The Four Color Media Monitor: Marvel removes joke from a new Marvel Two-in-One series supposedly attacking Trump

And it's probably for the best, though Bleeding Cool likely doesn't think so. But anyway, here's what they say about a certain stakeholder in their coverage:

Marvel Comics chairman Ike Perlmutter is one of the largest donors to President Donald Trump‘s campaigns and charities, part of the Trump administration, working on Veteran Affairs, and he is a personal friend of the man, a member of Trump’s Mar-A-Lago club and was on Trump’s table for dinner over Thanksgiving weekend.

Permutter also personally intervened during a clash between Marvel and Fox several years ago over the movie licensing of the Fantastic Four. And in an exercise of thumbing his nose at Fox, specifically stopping Marvel from publishing any more Fantastic Four comics, licensing the Fantastic Four, doing anything with the characters that names them as the Fantastic Four.

It is fair to say that most of Marvel’s employees do not share his views.

Some Marvel employees, no doubt, don't share his political leanings, though what if they do share his alleged view of FF? It's not like they've ever respected the FF to start with. But I'll admit that, if Perlmutter had anything to do with marketing decisions leading to the FF's cancellation on grounds they didn't want to help the movie's prospects (when it's usually expected to go the other way around), that was poor, and his reported dislike for Stan Lee and failure to rein in all the leftist kooks Marvel hired did nothing to help the company's image of recent.

Now, let's take a moment to look at 2 panels pertinent to the case in point, one a draft and the other a finished product:

I honestly don't know if the joke about an orange monster really alludes to Trump, but they must've thought so, and because of all the scrutiny they've come under of recent, they figured it was best to back away from all the trouble they caused over the past years.

ComicBook says:

It's unclear if the joke was cut due to the insult seemingly feeling out of place or obvious, as anyone reading the comic would immediately know who it was referencing and potentially take the reader out of the scene.

Another possibility is that the higher-ups at Marvel took a second glance at the joke and didn't want to politicize the characters in any context, hoping to omit any political reference.

Possibly the most interesting details about the joke's omission is that Marvel Comics chairman Ike Perlmutter is a massive Trump supporter, both in donating to his campaigns and meeting with the former reality show host on multiple occasions. Perlmutter is also part of the Trump Administration, working on Veteran Affairs, and reportedly spent Thanksgiving with the President-elect.

With Perlmutter being at the top of the food chain at Marvel, one might think controlling one line of dialogue in one comic would be beneath him, yet he regularly takes an active involvement in all facets of the company.

Gee, if he really wanted to, he could've ground Quesada/Alonso's antics to a screeching halt years ago, but he didn't. He could've done all possible to improve their creative side - even got them to stop blacklisting fellow conservatives like Chuck Dixon and Mike Baron, but again...he didn't. Perlmutter, honestly speaking, was a major disappointment, who cared more about the movies adapted from the comics than the comics themselves. My theory is he was so terrified of incurring the left's wrath, he stood silently by and did nothing. Based on that assessment, why should most conservatives think of Perlmutter as some kind of a godsend?

Inverse, who also brought it up, said:

...Trump has yet to make an explicit appearance as the president in a Marvel comic. He’s a controversial figure, to say the least, so having him hang out with Captain America or Spider-Man would put Marvel in a tricky position. [...]

But Obama wasn't, and hanging out with Cap and Spidey wouldn't? Yeah, we get it.

The line’s removal shouldn’t be a huge scandal, as it’s just a random, petty chuckle, but it is curious that someone at Marvel backtracked. [...]

If it's not scandalous, then don't pursue the matter any further. In fact, if you don't like Trump, then his absence from the MCU should be great news, as you obviously don't want him around anyway, Inverse writers. Presumably, they don't want politics invading their comics? Then what's their whole point ridiculing conservatives who've come to think the same? They should be glad Trump's not around to make 'em moan. Though I'm sure they still don't intend to buy and read the comics anyway.

For all we know, the omitted line in the new variation on the old semi-anthology series first launched by Steve Gerber in the Bronze Age (later succeeded by The Thing solo in the mid-80s) could just as easily have been alluding to some of the Muppets cast (IIRC, Scooter the gopher and Fozzie the bear were orange colored) who were a big thing back at the time Marvel was in a better situation. So truly, we don't know for sure the line had anything to do with Trump. As a result, I'd say this was just a tedious attempt by the above news sites to create drama for the sake of drama.

