Marvel Universe
Reconstruction in this franchise. open/close all folders
Comic Books
- Astonishing X-Men: After Grant Morrison did everything in their power to tear apart the status quo of the X-Men books, Joss Whedon took it upon himself to stitch it back together by returning the team to their superhero roots and back to beating up weird sci-fi and alien bad guys.
- The Superior Foes of Spider-Man reconstructs Amusing Injuries; the characters always have to deal with the long-term consequences of their injuries and behavior, but not only does this not prevent the initial incident from being funny, but the comic also plays the consequences for humor (for example, Speed Demon injures his leg in issue 5 and has to spend the next several issues wearing a cast. The gang solves this by strapping his injured leg into a roller skate so he can move around for the big heist).
- The Ultimates: The team was initially a deconstruction of the way The Avengers would be if they existed in the real world. The most notable thing about them is that they would be a military operation run by the US, not independent superheroes doing whatever they want. That, however, turned out to be their status at the end of the second arc.
- Jonathan Hickman's X-Men does this with ever-prominent Fantastic Racism themes that is embedded in the DNA of property. For a long time, it's been part of the series that humans hate and fear mutants, and while it was the basis of many great stories in their heyday, it made less sense as time went on due to real world progress. Here, the story goes to lengths to explain, examine and justify why each and all sides would feel this way in the modern world. Notably, it brings a heaping dose of Gray-and-Grey Morality into the mix, making the mutants less sympathetic while making the humans more sympathetic, without actually favoring either side. It also factors in the presence of mutates, or non-mutant superpowered beings such as the Fantastic Four or Spider-Man. The narrative addresses the differences between them and mutants, even if superficial, and why the mutants getting hit with Fantastic Racism but not the mutates leads to them being part of the issue as well, as mutates are on the outside of mutant culture and in the same boat as baseline humans. All in all, it sets out to refit the themes of the old into today, while progressing them forward.
Films
- The Marvel Cinematic Universe is essentially a reconstruction of not only Marvel characters but of the superhero genre in general, giving the characters and stories more realistic/fleshed-out styling while still not losing the idealism, mysticism, and fun of superhero comics. No matter what challenges the protagonists face, in the end they're still bigger-than-life heroes going on adventures and fighting villains. It also defies many of the common criticisms/deconstructions that superhero comics face. For example, the darker implications of Thou Shall Not Kill are averted by having the superheroes be willing to kill but only if absolutely necessary, preserving their moral codes while preventing "Why doesn't Batman just kill the Joker?" situations.
- Captain America: The First Avenger is a reconstruction of Golden Age Captain America comics, and do-gooder superheroes in general. It specifically addresses common quibbles with the character (Patriotic Fervor, Invincible Hero,
Unfortunate Implications, etc.) and tries to breathe new life into the concept. It's particularly prominent with the Captain Patriotic trope: the whole image of an invincible American superman bitch-slapping Hitler that the character is usually flanderized into is explained as a propaganda stunt, hated by the "real" Captain America, who has much more depth. - Iron Man 3 reconstructs how grandiose villains with a thing for theatrics and terror can be adapted to operate in the real world. The Mandarin, the flashy Big Bad adapted from the source material, is actually a fictional character played by an actor, Trevor Slattery, made to distract the public from the real villain, Aldrich Killian, who instead takes advantage of anonymity to perform his manipulative deeds. However, after this went over very badly with the fans, the short film All Hail the King reconstructed the Mandarin further (without showing him just yet) by revealing that he actually does exist and leads the Ten Rings, and Killian merely stole his name without realizing the consequences. And then Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings reveals said Mandarin, although a very reimagined version.
- As noted by Ralph Garman, the MCU also reconstructs the superhero costume, notably averting Movie Superheroes Wear Black. While none of the outfits are actual spandex, and most make plenty of concessions to practicality, they also tend to be very colorful, and as faithful as possible to their comic-book origins - the Winter Soldier even retains his '90s Hair. The Falcon was a rare case where an MCU hero was stuck in a drab grey version of his costume - until Avengers: Age of Ultron, when his outfit was revamped to feature more of his signature red.
- Spider-Man: Homecoming reconstructs Spider-Man's interaction with New York, whereas in the comics often makes Spider-Man a subject of disdain thanks to the Daily Bugle. Here Peter is a local superhero in a vibrant New York whose troubles come from wanting to become something more than just a local hero and attempting to stop a weapons deal only to find himself out of his depth and unintentionally being a Spider Menace. However, he still saves the day at the end, and is beginning to achieve fame once more.
- The MCU in general reconstructs the old-fashioned Black-and-White Morality of the comics, but special mention goes to Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. In Infinity War, although the Avengers are generally good and try to stop Thanos from killing off half the universe, they're ultimately not perfect: not only are they still divided after the events of Civil War and struggling to patch their wounds up, they make crucial blunders at some really bad times, specifically when Peter Quill attacks Thanos he's been rendered into a sleep-induced coma, causing him to wake up and shake the heroes at Titan off, and when Thor goes for Thanos' chest and not his head, which allows Thanos to barely muster enough strength to snap away half of all lives in the universe. On the other hand, although Thanos is absolutely wrong in wanting to wipe out half the universe, he genuinely believes it's necessary and right, if terrible, he shows sincere respect for the heroes trying to stop him, never goes back on his word, and shows his love towards his daughter Gamora, and as a result of this, he wins. In Endgame, however, the Avengers get their chance to reverse what Thanos did and bring everyone back, and when push comes to shove, they ultimately rise above their flaws and fully repair their broken wounds with each other, but when a past version of Thanos finds out what they're up to, he completely jumps off the slope and decide to destroy the entire universe and rebuild it from the ground up. Because of this, the Avengers not only destroy him for good, but successfully bring back everyone his future self killed off five years ago.
- Captain America: The First Avenger is a reconstruction of Golden Age Captain America comics, and do-gooder superheroes in general. It specifically addresses common quibbles with the character (Patriotic Fervor, Invincible Hero,
Video Games
- Spider-Man (PS4), much like the MCU movie, reconstructs Spider-Man's relationship with the public. Yes, he has his haters and J. Jonah Jameson is still trying his best to defame him but for every person who hates Spider-Man there's a person who sees him as a hero and is inspired by him.
Western Animation
- The Spectacular Spider-Man: This show reconstructs the Secret Identity. While Peter’s double life as Spider-Man puts strains on his relationships with the people he cares about, as Captain Stacy has noted, keeping his identity secret is the only way he can keep them safe from the supervillains and other criminals he fights.
