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While DC has recently brought darker versions of its universe and characters to the screen, Blackest Night may be the one story too horrific to adapt.
DC has not been afraid about adapting some of its darkest twists on its iconic characters, from the recent animated feature film adaptation of Injustice to last year’s wholesale decimation of the DC Animated Movie Universe in Justice League Dark: Apokolips War. But as intense and bloody as the proceedings can get, one classic DC storyline may be a bit too macabre and ambitious to receive an adaptation, despite being one of the best-selling DC crossover events in recent memory: 2009’s Blackest Night by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis.
Blackest Night was years in the making, serving largely as the culmination of Johns’ run on Green Lantern which kicked off with 2003’s Green Lantern: Rebirth. Expanding into a story that impacted the entire DC Universe, Blackest Night saw dead superheroes and supervillains from across the DCU rise as undead Black Lanterns in service to Nekron, the DCU’s personification of death itself. In order to fuel Nekron’s arrival on Earth, the Black Lanterns ripped out the emotionally charged hearts of the living, as zombified familiar faces capitalized on past connections in life to prey upon those that presumably knew them the best. And as the various Lantern Corps from across the emotional spectrum banded together to save all life in the universe, an epic showdown against death unfolded that set the course of the DCU for years to follow.
Right from the opening issue, it’s clear that Blackest Night was one of the most brutal crossover events in mainstream comics, perhaps ever. Hawkman and Hawkgirl are both brutally murdered by the undead Ralph and Sue Dibney before all hell breaks loose across the DCU, with many fan-favorite characters having their still-beating hearts viciously ripped out from their chests. By comparison, stories like Injustice certainly don’t skimp out on graphic content but the sheer unbridled horror and gory nature of heart after beating heart being ripped out of beloved characters over the course of the story might be a bit too much to commit a feature film adaptation towards bringing to life faithfully.
The other element of Blackest Night that makes its potential adaptation highly unlikely is the more logistical nature of the story that it tells. More than just the culmination of years of Green Lantern comic book stories and its gradual introduction of new Lantern Corps, Blackest Night touched on developments across the DCU, from the recent resurrection of Barry Allen to the DCU’s supervillain dead being stored within the Justice League’s headquarters to stop their bodies from falling into the wrong hands. A simple ‘DC vs. zombies’ story wouldn’t have the same narrative weight and would be something animated features would have to build towards for years, just like the comic book source material.
Elements of Blackest Night have been adapted into various television series and movies since the comic book story’s publication over a decade ago. Green Lantern: The Animated Series adapted the “War of Light,” the cataclysmic moment that helped kick off Blackest Night, served as an overarching story for the animated show’s sole season, including nods to the Black Lantern Corps and its undead Guardian of the Universe Scar. And between the graphic nature of the Black Lanterns’ modus operandi and expansive scope and build-up to Blackest Night, the classic comic crossover may be a story just too daunting for a proper adaptation.
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