Marvel Flipside

My Christmas Wish for the Fantastic Four

My Christmas wish for the Fantastic Four is to have a truly extended family.

Don't you always feel that the Fantastic Four have so much potential? Don't you feel that its prestige as being the formation of the Marvel universe should lend it a high standard?

One of the indicators that a comic book property is "important" is how much it affects the entire imprint. Currently, the Avengers seem to be driving the product line for Marvel, with New, The, Academy, Prime, and et cetera. At one point, you could have even added Mighty and Dark to the list. Over the years, you could see other trends, such as the whole reign of the X-Men, and another time a brief sergeancy of Ghost Rider/Midnight Sons.

But what about the Fantastic Four?    

I'm not saying that you have to make MORE titles. There was a time, of course, that there was Fantastic Force and FF Unplugged or what have you, but that didn't really work out, you see, and of course pretty much every solo title was branching out like that at the time, too. But what you CAN do is to make sure that the FF live up to its full potential. 

One of the FF's greatest strength might also be its greatest weakness-- it's got a strong central premise/theme as "family," or even "first family."  It helps solidify the property, its characters, its signature brand. It is a clear idea that many story hooks, both personal and adventurous, can hang on. But it also keeps the book locked into certain patterns, locked into keeping characters around, and threatens staleness and "been there, done that" apathy.   

But "family" is so much more than just immediate family. Why not "extended family?" You could expand the focus of characters, subplots, supporting cast, even locations and setting, while never forsaking its central theme. You could have the "Four" truly being a group of adventurers and heroes-- featuring the Thing and the Human Torch but allowing for new members to round them out. Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman could still be involved in the "other" focuses of the book, for example, proactive laboratory work and charity. There are the lives of the kids, and we could even make grandpa Nathaniel Richards a regular.

By point of comparison, look at the X-Men. There may be a central cast of characters, but there are appearances, even featured appearances, of dozens and dozens of mutants in the issues.

There is so much of the Marvel Universe that is truly of the Fantastic Four, so it would be with a sense of wonder and majesty that they truly take over the Marvel line like they should!

My Christmas Wish for Iceman

My Christmas wish for Iceman is to have him Do Something. For some reason, Iceman was always among my favorite X-Men. And yet, what's weird is that, aside from his powers, what really is Iceman all about? What does he actually *do?*

With more complex and rounded characters, you have many diametrical forces working to create interesting stories/conflicts. Take Nightcrawler, another fave, who is torn between the gravity of his soul and the lightheartedness of his whimsy, the sensitive empathy he has and the fearsome appearance he has. Iceman, in contest, has pretty much one side to himself, which is usually his own carefree attitude. At best, this leaves him as pretty much a wisecracking, fun-loving background character. At worst, he comes off as a poor man's Johnny Storm/ Human Torch.

(There are a few message boards that have a running joke (or is it a joke?) that Iceman should become a gay character, which I say is neither here or there. It's irrelevant to the main problem that I want to talk about, and that's besides the fact that I think it would smack of a cheap hack writer tactic.)

The main problem is Iceman doesn't get to have one of those classic "I must but I must not" inherent character dilemma in that Mighty Marvel manner. If I might make a suggestion, I would want to highlight together Iceman's powers and his personality-- what if his bubbly personality was really just an unconscious overcompensation? What if his powers naturally left him numb, the kind of unfeeling numb that makes you feel disconnected to your numby parts? The problem is that, for Iceman, his entire body is becoming numby parts!  So that's why he is constantly extroverted-- he is reaching out to make sure he can "touch" the world around him. For lack of a better metaphor, he's a "warmth vampire," both socially and emotionally. 

And what would happen when the more he's growing in power, the more he affects others? Remember, cold is not really a force in itself, but merely an absence of heat. Unconsciously, he is leeching heat more and more from the people around him. So the more numb he gets, the more he reaches out-- but the more he reaches out, the more people will pull away for their own safety, leaving him more numb! 

Plus, he's got really cool (both literally and figuratively) powers!

My Christmas Wish for Wolverine

My Christmas wish for the Avengers is that they might have more conflict. And how's this for the sake of argument-- let's keep Wolverine in order to do so.

