Tag Archives: Avengers

by | February 23, 2015 · 12:52 pm

Spider-Man Joins the MCU: Why He Won’t Be Miles Morales & Why That’s a Good Thing

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Spider-Man and His Avenging Friends

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last week you’ve probably heard by now that Sony Pictures and Marvel have stuck a deal that allows Spider-Man to come into the Marvel cinematic universe. According to the press release, Spidey will make a cameo appearance in a future MCU film, will get a solo film made and distributed by Sony but with the “help” of Marvel, and then he’ll appear in other Marvel films afterwards, almost assuredly the two part Avengers: Infinity War. Under this new deal, Sony will be able to also be able to use MCU characters like Cap and Iron Man in their solo Spidey films. So basically, Sony’s Spidey universe is going to be an extension of the MCU proper. This deal has been rumored ever since the Sony e-mail leaks, and it’s been no secret that Sony’s Amazing Spider-Man films didn’t do as amazing at the box office or with fan and critic reception as everyone hoped. Sony’s movie studio has been on the ropes financially for a while now, and this new deal with Marvel is very obviously an attempt to save themselves. While the announcement maintains that Sony will have creative control, the safe assumption is it’ll be Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige that’ll be the real brains behind the new Spidey and the rest was just Sony saving face.

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Who Will Be Behind The Mask?

Now the question is: who will play Spidey since it’s been confirmed that Andrew Garfield will not return? To answer that question we have to know which Spider-Man Marvel is going to bring to the party. Ever since the announcement social media has exploded into a virtual war over who should be Spider-Man. More specifically, over whether it’ll be Peter Parker again, or if Marvel will go a fresh route and bring in Mile Morales, the half African American/half Latino Ultimate Spider-Man. Because it’s the internet it’ll come as no surprise that these debates have often been…heated. Some of these- ahem– “discussions” have been between fans that really want to see Peter Parker and his rogues gallery given the Marvel Cinematic Treatment because Sony’s previous two attempts, while they each had their pros and cons, never quite fully brought to the screen an adaptation that really captured the full essence of the comics; while others are tired of seeing Peter’s story and want to see something fresh and more diverse by doing Miles’ story instead. The Twitter wars that have erupted around this debate is, ultimately, pointless. Why? Because the initial press release already put the speculation to rest. The Spider-Man that will be swinging into the MCU, at least initially, will be Peter Parker:

“Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios share a love for the characters in the Spider-Man universe and have a long, successful history of working together. This new level of collaboration is the perfect way to take Peter Parker’s story into the future.”
-Doug Belgrad, president, Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group

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Why Not Miles?

The business reason:
Neither Marvel nor Sony is going to pass over the opportunity to cash in on 20+ Spider-Man appearances. It’s very likely that whoever they sign to play Peter Parker will be signed to a 9-10 picture contract much like everyone else in the MCU has. History has also shown us how expensive it can be to extend that contract once it’s up. So why shoot themselves in the foot when they can do 9-10 pictures with Peter Parker’s Spider-Man, and then have a fresh Spider-Man story and a fresh 10 picture contract waiting for whoever they get to play Miles Morales, all without having to reboot?
The storytelling reason:
After fighting as long and as hard as they have to be able to use Spider-Man, Marvel isn’t going to throw away the rich well of storytelling potential that Peter Parker brings to the table that has yet to be tapped. While both iterations of Pater Parker/Spider-Man were good in their own right, neither ever fully captured the comic character that fans have known and loved for decades. More importantly, it could be argued that none of the movies have done justice to the villains. Yes, the first Green Goblin and Doc Ock were both pretty good, but they weren’t as good as they could have been, and they certainly weren’t quite like their comics counterparts. For example: Norman Osborn has the potential to be a Marvel Phase-Level threat if done right, even without ever having to actually be the Green Goblin (especially if they loosely follow the post-Civil War comics story lines).  Likewise, while Doctor Octopus was done beautifully in Spider-Man 2, that version of the character was nothing like his comics counterpart, who is an egocentric megalomaniac. Let’s not even discuss the butchering of fan favorite Venom. Marvel has the opportunity to develop a MCU version of their flagship character while at the same time enriching the MCU with a much-needed injection of great villains. This isn’t only a great opportunity for Peter Parker fans, it’s ultimately great for Miles Morales fans (like me).
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Passing the Torch

