SPIDER-MOVIE - PART I: A Superhero Summer Retrospective

Summer may be well over, but that doesn't mean its impact has been diminished.  Over the last few months the world has seen some crazy things politically, socially, economically, and even globally.  As a result the internet has been all a flurry (as usual) with political rants and tirades both justified and offensive.  During this time I have kept more or less to the sidelines, deep in reflective meditation, contemplating my place in this tumultuous world we live in, biding my time for the right moment to speak out.  Also I was getting married.  Mostly I was just getting married.

Pictured: very tumultuous times.

But now I'm back in the game and ready to make myself heard!  About Superhero movies.

What.  Did you really think I was going to talk about Mitt Romney or something?  Why on earth would I do that?  Everything worth saying has already been said by people far more qualified than me (more qualified people such as WOMEN.  Binders of them, in fact), and the general consensus is that he's a really awful guy.  Like, a REALLY horrible human being.  No.  Talking about him would just make me angry and belligerent, and as a newlywed I'm legally not allowed to be either.  On the other hand Superheroes are (and always will be) awesome, and therefore a topic which I'm quite happy (and always prepared) to touch on.  Also, I'm a shallow pop-culture-obsessed son of a bitch.  Politics and weighty-world-crisis' be damned.

This is as political as I get.

The 2000's have been good to comic nerds everywhere.  Where once it would be a miracle if we could get one good Superman or Batman flick produced once every decade, we're now given several new superhero-themed films per year.  Indeed, Superman and Batman merely scratch the very surface of what's available these days.  And the best part? They're mostly pretty good!  Oh, certainly there have been some duds along the way, but with the exception of a few tragic misfires, the good has outweighed the bad.

I'm sorry Green Lantern, were you saying something?  

I couldn't hear you over the sound of THE AVENGERS BEING AWESOME!

This year has been especially rewarding for comic fans.  First we were given The Avengers, the film wherein Marvel studios finally realized every fanboy's wet-dream when they successfully tied numerous characters from separate franchises into one INCREDIBLE movie.  No small feat, in itself.

As if that wasn't enough we were also given Chris Nolan's final entry into the Batman universe with 'The Dark Knight Rises'.  Whether or not you are amongst those who think the previous entry was the superior film, the fact remains that this is the first time I can recall any third film based on a comic book being even REMOTELY satisfying.  Nolan had a lot to live up to, and in the end he delivered a masterpiece trilogy that redefined how we think of Superhero films.

Yes, it was a good summer for nerds everywhere.  In fact it was a GREAT summer with two great superhero films.  There were only two right?  I'm not missing anyth- Oh.  Right.  And Spider-man also got rebooted.  But who really cares about that?  I mean sure Spider-man's pretty dope and everything, so... yay, but the last film only came out several years ago, and it's not exactly like anyone was having trouble remembering the first one.   I mean, it's a pretty safe bet to write this latest installment off as completely unnecessary.

Right?

It would be as easy as that to cast aside "The Amazing Spider-man." No explanation necessary.  Going to the movies is no small expense and there were bigger, better publicized, and substantially more anticipated films to see.  Spider-man already had his turn  in the lime light, and the origin of the character isn't really negotiable, which means the producers must have essentially remade the first film. And so again, the question lingers in the air... "Why would one waste their time on a film that had, basically, recently been done?”  I'll tell you why.  Because it was awesome.  And it definitely hadn't been done before.

"Wait, Fenske" you cry out indignantly "you said it yourself!  Spider-man's story is non-negotiable!  Unchangeable!  So if this movie is as distinctive as you claim, then they must have changed it!  Which is it, Fenske?  Did they change it, or remake it?  You can't have it both ways! You can't!  Good comic book movies USE the source material, and bad comic book movies violently ABORT it with a figurative coat hanger!  NO EXCEPTIONS!"  Then, upon reaching the completion of your indignant tirade I give you a minute to catch your breath before allowing myself to audibly (and smugly) muse, "Oh really? Is that so?"

It's a point that has been made by many a comic nerd, and I am no exception.  With love in our hearts for the books, and fearful hate toward all who would threaten to bring us change, we lash out defiantly proclaiming that “All the GOOD comic book movies stay true to the comics!”  In truth, however, we don’t really mean that.  We never did.

It's true there are films such as “300” and “Watchmen”, and they do more or less follow the source material with religious zeal, but those were self contained stories to begin with, each with preordained plot destinations.  Making a film adaptation for "Watchmen" is similar to adapting "The Lord of the Rings"; The director may change a few things here or there, but the plot, characters and (in turn) their back stories will tend not to stray too far from the original works.  They are not ongoing serials.  Even longer series such as HARRY POTTER or Frank Herbert's original DUNE books are all works that build upon each other to a specific presumable ending of some sort.  In each respective series the character development is dependant upon the plot configuration.  To restate that, in each of the aforementioned stories the characters only become who they are due to the events of plot in books.  Not so for the  comics.

