad arse, give him a bad arse gun and let him shoot at stuff and take down The Kingpin. The problem with the films we’ve had is they try to focus on a love story too much, which is completely unnecessary.  The Daredevil TV show has cast Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead) as the Punisher and honestly I haven’t watched enough of The Walking Dead to know if he’s a good actor. Maybe that will be really good and he could possibly get a spin off show if the role is popular (similar to The Flash on CW) but I would still like to see a rated R violent Punisher movie (we’re getting a rated R Deadpool but this would be completely different).

Avengers: Age of Ultron

To celebrate Age of Ultron being released on Blu Ray and DVD (and amazon accidentally sending mine a day early), I’ve decided to talk about it. (Yes I’m aware it’s 6 months too late for anybody to care, and no, I don’t care), since it’s out on Blu Ray I’m going to talk about the plot and character in detail so consider this a spoiler warning.

This is your spoiler alert. Spoilers for Age of Ultron and some other MCU films.

We start the movie off with the Avengers avenging as they storm a base of some kind looking for Loki’s Sceptre because Hydra have gotten their hands on it somewhere between the end of Avengers and whatever film that end of credits scene with Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) are in (according to Google this would be Winter Soldier). Now the first sequence of this movie I thought was a little disappointing, I thought the opening action scene was a little disjointed and was basically used to set up the movie.  . It shows that Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) as the leader, they use Scarlet Witch to bring Tony Stark’s  (Robert Downey Junior) fears to the forefront of his mind (and helps us to understand why he wants to build Ultron), it shows the relationships have developed, it shows that they've been doing this sort of thing for a while and it introduces two new charterers. While it wasn't bad per say, I just think they could have done it better. The lullaby was a good way to see that Banner (Mark Ruffalo) and Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson) have become close between films and sets the basis for their relationship.We also see that they are actually pretty awesome. Quicksilver is super quick (shocking, he also has a silver look) and Scarlet Witch has… vague powers (mind and telekinetic power).

*Picture also demonstrates Quicksilver being quick

That opening scene is basically the only major problem I have with the film. Honestly, I just loved the film, I was half-expecting a rehash of the original Avengers film (after all it did make a butt load of money, and who doesn’t like money). But I was pleasantly surprised, although some parts were the same (Ultron bots vs Chitauri soldiers, who wins the generic army off?) there was much more heart in this film than the first. I know a lot of people had a problem with the Black Widow-Banner relationship, but I really didn’t (go team Brutasha! Or team…Bulk?). They established that they’ve grown closer with the lullaby and in the Quinjet after, so it didn’t come out of nowhere for me. I loved the scene at the bar and the scene between them at the safe house, unfortunately we all knew this particular arc was doomed to be a sad ending

What's a guy like you doing reading a blog like this?
#TeamBrutasha

Also, despite Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) being the butt of everybody’s jokes (you’re less useful than a guy with a bow and arrow in a space war! Haha, good one Aziz) I thought he was the best (and most relatable) character in this thing. The story arc with him and his secret family is good and I’m really glad they didn’t go the Hawkeye-Black Widow relationship route, they make really good friends and I like their relationship as it is. Tony Stark and Captain America are basically what you would expect from them. Tony Stark is a sarcastic genius constantly making witty remarks, Captain American is the boy scout of them team (the Leonardo of the team if you will) and they constantly bicker like an old married couple. (There is A LOT of set up for Civil War in this film). Even though Tony Stark is the focal point of the plot (creating both Vision and Ultron), he’s honestly fairly understated. Thor (Chris Helmsworth) also does not do much more than what we’d expect him to, he kicks arse, he gets involved in the more mystical element of it all and he makes me feel inadequate as a man. The scene where he and Selvig go to the pool has an extended version in the deleted scenes and honestly I wish they’d included it because it goes into more detail about where they are and what they are looking for. Honestly it just seems like he disappears for a large chunk of the movie and adding the full scene could have helped, but I suppose they were trying the let some of the smaller characters shine.

