Will ‘JLA’ do fans justice?

One of the most popular facets of the DC Comics world is the Justice League of America, which features major superheroes Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash and others teaming up to fight evil. While Superman and Batman have had their time on film, many fans have dreamed of the day that a Justice League movie would come to fruition.\nLuckily, over the summer a script surfaced and the JLA film suddenly had legs. Ever since, there’s been rampant speculation online that has been fueled even more with the leaking of information. But the one thing that’s most important about this movie is that it cannot suck. DC can’t afford it, the fans can’t afford it and WB can’t afford it.\nHiring George Miller (“Happy Feet”) to direct was a step in the right direction. He’s eager to tackle something on such a grand scale as this. But what really matters is which actors are going to bring the immortal characters to life. Early news said that Christian Bale and Brandon Routh, who currently play Batman and Superman in stand-alone films, will not be a part of “JLA.” At first this seemed awful, but in the end it will pay off, because Bale’s Batman is too serious and Routh can’t act. \nRumors popped up that Tom Welling, who plays young Clark Kent on “Smallville,” was approached to continue to do so in the film. Even though the rumors died, Welling has long been a perfect candidate since today’s audiences know him as Clark. \nMonday it was announced that Jessica Biel was in talks to play Wonder Woman, the first big-star rumor to surface. Biel proved she could handle the action in “Blade: Trinity,” but it’s risky to cast stars because it’s hard to suspend belief that they aren’t playing themselves in a costume (see: George Clooney as Batman).\nThen someone claiming to have read the script released a heap of spoilers online. Noted is the list of heroes: all those previously mentioned plus Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter (Where the hell is Aquaman?). Also, don’t forget that no comic book film has ever been able to succeed with more than a few heroes; six or seven will be a major challenge.\nSupposedly the plot comes directly from the comics, and one hero will “go bad.” Great, but it’s odd to ignore the origin story and instead start with everyone already together. Looks like WB wants to make a superhero flick with tons of action that will spawn new franchises, and that means quality could suffer.\nAnother issue facing this film is that it starts shooting in February, just in time to avoid the strike planned for next summer. It has developed faster than a speeding bullet, and finishing it in just four months is another huge risk.\n“JLA” is going to be the most important comic book film to date. If it’s screwed up, the backlash will be so enormous that DC characters could become box office kryptonite. As of now, it’s on the right track, but if there are any rubber nipple suits, no one will be able to save it. Not even a superhero.