If You Build it Right, They Will Come
I will once again be covering the Motor City Comic Con (“MC3”) in November. This is a mid-major convention that is gaining in attendance and level of guests the past several years. The reason I attend is because it pays to know pop culture fans and their interests. Understanding the fans helps me produce my columns because the goal is for the articles to be read even if the public object to the premise. Knowing what interests fans leads me to article topics and how people feel about those properties. Sadly, the creators of the DCU seem to not fully understand their fanbase. This misreading of their target audiences has caused them to make several unforced mistakes that is damaging the DCU brand, and it started from the start.
Not on Many People’s Dance Card
A corner stone is usually a ceremonial block laid in the celebration of the construction of new buildings. James Gunn was bold with the corner stone of the DCU. Rather than a big bang, the DCU came into existence with a small whimper. The cartoon series Creature Commandos would be launched as the first official entry into the DCU. Fans interviewed at previous MC3s and comic book shops were mostly ignorant of this DCU team. Many of the individuals questioned were major DC Comics nerds. Starting out with a cartoon series consisting of a team hardly anyone knows to give birth to a universe was a bold choice that did not land well. Many fans still to this day are not aware of his signficance in the DCU. That was not the best start for a new universe, but the next decision was truly an avoidable error that caused an uproar among fans.
Avoid The Third Rail People
Lanterns was a tv show about cosmic law enforcement officers made with a small budget. Production limits during the Skydance merger probably squeezed Gunn’s use of SFX, reducing the opportunity to tell a grandiose GL space adventure. Instead fans were dealt a buddy-buddy cop drama set mostly on Earth. Fans felt Lanterns was the story of generations, where the younger lantern was trying to usurp his predecessor and the latter not wanting to relinquish his position without a fight. The funeral scene revealed that Hal had no family or close friends that wanted to honor him. Even though he did not wear the costume, he identified as a Green Lantern because it was all he had and now John was trying to take that one thing from him. This was a non-controversial and relatable conflict to EVERYONE who has experienced this dynamic in one form or another. Instead, diehard fans who have an interest in comics and websites that discuss those properties (I’m looking at you) had racism introduced to the series. Many DC Comic diehard fans were horrified to hear that Lanterns writer and co-executive producer Vanessa Baden Kelly indicate on a podcast that Hal had “…some racist tendencies… But I also feel like he probably f**ks aliens in other places and doesn’t feel like he’s… he’s non-discriminatory. And both things are true.” Re-watching the show through this racism prism calls into question Hal’s motives, but it also result in John Stewart appearing to be an affirmative action hire. The story revealed he was not selected by the rings like ALL other Green Lanterns throughout the universe, but instead was specifically chosen by the Guardians. One character did not have to be beaten down using racism as an underlying theme to highlight the plight of the other main characters of the show. Then the writers further compounded making John Stewart appear weak by what the the writers were thinking in the show’s season finale.
Missed It By That Much
Tom King is Lanterns co-creator and a truly great writer. That does not insulate him from criticism. In an article he was quoted as saying that he and the writers decided that Sheriff Kerry Kane should not be punished for the murder of Hal Jordan. He implied that going to jail would not be worse than the emotional price she was already paying for killing Hal. In reality, the emotional suffering for killing Hal was not the worst thing that she could experience. Her feelings for Noah were much stronger than what she had for Hal. The reason she murdered Hal was to keep Noah safe. Her being in jail powerless to protect her son from John Stewart would be a worst-case scenario for any mother. In addition, a jail sentence meant someone or something other than John could also come to terminate Noah. This constant fear would also weigh on her every second spent incarcerated. The problem was that a greater story mechanism was ignored that already existed in their story. King and the writing team could have used a mother’s emotions to better explain Stewart’s actions that would make him even a more compelling character in the eyes of fans.
Noah was born a monster but raised by his mom to be the caring person. His holding out his college choice to help teammates get noticed by colleges and his fatalistic request for John to kill him demonstrated that he may not be the monster he was born to become as a Manhunter. In contrast John was a human raised to be a borderline sociopathic child who was trained to become a Lantern. Vanessa Baden Kelly says “I thought that people were going to go apes**t about parental abuse,”. He shot objects off his parent’s heads, assassinated targets as a marine sniper and killed the woman he cared for to complete a training mission. Did he not have the same makings of a monster in him? That unknown was the same fear that Noah experienced and could have been used to make us care for Stewart.
