Which JSA Character Should Get A Live Action Solo Film

[Thor-Ul]

Voted for Hourman. I think a Vertigo-esque noir film about addiction and loss could make for one of the most compelling genre films to date. Sort of like Sandman Mystery Theater, but covering topics closer to the opioid epidemic. More Logan or Joker than Avengers, that kinda vibe yknow?

You have my vote sir.

[achilles]

Currently, after my vote, he's tied for first with the Hawks. Ted could have a cool run on tv. Lots of peripheral characters rotating in and out of the gym, bringing lots of story potential. Set it in a less than privileged part of the city.
Black Canary could also be a good choice. Either falling back to her Silver Age roots and give her a flower shop or go more modern singer route.
Green Lantern, Alan Grant as the head of WGBS entertainment, give him two teenage kids learning their powers.
I would however LOVE a Sandman series in the vein of the Sandman Mystery Series.
But my dream would be Power Girl. Head of StarrWare, Inc. Brassy. Bold. Ready to punch first, sets her apart from Supergirl.

Really, pretty much any of the JSA could be developed into a tv show.

If I had to choose just one, as here, I'd pick Power Girl. She would be WB's chance to do a Superman movie right without all the baggage of either Superman or Supergirl. The general public would be presented with a Kryptonian they don't know. So they'd be familiar with the concept, (and after all the Avenger and other MCU stuff, a multiverse, should they choose to go that way, would be familiar as well. She's be nearly a black slate for most people, but with the knowledge of what she can do from watching Superman stuff over the years.

If I could do more than one, I'd include classic Alan Scott, from prior to Flashpoint. Dr. Fate....but I don't know if Brosnan or anyone else really can match Cumberbatch's Dr. Strange. The Sandman OG as a noir thriller/comic book movie. Wildcat, (Ted), in a gritty 70s style action flick.

But I really feel that the JSA's potential breakout character in live action is PG. So much potential, so many ways to finally do Superman style characters well on the big screen for WB. Plus, she's got enough character traits, and strong ones, that she, given the right actress and writer and director, could be a comparable character to the MCU's versions of Stark, Thor, or Dr. Strange. In other words, she can supply the quips and comedy as well as action scenes as intense and good as any in the MCU.

[John Venus]

Voted for Hourman. I think a Vertigo-esque noir film about addiction and loss could make for one of the most compelling genre films to date. Sort of like Sandman Mystery Theater, but covering topics closer to the opioid epidemic. More Logan or Joker than Avengers, that kinda vibe yknow?

But I'd be very happy with Sandman too, and I almost voted for Other so I could get some Starman love in here....but in the end, the tale of Ted Knight simply isn't as unique in cinema as Rex Taylor's. Ted is too close to a Bruce Wayne/Tony Stark type of character, with an extra dash of the Zany Professor archetype. But Hourman has the potential to really be a new thing and exist in its own space.

I don't think it's fair to dismiss Ted being too close to Bruce Wayne/Tony Stark and claim Hourman would be breaking new ground when the latter could just as easily be dismissed by casuals as a Captain America clone.

Wait . . . how is "Amazing Man/WIll Everett" considered a "JSA character"?

Wasn't Marcus Clay the Amazing Man who was a member of the JSA, not Will nor Will III?

Yes, the third Amazing Man joined the JSA for real. Though Will Everett was with the JSA in... I think one of the Injustice tie in comics by Robert Venditti.

There has been discussion about the character and some intrigue around him and I wasn't pulling from any specific era when creating the poll anyway. So I bent the rules a bit to include him on the poll.

[Adekis]

Had to go with Wes Dodds. Sandman Mystery Theatre is one of my favorite books DC has ever put out.

I considered voting for Green Lantern or something. I think Alan is my favorite GL. But the GL legacy is so well defined with space rangers at this point it probably wouldn't be worth it, and besides, this way I get to vote for Wes!

[Ascended]

I don't think it's fair to dismiss Ted being too close to Bruce Wayne/Tony Stark and claim Hourman would be breaking new ground when the latter could just as easily be dismissed by casuals as a Captain America clone.

Maybe.

Don't take my statements here to be an insult towards Ted. The Starman franchise is one of my favorites in DC, and the Starmen and Women not getting a bigger due is a source of constant pain. Between Hourman and Starman, I will always be Team Knight. I'm not actually that big a fan of the Taylors, matter of fact.

But at the end of the day? Ted's a fairly standard and straightforward mystery man. Great name, cool powers, and the character is a testament to the miracles of human ingenuity and intelligence. But there aren't a lot of Starman stories you can tell that can't be told with anyone else.

Hourman, on the other hand? How many heroes get their powers from drug addiction? How many are so well positioned to comment on this particular social ill? A good writer could take any character and weave a solid, fun story out of them that manages to stand on its own well enough to make a respectable profit....but Hourman could easily be a kind of movie we've never seen from the Big 2 before; a marriage of pulp and DARE. Two-fisted justice juxtaposed against a corrupt and corpulent pharma industry. Drug addled indie film and stylized Batman vigilantism and violence.

