‘Justice League’ fans talk of hopes and expectations

WAITED 44 years for a “Justice League” movie. I consider myself lucky this is happening in my lifetime.

When I watched “Batman vs. Superman,” the moment the three (Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman) were on the screen at the same time, and I could have s**t my pants right there. That moment surpassed every “Avengers” movie I’ve seen. I didn’t care if the story was shaky or whatever. After I watched “Wonder Woman,” I was legit crying. No Man’s Land was one of the best sequences in superhero film history. That’s what we’ve been waiting for.

That’s my friend Kensei Yonzon—one of the biggest DC fans I know. I’m at the Bunny Baker, a cafe he runs with his wife and I’m waiting for two others: Glenmarc “Flash” Antonio and filmmaker and con organizer, Adrian Arcega so we all could talk DC.

Glenmarc has been busy suiting up as Flash and doing lots of event coordination with his buddies at Justice Ph for a series of “Unite the Fans” weekends, which took place at the Glorietta, TriNoMa and Solenad malls. They’re a series of events for the fans and by fans—with toys, costumes, cosplay, multi media art exhibits, merchandise on sale, fan forums and a VR experience devoted to Justice League and DC heroes. Tonight and tomorrow, he’ll be busy suiting up for the JL advance screenings.

I’m a Marvel girl (Rocket Raccoon and Jessica Jones are my favorites). I want to into their mindset to find out how they feel on the eve of the Justice League release. Here are some of the key points they brought up:

• Superman is positive, happy and hopeful.” Superman also does not kill. The Superman Zack Snyder left us with in Man of Steel was more or less based on the Superman we find in the ‘Injustice’ series—he is broken, heavy, and full of angst. That is essentially not the Superman audiences have embraced.

• DC Heroes are larger than life, they have such strong iconography, they’re almost god-like, and at their best, they are capable of being incredibly inspiring. “You emulate Superman, not because of his power… but because of his heroism, he inspires you be the best version of yourself,” said Kensei.

• The boys are unanimous in their love for Wonder Woman. Flash noted, “When you leave the cinema, you want this instant reaction that makes you feel capable of heroism, like you want to help other people.” Wonder Woman did that for him. Adrian agreed, “When I left Wonder Woman I thought, shouldn’t Superman have this message of hope? After that famous No Man’s Land sequence he heard people in the audience say, cool ( Wouldn’t it be cool if she were in Marawi now?”) For Kensei, “My children, my daughters, felt like they could take on the world after watching Wonder Woman.”

Warner is a studio that relies on authors vs. the template/formula style of filmmaking Disney/Marvel comes up with. Warner has trusted the likes of Tim Burton (late ‘80s, early ‘90s Batman), Christopher Nolan (Christian Bale Batman), Patty Jenkins ( Wonder Woman), Guillermo del Toro (Pacific Rim), James Wan (The Conjuring) and Andres Muschietti (It) with their properties. Those are the successful ones of course. This has also been a risk as sometimes the artist’s vision falls short of the demands of the property and what the audiences want to see.

It’s no secret after “Man of Steel,” “Batman vs. Superman” and “Suicide Squad,” the DC cinematic universe has had to do some course correction. While the films made money, audiences and fans were not totally happy with what they saw. Critics were even more underwhelmed.

Joss Whedon has had to take over the completion of “Justice League” from Zack Snyder. Early whispers from previews say fans can spot which parts were Snyder’s and which ones were Whedon’s. The plot and the CGI are still a bit uneven but Ezra Miller is supposedly the standout. Henry Cavill’s mustache from Mission Impossible was still being rendered out.

Will the Superman that emerges in Justice League now be embraced by the fans? Also, will Ben Affleck continue as Batman? Will this put these beloved heroes on their “right” track?

Just how happy will this make the fans, critics, box office and studio executives? We’ll find out soon.