I've collected and read since 1959, and being the consummate comics fan, I've seen all of the incarnations, followed all the Secret Crises and plot lines and threads, and what I missed, my best friend collected and we shared.
Adaption of the concept: 10. What did the McCarthy Era cause for the superheros, and would the "Common Man" plan be used as we saw?
Adaption of the characters: 9. The only reason for this is the divergence from the "new" comic reality that the WWII Wonder Woman was in actuality Queen Hippolyta.
Adaption of the comic: 7.5. It would have been better if some of the side plots were developed, and had the Losers been more explained. The last bits of King Faraday were not jarring per se, but would have gone a lot more to explaining what was going on had the Losers been developed out in the story. However, the inclusion at the beginning of the author's final moments helped clarify a lot that was scattered in the original mini-series.
Adaption of the story: 8. Hal Jordan's 'discovery' should have happened at the beginning, as indicated. Wildcat's fight should have been shown along with the various side characters, along with the Challengers of the Unknown (Ace Morgan named alone explains nothing). Likewise, Captain Nathaniel Adam, Ray Palmer and others who were merely named without explanation, as well as the Blackhawks and Green Arrow...there was only a mention of Hourman without explanation, and we needed a bit more than a "Hawwwkk-AA-AAA!" to carry on...
But...there _was_ a "Hawwwkk-AA-AAA!"...and an Arrow Plane...
And Batman at the end, putting it all together for even the most brilliant scientific minds (though I would have preferred to see Adam Strange released from Arkham Asylum...).
Put it all together, and for me, who has seen every incarnation of the JSA/JLA/JLE/JLI/JLU...
This was a masterpiece of reconstructive ret-con. Superbly done, relying heavily on a fundamental comic book knowledge, but loosely enough that people can at least identify who the characters are and their purpose.
The closing scenes were ripped from the books, and beautifully handled, and while I'm not sure if that was his voice or a clever impersonator, it was the masterstroke to the masterpiece that completed the epic.
To those (some of whom have already posted) who will whine and kvetch that "this is not the JLA I know"...
You're absolutely right; this isn't any JLA that I knew of before reading the books or seeing the adaption, and I've been reading them long before many of you appear to have been born or even knew of Happy Harbor, Maine.
But as "Origin Stories" go, this is one of the best to be presented, and will hopefully open the pocketbooks of viewers to watch and encourage the rich history within the Golden Age, Silver Age, and Modern/Crisis Age of Comics to be brought to "life" in animation.
I just snagged the collected serials of BATMAN from 1943 in their entirety, so I'm off-line to enjoy that.
Now, if only Lucas would exercise his options to bring the Blackhawks to the silver screen...
Adaption of the concept: 10. What did the McCarthy Era cause for the superheros, and would the "Common Man" plan be used as we saw?
Adaption of the characters: 9. The only reason for this is the divergence from the "new" comic reality that the WWII Wonder Woman was in actuality Queen Hippolyta.
Adaption of the comic: 7.5. It would have been better if some of the side plots were developed, and had the Losers been more explained. The last bits of King Faraday were not jarring per se, but would have gone a lot more to explaining what was going on had the Losers been developed out in the story. However, the inclusion at the beginning of the author's final moments helped clarify a lot that was scattered in the original mini-series.
Adaption of the story: 8. Hal Jordan's 'discovery' should have happened at the beginning, as indicated. Wildcat's fight should have been shown along with the various side characters, along with the Challengers of the Unknown (Ace Morgan named alone explains nothing). Likewise, Captain Nathaniel Adam, Ray Palmer and others who were merely named without explanation, as well as the Blackhawks and Green Arrow...there was only a mention of Hourman without explanation, and we needed a bit more than a "Hawwwkk-AA-AAA!" to carry on...
But...there _was_ a "Hawwwkk-AA-AAA!"...and an Arrow Plane...
And Batman at the end, putting it all together for even the most brilliant scientific minds (though I would have preferred to see Adam Strange released from Arkham Asylum...).
Put it all together, and for me, who has seen every incarnation of the JSA/JLA/JLE/JLI/JLU...
This was a masterpiece of reconstructive ret-con. Superbly done, relying heavily on a fundamental comic book knowledge, but loosely enough that people can at least identify who the characters are and their purpose.
The closing scenes were ripped from the books, and beautifully handled, and while I'm not sure if that was his voice or a clever impersonator, it was the masterstroke to the masterpiece that completed the epic.
To those (some of whom have already posted) who will whine and kvetch that "this is not the JLA I know"...
You're absolutely right; this isn't any JLA that I knew of before reading the books or seeing the adaption, and I've been reading them long before many of you appear to have been born or even knew of Happy Harbor, Maine.
But as "Origin Stories" go, this is one of the best to be presented, and will hopefully open the pocketbooks of viewers to watch and encourage the rich history within the Golden Age, Silver Age, and Modern/Crisis Age of Comics to be brought to "life" in animation.
I just snagged the collected serials of BATMAN from 1943 in their entirety, so I'm off-line to enjoy that.
Now, if only Lucas would exercise his options to bring the Blackhawks to the silver screen...