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As I said in a different thread, one of the advantages the X-Men has over its competition is that so long as the basic concept is in place, it does not rely on any characters to always be there, it is a property which adapts and heh, mutates to suit the times.
In theory. I once had an argument with my friends at around the time that Claremont was going to be taking the reins of the X-Men again. They were very excited, and wanted to see "The Dream Team" represented, with Kitty pryde and Nightcrawler in the mix. In short, the team of their youth. I felt, like you, that the appeal of the X-Men is that it mutates. Unfortunately, that was at a time when the stakes weren't so high, the X-men weren't horribly popular, and they could get away with change. I'm glad to see, after nearly ten solid years of stagnation, that this has been rectified. I guess that's what X-Treme is for.
It adapts, because it is designed to do so.
Not necessarily. The revamp of the X-Men by Wein, then Claremont, had that distinction. Nearly 100 issues of the X-men passed before the mutation of the X-men began. And that was because of low sales. In fact, the current incarnation of the X-Men is one of the only times I ahve ever seen major changes on a title that isn't a low seller.
On the other hand, characters like Superman, Batman, Spider-Man - they are icon characters who are forever frozen in time, and will always be most successful when that fact is respected.
One of the most striking differences between the two companies is that of continuity. Spider-man is in fact in the same camp as the X-men, and the rest of the Marvel universe. Change happens. It's been apparent since the beginning. So, in theory, I wouldn't lump Spidey in with the other two. The problem Spidey has is the same problem the X-Men has had. Popularity. You can't change Spider-man without alienating people who know him only as an icon ("What do you mean Spider-man got married?"), but the whole purpose of the Marvel universe was to have a setting where the past does affect the present, and change is inevitable. It's a balancing act that I'm sure they never dreamed that they would have to achieve.
(which is the largest audience Wolverine has ever had)
Not trying to quibble, because I'm sure you're right. But I think the popularity of the movie is overrated. When I saw it in the theatres, the place was packed with people who were already familiar with the comics. The strong opening, and steep decline, of ticket sales points this out. I have yet to meet a person who has seen this movie on their own, without the prodding of a friend. This is the cinematic equivalent of handing a non-comic fan a copy of the Dark Phoenix saga. They may look at it, but it doesn't mean that it sticks.
I'd rather see the big iconic properties maximized to appeal to the widest audience, and have them be the cash cows which put enough cash into the pockets of the people who publish them so that they can move on and invest the revenue into publishing and marketing non-superhero, non-genre related comics to the mass media audience.
Amen. |
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