Hey, Source Material, GTFO

Hey, Source Material, GTFO

An argument I pose to you AGAINST respecting the source material.

Editorial Opinion
By TheWingedWonder - Nov 04, 2011 08:11 PM EST
Filed Under: Other

Now, now, I pray you do not form opinions in your head before you read this article. The title and teaser may come off as a bit aggressive, but let's just relax and read this whole thing through. I can only hope you do so with an open mind, and an open heart. Now to the nitty gritty.

Many members of this site grew up reading comic books of many a different color. The stories, characters, and magic is something you hold near and dear to your heart. I am sure you are aware of this, but I must point it out anyway; the comic book era is fast coming to an end. Many might argue it has been doing so since the end of the Silver Age in the 70s and 80s. Or are we still in the Silver Age? Or...I don't know. Whatever. My point is, comic books are not nearly as popular as they once were, and you are the dedicated fans that have stuck with them through thick and thin.

Alas, do not give up hope yet! The saving grace of the comic book industry comes in the form of high-budget blockbusters like The Dark Knight and Ironman! Do not fret, these massively popular films have managed to hold off the death of the industry for some time, and, if everything goes according to plan, they are just getting started.



The majority of these movies end up with mixed reviews within the community. One of the biggest complaints tend to be (keep in mind, I am forced to paraphrase) "no respect for the source material". People don't seem to like when certain liberties are taken, such as the first class in X-men: First Class not being the same first class in the comics. Another example, this time for a character, Hal Jordan's role in Green Lantern being too comedic (perhaps because of the actor playing him, perhaps not).

Don't complain. Please, please, calm the nerd rage. I understand you hold a certain reverence for these comics, and I also understand why things like this would make you upset. However, I am sorry to inform you that comic book movies ARE NOT comic books. Nor should they be forced to take ANY cues at all from the comics.

I suppose the argument you are forming in your head may be something like "ooo, but if the film isn't based on the comic, don't name it after the comic". I may be wrong, but this is what I have an argument against, so I am pretending this is what you are thinking. Really, as long as they have the rights, they can use that title any which way they want. They don't have to worry about what anybody but their superiors thinks. In fact, you are lucky that they like to use the images of popular characters to help draw in an audience. The modern superhero movie is not a tribute to the character, but a potential multi-billion dollar franchise that they can cash in on.



Of course, there are exceptions to that rule (see: Marvel Studios), but by and large, if you want a direct interpretation of the characters, of the stories, and/or of the comics....read the comics! When a studio makes a movie, they are making a MOVIE that is BASED OFF of a comic book. I understand it would have been a nice tribute to the X-men comics to have the original first class in First Class. However, I also think it would have been a nice tribute for the Star Wars prequel trilogy to NOT SUCK. I wrote this whole article just for that line. I keed, I keed. But seriously.
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headlopper
headlopper - 11/4/2011, 8:28 PM
CB hero's have endured for many years because people like them as they are in the books. Their longevity is credited to the preservation of the character's in the comics, i.e.source material. Without source material , you cut the life-line that's sustained their popularity to this day.
Bad idea.
marvel72
marvel72 - 11/5/2011, 6:57 AM
they should stick to the source i.e x-men first class should be the original team up against magneto,slight changes to the story is fine like what marvel studio's does with its films.

but when you fill a movie with a bunch of characters that have nothing to do with the story & to be honest pretty crappy bunch of mutants.

that is taking the piss,i want to pay & see the x-men not a bunch of characters i couldn't give a shit if they lived or died.
Supes17
Supes17 - 11/5/2011, 8:43 AM
I think they should respect the source material, but if they get too close, they'll end up with something like Green Lantern
95
95 - 11/5/2011, 12:21 PM
I just want new stories to be used for CBMs.

Screenwriters should have the freedom of creating...
something new as do comic book writers do.

No direct rehashes from the comics.

Use the comics for inspiration.
AC1
AC1 - 11/5/2011, 3:07 PM
This arguement started off so well, but just when you started to get to the point, you seemed to just lose focus and wrap it up.

I agree with what you said to an extent. But you can't make a movie that differs so much that it's only related in name to the comic. There need to be certain links that dont change. For example, characters. You cant make a Spider-Man movie without having Peter Parker. You can't have a Professor X who's real name is Eddie Jones. And similarly, powers must be constant. Like, Spider-Man shouldn't suddenly be able to fly, and Deadpool shouldn't have laser-eyes... wait... DAMN YOU X-MEN ORIGINS!!!!!!!

