Nick Nadel's Tuesday column examines the increasingly busy intersection between comic books and the movies.
The Flash
Flash has been bandied about for years, with everyone from David Goyer to the director of Night at the Museum
attached to the character. Casting-wise, Ryan Reynolds has been
lobbying, and he could still be in the mix now that the Justice League
film has imploded.
Should he go dark? No. Warners
already tried to turn the Scarlet Speedster into Batman with the
short-lived CBS TV series, in which Central City looked suspiciously
like Gotham. (The rousing Danny Elfman theme was basically an outtake
from his Batman
score.) With villains like Captain Cold and Mirror Master, it's hard to
go too dark with the Flash. The comics have toughened up in recent
years, but Barry Allen (or Wally West) on the big screen should be more
Iron Man, less Dark Knight.
Superman
The proposed reboot seems to be headed in a darker direction. Will we finally see "The Death of Superman" on the big screen?
Should he go dark?
Yes, but to a point. With or without Singer, Warners will push for a
violent, action-heavy film. But the studio would be wise to play up the
one major element Singer missed in his $300 million Richard Donner
homage: Fun. Where was the witty Clark and Lois banter? (Who knew Tony
Stark and Pepper Potts had better onscreen chemistry?) What about the
crazy scifi side of Superman -- giant robots, alien attacks, magical
imps -- recently brought to the forefront in Grant Morrison's brilliant
All Star Superman series? Give Superman gravity, but let's not lose the bounce and color from the comics.
Wonder Woman
Fanboys are still weeping over Joss Whedon's adaptation petering out. A
script set during World War II stirred interest, but ultimately Warners decided to start from scratch.
Should she go dark? Not at all. DC diminished Wonder Woman in the eyes of many fans by playing up her warrior side. Gail Simone's recent run has taken the character back to basics, and the upcoming direct-to-DVD animated film seems to be heading in the right direction. Let's see some widescreen Amazon battles -- but keep the tone light with comedy, romance, and a strong character-building story.
Green Arrow
The left-wing archer wasn't getting much love from Hollywood until the studio decided to shoehorn him into Super Max, a script about a hero getting tossed into a superpowered prison. Now called Green Arrow: Escape from Super Max (can't wait to see that one fit on a marquee), it'll hit theaters one of these days.
Should he go dark? Yes, but not in prison. Warner Bros. is missing a huge opportunity by not developing a straightforward Green Arrow film. Ollie Queen is a rich and complex character, one of the few mainstream superheroes with a political conscious. He deserves better than playing second fiddle to a high-concept prison break movie, even one with a bevy of DC supervillains. (And I'm gonna call "too soon" on that Joker cameo. Wouldn't he be in Arkham? Nerd rage growing...)
Aquaman
Aquaman finally earned some respect after James Cameron turned him into a blockbuster action hero. Oh, wait, that was on Entourage. But, seriously, chances are Warners is developing something for him.
Should he go dark? By the beard of Poseidon, no. DC tried to make Aquaman relevant during the grim and gritty '90s by having him grow out his hair and lose his hand to piranhas or some nonsense. The day we get Aquaman waving his harpoon fist around on the big screen is the day the comic book movie genre officially ends. The only way Aquaman could ever work onscreen is by going meta and making him fully aware of his loser status. No amount of brooding can hide the fact that the guy spends most of his time gabbing with sea horses.
When not writing, Nick Nadel is in line at the comic book store alongside the other geeks, er, fans of speculative fiction. His most prized possession is a 1960s Batman comic wherein the Dynamic Duo are trapped inside a fortune cookie factory. He lives in Brooklyn and updates his aptly named website (nicknadel.com) with comedy writing and videos.
