Stop Complaining When SUPERHERO Movies Are Different Than The Comics!

March 8, 2013 By Sheila 15 comments

still from Iron Man 3

From comics and movies, to cartoons and episodic dramas, this is the most magical time for the Superhero genre in media. Most of us fanboys & fangirls are excited and look forward and onward to the next adaptation of our favorite badasses. BUT some of us fanboys & girls are complaining about how one canonical plot point or character gets changed from one medium over the other. I’m saying “us” because sometimes I’m one of those complainers. I think I need to take a moment and remind others and myself that one medium cannot exist without the other. What?! Yeah I’m saying it and I’ll prove it.

First came the Comic* with a Badass Character which was developed into A (sometimes) Campy TV Show or TV Cartoon. Usually that Campy TV Show influenced Another Comic with a new retelling or An Awesome Movie with a new perspective of the Badass Character. An Awesome Movie could introduce a beloved Badass Character to the love of his life; sometimes we get a new non-threatening character for exposition purposes.  Sometimes we get a new non-canonical character just because. These new additions never take away from the awesomeness of Badass or his many sequels.

The Awesome Movie would take the barebones of the original Comic story and Badass to bring him to life; make him real and show his foibles. The every day life stuff relatable-ness of Badass Character and not the mutant/alien/billionaire/vengeful life stuff. Generally at this point of Badass’ evolution he has reached millions more with his story. Comic fans & Awesome Movie fans are vested in his world. The gripe from the fanboy crowd would be that somewhere during Badass’ evolution, something from the comic was left out (like his 2 years at a military school). Does it matter? At this point his family & friends have become our family and friends. His allies & foes become ours and mean more to us than our crazy neighbor worried about the greenness of our lawn. (I really don’t care about the yellow patch. Ain’t nobody got time for that.)

Follow me so far? No?

Man of Steel

Let’s try this. There was a comic called Batman. Batman followed the tale of Bruce Wayne and his reaction to his parents’ tragic deaths. Batman appeared in comic books, then a campy TV show starring Adam West. Batman would go on to have different multiverse comics.  In some of those comics there were different versions of the sad and stoic Batman and his sidekicks, different Robins and Batgirls. Sometimes a slightly different Catwoman. Then in 1989 & 1991 we got a re-imagined dark, comic worthy Batman from Tim Burton. That led to Batman: The Animated Series where we got the Paul Dini and Bruce Timm created Harley Quinn. Harley Quinn started out as a non-canonical character on a cartoon inspired by a movie that was adapted from an ongoing comic. See what I did there?

So I just realized that I lied in the beginning, it’s not sometimes but almost all the time that one medium in that can’t exist without the other.  With that being said when Iron Man 3 & Man of Steel are released on their respective release dates as fanboys and fangirls let’s accept any changes because they could lead to something better somewhere else.

Iron Man’s release date 3 May 2013 (US)

Man of Steel’s release date 14 June 2013 (US)

*The Comic only exists because of The Writer & The Artist

FROM AROUND THE WEB

S#*! TALKING CENTRAL

  • http://twitter.com/mrnonel Mark Nakata

    What I would like to see is better integration between comic books and movies/TV series. I don’t want the movies to be a retelling of the comic book but producers and editors should get together to create more engaging experiences for loyal fans not just the casual viewer. I think Time Warner will get it right with the Man of Steel movie and the new Superman Unchained comic book. Fans will be able to enjoy both side by side.

    • MsBHaven

      Y’know who got it right but it wasn’t based on an ongoing comic: Heroes. They had the show, they used internet for webisodes and they had the weekly comic they published on NBC later collected on into one giant graphic novel. I miss Heroes. At least first season Heroes.

  • VoudeauxChild

    And then there are the fangirls/fanboys like you who defend anything and everything the studios do, no matter how egregious it is to the source material. It’s as if you are so hard-up for any product at all with that Marvel or DC logo slapped on it, you’ll accept anything no matter how poorly executed or thought out.

  • skunkybeaumont

    You didn’t convince me. I understand that everything from comics/books can’t be used in an adaptation, but there’s no logical reason to add completely new details either. With The Walking Dead it kind of works because the source material is relatively new and still telling its story while the show is telling a different version with most of the same characters, there’s enough room for two sheriffs. With something like Batman SO MUCH has been told and told and told again that there is absolutely no reason not to use what’s already there to tell the story on-screen. Rachel Dawes was an unnecessary addition to the story, especially when you have enough love interests featured in the comics to serve that role.

  • Razvigor

    This article is hard to follow…

    • JJ United

      yes…. +10

  • bmg314

    I understand what the author is trying to say, and there is some merit here. However, I believe the following title far outweighs his points: X-men Origins: Wolverine.

  • onslaught94

    I refuse to stop complaining when the movies are changed from the comics. These movie studios think that just because there are fans of the comics out there, that they can change and warp the source material anyway they want and get away with it just because they know that no matter how big a piece of crap the movie turns out to be, there will be people that will go see it anyway. Batman and Robin and X-Men Origins: Wolverine are great examples of this. We as fans have an obligation to stand up and voice our opinions about the movies and TV shows that are made using our favorite comics. If we don’t, then who will?

    • http://www.facebook.com/Joene90 Jeroen Smits

      Lest not forget, Batman and Robin is a piece of poo both for comic fans and movie critics alike.

  • SPELLCHECKNINJA

    Different to* the comics. Learn to write the english.

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=15935803 Fats Mclemlich

      Different than*

      That is correct.

      Different to*

      This phrase is not taught in American English, which is the most commonly practiced in the world.

  • http://www.facebook.com/andrew.arnold.3382 Andrew Arnold

    Studios are almost always bound and determined to screw up superhero movies. Case in point- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUwkqeI7XWk

  • http://www.facebook.com/eric.cabaniss.18 Eric Cabaniss

    If you don’t like it…keep reading the comics and stay out of the theaters. Leaves more room for the open minded people just looking to be entertained.

    • VoudeauxChild

      I think you mean the mindless masses that just want to see Michael Bey explosions and J.J. Abrams Lens Flares. Having an actual story just confuses them.

  • Chewwie

    They managed to execute “The Watchmen” almost perfect from the comic (but did not follow through with the end). Another example is 300 and Sin City that was perfectly executed. today we have The Walking Dead, when they have a really solid story in the comic, but do not follow the comicstory so hard, wich is a misstake I think. Might be budget issues.