Top Ten DC Animated Movie dream list

So it was pretty much announced that one of the next DC animated movies is going to be a two part movie of Frank Miller's overrated 'The Dark Knight Returns'. Look, I'm just gonna come out and say it... I have never been a huge fan of Miller's grand opus. I thought it was neat for it's time, but in the end, I always felt it was lacking in several areas. It's often compared to Watchmen, but to be honest, that's really unfair to do so, because Watchmen is a LOT better of a book. Now I'm not trying to get on Alan Moore's dick here, because enough people are doing that due to this whole 'Before Watchmen' scandal that's going on. But Watchmen IS a better written story. It actually has various tactful elements of writing, from similes to foreshadowing. Dark Knight though, I always felt it lacked direction, and you can start to see serious shades of Frank Miller's inanity forming in it. It was cutting edge for it's time, and it does deserve it's accolades, but I must say, I do not feel it holds up all that well. And I just cannot help but to feel that when people say it does hold up, that they're saying it out of reflex. Like how when you ask a Transfomers fan if the Generation One cartoons were good, and they all say “yes”. They really were not. They were awful. We loved them, but they were awful. Transformers: The Movie is only slightly better than the Go-Bots movie. (For those reading this for the first time, I'm an enormous Transformers fan. I even liked Revenge of the Fallen, even though I know it's a bad movie.)

Dark Knight is not horrible, but it's Bruce Timm who's handling this one, so there's a lot of reason to be hopeful for it. However, I do think there's better stories to tell. One of the problems with the DC Animated movies is that they're hesitant to produce movies that aren't based on Batman or Superman, since they're the big popular ones. Mainly because the 'Wonder Woman' and 'Green Lantern' DVD sold less than the previous movies. However, when you look at the following movies that came after it, 'Wonder Woman' is still the 3^rd best selling of the bunch and the rest have almost sold less and less each time, with the much lauded 'Batman: Year One' selling less than the barely promoted 'Superman/Shazam!: Return of Black Adam'. So I thought it would be a fun thing to list what I believe would be the best DC comic stories to adapt into a direct to video movie, and since this is a fantasy list, I'm going to pay attention to those sales figures and also include non-Bats and Supes stories. Now I'm not going to include movies that were planned but shelves like Batgirl: Year One or Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, nor am I going to mention stories that they're already thinking about like Kingdom Come. I want to draw attention to the OTHER stories that are often overlooked. (That and I really don't care what people say... The Judas Contract is one of those stories that work great in print, but getting the entire drama of Terra's betrayal into an 80 minute movie would really lack the same punch. At that point in time, the Cartoon Network show would have pulled it off better.)

This is my Top Ten DC Animated movie dream list. (And by all means, all of these stories, if you haven't read them yet... Hunt them down and read 'em. Most of them are pretty good.)

10-9: Batman and the Monstermen / Batman and the Mad Monk (Dark Moon Rising duology) – We'll start the list off with Matt Wagner's Dark Moon Rising duology. Taking place right after Year One, these are two tales of Batman's first adventures against actual supervillains, as opposed to crimebosses. The first story pits him against Doctor Hugo Strange and his hideous genetic experiments, the Monstermen. And the second story places Batman against his first supernatural villain, a vampiric cult leader. It's very nicely paced, and the art is very skillfully done, as Matt Wagner (as always) knows how to play up the camera on the comic page. It also shows a bit of back history into the relationship with Julie Madison, who Bruce Wayne tried to have a real honest to God relationship with. It's very interesting to see Bruce actually think that he's close to ending his war on crime, to see a much more optimistic Batman, one who believes his goals can be obtained. But it's also the story that made him realize this war is never ending as well. If it sounds like the Mask of the Phantasm movie... Well in many ways, Julie Madison was the template for Andrea Beaumont. However, their fates end up drastically different. “Monstermen” is a really good story. However, “The Mad Monk” starts off with some serious asskicking promise, but the end really falls kinda flat. They would have to rework it a bit for the movie. But regardless the strength of the stories is less with the villains of the tale and more with the mindset of Batman.

8: Sandman Mystery Theatre: The Tarantula – And speaking of Matt Wagner, let's tackle his Crime Noir tale of the Golden Age Sandman. In many ways, when reading Sandman Mystery Theatre, you can tell that this series is almost how he would write a Batman series. (Seriously, the Dark Moon Rising stories could easily take place in the 1930s.) Sanman Mystery Theatre, if you don't know, is the period piece comic focusing on Wesley Dodds, the Golden Age Sandman, who would solve horrible crimes with good old fashion detective sleuthing and a handy gas gun and mask. It's very stylish and rather realistic. Actually, I think it'd make a wonderful movie series... But I've often thought that if you lightened the tone up a bit, it would be an awesome animated movie as well. Though understand you would have to really lighten some stuff up a lot, as to say that sometimes this series gets really dark is like saying that liquid nitrogen is bit chilly. But the first storyarc, the Tarantula could be adapted without too much hassles. Though later stories would offer some struggles.

