fleggett

No no, it's not what you think.

This idea kinda hit me tonight. With the advent of BB and TDK and their runaway success (even though I don't understand why), is DC now making what should be Marvel-toned films? The upcoming Green Lantern movie is also suppose to be dark, grim, and gritty. God only knows how Superman will fare.

Think about it - Marvel is suppose to be the barely-lit back-alley street fight amongst super-powered characters. DC is suppose to be about the iconic, brightly shining superhero. And yet, both Batman films have acted like Marvel comics, whereas Marvel films, like Iron Man and Spider-Man and even X-Men to some degree, have had fairly fanciful film series which embraced even the outlandish elements of each title.

For a raging DC nerd (like myself), this really bothers me. Hal Jordan is not suppose to be a brooding anti-hero. None of the GLs are. Neither, for God's sake, is Superman. I suppose Batman is something of an exception, but where is the swinging from Gotham's rafters and throwing boomeranging batarangs knocking guns out of the hands of ten villains all at once? Where is Robin and Batgirl? Can they PLEASE ditch that annoying Clint Eastwood voice?

Does anyone here understand what I'm trying to say?

Blu Man

We get it. You don't like DC's movie adaptations. I don't know where you get off thinking that GL is going to be dark and gritty like Nolan's Batmans, I don't believe anyone has said that, but I could be mistaken. The CGI suit makes me think it's going for the Iron Man style, not The Dark Knight style.

This is just another "Superhero movies suck" thread. Great.

/Thread

fumanstan

I never got that impression from Marvel at all.

E. Honda

1997 called. Your order is ready.

rw2516

As far back as the 1960s I've thought GL was a very "marvelesque" character. The "Central City" location aside. Something about the general concept with space and the Guardians just seems like Marvel to me. Would have fit right in with Kree, Skrulls, Capt. Marvel, Surfer, Warlock, Thanos and The Watcher.

toddly6666

Nobody wants a Robin or Batgirl movie.

MrSmearkase

/\ Not live action, no

Although, I wouldn't have minded seeing the Batgirl animated movie that DC had been planning to set up.

kstublen

I've always liked DC characters much more than Marvel characters. I don't think I agree with the OP though. His entire position is based upon TWO movies and rumours of what a future film might be like. I'd hardly call that a trend of an indication of anything. Both DC and Marvel have their fair share of serious and lighthearted. I really think though, that the OP is less familiar with DC than he thinks he is. I can think of several Batman issues/series that are pretty "gritty and grim" (The Killing Joke, The Dark Knight Returns, A Death In The Family) and other DC titles have similarly dark stories.

And for what it's worth, I'd rather watch entries in the DCAU over anything else put out by DC or Marvel (animated movies, feature films, TV series).

Kevin Conroy > Anyone else who has ever played Batman

Trevor

I think a lot of it depends of what you were first exposed to as a kid, or later exposed to when you read them 'as an adult'.

For me and my friends growing up, Marvels were crappy, and we were all about DC. Then as an adult who tries both, Marvel rarely comes close to touching the quality of DC/Vertigo.

fleggett

Well, that certainly went over like a lead balloon filled with lumps of coal.

For those claiming that I'm basing my observation (which I still think is very valid) on the two Nolan Batmans, there is a third - Superman Returns. It was, I have to admit now, a rather dreary film that didn't play to the Superman iconography at all. I mean, even his suit was "drabbed down" instead of the bright, poppy, primary colors Superman has almost always worn. It was very bizarre and unwelcome. Indeed, there've even been attempts to restore the color of his suit by fans.

And for those who say nobody wants a Robin or Batgirl film - why? You're basing your fears on how a film featuring those two characters might turn out based on the Schumacher vehicles. It CAN be done in an effective way, but it DOESN'T have to be "Nolan-ized".

