Award-winning comics writer Joe Kelly adapts heralded “What’s So Funny
About Trust, Justice & the American Way” into engaging, surprising
SUPERMAN VS. THE ELITE.
Award-winning comics writer Joe Kelly has crafted an engaging,
thought-provoking, action-packed thriller in adapting his 2001 Action
Comics #775 classic tale (“What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice & the
American Way”) into SUPERMAN VS. THE ELITE, the latest DC Comics
Premiere Movie.
Produced by Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment and Warner Bros.
Animation, the all-new, PG-13 rated SUPERMAN VS. THE ELITE arrived
this week from Warner Home Video as a Blu-ray™ Combo
Pack and DVD, On Demand and for Download. Both the Blu-ray™ Combo Pack
and DVD will include an UltraViolet™ Digital Copy.
In SUPERMAN VS. THE ELITE, Superman’s effectiveness as a super hero
comes into question when a new group of super powerful crusaders,
known as “The Elite,” appear on the scene. As super heroes, the Elite
know no bounds, and are more than willing to kill, even on a massive
scale, to stop villainy — putting them on a collision course with the
ever-ethical and decidedly non-lethal Man of Steel.
“What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice & the American Way” was lauded
by Wizard Magazine as the “Greatest Superman Story of All Time,” and
the magazine ranked the epic tale at No. 21 on its list of the “Top
100 Comics of the last 30 years.” It is arguably Kelly’s masterwork
from a career of notable comics, including such titles as Deadpool,
Uncanny X-Men, Action Comics and JLA.
Today, Kelly is one-fourth of the comics-oriented quartet known as Man
of Action Studios. The group are superstars in the comic and TV
animation/action world already as the creators/producers and writers
of the megahit, Ben 10. Their Ben 10 empire has generated over three
billion dollars in sales based on their four television series and
merchandising and now Joel Silver is producing a feature film
adaptation of their creation. Ben 10, arguably the most successful
youth brand and superhero franchise of the last decade, has also
launched two live-action TV movies and is seen in more than 168
countries and 312 million households. Man of Action Studios also
created Generator Rex, write/produce Ultimate Spider-Man on Disney XD,
and they create/write/produce video games, TV shows, films, comic
books, graphic novels, stage productions, etc.
Joining Kelly at Man of Action Studios, which began in 2000, are renowned writers Duncan
Rouleau, Joe Casey and Steven T. Seagle. The quartet are now in
development/production on numerous TV and film projects including The
Great Unknown, Kafka, Disco Destroyer and, of course, Superman vs. The
Elite. They proudly have their own Man of Action imprint at Image
Comics, where they continue to flourish in the creator-owned comics
world.
Kelly spoke about the creation of the film, the transition from page
to screen, and his favorite scenes in a chat late last week. Here’s
what the wordsmith had to say …
QUESTION:
For the uninitiated, what was the genesis for the original story of this comic?
JOE KELLY:
The germ for the story really came from a very visceral reaction I had
to a comic I was reading at the time – The Authority. It was a dark
anti-hero comic. I really like the Authority and its characters, but
there was an issue in particular that felt like it had pushed the
boundaries of what makes a hero and what makes anti-hero. I found
myself getting ‘fanboy mad,’ which I don’t normally get. We had an
anniversary issue, and I asked Eddie (Berganza) if we could directly
address those characters. I wanted Superman to take those characters
on. And that became the germ for Action Comics 775.
QUESTION:
As Action Comics #775 was a single issue, how much did you need to add
to the story to make it a full-length film?
JOE KELLY:
We wrote a lot of new content for the film, and it was funny looking
back at the comic because I forgot how much is discussed rather than
shown. There’s so much going on between the panels. So it was very
exciting to get to see the action sequences that were just hinted at.
I’d always seen them in my head, now I get to see them played out in
animation.
QUESTION:
What was the purpose of adding the Atomic Skull to the story?
