Avengers vs. Justice League: War

Avengers vs. Justice League: War

Captain America: “We need a plan of attack!”

Iron Man: “I have a plan. Attack!”

So, in my last post, I made the claim that there are aesthetic differences in the movie Justice League: War to make it different from Avengers, but that it was basically the same plot. The main aesthetic difference I argued, was fear as a motivator. From the beginning, it is established that Batman is a fugitive, hunted by Green Lantern.

    The heroes in Avengers, however, start out as heroes, and active members of their respective communities from SHIELD to India, for The Hulk. In Justice League: War, The impetus for banding together was only the invasion; but they didn’t have 3 hours to jibe and develop relationships between the characters. Iron Man/Hulk do a good job joking and teaming up to work on the alien object, even though Cap chastises them for being unfocused.

   So, from the start the heroes are paired together, and play off of each other. I often say of the Avengers movie that it is a good example of a viable theory of group communication called “Forming, storming, and norming.” It is of course, arguable that Hawkeye needed a little more exposure, but as the only one in this group who hadn’t had a movie yet, he couldn’t be in the first two stages. Justice League: War has little time to develop and thus normalize the heroes roles: essentially we have “forming, storming, Batman!” But, what is forming, storming, and norming?

    Forming is when the group forms. Black Widow serves this purpose, as well as SHIELD, as well as pairing off the heroes to form relationships…as when Cap breaks up a fight with Tony Stark. Superman also fought with Batman like this. But, then, Batman has to rescue Batman. Also, it’s telling that Wonder Woman avoids meeting the President. I know that’s comic relief, but she acts as a fugitive as well. Whereas Cap keeps the group focused by remaining in his past role: The soldier.

  In this respect, each Avenger contains something that connects him to the mission….and that they’re opposed to. Storming is when they question the mission. Even Tony Stark’s suspicion of SHIELD plays on Cap’s trust in SHIELD. Hulk’s rampage and defeat by Thor connects him to Thor. So, he ends up paired with him. Justice League: War has a storming stage, but it is short, since the heroes never meet until the invasion, and Batman rescues Superman. Abducting Superman for conflict reasons, I feel is an odd choice, but it served to show Batman as a leader, and he takes charge, but the end result is the group never feels solidified…it’s Batman’s show…but that’s okay! They have forming, storming, Batman.

   In sum,  Avengers had more time to dealt with forming, storming, and norming. The norming is solidified by the teams mutual avenging of the death of Coulson. It feels less dark because there is more humor (Iron Man’s a jerk, sometimes, but he enjoys himself!) and has more time for the group’s conflicts to resolve. But, in Justice League: War, DC wants the tension to be there, to use a phrase, because he’s Batman.

  Batman thrives off of being a fugitive, and why not? Batman is popular, and this gets the team together quicker…at the cost of character development. In a sense, DC must go with the Batman feel at this point, because the audience already knows him. In a similar vein (Although you have to credit the writers!) Marvel’s Avengers follows the aesthetic of it’s most bankable character for much the same reason. And they are both billionaires…ironic since they are the most bankable.

Ultimately, the cultural aesthetic comes down to who was leading the group. Cap leads the Avengers, kicking into full army mode and formulating his plan of attack! Batman serves as a leader, but only after Superman is underplayed. But, the circumstances called for him to step in…Because he’s Batman! And it would save them making more movies.

Even though Justice League: War is a good preview of what a Justice League movie might look like, to me, it’s clearly following an Avengers formula…but that’s okay! It’s a good decision. That just means they’ll have to go with more familiar characters, and resolve less interpersonal conflict. But, Batman thrives on conflict, and just happens to be the most recognizable character in that universe. Yes, the Avengers all had movies, but DC is playing catch-up, and doesn’t have time to build up there characters. So, Batman may be the hero the DC movies deserve…but not the one they need! Only time will tell!

Bonus Question: Who do you think would win? Avengers or Justice League?

Justice League: War (2014) Review

Justice League: War (2014)

Batman: “The world’s afraid of us.”