 

Chris Helmsworth making me feel like less of a man.
You're welcome ladies

Another thing I liked (this is quickly turning into me rambling on about the stuff I liked about this movie… ah well) is the new cast. I’ve already touched on Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, but I really like their dynamic, you by them as twins and you buy their closeness, when Quicksilver dies you see the pain in Scarlet Witch, her powers just explode with pure emotion, the Ultron bots around her just disintegrate and she rips out the main Ultron’s robot heart out. You really feel for this woman. Quicksilver is just annoying-charming enough to not grate on you, especially when it comes to Hawkeye.  James Spader as Ultron is brilliant as well. He is much more of a threat than Loki ever was but he still has his funny moments (especially when he’s just frustrated with puny humans). My favourite of the new cast is definitely Vision (Paul Bettany). Vision being “born” was a really quiet and quite a beautiful scene with the tension the Avengers are felling plus him essentially coming into existence. When a baby is born they don’t have the capacity to fathom what’s happening around them, but with Vision he’s super intelligent and can go through a ridiculous amount of data instantly, it’s a lot to process and the scene does convey this (I think the reason Ultron is bad and Vision is good is because Ultron made the mistake of visiting 4chan but Vision stayed clear). When Vision lifted Mjolnir you could hear the entire screenings shock when I watched it in the cinema (at this point I was like “I hope he hits something with the hammer” and he totally hit Ultron with the hammer, it was awesome). Vision really showed that he’s in a different league than the Avengers (when Cap said “let’s whip them into shape” and Vision was one of them it was kind of ridiculous, Vision would kill Captain America in 5 seconds if he wanted to). The only worry have is if he’s doomed to die, we know they’re doing Infinity Gauntlet so Thanos gets the Mind gem, so is basically going to rip it from Vision’s head?

She's sexy, she kick arse.
What more can you ask for?

The story is solid as well, it’s not the best part of the film but it doesn’t get in the way of the film. The characters carry the film and elevate it in my opinion. The story is pretty much what you’d expect from a Marvel film and centres around another of the infinity stones (not explaining them here, Google it), but this doesn’t take away from the experience in the slightest. This film is really a bigger film than the Avengers. The stakes seem so much higher. He seemed like a greater threat and it was a case of “if the avengers mess up billions would die” but in the first movie I didn’t really feel that way (I’d also like to point out they focused on keeping civilians safe despite the end of world being a threat, unlike one particular DC film).

*cough*ManOfSteel*cough*

I honestly don’t know if I enjoyed this film more than the first Avengers, I was surprised by being less interested in Stark and Rogers than the rest of them, they were more understated and the most predictable that the rest of the case. And I’m honestly surprised how little I’ve mentioned them in this review (less a review and more of a fangasm if I’m honest). I pre-ordered it on Blu Ray and paid to see it twice in the cinema. I can’t really give it a bigger endorsement as that.  

4 Elseworld Stories that DC should make into films

DC is arriving pretty late to the movie and Marvel is leaps and bounds ahead. They already have an established universe and (mainstream) audience. So, DC needs to quickly establish themselves as different to Marvel and appeal to audience. But forget about that nonsense, here’s some elseworld stories that I think DC should make as completely separate to their “cinematic universe”, which means different actors, different directors and different tones that does not need to fit in with the main story lines. Would this be successful to a mainstream audience? Maybe. But I don’t care, as a comic fan I would really like to see these stories in a live action film.  So here’s a list of stories that would make no sense in the cinematic universe they are going for but I want them anyway. Also they’re in no particular order. As a sidenote, I love all these books so you should check them out if you’ve never read them (they’re all fairly cheap on comixology). Sidenote number two, yes some of the actors I suggest make no sense but this is my fantasy and I don’t care. Also, I’d love to see a Dark Knight Returns movie directed by Tim Burton, starring Michael Keaton as old Batman and Mark Hamill as the Joker, but that is more of a “special mention”

Gotham by Gaslight

Batman vs Jack the Ripper. Because why not?

