Comic book movie news & discussion

[Jimmy Higgins]

So yeah, I am really looking forward to Aquaman, and I desperately hope it does well.

• I'd love to see the DCEU get saved. I'm a Marvel fan. That doesn't mean I like Marvel and dislike DC, it means I like Marvel better. I still read my share of DC comic books as a kid, it still has nostalgic value for me, and hey, competition is good for the consumer, right?
• I really like the actor playing Aquaman even if his acting chops aren't exactly top notch. He's likable, dammit. Plus the decision to cast a half Polynesian was pure genius.
• It would be nice to see an Asian-American producer succeed in Hollywood. For all that both Marvel and DC have been famous for pushing diversity issues sooner than other parts of popular media, the movie versions of Marvel and WB-DC have been kind of lacking in Asian faces on either side of the camera (FOX did better in that department with their X-Men stuff).

I'm really waiting for the Ironman moment after watching a DC universe film (post Nolan), where I walk away stunned about how good it was. Yes, we had a few Batmans and a couple decent X-Men film, but Ironman was the start of something new, where comic book films were going to be consistently average at worse, and jaw dropping at best. DC hasn't done it yet. It'd be nice to have good unique DC films in addition to Marvel.

 

[Underseer]

So yeah, I am really looking forward to Aquaman, and I desperately hope it does well.

• I'd love to see the DCEU get saved. I'm a Marvel fan. That doesn't mean I like Marvel and dislike DC, it means I like Marvel better. I still read my share of DC comic books as a kid, it still has nostalgic value for me, and hey, competition is good for the consumer, right?
• I really like the actor playing Aquaman even if his acting chops aren't exactly top notch. He's likable, dammit. Plus the decision to cast a half Polynesian was pure genius.
• It would be nice to see an Asian-American producer succeed in Hollywood. For all that both Marvel and DC have been famous for pushing diversity issues sooner than other parts of popular media, the movie versions of Marvel and WB-DC have been kind of lacking in Asian faces on either side of the camera (FOX did better in that department with their X-Men stuff).

I'm really waiting for the Ironman moment after watching a DC universe film (post Nolan), where I walk away stunned about how good it was. Yes, we had a few Batmans and a couple decent X-Men film, but Ironman was the start of something new, where comic book films were going to be consistently average at worse, and jaw dropping at best. DC hasn't done it yet. It'd be nice to have good unique DC films in addition to Marvel.

Wonder Woman definitely gave me a similar feeling to the first Iron Man movie (including the weak third act and lame final battle), but you can't build a connected cinematic universe with only one director making decent movies. Whatever good will they built up with WW got shattered in the very next Justice League movie where they didn't treat their new about-to-save-the-DCEU star with the appropriate reverence, and it doesn't help that the movie itself was a narrative mess.

 

[Underseer]

And I'm kind of worried that they didn't learn their lesson.

The problem with most of the DCEU films is that they tried to make every character and movie like Nolan's version of Batman. If they now turn around and try to turn every hero and movie into Wonder Woman, then they are just repeating the same mistake.

That's why I'm really hoping that Aquaman and Shazam have a unique tone, themes, etc. It would show that WB is no longer trying to crowbar everyone and everything into whatever the most recent success was.

 

[Goodchild]

It's more TV than movie, but damn is Titans a great show! If you're a DC fan at all and not watching it you are missing out big time. There's been maybe two slowish episodes but the rest have been fantastic, especially all the world-building with Hawk & Dove, Doom Patrol and in the newest episode Jason Todd. This is probably the best live-action superhero show made yet and better than most superhero films IMO.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Ya, that show has had surprisingly good reviews. I had zero expectations for it. I’m waiting for it to come out here in Canada.

 

[Underseer]

It's more TV than movie, but damn is Titans a great show! If you're a DC fan at all and not watching it you are missing out big time. There's been maybe two slowish episodes but the rest have been fantastic, especially all the world-building with Hawk & Dove, Doom Patrol and in the newest episode Jason Todd. This is probably the best live-action superhero show made yet and better than most superhero films IMO.

Good to hear. If they add more comic books to the service, I might even consider it.

