When it comes to how the Justice League should have ended I think it’s safe to say we’ve learned that DC is falling behind Marvel simply because they aren’t doing a few things that would easily put them back in the running to compete with the MCU. DC has a lot of characters that they could be putting to use and fleshing out in ways that would stretch the imagination of the viewers and bring to mind the glory days of the comics. For instance not adhering to the original Justice League is fine and all, but the manner in which it was brought to be is still leaving a lot of fans with a bad taste in their mouths. And when it comes to being ridiculously overpowered and having advantages unlike anyone else there’s still a level of similarity between the two. But when it comes to being down and dirty and able to build worlds DC is falling woefully behind the MCU when it comes right down to it.
While DC was trying to decide just how they were going to go about bringing their superheroes into the limelight, aside from Batman and a couple of others, the MCU was already building worlds well past the planet earth and shaping up to do something monumental. For a long time DC’s only claim to movie fame was Batman, and that dog stopped hunting after about the second movie until Christopher Nolan got a hold of it. Even then by the third movie he was running out of gas and had exhausted the public’s interest. By the time Snyder took over and the shadows descended, things were already on a downward spiral. Wonder Woman and the Justice League were meant to bring it back, but right now it feels more like it’s stopped falling but isn’t climbing just yet. It could have something to do with the lackluster feeling that was produced when the League was formed.
It’s understandable how they put the characters together. Batman is getting older but he’s still tortured and hasn’t found any way to make peace with his past. Has he really ever tried? No, not really, he never seems to seek counseling of any sort as he takes that pain and rage and puts it into his work. Wonder Womans seems fairly well-adjusted and has acclimated to modern day life, but she still goes out and fights crime now and again it seems without taking into account that as fast and as tough as he is, there’s always that one lucky shot that could penetrate her body, which is not bulletproof. The Flash is still pretty much a kid and not entirely certain of his abilities, but given a chance and enough motivation he could be one of the most lethal members of the group. But they don’t kill, at least in theory, so it’s safe to say that he’ll continue to be more of a support character than anything. Cyborg is still troubled by his existence, and yet is capable of doing so much more now than he could as a human that he could be one of the biggest assets to the team. Aquaman is a child born of two worlds and has an attitude that speaks highly of his inability to accept either world. That sounds like another guy that needs counseling.
And then there’s Superman. No really, he’s got enough issues to deal with so just saying that is enough. But together the Justice League is just flat out tough and intelligent. So would you think that the studio behind them could figure out a way to get them to compete with the MCU at this point? Maybe their biggest problem is that they aren’t getting dirty enough, meaning they aren’t willing to kill, even though Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman have all done their fair share already.
