Back in April 2007, screenwriter David Goyer announced that he was developing what sounded like an interesting take on the superhero film- Supermax. In it, DC Comics hero Green Arrow is, wrongfully of course, arrested and sentenced to a correctional facility for super-powered criminals and must escape to prove his innocence. It certainly sounds like an exciting idea and one that at least gets us away from the same old “origin story” storyline we’ve come to expect every time a new costumed hero transitions to the big screen. (Our own Friday box office guy, Bill Gatevackes, has a different view on the film, though.)
In the year that has passed since Goyer first talked about the project, there has been no real news until yesterday. The folks over at Latino Review claim to have read a copy of the script and have spilled some story details, including which super villains Green Arrow will have to fight his way through to escape. Most of the names probably won’t mean anything to the general public, i.e., non-comic book fans. They do mention that Batman villains the Joker and the Riddler and Superman’s nemesis Lex Luthor all make cameo appearances. But some of the names were head-scratchers for even a 25-plus year DC Comics reader like myself.
Lining up to rumble in the exercise yard with the emerald archer are Blockbuster, the plant controlling Floronic Man, Icicle, Count Vertigo, the Tattooed Man, Pied Piper, bow and arrow-wielding assassin Merlyn and criminal genius The Calculator. Some of the badguys making comics fans reach for the back issues for a refresher include the electricity-wielding assassin Shock Trauma, shape changer Gemini, teleporter Split, Mulitplex, Cascade and the Nazi-themed trio The Aryan Nation.
Latino Review’s report also states that the DC Comics supersecret intelligence organization Checkmate will be involved in the plot, and its tough-as-nails head Amanda Waller will make an appearance. The prison setting also lets Goyer and the film’s inevitable director to get around the problem of trying to make the hero and villain costumes resemble their comic book counterparts while not looking real world ridiculous, by having every one in color-coded prison jumpsuits.