A large part of Miles’ story centers around living up to the legacy of Peter Parker. It is central to the character and his journey in accepting the mantle, and the responsibility, of being Spider-Man. While Marvel/Sony could certainly skip Peter and go straight to Miles, and even do it well, it would be ultimately short changing the character and themselves. Right now they have the opportunity to bring to life the amazing (see what I did there?) and rich tapestry of Peter’s legacy as a hero in a way that they haven’t been able to in the past. This is their chance to really make the MCU a living incarnation of the comics we have loved for decades and then to pass that torch to the next generation of characters. Miles Morales is a great character. I enjoy reading about him just as much as I did Peter, but a large part of that enjoyment has been rooted in seeing this new kid with amazing powers struggling to adapt to his new life while at the same time honoring the legacy that Peter left behind.
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Civil War?

Right now the odds are good that Spidey’s first major appearance in the MCU will be in Captain America 3: Civil War, since Spider-Man played such a key role in the comics. I think that is probably a safe bet, but I’m pretty sure things won’t be done in the way that everyone is expecting. The biggest moment that everyone pictures when they think about Civil War is this:
_1413247202Spider-Man unmasks on live T.V. and tells the world he’s Peter Parker in support of Tony Stark and the Registration Act. While that may still happen in the movie versions, I don’t think it’s likely for two key reasons. One, it wouldn’t have near the impact that it did in the comics because right now no one in the MCU knows anything about Spider-Man. He hasn’t been swinging around New York for decades like he had been in the comics by that point, so who cares if he unmasks? Two, because this version of Civil War isn’t going to be about protecting identity as much as the comics. Kevin Feige already said as much. In the current MCU secret identities are largely not a big deal. Everyone already knows who the Avengers are. With the exception of Daredevil by that point, no one has one. Registration will be about control and freedom, so having Spider-Man unmask just won’t be as big a deal as having him register and show support for government oversight. My guess will be that Black Panther and Spidey will be the two new kids on the block being courted by Tony and Cap and they each pick a side. I guess we’ll find out soon.What do you think about all of this? Are you happy that Spidey has “come home”? Do you agree that they should start with Peter and work towards Miles, or are you tired of Peter’s story? Let me know in the comments.

J.R. Broadwater is the author of the non-fiction book Down with the Thickness: Viewing the World From a Fat Guy’s Perspective, the sci-fi detective novel You Only Die Twice, the fantasy novels The Chosen: Rebirthing Part 1 & 2, and the superhero tale Just Super, all available now in digital and paperback formats. Sample chapters and more information about these books can be found here. Kindle editions are all available for $0.99.

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by | July 4, 2013 · 1:08 pm

Rant Alert: Marvel Heroes- One Month Later

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Well, it’s been a month since Marvel Heroes launched and I thought I’d give an update on the game and how I think it’s doing. I’ve beta tested for several fairly big MMO’s in the past (DC Universe Online & Champions Online to name two) and I have to say that Gazillion has been surprisingly awesome with the fans, more so than any other game company I’ve seen.. Not only are they very interactive on the forums, with the constant patches that have been rolling out and changes that have been made they are obviously listening to the feedback fans have been giving and been trying to improve things as best as they can. The game still isn’t perfect, but it’s a blast to play and it seems it’ll only keep getting better as we go.

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They’re having their first sale on heroes in honor of the holiday today, and the sale runs through July 8th. In honor of Canada Day and Independence Day both Captain America and Wolverine are half-off with the price of 600Gs ($6), and the three most expensive heroes (Spider-Man, Iron Man, and Deadpool) have been reduced by $5. All other heroes have received a slight decrease in price as well, as has many of the costumes.  The pricing on heroes and costumes has been one of the biggest points of contention among fans and the rumor is that the prices seen during this sale, with the exception of Captain America and Wolverine, will end up being the new permanent prices on the 8th after the sale has ended.

