A Movie I'd MAKE:

This post of Tom's got me thinking...you know what movie (or mini-series) I'd love to see that they'd probably never make?

Justice Society of America.

I know it'd never happen, for one thing, it doesn't have name recognition to attract anyone but comic nerds anyway, but I'd think it could really be fun.

The backstory would, of course, be the trickiest aspect, but actually I think it'd be easier to do than say, Justice League. Honestly, if Superman, Batman and company are all teaming up in a movie, the audience are going to want to know how and why. No one would want to miss the first meeting between Clark and Bruce, and everyone else. There'd have to be a big threat, and we'd have to see Gotham, Metropolis, and how the heroes become aware of the threat...

In contrast, I think the Justice Society could be a lot easier. The average movie-goer won't *really* recognize the characters, so it won't be as big of a cheat if they're already acquaintances. And really, all we NEED to know about the JSA is that they were teammates during WWII. One flashback in action and done!

Then all it takes is a line or two at each characters' introductions to determine how they're still alive and relatively young. Heck, with characters like Alan or Sandy, we wouldn't even need a line. Solidifying out of green flame or earth will pretty much explain that bit real easy.

(For convenience sake, I'd have Sandy the Golden Boy already have the earth powers in the WWII flashback. That way the cool nifty special effect powers get to stay without need for complex sand monster explanation)

The line-up I'd choose would be:

Alan and Jay (team dads, most recognizeable),
Ted (gruff uncle, also good for PG to bounce off of),
Mr. Terrific (he'll be also the medical doctor, annexing Pieter's role).
Sandy (kid in flashback, adult in present, also in a good position for vaguely romantic subplots. Movies like those.)
Stargirl (Heart of the team, naturally)
Hawkgirl (Very simplified backstory)
Power Girl (Also simplified backstory)

Alan and Jay are obvious choices, I think. They really are the core of what makes the JSA work for me, that close familial feel. They're the group parents. Also their powers are kickass. Ted is fun because he's an authority figure that'll still play with the kids. Sandy's there because he's my favorite, damnit. Also, there needs to be a few younger members. He's in the neat position of being the youngest of the old-timers, and doesn't really fit in with them OR the second gens, so it'd be fun to play with that aspect of the generation/time gap.

I'm a bit uncomfortable with the fact that all the old-timers are men, but Hippolyta's simply too recognizeable. And it could be something brought up by Kara or Kendra to criticize the inequity of the whole group.

Michael was tricky. I actually like Pieter better, but I really like them both. The cast would have to be small though, and their parts/lines could easily get redundant. The role of team tech and team doctor are very easily combinable and I think Mr. Terrific is probably the more impressive of the two. What with the T-spheres. He'd need a more direct mentor/student role with the previous Mr. Terrific, I think, to make the passing the torch element simpler and quicker, but heck, he's in the same line of work, so it'd be easy enough.

Stargirl's a given. I'd probably just not mention the interim Starmen though. They're a bit...complicated. There might be a passing mention to others, but she'll get the rod directly from Ted. (I'm kind of liking the idea of her swiping it to join. :-) Shades of Stars and STRIPE)

Kara will need a pretty simplified back origin. But the daughter of a major team-big-wig trying to escape from her father's shadow and prove herself at the same time is something that would resonate with a lot of viewers. I'd like to avoid direct mention of Kal-L though (Also: no dimension hopping). Maybe he can be only briefly glimpsed in flashback. From shadow or the back. A funny in-joke to fans who know who that guy must be.

Kendra is tricky, but I think she'd be useful. Another powerhouse sort of character, the wings are iconic too. Very visually striking. I'd want to keep her with the reluctant hero personality she had at the beginning of the JSA storyarc, because her "I'm only here out of necessity" will balance Kara's over-achievingness and Courtney's mischief. Also, the unhappy loner finding some measure of acceptance and comfort in a surrogate family can be heartwarming, subplot wise. I'd keep her backstory really, really simple. Possibly a basic reincarnation thing (amnesiac of course) and have her stumble on the wings/nth metal, maybe at a museum.

(I'd also like to cast Kendra as someone of African-American or Middle-Eastern descent. She's very pretty in the comics, but more diversity is always good. And why does the reincarnation of an Egyptian princess need to be white?)

Also, all movies seem to need a little bit of romance, so a Sand/Kendra thing would probably be the best bet as long as it stays low key and doesn't interfere with the main story. (And I'd totally want a sequel where Hawkman comes back. Simplified, of course. :-P) Besides, it'd be cute to tentatively pair the reluctant hero with the time-lost, out of place character. (I also think it'd be cute to have Kara flirt with Michael. I'm all about tech-geek flirtation :-))

I really wanted to add Dinah too, but I refrained. For one thing, she'd be difficult to give an emotional subplot to. The older heroes have the thought-washed-up/not-needed comeback thing, the younger heroes want to prove themselves. Dinah doesn't need to prove herself, not with her obvious experience, her powers aren't visually striking, and honestly...visually, we've got a lot of blondes already.

The plot would be pretty simple, possibly cribbed a bit from the first arc of JSA. The heroes get together for Wesley Dodds' funeral. Something goes wrong. Whoosh! Out of retirement! Mordru would probably be too complicated. At least without the Dr. Fate connection, but there are a few large scale villains that could work for an intro.

Ooo! Karkull and Obsidian! And Kara can mention how she, Todd and others made a team once to follow in the footsteps of their elders. Not to mention, family stuff is always fun. :-) (Todd would of course redeem/rehabilitate himself at the end...and on the team in the non-existent sequel!...where he comes out!)

I'd like to play up the contrasts/similarities of Kara and Todd's situations maybe, since they're both the kids of the real intimidating powerhouses of the JSA.

Costumes are tricky though, because honestly...most superhero costumes DO look silly on real people. Especially real people who are gaining in years (Alan, Ted and Jay at least should look older) And honestly, they'd probably scare away any non-comic fans.

But heck, this is MY hypothetical movie damnit. And if I want Alan dressed like a Christmas Tree Ornament or Jay to have a funnel on his head, they're going to damn well do it.

Besides, they'd look even sillier in black leather a.la. X-Men.

I don't think it'd be a masterpiece of a movie by any stretch of the imagination, but I bet it'd be a fun way to kill a few hours. I'd watch it at least. :-P