In recent years, a trend in comics has emerged in the form of continuing fan-favorite TV shows as comic books, with the case of Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 8 (and 9), Angel, and the upcoming X-Files Season 10. Then there are also comics that are designed to continue a run by a fan-favorite writer, one that would allow said writer to finish off any story ideas he or she had in the works before leaving the title for various reasons. The prominent examples of this are X-Men Forever (which told the stories Chris Claremont wanted to tell before leaving the title in 1991), G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero's current volume (continuing the Marvel run at IDW with Larry Hama at the helm), and the most recent of the three, Transformers: ReGeneration One (continuing the Marvel run at IDW with original series writer Simon Furman and artist Andrew Wildman at the helm).
In my time on the site Comicvine.com, my favorite recurring blog postings were user cbishop's "Would U Buy It" pieces, where he proposes ideas for TPB's of various little-known story arcs in various comic books. Sadly, since the site got upgraded, he hasn't found the time to continue the series, which ended ironically enough with a guest post I did. I've decided to fill the void with my own series of articles, but with a different focus. Thus, I bring you "Bringing Closure", where I take a short-lived TV series, comic book-based or not, and give good reason why it should get the finale it deserved in comic book form, along with who I deem best to be the creative team for such a comic series. I hope that those of you who read these enjoy them, and your opinions would be much obliged. As a sample, here are my first eight subjects of this blog:
#1: The 1990's Spider-Man cartoon (1994-1998)
John Semper, a writer for the show, has stated that had the show continued, we would've seen Spider-Man, with the help of Madame Web, journey to Victorian-era London, where it was believed the time-lost Mary-Jane Watson (who had fallen into an opened portal in Spidey's 'final' battle with Norman Osborn as the Green Goblin) had landed--and where Carnage has taken up residence as Jack the Ripper. I'd title this mini-series "Spider-Man: Animated".
#2: The 1998 Silver Surfer cartoon (1998-99)
The final episode of this cartoon based on the Sentinel of the Spaceways ended on a cliffhanger, where Thanos threatened the fabric of time after he figures out a way to make it flow backwards. Eight episodes had been written for a second season, which never came to be. I would make this a mini-series titled "Silver Surfer: Animated".
#3: Spider-Man Unlimited and The Avengers: United They Stand (1999-2000)
For the series finale of Unlimited, Counter-Earth is about to be overrun by a swarm of symbiotes unleashed by the one who compelled Venom and Carnage to go to Counter-Earth: the Synoptic. I would see this in a series titled "Spider-Man Unlimited: Season 2", based on the resolution of the cliffhanger and several scripts written for a second season. With the case of "United They Stand" (which was reviled by most fans), the series did end with a conclusion to the two-part episode "Earth and Fire", but there was still the question of exploring Wonder Man's ionic condition, which was acting up throughout the episodes. Additionally, according to some sources (aggregated into the show's wiki page), "tentative plans for additional episodes featured Hawkeye's return to the carnival where he grew up as well as an episode that explores how the Scarlet Witch discovered her powers. Plans also included guest appearances by the X-Men, which would have utilized the Toronto-based cast from the 1990s series since a few of them already worked on this show, and Dr. Robert Bruce Banner (a.k.a. The Incredible Hulk) was supposed to appear to help the team when Henry Pym/Ant Man fell ill to gamma radiation exposure during a fight with the villain Egg-Head, and a two-part episode featuring Thor and his brother Loki (there was even a Thor toy made for the show's line of action figures). However, all plans were scrapped when the show did not return for a second season." I would title this series "The Avengers: United They Stand" vol 2, and would continue the tone set by the comic series that accompanied the show, which was liked more by the fans.
#4: Exo-Squad (1993-94)
The show lasted two seasons, and in the finale to the second season, it hinted at a few things: the humans and Neo-Sapiens would be fighting a new alien threat (hinted at in the episode "Call of the Unknown") and the character of Nara Burns would be undergoing a mutation caused by the mad Dr. Albrecht Ketzer (in the episode "Dark River"). The series would be titled "Exo-Squad: Season Three".
#5: Sliders (1995-2000)
In the finale to the show about traversing parallel universes, the character of Rembrandt Brown injects himself with a virus fatal to the Kromagg aliens and slides to the world he hopes is Earth Prime. The rest of the characters are left wondering what to do, a question that would never be answered due to the show's cancellation. I would title the series "Sliders: Season Six".
#6: Pryde of the X-Men (1989)
The 1989 cartoon pilot for an X-Men show that never was made, how would it have panned out? A comic, even as long as a mini-series, would be the answer, and it would be good for those who grew up playing the Konami X-Men arcade game. It would be told as a series of diary entries from Kitty Pryde, and the series would be simply titled "Pryde of the X-Men".
Tune in next time where our first subject is what is considered to be one of the best TV adaptations of the Wall-Crawler.