The Inevitable Mediocre Spin-off

JLA is the aspiration of the DC comic movie and will bring in mega dollars for sure but why, with all the storyline troubles and potential actor clashes are they focusing on this as their big team hope? In the near future Marvel is going to unleash the Avengers and it will probably be awesome but its not like the characters that film will focus on are anywhere near as big as the JLA. So, with this in mind why doesn't Warner counter with a movie that can boast some recognisability and challenge people's expectations like Iron Man did?

1) Teen Titans- Should really be called Titans or The Titans.
We know WB have ordered a script for a potential movie starring Nightwing, so it will skew older than the cartoon and avoid comparisons to stuff like Sky High. They have a villain named Deathstroke the Terminator, this movie could be as dark as Batman.The story is there and there is recognisability from the hit cartoon and merch that went with it. Any issues with Dick Grayson after the nipple incident are irrelevant, if Batman can be rehabilitated so can he. Characters like Batman don't even need to show up, the cartoon went 5 seasons without mentioning him or green arrow or flash. It was not their story so they were irrelevant. We don't have to know where in the timeline this is compared to Bale's Batman just a good self contained story.

2) JSA
The first Superhero team brings fun for all the family. The only downside is WB's lack of faith that Joe movie-go-er will understand how there can be two Flashs, two Green Lanterns and why Kara Zor-L isn't Supergirl. This is easy PG-13 popcorn fare with characters from teens to grandpas. It has such a broad appeal. It would need a director capable of handling large casts and fans who understand that not everyone can have a starring role and may be reduced to a cameo. JSA is more JLU than JLA could ever be.

3) Legion of Super-Heroes
Something very different, its set in a utopian future (its not really utopian otherwise why would they need crime fighters but its what people use to describe the Legion future for some reason) with so many powers this movie could be a feast for the eyes. Any downsides would arise from the landscape, its totally unlike anything on earth so it runs the risk of being as fake as Coruscant. Done right it could be as visually satisfying as the Lord of the Rings movies and just as epic. The Legion is a mash up of everything in the DCU, the intergalatic scope of Green Lantern, the home base of Superman, the variety of the JSA and the family aspect of the Titans. With its two seasons worth of shows on Kids WB it reached a good audience. I think it has been said that the amount of people who watched the premiere made up the total number of Legion comics sold in the last 5 years. Legion spent 15 years without Superman/girl in their pages so its not like they would be essential for the movie so past movie continuity would not messed with.

There are even more, Doom Patrol, L.E.G.I.O.N, Metal Men. There are no bad suggestions just bad execution.

My hardcover book of Meltzer's Lightning Saga arrived this morning. I was extremely impressed by the service from the Amazon selller as I'd only bought it early yesterday. I'm still waiting for my 'Superman and the Legion of Superheroes' to show though. I'll give that until Monday.

It seems the right one came first though as I've flicked through. It seems that its a slow re-introduction to the pre-crisis Legion. Slowly the consequences of Crisis on Infinite Earths are being eroded. For the Legion this is especially good as that's where it started to fall apart to begin with. Crisis was a stunning story and part of that was its lasting effects but I feel the loss of Superboy and Kara was too great.

I'm excited to really get into this story as I've heard so much good about it. First impressions leave me disappointed about the characters that are focused on. I had grown to love Karate Kid during Countdown and I hope that continues but have never been interested in Nura Nal in any incarnation. The story serves up the second string of the Legion in my eyes with Brainiac 5 as the cliffhanger into the bigger story.

My anticipation for Legion of Three Worlds is growing exponentially. Speaking of that DCcomics.com updated their front page with the Lightning Lad cover.

Coming up if all goes to plan are reviews of Action Comics #868, Showcase presents Supergirl vol. I and Final Crisis #3. Starting Thursday I should get into a regular pattern of new releases.