It’s good time to be a comic fan. If you had told me when I was 12 years old that in 10 years I couldn’t turn on a TV or look at the internet without hearing about a new comic book movie coming out, I would have said you were crazy. Back then the idea seemed like such an impossible dream that it was designated to fantasies in social studies class.
Now that’s all changed. However, as comic fans, how much of the source material can be compromised before it turns into something different? That’s the question we find ourselves asking whenever a new character hits the screen.
Obviously, when you are going to spend $200 million on a movie about a comic book character, you are going to want to see a return. How do you do that? Make it appeal to more than just fanboys. How do you do that? Chop out all the filler and provide an action packed story that has the gist of what you are talking about. Ok, we get that. But how do you decide what’s filler and what are the defining moments of the character? It’s a tough choice, and maybe the right ones haven’t been made.
 Sure, it’s understandable that cramming 40 years of continuity into a two hour movie is impossible. But now that most comic movies are made with a multiple picture franchise in mind from the get go, where do you make the necessary snips?
When “Spider-Man” hit back in 2002, we got our first taste of the age to come. For all intents and purposes, “Spider-Man” ruled. It ruled hard. To see Spidey flying around Manhattan gave us quite a thrill. But by the time “Spider-Man 3” rolled around, something was a little … off. Gwen Stacy popped up and quickly disappeared, Harry Osborn started come into his own craziness with promise only to be dissolved into just a plot device. Meanwhile, we know that Gwen’s death was a focal point of Spidey’s conduct for the majority of his existence. But alas, no one wants to see the hero lose even if it makes him a more complex character. John Q. Public doesn’t give a crap who Gwen Stacy is or his strong supporting cast, they just want to see Spider-Man punch someone in the face and do backflips.
The copy and pasting of the Venom character into “Spider-Man 3” may be the most blaring example of a compromise gone bad. Of course, keeping out the SECRET WARS story where Spidey got his black suit was a good idea, because that whole deal could have been three movies in itself. But in “Spider-Man 3” Venom showed up, said a couple of sinister things and then was quickly defeated, with his build up not really having that much of an impact on the story. It was just like “Hey kids, there is still 15 minutes left of the movie. How about another villain!” Rumors bounced around that Sam Raimi wanted to keep him out of the movie to avoid this problem, but studio pressure forced his hand. The result was the studio made a lot more in licensing toys and pajamas for little kids than by telling a cohesive story.
However, sometimes the studios get it exactly right. “Batman Begins” taught us that it doesn’t have to be exact, but presenting the presence of character the way it was originally intended can be a good thing. “Batman Begins” wasn’t YEAR ONE to the letter, but it didn’t have to be. Because the public and fans alike finally got to see Batman as the conflicted and dark character he always was. Effectively digging a grave for the ridiculous franchise that Joel Schumacher built, it really did get it right. Fanboys were happy because it showed Batman as he was meant to be, and the general public saw it as a fresh take on an idea that last left a bad taste in their mouth. They were saying “Holy shit, THAT’S what Batman is like?!” and fanboys got to say “I told you so.”
But trouble is still on the horizon. What you have here is the super hero movie turning into more of a commodity than a treat for audiences. Stick a trenchcoat on him, have him fight a couple of guys and name him after a character that already has a built in fanbase. Sounds pretty genius. Because really the public dollar is stronger than the fanboy niche. But what will happen after the studios run this train as far it will go?
It would be shameful to have a cookie cutter formula to bring heroes to life in the movie business, especially with awesome properties like Captain America, the Avengers and the Justice League popping up. These characters have such rich histories that if their stories were told from a different angle than the Michael Bay/blow shit up approach , maybe the general audience will come to love these characters for the same reasons fanboys do – because they are cool characters, not just models for blowing shit up.
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