Between the Panels
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Between the Panels How the interactions between commerce and art shape superhero comic book film adaptations (2000-13) Tim Stafford Between The Panels: How the interactions between commerce and art shape superhero comic book film adaptations (2000-13) Tim Stafford Submitted to the University of Hertfordshire in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of PhD January 2018 Acknowledgments I would like to thank my Principal Supervisor, Professor Keith Randle and my Second Supervisors, Visiting Professor Richard Miller and Dr Mariana Dodourova for their support and guidance during this project. I would also like to thank Greg Pan at Marvel for granting permission to reproduce the three selected comic book panels and Roni Lubliner at Universal for granting permission to use the still from Hulk. This thesis is dedicated in its entirety to my parents, Terry and Sheila Stafford, to Derek Watson, my best friend and guide in the world of comic books and to Hugh Jackman, who started the whole thing off. Between the Panels Contents List of figures 1 Abstract 3 Introduction 5 Research questions 8 Introduction to the conceptual framework and methodology 9 Thesis structure 12 Chapter One: Up, up and away: superheroes and their adaptations 14 Origin story: A brief history of superhero adaptations 14 The superhero film renaissance: 2000 to the present 20 Why are superhero films so popular? 26 i) The studio perspective 26 ii) The audience perspective 29 iii) The role of comic book readers 31 The theory of adaptation 34 The role of the director as author/auteur 42 Chapter Two: What is film? 46 Film as a commodity 48 The material aspect of film 53 The mental aspect of film 56 Working towards a holistic definition 61 The doubled logic of film 64 Between the Panels Chapter Three: Theories of the art/commerce relationship 72 The interdisciplinary approach: an overview 72 Renaissance and Romanticism: an historical perspective 78 Art versus commerce: Bourdieu’s theory of opposition 81 Adorno: commerce as the destroyer of art 90 Towards a theoretical framework: a Marxian approach 94 Updating the mode of production: refining Marx’s theories 99 Critical responses to the mode of production-superstructure model 103 Fundamentalism and overdetermination 109 A potential way forward: an Althusserian solution 116 The application of Althusser: developing a central proposition 119 Chapter Four: The role of the text 124 The textual approach 125 The uses of cultural materialism 127 The text and its mediation 131 The ideologeme as a method of mediation 133 From theory to practice: research questions 138 Chapter Five: Developing a Methodology 140 The role of textual interpretation 141 The case study and multiple-case study approach 143 Selection of cases 148 Case study structure and design 151 The adaptation change as ideologeme 152 The adaptation change analysis 154 Data and information sources 159 Between the Panels A note on box office and budgetary data 161 Conclusion 164 Chapter Six: Case Study One: The first X-Men trilogy 165 Historical context: X-Men in comics and on screen 165 Adaptation analysis 172 Adaptation change 1: Selection of X-Men comic book 173 characters appearing in the film Adaptation change 2: Comparison of content and structure 178 in the X-Men comics and films Implications of X-Men’s adaptation changes for the genre 189 Conclusion: Implications of the X-Men case study 194 Chapter Seven: Case Study Two: Hulk and The Incredible Hulk 196 Historical context: Hulk in comics and on screen 196 Adaptation analysis 204 Adaptation change 1: Thematic, character and 205 psychological enrichment of the source material Adaptation change 2: Banner’s father as villain and 213 the hero/villain relationship Ang Lee’s Hulk as an expression of the 220 economic/symbolic capital relationship A comparative study of Hulk and The Incredible Hulk 223 Conclusion: Implications of the Hulk case study 227 Chapter Eight: Case Study Three: The Iron Man trilogy 230 Historical context: Iron Man in comics and on screen 230 Adaptation analysis 237 Adaptation change 1: Altering the temporal setting of the narrative 238 Between the Panels Adaptation change 2: Selection and use of villains 245 Conclusion: implications of the Iron Man case study 255 Chapter Nine: Case Study Four: The Dark Knight trilogy 257 Historical context: Batman in comics and on screen 257 Adaptation analysis 268 Adaptation change 1: Nolan’s quasi-realist mode of storytelling 269 Adaptation change 2: The economics of Gotham as 280 a thematic concern in the Dark Knight trilogy Conclusion: Implications of the Dark Knight case study 294 Chapter Ten: Discussion 296 Research question 1 296 Research question 2 and Research question 3 299 Research question 4 303 The degree of reciprocity between superhero films as superstructural 306 products and the mode of production: a macro-level analysis Thesis discussion 309 i) The degree of effectivity of artistry in the 310 shaping of superhero