Tossing Salt Presents:
Movies That Need To Be Made (MCU/DCEU)
June 15, 2022
DougMaynard.com

I was going through my mailbox and came across a question, sent to me by a long-time reader and fellow comic-book lover, William S. He knows that I love comics, like to write, and occasionally write fan-fiction stories about my favorite fictional characters and we’ve had several discussions over the past few years about movies from both Marvel and DC comics. And well, he asked me this question.

If you were given the option to write three movies for the MCU, what or who would you want them to be about? What about the DCEU?

And that’s a great question that definitely deserves an answer. So here you go.

For Marvel Comics and the MCU, most of the best characters have already either debuted or are on the list of future appearances. That makes this a little harder, but three titles that I’d love to have a chance to write for and about? Let’s do this.

The Invaders.

This one, to me, is a no-brainer. We’ve already done Captain America and his adventures in the modern world, but why not go retro and take a look back at his adventures back before he went under the ice, aka his time battling the Nazi terrors alongside the team known as The Invaders. Cap, along with the original Human Torch and Toro, Bucky, and the legendary Sub Mariner, Prince Namor. Throw in other allies and members like Union Jack and Spitfire, The Liberty Legion (The Whizzer, Miss America, Jack Frost, The Red Raven, The Thin Man &The Blue Diamond), The Kid Commandos, and maybe even Sgt. Nick Fury and his Howling Commandos. As for villains, Master Man, The Red Skull, Hitler, etc. The stories write themselves and so many other stories/movies could be built off just this one inclusion into the MCU.

Dr. Druid.

This one is a no-brainer for me, although I’m sure my regular readers are groaning already. Dr. Anthony Ludgate Druid, Master of the Unknown. A former student of the Ancient One, a master of Celtic Magic, a master of the mind and illusions, and just a great character. Druid was created by Stan Lee and even predates The Fantastic Four and Spiderman. He’s a great behind-the-scenes type of character and could be used similar to Constantine over at DC Comics. Add in his time with the Monster Hunters (Namora, Ulysses Bloodstone, Makkari the Eternal, and Zawadi, a warrior from Wakanda), or his time as leader of the Secret Defenders and there are many stories to be told.

Alpha Flight.

What government wouldn’t want their own superhero group at their beck and call? The Canadian government did, after the creation of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four, and had James Hudson create one, Alpha Flight. Think about the great characters with Hudson (Vindicator), his wife Heather (Guardian), Shaman, Marina, Sasquatch, Puck, Talisman, Box, Madison Jeffries, Snowbird, Northstar, and Aurora). The characters are all so unique and damaged personas, the stories would be incredible. And we can’t forget the strong connection to a certain claw-welding mutant with a healing factor, right? Think Guardians of the Galaxy or Suicide Squad taken to the next level and you have the group Alpha Flight. And there you go.

And then we come to the DCEU. This one is even harder because DC has the movies, the Arrowverse on the CW Network, the many series on Hulu and HBOMax, and many other outlets to use. All of the best characters have been touched upon already. Or have they? I’m sure that I can come up with three titles and characters that I’d enjoy working on. Let’s see.

Fire & Ice.

From the pages of the Justice League, Fire and Ice are two lovely ladies, one who controls a green flame, think an Emerald Human Torch with cleavage, while the other is a Norse Ice Goddess (for real), with a naive personality, but a kick-ass power. They’re best friends with totally opposite powers and personalities and anyone that remembers these two would have to agree, that they’re great characters. Tora Olafsdotter and Beatriz da Costa, just think of a super-powered Laverne & Shirley. The stories that could be made with these two, as a movie or hell, even as a sitcom, would be endless.

The Wonder Twins.

This one was actually on the books for Warner Brothers and then was canceled at the last minute, but it’s a great idea and concept. Zan & Jayna, are two teenagers from the planet Xandar, living on earth. Think about it. They’re exiles. They’re aliens. They’re teenagers. They have superpowers. And they have a monkey. Just imagine the stories. I’d actually aim more for a dramatic series than a movie with these two, but regardless of how they’re presented and used in the DCEU, it needs to be done.

Zatanna.

Zatanna Zatara is a stage magician who just also happens to be a true magician, a branch of humanity called Homo Magi. She performs magic by using incantations that consist of speaking backward. Attractive and intelligent, just think a female Harry Potter, but far more kick-ass. A great character that could bring in other characters like her father Giovanni “John” Zatara, John Constantine, Jason Blood (The Demon), Dr. 13, and many others. There is so much history and backstory with Zatanna and her character that not having her in a major role in the DCEU is just a major shame. If given the chance, I’d like to fix that.

And there you go. Hey Kevin Fiege, call me. Let’s talk. And Warner Brothers, I want to talk to you too. I’m not really much of a screenwriter, but I know several excellent guys who are, and with my mind and their writing skills, we could make magic. It’s true, it’s damn true.

So what do you think? Comments, thoughts, and any questions are welcome and appreciated. Thanks for reading. And with that, I’m out of here. I’ll see you at the comic book store. Take care.

Ubuntu!