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In response to fan complaints the drop rates on heroes and costumes have been upped and many of the characters have been significantly buffed- especially Iron Man and Spidey. I play tested Spider-Man during beta and wasn’t too impressed by him. I unlocked him in-game the other night after the latest patch buffed a majority of his powers and I have to say he’s been a blast to play with. His moves are fast and his animations really sell the feeling that you’re Spider-Man.

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I’ve been trying out Captain America the past few days as well, and with the sale price at 600gs he’s a steal. They’ve really nailed the feel of his fighting style, and with defensive abilities like Quick Block Cap is one of the better tanks in the game at the moment. Ms. Marvel (now Captain Marvel in the comics) has been a lot of fun as well and is a good hybrid melee/ranged character, though her melee powers are the most effective. By far my favorite character has been Deadpool. I’ve lost count of how many times his random comments have made me laugh out loud. Nolan North is Deadpool, and I never get tired of playing with him. His play-style is a ton of fun (do yourself a favor and focus on all the gun abilities).

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The biggest surprise for me is that the starter heroes that everyone gets 3 for free (one you choose at the beginning, the second is a reward after the prologue, and the third is a reward drop after defeating Dr. Doom) are actually some of the best characters in the game at present. While they might not be the most well-known, they’re all extremely powerful in their own right, and many players who have most or all of the characters available unlocked still find themselves playing as one of the freebies. Thing is hand-down the best tank in the game; Hawkeye does amazing single-target DPS and is a “boss killer” in endgame; Black Widow has become the sleeper favorite for many players, as her melee build combined with grenades/micro drones makes her an unstoppable force in endgame; Storm and Scarlet Witch have extremely powerful AOEs, and Daredevil, when skilled right, is a great melee character.

If you haven’t checked out Marvel Heroes now is a great time to give it a try. It’s completely free to download & play, and with the sale currently going on if you do decide to pick up a few heroes and costumes you’ll get the most bang for your buck.

J.R. Broadwater is the author of the non-fiction book Down with the Thickness: Viewing the World From a Fat Guy’s Perspective, the sci-fi detective novel You Only Die Twice, the fantasy novel The Chosen: Rebirthing Part 1 & 2, and the superhero tale Just Super, all available now in digital and paperback formats. Sample chapters and more information about these books can be found here. Kindle editions on sale for a limited time for $0.99 as a part of the Independence Day Sale! Be sure to take advantage!

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by | May 17, 2013 · 2:00 pm

Rant Alert: Iron Man 3 & Star Trek Into Darkness

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I have the best girlfriend on the planet, and last night we went and saw Iron Man 3 and Star Trek Into Darkness back to back in a mini geek movie marathon. Now you get to hear me rant about both of them! I’m going to do a short spoiler-free review of each for those who haven’t seen them, followed by a spoiler-filled rant on both for those who have and would maybe like to discuss. So, reviews ahoy!

Spoiler Free

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Iron Man 3 has been doing freaking awesome at the box office but has been taking some heat from the fan community, which has affected some reviews. Personally, I liked the story and how everything played out. It was probably the most “comic-booky” of the three movies, story-wise. However, it also felt slower paced and more of a character drama than the previous two, which I think has a lot to do with the disappointment that many have felt. This is very much a Tony Stark story, not Iron Man; just as it is very much a Shane Black movie, not Jon Favreau. I saw one commenter compare this to Skyfall, and I think that is a pretty apt comparison. Iron Man 3 is for Tony Stark what Skyfall was for Bond. It was better than the last one, but the original Iron Man is still my favorite.

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Star Trek Into Darkness was just fun. From beginning to end, it was a blast to watch. I felt it was a much stronger story this time around, and it was fun to see the cast play off of each other now that they have a foundation. It’s not as cerebral as Old-Trek, but it’s not meant to be, and it certainly isn’t as brainless as a lot of other summer blockbusters either.  I think they’ve found a good middle ground between appealing to the fan base of the previous incarnation and casual audiences that might not have cared for Trek before (like my girlfriend). Basically, if you liked the first one, you’ll enjoy this.

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven’t seen the movies, turn away now!

