Tuesday, April 05, 2011

Green Lantern Footage

Two of my favorite super heroes growing up have a lot in common. Both Green Lantern and Iron Man were 'B' list characters that seemed like they should have been 'A' list. They each had a rich mythology, cool costumes and a sci-fi bent that no other book could capture.

Yet the comic was never very good. As strong as the work Denny O'Neil did on both characters, they never quite reached the heights of a Batman or Spider-Man. And in lesser hands, both books could be very, very bad.

But in 2005, things changed. Almost simultaneously, Warren Ellis wrote "Iron Man: Extremis" as Geoff Johns penned "Green Lantern: Rebirth". And crystallized their mythologies into something clear, strong and identifiable. Johns has stayed on Green Lantern since, adding more and more layers to the character where he now stands toe to toe with Superman and Batman. And Matt Fraction's work on Iron Man a few years later has held the torch for the armored hero.

Then in 2008, "Iron Man" changed everything for comic book movies. Not only did it transform Tony Stark into one of the most recognizable Marvel heroes but it opened the door for lesser known heroes. If the movie was good enough people would go to a Thor" or a "Captain America".

Or a "Green Lantern". For the first time in DC history, Warner Brothers is about to launch a super hero movie that is NOT based on "Batman" or "Superman" (even "Steel" and "Catwoman" were basically spin-offs). The first trailer was wincing, trying way too hard to be "Iron Man" quirky. I anticipated a "Fantastic Four" sized disappointment. Fortunately Wondercon this past weekend showed another four minutes, giving the film more of a JJ Abrams "Star Trek" feel. And I'm looking forward to it. It may not be as good as "Iron Man". It may not be as good as "Thor". But at least I feel it won't be horrible.

Wondercon footage:


And for the sake of argument, that first trailer which caused all the problems:

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