Contrast this with Marvel's films, which have embraced their comic heritage rather than shying away from it or trying to come up with lame explanations as to how Xavier can have a superplane under the school's basketball court or how Tony can possibly fly in that absurd suit. In this sense, I think Marvel is far more clued into how to make a "comic book movie" than DC (at least, at this stage of the game). Look at their next film - Thor. Thor! One of the more outlandish characters in the Marvel universe, but they're forging ahead anyway. Do you think they're going to come up with some absurd reality-based explanation for his origins and powers? I would wager not and they're going to play up to the Norse mythos and run with it.

This is what DC should be doing. Batman should be swinging from building to building a la TAS and decking bad guys within seconds. Superman should be a bright and shining superhero doing those things that only a Kryptonian under a yellow sun can do. He shouldn't be mitigated, a stalker, and abandoning Earth without word one to anybody. He's Superman!

And yet, DC, primarily by virtue of the Nolan films, has bought into this nonsense that their films now have to be all dark, grimy, and reality-based when this is the exact opposite of the DC image.

Anyway, that's probably the last I'll say on the subject since everyone is finding it easier to threadcrap. I HOPE Green Lantern turns out well. I really do.

Solid Snake

Where has it been said that Superman would be dark? Also..the issue w/ Robin is that, and this is especially true after the Nolan films. How the hell do you convince an audience that this dark and brooding character will take a kid and essentially endanger him? MAYBE i can roll w/ it cuz I know the character but it's hard as fuck to do it I'm sure.

Really? Well Superman: The movie really played w/ the comics of the era it was based from. Nolan's Batman films have crime related entries. He's a one man war on crime. AND they've been really good on adapting a lot elements from the comics. Even some panels are paid homage in Begins for example. The good thing about Nolan's Batman is that I KNOW that when the movie ends Batman is still fighting all levels of crime. What we see mostly though is his foes. BUT you heavily know from the start of TDK that Batman is fighting crime vs. Scarecrow and organized mob. IT lets you know that Batman's work goes beyond what you see. The other films NEVER gave you that feeling that. Hell the Spider-Man films never gave you a good grounding of that. For his films it's like this moment in time is ONLY to show you the new villain.

Also..for IM...it shows that Stark is a genius. We see work hard on the Mark I...so he's genuis enough to make that Iron Man suit out of what he had from his own military weapons. We believe it cuz it's within his realm of ability.

For Thor, well..he's a god...so it's level of outlandishness is there from the start. Now you just have to get a plot to make people believe in the characters and what they are.
We know Batman swings in and out of places, he disappears without ppl noticing as well...we don't need to see him do it all the time in the films. Singer made Superman Returns cuz of what he wanted in it. I'm sure Batman Begins didn't influence him greatly on his style for Superman. He in fact based most of his work on the film as a continuation to Donner's Superman, to which he failed to do well.

Nobody is threadcrapping. You're bringing up a pity argument that has garnered attention like this. Why? cuz it's annoying. We're discussing, some more seriously than others. We've seen versions of this argument many times. Get on w/ it. And as excited as I am for GL. Whatever it is..I want it to be good. It's Ryan Reynolds....I don't think he's going to be brooding all that much. Which is good.

emachine12

Superman Returns was made with the intention of being a direct sequel to Superman II which is why he "abandoned Earth."

Batman Begins and The Dark Knight were made with the intention of being rooted in some semblance of reality.

Returns and Begins were also reboots of nearly dead franchises: Superman IV: The Quest For Peace and Batman & Robin were poorly made films that became campy comic book near-parody films.

That does not mean the other DC films coming down the pike are going to follow the same formula.

As for the Batman comics... ever read any?

Batman was the darkest, grimiest, and most reality based character in the DC lineup.

These were all made long before Batman Begins and I highly suggest reading them:

Batman: A Death in The Family
Batman: The Killing Joke
Batman: Gotham By Gaslight

Superman: Speeding Bullets

There is also the uber what-if of Kingdom Come by Alex Ross that has a:

- Batman so damaged by his life that he is forever entombed in a metal brace to hold himself up.
- Superman so disillusioned by society's new acceptance of execution without trial & jury that he exiles himself.