CH-CH-CHANGES

 

            Disney just recently had their D23 expo where they reveal all the projects they have going on under their various umbrellas. Naturally, that mix included some Marvel Studios stuff. And, just as naturally, a contingent of irate fanboys had to bemoan the fact that some things didn’t match the comics. Differences from the source material is always a contention in any kind of adaptation, but it has been especially prevalent in the world of comics-to-film. And it boggles the mind as to why that is because it’s always been the case.

Superman on the radio!

            Let’s go alllllllllllllllllll the way back. Superman was adapted first to the radio in 1940 with serialized adventures. That show largely did its own thing, having Superman arrive on Earth as a fully grown man (later retconned to be in line with the comics origin), able to fly, and be vulnerable to Kryptonite (introduced as a way to explore Superman’s origins that became a plot device trotted out to give actor Bud Collyer a break). Superman’s first flight in the comics, Superman #10, happened because new artist Leo Nowak assumed that was one of his powers as the way he was depicted leaping looked as if he was flying. Kryptonite didn’t hit the books until Superman #61 in 1949.

This is an official Captain America. No, really.

            Over on the Marvel side of things, Captain America became their first hero adapted with the 1944 Republic serial. However, besides the name and costume, nothing about the character was Captain America. This Cap was District Attorney Grant Gardner (Dick Purcell). If he was a Super Soldier there was no mention of it, he wielded a gun instead of a shield, had a secretary for a partner rather than Bucky, and fought a criminal mastermind rather than the Nazis. Film Historians Jim Harmon and Don Glut would come to speculate that the script was originally written for another character that Republic couldn’t get the rights to so they just dumped Cap into the story with superficial changes.

The original live-action Marvel.

            Okay, let’s jump ahead to when comics were in-demand for adaptation: the 1970s, where you had The Amazing Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Shazam! and Wonder Woman on TV, and Doctor Strange and Captain America in made-for-TV movies. Well, Nicholas Hammond’s Spidey didn’t travel by web-slinging or wisecrack, and wore his utility belt and single web-shooter outside of his costume. He also never fought any supervillains (except one with telekinetic powers, but he wasn’t from the comics). Lou Ferrigno’s Hulk wasn’t pursued by the army, didn’t cause mass-destruction, and wasn’t impervious to harm from things like bullets. Shazam didn’t get his powers from a wizard, but rather the six beings that embodied his abilities: Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles and Mercury, as well as traveled around in an RV with his mentor figure (named Mentor, played by Les Tremayne). Again, no supervillains. Now while the Lynda Carter Wonder Woman was comics-accurate as far the character herself goes, the series itself also failed to utilize any of her villains and depicted Diana Prince as a secret agent (or Steve Trevor’s secretary during WWII in the first season). In Doctor Strange, Peter Hooten’s character as a psychiatrist rather than a surgeon, and his foray into magic came from an inherited ring rather than destroying his hands in an accident. And for the two Captain America films, the WWII element was removed entirely in favor of a modern setting, Reb Brown’s Steve Rogers was a former Marine-turned-traveling artist, and his murdered father, whose patriotic attitude earned him the nickname “Captain America”, developed the FLAG formula (Full Latent Ability Gain) that turned him into a superhero. This Cap did use a shield, but it was rendered see-through to double as the windshield to his motorcycle.

What were you expecting? A little Jewish girl from Illinois?

            But wait, you say; what about in the 90s with those cartoons everyone loved? Good point! Those were, to date, the closest to ever come to actually closely resembling the source material. BUT! Changes were still made. X-Men and Spider-Man would mix and match story elements, such as the coming of Bishop being integrated into the Days of Future Past storyline; being sent back to the past instead of Kitty Pryde to prevent the mutant imprisonment and massacres. And the beloved Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy? You can start from the fact Spidey had organic web-shooters up to the fact they retconned it so that Sandman accidentally killed Uncle Ben by the time the third film rolled around.

Try adapting this short story into a 100% accurate feature film!

            So what’s the point? The point is this: comic books are their own medium. They can be endlessly continuous or self-contained and limited. They’re not beholden to the laws of physics or budgetary concerns (beyond, y’know, what the creative team is paid—which is hopefully fairly!). When adapting comics to another medium, compromises have to be made. Fictional characters are eternal, actors are not. While it’s easy to just recast like the James Bond franchise, sometimes that’s not an option and, let’s face it, people will still complain because it’s not long their favorite actor (assuming they liked them in the first place). Costumes sometimes have to sacrifice accuracy for functionality. Sure, many talented cosplayers bring them exactly from the page to reality, but how many of those can actually handle rigorous movement without falling apart? Rights issues are another thing. As you may well know Marvel had to sell off a bunch of rights to stave off bankruptcy, which meant certain characters have been unavailable requiring their replacement with another character that could fill the void.

Even Watchmen changed the ending.

            And the biggest reason? It’s damn hard to condense what’s a serialized story into just 2 ½ hours. TV shows make a more comparable format for the adaptation of ongoing comics, but as they keep on insisting to make movies and people want to go, they’re going to have to find a way to tell as close of a similar story as possible with a definitive beginning, middle and end.  

The future is full.

            The long and short of it is the comics are the comics, the movies and shows are the movies and shows. They each come with their own benefits and drawbacks, and while similar will never fully compare to each other. If it bothers you that much, just consider them alternate universe versions. That’s a big thing now, right? Whatever the case, just sit back and enjoy. Comic fans are being fed and fed well this decade. Whereas we only got dribs and drabs since the Golden Age, we’re getting a bunch of movies and shows every year. Enjoy it the feast before the inevitable famine returns.