Oddly one of the greatest financial successes in comics, Marvel comics has not been discussed yet as a costume and film development participant thus far. Yet Marvel’s live action super heroes visibility stretches as far back as old Hollywood. As much money as Defined by poor agreements and licensing deals, that frequently went bust, Marvel spent on the early part of this the period, trying to release itself from a range of legal encumbrances. This while trying to move toward contemporary Hollywood, we now know that they were a supremely effective Bronze Age success story. Coined by the comics world community as roughly the Bronze Age occurred between 1971 and 1985. This period produced many innovations in the field. As sad as Marvels creative entanglements were, we are just as likely as to praise Marvel as the most prolific showcase of super hero properties today. Though there are pluses and minuses to this success story, let us begin by talking about some of Marvel’s worst initial starts.
Marvel Enters the Ring
Being a very old character like Superman, his recent film adaptation wasn’t his first time in live action presentation. Still Director Rod Holcomb and actor Reb Brown’s 1979 Captain America has the distinction of being one of the least appreciated contemporary comic book live action adaptations. This lack of appreciation did not occur because the filmmaking crew wasn’t earnest but likely because the film industry of that time thought superheroes needed Hollywood’s help. They potentially thought that the stories were simplistic, the heroes were not believable, and the scenarios were unreal. These brave characters helped more super heroes projects move beyond the campy story telling conventions and move toward more of an epic action tale. Well that was then, today we can only grit our teeth and watch the results of the struggle.
Captain America
Though this might seem odd because I congratulated the director for innovating in the Batman movies, but speaking about making the world of the super hero as real as possible, filmmakers can’t just outright modify the character. One of the most reliable financial aspects of the film, the Fans or the box office receipts (that pay for a film) guarantee the success of movies. There has to be excellent word of mouth about the production from fans. When Tim Burton innovated the character by giving Batman’s leathery cape he was actually enhancing what was already known of the character in comics. When Holcomb uses a motorcycle helmet an essential part of Cap’s cowl he is committing comic book uniform sacrilege and seemed to not be sure whether this production dedicated to Steve Rogers or Evel Knievel. Unlike Batgirl and Ghost Rider people accept that Cap may occasionally ride a bike but they know Cap and motorcycles aren’t inseparable. Even worse Holcomb gave Cap an indestructible glass shield. Which to be fair, even the comics experimented with this defensive weapon yet comics fans don’t take that experimentation seriously in the comic. On screen they would more likely see this protective device as effeminate due to the stress of the landmark presentation. This is another odd aspect of translating a comic character from paper comic to live action film representation.
Speaking of gender, one of the odd things about male fans is men know what reproductive equipment they have yet they don’t like to be reminded of it in an overt manner. Though I know I may have glossed over the comic world intolerance of bat nipples and huge codpieces in the discussion associated with Joel Schumacher’s Batman movies or worst yet the nude presentation of Dr. Manhattan’s genitalia in 2009’s Watchmen, I think it’s fair to say the less emphasis on the groin area the better. Or it may be better to cast actors, unlike Reb, who naturally will not bring undue attention to that area of the body. This is yet one of the continuing problems of producing the adventures of heroes who frequently where leotards and tights; (or why this medium is so dependent on costume designers).
Years later influenced by Tim Burton’s success, in 1990 Marvel made another attempt at Captain America. This time with actor Matt Salinger, the classic costume definitely appeared unmodified. Alas for all of the improvements of the costume the less than adequate script did not endear the character to fans.
Shazam!
Here’s one DC entry. Many people may not know it, yet DC’s Captain Marvel has a history almost as old as Superman’s. Because of this he has had many live action portrayals; one of which was Filmation and DC comics 1974-1976’s “Shazam!” was one of these adaptations. I would call this mixed live action and animation portrayal standard and completely within a conventional leotard and tights conceptions of the character. The two actors Jackson Bostwick and John Davey, who played the character would likely be described as “beefy” yet neither appeared to train rigorously for this roll. The costumes were decent replicas of the character’s costume. The Gods or Elders as they were called always appeared in animated form. The flying effects barely appeared to be more sophisticated than George Reeve’s 1950’s Superman example. Billy Batson (cap’s alter ego) had a mentor who did not appear in the comic’s continuity.
