DC Comics are looking to rival Marvel in the movie business by emulating their expanded cinematic universe with a number of interconnected movies of their own.
Man of Steel got the ball rolling back in 2013 and it will be followed in 2016 by Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad. Several other movies will follow in the subsequent years, potentially opening the door to the introduction of a near endless number of characters, concepts and storylines from the comic books.
With that in mind, this article will take a look at some of the best DC Comics story arcs that DC and Warner Brothers should be looking to turn into movies in the coming years, focusing on ideas that could realistically be executed, bearing in mind the existing and confirmed characters in the existing and upcoming movies so far.
Flashpoint
The Flash is confirmed as getting his own movie in DC’s expanded movie universe and Ezra Miller is set to play the part of the super-quick hero.
He will star in a solo movie in 2018, as well as being a part of the movie incarnation of the Justice League. His solo movie will surely be an origin story, but several Flash storylines could be used from that point forward and, should the character get his own sequel, the 2011 Flashpoint arc would be a great story to use on the big screen.
The story sees the Barry Allen version of the Flash waking up to find that the world has changed – the Justice League don’t exist, Batman is Thomas Wayne and The Joker is Martha Wayne, for example – and, through further investigation, he discovers that the Reverse-Flash had time-travelled to change history to prevent the formation of the Justice League and Allen has to fix the timeline to put things back to normal.
If this was to be made into a movie after the live action Justice League had formed, a lot would be at stake, it would be unlike anything seen in a comic book movie before and it would make for extremely interesting viewing.
Blackest Night
Blackest Night was an awesome arc that took place from 2009 to 2010, which saw hordes of deceased superheroes being reanimated and controlled by the evil entity Nekron – and his lackey Black Hand – with the intention of eliminating all life and emotion from the universe.
They were all granted a black power ring – similar to those wielded by other Lantern Corps – and every single one of the other Corps had to come together to fight them off.
A movie version of the arc – which would essentially combine the superhero genre with zombie horror – would be absolutely incredible. It would have to take place several years down the line, as it would require a far greater number of established characters than the DC Cinematic Universe will have any time soon – and it would have to be scaled down (like Marvel Studios are doing with Civil War) – but, if it was executed well, it could be something really special.
Green Lantern is coming to the DC Cinematic Universe imminently – he’s getting his own film in 2020, but will certainly be introduced before then – and that could lead to other Corps being introduced, which would be both cool as hell and a means of making this story happen.
The Killing Joke
The 1988 arc Batman: The Killing Joke is arguably the greatest Batman and Joker story that has ever been told and, in that respect, it would be absolutely fantastic to finally see it adapted on the big screen.
The only issue would be that it depicts Joker’s origins, so it would have to be a prequel of sorts, but that would hardly lessen its appeal. It sees the villain starting off as a family man and comedian who is driven mad and becomes The Joker after a single bad day.
It’s Joker at his most despicable, as he kidnaps Barbara Gordon, shoots her, paralyses her, kidnaps her father Jim Gordon, puts him in a circus cage and makes him watch her laying helpless and naked - all with the intent of proving that even the most sane men can go crazy if they’re given the right push.
Batman is pushed to the brink of his moral limits and, at the end of the story – when he and Joker actually share a laugh together – it’s ambiguous as to whether he actually tries to kill him or not. It all makes for a very interesting story.
The Death of Superman
The Death of Superman storyline – which occurred over three different comic book arcs in 1992 and 1993 – saw the Man of Steel killed in a brutal battle with the ancient Kryptonian monster known as Doomsday.
The battle took place on the streets of Metropolis and saw mass destruction caused as a result – and would, therefore, be a fitting end to Henry Cavill’s version of the character, as it was a similar battle that started his stint as Superman when he faced General Zod in Man of Steel. The big difference is that, in this particular battle, both Superman and his opponent are killed as a result of the bout.
With Lex Luthor about to appear in the DC Cinematic Universe – and remnants of the battle of Metropolis from Man of Steel being in his possession – there are rumours that he will create Doomsday using Kryptonian DNA and technology. In fact, it’s rumoured that such an event could be hinted at as early as 2016 in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. With that in mind, there’s every chance Doomsday could emerge at some point and that a live adaptation of this storyline could become a reality.
Final Crisis
In the same way that Infinity Gauntlet (which is being loosely adapted to the big screen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War movies) is about as big as events get in the Marvel universe, Final Crisis is about as big as events get in the DC universe and, as such, it would be awesome to see it turned into a movie in the future.
The 2008 storyline – which, like a lot of comic book storylines, would undoubtedly need to be scaled down on the big screen – saw the spirits of the New Gods (Darkseid included), fall to Earth.
In a nutshell, the event saw reality collapsing in on itself, as the universe prepared for Darkseid’s final victory – which would ultimately result in his own death. The New Gods all possessed human hosts, formed and gathered a supervillain army, ultimately regained their original forms (so yes, audiences would get to see Darkseid at his monstrous best) and ended up in a huge final battle with Earth’s heroes and their allies.
It would truly make for an epic movie event – which may require two movies to fully work – and would be a fitting finale for the DC Cinematic Universe when the time comes to bring it to an end.
What do you think? Which storylines from DC comic books would make great movies? Have your say below.
