Marvel's "Everything Ends" could be one of 4 things
3 Comments Published by Avi Green on Wednesday, November 19, 2014 at 3:14 AM.
Marvel's huge stack of crossover events for 2015 is being topped off with one called Everything Ends, and it's enough to wonder what they really mean when they say it all ends? I've got some guesses.
- One is that it could be the Crisis on Infinite Earths-style reboot we could surely expect the modern staff to take out of the drawer for a while now. No doubt, if they wanted to reboot their entire universe, they could do it in a second, under the confidence few would object by not paying for the upcoming miniseries and tie-ins.
- Another is that they're supposedly going to reverse many of the worst ideas prevalent for more than a decade now, and restore the Spider-Marriage, to name one prime example that needs fixing very badly. But with the very same contributors in charge, the chances any good will come of this is practically zero. Mary Jane alone doesn't guarantee ensuing stories will be worth the price of admission, and Brian Bendis is one more reason why it's better to stay away.
- The crossover could also be connected with the Ultimate line, so there'd be no surprises there. It lost significance long ago.
- Or, what if this is the beginning of the end of Marvel as a comics publisher? As Bob Layton figured, Disney could shut down the publishing arm (and Time Warner could close DC) since it's not turning any serious profit, and they don't need to have brand new stories written up just to serve as a springboard for a movie screenplay. If it turns out the latter is the case, that would be doing the MCU a big favor, since then, they'll no longer be subject to the kind of shocking abuse they underwent for years, and maybe someday, the publishing arm could be licensed/bought out by people who actually care. Besides, all Disney Corp cares about now is what their creations can do for them as movie material and toy merchandise.
Labels: bad editors, crossoverloading, dreadful writers, marvel comics, Spider-Man, women of marvel
I worked out the numbers and I believe I know the answer. Mathematically, the sheer volume of crap Marvel writers have produced in recent times is closing in on the critical mass/density needed to form a gigantic black hole. At the current rate of aggregation, it should happen sometime next year.
The comics only exist as IP for the parent companies. But I doubt if the characters have to be published in comic books for the parent companies to retain ownership. Surely, they just have to exhibit the characters in some medium or other (TV, movies, video games) to maintain the copyright and trademark. Disney still owns Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, although the characters have not appeared in new comic books in years. (The best news about comics in a long time: IDW will be publishing licensed Disney comics soon.)
Considering what has become of DC and Marvel in recent years, it might be just as well if both publishers were shut down completely.
There will be some sort of "marvel" "comics" after 2015 but even the remaining 40,000 or so readers will dwindle away after the cancellation of Fantastic Four.
The entire marvel universe, when they still had one, centered on the FF, and was in real time. Bit by bit this magnificent and unique comicbook cosmos has died.
The films and TV shows do it way better now. They are the real Marvel Universe for the future.