Tuesday, June 3, 2014

3 Best and 3 Worst Things About Marvel Today

There's no doubt that Marvel is at the top of its game right now. Between the movies, and the thousand planned TV shows (smallest amount of hyperbole ever) they dominate the landscape. But not every brick in its castle is gold. Which is why I've decided to do my picks for the three worst and three best things Marvel is doing today.

I could've done more than 6 but I think you've come to expect a certain amount of laziness from me and I'd hate to disappoint.


The Worst:



1) Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Yes, I stopped watching it after about 6 episodes. Please stop telling me it's gotten better. Of course it did. It had to get better, cause it was that bad. Even guest stars and crossovers haven't been enough to woo me back to a show that didn't even feel up to CW standards. 

Oooh no he didn't. Oh yes, I did.



2) Score

Say what you will about DC (and I do, frequently. Seriously, get it together DC) the scores for the Batman films and Man of Steel were superior to that of Marvel films, by and far. Probably the only thing I'd say Man of Steel was superior at. While that may seem like a trivial complaint, I enjoy listening to movie soundtracks. Yet Marvel hasn't really had one that grabbed me. 

Way back yonder, I loved Danny Elfman's score for the Raimi Spider-Man, but even if it is a Marvel property, that's still a Sony film. Besides, that was forever ago. What have you done for me lately?



3) Games

Two words: Arkham. Okay, I only needed one word, which is even worse. Asylum and its subsequent sequels have pretty much kicked the butt of any Marvel games. I will admit, Marvel scores some points for originality with having themed casino games. And I mean sure you've got the LEGO games, but come on, LEGOS? Marvel Heroes was at best, meh. You've got a long history of disappointing me when it comes to video Games Marvel. Except of course once again for Spider-Man from the Raimi era. The rest of the game sucked, but I did enjoy delivering pizzas. That was relaxing. I totally skipped on doing missions just to spend hours delivering pizza. 


The Best:



1) Having Fun

The main strength of Marvel lies in what DC tries to escape, and that's having fun with the characters. Marvel understands their characters and how they relate to their fanboys and girls better than anyone. Yes, we want the colorful costumes. Yes we want the humor. Yes we want to have a roller coaster of emotions. It's okay to cry Bruce, I'll give you a shoulder to- HULK SMASH. Comics often have complex emotions wrapped around simple stories, and Marvel brings that to film.



2) Changing Minds About Characters

Admittedly I'm a DC kid at heart. Which has sucked in the past few years watching them get blown away by Marvel. What's amazing though is how They've managed to make me like characters I hated in the comics. Thor? I always found his mythology boring, but the movies gave him a breath of humor and personality that makes him fantastic for others to play off of. Captain America? I always found him dull and overly stuffy. The Captain America films though are my favorite Marvel films. They're so much more than superhero fluff. The writing is phenomenal and the action great. 

It's pretty masterful any time you make someone do a 180 on a character. Speaking of which...



3) It's More Than Superheroes

Anyone can make someone look like they're flying or smashing a building. I'm pretty sure my phone can do that with the touch of a button. But to make you relate to characters onscreen, to make them speak in some way to humanity? Therein lies the challenge. Superman may have looked for the first time like he actually had power in his swing, but the character of Clark Kent, his human component was cast aside broken and destroyed. In Marvel films you feel the emotions as the characters actually have arcs worth following. 

It's why we as kids read comics in the first place. Because our heros were real and we could see ourselves in them. And that to me, is the best thing Marvel is doing today.


What are your thoughts? I'm sure I'm going to hear it on SHIELD, so go ahead and sound out below.

3 comments:

  1. To you I say stay lazy. Being over analytical can come across as being arrogant.
    SHIELD will never be Arrow, and thats ok. Heck, I bet it will never be Flash and that show hasn't even started yet! I watched it because....yeah, it got better?...
    DC at least has the better animated universe, even if they are starting to go New 52 on everyone.

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  2. There are better superhero shows that SHIELD but I still love the world building. I'm disappointed by the Marvel music today too. They just sound so generic. Great, but could fit any superhero.

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  3. I gave SHIELD a chance, but not as long as you did.
    Based on my childhood preferences, I always liked DC besst, but just like my personal political voting history, I don't vote along party lines. I'm issue specific. That applies to comics as well. I think I've mentioned before that we have close family friend who is regarded by some as the best inker in the industry. He recently left Marvel is now with DC.

    Here is a database of some of the stuff he's done for DC. As you will see, he and Greg Capullo spend a lot of time working together. He has also worked a lot with Todd McFarlane http://www.dccomics.com/talent/danny-miki

    Here is a fairly complete list of 300 plus comics he inked for Marvel.
    http://marvel.wikia.com/Category:Danny_Miki/Inker

    Here's another look in a different format of a lot of his work (not updated, but still huge). http://comicbookdb.com/creator.php?ID=45

    Here is a fairly complete list of 100 plus covers he totally created for Marvel. http://marvel.wikia.com/Category:Danny_Miki/Cover_Artist



    I know you didn't ask for all this, but I know you are interested in this stuff. So, you might find the links interesting.

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