Captain Marvel has rather shaky origins since the creator, Fawcett Comics was sued for copying the idea of superman and had to cease writing it before DC took up the hero itself and claimed it as its own. Captain Marvel isn't the hero most DC fans think of when the subject of heroes come up. Indeed, most prefer to think of Superman, Wonderwoman and of course Batman not to mention the Green Lantern core. Captain Marvel deserves his own screen time, though. Why doesn't he get it?
But there has been an announcement about film on Captain Marvel (Billy Batson). WB said they're expecting to release it in 2019. It's called Shazam rather than Capt. Marvel because Marvel Studios (and Comics) currently have exclusive rights to that specific name. Incidentally, Marvel also wants to release a Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers) Film in 2018. Would be amusing if it got delayed and the two come out the same year. – rj2n9 years ago
Yeah, I heard. But it's coming late. Maybe it can be argued that knowing Marvel has exclusive rights to that name has hurt Captain Marvel's popularity/credibility. – SpectreWriter9 years ago
Explore the character's lack of development due to editors preventing him from growing up.
Would you looking for an article about his lack of development with added explanation about editorial interference or a history of the franchise that highlights instances and periods of when this editorial interference occurred? – Austin9 years ago
I should preface this with saying I absolutely love Spider-Man. I'm glad the topic came up, though, because it's good to look at instances where Marvel has stumbled in its treatment of an otherwise exceptional character. Austin raises a good point. Off the top of my head, I can think of a few instances of editorial interference that would be good for whoever writes this topic.
"One More Day" is probably the greatest example in recent years, or even the character's history in general. That story portrayed Peter to be quite immature in coming to terms with his Aunt May's condition, and how he essentially wanted to save because he couldn't accept her dying to do something he did.
Moreover, Peter being so much of a defeatist in that arc - something that he has never been, just look at stories like "If This Be My Destiny!" or "Spider-Man No More!" as evidence to how he always bounces back - to the point that he literally strikes a deal with the Devil? This is something a desperate pouting child would do to get a toy he wanted, not a good-hearted hero like Spider-Man. There was also the "Sins Past" arc that had Peter learn that Gwen Stacy fathered twins with Norman Osborn. You'd have to look into it more for confirmation, but I do remember reading that apparently the editors vetoed writer J. Michael Straczynski's pitch for Peter to be the father of Gwen's children. Reason being, the editors supposedly thought that Peter being a father would "age him too much." They eventually agreed on Norman Osborn being the father instead, a very creepy and totally out of character decision for Gwen. Funny enough, both of these stories happened during Straczynski's eight-year run. Which is noteworthy because he brought a great sense of nuance and maturity to the character; rather, it was these editorial decisions that put blemishes in his otherwise excellent – BradShankar9 years ago
In some ways I feel like they're trying to keep him young for new generations, every generation should experience Spider-Man and in order for that to be, they have to adapt to each generation; so, they can relate and so thus keeping him young let's that happen. Then again, I don't know who would want to see a 28 year old Peter Parker flying through the sky, so there's pros and cons. – scoleman9 years ago
The convention held in Denver, Colorado featured no female panelists and an attendee alleges one of the male panelists explained the lack of female comic creator on the fact, "girls get bored with comics easily". (Source: The Hollywood Reporter, "What Happened After Denver ComicCon Ran A "Women in Comics" Panel Without Any Women")
Is it necessary for con panels about women to be hosted by all-female panelists or could it be a mix of genders? What was the more troubling part of this event, the fact there were no female panelists or the comments made by the male panelists of Denver ComicCon organizers?
