Rules for Marvel/DC

Thank you. I recently had a conversation with someone who said they were tired of companies trying to reestablish people like Hal Jordan or Scarlet Witch or Bishop as heroes after their respective Face–Heel Turn stories. To me, the simpler solution would be to stop slaughtering characters or arbitrarily having them become villains for "shock" value when you know damn well they'll have to return to the good side eventually.

That's just the corporate, trademark-heavy nature of comics.

edited 4th Sep '13 2:11:02 PM by comicwriter

Eh, I would hate to see what happens to the storytelling if people started sticking to the, "Don't do anything that might get reversed," ideal.

This issue: Spider-Man fights Doc Ock. Nothing happens.

Next: Spider-Man versus the Lizard. Mary Jane's life is in danger, but she's fine. Nothing else happens.

Next: Spider-Man fights the Green Goblin. Nothing happens.

Next: Dare Devil eats a sandwich. Wolverine approves.

Next: Spider-Man fights the Kingpin. Will Spider-Man be unmasked?! No, he won't.

Next: Spider-Man follows up against the Kingpin. Will Spider-Man finally expose the Kingpin's crimes? No, that won't happen.

Next: Spider-Man fights Kraven. Nothing happens.

No one is saying you can't do anything that doesn't have a definite ending. I'm just burned out on them hyping up everything as MEGA EARTH-SHATTERING MIND BLOWING STATUS QUO SHIFTS THAT WILL CHANGE EVERYTHING. THE MARVEL/DC UNIVERSE WILL NEVER BE THE SAME EVER AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

...Only to have it completely undone a relatively short time later. I thought there was a great Take That! not too long ago about how pointless Civil War was, in the end.

Well, Marvel seems to be on a "let's try this thing for that season" roll, which I find refreshing. It's not about change and reversal, as much as it is trying for a different balance of the status quo and seeing what comes out of it. Rather than play the Tonight, Someone Dies angle, it's like they're opting for "this is what happens while someone is dead" plots, with for example Xavier currently taking a dirt nap, so that Storm, Cyclops and Magneto can work out a dynamic all their own. I like that sort of thing.

edited 4th Sep '13 2:29:11 PM by indiana404

Editors can never tell the writers what they will or should do. Only what they can't do.

Wasn't that basically the entirety of the '60s and '70s?

Stuff has always happened in comics. The Green Goblin is discovered to be Peter's BEST FRIEND'S DAD!!! DUN DUN!!! Now he has amnesia. NOW HE DOESN'T. Now Gwen's dead. NOW NORMAN'S DEAD!!! NOW HARRY'S THE GOBLIN!!! NOW HARRY'S DEAD!!!!!

Characters come, characters go, characters die, villains are unmasked, new villains take their mask, heroes become villains, villains become heroes, marriages, break-ups, new jobs, bankruptcy, becoming secretary of defense, etc. etc. etc.

At least at Marvel, things in comics are constantly changing, and they more or less always have been. Often, changes get reversed by a later round of changes, but the point is that they've always been in motion to somewhere.

EDIT: Honestly, people act like Bendis invented the concept of disrupting the status quo.

edited 4th Sep '13 3:04:05 PM by TobiasDrake

Stop making supporting characters superheroes. It can be cool when done occasionally, Rhodey is awesome, but it's too much nowadays. Betty, Rick Jones, Pepper Potts and all the others were more interesting as ordinary people who knew people with extraordinary powers. I haven't read anything with Venom Flash in so maybe he's an exception.

I thought that Pepper only got Superpowers in the movies...

Nope.

I think the film handled it just about right, as long as she isn't a superhero if she ever shows up again.

I actually really liked the idea of Pepper as Rescue. I want to see her back in her Rescue armour. She doesn't necessarily need to be beating up bad guys, but I think it'd be interesting if she used the armour to save lives again.

Pepper as Rescue works just fine for me. It feels like an inevitable conclusion, and I often wonder why Tony never built a suit for her before. This is ESPECIALLY true in the film continuity. Tony is obsessing over protecting Pepper and builds 42 different suits for this one purpose, but NEVER ONCE does it even occur to him to BUILD A SUIT FOR HER. That maybe an Invincible Iron Pepper has a better shot at surviving a bad situation hitting home than a helpless flesh Pepper hiding behind Tony's big, strong Iron Dick.

Indeed, this is exactly what puts her in harm's way in the film: the fact that once Tony's out of the picture doing his own thing, she's defenseless and weaponless, and the villain can take her prisoner without any effort whatsoever. Even the fact that she was taken by surprise away from the armory is no excuse, because the Iron Man has been portable ever since Iron Man 2's briefcase suit. You want to keep Pepper safe? Build her one of those briefcase armors at the very least.

Additionally, Flash Thompson is the best Venom since Eddie Brock. Eddie was the best antagonist Venom, Flash is the best protagonist Venom.

edited 29th Nov '13 6:24:29 PM by TobiasDrake

Heck, since we saw that the Extremus people were able to neutralize armor, Tony would have been able to do the smart thing and the writer could still have Pepper captured if they really needed her to be.