Labels: Fantastic Four, marvel comics, msm propaganda, politics, Spider-Man

There is a lot of ageism in comics. The editors are young, and they don't want to work with writers of their parents or grandparents generation. Dixon and Baron are getting up there. It is not like you see any of Dixon's left-wing contemporaries being chased down for writing gigs; Messner-Loebs and Maggin haven't written for comics in a long time either. That said, Dixon hasn't really written anything exciting since Airboy in the 1980s, and his editor contributed a lot to those stories.

Trump is a very unpopular president; according to overall polling, more than half the country disapproves of him, perhaps a little over a third of the country likes him. Obama was a lot more liked and respected. According to polling, Trump is particularly disliked by people who are young, or have a college education, or who come from his home state; that is really the definition of most editors and writers.

Posted by Anonymous | 7:29 AM

Talk about overblown. The "censorship" is hardly that. Comparing Trump to The Thing - a "good guy" in general, is hardly an insult - particularly considering the real insults "literally Hitler" Trump gets hit with on a daily basis from the MSM. Looks more like a simplification of the word bubble to smooth the reading of the comic.

That being said, I'm shocked that the head of Marvel comics is a Trump supporter. Either he's the biggest "Cuckservative" ever or it's total BS as part of a rehabilitation of Marvel after it's adventure as printer of SJW propaganda pamphlets.

Posted by Mr. Bee | 4:02 PM

Obama was liked and respected by idle rich limousine liberals, libtard movie stars, illegal aliens, terrorists, welfare recipients, and professional college students.

He was never popular with the deplorable bitter clingers who live in that strip of land west of Park Avenue and east of Beverly Hills. The people who work and pay taxes.

Posted by Anonymous | 5:19 PM

I haven’t seen anyone say Trump is literally Hitler, other than Andrew Anglin and Richard Spencer and some of the other Nazi alt-rightniks out there, who pushed the comparison constantly before the election. They thought it was a compliment. But anytime you blame unemployment and economic problems on immigrants and minorities while wrapping yourself in the flag (not to mention attacking the free press and wanting your political opponents to be locked up!), it is hard to avoid the comparison. The belligerent stage act he likes to put on doesn’t help either.

Trump actually has a lot in common with Obama - both were a lot better at getting elected than they were at governing a country (although Obama became more skilled at this on the job and had faith after the last election that Trump would as well). Both were very media savvy but had distaste or contempt for the hands-on negotiation and horse-trading that a president has to do to get his policies passed, and both are equally likely to have been born in Kenya.

Trump is no friend of the heartland; he is still a New York wheeler-dealer at heart, even if he is not respected by New Yorkers. His policies have all benefitted mega-millionaires, not working people. He talks one thing and does another, and if called out on it he talks louder and starts yelling about Hillary and Barack.

Posted by Anonymous | 8:35 AM

" haven’t seen anyone say Trump is literally Hitler" You need to get out more. Every liberal is comparing him to Hitler.
http://www.cracked.com/blog/why-comparing-donald-trump-to-hitler-makes-perfect-sense/

because a few white nationalist groups have endorsed him.
Every sjw comic book "fan" is calling everyone who is critical of diversity initiatives of being a Nazi.

"Trump actually has a lot in common with Obama - both were a lot better at getting elected than they were at governing a country" The President is not a king, despite the growing amount of power is being given to the Presidency. The actual task of governing belongs to Congress but no one wants to talk about how bad those people are at governing.

"Both were very media savvy but had distaste or contempt for the hands-on negotiation"

Their lack of desire to negotiate reflects what the polarized political landscape of not giving an inch to the enemy. Trump is probably good at negotiating since he is a businessman but he has to look difficult in front of the cameras because that is part of his image. Obama just gives flowery speeches,which somehow makes many people swoon and think he's actually leading or governing, while he lets interest groups set the agenda, I mean, govern. However, you are right, in that their lack of experience in politics is a problem but people don't want experienced people anymore because they are afraid they are corrupt insiders. Outsiders are not any more effective because it is the corrupt insiders who do the governing.

"He talks one thing and does another"
Wait, I thought he didn't know how to negotiate.
He has to go with the flow to a large degree because he is NOT A KING. He has to give in to a lot of what the people around him want. For example, if the people around him believe in catastrophic climate change is imminent and he doesn't, he has to adopt the position that catastrophic climate change is imminent. Politics and entertainment are not places to look for people with integrity. If you want integrity, go look for soldier.

"Trump is no friend of the heartland;... His policies have all benefited mega-millionaires" I'm not really sure what policies he can enact to benefit them since they, as a group, are not asking for more handouts...and they know there's a good chance Trump won't be able to follow through on a lot of his promises...and everyone knows that no career politician in his right mind is going to raise taxes on the rich.

Posted by Saber Tooth Tiger Mike | 5:27 PM