Mark Millar on The Ultimates' Influence In Marvel Movies!

Mark Millar on The Ultimates' Influence In Marvel Movies!

The Kick-Ass writer shares his thoughts on how the critically acclaimed series has influenced movies like Iron Man and The Avengers...

By JoshWilding - Jun 06, 2010 11:06 AM EST
Filed Under: Marvel Comics
Source: Newsarama



In an interview with Newsarama about his current Marvel series, The Ultimate Avengers, the comic book writer was asked about how he feels seeing the current and upcoming Marvel Studios movies being heavily influenced by his and Bryan Hitch's series. Below are some of the main excerpts from the interview but to read the whole thing, follow the link at the bottom of the article!

"Bill Jemas phoned me after he saw the first Iron Man film and said, "they've just done Ultimate Iron Man." And I said, "what do you mean?" And he said, "Oh Tony Stark was never really like that before. He was a kind of suave, alcoholic billionaire. But that kind of craziness was really Ultimate Iron Man that they captured. And Jon Favreau said they were going for that kind of thing. And I just see it as very flattering. Obviously, we don't get any money for it or anything; it's just our take on a character. But to me, that's just fun."

"I loved doing the comic. So if they want to do any of that stuff as a movie, like Sam Jackson as Nick Fury like Bryan and I did in The Ultimates, then brilliant! I love it. Like, when we were doing The Ultimates, I said, "let's make Nick Fury a cool black guy." And Bryan said, "There's no cooler black guy in the world than Sam Jackson." And he was totally right. So that's what we did. We didn't think, "Oh, this will precipitate an Avengers movie." No, we just thought he was a cool black guy that we love."



"To be honest, I'm more interested in my own films really. I see the Iron Man films as a nice little nod. And the fan in me loves the fact they're making the movies and that something I did can contribute."

In Part Two of the interview, Millar also commented on his creator owned work recieving rapid movie adaptations and mentioned that he's planning a return to the Marvel Universe proper in the near future, "I'm definitely planning to do more company-owned stuff. I mean, I love doing all the movies, and we're setting up two new creator-owned things. I'm almost embarrassed when I'm talking about this, how quickly these things get made into films. I never actually planned them that way. I just like writing my comics."

"Once Ultimate Avengers is done, which won't be too long now, I'm going to get into the Marvel U proper again. I'm going to go meet the Marvel guys in a couple of months and talk to them about it. I have a big, big plan."




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IsaiahBradley
IsaiahBradley - 6/6/2010, 12:19 PM
Dope. Millar is living our dream. Lol
bleedthefreak
bleedthefreak - 6/6/2010, 12:21 PM
well the iron man movies have ultimate stark and that works great. i think for some things ultimates work better. like spiderman should start ultimate with his early years and branch into amazing spiderman style. they need a young actor so he is not to old for the role by the third movie again
StuckInPanels
StuckInPanels - 6/6/2010, 12:22 PM
I think he will be joining the Heroic ages...please AVENGERS!!!!*fingers crossed*
LEEE777
LEEE777 - 6/6/2010, 12:24 PM
ULTIMATES has [frick]ed up the MARVEL UNIVERSE, thanks MILLER lol!

: P

His best stuff is AUTHORITY and KICK ASS!

Though movie wise WANTED SUCKED!

Man look how crap those Ultimate heroes look WTF lol!

Anyway cool article @ JOSH lol! ; D



616 all da way!!!
Saga
Saga - 6/6/2010, 12:32 PM
ultimate marvel has cooler versions than mavel 616,most of them created by mark millar.
Brian Bendis believes that his writing is the best of marvel,WRONG!!thats mark millar!!
movie thor should be ultimate acording to the concept art
DCMarvelFreshman
DCMarvelFreshman - 6/6/2010, 12:33 PM
I love the ultimates!
jazzman
jazzman - 6/6/2010, 12:39 PM
these Marvel movies are a hybrid of The Ultimates and 616. to be honest Ultimates work well on film
revolver737
revolver737 - 6/6/2010, 12:42 PM
I love that the movies are heavily influenced by The Ultimates. I really hope that all this work pays off for Marvel and for the fans. Cant wait for Thor!!! Millar's work is stellar! Nemesis is already off to a great start.
LEEE777
LEEE777 - 6/6/2010, 12:50 PM
FRESHMAN @ I can believe that from YOU lol!

You've never read a Marvel comic book in your life until the movies! : P

Mixing that Ultimate BS is just as bad as what FOX [frick]s up!

You dilute the rich characters and histories, they end up not being the characters you have grown up with and loved!
fanboiii
fanboiii - 6/6/2010, 1:00 PM
Ultimates has the right tone for movies, but a lot of costumes aren't an improvement.

It's cool Millar is willing to go back to Marvel from time to time while he has successful independent projects.
jazzman
jazzman - 6/6/2010, 1:23 PM
@MultiPurposePoni

The Incredible Hulk had the Ultimate storyline. The Incredible Hulk origin in the film is a combination of the Ultimates comics (experimenting on Captain America's super-soldier serum) and "The Incredible Hulk" TV series.
JoshWilding
JoshWilding - 6/6/2010, 1:28 PM
I thought that the The Ultimates 1 & 2 were brilliant. Some people take the series' far too seriously by seeing them as some sort of "insult" to the 616 universe when in reality, they're a great read that give a truly facsinating insight into what it might be like if superheroes existed in our world.