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Okay, so a lot of the fan-bitching has been aimed at the Mandarin and the “plot twist” regarding his character. I understand fans wanting to see the hardcore villain from the comics on screen, but lets be realistic- that was never ever going to happen. One, because he’s a racist stereotype that just wouldn’t play. Two, because as cool as the ten magic alien rings are, it just doesn’t fit in the cinematic Marvel world…yet. That said, I didn’t have a problem at all with the “twist”. I felt like Sir Ben Kingsley was freaking amazing both as Mandarin and Trevor (which was hilarious). I thought it was a smart plot, well executed. I loved the comic easter eggs, like AIM and Roxxon. I caught the Fin Fang Foom deal with the “real Mandarin,” though I thought the breathing fire thing was a little goofy. I think the problem is people are going in expecting one thing and they’re getting another. This wasn’t as fast paced and fun as the first, and to a lesser extent, the second. Like I said in the spoiler free section, this was very much a character drama focused on Tony Stark, where Iron Man was more a background aspect. It had a totally different feel than the previous two and Avengers. Hell, they didn’t even play ACDC, unless I missed it. But it was still a good movie. I still enjoyed it. To be honest, my biggest gripe with the movie was the ending, as I wanted to know more about what was going on with Pepper after he “fixed” her, and I was really disappointed that they didn’t show signs of extremis in Tony after his surgery (because you KNOW he had to play with it, like in the comics). I even would have been happy with a little blue glow in his eye at the end when he says “I am Iron Man.” But they didn’t go there, which disappointed me. I also thought the stinger at the end, showing that he’d been telling the whole story to Banner the entire time, was fun. Overall, it was a good movie, just different.

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Star Trek was fun, plain and simple. If you approach this as the “ultimate” version of the Trek we all know and love, you’ll enjoy it a hell of a lot more, because that’s exactly what this was. This was their “Ultimate” version of Wrath of Khan. (For those who have no idea what I mean by “Ultimate”- Marvel has a line of comics, the Ultimate Line, which is basically an alternate version of the mainstream Marvel universe, where characters can be portrayed in different, more modern, takes; popular or classic storylines are re-imagined and told differently, etc.) We all knew John Harrison was Khan. It was a given. I mean, how could they not use Khan? A lot of comments sections on fan sites have enraged fans frothing at the mouth because “they lied to us!” People, get a fuggin grip. Why the hell would they ruin their own movie by telling you everything about it? If you had stayed away from fan speculation and had no idea that Harrison might be Khan, the revelation would have been great. Plus, the cameo by Old-Spock was great. The plot and how they incorporated Khan was well done. Is it as good as the original? Of course not. Does it feel like a more dumbed down, action-focused version of Trek? Yep! But it’s still fun as hell! At the end of the day, I had a lot of fun watching it, and that’s what’s really important. I am a huge Trek fan. Always have been. I was raised on it. My dad used to record the original run of the original series on cassette tapes as a kid so he could listen to them again later like a radio show. I still have those tapes, and used to listen to them myself as a kid. I grew up on TNG and DS9. I own all the movies and have seen them each countless times. But it’s time to face it kiddos, old-Trek had to evolve or die. It just wasn’t putting butts in the seats, or in the case of the TV shows, getting the ratings it needed. I think this new alternate universe was a smart, fun way to reboot without throwing away everything that came before. The 2009 movie had it’s issues, but I think they vastly improved on those issues with this one.

Okay, lets address it: Lens flare. yes, it was a problem on the first one. They obviously dialed it down a ton on this one, except for one scene. That one scene with Carol talking to her father had a lens flare covering the entire shot, blinding everyone where you could hardly see a thing. It was ridiculous and I have to believe it was done on purpose as a “screw you!” to all the folks that ragged on the lens flare in the first one. It was just so gratuitous it had to have been purposeful.

However, the movie was really entertaining and I can’t wait until I can see it again. Like I said before, if you had fun with the first, you’ll enjoy this one.

Agree? Disagree? Just want to geek out about these movies? Feel free in the comments section.
J.R. Broadwater is the author of the non-fiction book Down with the Thickness: Viewing the World From a Fat Guy’s Perspective, the sci-fi detective novel You Only Die Twice, the fantasy novel The Chosen: Rebirthing Part 1-, and the superhero tale Just Super, all available now in digital and paperback formats. Sample chapters and more information about these books can be found here. Digital copies on sale for a limited time for $0.99. Check back each Sunday for a new chapter in the ongoing serial Moving On!