Anyway, I just had a random thought. I'm guessing that phase 4 of the MCU is going to involve some big shake-ups. I thought it would be really cool to do a Blue Marvel movie. Denzel Washington is now about the right age to play that character.

For those unfamiliar: Blue Marvel is a relatively new character, but he was retconned to say that he was around in the 1960s, and was supposedly a pretty big deal until his super suit got torn and people found out that he was African-American. This caused a huge stink and president Kennedy himself asked him to stop doing superhero work. He's an older superhero who was forced into retirement at his prime due to racism, then comes out of retirement.

With the right director, that could be a genuinely interesting story and further break the "Marvel formula."

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

It's more TV than movie, but damn is Titans a great show! If you're a DC fan at all and not watching it you are missing out big time. There's been maybe two slowish episodes but the rest have been fantastic, especially all the world-building with Hawk & Dove, Doom Patrol and in the newest episode Jason Todd. This is probably the best live-action superhero show made yet and better than most superhero films IMO.

Good to hear. If they add more comic books to the service, I might even consider it.

Anyway, I just had a random thought. I'm guessing that phase 4 of the MCU is going to involve some big shake-ups. I thought it would be really cool to do a Blue Marvel movie. Denzel Washington is now about the right age to play that character.

For those unfamiliar: Blue Marvel is a relatively new character, but he was retconned to say that he was around in the 1960s, and was supposedly a pretty big deal until his super suit got torn and people found out that he was African-American. This caused a huge stink and president Kennedy himself asked him to stop doing superhero work. He's an older superhero who was forced into retirement at his prime due to racism, then comes out of retirement.

With the right director, that could be a genuinely interesting story and further break the "Marvel formula."

Oh gawd, it’d be a trigger fest.

 

[Underseer]

It's more TV than movie, but damn is Titans a great show! If you're a DC fan at all and not watching it you are missing out big time. There's been maybe two slowish episodes but the rest have been fantastic, especially all the world-building with Hawk & Dove, Doom Patrol and in the newest episode Jason Todd. This is probably the best live-action superhero show made yet and better than most superhero films IMO.

Good to hear. If they add more comic books to the service, I might even consider it.

Anyway, I just had a random thought. I'm guessing that phase 4 of the MCU is going to involve some big shake-ups. I thought it would be really cool to do a Blue Marvel movie. Denzel Washington is now about the right age to play that character.

For those unfamiliar: Blue Marvel is a relatively new character, but he was retconned to say that he was around in the 1960s, and was supposedly a pretty big deal until his super suit got torn and people found out that he was African-American. This caused a huge stink and president Kennedy himself asked him to stop doing superhero work. He's an older superhero who was forced into retirement at his prime due to racism, then comes out of retirement.

With the right director, that could be a genuinely interesting story and further break the "Marvel formula."

Oh gawd, it’d be a trigger fest.

Conservatives are constantly triggered no matter what anyway. Why worry about their reaction?

It would allow the movies to talk (directly and without metaphors) about racism from an African-American perspective without stepping on the toes of the Luke Cage people at Netflix. Plus, it's an interesting story and I think Denzel would be interesting in the role.

 

[The Colourful Jester]

https://au.news.yahoo.com/bill-maher-trashes-fans-mourning-022531173.html

Bill Maher Trashes Fans Mourning Stan Lee And Adults Who Read Comics

Comedian Bill Maher is getting the ire of the comic book world this weekend after making disparaging remarks about fans who mourned the passing of Marvel icon Stan Lee.

In a blog post Maher wrote Saturday, the late night host trashed the impact that Stan Lee had on generations of comic book readers.

“The guy who created Spider-Man and the Hulk has died, and America is in mourning,” Maher’s blog post began. “Deep, deep mourning for a man who inspired millions to, I don’t know, watch a movie, I guess.”

The basis of the criticism seems to originate from his belief that comic books are for children. He chided adults for deciding about 20 years ago that they didn’t have to give up kid stuff.

“They pretended comic books were actually sophisticated literature,” Maher said.

Maher then took the rather large leap from comics to the political system. “I don’t think it’s a huge stretch to suggest that Donald Trump could only get elected in a country that thinks comic books are important.”

