Sometimes, change can be too much, and meaningless
Published by Avi Green on Thursday, November 22, 2007 at 9:32 AM.
Scripps-Howard News Service talks about this being a "big month" for Marvel, though having examined their output of the past several years, I really can't see how myself:
And here's where we have an example of how the Marvel Universe doesn't feel like the MCU anymore: because the superheroes and many other notable cast members around them have been turned into puppets in a dismal drama of expensive crossover-itis that's the biggest problem with both Marvel and DC today, ditto how some of these crossover miniseries have been turning up late, as Civil War did when it was crawling to press.
As Mr. Spock once said, "The only constant in the universe is change." Marvel Comics is living that maxim to the fullest this month.Yeah, and waaaaay tooooo muuuuuch change at that. So much in fact that it practically becomes meaningless, especially when those "changes" just don't work out or are just plain inappropriate.
Two weeks ago I discussed "World War Hulk," which retired ol' Greenskin in anticipation of next month's debut of a new red Hulk. But by coincidence or design, other pockets of the Marvel Universe are also beginning some serious ch-ch-changes:What they don't mention here is that these "ch-ch-changes" are most likely being done in tune to Marvel's next gigantic company-wide crossover, giving us no rest and no room for anything more promising. But are they going to admit that this is simply dreadful? From the looks of things here, I guess not.
-- Spider-Man: Given that Spidey is Marvel's flagship character, "One More Day" -- a story running this month and next in "Amazing Spider-Man" Nos. 544-545 and the final issues of "Sensational Spider-Man" and "Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man" -- may be the most significant in the long run.
Currently, Spider-Man's been unmasked, Aunt May is dying and Peter Parker's married to Mary Jane. "Day" threatens to change or erase all that.
Any bets the result will be to re-model the status quo of the Spider-comics to resemble that of the Spider-movies? Didn't think I'd get any takers. But if my guess is right, it will be a huge shift for the (suddenly single?) web-spinner. If nothing else, there will only be one Spider-title after December: "Amazing Spider-Man," appearing three times a month.
-- X-Men: Recent events have reduced Marvel's mutant population to a size where it's not viable; the species is going extinct. But when a new (and extremely powerful) mutant is born, it sets off shock waves -- and, naturally, a crossover.If it weren't for the overload of crossovers they've done lately, I might look forward to this one, but the crossovers galore make it almost impossible. Now that I recall, Ed Brubaker, who's one of the writers here, went in lock-step with DC's editors when they mandated the "Bruce Wayne: Murderer?/Fugitive story in the Batbooks five years ago, so I guess I can't be too surprised if he's going in lock-step with Marvel's editors here as well.
The X-Men (good-guy mutants) want to find the baby to X-tend the race. Mr. Sinister and the Marauders (bad-guy mutants) want to find the baby to X-periment on it. The Purifiers (anti-mutant humans) want to find the baby to X-terminate it. And Predator X (a genetically engineered super-beast ) wants to eat it. The race is on in "Messiah CompleX" (cq) -- a 13-part story running from November to January in "New X-Men," "Uncanny X-Men," "X-Factor" and "X-Men."
Whatever the outcome, a mutant baby changes the rules. Marvel mutants used to manifest in adolescence, but now we have X-babies.
-- Avengers: Marvel's superheroes were torn apart by "Civil War" last year. Iron Man is now head of the U.S. spy apparatus (plus 50 teams of Avengers), slowly edging toward a fascist state. Luke Cage is on the run with his own band of underground, illegal Avengers. And Captain America is dead. What worse could happen?Um, it already has happened, so enough with the sensationalism, please.
How about the discovery that Marvel's superheroes have long been infiltrated by undetectable, shape-shifting aliens called Skrulls, bent on world conquest? That would certainly explain any out-of-character behavior for the past few years (which is pretty convenient for the writers), but it also means that nobody can trust anybody.No kidding, it's all convenient for the writers. How about the readers? And I hate to say, but whether or not the superhero community's been infiltrated by Skrulls, that does not excuse all the mediocre writing of that past several years, nor does it make a good fig-leaf for any of the ludicrous political biases that cropped up either.
And here's where we have an example of how the Marvel Universe doesn't feel like the MCU anymore: because the superheroes and many other notable cast members around them have been turned into puppets in a dismal drama of expensive crossover-itis that's the biggest problem with both Marvel and DC today, ditto how some of these crossover miniseries have been turning up late, as Civil War did when it was crawling to press.
That's a lot of changes! But there's no need to worry about our favorite super-guys. As FDR said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."And the editors who put together all this horrendous charade, and feel they can get away with it, because some of the audience are willing to make fools out of themselves by buying these things non-stop. These crossovers have left little to no room for any real character development or stories of their own where they can shine on their own, and have been made hostages of uncaring editors and writers who're only dragging down the quality of these books year after year after year.
And the Skrulls, of course.
Labels: Avengers, crossoverloading, marvel comics, Spider-Man, X-Men
