Nobody expected Zack Snyder to debut a teaser trailer for Justice League at this year's Comic Con, but it happened. We got our first look at the almost complete roster, save Green Lantern and SHAZAM!. And, pretty much like with everything related to Zack Snyder and the DCEU, this teaser trailer was met with caution.
While it was indeed a great opportunity for the director to make amends with the disgruntled fans, I do believe that more was expected (even if the teaser was a surprise). Thus, I believe that the director should have waited a bit more, until the CGI was perfected and until better and more relevant scenes were completed.
So, we only got scenes focused on Batman - which once again makes me think that Warner Bros. cannot go further without the Caped Crusader in its movies (can't wait to see Wonder Woman!).
On Next Page: Batman’s New Suit!
Batman's New Tactical Suit
But we guess that Zack Snyder has become an expert in teasing and building up the buzz for his upcoming movies. The same pattern is repeated with Justice League, even if the plot details are kept secret, at least until now.
And the suit does look good, resembling the suit worn by Christian Bale in The Dark Knight. It is slick and, as we have heard, it does a much better job at protecting the superhero. Furthermore, unlike the Dark Knight version, this one seems more agile.
And he'll need protection and to be agile, since the rumor is that the Justice League will be fighting Parademons throughout the entire flick.
The goggles are smaller than the ones from the Knightmare. However, they still seem a bit too big. According to the various reports from the set, they will give Batman the classical white glowing looks that the fans have long awaited to see (and that was just teased for a couple of seconds in The Dark Knight).
Check out the pic below:
Will the suit be improved for the Batman solo flick? More than likely. And it isn't as ifBruce Wayne will don just one during Justice League. After all, and especially with Zack Snyder, the suits the superheroes wear are of great importance, since they are used to tease and build up the buzz.
Not another disposable army
The Justice League is very powerful, and its heroes possess numerous and various superpowers. And this means that their first enemy needs to be extremely powerful, as well. Will we get that?
Hopefully we will. However, there is a downside to this. As the visit on the Justice League set has revealed, and as it was hinted in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the Parademons will play an important part in the story. They are, after all, the army of Darkseid, with Steppenwolf being their acting leader.
And this has become tiresome. I do believe that, as it has happened before in another shared universe, we will get another disposable army, in the sense that the Parademons will keep the Justice League busy enough until a final confrontation between their leader and the superheroes. In other words, the Parademon forces will have no impact on the Justice League.
If Green Arrow, by any miracle, appears and goes all Hawkeye against the aliens, I’m not seeing another Zack Snyder flick again.
Can this problem be solved? Yes - but only if Zack Snyder delves into the origin of the monstrous creatures from the new 52. If they are just mindless beasts, we'd get another Chitauri army. However, if they are remolded prisoners of Darkseid and the League knows it, the heroes could at least try to save them.
Even if that isn't possible. Speaking of which"¦
Dark Superman
Well before the shooting of Justice League began, there was a rumor saying that Superman's awakening will be influenced by Darkseid. If this happens, we'll have every chance of seeing a Man of Steel even darker than until now - an evil Superman.
This isn't all. If Superman indeed becomes a villain, there will be a connection established with the Knightmare from Batman v Superman. In this way, one of Batman's fears will become true (and, potentially, lead into a Tower of Babel adaptation). Of course, after squaring off against the Justice League, Superman will become good again. Who knows? Maybe Bruce Wayne will find a way to overcome Darkseid's manipulation of the Kryptonian.
Why do I want to see this happening? Well, besides having a powerful enemy for the Justice League, this will also continue the arc of Clark Kent. Thus, from insecure (Man of Steel) he'll become evil (Justice League), to become in the end the symbol of hope that he never was in the DCEU.
Don't you dig this idea as well?
The detective and tactician
While we caught a glimpse of Batman's tactical prowess, we still haven't seen why he is the world's greatest detective. We actually saw the contrary of that in Batman v Superman, when he failed to find out who Superman's mother was (OMG - and this says something else about his skills, as well). Justice League could do him justice.
Thus, we already know that he is the one to unite the League - as the teaser trailer revealed (of course, it remains to be seen who co-opts Cyborg into the team). So maybe Zack Snyder should spend a couple of minutes describing this facet of the superhero.
And then, of course, he should repeat what he did in Batman v Superman, with even more emphasis - Batman is a tactical genius who can help the League prevail, even if he has no superpowers. As a matter of fact, in a fight against Steppenwolf, Batman should keep aside while the actual superheroes do all the heavy work. He just has to come up with the perfect plan to take down the villain.
The battle commander
If Batman is presented as the tactical genius he is supposed to be, someone should lead the League into the battle. And that someone should be Wonder Woman. Besides being a warrior, having trained for big battles and having fought monsters from other worlds, she needs to prove why she is also a brilliant battle commander.
If Batman comes up with the plan, Wonder Woman needs to be the one to make it happen on the battlefield. She has to be the one who oversees the execution of the plan.
In this way, she'll have an important role in the story, too, as one of the three members of the Trinity. And she will also establish herself as one of the leaders of the Justice League.
In Batman v Superman, we already saw that she helps Bruce Wayne unite the League. In the teaser trailer (besides her superhero shot), we saw Diana Prince in a passive role - asking whether Aquaman joins the team or not. This shouldn't be her entire role in the movie.
She needs to be the icon she is in the comics. After all, someone needs to keep the jokers of the team in check during the battles.
