We live in what may be remembered as the Golden Age of Superhero Cinema and Television!
With the release, and demise, of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice it seems only fair that we look at our favorites (and some not so faves) from the recent past…
Earth-2M: The Flash. DC has never had a character this interesting which is ironic considering all they did was palette-swap Spider-Man, something they have been attempting to do, unsuccessfully, for decades.
Joe West standing in for Captain George Stacy, his daughter Iris playing the part of MJ. Barry Allen as the nerdy scientist who can only be who he truly is when he wears a mask? Check the box.
My personal favorite is Patty Spivot in place of Gwen Stacy. Sure a super villain (be it Weather Wizard or Doc Ock) murdered her dad but instead of moping about it Patty became a cop and arrested the man.
The twist is that in this world Patty incapacitated the hero and resisted the urge to murder the perp. She took him in and was never anyone’s victim. I am not a fan of Spider-Gwen but if Gerry Conway ever gets around to writing that crossover I am in (come on, DC Entertainment, Joe Quesada’s promotion to CCO must meet your “firing” requirement in some way, I want Marvel vs. DC II for the twentieth anniversary).
I never read the Flash consistently, Barry Allen or Wally West. I am not saying he was bad but when Doctor Wells is screaming “Run, Barry, RUN!” I get chills that I highly doubt a Geoff Johns’ comic is going to be able to match.
Speaking of the once and future “Harry,” how great would it be to have a good Norman Osborn doppelganger be Peter Parker’s only hope to save someone he cared for? Would Peter be able to forget what a man who looked the same as this, a would-be savior, had done to him in the past?
Baron Zemo: I was never crazy for Iron Man in the comic form, even though I read a lengthy run, mainly because I respected the character’s standing in the Marvel Universe and Bob Layton’s tenure. Frankly they were easy to acquire because I worked at a comic store for years. I think I stopped reading sometime shortly after the first Armor Wars story line, which I liked at the time. Don’t know if it still holds up. I know the red and silver armor doesn’t.
The premise: Tony finds out that his “tech” was stolen and has been in the hands of criminals, so he’s pissed off and wants it back, or destroyed, going after bad guys like Crimson Dynamo (oh lord). I’ve always loved a good simple revenge plot, so I was game. I think he even raided the Project Pegasus base, or the Vault (whatever, same shit), to get rid of the Mandroids. I remember enjoying seeing that D-List “good guy” Stingray wasn’t spared from his tech crusade.
The comic never seemed to achieve greatness, because what decent writer would want to work on Iron Man ? Years later Neil Gaiman did do a pretty nice nuanced job with him on his Eternals book. Regardless, I always felt Tony Stark/Iron-Man was devoid of a complete personality for half a century, unless you count the addiction to alcohol and the awesome mustache. What Robert Downey, Jr. and Jon Favreau did, by focusing on the asshole, but still charming multimillionaire,playboy, who ultimately “sees the light” and changes his morals and ethics to find redemption, rather than just make an action film, was not just incredible, it was downright unexpected. Making Tony Stark, the man, cooler and more memorable than his superhero alter ego.
Jack Kirby must be chewing on his cigar and rolling over in his cosmic, photo collage covered grave, because there is absolutely nothing memorable about Dr. Doom cinematically. God, the filmmakers have really made egregious errors with this character, including his attire. It really seems as if the collective filmmakers just don’t want to tell his true origin, or have him in a suit of armor. Maybe he’s too silly for non-comic reading audiences, or they just want to put their DNA on the source material, which I can understand, but why change something that worked for decades?
Magneto in the hands of Bryan Singer and top notch actors like Fassbender and McKellen and the entire X-men franchise have been incredibly successful, because they stay close to the source material. Why can’t Doom work on film? Hollywood should look at Klytus from the 80’s Flash Gordon film, that’s basically Doom’s look, even his voice works. Victor von Doom is a grand, over the top villain with an interesting backstory and complex personality. Ugh, I’m not even going to mention how terrible the film adaptations have been of the so called fantastic individuals that are his nemesis… Christ, I just did.
Allie-616: I’d argue that 2002’s Spider-Man directed by Sam Raimi and starring Tobey Maguire saved the Marvel Universe and spawned the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Raimi was perfect for a Spidey-view of New York, and Maguire was enjoyable as a stand-in for Ditko and Lee’s Peter Parker. While I wasn’t crazy about the movified version of Uncle Ben’s death and the Green Goblin’s costume, seeing Spidey fully realized on a movie screen overcame those fanboy tendencies.
Villain-wise I’d go with Heath Ledger’s Joker as the best on the silver screen. As a good friend once told me when you watch Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies you don’t feel like you are watching a superhero movie.
Which for some comic and movie buffs is not a good thing. Heath Ledger’s Joker from the Dark Knight is now who I (and many others) now hear whenever I read the Joker on page. The ambiguity of his origin played perfectly into what makes the character tick. They really got the title of the film wrong. Whenever I re-watch it now, I just skip to the Joker parts. Despite not being a Bane fan, I actually think the last Nolan Batman flick is the best of the bunch. We might argue over that but it’s definitely better than Tobey Maguire’s third Spidey movie.
13th Doctor: In answering this question, I’d like to frame my answer fourfold. First with an example from each company, DC and Marvel, and then with two quick honorable mentions. In selecting each example, I simply picked the roles that I feel captured the essence of each character so perfectly, that I picture/hear the actors while reading the comics.
Christopher Reeve’s Superman is the standard I hold all other versions of the character to. His charm and charisma on screen was infectious, and I found that regardless of how cheesy some of the storylines got (like flying around the world to move back in time), I couldn’t help but smile when I saw him. Reeve seamlessly differentiated both Clark Kent from his alter ego as Superman, as demonstrated in one of my favorite moments from Superman (1978), when Clark struggles with the decision of telling Lois about his secret identity. When Reeve’s goes to remove his glasses, he instantly straightens up, stands tall, and exudes a confidence like no other. But, as Lois nears, he quickly re-dons the glasses, shrinks about two inches, and steps right back into the mild-mannered reporter role. Reeve made Superman a true symbol of hope, not only making me believe a “man could fly,” as the slogan promised, but making want to strive to be more like him.
Over at Marvel, I think Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man is fantastic. To his credit, he gave life to a character that up until then, had very little personality. He portrayed the character in a way that allowed viewers to see the dialectical nature of the character, with Tony having to create not just the literal suit of armor he uses to become Iron Man, but a figurative one, in which he masks the guilt and anguish he feels over having his weapons used for evil with the bravado and eccentric and douchey facade of Tony Stark. Remarkably, Downey Jr. does this all while still remaining charming and likeable. He made me like Iron Man, and arguably made the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe possible.
My first honorable mention goes to John Schneider, who not just brought Jonathan Kent to life in Smallville, but showed why the character is the heart of Superman comics. His version of the character put the “man” in Superman. He was short-tempered, brash, and at times insecure, while also being strong, brave, gentle, kind, and noble. Most of all though, he was human, and it was because of his humanity his son was able to grow into a symbol of the best humanity has to offer.
Lastly, my second honorable mention goes to Kevin Conroy, whose voice of Batman in the Batman TAS is so iconic, that I literally hear him narrating the comics in my head. For that I alone, I believe he deserves to be mentioned in this post.
SniktyBamf! 