Marvel unmasks creativity
"I'm proud of who I am, and I'm here right now to prove it," the legendary webslinger tells a press conference called in New York's Times Square, before pulling off his mask and standing before the massed ranks of reporters as newspaper photographer Peter Parker."Any questions?" Parker asks in the final panel of the issue, amid a barrage of camera flashes.
So goes the story in Marvel's seven-issue Civil War series.
The unmasking of Spiderman takes place after a huge showdown between a group of superheroes and supervillians results in the deaths of hundreds of innocent civilians. The US government passes the Super-Hero Registration Act, requiring all superheroes to reveal their identities and register as "living weapons of mass destruction."
The superheroes split. One group, led by Spiderman, are accepting of the new law. Another group, led by Captain America, want to remain anonymous.
While this sounds cool and I am sure there are lots of unusual and creative ways they can develop this idea. For some reason it strikes me as familiar.
It seems like recently there was some low-budget movie that dealt with two bitterly divided group of individuals with super powers arguing over government's role in their lives.
And somewhere in the back of my mind, I seem to recall an unknown children's film that touched on issues of superheroes being held responsible for accidents that happen as they are working to save the world.
Maybe it is just me, but it seems Marvel may be recycling ideas here. I know that sounds shocking, but if I could ever remember those small movies I could prove it. Of course, I think they achieved their point - to get people talking about it.
The liberal media thing again?
Posted by: Cineaste | 15 June 2006 at 11:31 AM
Um, no I really wasn't applying any kind of politics to this. Just a light, funny story.
I mean, I suppose we could get into the civil rights ramifications behind the Super-Hero Registration Act or the commentary on silly lawsuits in The Incredibles, but I was trying to get away from all the seriousness of the past week.
Posted by: Aaron | 15 June 2006 at 11:43 AM
What about "the cure" for the mutant X gene in "X-Men 3"? Ring a bell?
Posted by: Louis | 15 June 2006 at 11:46 AM
*sigh* It is impossible to do anything light.
I actually haven't seen X-3, although I want to, but just to answer your question - I do not know of any Christain who is proposing shots to get rid of "the gay" in people or even worse abortions to kill babies predisposed to be gay. When you find one let me know and I will condemn them.
Posted by: Aaron | 15 June 2006 at 12:25 PM
Aaron, I don't know if you read comic books, regularly, but I've personally been a big comic book reader since I was about eleven. What you're seeing here is, truly, one of the most wretched and insulting activities that comic publishers take part in.
Not the unmasking of Spider-Man and Ironman, which I think is, at the very least, a compelling storyline, but the "GIGANTIC SUMMER CROSS-OVER SERIES" which, of course, everyone must read in order to know what's happening with their favorite characters. It's shameless, and both DC and Marvel do it every year.
I picked up the first two issues of Civil War, and I just finished reading DC's Infinite Crisis, which was preceded by Identity Crisis, which was preceded by I can't even remember anymore.
And yes, the stories have all been told before. It's extremely rare that either of the two major publishers will release stories that are particularly original or daring. In the case of Civil War, they're just rehashing the tired old "Hero vs Hero" story that's been done probably over a thousand times in the past thirty years. And the "Heroes vs The People" story is, though not quite so tired, a well-explored genre of its own.
Posted by: Stewart | 15 June 2006 at 01:54 PM
Stewart! Wow, I'm also a comic book fan though I stopped collecting a while back. I am hoping they make a Silver Surfer movie with fantastic four #48,49 and 50 :) BTW Aaron, Stewart's assesment is dead on.
Posted by: Cineaste | 15 June 2006 at 02:01 PM
Oh, I don't know, Aaron, I'm sure there are plenty of xians who would advocate giving gays the "shot" (seeker, for one).
Posted by: Louis | 15 June 2006 at 10:22 PM
I haven't collect comics in awhile, but I still have a good many and I know enough about the genre.
You are right in that this is simply another ploy at generating sales - kinda like Ann Coulter. ;)
I'm sure DC is pretty mad, though. This took all the press away from the lesbian batwoman.
Posted by: Aaron | 16 June 2006 at 05:58 AM