Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Fan-Casting DC's JUSTICE LEAGUE: Part 11

Click here to review Part 10.

So far:
Batman came to Metropolis to find John Corben, a thief who stole kryptonite from S.T.A.R. Labs Gotham.  Unaccustomed to a city as brightly lit as Metropolis, to say nothing of its citizens' tendency to look up at the sky, Batman's presence is tipped off by the media.  In the fight that follows, Corben uses a kryptonite shiv to nearly kill Superman.  At the last minute, Batman takes Corben down and flees the scene with a weakened Superman.

Police put up a cordon on the street where the fight ended.  Firefighters and EMTs rush into Corben's building to put out the fires and look for wounded people after parts of it blew up.  A beaten and bloody Corben is put in the back of a squad car in handcuffs.  An unmarked police cruiser pulls up and Captain Maggie Sawyer of the Metropolis Special Crimes Unit jumps out and starts barking orders to the uniforms and crime lab technicians.  Detective Dan Turpin is against the police cordon talking to Lois Lane (Jennifer Carpenter).

Maggie Sawyer (Sabrina Lloyd)


I loved Sports Night and really wanted to use Sabrina Lloyd for the Justice League fan-cast.  At one point, I had her slotted to play Iris West, but I wanted to see her playing something tougher, something a bit more mature and authoritative.  Once I knew the SCU would be part of the story for this first movie, it was easy to envision her as Maggie Sawyer.

Dan Turpin (Mike Starr)*


Another case of an actor just having the perfect look and demeanor for a character, Mike Starr is often cast as an enforcer on one side of the law or the other.  I indulged the typecasting and pegged him for Dan Turpin.

We see Turpin briefly working the press line, talking to Lois Lane.  She wants his thoughts on Batman being sighted in Metropolis.  Maggie Sawyer shouts at Turpin to get back to the crime scene.  Turpin and Sawyer talk about the aftermath, about witnesses saying Batman and Superman were fighting each other or against each other, no one knows.  No one knows where the two went, either.

Lois walks away from the cordon, slipping through more reporters and onlookers.  As she gets back to her car, John Jones (Giancarlo Esposito) is there waiting for her.  Like the scene at the space center hangar, he calls himself "detective" and shows a badge that is not there.  His eyes flash again, putting a psychic whammy on Lois.  She asks if he can confirm or deny Superman and the Batman were working together or against each other.

Jones says, instead, he wants to hear what she knows about the space station crash.

Cut To: A mini Batcave in one of Batman's Metropolis safe houses.

Superman (Jon Hamm) stirs and regains consciousness on a gurney-style bed in what looks like a jury-rigged med station in Batman's base.  He is mostly recovered from the kryptonite Corben used against him.  Batman (Richard Armitage) watches him from across the room.  Superman sits up, disconnecting a heart monitor that he was hooked up to.

Superman asks about the man they were fighting, who he was and what happened to him.  Batman asks why Superman called him Bruce Wayne back during the Corben fight.  Superman says that he can see through the mask.  Batman looks incredulous, but Superman insists he's telling the truth.    Batman notes that Superman didn't look so super dying in the street.

Superman: "That man had kryptonite."
Batman: "I've studied it.  The radiation isn't that high."
Superman: "Not to you.  To me it's deadly."
Batman: "Why would you do that?"
Superman: "What?"
Batman: "That stuff can kill you. From the look of things, it might be the only thing that can. That's quite a weakness to share with someone you don't know."
Superman: "I guess I trust you."
Batman: "Why would you do that?"

Superman trusts Batman because he didn't let him die in the street, he kept him safe and kept his secret identity.  Batman wants to know more about the kryptonite.  Superman asks if he can step outside and recharge in the sunlight.  Batman says it's three AM.  "Not everywhere," Superman responds.

Batman says, "I have more questions," and Superman comments that he noticed Batman/Bruce asks a lot of questions.  The way he says it, the reference, reminds Batman of what Clark Kent said earlier that day about Bruce Wayne asking all the questions in the interview.

Superman fumbles through Batman's gadgets and tech on his desk and finds a radio transceiver.  He asks about the range on the device and Batman assures him it's strong enough for wherever.  Superman slips out of the hidden door of the safe house, leading into an alley of a rundown building.  Superman focuses and runs, jumps, and flies off over the city.

We see Superman soaring over the city, see him racing out over the harbor, flying across the ocean as the sun rises over the horizon, reaching out to meet him.

Batman sits at his computer, typing away, searching for something.  He asks again about the kryptonite.  Superman flies over Europe and Africa and tells Batman a brief origin story.  Superman's flight over the Eastern hemisphere is intercut with scenes of planet Krypton, his parents Jor-El and Lara, the death of the planet and his rocket to Earth.  As we see glimpses of this history, Superman explains the planet's destruction, how it irradiated the kryptonite and how it effects him.

"You've seen what a small dose can do to me," Superman says.  "A larger amount I'm sure would kill me."

Batman asks why Lex Luthor would want to kill Superman, explaining that Corben brought the rest of the kryptonite to LexCorp.

Cut To: Lex Luthor's office, the next morning.

Lex Luthor (James Nesbitt) and Mercy Graves (Sanaa Lathan) watch the news coverage of Superman and Batman's fight, with the arrest of John Corben mentioned almost as an afterthought.  Luthor, barely holding his rage in check, clears his office, sending his aids scurrying for cover.  Only Mercy remains.

She reminds Lex that Corben is a professional and knows how to keep his mouth shut,  Luthor, though, doesn't trust that.  He wants Corben silenced for good.

To Be Continued…

* I like Mike Starr for Dan Turpin, but my backup for the character is another big man known for playing cops, as well as Hannibal Lector's orderly, Frankie Faison.

No comments:

Post a Comment