This is SO important to shed light on! You have to write this! – CassDM9 years ago
This irritated me so much. Woman should be handling this topic. – KatieNoelWinters9 years ago
I don't feel that the panel need be entirely female to be a success, however, for it to be all male is a complete disaster. If the article explored the merits of mixed gender vs mono gender would help create perspective. My initial comment, regarding mixed, is more that it would open the panel to a male representative, not as a driver, but as someone to be available for questions and opinions, where appropriate. But however, entirely unnecessary or a requirement. There are many great women in comics, Trudy Cooper is one that comes to mind, who would be entirely brilliant on a panel. Add Rebecca Sugar, and you've got an awesomely weird mix of content :) – carboncopyben9 years ago
DC Comics' Crisis On Infinite Earths was a much needed cleanup of their super-hero universe when published in 1984. However, there has been sequels and attempts to re-initialize the DCU that has been unnecessary and makes fans irate. Was New 52 necessary? Why Convergence? Is continuity a much needed factor to appeal to an audience?
They usually do this to boost up sails, and they also have reboots to give new comers a fresh start in to DC universes. Take the New 52 for example: while they may have introduced different origins for the character for new comers, they really did isolate loyal DC fans, who did not like the unnecessary changes that in a way kind of ruined the characters. – Aaron Hatch9 years ago
There's a helpful comparison to make between the current Convergence Reboot and New 52. Both seem to be done out of reactionary concerns to the market. This piece seems incredibly well suited to the current happening between DC's Convergence and Marvel's Secret Wars. – Pixelfaded9 years ago
It's a popular thing nowadays: your show fails to get renewed – despite a cultic viewing audience – and you inevitably wind your way around to following it up with a comic book series. Firefly did it, and Fight Club did, too. Even Invader Zim might be getting the comic book treatment. Let's talk about this new trend.
A good example of how a TV show cliffhanger is made into a comic is Avatar: The Last Airbender, in the comic book The Search. It is also interesting to discuss if the comics are just as good as the film or show themselves. – Aaron Hatch9 years ago
All of Joss Whedon's shows have comic tie-ins or sequels. Buffy has season 8, 9, and 10 in comic form. – Andie9 years ago
Frank Miller recently announced that he's begun work on another Dark Knight Returns graphic novel. He's already raised a few flags for readers and activists about the content of graphic novel, including racism, sexism, and class structure.
Looking at some of his more recent work, what should readers expect in Frank Miller's anticipated, yet cautiously wary, Dark Knight Returns sequel?
While Miller was great in his prime when he wrote The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year one, now-a-days, his work of writing is really bad. Not only is his writing boring and unstructured,but his female characters are just become sex objects for him. Plus, it seems like he has no respect for other countries that are not America. Just look at his book Holy Terror for example. – Aaron Hatch9 years ago
I find it strange that they'd attempt another sequel when the first sequel The Dark Knight Strikes Again was a bomb. I imagine it has something to do with the fact Dawn of Justice will be borrowing from The Dark Knight Returns. – Cagney9 years ago
Marvel have launched a new comic book – A-Force – depicting a race of female Avengers, led by She-Hulk. In their skin-tight, low-cut outfits, we might ask: is the over-sexualisation of these female superheroes really that empowering?
It might also be a good idea to discuss how the outfits serve both male and female characters differently and/or similarly--this will help inform the discussion about whether such outfits are specifically drawn to sexualize women's bodies or if men and women's bodies are treated the same. – CriticalOtaku9 years ago
I think you could also relate this to the real world today; i.e. how woman are being undermined in the work force today, how they are being sexualized in ads, etc. – amdeit889 years ago
DC have just announced that Bruce Wayne will no longer be Batman. Obviously this is huge, but on the surface, what are the initial implications of this?
Lets not forget, Dick Grayson was Batman for a while in the comics. So is someone replacing Batman, or is Bruce Wayne just going into retirement? – Aaron Hatch9 years ago
Must admit to a certain amount of fatigue with the comic industry's "radical change" announcements; they never "stick". Superman died; came back. Batman's back was broken; got fixed. This is one of the biggest problem with ongoing, serial franchises: you can't make and keep real changes. Maybe an approach to this topic could include the struggle against that kind of reader fatigue. – Monique9 years ago