Not convinced?

Take a look at the films for the ongoing serial characters of the comic books (Iron Man, Superman, or Batman etc.) and you'll see that the films themselves are all relatively independent from the source material.   Some of the stories are ‘inspired’ by the comics, and certain character outcomes admittedly are predetermined (for example: Loki is bad, Xavier becomes paralyzed, Galactus is a giant cloud- ...oh wait)

Pictured:  Fox pooping on your childhood

But at the end of the day we, the fans, don’t really care if the specific little chain of events in the films are different from the funny books.  Indeed, most of the plots are usually original in themselves, and. we. don't. care.  We say we care.  We don’t.  The ONLY part of the story we care about, that we want to resemble the comics, is the basic origin story. We want eight year old Bruce Wayne’s parents to be gunned down in front of him (because we are TERRIBLE people), and we want him to train for years afterward to become Batman.  In other words, we want the inciting incident to be the same, but that’s it.  Beyond that, as long as the characters behave in a way that is recognizably consistent to what we're familiar with, the rest is a relatively open book.   It doesn't matter if Bruce is 25 or 28 when he comes back, or that Joker is his first villain or second.  We don't EVEN mind that Bruce trained under Ra's Al Ghul in 'Batman Begins'. (it never happened once in the comics, but we loved the HELL out of it in the movies)

Because we will allow this man to do ANYTHING.

Not only do we not care if changes are made, we secretly desire it.  Why do you think Superman's origin story has been allowed as many incarnations as it's had?  Half the fun is seeing what the latest version of Krypton will look like, and what new twist the writers will put on it's inevitable destruction.  No one wants to see the exact same thing over and over, so we start to bend and rearrange the framework of our hero's mythology, just so long as the hero is more or less recognizable.  These are serial characters after all, and as such they have no ending in sight.  What better way to maintain our interest than by bringing something new to the table?  The Wheel itself may not need reinventing, but that doesn't mean the wheel couldn't use a new hub cap and a good polish.

'The Amazing Spider-man' did that for me. The problem is that a lot of people saw (or heard of) changes in the story and cried blasphemy, and upon reading the reviews and talking to a number of my friends and acquaintances I found that I was among the few who really loved it.  The film was still a success financially (enough to warrant a sequel) but then so was Spider-man 3, a film which is universally mocked.  No, the general consensus from fans and the critics would seem to be that Marc Webb's film was unnecessary at best, and destructive to the character at worst.

It's for those people (and all who would listen to them) that I am writing this, because I could not disagree more. Perhaps when I've said all I have to say you will still disagree with me, and that's fine (because I'll be adding your name to a very particular list of 'extra special friends').   But if you'll hear me out I will list off all the reasons why I not only loved 'The Amazing Spider-man,' but also why it far surpassed any of Sam Raimi's Spidey films in both quality and relevance to the character.

Initially I was going to voice my all of arguments here in one go, but after I got started it became apparent to me that I would have to divide it all into several entries.  My goal is to cover one or two points (hopefully) at least once per week, with the intent to get the bulk of it finished before the release of the DVD (on November 9th)

In my first entry I will discuss the Origin of the character, which elements of that story are completely necessary, and then compare Sam Raimi's first film to Marc Webb's and analyze the different ways the films handled the birth of our hero.  Look for it next, in...

Origin Story: Adaptation Vs. Interpretation

Until then...

Thanks for Reading

-Fenske

P.S.  I hate neglecting to acknowledge those friends and peers who help an idea come to fruition, so allow me send a shout out to my dear friend, and sometimes partner in crime (writing crime), Rachel.  It was because of her that I was able to bounce ideas around, speak my mind on the subject, and even consider some points that I hadn't prior to our conversation.  You can blame her for inspiring me to spend hours in front of a computer screen avoiding human contact at all costs.

HER! SHE DID THIS TO ME!

I would also like to thank my wife for re-watching all the Spider-man movies with me (yes, even the 3rd one).  She's a keeper!

Somehow this woman saw my comic book collection and decided to read

 them instead of breaking up with me.  That's how I knew she was the one.

If you want to check out what Rachel is up to you can follow her on Twitter, because she's cool.

Conversely, If you want to check out my wife you can start running now.  I'll count to five before I hunt you down and make a public example of you.

Batman Vs. Darth Vader, and my thoughts on that.

[EDIT january 21, 2012:  For the longest time I had no idea who the artist responsible for this painting was.  I have just recently discovered that his name is Dave Dorman.  I believe in giving credit to the artists of any respective work, so if you like this picture you should check out his site.]