The story of this comic is essentially “what if Bruce Wayne was around in the Victorian Era and what if Jack the Ripper followed Bruce Wayne to Gotham”. This would be a very cool visual film, and would be great to be directed by somebody like Michael Mann. This is also a bit of a “year one” story line as Bruce Wayne has just finished travelling and has returned to Gotham to start his crusade. As Bruce Wayne arrives in Gotham so does the Ripper, naturally suspicion lands on Bruce Wayne as they arrive at the same time. You could have somebody like Finn Wittrock (American Horror Story), who is a relative unknown play “20s Bruce Wayne” or even Aaron Tveit (Les Miserables). Although they are unknowns they are both theatre actors so they’ve both got the chops for the role.

Aaron Tveit: Alright, you might
have to trust me on this one.

I have to admit I find Jack the Ripper fascinating and adding that sort of mystery to the story would be interesting.  It’d have a great Film Noir vibe and somebody like Michael Mann would add a real atmosphere to it.

Flashpoint Paradox

Let time travel nonsense ensue 

Flashpoint is the story where The Flash goes back in time to change a certain event (I won’t spoil it) and there’s a butterfly effect which leads to the entire world changing. Basically, Atlantis is at war with Themyscira, Batman is Thomas Wayne (and just kills a bunch of people with a gun) and Superman is nowhere to be seen. There’s a lot of story to unpack in this universe so a talented director and screenwriter would be required. There is an animated movie about this story but honestly it feels a little rushed and I think a live action film could be amazing.  Honestly I love Grant Gustin as Barry Allen and The Flash and I’d love to see him in this, Ryan Gosling would be a good Aquaman and Jeffrey Dean Morgan would be an excellent Thomas Wayne Batman (he’s playing Thomas Wayne in Batman vs Superman). Also, Antje Traue would make an excellent Wonder Woman and I feel she was wasted in Man of Steel.

 

I wouldn't mess with her...

This could be a strange, complicated time travel movie that would have amazing action sequences and a very different take on the DC universe. Out of the four this is the only one that could potentially feature in the actual DC universe due to the ending but I seriously doubt it ever will.

Superman Red Son

The premise of this story is “what if Superman landed in the Soviet Union instead of the Kent’s farm. Superman becomes Stalin’s Cold War weapon and heir to Stalin’s communist empire. This book surprisingly doesn’t go for obvious, in your face “capitalism good, communism bad” message, when I read it I saw no clear “good guy”, “bad guy”. The American’s commissioning Lex Luthor to create something to kill Superman and eventually Stalin dies and Superman succeeds him and creates a world utopia (excluding Chile and the United States). Meanwhile Batman is leading a “terrorist” anti-superman organisation and Lex Luthor is still trying to kill Superman. Casting wise, I’d have Armie Hammer as Superman, Joel Edgerton as Batman and Bryan Cranston as Lex Luthor. Again there’s a lot to fit in and it could be done really really bad, but in the hands of a talented director it could be amazing.  

You all know you were disappointed
 when this didn't happen

Batman & Dracula: Red Rain

This story is Batman vs Dracula. Need I say more? It’s an awesome concept. There’s one line the comic which just sums up batman. Somebody says that some people worship batman and his response is, “some people worship money, but it seldom improves their life, nor does the money care”. Basically Batman does not care that he’s worshiped and it’s not going to stop him kicking arse. There's a strange take on it where Batman doesn't know what he's fighting at first then doesn't believe what he's fighting to be true. It could be directed by James Wan (furious 7, saw, insidious), who could create a good atmosphere as well as ridiculous action. Wan creates atmosphere in his horror films and Furious 7 (even though I’m not a fan) shows he CAN do action. I don’t really know what else to say about this. Batman could be played by any of the Batman’s I’ve already mentioned and I think James Wan would do an awesome job. 