Green Lantern: “You say that like it’s a good thing.”

Batman: “It’s necessary.”

Justice League: War explains the origins of the Justice League and how they united to fight against Darkseid. But, first some had to fight against each other. Green Lantern chases Batman around Gotham believing he is an alien with a bomb. But, he’s actually stopping an alien with a bomb! In the fight and battle of wits that ensues, Batman disarms Green Lantern! It’s a very good demonstration of Batman’s skill and shows that he isn’t just a guy in a batsuit.

Really, I guess that’s the only problem I have with the film is that it’s way too Batcentric. Movies seem to have lost the idea of how to portray Superman as a leader and symbol of hope. Here, he’s an Old Testament-type God-figure, introducing himself by tossing Batman around until he realizes he’s not the enemy. It’s a might-makes-right philosophy…and I think it’s telling that they can’t represent hope without it choking fear. We can’t let Superman stand on his moral authority like Christopher Reeve's Superman did. Batman leads the Justice League now. With fear as a necessity.

But, also against this, we see the story of Wonder Woman, who prefers to spend the day eating ice cream with a girl instead of meeting with the President until the invasion. She at least provides some comic relief. And feminist philosophy. At one point, she gets one of her protestors to admit that he cross-dresses as Wonder Woman via The Lasso of Truth. It’s funny, and at least shows her philosophy of fighting for Truth, rather than hitting everyone right away.

Now, eventually we see characters like Flash (Who analyzes the metal from the bomb.) and Cyborg, and Shazam. All these characters are played spot-on. Flash has his signature fast-talking quick wit. “It’s an honor to meet you, sir…Batman…Batman, sir!” Cyborg’s backstory is the most detailed, which I believe they should focus more on should they make more movies in this storyline. His scientist father basically reveals that he missed his son’s football game to analyze the metal, because whatever he can do with football (in the world of superheroes.) is a joke.

Later, when  he becomes infected with an alien symbiote, his scientist dad uses a “quantum computer” to save his body, and he becomes Cyborg. It’s a cool story, and shows how technology can make us compete with superheroes. With a power chair, I know this firsthand.

And then of course, there’s  one of the JL’s greatest opponents, Darkseid. He appears out of the alien rift caused by this terraforming bombs. Superman again is a little underplayed here, and he gets abducted, and Batman rescues him. But, this is Batman’s era. I thought how all the team fought together using their powers (Flash for distraction, Green Lantern to repel the army, etc.) was nice. Wonder Woman stabs out Darkseid’s eyes, perhaps in a nod to the Cyclops myth. Oh, yes, it’s an adult cartoon, so there’s blood, and swearing…but that’s what I expected.
 
Overall, it’s a great feature, and the animation is gripping…reminiscent of Batman: The Animated Series. Very refreshing to see hand-drawn styles, at least…I miss hand-drawn style. It sounds weird, but as I’ve said before I’m a secret animation geek, so it really pulled me in. Especially with the plot! I’ll add a star just for seeing some good animation.

So, in conclusion, yes, Superman’s ideal (Justice) is underplayed for Batman’s fear-based aesthetic. He even wears the Man of Steel (New 52, actually.) outfit! But, I can get used to a Batcentric JL if that’s really what people want in the post-9/11 world. But, is it “necessary”? No. Okay, that’s my final philosophical critique. I actually really enjoyed this movie and the animation, and the essence of the characters.

I mean, there’s Cyborg’s technological genius, Shazam’s bravery (And Shazam is voiced by Sean Astin!), Green Lantern’s willpower, Wonder Woman’s Truth, Flash’s quick wit…if DC’s looking to copy the success of the 2012’s Avengers (Hint: They are. Superman is Hawkeye here, Flash is Iron Man, Wonder Woman is Captain America…even the star-spangled outfit…has to rediscover the modern world.) They succeed here! Now, just make Superman a little more useful than Hawkeye! Oh, snap! 4/5 stars from me! Go see it!