The Batman in a JL Movie? HELL NO! Author: Bill Ramey Friday, February 23, 2007 A JUSTICE LEAGUE movie? WTF is Warner Bros. thinking? Well, I know exactly what they are thinking: $. And that’s cool as we all dig the green, right? Look, I’m not naïve enough to think that all Warner Bros. cares about is pleasing the fans when it comes to their super hero/comic book films, OK? The bottom line is that Warner Bros. Pictures is in the money making business. Hell, I’m not going to shed any tears if BOF generates a little scratch from time to time. BUT, bad ideas are bad ideas and a Justice League film -- one that includes Batman -- is a bad idea. To all you fans who think it'd be "tight," I say this: what works in comic books or in an animated TV show, wouldn't necessarily work as a live-action film. I understand totally the dynamic between The Batman and the rest of the JL in the comics and on the animated TV series, trust me. But those are just that: comic books and an animated series aimed at a younger demographic. When it comes to a live-action film, can you actually envision the Chris Nolan/Christian Bale Batman tooling around with Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern! Do you really want to see that? And to WB, you just got the BATMAN franchise back on solid ground, OK? BATMAN BEGINS gave us a young Batman (in the form of actor Christian Bale) that has his whole career in front of him. There are many stories -- or movies -- to be told with this Batman. Don’t screw it up now by including him in a somewhat-gimmicky, kid-friendly, JL flick. If you haven’t figured it out, Batman is different from most of the costumed, comic book, superheroes: HE DOESN’T HAVE ANY POWERS! He doesn’t fly, shoot laser beams out of his eyes, or climb up walls. That’s what makes him so great because we can say to ourselves, “You know, if I had lot’s of cash, bought some really cool (non-lethal) weapons, and trained myself to the peek of physical perfection, maybe I could be The Batman!” Of course we’re not going to really do that, but it’s rather cool to think like that when you read a comic or watch a movie. Batman is the most-realistic of the super heroes, so I have no desire to see him paired onscreen with characters that can do all sorts of fantastic things. If you are hell-bent on doing a JLA film, that’s fine. In fact, I’d support the hell out of it. DC Comics is your sister company and they have a plethora of cool super heroes at your disposal for such a film. Here, take a look: Green Lantern, The Flash, The Martian Manhunter, The Green Arrow, Aquaman, Hawkman, Black Lightening, The Atom, Red Tornado, et al -- and that’s just the tip of the iceberg! You don’t need to include The Dark Knight to make a cool -- and good -- JL film. And you don’t need Batman to get people to the theaters to see it either. And while we’re at it, keep Superman and Wonder Woman out of it too. You’ve already jump-started the SUPERMAN franchise with SUPERMAN RETURNS and you’re trying to bring Wonder Woman to the big screen as well (although I’m a bit skeptical WW will work as a tent pole film). Hang your hat on those franchises -- especially Batman and Superman -- and make this JL thing without them. I know you probably see how well the X-MEN films did and want something along those lines. But let me tell you, the Justice League is NOT the X-Men. Make that DOOM PATROL movie that‘s in development if you want to go that route. And while I’m talking a bit about Marvel, don’t F-up like they have and try to make a movie out of every damn character in the DC universe! Cripe's most of those Marvel movies suck! But that’s an op-ed for another day. And I’ll tell you another thing that won’t work: having a Batman in THE JUSTICE LEAGUE that isn’t the Batman of BATMAN BEGINS and THE DARK KNIGHT! Hell, many of the average Joe’s out there STILL haven’t figured out that the new BATMAN films don’t have anything to do with the Burton/Schumacher ones. Can you imagine the confusion this would cause! Bat-fans, trust me on this one. Do you want to sacrifice all you’ve lobbied for since ‘97 and BATMAN AND ROBIN, just to have The Batman show up in a damn JUSTICE LEAGUE film? Because I’m telling you, if they include him in it, it’s OVER for the BATMAN movie series. Lookit, when I say I speak for you -- hate me and BOF or not -- well, I’m speaking for you here. Don’t get me wrong, I’d be down with a big-ass JUSTICE LEAGUE film, alrighty? If you want a big summer blockbuster featuring some of the great characters from DC, and you want them fighting all sorts of alien or super villain menaces, go for it! Just leave The Batman where he belongs: alone in Gotham City fighting crime. "Jett" is the founder and editor-in-chief of BATMAN-ON-FILM.COM.