Amazing Spiderman

[High Lord Tolkien]

The preview for AS2 looks amazing.
I never understood why they only had one villain in Spiderman movies anyway.
We don't need their extensive back stories.
Something quick about them, give them some power and let the special effects and snappy SM comments begin!

[aTOMiC]

When I first watched ASM my initial reaction was "Not bad" though I was unable to gin up much more enthusiasm than that.

After viewing it again and watching the previews for ASM2 my attitude has changed from essentially "meh" to negative territory. I'll admit that I was a huge fan of the first series though I agree SM3 was at times painful to watch.

ASM wasn't painful just annoying from time to time. I couldn't get excited about retelling the same origin story with a few tweaks, different actors and a more "in your face" attitude by the principal characters, especially PP/SM. Then the last act of the film degenerates into a CGI slog. Not quite as bad as Incredible Hulk but I was painfully aware the the Lizard wasn't actually on screen which I really hate. Not much of a fan at this point but I will see ASM2 but probably not at the theater.

I'm becoming annoyed at the Ultimates approach to Marvel movies. Fantastic Four will easily become my most hated Marvel based movie given that they are actively tossing aside 50 years of story history in favor of an alternate universe limited series. ASM and ASM2 seem to be falling into that same vein. I never would have guess that I'd begin to feel this way about comic book based films but its happening none the less.

I am among those that anxiously await a time when all of Marvel's characters finally find their way home and are handled in a manner that shows at least some reverence for the history of their comic cannon.

[Hashi Lebwohl]

I didn't see the Spiderman reboot and I have not yet made up my mind about seeing it or the second installment. I highly doubt that anyone could improve upon Willem DeFoe's Norman Osborn/Green Goblin.

You would think that Disney could scrape up the money to repurchase the movie rights to X-Men, Spiderman, Wolverine, and Fantastic Four so it can bring them all under the same umbrella. I am no great fan of Disney but at least Marvel Studios would be able to make its own universe more coherent and consistent.

[I'm Murrin]

I really do not want to see the X-Men brought into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I think keeping some things split off in their own self-contained versions is healthier for the whole lot. I don't like the way Marvel and DC have to have everything part of one big universe in the first place - it stifles creator freedom.

[Hashi Lebwohl]

True, but the reality--in the loose sense that comic books are "reality"--is that the X-Men are Marvel characters in the Marvel universe so they may as well as be in the same universe movie-wise.

What the comic book publishers need to do, though, is quit having multiple universes and parallel realities with their own characters. Is that the real Dr. Strange or the Ultimate Dr. Strange? Is that the Superman of Earth-Prime or some other alternate Superman? gah! One world only, please.

[I'm Murrin]

Funny thing is DC keeps trying to clean that up - such as with the first Crisis combining all the various alternate worlds into one single world - and then they go ahead and undo it again later (I believe they've even reintroduced Earth-2 into the New 52, right? And that was a complete wipe-the-slate-clean reboot). Once an idea's been introduced to the comics, they don't seem to be able to let it go.

[Hashi Lebwohl]

That is why I choose not to get back into comic books--I would have to relearn everything because all my trivia is 20 years old, which means that it has all been retconned by now (well, the portions which matter--no one cares about the All Star Squadron any more, I suppose).

[I'm Murrin]

I didn't know the history in the first place, and I'm managing to keep up with the things I do read. But then, the stuff I've been reading from Marvel and DC are all recent relaunches, so good stepping on points. (Hawkeye, Captain Marvel, Batwoman, Batgirl, and Wonder Woman are the only ongoing Marvel/DC stuff I read.)

But when you say "that is why I choose not to get back into comic books", aren't you ignoring everything outside of the big two publishers? (That is, almost all of the good stuff worth reading in comics right now?) Because those two are the only place I see this issue of huge history, and they're far from the best work happening now.

[Hashi Lebwohl]

Yes, I am lumping everyone in to one large group and that is a disservice to everyone who is not Marvel or DC. I do remember the old days when independent publishers were the cutting edge and starting to make the big guys change their own game to keep up. I simply don't have the inclination to get back into it no matter how good the third-party titles might be. *shrug* The comic store in town just relocated to a larger location to accommodate all their stock; perhaps I will browse more leisurely and see what is available.

[I'm Murrin]

Additional thought I had while watching Amazing Spider-Man: How long do you think it took Oscorp to work out he was using their spiderweb product? I'm betting not long. I hope Peter didn't just charge it all to his personal account.

[Hashi Lebwohl]

Having not seen it I don't know. It wouldn't take them long, though.
"Look! Spiderman is using a sticky product that seems like something we made. Johnson--get down to the crime scene where Spiderman was seen and get a sample of that stuff, bring it back, and run an analysis on it."

"We have the analysis you wanted, sir. Without a doubt, it's our stuff."

"Okay, let's look back through the security logs to figure out when it might have been taken and who took it."

and so on and so forth

On a related note, no superhero could maintain a secret identity for long. It would be simple to get a good estimate of their height and weight; if you can see any bare skin then you know approximately which ethnicity they may be, as well as gender. If you can get a skin, blood, or hair sample after a battle then all the better.
In cases of someone like Batman the reasonable conclusions are a) working for someone with the money to develop the high-tech gadgets, b) if a is true then look for suspects with known combat training in their past, c) hire martial arts experts to examine films of the hero in combat to identify the combat style being used. d) if a is not true then the hero must be independently wealthy, so look for those who are both wealthy and have combat training. So on and so forth, resulting in being able to narrow the list down to probably two dozen names in 6 months.

On a mostly-unrelated note....the latest Superman movie has erased his secret identity completely. hrm...aliens have landed and they went to a particular house in Smallville, Kansas. Either that is some piece of alien logic which defies description or they went there because what they want--one of their own--is there now or was there in the past. Who lives there? hrm....must be him, then. Her son, you say? Check the birth records. Nothing? Check for midwives. Still nothing? Very interesting.

[I'm Murrin]

Hmm, that made me think: I'm pretty sure none of the current MCU heroes have secret identities.

Having not seen it I don't know. It wouldn't take them long, though.
"Look! Spiderman is using a sticky product that seems like something we made. Johnson--get down to the crime scene where Spiderman was seen and get a sample of that stuff, bring it back, and run an analysis on it."

"We have the analysis you wanted, sir. Without a doubt, it's our stuff."

"Okay, let's look back through the security logs to figure out when it might have been taken and who took it."

and so on and so forth

That's what I mean: He didn't even steal it. He browsed their catalogue online and bought it, it arrived in a package. The stuff - according to the demo video - is used for towing planes, not many individuals would be buying. Would be very, very easy to identify him unless he really went out of his way to cover tracks.