A montage showing the mom/son dynamic of both Noah and John with a narrative asking if ‘we are born monsters or conditioned to be one through our environment can we escape our programming’ type inner monologue would have been a great reason to let Sherif Kane remain free. He did not do to it to spare her from a punishment but rather to give him an asset to be used to prevent Noah from evolving into the monster he might have to put down in the future. Instead, King gave us a reason that made John look weak. How could he protect earth if he would not punish a murderer because she may have felt bad. How many others he will encounter can state they too feel really really bad for what they did to avoid punishment. I bet even Joe Chill felt a little bad for the murders he committed. Does he get a pass too? Maybe the reason he was bad all goes back to a time when someone poisoned his dog once and his parents died during his childhood .
Mean Girls
Supergirl was essentially a box office bomb. Passionate comic fans gave it a chance but did not like it because it was standard comic book movie fare they had seen before in films. Another reason for their disapproval was the portrayal of the main character. This negative depiction extended to casual fans who may have liked the actress but not the “new” character. In talking with parents who like comics, there seemed to be an opposition to going to see this film with teens and grade school children that normally would have gravitated to the film. Their reasoning was they hated the character of Supergirl from the moment she was introduced in Superman.
Even lukewarm fans of the Superman family have come to expect the characters to be goody two shoes. Superman was pure and Supergirl was cut from the same cloth. They are the ideal versions of humanity. Perfect in both their moral character and physical prowess. They define being good. In contrast, Batman and his family are heroes who can work in the sewers under the cover of darkness. The Dark Knight trained his team to get their hands dirty. His team is flawed but they still fight the good fight where others fear to go. Even to this level, Batman would never cross the line. Imagine then seeing Gunn’s modern take on the character.
Supergirl had a very sad origin story. This impacted her life. Fans who saw her introduced at the end of Superman gave her the benefit of the doubt that she was just a troubled young adult dealing with a traumatic past. Supergirl took that level of grief even farther through her travels to red sun planets where she could get intoxicated. Many parents did not want to see this in the hero. As a result, many young fans were not exposed to the film. This was a missed opportunity to expand the DCU fanbase. The story could have coped with her guilt and anger in a non-alcoholic way to get them in the door, but then the problem was compounded with the ending.
In the comics, Krem is not killed by Supergirl. Supergirl was unique because through all she has experienced in her young life , yet she still maintained her innocence by sparing the villain and helping end the cycle of violence. In the film Supergirl kills him for his actions both against her and others. Her innocence as a hero is gone. The story and her reputation could have been salvaged with Krem’s death at the hands of another who was the perfect foil to Supergirl. Lobo could have come in during an end credit scene saying how ‘Supergirl is pure like that yellow sun that gives her power, but I am not like her’ type of monologue. This could have protected her and demonstrated that Lobo is that anti-hero comic and movie fans love. I still had hope but the next misstep in the creation of the DCU makes it even harder to believe Gunn can rebound from bad choices that limit the fans of the DCU.
If A Tree Falls in the Woods and No One Knows The Tree, Does it Matter?
Gunn has tried to fend off negative views of the universe by stating that not all the films and tv shows have to connect. That was in direct response to criticism for the next DCU film, and I must concur that not all his films have to require interconnected story elements. As I write this column, the movie Clayface came out this week. This author must be honest and say after watching the movie that it is a quality production. The majority of people who saw it knew the Batman mythology going in. and understood the character’s future as a Batman and DCU villain. The problem is how was this stand-alone film building the DCU when it probably did not attract any casual or newbie fans to the DCU who did not know who Clayface was? Sony already tried building a Spider-Man universe with villains that fans had only a passing interest. Venom was more mainstream, but how many patrons were coming to see the non-connected story of Spidey character’s Madame Web, Morbius and Kraven the Hunter? This type of annex building may make a profit for Skydance but connections to the master build did not help the DCU.
Back to the Basics and Building with Steel
James Gunn has a proven track record. The underrated Belko Experiment is a great analysis of the human psyche. It was Lord of the Flies on steroids. He has a way of going beyond mere action and make you care about characters. Guardians of the Galaxy was a success even using characters most people had never heard of in Marvel Comics. The story and character development made movie goers invested in their adventures. Gunn has that “it” factor when it comes to plots. He also was forced to construct a universe while navigating the merger of two studios in real life. That feat has never been attempted before and may never happen again. Gunn is talented enough to deal with these unique variable and still produce quality projects. He knows after a few slight failures when to release the hounds to get back on the hunt to get his prize. The key to going back to the basics is paying attention to details.
Bringing the Big Gunns!!!