Starman would make for a fantastic superhero movie. I'd watch it twice. But I think Hourman, with a heavy Vertigo spice, could be more than just another superhero movie.

[married guy]

As much as I'd love to see a Sandman Mystery Theatre movie, I GOTTA vote for a Jay Flash flick!

[Riv86672]

Currently, after my vote, he's tied for first with the Hawks. Ted could have a cool run on tv. Lots of peripheral characters rotating in and out of the gym, bringing lots of story potential. Set it in a less than privileged part of the city.
Black Canary could also be a good choice. Either falling back to her Silver Age roots and give her a flower shop or go more modern singer route.
Green Lantern, Alan Grant as the head of WGBS entertainment, give him two teenage kids learning their powers.
I would however LOVE a Sandman series in the vein of the Sandman Mystery Series.
But my dream would be Power Girl. Head of StarrWare, Inc. Brassy. Bold. Ready to punch first, sets her apart from Supergirl.

Really, pretty much any of the JSA could be developed into a tv show.

Neat, a fellow Ted fan!

A Sandman Mystery series would be so fun!

[John Venus]

My picks:

Amazing Man/Will Everett:

Retro name, retro costume, looks like your average superhero but at the same time he has a very dark backstory. Plus he has two legacy heroes carrying on his name and I think there is an interesting story to be told about how the torch gets passed down the family. Someone like Will would have a very different pov compared to someone like Ted.

Black Canary/Dinah Drake Lance:

I thought the old Golden Age Black Canary stories were delightful and I could easily seem them being reinvented as a tv show ala Sherlock meets Daredevil. Use the original origin Conway came up for Black Canary; daughter of a police officer who becomes a vigilante after her father's death. Originally, she became Black Canary because she was rejected from being an officer due to 1940's sexism but I think nowadays tie it into modern day police corruption.

Go a step further and make Ted Grant/Wildcat her co lead on the show.

Hawkman & Hawkgirl:

Even though they are the most otherworldly of DC characters there is something appealing about a battle couple with ties dating back to Ancient Egypt. The Hawks are also probably the most visually striking characters in all the DCU.

Sandman/Wesley Dodds:

Sandman: Mystery Theater is your blue print. A detective based hero who has dreams from the future and has to solve both his dream and the mystery is a unique gimmick that hasn't been before.

Dr Fate/Kent Nelson:

Great visual. Fantastically creepy origin. Use Martin Pasko and Walt Simonson's 'Dr Fate' series as a blue print.

Mr Terrific/Michael Holt:

Probably the most enduring character from the Goyer/Robinson/Johns era of JSA. Holt makes the most sense as the modern day leader of the JSA.


Power Girl/Kara Zor-L:

Keep it simple: Power Girl is from another universe that was destroyed and is now stranded on this earth. She meets other JSA members who are similar to the ones on her earth but on this one they have no relationship with her. PG has all the power of Superman and also acts as the field leader (to Holt's chairperson role) and also as a mentor to younger heroines like Stargirl and Cyclone.

[Robanker]

Give us an HBOmax series by the Doom Patrol showrunners, and I'd be all in!

Thanks for putting something in my brain I can't have. That would be perfection.

[Sutekh]

I picked Black Canary, because she's my favorite of those listed, but I could watch the hell out of shows about Holt/Mr. Terrific, Ted Grant, the Hawks (playing up the Egyptian reincarnation angle), etc. Half the ideas in this thread seem like potential gold!

[John Venus]

So despite decades of being rendered radioactive, the Hawks are still ahead of everyone else.

[MajorHoy]

100% Sandman Wesley Dodds. Make it a dark period piece a la Sandman Mystery Theatre.

A Wes Dodds period Sandman movie and/or Charles McNider as Dr. Mid-Nite (also set in the 1940s), though a modern-day Pieter Anton Cross Dr. Mid-Nite may also work.

[SJNeal]

So despite decades of being rendered radioactive, the Hawks are still ahead of everyone else.

The fans have always maintained faith in the Hawks, in spite of DC's best efforts to ruin them at every turn.

Thanks for putting something in my brain I can't have. That would be perfection.

I love to torture myself with "what ifs...?". Happy I could include you!

[The Darknight Detective]

Of the group above, I could only see these characters with any real chance of a solo: Black Canary, the Hawks, Sandman, Dr. Fate, Mr. Terrific, Wildcat, Johnny Thunder, Hourman, and Amazing Man. From those superheroes, the first five intrigue me the most, but I think of Dinah and the Halls more JL than JSA. So that leaves the other three, which leads to my difficult selection: Mr. Dodds. I could see a very nice movie with him as the lead.

I don't see much hope for an Alan, Jay, or Karen solo due to Hal/John, Barry and Kara being obstacles for them. The other speedsters would have the same problem with the Flash, too.

[MajorHoy]

So despite decades of being rendered radioactive, the Hawks are still ahead of everyone else.

Actually, with 52 people having voted, "Hawkman & Hawkgirl" (at 9 votes) are now tied with "Sandman/Wesley Dodds/Sandy Hawkins" (also with 9 votes).