Beau DeMayo is certainly not one to hold his tongue. He’s said quite a few controversial comments in the past, and he seems to want to stir the pot once more.
His comments are regarding an EW interview with the cast of Fantastic Four: First Steps. To get the context, read those comments below which we reported on yesterday.
"He's a man that leads with a lot of bravado, which can be an affront sometimes. But also he's funny," Joseph Quinn says of the Human Torch. "Myself and [Marvel Studios boss] Kevin [Feige] were speaking about previous iterations of him and where we are culturally. He was branded as this womanizing, devil-may-care guy, but is that sexy these days? I don't think so."
"This version of Johnny is less callous with other people's feelings, and hopefully there's a self-awareness about what's driving that attention-seeking behavior."
Shakman adds, "[Johnny] is really smart. He's on that spaceship for a reason, and I think sometimes people forget that in various comic stories, he's been one of the most heroic of them, even if he's undercutting his heroism at every turn through humor. He's Sue's brother, which means they are cut from similar cloth."
Now, take a look at DeMayo’s post on X.
He didn’t clarify much on his thoughts regarding Namor, but he had a lot more to say otherwise.
In the comments there actually seemed to be more support for his comments than criticisms. Regarding the storytelling of modern movies, DeMayo commented, “It’s one of the single biggest issues undermining stories today. The need for characters to be idealized manifestations of our individual ideologies.”
When a user said he should stop complaining about modernization, he replied, “There is a way to tell a story that dramatizes his evolution. Character growth — the core of drama — requires flawed characters. The issue that many have — and why film and TV are struggling — is because of an inability for people to watch”.
He went on in the comments to describe an alternative way of telling Johnny’s story by saying the following:
“There’s a way to — if you wanted — tell a really compelling story about a braggart white boy who lacks empathy — and maybe is a little womanizing — who is checked and humbled after being transformed into a celebrity hero, where he himself is treated like a product and thereby reflects on his own duty to be better.
This is a tale that inspires people in real life to maybe do the same.
But instead, despite @Marvel being a studio that fires women b/c someone doesn’t like working for them, they pander for profit.
It’s virtue racketing, and I’ve been on the inside and seen them laugh as they play this game knowingly, and it’s sickening to watch people fall for it.
This is a company that has next to NO female execs, and multiple HR incidents that they cover up where their boys club got out of control, most recently a producer on Nova.
So no, I don’t buy this one bit.”
What are your thoughts on the changes to Johnny Storm’s character and Beau Demayo’s response? Let us know in the comments!