Comments on: The ‘Yellow Spandex’ Joke in X-Men Exemplified a Problem Superhero Movies Had for Years

By: Xander

Xander — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 17:01:43 +0000

Coming back to this after a while, I thought of a movie that pointed out how goofy a purely comic-accurate costume would be without resorting to a wink-and-nod at the audience. Captain America: the First Avenger showed the evolution of Cap’s costume through his entertainment work to becoming an actual soldier on the battlefield. While some of his entertainment costumes were certainly accurate to the comic, they definitely wouldn’t have been practical for what the character was doing in an actual war zone.

By: Xander

Xander — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 17:48:29 +0000

I agree with Cletus regarding Mr. Gunn. While Vol. 2 was still a damn good movie, it definitely felt like a step down in quality with the Flanderization of Drax from taking everything literally to being more of a buffoon especially annoying.

Gunn’s Suicide Squad was definitely better than Ayer’s, but he seemed to far too much in love with his Peacekeeper character to the detriment of other, better characters.

By: Cletus

Cletus — Wed, 12 Jul 2023 18:50:43 +0000

Many of the early superhero films did the same thing, not fully understanding that there is a reason the material is so beloved. Superman was a rare exception.

Interestingly enough (and I would love to read your thoughts on this) it almost seems like the opposite is happening now- people who believe that source material is such a guaranteed hit, that filmmakers want to put their own spin on it not to appease mainstream audiences, but believing they can just take something already good, make it better, then take the credit for its success. This has led to a lot more filmmakers taking chances (after all, it’s a superhero movie/show, it’s already going to be a hit!) with mixed success. As Fraser wrote, “transcending the genre”.

When it does work, oftentimes the filmmaker, not the source, gets praised. I’m thinking about James Gunn taking way too much credit for Guardians of the Galaxy’s success. Yeah, he made some good changes, but the characters were already pretty cool. I felt like the further he strayed from the source material (and this definitely goes for Suicide Squad), the less it became about the heroes and the more it became a “James Gunn film”.

It really seems that comic movies/TV are going full circle. As everyone strives to put their own spin on a character/concept, the characters and concepts work less and less.

By: Fraser

Fraser — Wed, 12 Jul 2023 10:00:33 +0000

All the multiple directors and screenwriters who want to think they are totally transcending the genre by not putting the heroes in costume, not having Victor von Doom use a corny name like Doctor Doom …

By: Ben

Ben — Tue, 11 Jul 2023 15:00:54 +0000

I think this is far less egregious than making a Civil War where there’s no Civil War, or a Secret Invasion where the secret invasion is nothing like Secret Invasion. And I thought the original comic was terrible in that latter’s instance! Somehow, the show became the dullest possible iteration of the concept. The X-Men costume situation is winking and nodding because what else can it do? At least the creators are aware of what makes these characters tick, how they function. In the MCU as of late, I’m not so sure.

By: Xander

Xander — Tue, 11 Jul 2023 14:59:01 +0000

I had heard that they originally tested more traditional costume designs, but the colors didn’t look good in tests. Of course, seeing how they tried to cover themselves, that might not be true.

By: Scott Fry

Scott Fry — Tue, 11 Jul 2023 10:48:36 +0000

I read the story that Singer wrote that exchange and added it in after the first pictures of the black leather outfits came out and the fans were unimpressed, so it was an eff you to the fans, effectively.