World's Greatest Question (Script)
Page 1:
INT: Gotham City: Sally’s Diner.
PANEL ONE: Under the narration of the masked hero, the Question, we see his faceless façade staring at the reader. In this medium shot, the Question who is wearing a hat, is sitting behind a topaz round table, which has a steaming cup of coffee on top, somewhat in the immediate foreground. Behind him, we see the white outline of a waitress’s shirt, and the upper part of her red skirt. Between the waitress and the Question is a brown leather chair, designed in the usual diner format. The room has dim light.
CAPTION: Every Saturday, there is a new question.
CAPTION 2: Across the world, pushing their bodies to the limit, there are people without powers serving the forces of good or evil.
PANEL TWO: Close shot. We are directly in the Question’s face. The brim of his black fedora is at the upper edge of the panel.
CAPTION: But there are some things they all have in common.
PANEL THREE: In a medium shot, we see the Huntress shattering a wooden dummy. Her foot, still elevated in a kicking motion, is surrounded with scattering woody shards. Huntress is on the left, and the dummy is on the right of the panel.
CAPTION: Diligence.
PANEL FOUR: Another medium shot. Lady Shiva, stretching her back backwards, provides a somewhat sensual image as she elegantly dodges a kick. Her face, concentrated, points towards the reader, and the person that she is fighting is obscure.
CAPTION: Resilience.
PANEL FIVE: In a close shot stretching horizontally, we see a tiger-like mask, the legendary Bronze Tiger. The focus is not on the mask, but his sharp cat-like nails floating beside his head.
CAPTION: And…
Page 2:
PANEL ONE: Bronze tiger is swinging the same hand from the last panel of the other page. Motion lines flow behind the moving limb.
PANEL TWO: Close shot. We see a batarang, except it is cut in half lying on dark concrete.
CAPTION: Resourcefulness.
PANEL THREE: Medium-close shot. In the foreground, Bronze Tiger back is shown, and he is staring into a dark alleyway where Batman is. Through the shadows, we only see the tendril like bits of his cape on the ground, stretching towards the Bronze Tiger and slightly pass him on the side.
Bronze Tiger: Let’s put the toys down, Bats.
PANEL FOUR: Same Medium-close shot as before, except two batarangs, slightly obscure come through the alleyway.
PANEL FIVE: Close shot. A shady outline of Batman appears, blending in with the alleyway. His white eyes stare directly at the reader.
BATMAN (Thought Bubble): I wouldn’t exactly call them toys. But then again, everything is a toy in my world.
Page 3:
PANEL ONE: Batman leaps out of the alleyway. In this panel, his cape flutters behind him and is seen more clearly due to more light. His right hand with a straight arm floats in the air, and his left hand is cocked and ready to hit the Bronze Tiger. Once again, the back view of Bronze Tiger is shown.
[B]CAPTION:[/B] But without toys, who is the world’s greatest martial artist?
PANEL TWO: Batman’s fist is on the far left, this tells us that his fist has already passed the Bronze Tiger, a miss. The side view of Bronze Tiger’s mask, his head points towards the wall behind Batman. Even though his eyes are starring more so at the Caped Crusader, the direction of his head provides a focus onto two Batarangs stuck to the wall and underneath Batman’s fist.
PANEL THREE: Medium-close shot. Bronze Tiger is twisting around leftward. His feet are off the ground, and his right leg comes diagonally upward. Batman is recovering from his missed punch, but it seems like he is looming over Bronze Tiger from behind.
PANEL FOUR: Close shot; Batman’s hand is holding the Bronze Tiger’s right leg that is aimed diagonally downwards.
Page 4:
Your standard panel layout, except PANEL TWO and THREE are horizontally from each other and cut diagonally with one another.
PANEL ONE: Far shot. Bronze Tiger on the left, and Batman on the right, break apart from each other. Batman is standing firmly on the ground. On the other hand, Bronze Tiger is slightly in the air, preparing to land.
PANEL TWO: Low Angle, close shot. Batman’s left boot, and left side of his cape. The concrete is in front and in-between his foot and cape.
PANEL THREE: Another low angle, close shot. Bronze Tiger’s right boot, and his right hand curled at the top of the panel are shown. From this panel, the reader should be able to infer that he is bending or crouching.
BRONZE TIGER: I hate to end this. But enough games, Batman. The party’s over.
Page 5:
PANEL TWO is connected in-between SPLASH PANEL ONE and SPLASH PANEL THREE.
SPLASH PANEL ONE: Far shot. We see the Bronze Tiger crouching, and eleven members of the League of Assassins are behind him. (Lady Shiva is the only one that is definitely needed here; you can pick any of the others.)
PANEL TWO: Close shot. We see the lower portion of Batman’s cowl, hanging a slight shadow over his smirking lips.
Batman: No. I still have a few toys left.
SPLASH PANEL THREE: Batman is standing in front of founding members of the Justice League, plus the Question and Huntress. They should be shown like they just arrived a few seconds ago.
Founding members:
1. Flash. 2. John Stewart. 3. Wonder Woman. 4. Superman. 5. Martian Man hunter. 6. Aquaman.
Positions/ Stances: The Question is leaning on a nearby wall to the right corner, flanked beside Huntress. Superman is slightly hovering above ground, the Flash has streaks of electricity around him, and the other stances are up to you. Also, Batman is in between Wonder Woman and Superman. The other positions are once again up to you.
CAPTION: Who will win?
Link to the Question: Now that... isn’t the question.
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Disclaimer: All characters/settings are property of DC Comics
This was an entree for a writing contest.