JOE KELLY:
We knew we needed a villain or a character that would externalize
Manchester Black’s argument against the revolving door jail policy. We
wanted that parallel to be personal and easily identifiable.
Originally it was the Parasite, but he’d been used in a recent
previous film, so it became the Atomic Skull. And I really thought the
Atomic Skull came out very cool. He worked well visually and for the
story. Not having Parasite meant we lost a smidgen of the thematic
approach – the Parasite really fit well in terms of his name and what
he does to the people around him. But that’s just being picky.
QUESTION:
Do you have a favorite scene in SUPERMAN VS. THE ELITE?
JOE KELLY:
I’m especially proud of the quiet scenes. It’s very difficult to get
quiet emotion in animation and to let the silence actually play on
screen. But when you look at the quiet scenes in this film — Pa Kent
and Clark on the porch, or Lois and Clark on the couch – those scenes
really give us the chance to see Superman questioning himself with the
people he trusts the most. And those scenes play beautifully in the
film.
It’s like in one of my favorite scenes – just before the Elite takes
over the airwaves and makes their grand announcement. I think it’s in
the original, but it really came to life for me in the film. Lois and
Clark are having a little debate, and he asks if she believes that
criminals deserve the Elite’s sense of justice and punishment. And she
says “Some days I think they do.” That’s just like a punch in the gut.
It’s really an awesome scene, especially because it’s one of those
moments in animation that you don’t expect. The big battle with the
Atomic Skull is pretty great, too. And the finale is awesome. But I
love the quiet moments.
QUESTION:
Whose sense of justice do you side with: the Elite or Superman?
JOE KELLY:
I’m definitely more in the Superman camp. There are plenty of people I
get angry about, and the eye-for-an-eye mentality does flash though my
head. I think it does for anybody. But at the end of the day, I do
believe we need to aspire to higher ideals. Maybe I’m being naïve, and
I may not be able to achieve those ideals myself, but we must make the
attempt. You’ve got to try. My dad was a cop and he had very strong
opinions about this stuff, but he would straddle the line. He had his
days when he’d think “kill them all and let God sort them out,” but
there were far more days where he believed that the law is the law,
even if its broken, and we live in the best country on Earth because
of those laws. So that definitely informed my weird sense of justice.
QUESTION:
Did the voices of the actors portraying these characters match the
voices in your head while writing the film?
JOE KELLY:
The voice acting is so good in this film. Robin (Atkin Downes) is such
a good Manchester. He’s got all the snark and all the personality, and
his line deliveries are so spot on for that guy. It’s funny because
everybody says the same thing: you can’t do an actual Manchester
accent and expect to be understood, but Robin’s modified Mancunian
accent is awesome. And understandable. The rest of the Elite’s voices
are perfect: Menagerie is scary and sexy; Coldcast wears his “angry
man” on his sleeve; and everyone giggles when The Hat comes on. I
can’t say enough about George (Newbern) – I had heard his acting
before, and he does such a great Superman. It’s terrific to see George
portray the range of emotion he gets to do in this story. And Pauley
(Perrette) so knocked it out of the park – I was immediately in love
with Lois. Pauley gets all the smarts of the character. The two of
them as a partnership really comes across, which is critical to the
story. Lois keeps Clark grounded, and she’s literally the only one
that can tug on Superman’s cape. Lois can bust his chops, and that
comes through in Pauley’s voice. She’s terrific in the quiet moments,
as well. Pauley sells it all so, so well.
QUESTION:
Are there other stories you’ve written as comics that you could see
adapting to animation?
JOE KELLY:
In the DC realm, I’m very proud of “Justice League Elite” because the
characters that pick up from this story are darker and very layered.
It’s all about how messy you can get before you become a monster. I
love that theme. If we could ever pull off “Justice League Obsidian,”
that would be amazing – it’s just an insane, gigantic epic, and to see
those characters animated would be incredible.
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