-----

https://www.vulture.com/2018/11/neil-gaiman-gail-simone-and-others-respond-to-bill-maher.html

Comics Creators Less Than Impressed with Bill Maher

Surprising no one, comics creators didn’t agree with Bill Maher when he said Trump was their fault. The Real Time host wrote in a blog post that adult comic book fans are stupid babies who are dumb to mourn the passing of Stan Lee. “[T]wenty years or so ago, something happened — adults decided they didn’t have to give up kid stuff,” he wrote. “And so they pretended comic books were actually sophisticated literature.” Maher went on to explain somehow this reappraisal of comics as real literature (hardly an exclusively American phenomenon) led to a dumbing-down of America that led to the election of Donald Trump. And that’s terrible.

 

[marc]

There are a lot of things I agree with Maher on, but this definitely isn’t one of them. Sounds like the kind of guy that never read a comic. I could go on about the morality of Spider-Man, great graphic novels like “God Loves, Man Kills”, “Emperor Doom”, but I think anyone reading this thread probably already knows how wrong he is.

Heck, I think if the subject were studied I think the sci-fi and comic lovers would tend to be the least likely people to have voted for the idiot. I’m probably the most politically informed member of my family, and I’ve got a ton of comics. (And all my Transformers).

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Bill Maher is a funny Libertarian. He isn’t a god and isn’t perfect and clearly doesn’t know everything in which he wants to talk or be critical about. I didn’t read comics and still can appreciate what Stan Lee did.

 

[Underseer]

https://au.news.yahoo.com/bill-maher-trashes-fans-mourning-022531173.html

Bill Maher Trashes Fans Mourning Stan Lee And Adults Who Read Comics

Comedian Bill Maher is getting the ire of the comic book world this weekend after making disparaging remarks about fans who mourned the passing of Marvel icon Stan Lee.

In a blog post Maher wrote Saturday, the late night host trashed the impact that Stan Lee had on generations of comic book readers.

“The guy who created Spider-Man and the Hulk has died, and America is in mourning,” Maher’s blog post began. “Deep, deep mourning for a man who inspired millions to, I don’t know, watch a movie, I guess.”

The basis of the criticism seems to originate from his belief that comic books are for children. He chided adults for deciding about 20 years ago that they didn’t have to give up kid stuff.

“They pretended comic books were actually sophisticated literature,” Maher said.

Maher then took the rather large leap from comics to the political system. “I don’t think it’s a huge stretch to suggest that Donald Trump could only get elected in a country that thinks comic books are important.”

-----

https://www.vulture.com/2018/11/neil-gaiman-gail-simone-and-others-respond-to-bill-maher.html

Comics Creators Less Than Impressed with Bill Maher

Surprising no one, comics creators didn’t agree with Bill Maher when he said Trump was their fault. The Real Time host wrote in a blog post that adult comic book fans are stupid babies who are dumb to mourn the passing of Stan Lee. “[T]wenty years or so ago, something happened — adults decided they didn’t have to give up kid stuff,” he wrote. “And so they pretended comic books were actually sophisticated literature.” Maher went on to explain somehow this reappraisal of comics as real literature (hardly an exclusively American phenomenon) led to a dumbing-down of America that led to the election of Donald Trump. And that’s terrible.

What Maher said about Stan Lee and comic book fans is bad, but not nearly as bad as his anti-vaccine views, which harm children. Also, he's been caught making racist statements on more than one occasion.

Both the racism and the anti-vaccine positions cause far more harm to society than saying mean things about nerds. Honestly, if you have a problem with what Maher said about Stan Lee and comic book fans, why didn't you have a bigger problem with the anti-vaccine views and the racism? Why are you still watching him?

 

[thebeave]

I read awhile back that Stan Lee has a history of sexual abuse towards women. Sorta strange, given he rails against misogony, bigotry, etc.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

I read awhile back that Stan Lee has a history of sexual abuse towards women. Sorta strange, given he rails against misogony, bigotry, etc.

Well, I guess we can’t like Spiderman anymore without being rapists.

 

[thebeave]

I read awhile back that Stan Lee has a history of sexual abuse towards women. Sorta strange, given he rails against misogony, bigotry, etc.