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by | April 17, 2013 · 11:06 pm

Rant Alert: “A New Star Wars Movie Every Year?!” Why “Fans” Need to Chill Out

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A lot of “fans” on entertainment websites annoy me. They annoy me so much that sometimes I wish I could pull a Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back on them. I have never seen such soul-crushing negativity as I have found on comments sections coming from people who supposedly love the franchises they’re freaking out over. The most recent victim is Star Wars, after it was confirmed that Disney plans to release a new Star Wars movie each year. In the comment section for multiple fan sites commentators proceeded to wig out. From some of the posts you’d think Disney was Nazi Germany. They got so ridiculous I did what I swore I would never do and actually posted a comment that amounts to basically what I’m about to say here. It was a flower buried under a landslide of stupid, but a few people actually responded and applauded.

It gave me a little hope for humanity.

First, I believe what is actually going to take place needs to be clarified: There is not going to be a new Star Wars episode every year. The “episodes” are the main entries in the storyline, IE Episode 4 was the original Star Wars: A New Hope. The “main” episode movies will be once every 2-3 years, starting with Episode 7 in 2015, just like most major franchise movies. What Disney is planning to do is release stand alone movies in the “off” years, that will focus on different timelines, characters, and probably even storytelling styles. The Star Wars universe is a freaking huge playground. The last 25 years worth of expanded universe material in all the games, novels, and comics proves that there’s a TON of room to play without peeing in the cheerios of the main story.

Second, what Disney is planning to do with Star Wars is no different than what they’ve been doing with the Marvel Universe since 2008; which a majority of the movie going public, the aforementioned functionally retarded “fan” trolls included, generally like-love. Since the first Iron Man there has been at least one, often more than one, Marvel movie released every year. From a franchise perspective, why should Star Wars be any different? The argument could be made that they have even more room to tell different types of stories/do different types of movies with the Star Wars universe than they can with Marvel.

Third, Disney hasn’t given us any reason to think these movies won’t be quality products….yet. They’ve done a great job with Marvel and Pixar so far. If this means we get a new, quality Star Wars movie every summer, what’s the problem?

Fourth, I think we all need to start living by the wisdom of our geek prophet Wil Wheaton:

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Seriously, it’s one thing to discuss things you like/dislike about this stuff with other fans of the genres. It’s another to be a complete douchnozzle troll just because the internet is anonymous and you can. It’s hard to have fun and share about all the awesome (and sometimes not-so-awesome) stuff that’s coming down the pipe when a small, but very vocal, minority of jerkwads make those conversations horrible to even look at. For instance, the Man of Steel trailer last night was freaking beautiful. I was stoked, as was just about all my friends. I go to these fan sites and amidst the praise is the inevitable negative douchebaggery that just lets some of the air out of the geek tires. I don’t mind people having different opinions or not liking something I thought was amazing. That’s fine. Different strokes and all that. But there’s no reason to be just an offensive @$$hole about it. I get it: people love to troll because they’re pathetic individuals with nothing better to do with their time, but I can’t be the only person sick to death of this crap. Not to mention the negative effect it can and does have on the things we love. You may not think that people with the money/decision making power pays any attention to this crap, but you’d be very wrong. They do, or at the very least they pay people to pay attention to it for them. Basically, you’re part of the reason we can’t have nice things. So, for myself and the rest of my fellow geeky fans I have only this to say: STOP IT!

You never know. The next time your doorbell rings…

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J.R. Broadwater is the author of the non-fiction book Down with the Thickness: Viewing the World From a Fat Guy’s Perspective, the sci-fi detective novel You Only Die Twice, the fantasy novel The Chosen: Rebirthing Part 1-, and the superhero tale Just Super, all available now in digital and paperback formats. Sample chapters and more information about these books can be found here. Digital copies on sale for a limited time for $0.99.

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by | April 16, 2013 · 3:47 pm

Rant Alert: Why DC & Marvel Are Royally Screwing Up and How They Could Easily Fix It

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I love comics. I’m a huge fan of both Marvel and DC characters, as they fill different storytelling needs I may crave at any given moment. If I want more character-driven drama I look to Marvel. When I feel like just watching super people beat the snot out of each other while looking badass, I go to DC.