Lex Luthor was never one to match Superman in the powers department. He was unique in Superman’s villain gallery because he could compete with the man of steel using only his mind and willpower. He has a long history mixing it with Superman and prevailing sometimes even as a mere mortal. Luthor is ruthless and goal driven to the point of obsession. He never wears a physical mask but he hides his true nature to others quite well. Ask even the most casual fan to name one Superman villain and his name will be mentioned 9 times out of 10. His character is too good to have limited involvement in the DCU. He is that cool type of villain that can make a film franchise and a hero. Fans had hope for him until IGN published article with Nicholas Hoult in a Luthor Suit while the image credited to James Gunn. Fans reacted with a vengeance.
Years ago, DC Comics introuced an exosuit for Lex. The warsuit powered up Lex to be a physical equal to Superman. The suit was created as a way to market it as an action figure for children in a new toy line. Even among long time Superman fans the suit was never remotely what made Luthor a lethal opponent, so is there any benefit to include that element into Man of Tomorrow. When the picture of the Superman Warsuit came out from the set fans who saw the image spoke up. Some compared it to Jesse Ventura’s garbage Captain Freedom costume in Running Man while others said it was Arnold’s Mr. Freeze costume repurposed from Batman & Robin with Luthorcorp logos to cover the Bat-nipples inspired Mr. Freeze nipples. The worst comparison was fans who saw it and joked it would take Lex to infinity and beyond. Buzz Lightyear jokes and meme comparisons is not what the fans should think when seeing Lex on the screen. The meme pictured above is what was produced already from a simple search on the internet. Maybe redesign the suit to be sleeker in post-production or cut the scene with it because this costume makes a major big bad look silly, and that is not a good thing. Does Joel Schumacher costume designs ring any warning bells for fans? What would be even worst is for comparisons to the Iron Man costume to be made when the DCU is trying not to compare itself to the MCU. Lex deserves better and so do fans.
Customers Matter
One should never take fans or consumers for granted. I visit the Motor City Comic Con because of a lesson learned with my law firm many years ago. We had the corner offices on the second highest floor that visitors could see downtown Detroit miles away. It was believed to be a great attribute and status symbol for the firm. That was until we wanted to relocate and asked clients what we should look for in new office space. Imagine our surprise when many clients indicated they hated the ride up the elevator. One of my favorite clients who has a comic book collection with several early appearances of DC super heroes from the Golden Age of comics said he hated the long walk from the elevator to the office. He said I risked losing him because of the walk. In the end clients loved our new offices because we actually listened to them. Maybe talking with fans rather than hosting a hall presentations to adoring con attendees would produce a better return on investment. Talk comics and movies with fans and they will give you great feedback.
Time for Gunn to Re-Aim
James Gunn is talented so the ability to create a story driven world the DCU will inhabit is still viable. The key is for him to talk to actual consumers and see what they like. This includes diehard fans he may take for granted but cannot afford to lose as well as those movie goers he hopes to attract to the DCU. Years ago, DC and Marvel would visit comic conventions to get to know fans. They stopped that because they believed they knew what fans wanted, but that has not been the case.
Consumers are fickle. What was in vogue on minute is so yesterday the next. If Gunn is to succeed, he cannot put on the screen what he and his writing team believe should represent the DCU. Instead, he should get out of the bubble we all sometimes are caught in and get to know what people truly feel and want. He needs to make sure his DCU will not be studied like New Coca Cola, the DeLorean automobile, the recent Star Wars universe, Snow White (2025) and other flops that failed to meet fans’ expectations. All were seen as “what the public wants” and yet all were rejected by that very same public resulting in great losses for those corporations. He still has time but even that is not infinite.
Fans Vote with their Wallets
People reading this article and the writer putting it to paper want the DCU to succeed because of the love we have for the DC Comics universe and comic book films in general. If this new DCU fails who knows when we will see these familiar characters on the screen. The Lone Ranger was once popular but two movie flops several decades apart made the property toxic. The same can be said for westerns and musical genres. Studios cannot keep losing money on projects. Skydance does not care about the long history that Superman, Batman, Green Lantern and so many other characters have and their importance to the zeitgeist of our society. Theses heroes and villains are only assets to fill the coffers of their corporations. Once characters lose their appeal and drawing power, they become worthless to those who base value on dollars generated. Gunn is a true fan who believes in these characters, thus making him a good steward to best steer the ship around possible icebergs in the future. Let’s hope he listens to fans warning cries and gives them what they want or his voyage may be a final trip for him and the S.S. DCU.