Holy. Shit. Look at this picture. Are you done? No you're not. REALLY look at it. Click on that shit. Enlarge it, and behold it in all of its beauty and wonder. If you have spent even 30 full seconds gazing into this masterpiece then you will find yourself squarely in one of two camps with regards to the way you perceive it.

1. You see this painting for what it truly is. A glorious achievement in modern art, portraying two of the most influential characters in popular fiction. This piece displays our never ending violent rage against our fellow man, while simultaneously highlighting the very personal internal battle between good and evil that we all must face everyday of our lives.

2. You see it as drawing for nerds by nerds. Not really your cup of tea. And you are a terrible person!

Seriously, this picture essentially expresses how I look at the world as adeptly as any still image could. It captures the eye, sparks the imagination, answers questions, and even asks a few. I have watched numerous films, read countless comic books, and very few have thrilled me as much as this image.

Alright settle down. Settle down. I know you're excited but before you get too carried away, I would first like to draw your attention to hoW FREAKING AWESOME IT IS!!! I mean really, be honest now. What could possibly be more baddass than Darth Vader and the Batman locked in battle? In my opinion, it is entirely irrelevant whether or not you are a Star Wars or Batman fan. The image is striking and bold, and one can't help wonder how it ends. Right off the bat (no pun intended) you have Darth Vader literally standing ON fire, chest thrust out defiantly, Light saber in one hand, with the other reaching out ominously in what we can only assume to be a threatening gesture. Out of nowhere swings Batman holding on desperately to his life line, suspended over a certain fiery doom, and wielding... (wait for it)... a bat light saber! That's right the handle even has a bat motif! Do you understand what this means? Batman constructed his own fucking light saber! His Jedi skills are complete! HOLY SHIT!

As I stated earlier this picture both answers and asks questions. Now you may have thought I was just exaggerating, but in fact I was being utterly serious. Though I will concede that I have been known to embroider statements and facts in the past, so as to illicit a stronger response from my target audience, I feel now that with two of my favorite franchises involved, this is an inappropriate time for bullshit. What then, are the startling aforementioned insights and queries this single image offers? Allow me to enlighten you.

First, it answers the question; how awesome would a fight between Batman and Darth Vader be? Clearly it would be very cool. This revelation may seem trivial at best, but it is not so. You see, there's no Denying that Vader is one tough cookie. This is the same man that took Han Solo's gunfire in stride by simply sticking out his hand and CATCHING THE LAZER BLASTS! He can choke someone to death by making a simple gesture with his hand, and he doesn't even need to be in the SAME SHIP, never mind the same room! So in the past when I've considered a fight between him and Batman (yes I have put some thought into it, how do you think I found this picture in the first place?) I always felt that, utility belt or not, Darth really had an unfair advantage when you got right down to it. I honestly have no desire to see Batman forced grabbed and suspended in mid air, grasping at his neck in a futile attempt to breath, as Darth Vader calmly approaches and skewers him with his light saber. That would be both uninteresting and traumatizing. Obviously Vader still has the upper hand in this scenario (as the illustration clearly shows Darth Vader unfazed by FIRE!), but it has to be that way to an extent, because a fight where the hero is clearly stronger is just no fun. That would be like a fight between the Hulk and Gollum, which would just be stupid (geez). The point I'm trying to make here, is that despite heavy odds, Batman seems to be holding his own well enough to stop Vader from cutting his bat rope.

This of course leads to the questions. The image seems to take place on Mustafar which means somehow Batman has found his way into a galaxy far far away, and incidentally, the past. We'll just blame it on a spacial anomaly. Whatever. It is what it is. The question is, how the hell is Batman pulling this off? Are we meant to believe that in the Star Wars universe Batman has the force? Does he just have it naturally already as some latent ability he had no knowledge of beforehand? Or is his mental concentration and discipline so immaculate, that the force itself simply doesn't have an effect on him directly? I feel I should point out, however , that It doesn't really matter which one is the correct answer because no matter what, it only serves to make Batman THAT much cooler than he already is.

One more thing to note, is how appropriate it is for these two to be fighting. Many people have debated the results of a conflict between Darth Vader and Superman, arguing that being extreme opposites of each other somehow makes it more interesting. I disagree. Superman is good because he was brought up that way, his upbringing was relatively positive. Superman's battle with his dark side isn't nonexistent, but it's notably less prominent than Batman's. Both Darth Vader and Batman are constantly struggling between their good and bad (or light and dark) persona's, but whereas Vader gave into the dark side Batman chose to channel the same rage and anger that Vader feels into something good. It's symmetry I tell you!

At the end of the day this picture serves to highlight some of the greatest parts of my childhood. I just wish that instead of those crappy prequels or either of the Schumacher films, they had made this instead. Ah well, one can dream.

Anyhoo that's about all I have to say on that. Maybe next time I'll write about something that normal people can also appreciate.

Thanks for reading.

-Fenske