JUSTICE SERVED - "FLASHDRIVE"

PART 2 - THE ACT OF CREATION

My approach for Justice League Beyond was always two-fold…to revisit and see familiar DC characters (either from the shows or the comics) and what they were up to in the future. But also, to start creating new characters in this future world. The Beyond universe, maybe even more so than any current DC universe, was wildly open to invention. To do what our job title implies…to be a comic book CREATOR.
 

Since I wouldn't be able to use Solomon Grundy as my villain for this story, it really gave me a chance to go back to the drawing board and invent someone new. And I always saw this "Flashdrive" story as being one centered around the idea of fandom and how that affects people differently. Our new female Flash would become the ultimate fan. A torchbearer towards the legacy of all the Flashes that came before her. To the point where she'd work in a museum dedicated to that hero. And on the flip side of that, we have Mindslide. Someone consumed with the pursuit of the fame and celebrity that surrounded super heroes and villains. And in the end, his new ability would allow him to collect all of their powers and be an enormous threat. Fandom gone bad.
 

The silly side of me also looks at character creation much like a kid would. Come up with a crazy name and draw something cool. To just have fun with the concept of creating a villain, and not feel so mired in the dark seriousness in comics. That's done wonders for Dustin and I having fun doing Batman: Li'l Gotham. And I'd use that same frame of mind when coming up with the other villain in our "Flashdrive" story…Rigor Morris. It's a curse made abundantly clear to the reading audience, my love for bad puns or play-on-words. But also I feel, when thinking up a rival to go against your hero, you try to find a new approach or a way to test the hero. Having this undead villain's powers actually literally stiffen his competition, would be a huge problem to any hero (especially one that relies on speed as their power).
 

One more thing to discuss was my choice to revisit "The Return Of The Joker" movie. I believe I've said it before on my blog, but it remains probably my favorite animated film that DC/WB has put out. How they were able to essentially do the last Joker story in the animated continuity in flashback, in-between the Beyond storyline of the film. Extremely dark to the point where they had to animate an alternate version of the movie for release, due to the pressures surrounding world events at that time (the Columbine shooting if I remember correctly). I still remember back in those days, having ties to someone that worked in a video rental store. These rental outlets would get advance copies of movies they'd rent before they'd get distributed and sold to the buying market. And they had the uncensored original version on vhs tape before WB decided to censor it. I was able to get that store copy to see it, and it just burned into my mind how well written and composed that flashback was. The idea they'd be able to go darker than they could in any tv show, without fear of needing to continue from that point on. To really have Joker find out Batman's true identity, the torture of Robin, and the death of the Joker. Brutal stuff. And being such a huge fan of that movie, you never think you'd ever get a chance to homage it. To do a story that plays in the aftermath of that moment, ever so briefly. To indulge your inner fanboy. And then how that would tie into the Beyond universe…how that incident would help set the path for how Barbara Gordon would quit being Batgirl to end up as the Commissioner. And how dead villains would be dealt with in the animated universe.

Yep…pure fanboy indulgence on my part.

Come back for Part 3, where I wrap things up by talking about our new female Flash. How she came about, her past history, and what lies in her future.