Who would have thought that I would be advocating for Wolverine on an Avengers roster? I'm as surprised as anyone! But the more I think about it, the more it would be nice to have Wolverine, IF he could be a force of personality that would lead to some team-tension. We need some sparks flying between some powerful personalities in the kind of clash we'd come to expect from Marvel hero teams! The problem is that Wolverine is a bit too far afield from his initial edgy and brashy living-on-the-edge wildman neophyte persona. Thankfully, he's not too far away from being a bratty living-on-the-edge crazily grizzled veteran. In other words, he should be violent enough to keep his teammates raising their eyebrows, respected enough that others fear confronting him directly, and just crazy enough that his ideas seem all wrong in prospect but is exactly what is needed in retrospect.

In some ways, Wolverine's basically that mean ol' veteran fisherman that grinds his hands on a chalkboard when he wants your attention and will get your shark for you if you would just shut up and let him do it his way.  Or in another analogy, just understand that Wolverine lives his life as if he is a shell-shocked, embittered but ultimately hardened Vietnam soldier wandering through the jungles, and by jungles I mean basically *anywhere he happens to be at any given time.* He puts the "now" in Apocalypse Now. Speaking of apocalypses, Wolverine lives his life as if he is the lone survivor in a dystopian future, which it probably is from his long-lived perspective. So, yeah, put that guy on the Avengers, because the Avengers have to use him as both an asset and a source of worry. 

People like Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel have worked with Wolverine enough that they can tell him off, but they are never his "superiors" in any way, so he can always ignore them, and they know that. He is someone better off on 'our side' than left to his own devices, but that means potentially setting him off at any moment, and it means potentially not being able to reel him in when he does.

Aside from Spidey and Ms. M, there's all kinds of tension. How far might Wolverine consider the new Cap as someone who repeated his own mistakes? How much might he resent Iron Man's optimism and self-assuredness? Will he respect Luke Cage as a leader or bristle under anyone giving orders? And it would appear that he is a complete opposite to Iron Fist-- the one who grew up rich to his poor, who became a peaceful martial artist to his berserker killing machine.

Basically, with Wolverine you have an ultimate Lone Wolf (emphasis on the "wolf") brought into what is Earth's mightiest band of brothers. How could we *not* expect conflict-rich story dynamics coming out of that?

Mighty Avengers

We've all done it. Drafting our own versions of superhero teams is part and parcel of being a fan. Sometimes it's just our list of favorites, sometimes it's just our list of iconic "must-haves," and sometimes it's just to see what kind of random ideas get thrown together.
That last one's my favorite, and led to this sketch:

Captain America -- because of course, even if it's still Bucky. We need a leader type but also a rookie at the same time.

Human Torch --  because Johnny Storm needs to be a headline-grabbing headliner in the Avengers (and of all the Fantastic Four, he's the only one who hasn't!) He also adds a variety of powers as the elemental of the group.

Blue Marvel -- because he could actually fill the Captain America role as an icon and leader, but also being the reluctant powerhouse and representative of the "old guard." I'm pretty sure most fans don't really know much about him, either.

Power Princess -- because Marvel needs more powerful women and it's about time she was a contender.

Hellcat -- because she's the veteran of this team-up, despite the experience of others, but also she's just plain fun! Can you imagine the interaction with Volstagg?!

Volstagg -- because, man, that would be fun. Plus it gives us a nod to Asgard and to Thor but also makes something new. 

The only thing we really don't have is the Iron Man type, with the tech-savvy of someone scientific.

 

 

Fantastic Four Redux

Thinking about my salad Spider-Ham days (ham salad? Don't look at me. "salad days" is apparently an appropriate expression) got me to thinking about my good ol' Marvel role playing game. Often, I would get to play with friends, but more often than not, I would simply imagine scenarios on my own, and with a few quick dice rolls, determine the fate of a Marvel universe of my very own. I'm sad to say, the Fantastic Four didn't last too long, but they took out several of my home-brew house-cleaning villain team, the Marauders. (No, not these guys.) At least the Thing survived (making him grow considerable in my estimation) and the team took a few Marauders down with them... but what to do to replace the old "fuddy duddy" FF? Why, with my perennial faves, the Avengers, of course!

