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Mike Purdy
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 29 April 2004
Location: Canada
Posts: 1448
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| Posted: 07 June 2013 at 8:58am | IP Logged | 1
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Part of being a comic reader is seeing your favourite characters being mishandled, or taken on a story arc you just don't like. That's just one of the pitfalls of serial fiction. I haven't read any Fantastic Four comics in years, but I bought a few issues of the new Fantastic Four series (and the Superior Spider-man) out of curiosity. Sometimes you just want to check in with old friends.
Anyway, the latest issues of Fantastic Four have Ben confessing that he's responsible for Dr. Doom. In college, Ben felt that Doom was a rich jerk, and sabotaged an experiment, and led to Victor von Doom becoming Dr. Doom. I couldn't believe it! According to this Doom was disfigured not because of his own arrogance in refusing to double-check some glitch that Reed noticed, but because of malicious tampering! And Ben pulling a stunt like that? Two great classic characters altered to serve a story.
I suppose the writer can still pull a bait and switch, and reveal that Doom had another experiment running at the same time and that Ben wasn't responsible for the explosion...but it still makes Ben a juvenile prankster, which is more Johnny's calling card.
I guess sometimes it's best to let old friends drift away.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 132622
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| Posted: 07 June 2013 at 9:05am | IP Logged | 2
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Noble characters are not allowed to stay noble. Modern writers simply do not understand them. "Write what you know" as the old saw has it. So the "feet of clay" must go all the way up to the shoulders.And, of course, it is much, much easier the BREAK than to BUILD.
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Greg McPhee
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 25 August 2004
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 5071
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| Posted: 07 June 2013 at 9:08am | IP Logged | 3
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Does this mean that Doom owes Reed Richards one hell of an apology, then?
Great way to undermine 50 + years of characters and stories. This adds nothing but subtracts so much.
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Rob Shalda
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 25 February 2013
Location: United States
Posts: 419
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| Posted: 07 June 2013 at 9:43am | IP Logged | 4
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Doom has been so poorly portrayed the last ten years it is almost criminal. Such a waste of a classic character.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 132622
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| Posted: 07 June 2013 at 10:16am | IP Logged | 5
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Does this mean that Doom owes Reed Richards one hell of an apology, then?•• At the very least, it means Reed was WRONG. The accident was no accident, and not at all due to Doom's calculations being in error. A twofer! Two of Marvels original heroes get dragged thru the dirt at the same once! Now, let's find out that Peter Parker originally intended to reveal his Spider-Man identity to Ben and May the night Ben was killed, and had HIRED the burglar to go and give 'em a scare so he could come to the rescue. But he got delayed showing off for some hot babes outside a nightclub, and when Ben tried to defend May the burglar panicked and shot him.
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Greg Kirkman
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 12 May 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 15775
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| Posted: 07 June 2013 at 10:33am | IP Logged | 6
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Don't give them ideas! That story idea is chilling to me, because it is
exactly--EXACTLY--the sort of retconned story I expect from Marvel,
these days. Like the "first" team of new X-Men who were killed before
Storm and the others were recruited.
Or, I would expect it, if I read the books. Can't hardly even stand to
read about these sorts of developments, much less the stories
themselves. Disgusting.
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Mark Rand
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 29 May 2007
Location: United States
Posts: 360
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| Posted: 07 June 2013 at 10:39am | IP Logged | 7
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At the very least, it means Reed was WRONG. The accident was no accident, and not at all due to Doom's calculations being in error. ***** Unless they try to say Reed saw the calculations AFTER Ben altered them. Although that would mean Ben was quite the scientist himself back then. Which only adds to the crazy.
Now, let's find out that Peter Parker originally intended to reveal his Spider-Man identity to Ben and May the night Ben was killed, and had HIRED the burglar to go and give 'em a scare so he could come to the rescue.
*****
This idea is no more terrible than the mind bogglingly awful Ben Grimm/Doom retcon described at the top. I have no reason to believe Marvel editorial wouldn't sign off on it. It makes me wonder what concepts are actually being rejected...if any. I'd love to know what the NOT-crappy ideas are over there these days?
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Greg McPhee
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 25 August 2004
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 5071
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| Posted: 07 June 2013 at 10:54am | IP Logged | 8
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Like the "first" team of new X-Men who were killed before
Storm and the others were recruited.
====================================================
Please tell me that is a joke.......
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Brian Miller
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 28 July 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 30968
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| Posted: 07 June 2013 at 11:02am | IP Logged | 9
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No joke, Greg. It's been probably around 10 years ago, now. It's when the third Summers brother, Vulcan, was introduced.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 132622
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| Posted: 07 June 2013 at 11:03am | IP Logged | 10
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Let's not forget the Black guy who was a subject of the Super Soldier project BEFORE Steve Rogers!
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
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| Posted: 07 June 2013 at 11:06am | IP Logged | 11
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It's when the third Summers brother, Vulcan, was introduced.•• A hard lesson I've learned over my years in comics, is that almost nothing that passes thru the offices, even as a JOKE, can long escape becoming an actual part of canon. The X-Babies was how people referred to the New Mutants before that name was settled upon. Chris quipped in an interview that Magneto would soon become a teacher at the school. The third Summers brother (who exploded upon hitting puberty) was a long-time gag. On and on.
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Matt Hawes
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 16464
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| Posted: 07 June 2013 at 11:12am | IP Logged | 12
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John Byrne wrote:
| ...Now, let's find out that Peter Parker originally intended to reveal his Spider-Man identity to Ben and May the night Ben was killed, and had HIRED the burglar to go and give 'em a scare so he could come to the rescue. But he got delayed showing off for some hot babes outside a nightclub, and when Ben tried to defend May the burglar panicked and shot him... |
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Oh oh! You may have inadvertently given Marvel its next big Spider-Man storyline!
You know, it's bad enough when they write a character badly in stories that are supposed to be current, but why can't these writers, editors, etc., leave the past alone?
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