Fantastic Four
Given the astonishingly low budget for film featuring a group of super-powered heroes, the first 1994 Fantastic Four live action movie was remarkable for many reasons. I would say the most impressive attribute was the facial expression of the Thing’s costume was much better articulated than most should have expected. The CGI Human Torch may not have won any special effects awards but it was good to see this attempt at the character. Reed Richards and Susan Storm’s powers weren’t any better presented than the other two yet why should we be surprised. The styles change, yet the Fantastic four’s costumes in the comic never seem to stray from blue, white, and black combinations. Bold yet unimaginative graphically, the costumes used in the movies were the least impressive version of their costumes I think I have ever seen.
Silver Surfer
Yet if the 1994 Fantastic Four live action movie helped the planning for the 2005 live action feature, than I think this example was a conceptual success also. Much like the technical and conceptual assist provided by the 1994 Silver Surfer debut of the same period; we know why the 2007 adaptation was more of a technical and commercial success.
Spiderman
Much like Captain America, an attempt of nearly the same period, the 1977 E.W. Swackhamer directed Spider-man TV show starring Nicholas Hammond had a lot of interesting things going for it and I am sure the show was a thrill for audiences watching it at the time.
Like Cap’s interpretation this show’s producers thought they could reinterpret the comics’ legend by giving him an ostentatious utility belt and bulky visible set of web shooters. What excuse can I find for this? If I remember at that time, Marvel had Spidey in a head-to-head inventor’s competition with Batman’s Bruce Wayne. For all of Bruce’s Bat gadgets (influenced by the West/Ward TV show), Peter had all kinds of toys and the most silly to me seemed to be a Spider beach buggy. Since that time both characters seem to have significantly pared down their inventor’s inclinations. The last set of Nolan Batman Movies defined Bruce as more of an international collector and financier of non-lethal weapons. Possibly taking a cue from the last X-men series, Spiderman’s webs we are no longer synthetic (or made in test tubes by Parker), and are now an organic a product of his body.
Again, I can only assume Spiderman’s visible tech was a product of the war that occurred in the comics. Another thing that was odd about this war was like so many silver age character innovations; it was common for heroes to rely on technology that for some reason was so microscopic that it was almost invisible. Maybe these innovations owe themselves to the “James Bond” or “Man form Uncle” trends of the sixties yet the use of extremely visible technology contradicted what viewers understood about the character.
If Nicholas Hammond’s Spiderman provoked this refinement of the character than I think that production was well worth it.
Though it was o.k. for Hollywood to innovate characters it was also necessary for fans to see the characters they thought they understood at the cinemas and on TV. This was the only way that filmmakers could assure audiences would practice the word-of-mouth reviews and advertising for these films that would guarantee patronizing masses. The production should guarantee box office receipts similar to the comic’s appreciation. That Marvel made so many of these errors helped us better understand how much more professional their current comic to film production practice has become.
Information pertaining to the costume construction of the Marvel super heroes at:
1979 Image of Captain America:
Captain America character likeness TM and copyright 2010 Marvel Comics. All rights reserved.
1990 Image of Captain America:
Captain America character likeness TM and copyright 2010 Marvel Comics. All rights reserved.
Image of Captain Marvel:
Captain Marvel character likeness TM and copyright 2010 DC Comics. All rights reserved.
Image of Silver Surfer:
Silver Surfer character likeness TM and copyright 2010 Marvel Comics. All rights reserved.
Image of Spiderman:
Spiderman character likeness TM and copyright 2010 Marvel Comics. All rights reserved.
Definition of Bronze Age of Comics: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronze_Age_of_Comic_Books
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