ANIL: Same here! In my eyes, all of Millar's work has been flawless. The Ultimates, Old Man Logan, Civil War, Kick-Ass...the list goes on and on! So far, Marvel Studios have taken all the best parts from his and Hitch's series and mixed it in with the best parts of the regular versions of the characters and that's great with me! And I completely agree - Bendis needs to take a step back from the Avengers! Civil War proved what a great idea it is to let another writer handle the big events (and yet they still let Bendis control those!) but I'd just like someone else's take on the team - Brubaker's Secret Avengers is a good start though! I'd love to see Millar writing the core book.

MULTI: I think he's talking more about the personality rather than armour/powers. Personally, I'd say that the movie Stark is far more similar to the Ultimate version but a lot of that is equally down to Downey Jr's acting style too IMO!

LEE: Thanks bud! :) But how many more times? They're just DIFFERENT versions of the classic characters! Marvel Zombies, 1602, Noir - all reimaginings of them that do nothing but give a new and refreshing take that most definitely do not dilute the 616 bunch in the least! The character you grew up with are still there - The Ultimates is just a modern take on them that is extremely interesting! (you should actually read them sometime, lol!)
DaenerysTargaryen
DaenerysTargaryen - 6/6/2010, 2:20 PM
Never read the ultimates. So do people here mostly hate it or love it?
ROMACK
ROMACK - 6/6/2010, 2:47 PM
Millar/Hitch = EPIC WIN!

I love Millars stuff. Seems like everything he writes turns to gold.
jazzman
jazzman - 6/6/2010, 2:52 PM
@Anil Rickly

your welcome, i dont know why some people hate the ultimates when it has some good things that can work on film.

@Starsapphire

i like both i got no issue with the Ultimates i think its good

@MultiPurposePoni

i dont consider Thor and Cap a completely 616. even both of their costume is not a completely a 616 but both of their costume has elements of Ultimate and 616 universe.

heres a article talks about the concept design for both Thor and Cap. how the Thor and Cap concept design pay homage to Ultimates universe i.e. Thor concept art makes it clear that Thor's chest plates light up when he charges his hammer. This is a common trait of Ultimate Thor's design. anyway heres the link below

http://uk.comics.ign.com/articles/109/1095026p1.html
CBArtist
CBArtist - 6/6/2010, 3:03 PM
Way too much of the Ultimates BS! It's like an alternate Marvel. This is getting as screwed up as X-Men.
I'll pass on the Cap and Avengers movies...At least until they base them on the original Marvel (616)storylines.
iconstatic
iconstatic - 6/6/2010, 3:38 PM
Again, people keep screaming about how it "dilutes the chahracters I grew up with".

Most people didn't grow up reading those characters, so it's completely irrelevant to the movies. Most people have never even heard of Fury, so the only people whining about that are comic book fans.

The Ultimate stuff gets used because it provides modern and more realistic takes on those characters. Stuff like Hawkeye wearing a purple mask and tights would be STUPID AS HELL in live action.
Kaedus
Kaedus - 6/6/2010, 3:58 PM
I really enjoyed the Ultimates and I think Mark Millar is awesome. They're an awesome new spin on the characters.

I do like how they are having an influence in the movies but I don't want them to dominate. The 616 characters are the true Marvel characters that are known across the world. I love 616 and I don't want the movies to stray too far from it and into the Ultimates universe.

As much as I love Samuel L Jackson I would have preferred to see good old cigar smoking 616 Nick Fury (Bruce Willis maybe? :P). I want Cap's WW2 uniform to be like the Ultimates but his modern one has too be 616.
1chris2
1chris2 - 6/6/2010, 4:26 PM
i would love to see the x-men use grant morrisons run, district-x,and generation-x as a influence for their films. now that would be really cool. i also saw splice this weekend and it was really really good,a little shocking at times but a better type of horror film,or sci fi thriller we need more films made in this type or style of filming.it had great story,acting,and effects,and no cheesy lines,or over the top action,and it was takin serious,and kept dark. bring more films like this.
ManThing
ManThing - 6/6/2010, 4:26 PM
I also hate the Ultimates.

Actually I didn't hate their existence before we started seeing bits of them in the movies.

Before that I just thought that they were a weak, cheap imitation of the originals. It's so lame how there are all these people who claim that The Ultimates are just so much more realistic than 616.
This is absolute baloney. There's just less capes and bright colors. It's still sci fi. It's still as unrealistic as super hero comic books always will be and always have been. The Ultimates are also boring, overly talky, and ridiculously melodramatic. It's more like a soap opera with powers than anything.

So anyway, the more Ultimatized the movies get, the less interested I am. So needless to say i won't be watching The Spider Man reboot or the Captain America movie.

