In 1997, CBS commissioned a live-action Justice League of America pilot, based on the popular DC Comics characters. The trainwreck that followed found its way into the world of comic book adaptation infamy, alongside Corman’s Fantastic Four and the Matt Salinger-starring Captain America.
Whether it be the choice of villain (the Weatherman!?!?), the outfits right out of the Batman and Robin school of costuming or the overall concept (imagine a mockumentary Friends consisting of superheroes), the pilot was a dismal failure, and was shelved immediately.
Throughout the years, copies of the pilot have been passed around on VHS and DVD, and you can even find an eBay auction every once and a while. Film Threat was able to snag a copy of the pilot promo, a 24 minute truncated version of the 68 minute pilot, created to offer just enough of a taste for any potential buyers to know exactly what they’re getting into. And now we’re going to share that promo with you.
Marvel at the Atom, who actually thinks it’s a good idea to shrink to a small size to deal with a cat. Smile as the Weatherman defeats Green Lantern by simply being insubordinante. Above all, check out those kick-a*s special effects.
The online “release” of the Aquaman pilot trailer in recent months may’ve inspired new talks about the viability of that project, but seeing this footage will not inspire much of anything, except perhaps laughs and confusion…
