With news that we're getting a Justice League Dark movie in the future, people all over have been fan-casting their own JLD teams. But, since I'm kind of "that guy who loves weird and obscure comic book characters", I figured I could balance the obvious choices for this film with some less straightforward ones. So let's open the curtains of the House of Mystery and take a deep look into the darker corners of the DCU. Welcome to the twilight zone, the outer limits, the vault of horror. Turn on the lights and see what's hiding in the shadows. Starting with"¦
Source: screenrant.com
10. The Enchantress
So I didn't exactly enjoy Suicide Squad, but I thought the characters in the film were definitely salvageable. While Enchantress was supposedly killed off at the end of her introductory film, we all know no one stays dead in these movies.
Bringing the Enchantress back in a form where June Moon has more control over her powers would be a great way to throw in an existing character to flesh out the lineup.
A poor soul trying her best to redeem herself while wielding the power of a mystical force for evil? That sounds like the big gun a superteam needs, with the right amount of complexity thrown in to keep her interesting to watch.
Plus, it'd set up an instant conflict among the team as they struggle to trust her. If all goes well, she'll be a part of a much better team (and a much better movie) than her last onscreen appearance.
Source: dc.wikia.com
9. Blue Devil
Every team needs a fun guy to pump up the enjoyment level for everybody else. Dan Cassidy could be that guy.
A stuntman and special effects wizard, Cassidy was hired to play the lead in a new film about a monster called the Blue Devil. To do so, he built a high tech costume full of gimmicks and special effects trickery. But when a demon named Nebiros was freed during filming (this is the DC Universe, stuff like that happens) Dan had the costume magically made a part of his own body. Looking like a demon, but being otherwise unfamiliar with the world of magic, Dan took to superheroing with a sarcastic nonbeliever streak for a time.
A normal dude, unfamiliar with the occult, would provide an excellent audience surrogate for a movie full of necessary exposition. Plus, dude looks cool as hell too. Great visual design to add to a group lineup.
Plus, he'd make an AWESOME foil for"¦
Source: killermovies.com
8. Zauriel
Grant Morrison's JLA run is one of the best of all time. If you haven't read it, do.
One of the only original JLA members in that series, Zauriel is an actual angel. With a fire sword. Rad, right? Being one of the highest powered characters on this list would give Zauriel a position as team powerhouse, but it's his personality that I find most interesting.
Zauriel is a kind, heroic soul, which I doubt would make him an easy friend to the rest of the team. Just imagining how a bitter, jaded jerk like John Constantine would react to a glowing angel from heaven makes me giggle. Zauriel could also provide the strongest support for Enchantress's turn to good, being the literal angel on her shoulder.
And if you don't think it'd be a ton of fun to watch Zauriel and Blue Devil argue about how to approach a combat situation, you don't have an appreciation for charmingly on the nose visual comedy.
Source: screenrant.com
7. Deadman
Holy hell, I love Deadman.
How Deadman hasn't been adapted into three TV shows, a movie, and a video game already, I'll never know. Boston Brand was a circus acrobat with a specialization in death-defying activities. One night, he was gunned down in the middle of his act and died on the spot. His ghost, however, was forced to stick around.
Boston decided to use his new abilities to possess the living to seek out his killer, righting wrongs along the way. Typically, most people cannot see or hear Brand when he isn't possessing a body, but since we have a team of magic users, they shouldn’t have any trouble with that. Except maybe Blue Devil. But then, having one character who can't see him would make for some pretty great moments.
Boston's humor is especially dry, and his penchant for joyriding in the bodies of others makes him a great team player and an even better character.
Source: dccomics.com
6. Zatanna
I hope no one's surprised by this entry, because you shouldn't be.
Zatanna rocks, and having her on a major movie superteam would be super cool. The daughter of a magician turned hero, Zatanna Zatara grew up wanting to learn magic and heroism. She mastered both, and went on to become a Justice Leaguer and one of the most notable magic practitioners in the DCU.
Plus, she’s a great romantic foil for Batman so we can avoid the whole "Batman and Wonder Woman should date" thing, which has been played out for almost a decade now. Introducing her in this film so she can eventually join up with the JLA in the future is a brilliant move. She could also function as team leader, which would be pretty cool. She's easily the most qualified, and we haven't seen a major superteam led by a woman yet, so that'd be a sweet change of pace.
Zatanna for life.
