Last Updated on August 3, 2021
#1 – Kingdom Come
The gold standard for alternate storylines (aka Elseworld), Kingdom Come is a gorgeously painted comic by Alex Ross that gives us the heroes we know at an older age as they have to battle a new crop of vigilante heroes in anticipation of an impending apocalypse. If Zack Snyder is planning to be inspired by The Dark Knight Returns for his Superman and Batman movie, I hope someday they choose to look at this as the perfect tale to round out story arcs for the members of the Justice League.
#2 – Crisis on Infinite Earths
You can consider this comic the DAYS OF FUTURE PAST of the DC Universe, except it actually happened. Like any comic universe, occasionally you need to reboot. Crisis on Infinite Earths acknowledged there are parallel storylines that needed to be wiped clean and the slate started fresh. Heroes and villains teamed up to battle the Monitor and Anti-Monitor to save their world only to reset the continuity. Once the DC Universe is up and running on the big screen, using a reboot movie plot like this would be the best way to transfer casts and explain changes in who is playing the hero roles. It would be the ultimate superhero movie.
#3 – Arkham Asylum
DC has been very successful in the realm of video games and the Batman Arkham games are a prime example. With a darkness missing from a lot of the movies and gritty graphics, they are the new benchmark for superhero games. Inspired by the iconic Arkham Asylum graphic novel, the games are the best realization of The Dark Knight in any medium. While Batman may be getting his reboot in the next MAN OF STEEL movie, telling this disturbing comic would be my recommendation for his first standalone feature.
#4 – New Frontier
More of an homage than something that could be incorporated into where Warner Bros wants to take their DC universe, New Frontier is a brilliant throwback to the comics of old. The animated film is amazing and may be all we need, but I would kill to see the Justice League decked out in their Silver Age duds. Imagine THE ROCKETEER with DC heroes.
#5 – Identity Crisis
Either you love or you hate Identity Crisis. The controversial story would work well in Nolan and Snyder’s realistic world as it deals with murder and rape plot elements that show the seedier side of the circle of superhero friends. As a potential JUSTICE LEAGUE story, I cannot see it ever happening, but it would be a risk worth taking if a filmmaker is up to the challenge of doing it right.
#6 – All Star Superman
While The Death of Superman story arc is more iconic, All Star Superman is the much better tale of Kal-el’s mortality. To tell much of the plot would deprive you of reading one of the best Superman stories of all time, but I will just say it involves the culmination of the conflict between Superman and Lex Luthor, a lot of goodbyes, and the perfect way to feature the death of Superman on the big screen.
#7 – New Gods
Often referred to as Jack Kirby’s Fourth World, the New Gods are races of warring beings including the mega-villain Darkseid. Creating a film focused on these characters may be daunting but it would definitely be no crazier than what we see in the THOR films. It would also be a great bridge to introduce the fall of Darkseid and flesh him out for a potential run against the JUSTICE LEAGUE. If THE AVENGERS have Thanos, the JUSTICE LEAGUE has Darkseid.
#8 – Sinestro Corps Wars
Okay, so most people hated Ryan Reynolds’ GREEN LANTERN portrayal, but I have yet to meet someone who disliked Mark Strong’s take on Sinestro. The Lantern who eventually becomes a villain was hinted as the next adversary during the credits of the Martin Campbell movie and this recent story arc would be a fantastic way to bring the character to life. This crossover featured multiple versions of the Green Lantern and could serve as a way to retain the Ryan Reynolds film in continuity, kill of Hal Jordan, and bring on another actor as another iteration of the Lantern. It is so crazy it just might work!
#9 – The Judas Contract
Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, Blue Beetle. There are so many smaller characters in the DC Universe that would be great on the big screen, but maybe not in a solo film. The Teen Titans are already a hit in animated form in their own series on Cartoon Network, why not take the next step and make a big screen adaptation that bridges the dark adult world featured in MAN OF STEEL with a more fun, teen-centric team? The iconic Judas Contract story arc may be too dark for the movie I just described, but the whodunit style murder mystery featuring the Titans would make for a great movie.
#10 – Swamp Thing meets John Constantine
We have been hearing the rumblings that Guillermo Del Toro is developing a JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK movie that would encompass John Constantine and Swamp Thing. Both of these characters have been on the big screen before, but bringing them together would serve the dual purpose of reintroducing them to mass audiences and giving a filmmaker the chance to tell a darker story featuring these under-appreciated characters.
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