@ Iconstatic: You underestimate your fellow CBMers. I have been reading and collecting comics for 26 years. There's nothing wrong with modernizing. But there is something wrong with rehashing a story that wasn't bad to start with just because writers like Millar and Bendis are too lame to come up with their own material.
Upupandaway
Upupandaway - 6/6/2010, 4:53 PM
I like the fact that they're mixing the two universes. I don't like what they did with most of the characters in the Ultimates, but the plotting makes more sense. The Ultimates are too cynical for my tastes. (I.e. Its portrayal of Hank Pym was pretty awful.) Ult. Tony Stark was one of the more likable deviations, so that's fine by me if he's used in the movies. I just don't want clown Hulk (Avengers #1) in the Avengers. I think its important to distinguish the merits of each Universe. Overall, I really didn't like the Ultimates but can see how they can use some elements to bring the 616 characters to the big screen.
iconstatic
iconstatic - 6/6/2010, 5:00 PM
@Barakapool

I'm actually not the biggest fan of the Ultimates. But at the very least from a design standpoint? They certainly have a more realistic and practical edge, at least in some cases.

In particular, in real life an archer would have to be an idiot to wear a mask, as that would interefere with his or her peripheral vision. You can say that it's just Millar trying to seem cool, but at least in regards to Hawkeye, it is very much a more realistic take.

BIGBMH
BIGBMH - 6/6/2010, 5:13 PM
How can Ultimate marvel fick up the Marvel universe when it's a completely different universe? It hasn't affected any of the Marvel U stories. I don't understand the passionate hate. If you don't like it don't read it. Just read the regualr Marvel stuff and ignore it.
Anyway, the Marvel cinematic universe is neither Ultimate or 616. It takes inspiration of both and does what the directors think works best on film.
p.s. Ultimate Spider-man is awesome
ManThing
ManThing - 6/6/2010, 5:26 PM
@ Iconstatic: I certainly understand what your saying.

My thinking is this:

1)Super heroes wear masks to conceal their identity which makes perfect sense.
2) There is nothing wrong with super heroes being flamboyant. The same people that say Captain America's costume which has symbolic significance to the character is ridiculous will turn around and say that Superman's costume which is equally loud and colorful, but less symbolic is wonderful.

There are a vast number of relatively new - ish comic book readers who either don't know or can't appreciate those two points.


What you said about peripheral vision is a good point. In reality, that's true that unless the mask was skin tight it probably would interfere with peripheral vision. But that doesn't mean the guy has to go around with no costume on whatsoever. Just minimize the headgear. But in an age where the average person in a first world nation is photographed 14 times a day, then need to disguize one's appearance would seem more relevant than ever.
JoshWilding
JoshWilding - 6/6/2010, 5:54 PM
tea: Lol, thanks bud! :D

Some great points there MULTI! Personally, I can live with him blowing his own trumpet every now and then if he continues to write brilliant comics like the ones you mention! To be fair though, I'm pretty sure that RDJ crack was made a little while before he was ever cast as Iron Man.

Personally, there are some elements of the Ultimate Captain America that I'd like to see in the movie - for example, the way that Millar wrote him as being completely out of place in the modern world, having him use words like "chum", making him a little rougher around the edges as you'd expect from a soldier - just the little touches like that. As for personality? It's gotta be 616 all the way for me.

On a side note, I too only really enjoyed The Ultimates 1 & " along with Ultimate Spider-Man but I'd recommend picking up Millar's Ultimate Avengers - they're nowhere near as good as his original run but a fun read nonetheless. :)
iconstatic
iconstatic - 6/6/2010, 5:58 PM
@Barakapool

But at least so far in regards to Cap, we've seen a fair bit of change and modernization on that part as well. And apparently, the director said that he plans to rationalize the costume by making it something he picked up while working in the USO.

Hawkeye on the other hand looks ridiculous from every particular standpoint. I can see your point about him needing a mask, but Black Widow gets by just fine without one.
JoshWilding
JoshWilding - 6/6/2010, 6:16 PM
MULTI: Just took a quick look in the first volume of The Ultimates and it's from the third issue! That was back in 2004 I think wasnt it? I knew I recognised that Bryan Hitch art! You're not wrong about Millar taking swipes at the US though - in fact I've noticed that in a fair bit of his work. Not cool.
JoshWilding
JoshWilding - 6/6/2010, 6:17 PM
I know thie text in this image is a little small, but this is exactly what I'm talking about when it comes to how I think Cap should talk...

Upupandaway
Upupandaway - 6/6/2010, 7:05 PM
@JoshW- I don't know if I would call Millar brilliant. He still hasn't met the level of Gaiman, Moore, or Morrison. He's entertaining at times, but doesn't do too well with subtlety. I read Nemesis and it seemed more of an attempt continue his gritty image than a good story in and of itself. Millar has that potential to be great, but I'm still waiting for it.

@iconstatic- Identity Crisis (DC) is a great read about the need for masks in the superhero world. I agree with 616 Hawkeye being a little over the top for the screen, though. To me, it's all how they make the character work on screen. (I.E. Spiderman with the wrestling thing. Batman with the criminals as a superstitious bunch thing.)
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