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Edited by Mrph1 on Jul 29th 2024 at 3:09:00 PM
As my first Ultimate comics Ultimate Spider-man gave me unrealistic expectations of the rest of the comics.
Also, upon reflection I don't know ANYTHING about Doctor Strange. So really I'm glad he's getting a film so that'll help me get an idea of him.
If he had any appearances in any of the myriad animated adaptations of Marvel properties I would at least have something to work with so I know what to expect or at least quantify what I would want from a film version.
The impression of him I got from the Ultimate Spider-man comics basically told me he was akin to versions of Tony Stark in terms of personality: Arrogant, womanizing, a publicly recognized figure, responsibility is more of a suggestion than a principle to live by.
In the New Avengers comics I read he was the neutral guy in the Civil War that eventually realized he was awful for staying out of the whole thing and took in the New Avengers who were Anti-Reg dudes.
Oh, and I guess as some point he was no longer Sorcerer Supreme, shagging someone named Night Nurse, and I think there was a huge magical incident in the middle of the city because maybe, as Spidey cleverly suggested, Aggamotto wanted his eye back.
Oh right, I think I read that infinity gauntlet thing so Silver Surfer stopped by Strange's place at the start of the story because of Thanos and whatnot.
So with all that experience his personality, abilities, desires, goals, and story types are mostly a cipher to me. At most I associate him with the Soul Gem because that was what he was in charge of protecting when he was in the Illuminati, but apparently even there I'm wrong because true comic book fans say the Soul Gem is Adam Warlock's gig.
The Blog The ArtI don't know much about Dr. Strange either (I think I saw the movie about him at one point, but it was so forgettable), but in my mind, I imagine someone who is really, really arrogant, but not as playful as Tony is. Someone who is very proud of being smart and isn't satisfied with anything less then perfectionism. Someone who looked down on people who couldn't achieve his level of it and then was shattered when he lost his abilities, but also no ready to settle for anything less. Someone who can and will shatter you with a few words, especially if he really sets his mind on it. In short, someone like Sherlock, but less erratic, and with the big difference that Sherlock genuinely has trouble understanding why his behaviour puts people off, while Strange would do it deliberately because there is no-one who is worth talking to anyway.
As someone who read Strange's original solo comics a while back, as well as some of his Defenders appearances, I can say that none of that really fits Strange. Sure, that's how he used to be before he lost the use of his hands, but afterwards, he became... kind of bland, honestly. He's generally calm and collected, and while he can have a touch of arrogance, he's usually nowhere near Tony Stark levels. He's also willing to go somewhat higher extremes than some heroes are and is more inclined to take lives if necessary, but not to the point where he becomes an Anti-Hero.
Though I do have to say, making him a Sherlock expy would probably turn him into a more interesting character, to say the least.
Yeah. And then they were all unceremoniously killed offscreen by Doom and Strange to set up Secret Wars. Seriously, Strange covers it in less than a page and his explanation for what happened is just, "We killed them and stole their powers."
No effort to justify this was ever made because the people writing Marvel's events since Hickman wrote over have been completely unashamed about their deus ex machina. It's not unlike the Infinity event, in which the aliens who seeded life into the universe declared war on existence and were nigh unstoppable until the living avatar of the universe itself decided they shouldn't exist anymore so they just didn't, and that was the end of the story.
Nobody at the studio cares about ratings. What matters to them is box office sales. Nobody makes movies to impress critics unless they're looking for an Oscar; they do it to make money.
They don't have a very high bar to exceed, either. The Spider-Man franchise had the problem that each installment made less money than the one that came before it. Both Amazing films underperformed Spider-Man 3. If this trend continued, it wouldn't be long before they cease to be profitable.
The Fantastic Four films have never been very successful. Their last installment made only $289 million worldwide on a $130 million budget, but Fox was still willing to go forward with another movie. If this one can manage to make even decent money for a superhero film today, it will blow the others out of the water and justify further sequels.
edited 7th Aug '15 7:28:50 AM by TobiasDrake
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.My fondness for Marvel Comics and everything in them notwithstanding, what interests me about Dr. Strange is the fact that Sherlock Holmes will be competing against The Operative in a contest of intelligence and will.
edited 7th Aug '15 7:32:28 AM by TobiasDrake
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.@Swan: Doctor Strange's cinematographer is Ben Davis
, who also worked on Guardians of the Galaxy and Age of Ultron.
So he has some experience with pretty-looking movies.
Visit my Tumblr! I may say things. The Bureau ProjectI want both Stark and Strange to appear in a film so that somebody can disparagingly refer to someone as "Sherlock," and the two can exchange a brief awkward glance.
edited 7th Aug '15 7:40:45 AM by TobiasDrake
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.Personally to give Dr Strange a personnality post-Character Development, I would play up his Gentleman Wizard and Creepy Good aspect. Like play up his mysticism, make him appear a bit eccentric and enigmatic which makes it hard for people to understand him, yet still portray him as a good guy.
The big question is: Will F4 make money? As bad as the first one was, it did make profit. The second one just barely (or not at all, depending on the advertising costs), which is why they interrupted the series for so long. But if this one bombs, is there really sense in holding onto the property? We have seen just two weeks ago what bad word of mouth will do to a movie with Pixel. The Fantastic 4 was a hard sell from the get go, and now it doesn't even get decent reviews.
In addition, word is that Fox and Marvel are currently in talks concerning an X-men animated series. So not only they talk with each other, there is something which Fox really wants to round up their successful franchise. And Marvel wants the fantastic four back or at least, they want all the properties connected to them.
edited 7th Aug '15 7:47:08 AM by Swanpride
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No offense, but it's a live-action series, not an animated one, as seen here
. Just figured I should point that out.
edited 7th Aug '15 7:55:53 AM by kkhohoho
I'd suggest going to the FF thread so we don't stray too far off topic. This is a good starting point.
Bad special effects, underdeveloped characters and weird character choices, overly dour atmosphere, weird editing and pacing, a bad third act... Take your pick.
Oh yeah, that's pretty good.
edited 7th Aug '15 8:02:20 AM by edvedd
Visit my Tumblr! I may say things. The Bureau ProjectIt doesn't need to be a big success. It just needs to be successful enough to justify the expenditure.
Even X Men Origins Wolverine failed to be a Franchise Killer. Hell, that movie got a sequel.
edited 7th Aug '15 8:11:22 AM by TobiasDrake
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.I don't see how this is off-topic. Marvel getting back the F4 properties would be so important for the MCU, especially for Got G. And a X-men TV series (thanks for the correction) is a good sign for this, because it shows that Marvel and Fox are talking with each other again.
edited 7th Aug '15 8:16:19 AM by Swanpride

Also, yeah, upon hearing how Ultimate Mad Thinker is, it does sound kinda needlessly gritty."
The entire Ultimate verse is cynically crapsack. Everyone there is more graphic angsty and insane than their mainstream counterparts