At the time, Hank Pym, scientific adventurer, was going through a severe depression and identity crisis. He was helped by Firebird (then, La Espirita) and would soon later go on to become a backbone of a West Coast Avengers team. But what if, instead, La Espirita convinced Pym to take on the role left behind by Mister Fantastic, becoming a true scientific adventurer by way of the FF's super science fiction legacy? He'd be aided by the Hulk, who had a merged personality with Bruce Banner, fulfilling both brain and brawn at the same time. In my story, they fought back the U-Foes (who had a similar origin story to the FF, actually) and recruited their member Vapor as their fourth.

It's just so crazy, it just might work! Hank Pym would have an enlarged role in the Marvel universe, but still grapple with insecurity at filling such a role. Espirita would have to straddle both the role of inspiration and of faith (in a science-based series as well as being the only non-science member-- even Vapor has some legitimately scientifically-based experience!) Hulk is also battling a legacy-- his own as a monster-- while avoiding the temper that could ruin everything. And Vapor also adds that edge with a villain who may not be as reformed as you'd think. Great dynamics, great mix of powers and personalities, and you'd have a great little "bold new direction!" What do you think? I was a genius little storyteller!

Aquenos

I called it! (See?)

I thought it would be a unique combination of genre and one of those "only in a comic book!" situations to have underwater vampires! So what can you find in the latest Namor series from Marvel? The Aquenos, or underwater vampires!

To be fair, I had thought of it in terms of a super-villain team-up with Nagala the Serpent Witch. I would have made something like a Elder Gods or beastly ancient mythos kind of story. These are eons-old magics, right?

But I regret to say that I doubt I could have come up with as great an idea as this:

Namor: The First Mutant #1 (2010) by Stuart Moore and Ariel Olivetti

Vampire Monster Squid.

Comics are cool.

(But if you want me to do an Art Critique on this issue… whoo boy. It needs one!)

Falcon: the Movie treatment

 
You've just left the executive meeting, where several shots of the Falcon were pinned to the brainstorming-board. Ideas were spitballed, stories run up the flagpoles, and concepts were tossed about. Remember all those problems and questions we talked about over the last few posts? Yeah, those. But as you head back to the office, you look at the files that you've been given. Did you get the most impossible assignment of all? You gotta make the final pitch that will let the Falcon finally break out as a flagship character.
 
So let's start, as most hero stories do, with the origin. We have ditch the whole Red Skull-slash-Cosmic Cube makeover (which BTW was a retcon of the original story, right?), or . . . do we?  As much as I'd like to keep Sam Wilson as a selfless and idealistic Peace Corps member helping a small island in revolution, there's not really a lot of inherent conflict there. How about instead we look for that juxtaposition of opposites-- that "Snap" Wilson knew nothing but the law of the streets, which got him on the fast track of organized crime. Thus, when he finds himself crashed on the island, he has to adapt his street smarts into survival smarts. As he adapts to the rigors of survival, he learns the true value of 'freedom,' as exemplified by the birds that he's always envied and identified with. The ultimate expression of freedom? Overcoming the oppression on the island-- the same organized crime that he almost became a part of. The fight is only half-over, of course. The Big Showdown comes as he returns to the City, dons his costume to inspire where once he instilled fear, and triumphs over the Big Bad.  
 
Because obviously that Big Bad had personally ensured Snap's crash, leaving him for dead, making the justice all that more poetic.
 
Interestingly, it harkens back to the story tradition of the 'civilized' man finding redemption in the foreign location, but adds some modern, and urban, twists. Is it still a "mighty whitey" story trope, and what kinds of avenues can explore if our hero is black?  Is there still freedom in a stratified society? If can only find freedom by being truly 'above' society, like a bird aflight, what contradiction does that make with our very humanity? Truly, that's a trope that any superhero must deal with, and suddenly the Falcon can break out into his own story, with his own themes, on his own terms.
 
But after all of this, the executives remain concerned. They hoped to attach Will Smith to the project, but he wants to sign on as . . . Captain America. *Forehead slap.* Hollywood…
 
 

Mary Jane Loves ... Other People?

