DC's Gods and Monsters: 3 Reasons Why The Origin Change Works

The origin story is always something that is an incredibly delicate topic to broach with people. We all know for the most part, the origins of our favorite heroes and villains, whether it be Marvel, DC or a different entity altogether; it's usually something that doesn't deviate regardless of the universe.

Superman:

Last son of Krypton, escaped through a spacepod thanks to his parents as their planet was destroyed, found and raised by a farming couple in Kansas. His goal is to protect the people of Earth.

Wonder Woman:

Daughter of Hippolyta blessed with the powers of the Amazonians as well as the Greek deities. Her wish is to rid the world of all evil.

Batman:

A son born into wealth, his parents were murdered in front of him and as a result he grew up looking for vengeance but with an understanding of justice.

These 3 in specific are the holy DC Trinity, and have been tweaked and modified over the years, but ultimately their origin story has been similar. It was only the action and inaction that caused them to deviate from the heroes that we knew so well over the years throughout the comics and animated series.

Bruce Timm, executive producer of the beautifully original animated film, Justice League: Gods and Monsters created something special. He created a universe where this trinity of heroes is nothing like their historical counterparts, solely because of their unique origins. We've seen alternate universe heroes, everything from the Justice League being an authoritative power that dominates and controls the planet to versions of our heroes that are just different in general. Up until now, they've all had the same origins. We've always seen Batman looking for vengeance against the man who killed his parents. Superman crash landed in Kansas and was raised by John and Martha Kent. Wonder Woman has always been an Amazonian princess.

In Justice League: Gods & Monsters, the origin story that we all know is thrown out the window. And it's truly beautiful!

New Origins = New Story Lines

This new storyline introduced through Gods and Monsters creates a new origin for each of the three characters in the DC Trinity.

Superman is still the last son of Krypton but rather than his father being Jor-El, he is the son of General Zod raised by a Mexican, immigrant family under the harshest of conditions.

Wonder Woman is the New God, Bekka, and widowed Queen of Apokolips after High Father kills Darkseid and Orion (her husband) after their wedding ceremony. She flees to Earth to escape her past.

Batman is actually Kirk Langstrom (the Man Bat from DC lore) who inadvertently transformed himself into pseudo-vampire in an attempt to cure his cancer, who feeds on criminals to satisfy his hunger after his humanity fades away.

These three form this new Justice League. They are a collection of antiheroes in this universe and it's apparent that they are not the characters we once knew. Through the movie we learn more about their origins and how the simple change can affect their entire outlook and personality.

The dark melds with the light

This is a Justice League movie, and these characters are paramount to DC's collective stories yet Gods and Monsters is promoted as a film that looks at the Trinity in a darker tone, which is noticeable within the first few minutes as the three antiheroes infiltrate a terrorist bunker and wipe them out. It was really entertaining to watch these heroes that I grew up with in a different light. They aren't EVIL dark, they're just more neutral dark. They do what is necessary as they see it being for the greater good. They operate outside of the law but still work towards the benefit of the world. The fine line that Superman, Batman & Wonder Woman walk as the enforcers of justice and order are tolerated by the military as they do not kill civilians. This is where the dark meets the light because throughout the movie, we get glimmers of the heart and souls of the characters we know - yet they are truly different at their core.

It creates a true distinction from Marvel

Marvel is known for their endless supply of heroes, DC is known for their unique, devilish villains. Transitioning the main three characters for all DC Comics properties into antiheroes is a bold move. It's something that hasn't been done on this scale before, especially considering that up until this point DC and their partnership with Warner Brothers has focused on creating family friendly content that can be mass marketed. Gods and Monsters is not a family friendly venture for the studio. It's dark and is filled with adult thematic elements (swords through chests, vampire attacks, innocent woman being immolated by laser blasts and so much more) which gears it towards the fans who are in the older generation and are beyond the toned down TV-Y and PG versions of the characters that they grew up with. The Trinity will eventually meet the remainder of the core members of the Justice League and be introduced into all the other unique origins.