Even in parody form, it’s nice to see so many people and sites pointing out the exact same thing I’ve mentioned and complained about for several years, both for Marvel as a whole and Polaris specifically. Marvel’s current course helps nobody except Fox and specific people working on the Avengers franchise.
Note I said people, not the Avengers franchise itself. It hurts the Avengers franchise too, far more than it could ever help.
Marvel’s taking on Base Breaker style changes not just for specific
properties, but for all of Marvel. If you want to see how that worked
out, look at Soul Calibur. Soul Calibur V’s changes, kicking out major
beloved characters and replacing them with random new ones, literally
cut that game’s sales in half. Soul Calibur only exists today as a free
to play online game that people hardly talk about.
And there isn’t an audience Marvel is gaining as a result of mistreating the X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises.They’re only losing fans they don’t need to lose, and the money and positive buzz that comes with them.
This behavior puts a block on good stories that could be told, like Polaris and Scarlet Witch as sisters. It turns Marvel fans against each other, fuels a toxic environment. People that love the pedestal given by Avengers and those put down by it will fight with each other, and that infighting does not breed intrigue. It breeds avoidance. On sight of this kind of infighting, how many people are really going to think “Yeah, I want in on that action”? Most potential new fans will instead think “THAT’S what being a fan is like? Nope, nope, I’m outta here.”
The Marvel universe has so much potential. It deserves better than petty corporate sabotage and ego trips.
Please read this article it’s fantastic.
Oh and Salarta’s commentary is good too.
The phrase “Cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face” comes to mind. Again. Still.
Also: I like how they’ve put lockjaw riiight up there in the front, in a desperate, and not totally transparent push to get someone– ANYONE– to give a shit about the Inhumans. “Look! We have puppies! People like dogs, right? The X-men never had a dog. C’mon! READ it!”
lol if Inhumans were worth shit they wouldn’t have to be turned into Nu X-men.
This is precisely one of those cases that I think proves my point about how Marvel is only hurting themselves.
I firmly believe any character or franchise has good qualities in its own right, it’s all a matter of understanding what those qualities are and then effectively presenting them to the world in a way everyone can see them. This includes the Inhumans. I think the Inhumans have their own meaningful and unique aspects that, if handled properly, could make for some great work.
Marvel trying to turn the Inhumans into “Nu X-Men” tosses nearly all of that in the bin. The Inhumans will never be as popular as the X-Men if they’re turned into “Nu X-Men,” and they’ll be even less so if the rumors about Marvel trying to turn the X-Men into “Nu Inhumans” turn out to be true. Both efforts make X-Men fans hostile toward the Inhumans and any potential they might have in their own right.
There’s a damn good chance that even if Marvel somehow gets everything they want, a good chunk of X-Men fans will never accept the Inhumans now. And it’ll be a direct consequence of Marvel’s efforts to undermine the X-Men.
Marvel might think upsetting a few hundred thousand comic book fans is a drop in the bucket, but it has a Streisand effect that can result in non-readers spending much less on Marvel merchandise and films than they otherwise would have. Between complaints about Black Widow’s writing in Age of Ultron and Renner’s sexist remarks, complaints about whitewashing the Maximoffs, lack of representation of women on merchandise and now the pissing match with Fox all becoming big mainstream news, Marvel’s going to be hurting soon.
In fact, they already are. They’re still “on top,” but Age of Ultron has been behind Avengers for sales despite its greater hype, and it fell into third as soon as some real competition hit theaters.
the article itself states this:
How this is supposed to affect a movie franchise that reaches tens of millions of people when comics readership as a whole consists of like 100,000 people who will probably go see X-Men movies regardless of whether Marvel is selling lunchboxes, nobody knows
I’m HELLA confused by what this article is saying because, RIGHT THIS MINUTE IN COMICS, Marvel is staging a massive crossover event designed to skyrocket sales, with Fantastic Four members Susan and Reed, along with frenemy Doom, at the core of the main plot, and X-Men characters leading multiple side-stories. Please tell me how these teams and groups are being undermined right now I’m desperate to know.
It might be difficult to really see all of what’s going on unless you’ve been following what they do to the comics very closely. Some of it can admittedly look paranoid if taken by itself, but lots of small things build up. Removing the Fantastic Four and X-Men from merchandise is the most recent sign, and hardest for Marvel to deny.
These are the cases I know. There are guaranteed to be ones I do not know or can’t remember right now. This list is also NOT an exhaustive list of sources and evidence, it’s what I threw together quickly off immediate memory.
