Green Lantern/Alan Scott
Flash/Jay Garrick
Dr Fate/Kent Nelson
Hourman (any one of them)
Hawkman & Hawkgirl
Amazing Man/WIll Everett
Black Canary/Dinah Drake Lance
Wildcat/Ted Grant
Sandman/Wesley Dodds/Sandy Hawkins
Power Girl/Kara Zor-L
Johnny Quick/Liberty Belle
Jessie Quick
Johnny Thunder
Mr Terrific/Michael Holt
Other(Please Specify)
"Never assign to malice what is adequately explained by stupidity or ignorance."
"Great stories will always return to their original forms"
"Nobody is more dangerous than he who imagines himself pure in heart; for his purity, by definition, is unassailable." James Baldwin
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.
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.
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.
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!
"You know the deal, Metropolis. Treat people right or expect a visit from me."
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.
"We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe."
~ Black Panther.
As much as I'd love to see a Sandman Mystery Theatre movie, I GOTTA vote for a Jay Flash flick!
"My name is Wally West. I'm the fastest man alive!"
I'll try being nicer if you try being smarter.
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.
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!
So despite decades of being rendered radioactive, the Hawks are still ahead of everyone else.
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.
A bat! That's it! It's an omen.. I'll shall become a bat!
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