Except for lately. Both companies have been really hit or miss for a while now, particularly in the past few years.

Marvel

With Marvel, we have event after event that just ends up not meaning much or having any lasting consequences in the long run. Often they’re not even finished with one event before they’re already hyping the next. That’s not even counting the deaths, which mean absolutely nothing at this point because everyone knows it’s not going to last more than a few months at most (DC does this too). It’s exhausting, pointless, and by Fear Itself I’d completely lost interest and stopped bothering to follow much of anything… except for Amazing Spidey, but then they went and did it there too. Don’t get me wrong, they do have some solid books. I love Waid’s Daredevil. I was totally on board for Slott’s ASM until this whole Superior thing happened, and while I read the first few issues and understand where Slott was going with it, I just didn’t care much.

The movies are awesome. All of the MCU movies have been just pure joy for me, even the ones that didn’t execute as well as they could have. *cough*IronMan2*cough*. I’m thrilled that Whedon pulled off Avengers as well as he did and that it became a redonkulous success.  They deserved a big win. It was an amazing accomplishment. The problem, now, is that Marvel is trying so hard to bank on that that it’s affecting, in my opinion, all their books. How many Avengers teams are there now? How many members? Why is being an Avenger special if EVERYONE is an Avenger?

Now they’re doing their Marvel Now! thing, which they insist isn’t a reboot, and that’s fine. But let’s be honest: it really is only going to be same crap, different day in the end. There’ll be big events back to back to back. People will die, only to be brought back in a few months. Nothing will really change.

DC

Yep, New 52. Pretty much says it all for most fans. I have to admit when they first announced it I was completely on board. I loved the concept and I was ready for them to make a change and make things fresh again. I bought just about all 52 first issues, and followed at least a majority of them for their first story arcs. Wonder Woman was great. Batman was amazing. Green Lantern was virtually the same as it’s always been. But something became apparent very early: they, as a company, had no freaking idea what they were doing. They had no long term plan. They didn’t think things through. A reboot like they were talking about is something that has to be meticulously planned, mapped out, and then replanned. You need to know EXACTLY how the timeline works for everyone. Especially with the half-assed way they cherry picked continuity because they were too afraid to pull the trigger on a full reboot. As a result we got an even bigger mess than what we started with, and books like Batman and Green Lantern (whose continuity was basically untouched) adopted problems because now 40+ years worth of stories were expected to be fit into 5 years of continuity. That means Bruce was running through Robins faster than a fat kid goes through gummy bears. Then there’s Superman, who needed a solid reboot more than anyone else. They can’t get a decent foundation for that character for anything, which is sad because Superman is THE superhero. But everything they’ve done with him solo has just been a hot mess. I’m really hoping that Snyder/Lee can pull off a good book because Superman deserves one, and I desperately want one.

Ultimate Multiverse

This is entirely subjective. It’s just my opinion. But this is so freaking obvious to me, and it has been for years, that I’m amazed that the “big two” hasn’t realized it yet. Marvel has already set the stage for how they can fix a lot of this mess, but even there I don’t think they fully grasp just what they have.

I’m referring to the Ultimate line of books.

I love the Ultimate Universe. That’s not to say that I think it’s solid gold all the time or that I’ve loved everything they’ve done. Far from it. I love it because everything matters. They have fresh takes on the characters and storylines we all love. Some work. Some don’t. But everything matters. Everything they’ve done, regardless in what book, has a lasting consequence for everything else. It is very much a shared universe. Peter Parker dies (in a very beautifully written way, I might add). Two years later and he’s still dead. There’s a new Spidey and I love reading him as much as I did Peter. It’s just a well written story. Reed Richards….well I won’t spoil it for those who haven’t been following, but they do a complete 180 with his character. It was unexpected, creative, and I loved it.

There are no reboots. Events actually have weight and consequence. Deaths stick and have meaning. This is they way comics should be, because I actually care. Even when the story itself is utter crap *cough*Ultimatum*cough* I still care because what happens will have lasting repercussions, and ten years worth of continuity without a ton of reboots is a hell of a lot easier to get into and follow than 40+ years of whacked out resetting.