Well, I guess we can’t like Spiderman anymore without being rapists.

Yep. Also, probably best to keep comments about Wonder Woman's nice rack to a minimum until the dust settles a bit more on this.

 

[Underseer]

I read awhile back that Stan Lee has a history of sexual abuse towards women. Sorta strange, given he rails against misogony, bigotry, etc.

There's a lot of that. The writer of Wonder Woman was definitely racist, and so were some of the writers who followed him. Joss Whedon (who in part made his name as the male feminist guy) became part of the #MeToo thing. Roland Emmerich (white gay guy) downplayed the role of non-white transgender people in his movie about the early days of the gay rights movement.

This is why  intersectionality is a hot topic these days among non-fasicsts.

Just because someone is gay doesn't mean they don't have any prejudices against racial minorities or gender minorities, or even themselves.

Just because someone is an activist for women's rights doesn't mean they can't be bigoted against certain races.

Plenty of African-American activists experience racism every day and fight the good fight against racism, but are incredibly bigoted towards gays, transgendered, etc., or even other racial minorities.

It happens. It happens a lot. Non-white feminists have been screaming about this for decades, and those complaints largely weren't taken seriously until recently when we watched 54% of white women vote for a pussy-grabber because they liked his racist message.

Ideally, yes. Someone who experiences one kind of bigotry shouldn't express it against other groups because they know what it's like, but in practice it is very common. It happens. Even when we know it shouldn't.

If anyone thinks the appropriate response to this reality is to give up on trying to not be bigoted in the first place, you're eye-gougingly stupid and a fucking troglodyte.

 

[Underseer]

I know plenty disagree with me on this, but this is one of the reasons that I argue bigotry/racism is as much a property of culture as it is of individuals or individual decisions. I don't think a gay person who knows what it's like to be persecuted for being gay would consciously choose to be bigoted against non-white people, but if we can be infected by society without our knowledge, then it's easier to understand.

If you don't think we can be infected with bigoted assumptions by society/culture, watch this and be depressed:

[YOUTUBE]EQACkg5i4AY[/YOUTUBE]

I can almost guarantee you that no one took those young children aside and told them in words that white people are smarter or that African-descended people are inherently ugly, and yet they clearly believe exactly that. If those young children could be infected by those assumptions at such a young age without explicit declarations, what makes you think you are not also affected by society/culture? What makes you think you're not just as affected by participating in this society as those young children?

 

[blastula]

Maher has a point, most of these comic book movies are shallow and cookie cutter formulaic.

But fuck him and all of you, because I really liked Justice League.

 

[Underseer]

Maher has a point, most of these comic book movies are shallow and cookie cutter formulaic.

But fuck him and all of you, because I really liked Justice League.

You liked it? Ew. I bet you also like country & western "music" and deliberately subjecting yourself to other advanced interrogation techniques.

I bought the blu-ray out of a sense of obligation because competition is good for the consumer, but frankly the only thing I re-watch on that disk is the bonus materials. If I watch the actual movie, I generally watch only specific parts.

Anyway, what does everyone think about the PG-13 recut of Deadpool 2?

[YOUTUBE]PCf03KXyzIg[/YOUTUBE]

Normally, I would find this kind of thing horrifying, but it looks like Ryan Reynolds and the others involved put real effort into this. They even filmed all new scenes to make up for all the R-rated stuff they cut out. Deadpool is still horrible, just not R-rated horrible.

 

[Underseer]

[YOUTUBE]XGKPu8_38uo[/YOUTUBE]

A hilarious recounting of the time Marvel Comics worked with Casablanca Records to create the world's first and only disco singer superhero.

On the one hand, it sounds like a truly awful idea. Pop idols as superheroes are fine for manga and anime, but it just feels weird in a western comic book.

On the other hand, it was bizarrely ahead of its time (not necessarily in a good way). The whole scheme of using a comic book to promote a disco singer that culminates in a sci-fi action movie (and presumably music albums) sounds like a mutli-media fever dream cooked up by a coked-up Hollywood executive in the 1990s or 2000s, not the 1970s. Heck, if Dinsey tried to do something like this right now to promote their next Hannah Montana-type star, no one would bat an eye, would they?