When it comes to Bruce Timm and the world of Superheroes, he has become a timeless entity. Having created several legendary shows, it is clear that his genius knows no bounds. He has an innate understanding of the characters he brings to the screen, breathing life into them in a way very few have managed to.
Considering just how much success he has gotten for his works, it is safe to assume that the animator knows what he is talking about. Many years ago, he gave quite an interesting reason why he refuses to make a Justice League series. While he did not stick to this prediction for long, the reason that he gave for his initial hesitation is one that very few have managed to get past.
It is also a trap that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has gotten itself stuck in for the last couple of years; finding it difficult to balance a lot of characters.
Bruce Timm’s Disinclination Towards The Justice League
In 2000, Bruce Timm gave an interview, via CBR, where he talked about why he has never been interested in doing a series that centers on the Justice League. Considering how he was one of the creators behind Batman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond, the statement may come as a shock to many considering just how iconic the superhero team is. However, the animator’s reasoning for such a bold statement makes a lot of sense.
Timm believes that creating a Justice League-centered series would be quite hard for him as he finds it difficult to balance a lot of characters. He used an example to support the claim, stating that when he had to create scenes of Batman, Robin, and Batgirl, all fighting enemies, he was having trouble balancing all of the characters together.
“I won’t miss doing the Justice League. I’ve said this before, but one of the reasons why I will never do a Justice League show—that’s not to say that one won’t ever happen with somebody else—is that there’s just too many characters in one series. We found that out even with the revamped Batman shows; that having Batman and Robin and Batgirl fighting a group of thugs in a fight scene—it’s literally too many characters to keep track of.” said Timm.
He added that although he thinks that the Justice League is an excellent team, that fact is the reason why he was hesitant to make something with them. Since all of the characters are extremely powerful, they would all need their time on the screen, with their own arcs and side plots. Additionally, the increase in their strengths also meant that the villains needed to be stronger. The sheer amount of how much would be going on seemed to be intimidating for him.
“With the Justice League, you’re talking about characters who all have the powers of gods, so you can’t just have them fighting thugs, fighting guys robbing banks; they have to be fighting, y’know, huge criminals every time, so you’re talking huge set pieces. One look at the new Avengers cartoon will show you exactly what I’m talking about”
It would seem, however, that Bruce Timm got over this fear as he was able to animate a two-part episode with the team in Batman Beyond. The reception the episodes got made him enthusiastic about starting the Justice League series in 2001 and developing Justice League Unlimited in 2004. Both of these series were extremely successful.
Marvel Should Learn From Bruce Timm’s Reservations
Although Bruce Timm did not listen to his own advice, there was another who needed it more; only 20 years later. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been in a steady but painfully obvious decline ever since its fourth phase started. The projects have begun to blur together for fans and they cannot help but be critical. The viewership has also reached a concerning low, which has made many keen to track the true reason for such a drastic shift.
While many believe it to be superhero fatigue, there is one answer that a majority of the fans seem to agree on; the franchise has far too many characters.
With Avengers: Endgame and the end of the third phase, Marvel lost almost all of their front runners, and the franchise was left with a huge hole in its center. It would seem as though they have thrown all the characters they have at this emptiness, which has resulted in far too many of them. The stories are finding it difficult to balance and co-exist with each other and many iconic characters are getting forgotten.
Where Bruce Timm was able to balance the huge number of characters that came with the Justice League, it would seem that Marvel is falling behind and the price is being paid by the butchered memories of childhood icons.
