The maturation of CGI graphics technology over the past couple decades has allowed Hollywood to bringing the world of comics to life, both in the movies and on television. Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Wolverine and the X-Men, Iron Man and a number of other comic book heroes (and villains) have been bought to life with great success (not to mention billions in box office receipts).
Obviously, there are no sure things in the entertainment world, and we’ve witnessed poor tellings of the stories of such comic icons as The Flash, Daredevil, Green Lantern, The Fantastic Four, Supergirl, The Punisher and others. Some characters have been portrayed multiple times, with mixed results. If we count Adam West’s iconic (and goofy) 1960s version, Batman has been portrayed in 7 different films (with an 8th, Batman vs Superman, opening this month), with 5 different actors playing Batman. Some are iconic, some stink. Excluding some made-for-TV junk from the 70s/80s, there have been 5 Spiderman movies. Again, some were good, some bad. Three attempts have been made at the Fantastic Four, two at the Incredible Hulk. None are considered particular good or memorable.
Some of these are sequels, others are reboots, still others are a “mix.” That last category may seem confusing, but we are witnessing this in the X-Men franchise, with the use of time travel and alternate time-line/universe tropes to allow the studios to change out the actors that portray the superheroes (unlike comics, where Peter Parker can remain a teenager for many years, actors do get older).
I was reading a Wall Street Journal piece about the upcoming Batman vs Superman movie, and noted in the comics some predictable gripes and groans regarding “reboots.” I’ve been rather vaguely in the “anti-reboot” camp for a while, joining in the chorus of “why can’t they get it right/why are they so lazy and risk averse?” When I read others’ gripes, however, the hollowness and whininess made me question my own (admittedly not very passionate) distaste for reboots. After all, if someone doesn’t get something right, why should we complain when someone else takes a crack at making a better version?
We don’t complain at remakes or retellings of Shakespearean stories, do we? Or of modern tales based on those timeless plots? Did we get angry when Daniel Craig became the 8th James Bond in 2006? Should we complain that Ian Fleming’s book Casino Royale had already been made into a Bond film? How about the numerous versions of Sherlock Holmes, including simultaneous productions in the UK (starring Benedict Cumberbatch) and the US (starring Jonny Lee Miller)? The classic French play Les Liaisons Dangereuses has 8 film incarnations – do we get up in arms about that?
Comic characters are iconic, tales involving them have been steadily crafted for half a century or longer. Unlike film franchises like Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry movies, comic book movies are based on characters that have long preceded them. The characters are already well developed, and “reboots” are simply ways of dispensing with clogged up or unfortunate back stories in order to continue telling tales that people want to hear.
I no longer have a problem with reboots. If someone makes a movie based on a long-time and well-established story, why should he get to “lock out” any future tales based on those characters? If someone’s version stinks, why not take another shot at “getting it right?” We shouldn’t get mad at Stan Lee for inventing the Fantastic Four simply because Hollywood hasn’t yet figured out how to make a good version of the tale, nor should we demand they stop trying.
Do people complain when authors write sequels to popular books, or serialize characters? Ian Fleming wrote a dozen James Bond books and the movie franchise has grown to 25 films (plus 2 one-offs not of the franchise). There have been easily over a thousand Superman-titled comics written since Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster created the character in 1938. Same with Batman, Spiderman and others. Agatha Christie wrote 33 Hercule Poirot stories.
While a “reboot” isn’t merely another tale in a sequence or fictional world, television and movies have to deal with a reality that books and comics do not: real people must be cast as the iconic characters, and the actors who play characters end up conflated with the characters themselves. Hugh Jackman has been incredibly successful portraying Wolverine and Robert Downey, Jr’s portrayal of Iron Man is possibly the number one reason that The Avengers and the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been so successful. They rebooted Star Trek, crafting a tale to justify a new cast and a “clean” time line at least in part because the actors are either in their 80s or deceased.
Finally, some reboots are meant to clear away the detritus of past failures. Ben Affleck, for example, will be associated with Daredevil (despite the very good Netflix series) until someone successfully redoes the character in the movies, and obviously with a different actor playing the “Man Without Fear.”
So, don’t fear the reboot (hum Blue Oyster Cult as you read that). There’s nothing wrong with fresh attempts at telling a good story with a popular character, even if those attempts ignore the existence of previous incarnations. Nothing requires a writer or producer to adhere to someone else’s vision or story, and if the new version is an improvement, well, you’ve got a nice new chunk of entertainment to enjoy.
I’ve always been of a Marvel-over-DC mindset, which means I’ve preferred Spiderman, The X-Men, The Avengers, et al over Batman, Superman, The Green Lantern and The Flash. I can’t say I’m eagerly anticipating the upcoming Batman vs Superman, but I’ve decided I’m not going to be cranky about “rebooting” the storyline. Heck, I’ll even reserve judgment on Ben Affleck as Batman v6 until the movie actually comes out. If the fans and critics decide it stinks, I’ll continue to live my life as if it doesn’t exist. But, if the reports are good, I’ll gamble a couple hours and a few bucks. After all, it’s only entertainment.
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