How Guardians of the Galaxy Proves Justice League Doesn't Need Origin Stories

I've been told repeatedly that, in spite of the success of the X-Men movies, Warner has to have an individual origin movie for each member of the JLA prior to the release of a Justice League movie.

All of those people can't be wrong.

quote:

---

I've been told repeatedly that, in spite of the success of the X-Men movies, Warner has to have an individual origin movie for each member of the JLA prior to the release of a Justice League movie.

---

I don't think it's true that they HAVE To, just that we already know that model can and does work. It's always appeared to me that WB/DC has been trying to go our of their way to NOT use the Marvel model for fear of, I don't know...looking like they're using the Marvel model?

Will WB/DC's work? Maybe...and more importantly I hope so, because I REALLY want it to because I like those characters better personally. But let's not pretend that had they taken the Marvel route it would not have been just as likely to work. Would it have been unthinkable to do MoS, a Flash movie, reboot their new Batman and a new Green Lantern and then bring them together but having teased them in their previous movies? Of course not.

As for what the guy from AMC said about GotG proving individual films aren't necessary, I'd say he's missing the fact that even casual movie goers realized that even though they did not know these guys that they were part of a Marvel Universe they have already seen in 9 previous movies. That's like saying if you do a movie about some shite in the Harry Potter universe that they never really talked about in those movies and it succeeds it proves a lead up wasn't necessary. Except for, you know, the Harry Potter movies that set the table.

quote:

---

Will WB/DC's work? Maybe...and more importantly I hope so, because I REALLY want it to because I like those characters better personally. But let's not pretend that had they taken the Marvel route it would not have been just as likely to work. Would it have been unthinkable to do MoS, a Flash movie, reboot their new Batman and a new Green Lantern and then bring them together but having teased them in their previous movies? Of course not.

---

The issue I see with the X-Men comparison is two fold.

First, X-Men exists AS A TEAM. There were no individual X-Men titles before X-Men each of their characters really exists inside of the X-Men vacuum and it's been hard to penetrate outside of that. Almost every single solo X-Book has failed for that very reason (outside of Cable, Wolverine, and a few others).

Second, The movies, while very very good and very successful, suffer from this as well. And I've said this in X-Men threads, every characters identity exists to bounce off of Wolverine and Magneto. No one is an individual and any of the characteristics that could develop robust characters, are lost in the need to keep movies trim and efficient. Cylops? Sucks. Iceman? Sucks. Storm... maybe the most offensive changes out of any of the X-Men. Beast? Lame. The movies are good because they showcase things as a team, and that's how it works. As an X-Man fan, this is pretty bad. As a film goer, it works. But to have real, fully developed characters, the movies lack this outside of a few key characters. But that's movies that's how they have worked.

So back to this:

quote:

---

because I REALLY want it to because I like those characters better personally.

---

I don't like them best, necessarily, but I think DC characters are more fully developed and that the Justice League is more representative of the Avengers more than the X-Men. It's a team of great characters who stand on their own to sometimes get together when there's extra trouble brewing.

So, for me,

quote:

---

I've been told repeatedly that, in spite of the success of the X-Men movies, Warner has to have an individual origin movie for each member of the JLA prior to the release of a Justice League movie.

---

Isn't a positive model to follow for JL. Maybe for Teen Titans, maybe. A team JL movie alone has a strong chance for every character exists to bounce off of Superman and/or Batman and can't stand on their own. And there's a strong chance that we lose some GREAT stories and characters because films can only do so much. And although that might make for a fine film, like the X-Men, would it really be the Justice League if Flash is Bobby Drake-d into meaninglessness?

That's the issue. It works for X-Men because that's what they are, but the Justice League aren't the X-Men, they are far different.

quote:

---

As for what the guy from AMC said about GotG proving individual films aren't necessary, I'd say he's missing the fact that even casual movie goers realized that even though they did not know these guys that they were part of a Marvel Universe they have already seen in 9 previous movies. That's like saying if you do a movie about some shite in the Harry Potter universe that they never really talked about in those movies and it succeeds it proves a lead up wasn't necessary. Except for, you know, the Harry Potter movies that set the table.

---

Good point. But does DC need an introduction? That's the the first question to ask?

Warner floated the individual hero movie with Green Lantern and it sank. They know that they have proven sellers with the Batman and Superman franchises. Instead of putting out multiple movies with non-proven characters and seeing what kind of hit-and-miss ratio they have with them, they're going to use their proven franchises to launch the additional characters.

Marvel didn't invent the team movie. We've had multiple character movies going back to silent film. There were no individual character films leading up to the Wild Bunch or Seven Samurai or Oceans Eleven or the Dirty Dozen.

But since Marvel has had great success with one build-it-slowly superhero team movie, everyone thinks that DC should follow suit. I'd rather DC go the X-Men and Guardians route and give us a good team movie that's light on the origins and heavy on the action.

quote:

---

IOnlyPostPictures

---

im honestly getting tired of origin movies. its one of my biggest peeves about sony having spider-man. how many times are they going to throw the same story at us?

quote:

---

Who says this? I haven't really heard it?

---

I believe it was sarcasm

Where were the rest of the Avengers in Thor 2, Iron Man 3, and Cap 2?

quote:

---

Where were the rest of the Avengers in Thor 2

---

90% of that film happens off world, then the final battle is on Earth....sort of. And is sudden enough in England to not really have time for anyone to make it.

quote:

---

Iron Man 3

---

I'll agree on this one.

quote:

---

Cap 2

---

The whole film happens covertly in about 48 hours. Of course SHIELD/Hydra isn't going to call in Thor to hunt Captain America. Fury was cut off and out of commission. Easily explainable. Cap wasn't trusting anyone to get word to Thor or Stark. Hawkeye was probably out on a mission.




They'll have trouble continuing to explain this, but they did well so far. Cap will probably go international in the next film. Iron Man is going to get lazy or get the Sec. of Defense job. Hulk is going Cosmic most likely. Black Widow and Hawkeye are humans.

Thor is the outlier, and there's some convenience in how he travels back and forth, yes.

quote:

---

W/the events of MOS you really can't come up with a reason why the other DC heroes didn't show up to help.

---

Yes, you can. With Batman in this film they are using The Dark Knight Returns graphic novel as inspiration. At the beginning of The Dark Knight Returns, Bruce Wayne had put away the cape and cowl and had long since been retired. Perhaps the events of Man of Steel have brought him out of retirement?

With Wonder Woman, she is a being of extra-terrestrial origin. Perhaps the villain in Dawn of Justice is extra-terrestrial in nature and she follows him to Earth?