Should comicbook movies always stick to the source material?

Should comicbook movies always stick to the source material?

I ask a question that many will hate

Editorial Opinion
By er101 - Sep 03, 2011 06:09 AM EST
Filed Under: Other

It's a well known fact that almost every comicbook movie veers off the source material at one point or another. Sometimes the decision to do this is good, it benefits the story and helps the movie move along quicker. But other times these changes can insult fans and result in the loss of viewers.

At one end of the spectrum we have Blade. A comicbook anti hero that debuted on the big screen in 1998. In the comics Blade was not a half vampire or dhampir but was just immune to all types of vampire bites because his mother was bitten just before he was born. He also was not a superhuman and relied solely on skill and his vampire knowledge. Enter the Blade film. It took the different interpretations of the character (ie spider-man cartoon and comics)and mushed them into a hybrid. Although the film was based more on original ideas and the spider-man cartoon than the comics. The film was a big hit, making Blade a popular Marvel comics characters and known world wide. The film was so popular that they changed comics Blade's powers to those similar of the movie.

However on the complete other side of the spectrum we have punisher: war zone. Puisher: war zone stuck ever so close to the Max series. In some shots Ray Stevenson looks identical to some of the cover art but people thought that it was just over the top, had unrelatable characters and had to much violence. Even some punisher fans criticized it. I personally enjoyed it and it felt like a Gareth Ennis story without the story.



I think that in the way of sticking to the source material, film studios should be thinking about how much of the character they can keep instead of how much that can be thrown away because fans can be more forgiving if you change a character for the right reason but if you change a character for the wrong reasons (ie deadpool/weaponx1) they are going to let you know.
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MaddMonkk
MaddMonkk - 9/3/2011, 7:33 AM
I like the source material because it's what creates the legend. I think most origins need updated like Iron Man and Batman Begins. Stan Lee did admit though, that back then they would put anything out and hope for they best.
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 9/3/2011, 11:15 AM
I did a more lengthy article about this same thing a long time ago. I have a lot to say about this topic, but instead of typing a huge description, just check out the article.

http://comicbookmovie.com/fansites/Corndogburglar/news/?a=19702
golden123
golden123 - 9/3/2011, 12:12 PM
@SillySteve181191: Many movies paved the way for comic book superhero movies.
marvelguy
marvelguy - 9/3/2011, 12:26 PM
We must be realists to the extent that all books that are adapted to the screen change from the source material.
We must be optimist to the extent that the directors, screenwriters,and producers maintain the core elements enough to make it enjoyable to comic book fans and the general audience.
jjmeylar
jjmeylar - 9/3/2011, 2:09 PM
I guess it all depends on whether or not the source material has the ability to work well on the big screen. War Zone is one cases where the source material worked PERFECTLY on the big screen, making one of the best ((in my opinion)) CBMs of all time.
AC1
AC1 - 9/3/2011, 2:53 PM
As long as you stick to the core mythology of the character on the screen, then you should have the freedom to write any new interesting story, as long as it works in the context of the character.
For example, a Batman film where Bruce Wayne's parents dont get killed, or he's not rich, or Alfred isn't his butler... big no no. As long as you get all that down though, you can use any villain or story you want, even though it may contradict the comics. Because at the end of the day, it's a movie, not comics.

At the other end of the spectrum are graphic novels. They're limited runs, not decades worth of stories. Films like Watchmen and 300 and Kick-Ass and even (to a lesser extent) Scott Pilgrim vs The World (because it skips a lot of stuff from the books) work well because they're nearly identical to the comic.
AC1
AC1 - 9/3/2011, 2:54 PM
I think a good movie takes inspiration from a comic run or story arc, but never completely copies it, other wise it's just a rip off.
astroboy
astroboy - 9/3/2011, 4:10 PM
For the most part, yes.
sexymuppet
sexymuppet - 9/3/2011, 10:11 PM
green lantern sucked ass
marvel72
marvel72 - 9/4/2011, 7:10 AM
of course i want to see the characters,teams & costumes that feature in the comics.
ScionStorm
ScionStorm - 9/4/2011, 5:55 PM
Respecting source material doesnt actually mean stick perfectly to the source. It does mean being aware and understanding of what you are adapting. I loved the Percy Jackson book series but I wanted to strangle whoever was involved in writing the screen play to The Lightning Thief. It lost its soul in the adaptation. An 8 year old could better adapt the heart and wit of the books better than those screenwriters- never mind the nonsense idea to change the plot of the entire second half of the story.


Anyway, theres also the fact that if you stray too far from the source material you might as well be making an original movie and at that point you are just using the popular characters for notoriety.
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