They never get it right, do they? Those damn money grubbing studios think they can throw anything on screen that even remotely resembles our heroes and we should all be pleased. That's what it seems like sometimes. We have all thought that the heroes we're seeing have been raped, revamped and re imagined to the point of being unrecognisable, right? Well, let's step back and look at that notion for just a minute.
I have noticed that even those of us that are the staunchest supporters for a costume change (for the sake of argument) in the new
Spider-Man film, have at some point, complained about a goofy costume change in yet another movie somewhere along the line. That's right, many who are calling the haters of the current costume change crazy, were themselves, a hater somewhere down the line, maybe it was the updated
THOR duds. It could quite possibly be the amalgam of patriotic colors thrown on Steve Rogers in the upcoming
Captain America: The First Avenger. For many others it was the simple hue change to the classic blue and red threads worn in
Superman Returns. Why is that?
I used to believe I had this problem figured out. For so long that I can't remember, I was sure this selective complaining was in direct relation to which characters were important to us. If Johnny was a Spider-Man fan, he would of course be upset if the studio took too many liberties with Spidey's costume. If He was a Captain America fan, the studio had better make Cap look like he should on film. This was logical to me, understandable even. After all, I have been at least mildly entertained with almost every CBM I have ever watched, regardless of it's problems. It didn't matter to me that Fantastic Four fans hated everything about both Fantastic Four films, since I was not a fan I thought both films captured much of what made the group corny to me from the comics (no I'm not talking about the raping of DOOM, Silver Surfer and Galactus but the group itself.)
And then came the announcement that Marvel Studio's and Paramount Pictures were planning on bringing my 30 year old childhood icons to the big screen. There was going to be a movie made featuring
The Avengers. HOLY SHIT!! This is what having high expectations was like. This is what it was like to worry that somebody was going to screw with my childhood heroes. Marvel better not screw this up. They better get the story right. They better not mess with who these characters are. They better get the COSTUMES right. What the Hell? Suddenly I sounded much like everyone else. That's when I figured out the answer was that we complained about the characters near and dear to us and told everybody else that they should be more understanding when it came to characters we didn't selfishly claim as "our favorites".
Yes sir, I had it figured out. That is, I had it figured out until I seen the images of Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man. I hate that outfit. Now, don't get me wrong, I love Spidey but he is not one of my favorite characters. Spider-Man and the HULK are to Marvel, what Supreman and Batman are to DC. They are the mainstays. It doesn't matter that Spidey is not my favorite character, I long ago understood that he is Marvel's icon and I respect him as such.
Anyway, when I first looked at the new Spider-Man outfit, it finally dawned on me how wrong I had been all along. Spidey is nowhere near my favorite character and yet, this "costume change" bothered me. Yes, I know in the name of presenting a character that works on film, liberties must be taken and the changes themselves are not the point of this article.
The point is that all of these characters are important to all of us or none of us would frequent a site called Comic Book Movies.com. All of these characters are a part of our own little fantasy world, were things are as they should be or will quickly be put that way by the hero. When Hollywood places "their" version of "our" heroes on screen, they either hit or miss what we have already deemed (acceptable) in our heads. As with anything else, when dealing with entertainment or fantasy or both, it all comes down to taste. I have always said there is no such thing as bad music, it's all a matter of taste. What I find completely unacceptable, someone else can't do without and vice versa.
Does that mean we are all picky little bastards when it comes to anything CBM related? Yes it does. Does that make us wrong? Not one damn bit IMO. Whats acceptable to me, may not be to you. Something that you love, may look like a waste of film to me. That's just the way it is. It's all a matter of perspective and all of us are right almost all the time. Never let anybody tell you different.