Wonder Woman Leads the First, Epic 'Justice League' Trailer

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Warner Bros. Pictures/YouTube

Can the Justice League redeem the contentious reputation of last year's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and save the future of DC Comics' superhero movies? The November blockbuster's first trailer comes at the problem swinging. 

The setup: Batman is back on his feet after butting heads with Superman and battling Doomsday, a monstrous, resurrected version of Zod, the baddie from 2013's Man of Steel. Superman's dead (for now), and Bats needs to round-up the world's post powerful heroes to fight the remaining threat. Remember that psychedelic dream Batman had in the middle of Dawn of Justice, where he imagined himself fighting off winged beasts on a desert planet? That's back in play in Justice League, as those alien arrive on Earth to... well that's unclear. But we do know Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg punch them in the faces.

Director Zack Snyder indulges and restrains his worst instincts over the two-and-a-half-minute tease. Justice League maintains Dawn of Justice's dimly lit and hyperactive action sequences. Scenes of Lord of the Rings-sized battles flick by, best enjoyed by pausing the YouTube player. But while the scenes are dark, they're not grimdark. Justice League sports a newfound playfulness, injected by thew coming together of teammates. I adored Wonder Woman in Dawn of Justice, and she steals the show from Batman once again, even leading Cyborg and Aquaman in a beat reserved for movie money shots. It's encouraging that everyone gets their moment in this bombardment of splashy imagery.

We'll see how Justice League fares against 2017's other comic book competition -- Wonder Woman's standalone movie, Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Thor: Ragnarok -- when it powers into theaters this November 17.

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Wes Rendar is a contributor.