Turning a comic book into a movie has many challenges, and one of the biggest ones is coming up with the “look” of the characters. Many comic fans want the screen version of the heroes to be EXACTLY the same as they are in the comics. From a purist point of view I can understand the desire to see the characters as they imagine them… but in reality MANY great comic characters would just look silly on the big screen as they are portrayed in ink. Can you imagine Wolverine in X-Men wearing the tight yellow spandex?!?! Looks great in the comic book… but it would have just been laughable in the film. So it’s important for a film maker to come up with a good look for the characters while staying true to the essence of who they are.
I was a bit surprised by some peoples reactions to the look of The Thing in the new Fantastic four movie. Some people commented they didn’t like it, the eyebrows aren’t right, he should be smoking a cigar… ect. ect. ect. I think too many people want him to look EXACTLY like he does in the comic… and that just doesn’t always work. In the case of The Thing it’s also not very practical. With that in mind, I thought the look for The Thing was fantastic and I can’t wait to see him in action.
Look at Batman for a minute too. To be honest, the Adam West costume of the 60’s TV show is a lot closer to the comic than Burton’s 1989 movie version… but the movie version just worked a lot better for the movie.
Some characters do lend themselves to ink and screen. Spider-Man for instance. The Hulk. Hellboy. But others need to be adapted to work properly. What do you think?
I’m tickled to death that John Byrne hates the
casting of Jessica Alba for Sue Storm. It tells me that the comics writers
and artists are with the fans, and that I’m not alone in this opinion. Yay!
Now, here’s a thought: I don’t mind changing the
material of some superhero costumes. Batman wearing black body armor was a good
move, and leather or some durable fabric in place of spandex makes sense
visually, I think Daredevil and Fantastic Four illustrates this.
But most changes need not be so drastic.
If I recall correctly, Wolverine had a brown
costume at one time, and I’d bet that a leatherized version of this costume with
a Batman-style cowl would have worked fine. A rigid design with subdued "ears"
on the mask would have made Wolverine recognizable and also give him the field
disguise we are used to seeing in the comics.
I believe in a basic rule in translating costume
colors in comics to live action: with the exception of Spider-Man and Superman,
blue and gray fabric = black in reality, and yellow = gold or subdued yellow.
Bright colors should be toned down. Gaudy won’t work in live action, with the
exception of the two I mention above.
The original X-Men in my opinion had uniforms, not
costumes, since they were all the same with some modifications to accommodate
their individual powers. Then, when the team was revamped in the late 70s, all
the characters had their own looks and costumes. Why can’t Storm have her
original leather "bikini?" Why can’t Rogue have her green costume? Will Jean
Grey get her green Phoenix costume in X3? And why can’t Cyclops have his
hood to better conceal his identity? The whole idea for the costumes in my
opinion is for disguise. It gives the characters some anonymity in their
personal lives.
And I think the Thing looks too human in the FF
movie. The only explanation that I can give for this is because the comic
book Thing has a look that would almost translate to that of a Muppet in
reality, but why are his eyebrows so small? He looks more like a burn victim
than the Rocky Monster we all love.
Comments?
Yeah, I will agree here, too. I am SO glad that they didn’t go with the traditional costumes in X-Men.
I think it’s odd, though, that that type of costume worked well in Spider Man, but I don’t think it would’ve worked in X-Men. Maybe because Spidey wears a mask, too.
hahahah…i missed that…and when i think about it, he is right.
it just does not look natural
I was more shocked at John Byrne’s outburst about Jessica Alba playing the Invisible Woman :
“Personal prejudice: Hispanic and Latino women with blond hair look like hookers to me, no matter how clean or ‘cute’ they are. Somehow those skin tones that look so good with dark, dark hair just don’t work for me with lighter shades. Like I said — personal prejudice.”
mmmmm, seems everyone is in agreance for once.
what was cool 30 years ago, just dosn’t look that hip now adays, I mean, if alot of the classic comic book heros came out today, no one would buy the comics becasue of how gay they looked. (albiet, modern comics would not look nearly as good without the old school influence).
and mark is right, I have always hated the super man costume…i mean, blue tights, it’ll never fly.
fly…no, but leap over tall building.
wellm see what your cousin frank has to say in toronto!
bye bye lois!!
Sometimes costumes and looks need to be changed. I agree with that completely. I can’t think of a single movie that I disliked solely based on the character’s appearance. Actually, I’m more bothered by the human torch not being blond than I am by the Thing. Truth be told, I think the Thing looks fantastic (no pun intended). I do think it’s silly to take away his cigar for the sake of political correctness, though.
I think the thing should have been cgi. I know there are a lot of problems with it for example every scene of Hulk with the hulk in it, but Ben Grimm didn’t just get crusty after being zapped by cosmic rays he became a er.. hulking monster.
And I don’t think film maker need to slavishly follow costumes or even the look of characters but they do need to respond to their natures. The accident that transformed the fantastic four made explicit those peoples most central traits. Ben was a big man and gruff before the accident and should become huge rocky, well.. thing after just as the accident physicalized Sue’s shrinking personality and Johnny’s hot headedness.
That being said I’m not totally opposed to the look of Ben in the movie. It’s in the vein of other film monsters, but what’s up with his wrist?
Yes, costumes need to be adapted at times when crossing over to films. I think the best example was in X-Men. Giving the characters a sleek, all black look was the right move.
Like it or not, I think Superman’s costume may need to be tweaked a bit for the next movie. Yeah, Christopher Reeve looked good in it back in the original movie. And so did that guy (whose name escapes me) in the Lois & Clark series. But in the case of Supes, that costume is overexposed, way too familiar, and feels “old fashioned” now. I know I’m going to catch heat for stating this.