So... if Mary Jane is unattached right now, aren't there others who might be looking for girlfriend right now?

And I know the Human Torch has a bit of a reputation for a bein' a playa, but he has had moments of serious relationships-- remember Lyja? Remember Crystal? Remember Dorrie Evans? (Well, actually no one remembers Dorrie Evans.)

But it would definitely be interesting to see these two become a serious couple, wouldn't it? Mary Jane would get to experience the whole "superhero girlfriend" thing in a completely different context, but she really couldn't tell anyone *why* without in some way letting Peter Parker down. And with the Human Torch/Spider-Man "frenemy" relationship, it makes for an even more interesting triangle! 

Might make some interesting stories!

Iceman

WERE I TO WRITE: X-Men

What if the person next to you was a mutant? Would you really know? This is, perhaps, a key point to the undercurrent of the paranoia that you can find among the story of the X-Men. But it's a little unfair, since mutants fall into two categories-- the obvious-if-not-downright-hideous (Marrow, the Morlocks, even Anole) and the beautiful heroes who are our headliners (Emma Frost, Cyclops, even Angel.) But what if even these 'beautiful mutants' still had that One Thing. You know, some slight hint that Something was wrong with them, just enough so that the people around them felt that nagging, lingering sense of Wrong, similar to the way you feel when you know you forgot something when you left home but can't remember what.

What if you were Bobby Drake?

What if you always looked like you were sweating, because the air around you naturally condensed like it would around a glass of lemonade in the summertime?

What if your hands always left a brief outline when you lifted them from the table, the way others' might when they lean against a cold glass window?

What if your breath was always visible if one happened to glance at just the right angle into the sun?

What if you always wear the wrong outfit, dressing too warmly when winter hit because you just fail to notice?

What if your skin was always much more pale than anyone around you, verging on the point of translucent?

What if people who stayed too much in your proximity began to become uncomfortable, and even shiver? 

That's when you'd realize that as 'normal' as you could pass, you'd never be able to find a place in 'normal' society. And for Bobby Drake, this is his dilemma. He's increasingly frustrated in his attempts to find his place. He wants it to be out there, in the world, but he's forced to stay behind, instead, locked away with the enclave of X-Men. He'd never show it, would always overcompensate with his party attitude, but the coldest he's ever felt is the cold of being truly alone.

Imaginauts

WERE I TO WRITE: FANTASTIC FOUR

Did this sketch on my lunch hour because, hey, you know, it's been a while since I drew anything, really. 

Notice that I tried keeping my costume I just did for the Invisi-Woman, and I tried poofing out Mr. Fan's leggings a bit, because the thought struck me to suddenly try more of a jumpsuit-type look. But there's only so much I could do on a tiny piece of bond paper.

I imagine in this picture that the Four have arrived somewhere to research something and suddenly have awakened a Great Evil. You know how it goes. Which, actually, points to what should be making the Fantastic Four different than any other hero book out there. The Fantastic Four's adventures should come from the team itself-- not in reaction to something that happens *to* them.

Spider-Man, the Avengers, Superman, Batman--- all the headliners, really, have one thing in common. They *react.* A superhero's life is built around patrolling the city and waiting for a crime to happen so they can stop it. I'm not saying that like it's a bad thing, and I'm certainly not the first to notice it, but it's also not the focus here.

The Fantastic Four, instead, just happen to have adventures spring out from whatever they are doing. Mostly it's Reed wanting to discover something, or it could be Johnny dropping his sandwich in a restricted lab. Suddenly, the team's got to fight back the living embodiment of Capital-S Science! The trick is to do it so that it's making the mundane more magical. Any moment for our Four could be a moment of imagination. Johnny's not going to get just *any* gift for his girlfriend, and suddenly the team's embroiled with the Goldbug in the skies above El Dorado. The Thing's actively involved in charity along Yancy Street, and suddenly the team's racing against robotic reincarnations of Boss Tweed and Al Capone. You know, typical everyday FF. Let's not even start with Sue trying to help Franklin with his HIstory homework!

Let the other heroes be the ones who sit around a headquarters waiting for the red phone to ring. When the Four go out to adventure, it's because it's purposeful.