Torn between two worlds
I hear you can talk to fish - Bruce Wayne nailed it here, even if the majority of the fans disapprove. Jason Momoa's Aquaman is a total beast, the Superman of the seas he was meant to be. Throwing this line is not just a nod to the comics, but also a means to joke at the naysayers' expense. No, Aquaman cannot actually talk to fish - but he can influence them.
Thus, the teaser trailer reveals that the King of Atlantis is also, in part, a surface dweller. And, as such, he aids the humans in what seems to him the best way possible. He arrives during the king tide and brings fish to the hungry people.
We still don't know anything about the Aquaman solo flick. But Justice League should present Arthur Curry as being torn between Atlantis and the Surface. Justice League should present him as pissed off about the World Engine devastation from Man of Steel, but also compassionate about the surface world's fate. Justice League should make the Aquaman solo flick a must see.
Perfect balance between action and comedy
What seemed very off with the Justice League trailer was the attempt at being funny. The muted tones were kept (which is great, since it shows continuity from the same director), but the humor didn't work at times. Plus, it seemed as if Warner Bros. (and Zack Snyder, for that matter) was trying too hard.
A balance needs to be found. So maybe Zack Snyder should make the Flash the comic relief of the movie, and Cyborg the superhero who cannot compute what humor is (just like in the teaser trailer). But this means that he should tone down the witty (and sometimes off) remarks of the other Justice League members.
As far as I am concerned, the problem with the DCEU, thus far, hasn't been this one. Hopefully, the DCEU won't become MCU.2, and the realism and seriousness won't be dropped for the sake of a bigger box office take.
Flash
The Justice League teaser just touched on the tremendous power Flash possesses. And while Ezra Miller's mannerism (out of the suit) seems a bit weird, but understandable, I just have to get used to it. However, as good as the special effect looks, I just hope that Zack Snyder won't overdo it.
And that in the sense that we shouldn't see too many of these flashy scenes in the Justice League. As far as I can tell, the scenes from the trailers were shot from the perspective of a speedster. And while they were impressive, capturing Barry Allen's use of the Speed Force (and, potentially, hinting at some other superpowers as well), there were too many elements to them. They were overburdened with details.
One or two scenes per movie isn't too much, as it was seen in the X-Men franchise, with Quicksilver. Hopefully, Zack Snyder has payed attention and won't fill all the battle scenes with blue lightning.
Cyborg
We don't know too much about the Cyborg solo flick - but we can safely assume that it won't be an origin story. The superhero cameoed in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and he will appear in Justice League.
This being said, I do hope that Zack Snyder doesn't hurry too much as far as this character is concerned. His story arc should be just at the beginning of his first full appearance. Thus, besides the heroic stuff (battling Parademons and whatnot), he should also be shown as a vulnerable young man who hasn't come to terms with his new condition.
After all, it must be very traumatic being bonded with a Mother Box.
Thus, while he is made out of metal, he should be a vulnerable superhero. And he should be able to overcome this vulnerability either in the second Justice League or in his solo flick. Furthermore, his vulnerability should be exploited by the villain - after all, he was created by the same technology used by the New Gods.
Lex Luthor and Darkseid
While Darkseid isn't the main villain, Steppenwolf is his general. And as such, the big baddie should at least cameo in the film. After all, it was Zack Snyder who teased the supervillain, saying he might exist in the universe, searching for something that is against life.
And if Justice League will feature extended flashbacks (and it will, at least two of them, one with the history of the Mother Boxes, one with Victor Stone), maybe Darkseid should appear in one of them. In this way, his story will be established - maybe he was searching for the anti-life equation tens of thousands of years ago, and he was defeated by an alliance of Amazons and Atlanteans.
Then there is Lex Luthor. While Jesse Eisenberg played coy for a while, he will appear in Justice League. His story should continue now. Maybe he will put his big brain to use for a change and trick everybody into letting him out of prison. Maybe he will escape. Or, even better, maybe his connection with the new gods will become even stronger.
Coherent plot
The biggest problem with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice wasn't the tone; wasn't the seriousness (lack of smiles, if you will); it wasn't even the reimagining of Batman and Superman. It was, instead, the plot, which had holes as big as the entire budget in it.
And that is because Zack Snyder (and Warner Bros.) has condensed material worth three or more movies into a single flick. Why wasn't just plain Batman v Superman followed by another movie called Dawn of Justice? Why was Death of Superman squeezed into the final act of the movie? What was the entire deal with the Knightmare and the Flash from the future?
While Justice League needs to be a part of the DCEU and tease the future, it should also be a self-contained movie. And, more importantly, it should have all of its problems solved and all of its plot-holes filled in the theatrical cut. I don't believe that the fans will flock to buy another ultimate cut from Zack Snyder. Even if Wonder Woman, the movie coming out before Justice League, is a hit and restores the faith of the fans in the DCEU, I don't think an Ultimate Cut of Justice League will find too many buyers.
What do you think? What do you want to see in Justice League?
Special Mention
Where is Green Lantern? I get it – the Green Lantern Corps doesn’t arrive until 2020. However, since Earth will face a galactic threat, shouldn’t the intergalactic police force do something? Or is Earth too small a planet, with its more than seven billion inhabitants?
What I believe is that the Corps should send one of the strongest lanterns in order to aid the heroes of Earth against Steppenwolf and his Parademons. And I believe that this lantern should meet his end on Earth.
What better way to end the movie than with Abin Sur’s ring finding its next wearer?