comic book adaptations ii) Rethinking the idea of economics as ‘determinant 314 in the last instance’ Where next? 319 Appendices 321 Bibliography 334 Between the Panels List of figures 1.1 – Box office performance of film adaptations of Marvel superhero comics, 22 2000-13 1.2 – Box office performance of film adaptations of DC superhero comics, 23 2000-13 1.3 – Sales of The Amazing Spider-Man, Batman and Captain America comics 32 before, during and after the release of their respective film adaptations: Spider-Man (May 2002), Batman Begins (June 2005) and Captain America (July 2011) 2.1 – A commodity chain for a comic book adaptation film 52 3.1 –Simplified visual representation of the mode of production-superstructure 115 model 4.1 – Comparison of ideologeme application for Jameson and for this research 138 6.1 – Film adaptations featuring the X-Men, 2000-13 168-9 6.2 – Magneto fights Angel in an example of an action panel from X-Men #1 180 6.3 – Budget breakdown for Spider-Man 2 184 7.1 – Film adaptations featuring the Hulk, 2003-12 203 1 Between the Panels 7.2 – Hulk finds tranquillity as he leaps through the air in Ang Lee’s Hulk 211 7.3 – Example of a typically angry Hulk facial expression in 211 The Incredible Hulk #2 8.1 – Film adaptations featuring Iron Man, 2000-13 234-5 8.2 – Panel from the first Iron Man story in Tales of Suspense #39 239 8.3 – The three announced phases of Marvel’s planned film release 243-4 strategy 9.1 – Film adaptations featuring Batman, 1966-2012 265-6 9.2 – A comparison of the narrative structures of the comic book 278 Year One and the film Batman Begins 10.1 – A summary of the case studies’ adaptation change conclusions 311 Panels from X-Men (figure 6.2), The Incredible Hulk (7.3) and Iron Man (figure 8.2) reproduced with the kind permission of Marvel Comics Image from Hulk (2003) (figure 7.2) reproduced with the kind permission of Universal Pictures 2 Between the Panels Abstract Between The Panels: How the interactions between commerce and art shape superhero comic book film adaptations (2000-13) This dissertation’s principal contribution to knowledge lies in its demonstration of the thesis that while economic considerations are ultimately determinant, artistic considerations have a degree of influence in shaping contemporary superhero comic book film adaptations and, as a consequence, the genre as a whole. Specifically, the dissertation argues that while the description of economic considerations as determinant in the last instance is accurate in relation to the long term development of the genre, in terms of each individual superhero film, a more accurate description is that economic considerations are determinant in the first instance. It focuses on the period 2000-13, at the beginning of which the superhero film genre was restarted by Bryan Singer’s X-Men and during which franchises such as The Dark Knight and Iron Man achieved unprecedented box office success for studios such as Warner Bros. and the newly created Marvel Studios. The dissertation considers how the relationship between art and commerce has been theorised historically, with particular emphasis on Marx’s mode of production and superstructure formulation and the subsequent modifications to it, including those of Louis Althusser. 3 Between the Panels The dissertation uses a multiple case study comprised of four significant film franchises: Fox’s first X-Men trilogy, Universal and Marvel Studios’ Hulk films, Marvel Studios’ Iron Man trilogy and Warner Bros.’ Dark Knight trilogy. Each case study identifies specific changes made to the comic book source material in adaptation and by combining readings of the films with a consideration of their commercial contexts, demonstrates the extent to which each adaptation change is symptomatic of commercial or artistic logic. 4 Between the Panels Introduction This dissertation explores a period within the current dominant trend in mainstream American cinema for the adaptations of superhero comic book narratives. Bill Ryan notes in the introduction to Making Capital From Culture that ‘it is impossible to divorce [his] research project from [his] biography’ (1991, p 14) and similarly, my personal and professional interests have long been bound up with comic books and their adaptations. My fandom began not with the former but with the latter. As a lifelong cineaste, it was Bryan Singer’s X-Men (2000), an adaptation of the Marvel comic book series, which showcased the potential of the superhero genre to me. Singer’s intelligent film provided the requisite thrills and excitement I expected from a superhero narrative but also surprised me with its complex characterisation of both heroes and villains and its metaphorical social commentary. The film inspired me to delve into its source material, thereby starting a superhero comic reading journey which would eventually lead me not only to a part-time job in my local comic book shop, Chaos City Comics in St Albans, but also to study representations of masculinities in comic books for my MA dissertation.