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Justice League on Comic Watch

Comic books have broken into the mainstream, with films and TV shows being constantly adapted from them. With comics no longer for a niche audience, it makes sense to know which comics are worth reading. Welcome back to Comic Watch – your personal guide to the world of comics.

In the wake of Marvel’s success with “The Avengers,” rival DC Comics is trying desperately to get a Justice League film out by 2015. There are rumors of Chris Nolan producing and new Superman Henry Cavill starring, but there’s still no official word on when the film would start. Such a film would team Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and the Flash in an epic crossover movie. But what story would this Justice League film adapt from its long-running comic history?

DC’s rebooted New 52 universe is one answer, where the new “Justice League” series begins with how they first teamed up to take down alien tyrant Darkseid. While these issues lacked a great story or characterization, the vibrant art work and breathtaking action gave it the tone of a blockbuster movie, and could easily be adapted for film.

If filmmakers are looking for a better story, however, they would be better off adapting “Tower of Babel,” which ran through issues 43 to 46 in the series “JLA” back in 2000. The story had a villain steal Batman’s contingency plans to defeat the Justice League should they turn evil and use them against the heroes, leading to the team distrusting Batman for his paranoia.

Character driven and action-packed, the “Tower of Babel” storyline displayed the unique relationship dynamics that drive the world’s greatest super hero team. While such a story would be great to see on film, it’s already a great read as a comic, and stands among the best Justice League stories. We may not know what comics will influence the inevitable “Justice League” film, but New 52 and “Tower of Babel” show what it could be.

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