I digress, origin stories need to remain in essence too, like Superman shouldnt be sent to Earth as an alien invader who has a change of heart, he's sent there because his own planet is destroyed. He is raised by the Kents, becomes Superman, works at the Daily Planet, falls in love with Lois Lane... those need to remain in there. But the rest is up to the movie makers, story, villains, etc. It's all up to them.
Same with Spider-Man. Peter Parker has to be in high school. He has to have been bitten by a spider. He needs to be inspired by his Uncle Ben's speech about power and responsibility. His Uncle's death has to be the catalyst for his heroic career. He needs to work for the Bugle, taking pics of himself. But after that, it's up to the movie makers.

In certain cases, origins can be tweaked, like X-Men First Class having different characters, as long as it doesn't make the origins of the real first class completely unachievable (meaning it doesn't stop Cyclops, Jean, etc having their origins told faithfully)

As for direct translations, they should only happen to adaptations of limited series' or graphic novels, i.e. Kick Ass or Watchmen. You can't condense Superman's 70+ years of mythology into 10 films, let alone a regular series of maybe 4 films.

Really, story should be the first and foremost requirement. As long as the story and acting is good, then the rest should fall into place. I mean, give me an unfaithful film like X-Men First Class over a faithful shitfest like Hulk (2003)
TerminatorMode
TerminatorMode - 11/5/2011, 4:08 PM
in translating a comic to the big screen i feel liberties have to be taken so some of the goofy stuff or aspects of the mythology don't feel dated - i agree tho direct translations should only be done when looking at stellar miniseries like watchmen

@acira - agreed!
TheWingedWonder
TheWingedWonder - 11/5/2011, 7:30 PM
@ACira

Haha, you caught me. I did lose focus halfway through the article. :P
superbatspiderman
superbatspiderman - 11/5/2011, 7:34 PM
I think that if the story and acting are good then source material isn't much of a huge problem. X-Men First Class was quite a bit off the source material but the story and acting was great so it is kind of forgiveable.
BIGBMH
BIGBMH - 11/6/2011, 6:25 PM
I agree to an extent. Changes are always necessary when adapting something like a comic book into a film. I'm not a purist who thinks that movies need to stick to the source material just because "that's how it has always been." However, throughout the history of comics, there have been some very talented writers who have written some brilliant stories. It gets on my nerves when movies disregard source material in favor of crafting an inferior story.

It's like if a musician decides to interpret a song, but gets rid of some of the melodies that make the song good in the first place, just so he can throw in something that sounds pretty bad. In the case of X-men first class, from what I know of the source material, a lot of the changes they made were good for the movie and possibly a better story than the some aspects of the original.
UltimateTypeface
UltimateTypeface - 11/6/2011, 11:55 PM
BAH!!! I'm not swallowing this !!

Which part of Hulk was true to the source material? He was green and angry? I cant remember any stupid hulk dogs and a Hobo nutcase Absorbing man in the comic books.
As for First Class(which this article is about)...just remember the bee girl- enuff said.

Why don't they try doing a movie as a direct adaption of a small arc in a comic book and see if it works? WAIT! THEY DID ALREADY- Sin City and it was way cool. Not very palatable for Grannies and Kids and Movie Execs but just what I wanted and probably still made a profit.

The real problem is they try to compact 467 issues into 2.5hrs of Movie and they end up with a bad video game. How about a direct adaption of Days of Future Past or The Pheonix Saga - the way Claremont wrote it? Without the [frick]ing origins and ego performances of "big" name actors (KEEP YOUR [frick]ING MASK ON PRETTY-BOY) These are great stories and don't need to be [frick]ed with. People out there arent all idiots...I bet if they did an R Rated Wolverine Flick directly from the source it would become a Cult Classic and kill it at the box office.

Whew I needed that and someone had to say it for the fanboys.

Caedus137
Caedus137 - 11/7/2011, 6:24 AM
I think you have to give a nod to the source material, but should also have the freedom to make changes in the name of artistic licence. Peter Jackson took liberties with LOTR, and apart from a few die-hard "Tolkienista", people seemed to accept these changes. I look at it as a musician would... If you were going to play a cover-version of another bands' song - You wouldn't necessarilly play it exactly the same, note for note, chord for chord... You try to put your own spin on it to differentiate it and make your work stand out. That's all these writers & directors are doing, making the changes they deem necessary in order to give us something fresh, and not a direct panel for panel re-telling of Issue #137 from 1972....
kong
kong - 11/7/2011, 2:51 PM
I agree. all fanboys want is the exact word for word comic put on the big screen. That never has happened and will happen.
kriswone
kriswone - 11/8/2011, 9:36 AM
I... See... Hypocrites... Commenting...

I would like to think that the source material is given a look before writing a script. most of the problems occur with the X-Men films they are all over the map, so to me, they are for entertainment purposes only, and once they are reverted to marvel they will make a movie that pays respect.
Moonwalker1991
Moonwalker1991 - 11/16/2011, 1:25 PM
Good article.
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