Comic fans. Arguably the most volatile community of people on the internet. One thing is better than the other, and if you don't agree, you can kill yourself. Each meaningful member of these communities believe that their words truly have meaning and have an effect on something. Is this true though? Is there meaningful discussion from these types? Is there meaningful discussion online even? It's an interesting question that is still unanswered.
Discussion
The question has been raised. Is there truly any meaningful discussion on these internet forums? To answer, you only have to ask more questions. Is posting tumblr gifs contributing to discussion? Is whining about an article being clickbait meaningful discussion? Is posting tired memes of Zach Snyder meaningful discussion?
The truth is, most of internet conversation is meaningless. It's a repetitive cycle that repeats itself each year. It's somewhat problematic to try and cover this topic as it's something synonymous with the internet and too vast to really criticize. Regardless, I feel that some people do need to take a step back and look what they are saying and if it really is as clever as they think.
"Internet Wars"
Something that will inevitably always be around is the constant 'flame wars' between communities. There will always be a rivalry between fans rooting for their properties to succeed. It's nothing new and will never change. Although in a film genre which relies on each movie being successful, it's almost trivial to see bickering between fans when nearly everything will soon be adapted. Of course there will always be people be complaining "It didn't fit my archetype of the character i'm used to!" however, it's just a symptom of being attached to a certain interpretation of a character for so long.
The Effect Communities Have
In essence, comic fans affect nothing. They contribute a small portion of a box office total, and most should know that a film's job is to appeal to a general audience member, not them. Although there is somewhat of a dissonance held between fans feeling that they have affected a film. And to an extent, it's true. Massive fan backlash to Fantastic Four (2015) caused reshoots which effectively doomed the film to a incomprehensible mess. Could the film have been horrible before reshoots? Perhaps, but the reshoots didn't help the film in any way and only detracted from the film-makers vision.
The True Effect
As I said previously, discussion on these communities are relatively futile but at the same time a sense of community keeps them together. Characters in a way, they keep bringing people back to view what these personas have to say. In a sense, the theme of this is manipulation. The true benefactors of this community existing, the site owners.
The truth is, a site owner and his editors are thrilled to have these volatile communities. Why? It's a simple answer. Clicks and money. The more clicks generated, the more ad revenue generated towards these sites. Why do you think catchy and hate-incited headlines are made? To only incite more people to comment, reload the page, and generate more cash.
The point is, comic fans, and people in general are easily manipulatable. When someone is passionate about an idea, an ideology, they tend to overlook a lot of things in front of them. Only a few words will will be digested and the rest ignored. It's not hard, it's a technique that many companies use to influence people across the internet and most media. It's something that won't change but it's something that people should be more aware of.
The Cycle Repeats
Regardless, the cycle continues. You can look forward to the same type of discussion tomorrow with no horizon of change. Although to those that do read this, it is an interesting point of view, wouldn't you say?