The Justice League movie is finally coming together, but the roster of heroes is not yet complete and you have to wonder just who else might make the cut.
When the Justice League was originally formed in 1960 in the pages of The Brave and the Bold #28, there were seven core members: Aquaman, Batman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Superman and Wonder Woman. Over the course of the series many more heroes from throughout the DC Universe joined and left at various points, but the core seven always were around.
In 2011 DC completely rebooted its universe with an initiative called the New 52. The Justice League was a part of it, but it changed the core seven members slightly. The new version consisted of Aquaman, Batman, Cyborg, The Flash, Green Lantern, Superman and Wonder Woman with Martian Manhunter joining later. With the recent news that Cyborg will be in the upcoming Batman Vs. Superman film, and Wonder Woman already announced as well, that leads you to believe that there are at least three slots to fill.
There is nothing to say that the film will follow the established lineup of heroes, so we’ve come up with seven that we wouldn’t mind seeing join the four already announced in some combination.
Aquaman
Love him or hate him, it’s almost a sure bet Aquaman will appear in the Justice League movie.
Aquaman has become everyone’s favorite poster boy for useless super-heroes over the years, but the thing is, it’s just not true. True, he isn’t nearly as powerful out of water, and not that much crime happens in the oceans, but seeing as 70 percent of the planet is covered in water, he’s still a force to be reckoned with.
He has also been a founding member of the Justice League in all of its incarnations, and it would be odd to not see him involved. Warner Brothers has tried for years to try to figure out what to do with him, and even shot a pilot to spin him off of Smallville, but it never went anywhere. Introducing him to the masses in a team environment makes a lot more sense.
Rumors actually have appeared that Matt Damon may be up for the role of Aquaman, but Jason Momoa (Game of Thrones) has also been rumored, and he already has an unknown role in the upcoming Batman Vs. Superman.
Aquaman’s Powers:
- Marine telepathy to interact and command sea life
- Water grants him superhuman strength, endurance, durability, reflexes, agility, dexterity, healing, and senses
- Enhanced swimming speed
- Able to speak and understand any language on Earth via telepathic abilities
The Flash
Through every incarnation of the Justice League, The Flash has been a founding member. And, as it would happen, there is currently a Flash TV series shooting a pilot for The CW as a spinoff from Arrow.
For those who are unfamiliar with how TV works, a pilot is an episode shot to convince the networks they should move forward with the show. Sometimes it’s just a formality, and that is how things have felt with this one. With the Justice League movie now official, it seems highly likely that this will indeed make it on to television.
That does put Warner Brothers in an odd position, however. Do they have Grant Gustin – who will be The Flash on TV – play him in the film, or go with another actor? If they switch it up it could cause confusion for viewers, or it could confuse them even further if the Warner Brothers TV shows take place in their own universe.
The mind begins to boggle at the potential issues if they go with a different actor in the part.
The Flash’s powers:
- Super speed
- Molecular density control
- Time travel
- Cyclone and highwind generation
- Speed theft
- Frictionless aura
- Probability prediction
Green Arrow & Black Canary
Both Green Arrow and Black Canary have been members of the Justice League at one time or another in the comics. And, as luck would have it, both characters happen to be on a TV show right now.
Arrow has been a hit with fans, but series star Stephen Amell has said that everyone on the show is focused on just making the best TV show they can, but hasn’t ruled out appearing in the film.
From a business perspective, Warner Brothers would be foolish to not at least have these two show up at the end of the film, perhaps in a scene with the rest of the League discussing how it needs to recruit more members so there are always people to call on. While I could see them not appearing in the heat of the action in the rest of the film, I do think a cameo is in the cards.
This of course keeps the idea of Arrow still being on the air by the time the film comes out, but it doesn’t appear to be going anywhere.
Green Arrow’s Skills:
- Archery
- Martial arts
Black Canary’s Skills/Powers:
- Super Sonic Voice (Comics only)
- Trained assassin (Arrow TV show only)
- Martial arts
Green Lantern
A Green Latern joining the Justice League is pretty much a given.
Notice I said “a” Green Lantern and not “the” Green Lantern. For those not versed in the world of DC Comics, there are actually 3,600 Green Lanterns, each assigned to a different sector of space. Earth happens to occupy sector 2814 and has had many Green Lanterns, most notably Hal Jordan. Among the list of former Lanterns for our sector however is a fan favorite named John Stewart.
Stewart actually has been in several of the animated series and is a fan favorite. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has also been dropping hints all over social media for some time now that he is in someway involved with an upcoming DC film project. The general consensus is that he will be taking on the mantle of Stewart, and the Justice League film would be the perfect place to do so. There is someone else he could be playing further down this list, though, that I think he could be a better fit for.
There is every chance Hal Jordan could end up being the Green Lantern as he is the best known version, but something tells me John Stewart is the one who will be wearing the ring when the film his theaters.
So long as it isn’t Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan again, I think we’ll all be happy.
Green Lantern Powers:
- Able to build anything they can imagine as Will Power backed “constructs”
Hawkman
While not a founding member of the Justice League, he has been a key player for years. The issue is there have also been a crazy number of origins for the character, but I’m fairly certain they would hold onto the current New 52 origin which means he is from the planet Thangar.
His Thangarian name is Katar Hol, but he goes by Carter Hall here on Earth. Unlike some versions of the character, his wings are natural (kinda… sorta… it’s a long story) so he isn’t just some guy in a suit.
The character can come off as goofy at times as they played around with his origin time and time again, but he has always been intriguing, and with special effects today I imagine he could look pretty awesome on screen.
Hawkman’s Powers:
- Enhanced vision and hearing
- Flight
- Super Strength
- Telepathic connection to birds
Martian Manhunter
The Martian Manhunter was a founding member of the original Justice League but was replaced by Cyborg under the New 52 relaunch. I also think he is the closest in physical build to Dwayne Johnson which would play into what the actor has been saying on social media for some time.
His Martian name is J’onn J’onzz (pronounced John Jones), and he was originally pulled to Earth by a science experiment gone wrong. With no way to get home, he decided to take up fighting crime while he was here on Earth. While he did finally make it back to Mars, he was drawn back to Earth repeatedly and has been a staple of the Justice League through out its many incarnations… until the latest one. While he did join them eventually, he was not a founding member this time around which would make it unfortunate, but easy to exclude him.
Long time Justice League fans are going to be screaming for his inclusion, and it seems silly to not go with it.
Martian Manhunter Powers and Skills:
- Extreme Intelligence
- Eye Beams (effects have varied over the years)
- Flight
- Hand-to-hand combat
- Heat generation
- Intangibility
- Invisibility
- Invulnerability
- Shapeshifting
- Superhuman strength
- Telekinesis
- Telepathy
Who will it be? Which heroes will fill out the Justice League roster? Take your guesses and let us know in the comments below.