Removing X-Men and Fantastic Four from merchandise meant to represent all of Marvel (1, 2)
Canceling the Fantastic Four comic after 600~ issues, conveniently timed for about when the new Fox film is coming out
Sketch card artists given explicit instructions not to draw Fantastic Four characters (1)
Canceling Wolverine and the X-Men as soon as Disney took over despite the cartoon having part of season 2 done and plans up to season 3 mapped out
Lack of dedicated X-Men cartoons or video games since; the Days of Future Past mobile game was pushed by Fox to coincide with the film, the X-Men anime was planned and announced pre-buyout
Setting up every event between Avengers and X-Men so the Avengers are better off and the X-Men are worse off (X-Men depicted as terrorists, Xavier killed off, turning Xavier’s brain and Genosha into plot devices for the Avengers and Red Skull to exploit while characters like Magneto are made to look foolish)
Avengers books getting to dictate the direction and issues dealt with by the X-books (Havok’s M-day speech, Wanda written as admonishing characters like Rogue about what it means to be part of the X-Men)
Making changes to existing characters and franchises in order to cut ties to the X-Men and Fantastic Four, such as forcing a retcon on Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver’s parentage so they’re no longer Magneto’s kids or mutants
No panel for the X-Men that wasn’t paired with the Avengers during San
Diego Comic Con in 2014; this was despite how, at the time, Marvel had 4
more X-Men books than Spider-Man books going but gave Spider-Verse its
own panel.
Certain remarks by certain editors (not naming or linking here because I don’t want to risk people harassing them)
Marvel is still using the X-Men and Fantastic Four in increasingly smaller ways for two reasons. One, they want to push as many X-Men and Fantastic Four fans as possible over to other franchises. This is why they did so many events where Avengers and X-Men clashed. Two, for plausible deniability with responses such as the one you gave. If they take it slow, don’t pull it all at once, it’s easier to claim it’s all fan paranoia and any lack of use and representation is due to “lack of interest” in both franchises.
Don’t forget how writers are no longer allowed to make new mutants. Want to make a new Inhuman or other “I got accidental powers through… Not genetics!” go nuts. But want to make a new mutant? Nope! You’ll need specific permission from the lords on high, and I’m telling you right now: You’re not going to get it. The “Mutants” are going away, way more effectively than Decimation ever did.
In terms of story use, I’m not too concerned about not being able to create new mutants. I think there are a ton of characters, like Polaris, who exist and deserve more attention but don’t get it. Some writers think making a brand new character is better than using existing characters that Marvel hasn’t given enough support in the past.
However, the ban does do a great job of showing Marvel’s intention to undermine and ruin the franchises where Fox owns the film rights.
For the past several months, I’ve complained a lot about Marvel and things they’ve done wrong with Polaris and everything related to her. I think I’ve been completely justified, but I don’t like that I haven’t done enough to acknowledge the good things that DID happen for Lorna in that same time span.
I’m not forgetting or ignoring those bits. I love and appreciate them. I want to spend more time focused on them, but things keep happening that sideline chances to show it.
So in the interest of recognizing the good work some people at Marvel are doing, and the moments where the company allows them to happen, here’s a list of the POSITIVE developments and treatment Lorna has received since 2009, IMO.
Note: this does not include things Marvel canceled due to the Disney buyout, like the Wolverine and the X-Men cartoon and Exiles.
I didn’t really like the Lorna – Wanda ANXF issue. It felt a bit forced, Wanda was pretty ridiculous in that one (plus she ratted on Pietro and they still haven’t clarified why she did that, got jealous over Pietro and Lorna bonding? felt left out? who knows…). Other than that I agree with everything!! 🙂
Agreed!! That issue felt so ridiculously forced. They really didn’t even seem to enjoy their time together and I think it would have been just a little better if Danger wasn’t there and if they didn’t have to be all superhero. I mean just have a legit sister bonding time. And yeah I can’t imagine why Wanda would rat out Pietro at all. Even if she was jealous, I think she would put Pietro before anyone else. Makes no sense that she would want to torment him simply because he’s spending time with Lorna. If it really was like some jealousy thing, she could easily just spend time with Lorna or even join ANXF. I don’t know, I didn’t like that issue at all, probably their worst one.
I can understand and agree that ANXF #14 had some problems. My big ones are the inclusion of Danger, and how the “witch burning” subplot wasn’t really related to any of the characters. I think those bits certainly have value taken on their own, but taken in comparison to what could have been, they’re problems.
Mainly, I was very disappointed the big elephant in the room of Wanda depowering Lorna on M-Day wasn’t addressed in anything more than a quick mention. Lorna suffered immensely because of Wanda’s actions on M-Day and as always, did nothing to deserve it. The entire issue could’ve been focused on that, and I think would’ve made for a better story.