Source: comicvine.gamespot.com
5. Dr. Fate
We sure aren't getting a Justice Society movie any time soon, but that doesn't mean all those assorted characters have to stay locked in the toy box forever.
And the one I'll pull out for this list is the cold, inhuman, seemingly all powerful Dr. Fate. I may have left Fate off my list of favorite JSA members, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a definite place in my heart.
Archaeologist Kent Nelson discovered the magical Helmet of Fate, powered by the ancient Egyptian mysticism of Nabu. But whenever he puts the helmet on, Nelson goes away, replaced by the being known as Fate. The good doctor would also make for a great team powerhouse, and could easily sub for Enchantress if needed. He would even have the same arc of trying to gain control over his powers and persona without losing himself.
Fate is great, and a big screen version of the classic hero would be a welcome addition to the team.
Source: superheroes.wikia.com
4. Frankenstein
Yes, this is the DCU one whose name ACTUALLY IS Frankenstein. So please take your "Frankenstein is the name of the doctor" comments and bring them back to 1983 when they were original.
So Frankenstein is the perfect, seemingly immortal, soldier to act as the team's resident bruiser. Grumpy, grouchy, and prone to cut things he dislikes in half, Frank would easily be the best depiction of the classic monster we've seen onscreen in a long time.
A world-weary grumpus, Frankenstein feels perfectly suited to a team of sky's-the-limit magic users. Everybody needs someone around to ground them, and if that someone is a hundreds of years old monster with a penchant for stabbing, that sure would make for a great movie.
Also, throwing a creature brought to life by science into a team of magicians is a great balancer for some of the weirder stuff this movie will need to show.
Source: cuttingedge.be
3. Black Orchid
Told ya I'd have some weird picks for this one.
But yeah, I recently got a chance to read Neil Gaiman's Black Orchid, and oh, my god, does it feature an incredible character. The Black Orchid was the reincarnation of a murdered superhero, born of plant life as a new being struggling to find her place in the world. She's typically non-violent and caring, which makes her a very different type of character for the DCEU. I previously mentioned that Blue Devil could play the role of audience surrogate, but Orchid could do the same job even better.
For those who don't know, an audience surrogate is a character who is newly introduced to the world of the movie, and is therefore the one to whom the more experienced characters have to explain everything. In movies, characters like these are used so that the movie can deliver exposition to the audience without it seeming clunky and unnecessary.
Orchid, as this newly born creature struggling to discover the world around her and her own identity, would be an amazing character to bring into the very complex world needed for a JLD film.
Source: dccomics.com
2. Swamp-Thing
WARNING: The Top 2 are gonna be thuddingly obvious choices. Sorry about that.
The Swamp-Thing is a perfect choice for a movie like this. A wise and inhuman creature, the thing that was once Alec Holland (or wasn't, depending on which version they pick) is a great addition to an expansive team of heroes. Especially if he's the being who assembles the team.
Heck, if anybody's gonna notice a magical crisis in the making, it'd be the guy tied in with all of the natural world, right? Can you imagine him reaching out to all corners of the world to bring together the greatest magic users and mysterious horrors of the world like some sort of all-knowing, leafy Nick Fury?
Plus, if we're throwing Black Orchid on the team, Swamp-Thing would be the perfect mentor for her. I don't know if I'd put him on the field team, since he might actually be too powerful, but operating as the JLD's version of Zordon from Power Rangers? I could get behind that.
Source: pastemagazine.com
1. John Constantine
Told ya these two were gonna be embarrassingly obvious.
I loves me some John Constantine. Seriously, those Garth Ennis-written Hellblazer trades are hella good, pun intended. Especially "Dangerous Habits" and "Royal Blood". And a team of DC magical characters would be woefully incomplete without the resident charming rogue of that world.
The one thing I would stress is that John should NOT be team leader. Make Zatanna team leader, have John as the snarky jerk who's always disagreeing with her. Constantine is not a team player, and that's part of what makes him fun. So giving him too much responsibility too quickly strips him of his ability to play around and have a bit of fun before stuff gets serious. But as the cocky lout who's always talking his way out of danger, he'd make a great character to pop up in a movie. But make sure to get him right this time. We're going on two misguided adaptations, and if we screw up our third, we might not get another.
And so there we go, that's my list! Got your own? Let me know in the comments. Who else would you include? This is just my personal preference, and I didn't even get around to Detective Chimp.
Consider him number 11.