7: Power Girl – I love Power Girl. This is no surprise, as the comic I'm working on is basically a tribute to the character. (Sorta.) Funny story about her. As I mentioned earlier, I'm a big fan of her, and more specifically, of her Atlantean origin. Thing is, a lot of people weren't so hot on that. In fact, they often complained about it. I had a friend in the early 2000s who was working on a team series pitch for DC, and he was working out a cast membership for the team. I suggested Power Girl, and he pretty much scoffed at her, saying she was a horrible character. This was a common comment from a lot of comic fans. (Not all of them of course, but a lot.) In fact, most people only knew her homage Galatea, which was an age accelerate clone of Supergirl in Justice League Unlimited. Then in 2005, DC did a short Power Girl miniseries, where they tied her origins back into Superman's, and kick started off the massive DC crossover event of Infinite Crisis, where she played a pivotal role. Suddenly EVERYONE loved her! (Bandwagoneers! :P ) She's a great character with a fun backstory. Add in the lighthearted feel of her series, and supporting cast members, like Atlee, Vartox and even her damn cat... You could have a seriously charming movie. I have always thought she was a great character... Just right now, I have no idea what DC is doing with her, because I can't say too fond of the new direction they're going in. But hey, that's why I'm doing Firecracker. If I can't have the comic I want, then dammit, I'll make it!

6: All-Star Batman and Robin – For those of you who know what this one is, just bear with me. For the rest of you, lemme explain. All-Star Batman and Robin was the companion story for All-Star Superman. Where as All-Star Superman was written by Grant Morrison, who when he's good, he's amazing, and that story was gold. Seriously, I usually don't like to use this excuse for adaptations, but the movie really didn't do the story justice. It cut out quite a few of the amazingly awesome plot points, and an entire issue, which to me, felt like the entire point to the entire series. But I guess that's to be expected for a movie that's only 88 minutes long. Some stuff's going to be lost... I just wish the stuff that got lost wasn't the good stuff. But All-Star Batman and Robin? Ooooooh, lord. It's written by Frank Miller... Insane Frank Miller. This is the story that finally confirmed for everyone that Frank Miller had lost his fucking mind. It's a retelling Batman adoption of Dick Grayson, and it's just AWFUL. But it's almost so bad it's good. We have Bruce Wayne acting more like an Agent of NAMBLA, almost every female character is pretty much an horrible stereotype, no character is treated with dignity or respect, and then there's the hilarious scene where Batman dicks Black Canary in the garbage. It is a piece of shit, but it's so entertainingly awful, it's like a train wreck, where you're just waiting for the next disaster.

5: Doom Patrol – Here's the thing about Doom Patrol. It's insane. They Doom Patrol has shown up several times in animation already, including the Teen Titans cartoon and the recent Brave and the Bold series and every time, it's very fun. Teen Titans producer, Glen Murakami, has often commented how he loved the Patrol and would love to do more with them. Well, I say let him have 'em! That two-parter of Teen Titans where they showed up is my favorite episodes of the entire series. With an oddball cast like Negative Man and Elastic Girl (no, not Mrs. Incredible), as well as really strange villains like the Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man, Danny, the living transvestite street, Monsieur Mallah, the intelligent speaking gorilla in a beret, and his gay disembodied lover, the Brain, a brain in a computer console... Just concept alone would make it the most entertaining hour and a half in years. And they've had their share of really strange adventures you could pull some stories from.

4: Superman: Last Son – Last Son was written by Geoff Johns and co-written by Richard Donner, and introduced General Zod, Ursa and Non into the DC universe. (It's really strange that those last two hadn't been in it before now. Zod had, in several incarnations, but this is the one that stuck the best.) Esentially, Superman discovers he's NOT the last son of Krypton, when a mysterious young Kryptonian boy crashes into Metropolis. But he's an unwitting pawn, set into motion by the Phantom Zone criminals to invade Earth, setting up a teamup between Superman and my favorite super villain, Lex Luthor. Now, this story has a bit of controversy with it, as it was chronically late. And I mean CHRONIC. It's a five part story that took almost three years or more to tell. And that tends to sour people. (You almost wonder if there was creative issues between artist Adam Kubert and the writers or editors. I only say that because after this story, it wasn't too long until he went back to Marvel.) And there was some cool tie in stories too, like an annual where they developed the past history of a lot of the characters in the story, including a really neat story where you find out that Krypton wasn't exactly an utopia. In fact, they often resorted in draconian methods of submission, including the lobotomizing of Joe-El's scientific mentor Non, into a simple minded brute. And all delays aside, some of the action in this comic is... Just... Damn... Epic. It's almost all worth it just for the massive battle of Superman and Bizzaro, chucking empty school buses at each other, and smashing through entire buildings. You really, truly get how devastating a Superman battle can be in this comic, and the art really gets it's across. (Again, to bring back up the comic I'm doing... If I can pull it off, this is how I wanna do the fights in it. Just massive, if I can.)