But, I’m still very thankful the issue happened at all, and I liked it for what it did offer. I fully expected we’d never see Lorna and Wanda get to do anything as sisters for at least another decade, and Peter David managed to get them together in a year. Regardless of opinion, that they got acknowledged and used as sisters at all with everything Marvel’s done for the past 6 years is a huge accomplishment.
As for Wanda’s reveal on Pietro, I assume she was still at least slightly drunk or it was a slip of the tongue, not intentional. That might sound like a cop-out, but I’m giving the same leeway as when ANXF #15 wrote Lorna as getting her ass kicked by Gambit. I simply excused it as Lorna letting him do it to avoid hurting a member of her team they need in the fight.
Oh, and worst issue? I’d say ANXF #14 is nowhere near that. I’d say worst is a tie between ANXF #4 and ANXF #6. Both issues made Lorna look like a raging moron that’s never had any leadership experience at all, and it happened to build Gambit up at her expense. By ANXF #6, with Gambit getting to overrule Lorna’s decisions by threat of force and recruit half the team without any say from Lorna, Lorna was basically the “leader” in name only until ANXF #7. It was, and still is, terrible that Lorna was supposed to be team leader and had less authority over her own team than the only member she actually got to choose.
9 Issues have been released so far and next Wednesday issue number 10 will arrive!! Have you read everything so far? Here are the links to all the issues, read them online or download them in pdf form!!
I’m not sure if I should create a whole new E-mail account just to create a whole new primary account for NSFW activity, or simply use a secondary blog but not follow back anyone that posts too much hentai/porn (since your secondary blog can’t follow people separately, but can be followed separately).
I created a secondary blog last night, but I haven’t set it up or posted/reblogged anything on it yet because I haven’t made a decision.
@people drawing trans boys: please for the love of god, draw a binder and not the bandaid wrap, as using ace bandages to bind is very dangerous and can influence young inexperienced trans boys to bind like that.
To be honest, while I’m sure most of the use of bandages instead of binders is due to misconceptions, I also think it happens because it’s “sexier.” With bandages, you’re seeing the shoulders, more skin in general, and attention is heavily drawn to how flat the chest is. With binders, they can be seen in the same way as a tight shirt or tanktop.
The artists still shouldn’t draw the bandages. While I agree with you for the most part, this post was intended to get people to stop drawing the bandages.
Looks like maybe my post wasn’t clear enough. I’m agreeing with you. I’m saying I think part of the reason they use bandages is because it provides a way to “sex up” the presentation of trans men with reminders that they have female biology.
I’ve seen characters like Naoto Shirogane from Persona 4 drawn with bandages where you see the breast shape clearly, and sometimes even see cleavage. It kinda goes against the point when trans men are sexualized in a manner that calls attention to female biology. At least, that’s how it looks to me; please correct me if I’m mistaken.
Oh man, I sounded really rude ;n; I didn’t mean too! I see your point, and it’s gross how trans men are sexualized.
It’s okay! You thought I was replying a certain way and said things based on what you thought. It happens. 🙂
I’m never not amazed at the assholishness of guys demanding women shouldn’t be in games.
They’ve been catered to in their “no girls allowed” antics for the past decade, after the late 90s and early 00s were actually more fair and equal in letting women be major characters (including lead protagonists) in many games. If we go by tradition, they don’t have a leg to stand on, because traditionally women were more accepted in games than today. If we go by a need to change it up, they don’t have a leg to stand on there either, because giving women a bigger or equal role is changing it up after the past decade.
There’s no scenario where giving women less representation in gaming is justified right now.
Seems like barely anyone even cares about the clear and blatant ableism in the movies
My cousin is 75% deaf and losing what he has rapidly. He’s also 7 years old. I remember the day he came up to me with his flurry of hands and slurred speech because everyone was buying his brother spider man stuff and he didn’t have a super hero like him. And I remember leaning in front of him, pulling his hearing aids out and signing the best i could to him about Hawkeye being deaf, and how he was still a super hero and his deafness didn’t make him any less. Granted, it was choppier than that because my signing isn’t spectacular. But his big eyes lit up and he went off running to his dad about Hawkeye. And when he saw the movie, he was so excited, he thought Hawkeye would be signing in the movie. And when he wasnt, when He barely had any lines and when he was hearing, it broke his heart.
Dont tell me ableism isn’t a big deal, or that representation doesn’t matter. Deaf Hawkeye made that little boy feel accepted and happy and the movies stole that from every deaf little boy and girl.
THIS. THIS IS WHY DEAF HAWKEYE IN THE MCU WAS/IS IMPORTANT TO US DEAF/HOH FANS
salarta 