DC has set the stage for the same damn thing with the Multiverse but they haven’t utilized it the way they could/should probably out of some stupid schoolyard bullcrap of not wanting to follow suit on what the other company is doing that works. They do the same thing with the movies and it’s shot them in the foot. I find all of this hilarious since both companies have been blatantly ripping off each other’s character ideas since the beginning, but now when it matters, they refuse. Instead of doing a half-assed not-quite-reboot with the New 52, they could have trimmed off 4-5 of the 15 Bat books, books that aren’t selling well, etc. and just started doing their own “Ultimate” DC universe set in one of the other 52 Earths. New versions of the characters. New Stories. Fresh takes. Relevant issues. No reboot required.

But they didn’t. Instead they made a bad situation much worse.

My Answer

This is going to be controversial, and many fans, particularly old-school comic fans, will probably call me a moron. But this is my answer to the constant rebooting, meaningless deaths, and pointless events- A 30 year continuity for each “generation”. Period.

15 years in you introduce an “alternate” universe (think Marvel’s Ultimate Universe, for example). At the end of the 30 year time frame you phase out the “main” universe, the former “alternate” universe becomes the main, and a new alternate universe is introduced.

This accomplishes a few things:

  • Each generation gets a fresh take on the characters. They become “their” versions of the character. This allows both companies to make sure their characters, stories, etc. all remain relevant and tailored to new audiences each generation without having to do silly reboots or death/resurrections. They’d still have the archives of past “generations” or Earths, or whatever that readers could go back and read to get alternate takes.
  • Everything matters. Deaths are permanent. Events have consequence. There’s no rebooting or backtracking two months later. Readers will be invested in the characters and stories being told.
  • Good storytelling and creativity becomes the focus. When everything matters quality control will have to be much more stringent. Crap that gets through now does so because if it doesn’t work it doesn’t matter. They’ll just retcon it or whatever later. In this way editors, writers, artists, etc. will have to be much more conscious of what they’re doing. That’s not to hinder the storytelling, it just means they actually have to think before they act and it cuts down on doing the money grab crappy stories just to go along with the flavor of the month. It also fosters trying new things with the characters, because there’s no reason to retread on something that’s already been done, unless you can do it differently/better (Ultimate accomplished this with the Clone Saga, for instance).
  • The universe doesn’t have to end, but there can be resolution to characters and stories. More to the point, there can now be a beginning, middle, and end for that version of a character’s story without destroying a franchise. Phasing out doesn’t have to mean nuking, however. The companies would still have the option to go back and visit past universes with new stories through miniseries, specials, events, etc.  But they can try new things with this system without having to throw the baby out with the bathwater and utterly mucking up continuity.
  • More choice. As the cycle progresses readers will have an abundance of choice. They can go back and follow an entire generation’s worth of stories without having to worry about confusing continuity. Don’t like this current version of Spider-Man? You’ll have several other versions to choose from that you might identify with more.

It certainly not a perfect solution, but it’s a solution that I think makes the most sense. it’s certainly better than the constant rebooting and retconning that’s currently going on. But that’s just my opinion. Feel free to sound off in the comments and discuss.

J.R. Broadwater is the author of the non-fiction book Down with the Thickness: Viewing the World From a Fat Guy’s Perspective,  the sci-fi detective novel You Only Die Twice, the fantasy novel The Chosen: Rebirthing Part 1-, and the superhero tale Just Super, all available now in digital and paperback formats. Sample chapters and more information about these books can be found here.

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by | October 31, 2012 · 2:06 pm

Rant Alert- Star Wars, Disney & Haters

I think I established my Star Wars pedigree when I did my rant about Clone Wars. Needless to say, I’m a big fan. Star Wars means a lot to me, outside of the traditional geek reasoning. As a kid growing up Star Wars was my “happy place”. I’m a “thick” guy and grew up that way. I was picked on a lot. I had a lot of other issues going on as well, such as struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts (I tried to hang myself when I was 11). Star Wars was always the thing I could get lost in, be it the movies, books, or comics. I could escape my reality for a bit in that galaxy far, far away and when I was done things didn’t seem so bad. For a kid like me that was a very important thing. So when I say Star Wars is important to me now you have some idea of just how much and why.