Fantastic Four: A mess of potential and failure (spoiler free)

The production of this movie was a complete mess of reshoots, studio interference and script rewrites. It seemed like every piece of news that came out was met with outrage and annoyance (Black Jonny Storm, Victor Domachev and Dr Doom being a blogger just to name a few), but I honestly don’t care about that, let’s talk about the final film and what came of it.

Abandon all hope, ye who enter here

First things first, the casting, this movie had such an amazing (admittedly older than they’re supposed to be) cast, Miles Teller (Whiplash) starred as Reed Richards, Michael B Jordan (Chronicle) is a controversial casting of Johnny Storm, Kate Mara (House of Cards) is Susan Storm, Jamie Bell (something, probably) stars as Ben Grimm and Toby Kebell (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) as Dr Doom. I say Jamie Bell stars, but in reality he’s barely in it and disappears for about half the movie all appearing to text Richards, I assume to prove that their bromance is legendary. I know that Michael B Jordan’s casting was controversial due to the colour of his skin pigment, if you are one of the people that were upset, shut up, if Stan Lee is okay with it you should be too, and Michael B Jordan is the best part of this mess. He was charming as hell and the 2 times I laughed in this film was because of him. Teller, Jordan and Mara work well together and when the script allows they have good chemistry. They are by far the best part of this film and this is the main reason I left the cinema feeling disappointed and annoyed. With such a great cast, it had the opportunity to be an amazing and different comic book movie, but it failed, it failed miserably.

"I created the charectar and I think it's okay,
but your opinion matters too random angry person"

The plot of the film is basically the three smart Fantastic Fourers plus Dr Doom create a way to travel to an alternative dimension they name “Planet Zero” (I assume because the Negative Zone is still owned by Marvel), the Fantastic Four then travel to said dimension and things go horribly wrong and they all mutate and get horrific powers, the rest of the film is them adapting to the change before Dr Doom tries to take over the world and what not. The plot of the film is fine, it’s basically the origins of the Fantastic Four from the Ultimate universe, despite us not really needing another superhero origin story (previous Fantastic 4, 2 Spidermans, Man of Steel, Captain America, Iron Man, Ant Man) it could have been a solid story if it was executed well.

However, it was not executed well. Even a little bit. This film is perhaps the worst paced film I’ve ever watched and the movie has no idea what it wants to be. The first third of the film is a fun science romp, it then turns into a weird body dysmorphia film similar to the fly and then it turns into your typical comic book action movie. I have no idea who this film is for, it’s not really for children (despite it’s 12A rating it’s still fairly bloody and the casts’ body changes are fairly graphic and distrubing), yet the overall “teamwork” message of the film comes off as fairly simplistic and childish. The action sequence is a mess as well. There is one “real” action scene and it takes place in “Planet Zero” and even though the Earth is threatened I just feel like there’s no stakes what so ever. When I was watching the action sequence it felt like the fight you normally get in the middle of the film and I expected them to have a final fight in New York, but the film just kind of… ends, I expected it to be at least another 20 or 30 minutes longer and I felt like I had watched (and paid full price for) half a film.

Yeah, you smile now...

The noise from the production of this film seems to suggest there was a lot of studio interference and there is clearly just huge amounts of reshoots (Kate Mara’s hair literally changes shot to shot) and there is clear changes from the trailers and the original plot. I feel like this original script would have been a good movie and the studio reacting to angry people on twitter have ruined it. So instead of fixing the real problems they fixed the shallow issues with the film (they changed Dr Doom’s name back, but decided not to fix the weird pacing of the film). This really bothered me because it could have been a very different comic book movie, and we really need a different type of comic book movie before the market gets stale. 

Have I mentioned how hot Kate Mara is? I feel like I should.
And by hot I mean i respect her as an actress and a woman, of course

So despite me really wanting to like this film I hated it. To be clear though, it is not as bad as everybody is saying it is, it feels like there was a good film and somebody took a sledge hammer to it and half-arsed putting it back together. This film stinks of wasted potential and I left the cinema disappointed. I cannot justify spending any money of this, so like watch it on Netflix when it comes on or something... You'll regret paying for it. Trust me, I did.