Amazing Isn't Good Enough
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ABSTRACT: This thesis sets out to identify the workings of media franchising by analysing the animated series Ultimate Spider-Man as a case study. By questioning the change in representation of Spider-Man in this animated series and comparing it to other depictions of Spider- Man in popular culture, this thesis shows that industrial goals and relations are at the heart of differences in representation. By conducting both a textual analysis as an industrial analysis, this thesis combines the findings from those analyses to find that the reimagination of the character Spider-Man in Ultimate Spider-Man is founded on a desire to base the character on source material, gain value from the larger Marvel Universe and to address a younger audience. These industrial goals are conflicting and challenge the historical and cultural functionalities of the superhero Spider-Man. This thesis confirms the value of media franchising, as focussing on industrial relations contributes to our understanding of the production of culture. Amazing Isn’t Good Enough Spider-Man’s Shifting Representation As a Negotiated Part of a Franchise Yuri Voesenek 3468976 Master Thesis Film- en televisiewetenschap 7-10-2016 Yuri Voesenek 3468976 I would like to thank the following individuals for their contribution on this thesis, Sonja de Leeuw, for supervising this thesis and for her guidance the last couple of months. It has been an interesting and awarding process. Dan Hassler-Forest, for his time and our conversation about possible strategies concerning this thesis. Additionally, his advice to take the work of Derek Johnson as a central starting point proved particularly valuable. My friends, in particular Erwin Noz, Fabian Gomes Monteiro, Niels van den Heuvel and Bob van Eijkeren for their critical look on this work and for functioning as sparring partners in conversations that led to this thesis. Manon Mulders, for keeping me focused and at the same time providing me with the hard needed distractions from this project. My parents, Lily van Baast and Jan Voesenek, for their trust. 1 Yuri Voesenek 3468976 Table of Contents 1. The Reimagination of Spider-Man the Superhero. ..................................................................................... 4 1.1. The Rise and Fall of Marvel and Its Spider-Man. ............................................................................... 4 1.2. The Case Study: Ultimate Spider-Man. .................................................................................................... 6 1.3. Why Spidey? ...................................................................................................................................................... 7 2. The Theoretical Web. .............................................................................................................................................. 9 2.1. Media Franchising. ......................................................................................................................................... 9 2.2. Transmedia Storytelling. .......................................................................................................................... 10 2.3. Intermediality, Intertextuality and Transmediality. ..................................................................... 12 2.4. The Functionality of the Superhero: Why Changes Matter. ....................................................... 12 3. Method. ...................................................................................................................................................................... 13 3.1. Textual Analysis. .......................................................................................................................................... 13 3.2. Industrial Text Analysis. ........................................................................................................................... 15 4. Textual Analysis of the Representation of Spider-Man in Popular Culture. ................................. 16 4.1. Ultimate Spider-Man’s Narrative Structure. ...................................................................................... 17 4.1.1. Causality. ................................................................................................................................................ 17 4.1.2. Time. ........................................................................................................................................................ 18 4.1.3. Plot Development. .............................................................................................................................. 19 4.1.4. Narration. .............................................................................................................................................. 21 4.1.5. Other. ....................................................................................................................................................... 21 4.2. The Differences in Representation. ...................................................................................................... 22 5. Analysis of the Industrial Practice of Franchising. .................................................................................. 23 5.1. Situating Ultimate Spider-Man. ............................................................................................................... 24 5.2. An Uncoherent Web of Industrial Goals. ............................................................................................ 25 5.3. Discontinuity of Ultimate Spider-Man: the Vicious Circle of Industrial Relations............. 28 5.4. Differences based on Relations in the Industry. ............................................................................. 29 6. The Challenged Historical and Cultural Functionality of the Superhero Spider-Man. ............. 31 7. Conclusion. ............................................................................................................................................................... 31 Literature. ........................................................................................................................................................................... 35 Other Works Consulted. .......................................................................................................................................... 36 Websites. ................................................................................................................................................................... 36 Appendix. ............................................................................................................................................................................ 40 A The Licensing of Marvel Characters in Film ........................................................................................ 40 B The Marvel Cinematic Universe. ............................................................................................................. 41 C Spider-Man the Outcast. ............................................................................................................................. 42 2 Yuri Voesenek 3468976 D The Intertextuality of the MCU. ............................................................................................................... 43 E First Issue of Captain America. ................................................................................................................. 44 F Ultimate Spider-Man: Plot Segmentation (2012-2016). ................................................................. 45 G The Amazing Spider-Man: Plot Segmentation. .................................................................................... 53 H Spider-Man: Plot Segmentation (2002). ................................................................................................ 56 I Captain America: Civil War: Plot Segmentation (2016). ................................................................. 59 J Spider-Man (TAS): Plot Segmentation (1994-1998). ....................................................................... 60 K Transmedial Links: Different Representations of Nick Fury. ........................................................ 63 L Transmedial Links: Movie Reference Iron Man (2008). .................................................................. 64 3 Yuri Voesenek 3468976 1. The Reimagination of Spider-Man the Superhero. In the last few decades, Spider-Man has had numerous reincarnations in popular culture. One of the world’s most recognizable and celebrated superheroes has been caught on and off screen in a multitude of appearances. In major movie pictures, Spider-Man has been rebooted twice in the last fifteen years. In 2002, he was portrayed by Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man, a movie that spawned the sequels Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3. In 2012, Andrew Garfield crawled in the skin of the friendly neighbourhood spider in the movies The Amazing Spider-Man and its sequel The Amazing Spider-Man 2. The next reboot is planned to appear in June 2017, with Tom Holland reprising his role as Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War, but this time in the stand-alone movie Spider-Man: Homecoming.1 The superhero also appeared in several animated series, games and other media, all based on his ongoing adventures in comics.2 This constant reproduction and reimagination of the character presents an interesting case in the use of franchising in and across