I got the news about yesterday’s big announcement in the form of a text message from my girlfriend. Like most other people I was completely shocked and then I checked to make sure it didn’t inexplicably become April 1st somehow. Disney bought out Lucas? New Star Wars movies? What the what?!

I read all the articles, watched the videos of Lucas and company discussing the deal and the future of Star Wars, and then I headed straight for Facebook & Twitter- like you do. Most of my close friends and fellow nerds had the same general reaction I had- cautious optimism. Lucas has had a profound impact on movies- no one denies that. He is a genius in his own way, and as a fan I owe him a great deal of gratitude. That said, Star Wars has always been best when Lucas was a “creative consultant” and other talented people were left to do the heavy lifting. The original trilogy worked so well because Lucas had no choice but to make it a collaborative effort. Empire Strikes Back is a perfect example as Lucas came up with the story and produced but left the rest to other people. It’s the reason it is the best film of the entire series. As another example The Clone Wars, as i stated previously, has grown to be a genuinely good show. Sure it has a few episodes each season that fall flat, but overall it’s quite good. The reason for that is Lucas has a lot of talented, creative people working on the show, and he’s only there to give his two cents. The prequels, in contrast, were the way they were because Lucas had complete creative control and there was no one to tell him otherwise when he did horrible things like Jar Jar Binks.

With Kathleen Kennedy (who has a great professional pedigree) in charge while Lucas is only a “creative consultant” and is otherwise retired, we have a real shot at getting the kinds of movies we all hoped the prequels would be. That’s not even mentioning the TV shows and other additional movies that will result (Pixar Star Wars anyone?).  As I scrolled through Facebook and Twitter I found exactly what I was expecting- a ton of people generally being hipster naysayers. You have the “rape/take a dump on my childhood” set; the “Lucas sold out!” set, which genuinely amuses me to no end; the douchebags who are going to crap on everything regardless because they think it’s “cool”; and then the largest group, who are genuinely concerned and/or just outright negative because the prequels completely turned them off towards Star Wars. This last group I can completely understand. Whoever ends up helming Ep. 7 is going to have a HUGE job ahead of them, because the movie is going to have to be damn near perfect to win back a lot of the goodwill that was squandered with the last three movies. I still have hope. Call me cautiously optimistic. Here’s why:

Let’s look at Disney’s track record and ignore the ridiculous “The mouse owns everything and they’re going to turn Star Wars into the mouseketeers in space!” people. Disney currently owns Pixar, Miramax, & Marvel. All three have not only NOT been turned into something they were not previously, but they have arguably improved greatly since the Mouse took them over. Let’s look at Marvel specifically because it’s the closest example to the current situation with Lucasfilm. There were cries of “DOOOOOOM!” when the deal happened a few years back, with people saying the same kinds of things as they’re saying now about Star Wars. What really happened? None of it. The comics side of things pretty much kept doing what they always have done (for better or for worse). Marvel Studios was now able to make the kinds of movies that fans and general audiences who know nothing of comics want to see. The results have been a shared Marvel movie universe with awesome quality ultimately resulting in a movie that a lot of people never thought they’d be able to pull off well- The Avengers. You remember The Avengers don’t you? The third highest grossing film ever? The movie that was pretty much an overwhelming hit with both critics and audiences around the world? Yeah, that movie. Under the Mouse.

What I’m saying is let’s give them a chance to show us what they have in mind. Lets stop peeing in the Cheerios of fans who are actually excited and hopeful that their favorite universe might get the treatment we’ve been wanting for decades. That’s not to say I don’t have my own reservations- most notably what might happen with the comics once the contract with Dark Horse runs out. However, even in those areas I’m willing to wait and see rather than freak out. For the first time in over a decade I’m excited about Star Wars. I feel like that teenager again who would hunt the internet for rumors, any rumors, about the new movie. That guy who talked for hours with friends both online and off about the possibilities. I missed that guy, and I’m hoping he’ll stick around for a while.

J.R. Broadwater is the author of the non-fiction book Down with the Thickness: Viewing the World From a Fat Guy’s Perspective, and the sci-fi detective novel You Only Die Twice, both available now in digital and paperback formats. Sample chapters and more information about both books can be found here.

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