DC's TV Universe Soars Higher Than Movies

San Diego Comic-Con 2013:  DC Comics and Warner Bros announced the production of a Batman vs Superman film.  Two years later: we still have to wait another year.  This film will continue DC's Cinematic Universe that started with Man of Steel back in 2013.  However, by the time WB gets their second DC movie out starring Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman the world will have already spent four years becoming attached to Green Arrow, The Flash, the Atom, and a lot of other DC characters that aren't considered the "World's Finest."

Yesterday, a trailer dropped for the new CW series, DC's Legends of Tomorrow.  This will be the second spin-off series that takes place in the shared universe that Arrow started in 2012.  In it's third season, Arrow was joined by it's first spin-off, The Flash.  With only one season under it's belt The Flash has become enough of a hit too green-light another Arrow spin-off.  And why not?  This season, between the two shows, we were introduced to DC alumni like Atom, Black Canary, Firestorm, and Captain Cold.  This universe is expanding like the big bang, and it's only going to get bigger.

Man of Steel wasn't DC and WB's first attempt to make a shared universe.  In 2011, Green Lantern was supposed to ignite the DC Cinematic Universe, but the film was a social disaster.  As Warner Bros regrouped to try again, Marvel Studios released The Avengers, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and has enough of head start to take a multi-year nap while DC tries to catch up.  Green Lantern writer, Greg Berlanti, along with several others, turned their focus to television. In season two, Arrow introduced a young Barry Allen, which hit new ratings highs for the series.  Soon a Flash spin-off was in production.  With the success of The Flash, Berlanti has become a TV genie, and created a grand shared universe the DC films have yet to accomplish.

Last Fall, several other TV series were released with other DC characters.  NBC's Constantine has been cancelled, and while Fox's Gotham has been renewed for a second season I stopped watching after episode two.  Constantine sadly wasn't superhero-ish enough for today's audience, and who wants to watch a Batman show without Batman? Greg Berlanti has another show coming out this Fall; CBS's Supergirl.  The first extended preview did not impress me, but the second, shorter, trailer made it seem a little better.   But so far, it is said that Supergirl will not connect to The CW's Arrow-verse.

In my opinion, Marvel is succeeding in their shared universe because they are making movies everyone can enjoy.  Some people like the Captain America films, while others prefer the Iron Man trilogy.  And each Marvel film expands the mythology of the universe.  The CW's DC shows are also doing this.  Arrow has a darker, more serious, tone with a few jokes thrown in.  While The Flash has a lighter tone.  Both of these are reflective of their main characters; Oliver Queen and Barry Allen.  DC's Legends of Tomorrow will expand the Arrow-verse even more.  And 22 episodes gives us a lot more time to learn and love characters than a two hour movie.

  While I will admit these shows aren't quit the same quality of Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, or Breaking Bad, the characters and story lines are good enough to suck anyone into this universe. So the big screen can have their Dark Knight, Man of Steel, and Amazon Princess.  I'm more excited to see what Berlanti has in store for the Emerald Archer, Scarlet Speedster, and the rest of DC's B-team .  I would have loved to have see this new series be called something along the lines of "Justice Society" because I know a "Justice League" movie is already planned, but I'm itching to see a 3-episode crossover with all 3-shows that run like a big 3-hour film.  This is what shared universes are all about, and The CW is hitting their mark better than even Marvel TV.

The Man of Steel's Pal Will Be.......A Girl?

This week's blog was already written in my head.  I was going to share my thoughts and feelings on the great gun debate that everyone seems to be engulfed in, but then I found something way more pressing to talk about; Jimmy Olsen is a girl!  In the upcoming film by director Zack Snyder, Man of Steel, it seems they are planning on replacing Superman's best friend, Jimmy Olsen, with a female counter part, Jenny Olsen, played by Rebecca Buller.

My brother alerted me to this grave crime, and I, being a bigger Superman fan than he, become enraged with fury.  Jimmy Olsen is a character that goes to the very core of the Superman mythology.  In the center of the story you have Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, Perry White, and Jimmy Olsen.  These are just five characters you can just alter and not expect to get hell from the fan boy community. As of right now Lex Luthor is not listed on the IMDB website as a character in Man of Steel, and Laurence Fishburne will be playing Perry White.  Now changing Perry from an old white guy to an old black guy isn't too much of a difference, however, I will remind you his last name it WHITE.  I know that in this P.C. world where you can't step on a bug without pissing somebody off the way to help a movie make money is to diversify your film as much as possible, but it shouldn't be at the expense of the story.  Changing Jimmy from a young male to a young female completely changes the dynamic of the Superman mythology that the film will be based on.

Now odds are this Jenny could not be Jimmy changing his sexual identity, but perhaps his sister and Jimmy will be in the sequel, but let's stick to the point.  This female character who is replace a male character could ruin this movie!  If you know anything about the character of Jimmy Olsen you know that he is a young photographer for The Daily Planet who works with Clark and Lois, gets Perry's coffee, and is everything Superman fights for.  Jimmy is idealistic.  He likes to give people the benefit of the doubt and thinks people are mainly good.  He even starred in his own comic book at one point.  Now when Clark has a rough week of fighting super villains Jimmy reminds Clark that there are good people in the world besides him, and these people are who he continues to fights for.  Clark and Jimmy hang out, Jimmy has his own watch to call on Superman when he's in trouble, and I think at one point Clark lived with Jimmy as his roommate.  How is that relationship going to be the same when Jimmy is Jenny? 

To answer my own question  believe I have the answer; love triangle, or some form of puppy love.  You see kids, love triangles are all the film franchise rage lately from Twilight to The Hunger Games.  Clark developing a relationship with Lois would be just too simple for the film making hot shots of Hollywood.  My guess is that when Lois and Jenny go out to cover Superman's adventures like Lois and Jimmy did that they'll both be smitten by the Last Son of Krypton and two tongues will fall the floor.  

Of course this is all just hypothetical from what I know and what I hear about Man of Steel, and I had nothing to do with the making of this film, so don't quote me only any of this.  But this little idea of Jimmy's possible gender switch does not help the fear I've had about this movie from the beginning. David Goyer, the man who wrote all 3 Blade and Dark Knight films wrote the story and screenplay for Man of Steel, and I know Goyer as a big comic book fan so I trusted him.  Christopher Nolan, who is producing, is also a great film maker, who makes great films, as is Snyder.  But to put all three of these people on a Superman film seemed like a mistake to me being that most of these gentleman make darker and more gritty films.  Now that kind of tone is great for Batman, Blade, and Watchmen, but dark and gritty is the exact opposite of what Superman is.  And seriously guys, a British actor to play the ultimate American hero?

I'm told Man of Steel will make Superman more relatable to modern film audiences, but both DC and Marvel have ruined film versions of their characters by straying from the formula that has made their characters work for decades!  If Snyder ruins this chance for Superman's silver screen comeback he may just beat out Brett Ratner on my list of people I need to kick in the nuts. "What was I supposed to do? Just let 'em die?"  "Maybe"  

MAYBE, MAYBE!  Do you even know who Jonathan Kent is!  Come on guys!  Pull you're heads out of those studio executive's asses and make the film worthy to be called MAN OF STEEL!  Do it for comic book truth, film justice, and god damn it, The American Way!  Here's the trailer, judge for yourselves: