"Disney sees big bucks in Marvel unknowns"

[CaptainCanada]

You could simply make Steve Rogers black

That completely changes the character. Captain America is the government's chosen symbol of American values in the 1940s; the most popular hero of his day. By virtue of the times, he wouldn't be black.

Well I think given the fact that Bradley-Cap has been established as an actual CANON part of the Captain America-Super Soldier mythos it would be irresponsible for them NOT to include him in some way.

That's...an odd stance. Adaptations leave stuff out all the time, and Bradley's an extremely minor part, all things considered. The only thing I really liked about that whole strand was that it led to the creation of Patriot (to be fair, I really like him; one of my favourite Young Avengers). I doubt they'll mention any of the fill-in Caps either.

My main concern about the Captain America film is that setting the entire first one in World War II means that his immediate transition to the modern world will be handled in The Avengers, which I'm not sure is the ideal place for that. How much time will they really have for him to cope with that, between the needs of all the other heroes and the villain, etc.? Plus, really, as a Cap fan, it's annoying to have to wait for a prospective sequel to get most of the supporting characters I'm really interested in.

 

[Greg Cox]

The idea that Captain America is some rock-ribbed conservative bears no resemblance to the comics as published since the 1960s. Trust me, the Cap I grew up, written by the likes of Roy Thomas and Steve Englehart, was clearly a New Democrat liberal type. Back in the seventies, he was taking on evil oil companies and a thinly disguised version of Nixon!

 

[Mr Light]

And in Civil War he led a rebellion against the government for civil rights issues.

 

[Bad Bishop]

Anyway, important thing about perceptions is even what Americans wouldn't see as jingoistic is seen as jingoistic to a foreign audiences. It's precisely the sort of dissonance that got George Bush re-elected twice as it were. If you want to sell a Captain America overseas he's probably got to be relatable to the sort of image of America liked overseas, and given that he dresses himself up in the flag like he's George Bush Sr. casting him in a sorta Obama-ian light isn't too bad an idea.

It wouldn't hurt finances if America's a blue stater, simply put.

Oh, gag. I can see it now. There's an international incident. Captain America is alerted! But he can't make a move before he checks with the United Nations!


BTW, George W. Bush was only re-elected once.

 

[Mysterion]

From the linked Wiki:

In Captain America vol. 4, #28, an Isaiah Bradley from an alternate Earth became Captain America [...] he was elected president and served two terms.

This pretty much writes itself. Yes, we can!

Paging Will Smith...

 

[Temis the Vorta]

The idea that Captain America is some rock-ribbed conservative bears no resemblance to the comics as published since the 1960s. Trust me, the Cap I grew up, written by the likes of Roy Thomas and Steve Englehart, was clearly a New Democrat liberal type. Back in the seventies, he was taking on evil oil companies and a thinly disguised version of Nixon!

Yup, that's how I remember the character too.

Anyway, if Disney/Marvel wants to put Cap on screen at all, they need to stay true to the character. Otherwise, what's the point? Watering down a character to make him inoffensive just makes him too bland and boring to bother with, and then the movie just becomes a hollow exercise in blowing shit up to keep the audience awake because there's no character and no story to tell.

If you have no little faith in the character that you pull stunts like making him black, then just don't bother at all. There's an interesting story to be told with a character from the 1940s who has a vision of America from that time, and how that corresponds - or doesn't - to the modern world. Don't turn the guy into Captain Generic.

Star Trek XI is a good example of why it pays to stay true to the source material - some people actually appreciate it! Everyone else can enjoy the splosions and lense flares. Granted, Star Trek XI did less well proportionately at the box office in foreign markets than is now considered standard for Hollywood movies, but it still made boatloads of money, and if losing some foreign b.o. is the price to pay for having a good story with integrity, so be it.

And in Civil War he led a rebellion against the government for civil rights issues.

That is great material for future movies. But first we need to establish the character onscreen in the first movie.

 

[Aragorn]

Anyway, if Disney/Marvel wants to put Cap on screen at all, they need to stay true to the character. Otherwise, what's the point? Watering down a character to make him inoffensive just makes him too bland and boring to bother with, and then the movie just becomes a hollow exercise in blowing shit up to keep the audience awake because there's no character and no story to tell.

You're talking about the same Hollywood that wanted to turn a Vince Flynn novel into a movie but suggested changing the Middle Eastern terrorists into Filipinos so as not to offend anyone, right?

 

[Mysterion]

Anyway, if Disney/Marvel wants to put Cap on screen at all, they need to stay true to the character. Otherwise, what's the point? Watering down a character to make him inoffensive just makes him too bland and boring to bother with, and then the movie just becomes a hollow exercise in blowing shit up to keep the audience awake because there's no character and no story to tell.

You're talking about the same Hollywood that wanted to turn a Vince Flynn novel into a movie but suggested changing the Middle Eastern terrorists into Filipinos so as not to offend anyone, right?

Same thing happened when the did Tom Clancy's The Sum of All Fears. Suddenly the arab terrorists were changed into neo-nazi terrorists. Plus it starred Ben Affleck. *sigh*

 

[Turtletrekker]

Even though I was the one who first brought up the notion of an Isaiah Bradley movie (and I still think it could make a great movie), I absolutely believe that they should go the Steve Rogers route for at least the first movie and perhaps a sequel or trilogy (whatever their plans may be). After that, a spin-off movie set in the same continuity with focus on a character such as Bradley (ala Elektra or the the Helen Slater Supergirl, but hopefully done better), would work better.

 

[Gojirob]

It could be done, if Cap himself is enough of a hit. Scenes used in the first movie could be shown from a different perspective, with a present-day Steve Rogers paying tribute to Bradley at the end. Sort of like Back To The Future 2 does for BTTF 1, or the Raymond Burr Godzilla does for the original Gojira.

 

[Davros]

Well, honestly, what else does Disney have the right to make movies about aside from Marvel's catalogue of superheroes?

Iron Man has never been a B lister in comic books. How can he be called a B list hero. Is it because the general public didn't know him.

Bingo. I had no idea who he was before hearing about the Robert Downey Jr. movie.

I think you never spent much time reading many Marvel titles if that is the case.

 

[A beaker full of death]

This whole thing is silly. Marvel's only household names are Spiderman and The Hulk. Everyone knows Superman, Batman, the Hulk and Spiderman. And that's it. Of course we all know the FF, Daredevil, Iron Man, Punisher, the X-Men and all the others they haven't put in movies yet. But the average folk have no clue.

 

[Greg Cox]

Well, honestly, what else does Disney have the right to make movies about aside from Marvel's catalogue of superheroes?

Iron Man has never been a B lister in comic books. How can he be called a B list hero. Is it because the general public didn't know him.

Bingo. I had no idea who he was before hearing about the Robert Downey Jr. movie.

I think you never spent much time reading many Marvel titles if that is the case.

That's the whole point. Most people don't read comics, so a character who is only known by comic book fans can't be a household name. IRON MAN was not well known outside by the general public.

 

[Myasishchev]

And in Civil War he led a rebellion against the government for civil rights issues.

More analogous to 2d Amendment zealotry, if you ask me. Steve Rogers doesn't mind if kids die as long as he doesn't have to get his shield registered.

But in seriousness, yeah, Cap is (was? is again? I haven't kept track) pretty leftist, especially for a guy raised in the Forties. If Bush were still in office they could do the Secret Empire story.

One part of Mark Millar's Ultimates that I thought rang pretty true is that a adored hero-soldier from the 1940s, with no intervening experience between 1945 and today, and no matter how decent, would come across as a kind of a jerk.

 

[SgtPinback]

This whole thing is silly. Marvel's only household names are Spiderman and The Hulk. Everyone knows Superman, Batman, the Hulk and Spiderman. And that's it. Of course we all know the FF, Daredevil, Iron Man, Punisher, the X-Men and all the others they haven't put in movies yet. But the average folk have no clue.

Beaker Full of Death, where on Earth (or elsewhere) did you get the photo of the two Starfleet women making out--? Is there, um, any more of that? I would ordinarily send you a PM, but I'm new here.

It looks as if they're different ranks; maybe they're on shore leave (the "Shore Leave" planet, even!) and maybe they're allowed to do that. Either way, holy frak!

Quick edit to original post: I searched tineye.com -- nothing.

 

[Nick Ryder]

Well, honestly, what else does Disney have the right to make movies about aside from Marvel's catalogue of superheroes?

Bingo. I had no idea who he was before hearing about the Robert Downey Jr. movie.

I think you never spent much time reading many Marvel titles if that is the case.

That's the whole point. Most people don't read comics, so a character who is only known by comic book fans can't be a household name. IRON MAN was not well known outside by the general public.

True, but there was still that 90s cartoon and there was a cartoon done back in the 60s. "Tony Stark... makes you feel.. he's the cool exec with the heart of steel! And Iron Man with fists aflame fights and fights with repulsor rays! Amazing armor! That's Iron Man! Blazing armor! That's Iron Man!"

Okay so I think I maybe messed up the song partially... but Iron Man didn't have the same 'kid' appeal that Spider-Man had. But yeah I suppose that's true... I know my mom barely knew who Iron Man was before the movie came out, other than buying me a few Iron Man comics when I was younger and maybe catching an episode of the cartoon here and there when I used to tape them.. but she still turned into a HUGE Iron Man fan after the movie. I mean I'm 28 and she's 54 now and she became almost as big a fan as I am.

I think part of what makes a character an A or a B list character is exposure. If you were to do a well made, well written and casted say... Cloak and Dagger movie or TV show, people would think they were A-List Marvel characters. Or a Ms. Marvel movie or even hell... a Hawkeye and Mockingbird movie and people would think "Hey they're pretty cool" IF its done right and IF they get the right exposure.

Technology has finally caught up with comics in that we can still do a good looking movie or TV show that doesn't look sucktacular... just have to have good writing, smart dialogue and some capable actors.

 

[StarTrek1701]

Captain America is a product of a bygone era where nationalistic and patriotic instances actually meant something. Today's audiences which are made up of ADD laced teenagers wouldn't understand any darn moment of it. The studios would be better off making a movie about Captain Emo, Captain Armchairhawk, Captain YouTube or Captain Teabagger. Personally I'd like to see a Captain iPhone movie.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I think you never spent much time reading many Marvel titles if that is the case.

That's the whole point. Most people don't read comics, so a character who is only known by comic book fans can't be a household name. IRON MAN was not well known outside by the general public.

True, but there was still that 90s cartoon and there was a cartoon done back in the 60s. "Tony Stark... makes you feel.. he's the cool exec with the heart of steel! And Iron Man with fists aflame fights and fights with repulsor rays! Amazing armor! That's Iron Man! Blazing armor! That's Iron Man!"

Okay so I think I maybe messed up the song partially... but Iron Man didn't have the same 'kid' appeal that Spider-Man had. But yeah I suppose that's true... I know my mom barely knew who Iron Man was before the movie came out, other than buying me a few Iron Man comics when I was younger and maybe catching an episode of the cartoon here and there when I used to tape them.. but she still turned into a HUGE Iron Man fan after the movie. I mean I'm 28 and she's 54 now and she became almost as big a fan as I am.

Just curious, does that mean she reads the comics now?

 

[Galactus]

There is a difference between not being a household name, and being a B-list comic book hero which I believe is what the article said. Iron Man has never been a B-list comic book character.

As we have said the average person would not know any of these characters that have not had a movie, a TV, etc. I have seen people not even know who Green Lantern was.

 

[Greg Cox]

Most people can't tell a Green Lantern from a Green Hornet.

Expect a lot of confusion over the next year or so, as both movies start to get promoted . . . .