3: Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 8^th Grade – This is a fun little Supergirl story that's all ages and just plain adorable. It's a retelling of Supergirl coming to Earth, but in an awesome and fun way. Instead of being this super cute jailbait teenage hot blonde, in a short skirt... She's a lanky, awkward, teenage girl in the eighth grade. Her big concerns is not defeating the villain, but getting though a day at school without looking like a total dumbass. (After all, she's a teenage girl.) It starts very simple and eloquent, but by the end of the story, they're bringing Comet the Superhorse, Streaky the Supercat, Supragirl (who's from the 31^st century with the Legion), Superior Girl (her evil opposite duplicate, but instead of being a dork, she's popular and cool), and Lex Luthor's little sister, who ends up as her roommate. It's funny, it's charming, and to be bluntly honest, a far superior take to Supergirl than the versions they're doing now.

2: Captain Atom: Armageddon – I might have mentioned before I'm a big fan of Captain Atom. In fact, Captain Atom, along with Power Girl, Firestorm and Blue Devil makes up my “Holy Quartet” of favorite superheroes. (Bit of trivia: If I was ever allowed to make up a DC Superteam, I can tell you right now, these four would be on it.) Now with Captain Atom, at the end of the Superman Batman: Public Enemies story, he flew the Composite Superman Batman rocket ship (you had to be there) into the Kryptonite Meteor, saving the Earth, but sacrificing himself in the process. (This animated movie changed this. It kinda pissed me off too.) But Captain Atom wasn't destroyed. In fact, due to his odd quantum signatures, he ended up traveling to another universe... The Wildstorm Universe. What made this so damn cool, is that we have this rather conservative, patriotic hero... Stuck in a universe filled with nihilistic, jaded and near anarchist super-powered assholes. And it starts down this nine issue road, where it's essentially 'one man against the world', as Captain Atom becomes a living quantum bomb that will wipe out the entire universe. (The Wildstorm character Void is connected to it all. She tends to have reality altering powers.) It's huge and impressive. It starts off with him fighting Mister Majestic (a Wildstorm character I actually rather like, and would wish he'd show up in the NuDC 52.), then ending up against the WildC.A.T.s, and eventually having to come toe-to-toe with the goddamned Authority. The fight between Captain Atom, Midnighter and Apollo, two of the scariest, badass mofos in the entire universe was a perfect example of cosmic awesome. And that would be freakin' beautiful to see in animated form... Not to mention, not a bad bit of exposure for some of the under utilized Wildstorm characters and Captain Atom himself. (Hell, you could even work out it nicely with the newer more Dr. Manhattan take he's got now.)

1: Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying – You wanna talk about good and underrated stories, here's the damn poster child for it. It's not even currently available in trade paperback form. (At least not without buying a used copy.) The individual issues, aren't available on Comixology, (it cuts off like five issues after) and it's often overlooked, especially in the wake of more popular stories, like 'A Death in the Family', which showed the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin. But this story is important for one big reason... After 'A Death in the Family', Batman went into a long spiral of near depression, getting seriously darker and more morbid, sometimes getting closer than ever to crossing that line he swore he'd never cross. After all, he had lost his son, Barbara had just been paralyzed, Dick Grayson, now Nightwing, still wasn't speaking to him... He was in a bad place. Then this one young, and very smart boy named Tim Drake who had done what no other person had done: He had figured out that Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson was Batman and Robin. And he did this on his own, without supercomputers, crime labs, or what not. He was a natural born detective. And in this rather dark story involving Two-Face and revenge... You see Batman being brought back from the edge. Essentially, you see Tim Drake being the one to not just start Bruce Wayne down the road of healing after Jason's death, but healing between Bruce and Dick. He becomes the soul of the team. It's a very important story in the history of Batman, and even more in the history of many other heroes in the DC Universe, as he's had a major influence on many of the others teen heroes. He's close friendship with Superboy, Kid Flash and Wonder Girl, his strange on and off again relationships with Stephanie Brown and the tensions between him and Cassandra Cain, as well as the antagonistic rivalry between him and Damian Wayne, the current Robin... Tim Drake, current known as Red Robin, is generally just so well liked. And that's because he's a good guy, and he's been like that since his first appearance... And this story is that first appearance. If you can hunt it down, I do recommend it. Hopefully, it'll be reissued soon, or offered on Comixology. It's really a great story, that I think really brings the Hero's Journey into a new circle with Batman.

And that's my picks. If you got some of your own, feel free to share them, but honestly, one of the greatest treasures that the DC universe has is it's myriad cast of just outright interesting and bizarre characters. Honestly, I do not think it would hurt one iota to give them a little more exposure. Especially after the big deal DC and Warner tried to do last summer with getting new readers. But I've ranted about that already.