It’s official: earlier this week Warner Bros. announced that they are finally making a Justice League movie, starring Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and probably The Flash and Cyborg. But that can’t be it, right? With dozens upon dozens of Justice League members from the comics, TV series and beyond, they have to be planning to include a few characters to fill out the roster. The Avengers found room for Hawkeye and The Black Widow, so we figure director Zack Snyder should be able to sneak in a couple second-stringers or popular c-listers to shake up the team dynamic and maybe even introduce a few new corners of the DC Cinematic Universe to be exploited in future sequels and spin-offs. But which ones?
Behold, dear readers, our picks for 13 Heroes We Want in the Justice League Movie. To be clear, we’re including only DC Comics characters (obviously) who have already been a member of the Justice League in one medium or another. We don’t want Zack Snyder to include every single hero on our list – that would get unwieldy pretty darned fast – but if he’s going to sneak in a few extra heroes who haven’t been officially announced yet, we hope he picks a few of these exciting do-gooders who have proven their worth to the Justice League – as fighters, friends and foils – time and time again.
William Bibbiani is the editor of CraveOnline’s Film Channel and the host of The B-Movies Podcast and The Blue Movies Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
13 Heroes We Want in the Justice League Movie
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Plastic Man
Warner Bros. desperately needs to introduce a superhero into their cinematic universe that isn't oppressively gritty. Enter: Plastic Man, the malleable superhero who got his start as a hardened criminal but became a hilarious, stretchy do-gooder after he was splashed with mysterious chemicals. The redemption story would make him human, the dumb jokes would make Justice League feel like a movie we're actually supposed to enjoy.
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Green Arrow and The Black Canary
If the CW series "Arrow" has proven anything, it's that Green Arrow has appeal outside of the comics. Together with his on-again, off-again partner Black Canary, he's stood up for the little guy whenever Superman & Pals placed all their focus on the big picture. Warner Bros. may not want to cross Justice League over with "Arrow," and they may not want to introduce a different version of the character and confuse audiences in the process, but we do hope that someone is sticking up for these characters in the development stage.
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Captain Marvel
The perspective of a child is frequently missing from modern superhero movies, and the classic good guy Captain Marvel (also commonly known as Shazam) represents a fantastic way to throw a kid in the mix without forcing the other good guys to save him all the time. Whenever the youngster Billy Batson says "Shazam," he transforms into a magical paragon of virtue with powers to rival Superman. Like Plastic Man, Captain Marvel would be another chance to inject Justice League with wonder, instead of cynicism.
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The Question
The justifiably paranoid vigilante The Question was only a member of the Justice League in "Justice League Unlimited," but he was a perfect fit for the team precisely because he felt totally out of place. His frequently accurate (and only sometimes insane) conspiracy theories could be a great way to get the plot started, piecing together the seeds of an earth-shattering scheme that brings the other Leaguers together.
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Vixen
A professional model and bearer of the Tantu Totem, which bestows upon her all the powers of the animal kingdom, Vixen has repeatedly proven herself a strong heroine and a valuable addition to the Justice League. As a bonus, including Vixen in the Justice League movie would remind audiences that there are other prominent female heroes in the DC Universe besides Wonder Woman, and not all of them are white either.
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Blue Beetle
Jaime Reyes would be one of the youngest but most powerful members of the Justice League, an inexperienced hero permanently attached to an alien weapon with many secrets and many dangerous abilities. A teenaged perspective would be a welcome addition to the team, and the inclusion of a character this new could be a great way to push the DC Cinematic Universe forward by proving there's motion picture potential in characters who haven't been around for half a century.
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Hawkgirl
Another strong female hero, Hawkgirl is an alien from the planet Thanagar who - in "Justice League Unlimited" - was actually a sleeper agent preparing Earth for an eventual invasion. A powerful fighter, a brazen warrior and a great way to set up future sequels, Hawkgirl would be an exciting addition to the Justice League movie cast.
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The Blue Beetle & Booster Gold
The Blue Beetle and Booster Gold are both capable heroes, but they don't act like it. If anything, they bring out the most immature aspects of each other, and could form a breakout action-comedy spin-off of their own if Justice League plays them right. Booster Gold is a loser from the future who travels back in time to be somebody, and Blue Beetle (not to be confused with the younger version) is a capable crimefighter with abilities and gadgets that rival Batman's... but without the grumpy scowl.
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Green Lantern (Guy Gardner)
Everyone expects Justice League to include a Green Lantern, but which one? Hal Jordan may be off the table after starring in his own box office bomb, and lots of people love John Stewart, but we'd be even happier if Guy Gardner joined the team. What if Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman had to put up with a total jerk the whole time? His heart is in the right place, but his social graces leave much to be desired. He'd make every conversation between the heroes more interesting, and perpetually entice Batman to knock him out with "one punch."
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Martian Manhunter
Considered by many to be the heart and soul of the Justice League, The Martian Manhunter is an alien (yes, from Mars) who makes Earth his home after the extermination of his species. His perpetual efforts to learn what it means to be human, and save humanity even as the population of Earth rejects and fears him, would be a glorious dramatic centerpiece in any Justice League movie, giving a face to the isolation of superheroism even as our favorite do-gooders band together for the very first time.
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Aquaman
Aquaman is a great hero. Fifty years ago, one stupid television series called "Superfriends" (of all things) portrayed him badly and he's been fighting off a bad reputation ever since. But as the ruler of most of the planet, with superhuman strength and telepathy, an army of monsters at his beck and call, and a history of badass adventures behind him, he'd make an incredible addition to Justice League, and prove once and for all that he doesn't suck. At all. And aside from one single dumbass TV series for children that nobody even watches anymore, he never did.
