This article is in response to SuperHeroStuff's article entitled "Revenge of the Movie Retcons." This is not meant to be disrespectful in any way, I'm just offering a differing opinion. I would highly recommend everyone to read SuperHeroStuff's article before this one, as I feel they go hand in hand.
Before I get into the meat and potatoes of this discussion, I would just like to point something out. I feel that the word "RETCON" was thrown around way too much in that other article. I would like to explain that a RETCON is a change, or complete removal of established continuity. Because the movies do not follow the comics' continuity in any way, the word RETCON is not a good choice of words. Sorry, but I felt that was somewhat misleading.
Now, I don't necessarily disagree with the things that were said in the other article. I think that other brought up good examples that have been on most people's minds for a very long time. But at the same time, I realize why changes are needed to be made in our beloved CBMs.
I've been a very active member of this site for a long time now, and I can say with all confidence that most people have heard this before. "Why can't they just use the comics as a screenplay? Its all right there. Zach Snyder did it with 300, why can't everyone else?" I have a very simple answer for that. 300 is a movie based on a single story comic. There is nothing before or after it to con-volute things. The same can be said about Sin City. I can say the same about Watchmen, but there are too many people that think that movie was blasphemy, so I won't even open that can of worms here. I don't want this to turn into a Watchmen debate.
Let me explain. Its easy to take source material like Sin City and 300 and make a near perfect adaptation. They are both single stories. In Sin City's case, its a few short stories, but you get my drift. It is impossible to take character(s) like Spider=Man, or the X-Men, who have over 40 years of continuity behind them, and make a perfect adaptation of one of their stories. Every comic fan should know that the comics build on everything that came before. I would guess that about 90% of comic book stories AT LEAST refer to events/characters from their past. What I'm saying is that you can't reach Point C without first going through points A and B.
Imagine this for a moment. You've never heard of the X-Men, and certainly never read one of their comics. If someone handed you a copy of something like The Dark Phoenix Saga and you read it, what are the chances that you would fully understand exactly who all the characters are, and what is going on? You wouldn't, it would be ridiculous to think otherwise, especially with the inclusion of the Shi'ar/Imperial Guard, and all the cosmic things that take place in that story. The reason you would be lost is because Dark Phoenix Saga draws on a LOT of continuity that would not have been explained to the viewers. If you think Dark Phoenix is a bad example, then sit back and think of any major story that you would like to see on screen, minus everything you already know about the X-Men. You would be lost in wonderland. The only way to do a CBM in a 100% faithful adaptation is if you started with issue #1, and worked your way up from there, in which case we would never make it to the stories we REALLY want to see.
So the changes themselves are actually a necessity. This is where I begin to fully agree with SHS's article. Unfortunately, most of the changes that get made, are done in a horrible way. Doom, Galactus, not focusing on Cyclops enough, making Ghost Rider a cheesy kid's movie. These are all things that help hurt our favorite film genre.
Look at Iron Man. Its considered one of the best CBMs to date and it didn't follow the comics to a T. Not even close. But you know what? They got the character's orign right, and his portrayal was spot on, even it was closer to Ultimate Stark rather than 616 Stark. That's really all we can ask for in these films. To me, those seem like the two most important aspects of making a successful CBM. Character portrayal and origin. Oh, and not crowding movies with characters that should not be there just to try to make a buck. That's never a good thing either, ahem ahem...Fox.
This is something that kind of irritates me in the comments section. People go on rants about how they just need to use the comics and follow those perfectly. Well it can't happen. I'm sorry, but it can't. Non-comic readers would be lost and more than likely give up on CBMs. So, to me, as long as the acting is good, the origins are explained fairly close to the comics, and the character's portrayal is good, the there's nothing to worry about. But then again, things like X3 are just unforgivable, because there is definitely a limit of how ridiculous stories can get.
Again, I mean no disrespect whatsoever, these are just the things that I personally look for in my CBMs. I hope there are no hard feelings.
And to all the fine members who took the time to read all of this, I salute you and hope to hear your comments!
-CDB